The hit machine cranks it up
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Aug 19, 2009 
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It’s almost a surprise these days when Derek Jeter fails to get a hit. Consider these numbers:
Last three games: 9 of 13.
Last six games: 14 of 25, 4 runs, 6 RBI, 3 extra-base hits.
Last nine games: 20 of 36, 8 runs, 7 RBI.
Jeter is hitting .330 with a .394. That’s an amazing OPB when you consider he hasn’t drawn a walk in his last 95 plate appearances.
Closers do not pitch enough innings to win the Cy Young. Starting pitchers pitch more innings, and the ones who win the Cy Young tend to do it with similiar looking rate stats to a closer.
More innings @ similiar production > Less innings @ similiar production
Johan Santana was hands down the Cy Young when Bartolo Colon won.
The great durability of Jeter is amazing. He must have rubber joints and tendons?
Mauer’s AVERAGE is higher than Teixera’s OBP.
That’s Pujols-like-crazy.
Not to mention 3 consecutive 3-hit games. I wonder what the record on that would look like?
Couldn’t agree more about the year that Colon won the Cy Young.
But I do agree with the NL selection of Eric Gagne for Cy Young in 2002. There was no dominating starter that season, and Gagne went a ridiculous 55-55 in save opportunities that season. (That’s WAY more impressive than what F-Rod did last year.)
The New Hit Man
But I do agree with the NL selection of Eric Gagne for Cy Young in 2002. There was no dominating starter that season, and Gagne went a ridiculous 55-55 in save opportunities that season. (That’s WAY more impressive than what F-Rod did last year.)
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Disagree, Jason Schmidt and Mark Prior had very very good seasons.
Mark prior 211 IP 245 strike outs 2 ERA
jason Scmidt 200 Ip 150 Hits, thats insane.
Ugh. It’s a tough read, but worth it. I guess.
Alludes to what I said the other day, about Jeter being regarded as an overrated player. No one will fully appreciate Jeter until he’s long gone…after 4,000 hits gone.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c...../19/jeter/
You were much more likely to strike out than get a hit or walk against Schmidt, thats craziness.
Also, news flash… he’s roughly thirty hits or so from passing the Iron Horse to be the Yankees all time hit king.
Fuentes has a 4.10 ERA and 5 blown saves….
Mauer has to be the MVP, regardless of where his team finishes.
Joe Mauer is easily the MVP this year IMO.
I want it to be Tex, but unless he has a monstrous rest of August and September, it’s going to be Mauer.
Jetes has been amazing lately!!
But I am surprised that he hasn’t had a single BB recently.
.. Have pitchers just stopped trying to get him to swing at a bad pitch?
.. Or is he just hitting everything no matter where it is pitched?
Remember once upon a time? Jeter was the most feared hitter, the one you didn’t want to come up to base with the game on the line? Hopefully, Aura and Mystique have forgiven Jeter for not covering the parking.
has anyone posted this? “Derek Jeter Underrated”
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c.....ref=sihpT1
Since the last time Jeter walked he has batted: .363 .366 .538 .904
So honestly, I can’t get on him about it.
Consider Jeter’s place in Yankee history.
He is currently 4th in runs scored, he should end his career first.
He is currently 2nd all time in hits. He will pass Lou Gehrig later this year and be first all time (he will soon have the most hits of any active player as well).
He is currently 4th in doubles. If he plays 5 more years he should end up first.
Jeter is not considered a power hitter but he is one HR away from tying Don Mattingly for 10th all time and he is 10th RBIs.
He is also 5th in total bases, 7th in walks, 2nd in stolen bases (he could pass Rickie Henderson next year), 5th in batting average and 12th in OBP.
Not a bad career.
Rishi,
I did. Hard to get through the intro. I mean could there be a less flattering intro? I got stuck on the beginning, but he ended up with a good point, let’s hope Jeter keeps it up.
Jeter’s just an amazing player, lol. It’s hard to believe he’s 35 years old – he looks the same as he did when he was 25. I can see him playing for several more years – he’ll easily break the 3000 mark. What a moment that is going to be…….I just feel so lucky to have been able to watch Jeter from his infancy as a ballplayer. He’s not just going into the HOF, he’s going in as one of the all-time best at his position –an automatic first-timer. What I’m proudest of is his respect for the game…..and the fact that he is respected by everyone in the game. He’s done baseball proud.
i know m – was thinking the same thing…
though I am getting tired of the “Mauer v. Tex” stuff – you can imagine voters being influenced by what they are reading and now what they are seeing (esp since they don’t actually get to “see” all the games etc)
Whats the Magic Number at this point??
Relievers have to be perfect to win a Cy Young…….and that’s in a year when there are no other good candidates. I don’t think Mo should be a top 3 or 4 candidate this year – too many starters are having too many good years. I don’t even know if he’ll get votes. It honestly doesn’t matter to me. Upon his retirement, the reliever of the year award (used to be called Rolaids) will be renamed after him……….also, he’s a lock, first-ballot HOFer. He doesn’t need a Cy Young on his mantle, not when he’s already worshipped by everyone in the game.
