Pitching matchups for the Royals series
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Apr 09, 2009 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
Friday: LHP Andy Pettitte (14-14, 4.54 in 2008) vs. RHP Sidney Ponson (8-5, 5.04 in 2008), 4:10 p.m., YES, WCBS 880
Saturday: LHP CC Sabathia (0-1, 12.46) vs. LHP Horacio Ramirez (1-4, 4.34 in 2008), 7:10, YES, WCBS 880
Sunday: RHP Joba Chamberlain (4-3, 2.60 in 2008) vs. RHP Gil Meche (0-1, 1.29), 2:10, YES, WCBS 880
John Sterling
November 13th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
LOVE THIS TRADE
“Swisher homers in the NICK if time”
“SWISH… St. Nick delivers again!” It’s Christmas in June!!!
”…It is high it is far it’s gone a SWISHER SWEET for Nick”
” a Nick nack paddywack gives the Yanks a lead!!!!!!!”
We need to get Nady his 400 ABs so he qualifies as a Type A or B free agent
from last thread:
GB7 hit the nail on the head. If Swish had an 0-fer today no one would be talking about him here. It’s a long season, and I think it’ll take at least a month for the Nady vs. Swisher argument to have any merit one way or another. Girardi just needs to find adequate time for Swish and let him prove that he should be starting. Nady is a quality ballplayer, nothing spectacular, but a solid contributor.
I cannot wait to see tomorrow’s game.
We play a lot of afternoon games in the early part of the season
4/6 vs. BAL – 4:05 PM
4/9 vs. BAL – 1:35 PM
4/10 vs. KC – 4:10 PM
4/12 vs. KC – 2:10 PM
4/15 vs. TB – 4:10 PM
4/16 vs. CLE – 1:05 PM
4/17 vs. CLE – 1:05 PM
4/18 vs. CLE – 4:10 PM
4/19 vs. CLE – 1:05 PM
4/22 vs. OAK – 1:05 PM
All before our first off-day before Boston
PONSON!! Oh wow… that should be … fun.
The Yankees aren’t going to give Nady 400 ABs just so they can have the chance to have difficult decision of whether or not to offer him arbitration. They spent too much money on this team to worry about something like that.
With that said, I am still hoping the Yankees decide to put Swisher or Damon in CF when Molina catches because Ransom, Gardner, Molina is probably the worst bottom 3 on any team, AL or NL. That would add 40 or so games into the split between Damon, Swisher, and Nady.
Austin Jackson lines an RBI single into CF in his first AB of the season for Scranton.
Our number 2 and 3 starters from late last season are squaring off tomorrow. That should put things in perspective.
Burnett’s interviews have all been hilarious– he always busts on someone.
And Swisher was playing Dr. Dre 2001 while talking to reporters
no 27,
swisher should play rf against tough right handed pitchers and nady should dh against real tough lefties with swisher in rf.
I believe Krazy Kyle owes us some home runs.
This series would be a nice time for him to pay some of them back.
like i said, we’re going to sweep that series easy
big game andy against ponson? hahahaha
cc will not get killed 2 starts in a row, the nervousness is gone
joba will be good for 6 innings and we have had success against meche
plus we get to beat up on farnsworth.
we got this in the bag
As long as your repeating yours, I’ll repost mine:
vin
GB7 hit the nail on the head. If Swish had an 0-fer today no one would be talking about him here. It’s a long season, and I think it’ll take at least a month for the Nady vs. Swisher argument to have any merit one way or another. Girardi just needs to find adequate time for Swish and let him prove that he should be starting. Nady is a quality ballplayer, nothing spectacular, but a solid contributor.
__
That’s ridiculous. Anyone who truly understands baseball can see how Swisher works the count irrespective of whether or not he gets a hit.
So to say that no one would be talking about him even if he had an O-fer demonstrates that some people have no clue about plate discipline.
Nady is hitting .250 and has had a hit in each game, with 2 doubles and an RBI
It’s not like he’s been terrible
Jack, I just got home – what did AJ say?
