A-Rod’s batting eye
Posted by: Sam Borden - Posted in Misc on Feb 04, 2010 
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I was recently looking through some of the stat totals for last year’s Yankees and, when I got to A-Rod’s, one thing jumped out at me: Walks.
In 535 plate appearances last season, A-Rod walked 80 times; project that out to 700 plate appearances and it comes to 104 – or nearly 25 more than his 162-game career average. With an OBP of .402, 2009 turned out to be A-Rod’s fifth-highest OBP season of his career.
Word is that Rodriguez is feeling and looking as healthy and active as he was pre-hip surgery, and it’ll be interesting to see if he carries over (and builds on) some of the things he worked on with Kevin Long last year. Widening A-Rod’s stance and keeping him from reaching too far out of the strike zone were points of emphasis, and – judging by the walks total – it certainly looks like Rodriguez has honed his hitting zone.
That’s a good thing. Not only does that help when he’s swinging well, but it also keeps a slump from spiraling; a player who walks with regularity still finds his way on base even when he’s swinging poorly.
A-Rod’s walk total goes up with Granderson, rather than Matsui, in the #5 hole. Late in a close game, you’d be crazy to pitch to A-Rod when you can trot in any crappy lefthander behind him and get Granderson out.
Continuing from the previous thread:
“As for Johnson’s K’s, you better look again, besides he’s slow, very slow”
I double-checked NJ’s and CG’s KOs before I posted. CG strikes out much more often than NJ does.
As for speed, I agree it is better to be fast than slow but everything has to be in context.
If NJ gets 600 PAs, he’ll get on base about 35-40 more times than CG will in the same number of PAs. You put that extra 35-40 appearances on base ahead of Tex, ARod and whoever bats fifth, that’s a lot of runs.
It’s a big, big hole for speed to make up. Too big, IMO.
Besides, it’s also a matter of taking advantage of relative strengths. You put NJ down in the lineup, all he basically does is move the lineup along. You put CG up in the lineup, he hits a lot more bases-empty HRs. You want NJ up in the lineup, where he will score more often, and CG in the middle of the lineup, where he will knock in runs more often.
As Sam reminds us in his post, ARod does a lot more than hit HRs. He gets on base a lot, and you want a power guy behind him to knock him in.
The Yanks will score more runs with NJ batting 2nd and CG 5th or 6th, which is what it’s all about after all.
“any crappy lefthander”
man, you have zero faith in anything. i can’t wait til curtis makes you eat those words(aside from the fact that he won’t be batting 5th… no idea where you come up with that).
Posada will be batting fifth regardless. My biggest concern is Arod’s chances of re-injuring the hip. For the guy people love to hate, he rarely makes light of an injuries. Just like Jeter. Always wants to play. I think maybe the success of winning the World Series and him still putting up great numbers at the end may be enough for him to buy into his new approach. Better plate discpline, line drives up the gap, etc. Now if that could only rub off on Cano the Yankees lineup would be ridiculous. We go back to Cano every year, but with some plate discpline, they has the potential to hit fifth or second in this lineup.
Man that scared the crap out of me. Here i thought the worst(puckett, out for good or at least another month of the season.). Cant lead with Arods eye. Maybe Arods eye at the plate.
Tom B
We’re getting that from Cashman who basically stated that Nick Johnson was signed to replace Damon’s bat in the 2 hole and that Granderson actually was brought in to replace Matsui’s bat down in the order.
rememder plan A after trading for Grandy was to resign Damon to DH and hit in the 2 hole which means that Grandy was always thought of as hitting lower in the order.
the Yanks want Nick and his .420+ obp behind Jeet and in front of Tex and ARod increasing the # of times in the game that your big bats have a chance to wreck a game with big hits.
Make sense?
SOS — fair enough. Added to the title
Yet, Alex has such a bad eye when it comes to women. Madonna? Kate Hudson? The bordello Madam who looked like Herman Munster? The Toronto stripper who was muscle-bound?
When a hitter like Rodriguez comes to the plate with 2 and 3 runners on base all of the time, pitchers are going to have to pitch to him. He won’t be getting bases loaded walks just because. The whining is starting to get ridiculous and it just turned Febriary. It should be a real kick by April. Joy…joy.
hope AROD stays healthy all season….that’s my biggest concern not just with him but Jeter, Posada, and the other older guys…that can make or break 2010
I’m not really sure a big jump in walks is such a good thing. OBP is great but I think it’s overrated for a cleanup hitter, especially one as productive as ARod. There were times last year with runners on base when he took a lot of pitches that looked hittable in order to draw a walk, sometimes with two outs. Let Brett Gardner pass the baton to the next guy. ARod needs to put the hit before the walk with runners on base.