37 games, but what’s the website that has all the playoff percentages?
M, thanks for posting, but I won’t read any article whose basis is that Jeter is overrated. For some reason, players always vote him as overrated……overrated right into the HOF. It annoys me.
37 games to win? or 37 games to they will have clinched it?
betsy,
No. You should read it. Posnaski’s point is that Jeter was overrated because of his intangibles (BS), but now he’s actually underrated. Posnaski was just putting out there that he had grown just as weary as other non-yankee fans about all the love Jeter has gotten over the years.
The truth hurts sometimes. haha.
from cbssports.com power rankings:
How about a little love for Joe Girardi? After spending his first year in the Bronx lying to beat reporters about injuries and ridding the locker room of Tootsie Rolls, he’s mellowed out considerably. He now goes a full three days between buzzcuts, for instance. More importantly, Girardi has melded a bunch of raw arms into a highly functional bullpen. All a baseball manager needs to do is define each player’s role, resist the temptation to ask hitters not surnamed Izturis to bunt, and get out of the way; Girardi has done all three exceedingly well in 2009. … Speaking of that bullpen, I direct your attention to one David Robertson, who has been a quiet revelation of late: 50 K’s and a 3.15 ERA in 34 innings. How many contenders have as many legit eighth-inning options as the Yankees do about now? None, that’s how many.
The Yankees need to go 25-17 to win 100 games.
Can they do it? Maybe not if they clinch early and decide to rest all their regulars.
betsy the basis of the article is that Jeter is now being underrated statistically and performance-wise, as a result of years and years of fans (and stat-heads, particularly) getting annoyed by unending Jeter love fests about his intangibles and what not.
>>It’s hard to believe he’s 35 years old – he looks the same as he did when he was 25.<<
Nah. Don't get me wrong – Jeter's still a handsome devil, but when I see old footage of him, I'm floored by how young he used to look. He definitely has some miles on him now. Agree 100% with the rest of your post though. I was lucky enough to become a Yankees fan, totally by accident, in mid-1995, and I feel so extremely privileged to have followed almost every moment of not one but TWO Hall of Fame careers that started just as I was learning the game. I think the derisive talk about "intangibles" will have to stop when Jeter retires with 3,500+ hits. How intangible is THAT?
37 games, but what’s the website that has all the playoff percentages?
———————–
this one is pretty comprehensive:
http://www.coolstandings.com/b.....gs.asp?i=1
This is the good website for determing playoff %. Takes into account strength of schedule, run differential, expected perfromance, current lead etc.
http://www.coolstandings.com/b.....gs.asp?i=1
The magic number is reduced with each yankee win and each loss by the team whose magic number you’re looking at. (for example, the yankees magic number is – because they are leading the division. The red sox would have 37 , the rays would then have like 33 or whatever and so on)
Jeter is all alone at SS on my all-time Yankee team. The rest of the positions are not that easy to call.
Well, except maybe for 1B, where Gehrig reigns. At 2B, I would put Tony Lazzeri, but in 10 years, maybe Cano will be there. The battle for 3B is Red Rolfe, Greg Nettles and Alex Rodriguez. Yogi will probably be the C regardless of what Jorge does the next couple of years, but my sentimental fave is Thurman. An OF of Mantle, DiMaggio and Ruth is simply awesome.
Good company for Jeter to be in the middle of….
RS
August 19th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
The Yankees need to go 25-17 to win 100 games.
Can they do it? Maybe not if they clinch early and decide to rest all their regulars.
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Personally, I can’t wait see what Nick Swisher and AJ Burnett would do in a locker room champagne situation
m-
Baseball prospectus has the Yankees’ playoff odds at 98.6%.
coolstandings has it at 96.5%
http://www.baseballprospectus......s_odds.php
http://www.coolstandings.com/b.....gs.asp?i=1
100 wins is eminently doable.
100 Wins is my guess in Trisha’s pool. However, my guess is marked with an asterick
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c.....ref=sihpT1
Jeter was robbed in 2006. Especially since Pedroia won in 2008. Jete for MVP this year!
over-rated? pshh yeah okay.
Jim the VT Yankeefan:
Jeter’s place on the all-time Yankees list, as you pointed out, is amazing. But what takes it to another level is when you look at the other names surrounding him. His name is always in the midst of Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, DiMaggio, Berra, etc. Of course, it helps that he’s the rare bird who plays his entire career with one team, but those are some of the all-time names whose numbers he is approaching.
“Hard to get through the intro. I mean could there be a less flattering intro? I got stuck on the beginning, but he ended up with a good point, let’s hope Jeter keeps it up.”
That Posananski piece on Derek Jeter is a very important one. It’s a terrific read.
I understand why people may have a problem with the intro – but that’s a critical part of the story he’s telling.
In many ways Derek Jeter has been turned into a cartoon in NY with people constantly arguing “soft” points in his favor like “intangibles” and “leadership.” In turn this has led people to diminish Jeter’s actual production and accomplishments.