I taped the game – very happy to see that AJ bent, but he didn’t break. Given the nerves he was undoubtedly feeling about making his debut in pinstripes and the fact that the previous two SPs had gotten torched, it was important that he put up a good performance. I know it was only 5 and 1/3 innings, but today that was good enough. I’m sure on most other occasions he’d go further into the game.
good read on Austin Jackson:
http://www.scrantontimes.com/a.....29_spo.txt
floyd,
I agree.nady and swisher both need to play together as much as possible.
Floyd
Nady is hitting .250 and has had a hit in each game, with 2 doubles and an RBI
It’s not like he’s been terrible.
___
Again, don’t focus on the outcome (i.e., hits), look at the approach at the plate.
There’s a reason why Swisher’s career ISO D .111 and Nady’s is .055, and it’s evident in virtually every AB each take.
Factor in that Swisher is better defensively, and he is clearly the better choice.
Brackman is pitching his first pro game tonight for Charleston.
For those of you farm junkies, you can listen to the radio broadcast but be forewarned because the audio is pretty bad. Lots of echoes and a bit rough on the ears.
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.....p?sid=t531
BTW, Brackman struck out two in the first inning.
“Matsui is excellent as DH. In comparison with Nady, well, there really is no comparison. Matsui is the better bat in every facet.
However, a player’s worth is more than just what he does with the bat. It’s what he does on the bases and in the field as well.
This isn’t to take from Matsui as a guy or for what he’s done for the Yankees in his time here. He’s nothing but a class act (publicly, anyway).”
At this point in his career, Matsui is a DH. When you consider that the Yankees have 3 other corner outfielders, Matsui’s MUCH better bat is more valuable than everything that either Swisher and Nady bring to the team individually. Bottom line, Matsui is way to talented to be hitting 8th or platooning with Nady or Swisher. There should never be a question of who to DH between Matsui, Nady, or Swisher unless Matsui needs a day off. Even when Matsui needs a day off Posada or Damon are better DH candidates because they are older and better offensively.
“So to say that no one would be talking about him even if he had an O-fer demonstrates that some people have no clue about plate discipline.”
Talking about him (in terms of him deserving more playing time) and talking about him regarding his ability to work the count are two different things. No one is talking about Melky right now, but if the conversation turned to “who has the best arm on the team” then he would be discussed.
I think it’s funny how people get so up in arms about things that are happening right now, but as we should all know, baseball isn’t a right now thing… its a grind with lucky/unlucky bounces and good/bad days all mixed in. Baseball is so much more than who is hot right now.
i got burnett for 20 wins this year. he has better stuff than ANYONE on the yankees. i said it when we got him. that curve ball is dirty
GB7
Flavor of the week with the fans and flavor of the year with the media….. until they both turn on him.
PS anyone who sites the ISO stat is a loser (cough cough Jeter in LF cough cough)
no.27,
I agree that Matsui has been underappreciated during his time in pinstripes and that he’s a big force in that lineup when he’s on his game.
However, one very big thing that you missed is that Matsui is now incapable of playing everyday because of his bad wheels.
Girardi has no choice but to limit his playing time for now because we have no idea if Matsui will even hold up over the course of the 2009 season.
So giving Matsui some extra days off is only for his own well being. It’s not simply because Girardi feels he has better option.
Matsui can’t help them if his knees are bothering him.
I disagree with you, no. 27 on Matsui. He’s definitely a class act. But he’s on the downside of his career, can’t run the bases any longer (and thus is a big DP candidate). I’d be fine with seeing him in about 2/3′s of the games this season, but no more. He and Damon are gone after this year. I view them as solid, borderline everyday players at this stage of their careers — not above Swisher or Nady in this respect.
Girardi would do just fine by juggling all four throughout the season, and slipping Melky in occasionally. There is not a top 50 player in this Yankee outfield, and all egos need to be subordinated.
You guys think the Yanks were happy to see AJ’s backside today? They must be in heaven knowing they don’t have to face AJ.
He got into some jams, but it was nice to see that he and Jose trusted each other out there.
Someone asked a question about Molina vs. Posada game calling? I’m not an expert, so I won’t compare. But I will say that I like (and the players seem to like) the game Molina calls, too.
missing the biggest point on matsui. he is too streaky.
damon isnt a borderline everyday player either is matsui (at dh) by baseball standards. maybe by yankee standards. either of them would start everyday for the mets (if matsui could run)
vin
Talking about him (in terms of him deserving more playing time) and talking about him regarding his ability to work the count are two different things. No one is talking about Melky right now, but if the conversation turned to “who has the best arm on the team” then he would be discussed.