I thought it was going to read “Rodriguez’ eye on Minka Kelly”. Just something to spur Jeter on.
Much better Sam, thanks. Hmmm I wonder how much Kate had to do with it?
What i noticed this year is no more huffing and puffing at the plate. He seemed much more relaxed. I thought he was going to hyper venilate at times.
Speaking of at the plate. Has anyone else noticed that Jeter always has a cough or two while batting? Can it be an alergy? Can Ricola fix the problem?
Orlando Hudson going to the Twins is huge for them.
In my opinion the Twins’ biggest weakness during the season was the lack of offense out of their middle infield and the fact that they didn’t have a #2 hitter (until they got Orlando Cabrera).
They need to get a 3b still…I don’t think Brendan Harris or Alexsi Casilla are everyday players. Maybe they bring back Crede or bring in Adam Kennedy
Give them a lineup of:
Span – CF
Hudson – 2b
Mauer – C
Morneau – 1b
Cuddyer – RF
Kubel – DH
Young – LF
Hardy – SS
Kennedy – 3b
That’s pretty solid for them.
Hat, As always you make great points to support your case…..Gardner/ Winn, Jeter, Curtis is a track relay team…..Time will tell, and as I stated, Curtis will be the Yanks # 2 hitter…..
GB7,
lol. I can see it now. Move over bachelorette. Here comes bat-chelorette stars version. Who will Minka choose? Tune in to see who gets the rose(not sure if they still do that stuff).
Here’s a great breakdown of the State of the Yankees. Check it out: http://theymovedthegoalposts.b.....nkees.html
Jeter, in his interview with Harold Reynolds, said that from SS he could observe how quickly Granderson was able to make adjustments to his swing.
Put that comment together with the gist of a recent RAB article “The myth of replacing a player’s production” which can be summarized in the following:
“Every team changes between seasons. Not only do they add and subtract players who will perform differently than their counterparts, but their returning players will not necessarily reproduce their previous season.”
Although the last five to six years don’t support it, Granderson could actually figure it out and hit lefties atleast as good as his best season ~.275.
One can only hope that Granderson, or whoever is in the five-hole (e.g. Posada), can protect Alex.
Span – CF
Hudson – 2b
Mauer – C
Morneau – 1b
Cuddyer – RF
Kubel – DH
Young – LF
Hardy – SS
Kennedy – 3b
—
More like:
Span – CF
Hudson – 2B
Mauer – C
Morneau – 1B
Thome – DH
Cuddyer – RF
Kubel – LF
Hardy – SS
Punto – 3B
FYI-
A-Rod was in the Post’s Page Six today. It was an article about his women. I don’t think it was anything that juicy so I didn’t bother fully reading it. (Especially since I was still very irritated about destroying someone’s lunch)
“Time will tell, and as I stated, Curtis will be the Yanks # 2 hitter…..”
And as I said, Nick Johnson will be the #2 hitter.
Grandy will not be he #2 hitter! Accept it.
and for all the “speed he has he’s not actually a base stealer. In his 4 full seasons in the league he’s stolen 67 bases and avg of about 16 a year.
Damon actually didn’t run at all last year from the #2 hole as he only stole 12 bases.
The Yanks thinking with Grandy is to take advantage of his power and put him in an rbi spot like the 5 or 6 hole which is why Cash has stated that he views Grandy as a replacement for Matsui’s bat/production. Where did Hideki bat in the Yanks lineup?
Pat M.
February 4th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
Also you can add besides just Jeter, Curtis, Winn & Gardner;
ARod, Hoffman, & Cano.
I think it would be intriguing to see Jeter, Granderson, ARod as 1 thru 3 in the batting order along with either Gardner/Winn/Hoffman at #9. That would really be a lot of speed at the top.
NJ is a hitter and an on base machine. His batting in front of Tex & ARod will not improve much over batting lower in the lineup. Granderson batting 2nd would improve a lot over batting 5th or lower because he’d have the protection of Tex & ARod so he’d get more fastballs.
It is hard to understand how Granderson can be downgraded for not hitting lefties for the 2nd spot, yet he is supposedly going to protect ARod from the 5th spot. The 2 don’t correlate!