In turn there has been a huge national backlash against Jeter. And many people have essentially substituted that cartoonish image of Jeter as “Captain intangible” with an equally cartoonish mock up.
There are many people who truly believe that Jeter is nothing more than a slighly above average SS who is almost entirely a creation the NY Media.
And that’s the first audience Posnanski is aiming that piece to. That’s the reason for the intro.
And this is important.
Posnanski is very influential across the board – in certain ways he’s the most influential member of the baseball media right now.
I say that not because Posnanski reaches a huge audience – he’s no where near as important as the ESPN crew, verducci, etc.
But Posnanski is a guy who is immensely respected by “thought leaders” around baseball. He’s very respected by baseball writers, the digital media, and sabermatricians. There are very, very few people who have the ear of that kind of diverse audience.
Besides the sabermatricians who hate Jeter and think he’s all made up hype, the other audiences for Posnanski is the baseball writers and yankee fans. He’s essentially arguing that if you want to use traditional means to assess MVP and you’re not going to vote for Mauer, then at least vote for Jeter.
I hope the narrative Posnanski is getting at becomes the narrative through which Jeter finishes his career and is remembered through – that Jeter was actually under appreciated as a player while he played because the accolades he received were largely mistargeted and thus obscured his true brilliance. I’ve long thought this to be true.
There’s very few people who can start that kind of national scale conversation. Posnanski is one of them.
all the yanks have to do is play 2 games over .500 the rest of the way (22-20) and they win 97 games.
I simply just do not understand the Magic Number.
Dr. Cox
August 19th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
I simply just do not understand the Magic Number.
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Simply put, its the total of Yankee wins, Red Sox losses needed to clinch the division
If the number is 37 and the Yanks win tonight and Boston loses, it becomes 35
If the number is 37 and the Yanks and Boston both win, it becomes 36
That was a good article.
People think Jeter’s s career is based entirely on intangibles and mystique and aura and clutchness and his ability to win etc. and all that nonsense, when in reality, his pure stats rank up there with the best Shortstops ever.
How much lower is our magic number to just clinch a playoff spot than it is to win the division?
Thank you for posting that, Rishi.
“I simply just do not understand the Magic Number.”
All it means is that if the Yankees win X number of games, and the Red Sox lose Y number of games, the Yankees win the division. The magic number is the sum of X and Y.
The confusing part is that X and Y can be a variety of numbers.
The only important thing to remember is this: any time the Yankees win a game OR the Red Sox lose a game, the Yankees are one step closer to winning the division
How much lower is our magic number to just clinch a playoff spot than it is to win the division?
—————-
they’re both 37 since Boston and Texas have identical records and Boston is in the same division.
“How much lower is our magic number to just clinch a playoff spot than it is to win the division?”
I think it’s the same because the Red Sox and Rangers are tied for the WC. So the Yankees are 7 games up in the division and 7 games up in the WC.
There is no actual magic involved in calculating the Magic Number. You do not need to be versed in the Dark Arts at all.
It is simply a number that designates the sum of any combination of Yankee wins and Red Sox losses needed to clinch the division.
I’m not a magic person.
I thought 3 was the magic number!?!??
Ha.
Tom is correct:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0irL1M15DH8
“Hard to get through the intro. I mean could there be a less flattering intro? I got stuck on the beginning, but he ended up with a good point, let’s hope Jeter keeps it up.”
It’s nice when DJ is acknowledged as being great. It’s even better when someone who has previously doubted his abilities comes to understand that when we’re talking about the best shortstops of all time, Derek’s name must be among those being considered.
Really is a good read, and provides ample ammo for the winter discussions about the future of the Yanks. Here are my givens:
1) Jeter is the best shortstop in the American League right now.
2) Jeter is the face of the franchise more than anyone else since the Mick. (I loved Donny Baseball, and Bernie, and Yogi and Whitey, but….)
3) The idea of Jeter playing in another uniform is downright awful.
4) Since ARod will be playing 3rd base for the rest of DJ’s career (unless ARod is traded?!), Derek will stay at short until he decides he can’t do it anymore.
5) I do not worship in the church or all-things Derek: the time will come when he retires; but he is enough of a Captain to know when he’s no longer able to play the game.
jeez, how did mvps ever get chosen before baseball became scientific?
mvps are popularity contests…why not open it up to more than just reporters?
Uncle Ellsworth
August 19th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
I’m not a magic person
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Thanks for giving me a great laugh Uncle!
Nice job channeling the Keebler Elf…
Now if they would just stop trying to steal his lucky charms…
Since his wife just had her baby, I guess he’s no longer the smallest person in the house. For now.
Jeter should walk more. LOL. It is great to see the captain doing so well.
He’s not walking because he’s swinging and getting base hits … DUH! I know, sometimes it’s painful to verbalize the obvious … but not in this case.
What’s he now, 27 hits behind Gehrig? He’s closing REALLY FAST (in the immortal line from “The Hunt for Red October.”