I think it’s funny how people get so up in arms about things that are happening right now, but as we should all know, baseball isn’t a right now thing… its a grind with lucky/unlucky bounces and good/bad days all mixed in. Baseball is so much more than who is hot right now.
__
That makes no sense. Let’s break it down:
Why do people deserve more playing time? Because they help the team win.
What helps a team win? Scoring runs and preventing runs.
What’s the best way to score runs? To get on base.
Swisher gets on base more than Nady and in so doing, he works the count, thereby wearing out the starter so so that the team can get to the weaker pitchers in the pen.
It’s interesting that you used the word grind, because that is what Swisher is, a grinder. That’s what the hitters on the Yankee teams that won 4 WS were.
As for unlucky bounces, Swisher’s BABIP last season was .251. As you probably know, .300 is about average. Swisher’s LD% last season was 20.9.
LD% + .120 should equal BABIP.
In Swisher’s case, that would be .329. That he had a BABIP of .251 shows that he was very unlucky last year.
So it’s not really about who’s hot. It’s about analysis.
He’s just in another class than Nady and is a perfect fit for this team.
Matsui’s health is critical, espcially without Alex. Just watch him run out a groundball – he’s only going at 50%, and anyone who’s watched Matsui in the past knows that he pretty much always busted down the line. Even he is aware of his fragility – Girardi is wise not to push him. Girardi will also do the right thing and rest Posada as much as possible, which is fine by me because I LOVE watching Molina catch.
molina vs posada = molina is better at everything except offense – not even debatable. throwing out runners, calling the game, defensively, and of course running the bases/stealing home
“GB7 hit the nail on the head. If Swish had an 0-fer today no one would be talking about him here.”
forget the hits. the approach was nice to see with swisher taking all those pitches. i don’t think everyone should hit that way. i wouldn’t want to see cano doing it to that extent, but different styles can work on the same team. mattingly was more like cano in his day than swisher. because cano is on the yankees all the more reason to have a guy like swisher to up the pitch count of opposing pitchers.
i liked what i saw and the approach isn’t something that’s going to go away.
So has Cano officially gotten over his day-game blahs? Remember his first couple of seasons? Day games were awful.
Did I see that Tex had the best average in day games last season? Bodes well for the next stretch of the schedule.
I’m no expert either, but it seems like pitchers really love throwing to Molina, more so than Jorge, and the pitches Molina calls certainly look great to me so I’d have to go with him.
cano is a disease – if he plays well, trade him
Jeter in LF – do you have any more stats no one cares about??? why arnt you a GM or manager you seem to have it all figured out…
“cano is a disease – if he plays well, trade him”
dan, you have been traded for a fan to be named later.
I love Swisher. I thought the trade was brilliant (especially considering the Yanks need a 1b at the time). I also believe that he’s the better player statistically (but not by much). What I’m commenting on his how he’s the player du jour because he had a big game. If he stunk today no one would be talking about him. Girardi saw something in Nady this spring and last year that made him think he’s the better candidate to start. For now, I’m going to put my trust in Girardi instead of the numbers.
To sum up:
I’m a fan of Swish. Not actually all that high on Nady. I just think there are too many knee-jerk reactionaries on here (generally speaking, not even talking about you, Jeter in LF) who want to treat a bad performance like the guy’s at the Appollo with the Sandman coming out with the hook.
haha his obp was 300 last year….he has to be babysat to focus. i mean i dont have all these fancy stats like jeter in LF but i think an obp of 300 would qualify as bad. and an obp that is only 25 points higher than your average would be be terrible. how dont you gain more plate patience after 3/4 years in the league. cano is nothing more than a potential that will never be realized.
dan
Jeter in LF – do you have any more stats no one cares about??? why arnt you a GM or manager you seem to have it all figured out…
__
Could you be more fatuous?
Don’t be afraid of learning new things.
Take a vote on stats and get back to me.
ok ill take a vote . what matters more the fact that swisher is a career 244 hitter or the fact that his babip was 80 points below league average last year.
babip is dumb it basically says the player has no idea/control of where the ball is going when it is hit into play…hense i dont know how many eggs you can put in that basket.
i mean i think you know a lot of baseball stats, but i dont think your smart enough to put independent thought into what they mean even when you try to use big words like fatuous to try to portray yourself as intelligent.
dan
haha his obp was 300 last year….he has to be babysat to focus. i mean i dont have all these fancy stats like jeter in LF but i think an obp of 300 would qualify as bad. and an obp that is only 25 points higher than your average would be be terrible. how dont you gain more plate patience after 3/4 years in the league. cano is nothing more than a potential that will never be realized.
___
As for Cano, few players have the plate coverage and the ability to put the ball in play that he does. He’s an outlier, who has shown small signs of increasing his patience at the plate by taking more pitches and drawing more walks. But granted, it’s early.
he swings at the first pitch every at bat. i hope your not considering three games of 1 season in your assessment of small signs of increasing his patience….
and i agree about the ability thing, thats why i said he has potential….i just dont think it will be realized.
Cano’s improved ability to draw walks is only going to elevate his game. They can’t throw slop at him anymore, hoping he’ll flail away at it. They have to be careful with him because they know he’ll put it away.
Can he really fulfill the prophecy that he could be a batting champ one day?
or im just tired or waiting
alright im out boys….jeter you remind me of that dude from good will hunting who just recites everything he reads. you like apples???
go yanks
dan
i mean i think you know a lot of baseball stats, but i dont think your smart enough to put independent thought into what they mean even when you try to use big words like fatuous to try to portray yourself as intelligent.
__
I would be glad to answer your questions, but I thought I explained it.
There is an element of luck to getting anything but a walk, a strikeout, or a HR. In all other instances, balls are put in play (BIP). The average batting average for balls put in play (BABIP) is .300.
When a player under or over performs, like Swisher did last year, it’s usually the result of luck. To test it, you can take their line drive % (LD%) and add .120 to determine whether or not that’s true.
The reason LD% is used is because most hits come off line drives.
I explained how that affected Swisher last year.
btw I used the word fatuous to be polite.
Jeter in LF
As for Cano, few players have the plate coverage and the ability to put the ball in play that he does. He’s an outlier, who has shown small signs of increasing his patience at the plate by taking more pitches and drawing more walks. But granted, it’s early.
============================================
That’s right. It’s no big surprise that Cano’s become more patient. He still goes for the plate to look for something to drive; that’s where we want his head to be. But his great eye and his natural ability to recognize pitches has been aided by the adjustments Long has helped him make. The point is, the increased patience was predictable; there was a LOT to work with, folks.
People who are surprised that Cano has become more selective themselves aren’t very good at talent recognition. As I’ve said here, for months, Cano is the most talented hitter to come out of our system since Don Mattingly.
There’s greatness in his bat. And he’s not “on fire,” he’s just in the zone he will probably spend the rest of his career in – with the usual ups and downs – but this is where his bat is pretty much going to live.
The poster, Mark, said “I’d like to take credit for Cano’s re-emergence but then again, I don’t think it takes a genius to make that call.”
It shouldn’t Mark, but take some credit for finding obvious what others just don’t have the ability to see: a lot of people shooting their mouths off about hitting who don’t really understand it, and the amount of ridiculous comments about Cano on here – many of them kind of vicious, even – exposed those people as lacking any vision at all for baseball. I mean, you’d have the STRAIN credulity to think Cano’s career was going south after last season. Really s-t-r-a-i-n.
Not really trying to stoke this fire, but
1996 Yanks saw 3.71 pitches/pa
1998 3.81
2000 3.79
2007 3.88
2008 3.85
(those years were selected randomly)
Taking pitches isn’t necessarily the best way to win.
that still doesnt take into account the fact that the better players know where things are going to more accuracy then average players (guys like swisher). what does adding 120 to his line drive percentage prove. nothing to any degree of certanty. did you consider maybe swisher hits more line drives at people because he is just not as good? does everyone hit the same percentage of line drives at people? you cannot act like statitics are the bible. there is a reason why swisher is a 244 career hitter.
dont get me wrong i like swisher he is a solid player. but dont act like last year was such a fluke because multiplication you did said he was unlucky.
Meche had a 1.29 ERA his first start and got the loss. Ouch. No offense, no bullpen or both.
pat,
The Meche signing had everyone scratching their heads… but KC’s had the last laugh. Should be an interesting year for the Royals – they actually have a certain level of anticipation for the first time in a long time.
Just looked and I see what Meche’s problem was – Farnsworth.
Yeah Krazy Kyle has ailed many pitchers in his career. I don’t miss him a bit.
dan
that still doesnt take into account the fact that the better players know where things are going to more accuracy then average players (guys like swisher). what does adding 120 to his line drive percentage prove. nothing to any degree of certanty. did you consider maybe swisher hits more line drives at people because he is just not as good? does everyone hit the same percentage of line drives at people? you cannot act like statitics are the bible. there is a reason why swisher is a 244 career hitter.
dont get me wrong i like swisher he is a solid player. but dont act like last year was such a fluke because multiplication you did said he was unlucky.
__
Of course, there is no certainty in life.
What stats do is allow you to get a better read on whether a player is bad, or declining, or merely unlucky. That was the point of what I posted about Swisher.
How many players, if any, can direct line drives with any consistency in terms of being at or away from a fielder? You select a good pitch, you try to square it up and hit it hard, and then luck plays a huge role in whether or not it falls in. That’s partly why even HoF hitters, perennial batting champs, get into slumps.
The key is to hit a lot of line drives. The inferior hitters hit many more groundballs and weak flyballs.
On a related note, the key to Gardner’s sustained success will be whether or not he can hit a lot of line drives.
AVG is not as revealing a stat as OBP. I don’t care what a player’s AVG is if he can get on base with tons of walks.
Finally, as I said, it terms of putting the ball in play, Cano is about as good as anyone.
DAN SHUT UP YOU LOST ALL CREDIBILITY AFTER THAT CANO COMMENT BRO
vin
Not really trying to stoke this fire, but
1996 Yanks saw 3.71 pitches/pa
1998 3.81
2000 3.79
2007 3.88
2008 3.85
(those years were selected randomly)
Taking pitches isn’t necessarily the best way to win.
___
But they made the playoffs every year but 2008, when injuries hurt their pitching and Tampa overperformed.
If you feel motivated, I’d like to see their postseason stats. My guess is that they took more pitchers in playoff series that they won as opposed to since 2004.
IS it me or anyone else observed that posada keeps moving his glow while molina keeps steady?
Nice. Avoiding Greinke this series.
What is up with all the day games this month I mean seriously ? Is it because unemplyment is at an all time high
dan it’s funny that you say you hate stats like ISO and BABIP yet you feel free to spout out one of the worst statistics of them all: batting average.
It doesn’t take a genius to realize it takes more than watching a few games to get an understanding of a players ability. You probably saw Swisher play in a total of maybe 50 games the past three years, how can you judge him based on that. Statistics are a way to see the overall picture that you can’t see unless you watch a player in every plate appearance. Some statistics are better than others, and just because some have become standards doesn’t mean our knowledge of the game and statistics haven’t evolved.
You can’t judge a player on batting average alone, and you look like a fool by doing so.
And I see you also like OBP, why do you like that but not ISO, both were created by the same guys who developed OBP and saw their potential to better evaluate ball players.
Harry –
The number of day games doesn’t appear to be off. Tomorrow is KC’s home opener, which is traditionally a day game for most teams. Next Thursday is the Yankees’ home opener. Not sure if it is unusual that the Yankees play their first two home games in the daytime.
The only game that appears a bit out of place is next Weds. in Tampa…since when does Tampa schedule a late-afternoon game vs. the Yankees? They usually make sure all weekday games vs. the Yankees are at night. Tampa is staying home on Thursday, so it’s not a getaway day situation.
Anyway, it’s April – in April, there’s usually a lot of earlier games. It has nothing to do with the economy – if it did, we wouldn’t have ALL weekday night games in May
seems the yanks are casually slipping joba into the 2 spot in the rotation.
Posada vs Molina
Posada calls an excellent game, in fact I think slightly better than Molina. Posada is a guess hitter and that helps him call a good game. Molina is a much better receiver and throws as well as anyone in the game, but people forget that Posada has always had a good arm and throws well (Posada’s weakness is his receiving skill). Obviously Posada is a far better hitter (in fact they are at the extremes good and bad) and the overall much better player.