“You put that extra 35-40 appearances on base ahead of Tex, ARod and whoever bats fifth, that’s a lot of runs”
Might be 10 runs tops. Both Teixeira and Arod drove in about a 1/4 of the runners on base in their plate appearances. Factor in they had fast runners on base ahead of them rather than a sloth like Johnson, and it may well be less than 10 runs.
“Jeter, in his interview with Harold Reynolds, said that from SS he could observe how quickly Granderson was able to make adjustments to his swing.”
I thought it odd that was the first thing he mentioned. Jeter chooses his words so carefully that it made me wonder who a message was being sent to- Granderson to step it up or fans to give him a chance to figure it out.
Pat M-
I think we both can agree that it’s a good problem to have.
S.o.S.
February 4th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
GB7,
lol. I can see it now. Move over bachelorette. Here comes bat-chelorette stars version. Who will Minka choose? Tune in to see who gets the rose(not sure if they still do that stuff).
————————————————————
LMAO. Thanks for the chuckles, S.o.S. I just wanted to see something on here that wasn’t complaining about how much the line-up stinks. It was getting tiresome…again.
ARod played in a doubleheader on Saturday.
http://snipurl.com/u9uuc
One thing that there is to think about. Granderson isn’t going to have to try jerking every pitch out of the park with this line-up surrounding him.
RayVT…..Once the club starts baserunning drill and the clock you running from 1st to 3rd, 2nd to home, it’ll be obvious that Nick is a pair of brown loafers mateched with a black tuxedo…..He’s a tick faster than Jorge and about the same as Texeria…..It’s a run scoring production death sentence having a beer truck in the 2 hole…..In all the years/ decades of watching baseball and playing ball, you just don’t place a slow runner in the 2 hole…Plus you piggybacking that speed with Texeria……Just imagine how many times Johnson gets either thrown out a 3rd or worse yet at home trying to take the extra bag on a basehit….What will eventually happen is he’ll get held up at 3rd…….Giradi will see this as will Cashman ( who does not write the lineups ) and it’ll be clear that Johnson can’t run the bases with the speed needed for that spot in the lineup……Cutris will work on not trying to yanks and pull the outside pitches when he hits from the right side and will shake off the non hitting lefties stigma…..
Pat
I thought the same for a moment re: Jeter’s comments about Granderson making adjustments.
But think about it, Jeter can’t be more plainspoken.
This lends weight to the view that Jeter really believes Granderson is very capable of making the adjustment, as opposed to Jeter simply trying to get us, the fans to cut Granderson some slack while he figures it out.
GB7,
Have been a little busy the past couple days. Are we in last place yet? When are we firing our offensive coordinator or what some would call the hitting coach?
I dont know about you, but this offseason feels longer than last offseason, even though we missed the playoffs last year. Not too sure why.
BTW, who are we comparing our offense to? Murderers row + Canooo? Or the Big Red Machine? Maybe the late 90′s Indians? Seriously, what the problem is. I still liki your idea of Tex batting 5th. Can you show me that lineup one more time?
Pat M.
February 4th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
I couldn’t agree more Pat. I’m for either Granderson or Cano hitting 2nd and the other hitting 5th. I also like the idea (mine LOL!) of ARod hitting 3rd.
liki
====
??? Trigger happy again. Meant like not “me liki long time” or is that love you.
GB 7
True. Since he won’t be trying to go yard on outside pitches, he could develop the patience and discipline to go the other way.
With his swing, he could drive the ball to left. We could be seeing many more triples out of him if he figures it out.
And you know that’s were Long will be going with him.
S.o.S.(GO COLTS!!)
February 4th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
GB7,
Have been a little busy the past couple days. Are we in last place yet? When are we firing our offensive coordinator or what some would call the hitting coach?
I dont know about you, but this offseason feels longer than last offseason, even though we missed the playoffs last year. Not too sure why.
BTW, who are we comparing our offense to? Murderers row + Canooo? Or the Big Red Machine? Maybe the late 90’s Indians? Seriously, what the problem is. I still liki your idea of Tex batting 5th. Can you show me that lineup one more time?
————————————————————
Yeah, it has been a long winter, considering they just won a WS. Was hoping it would go faster, but, as long as they win another WS in 2010, I’ll settle for a long 2010-11 winter. The last thing I have concerns about is the Yankee offense and rotation.
If Curtis Granderson were that bad vs. lefthanders, it will be worked out with the help of Kevin Long this spring.
It also has to taken into account that he faces portsiders about 30% of the time.
Kevin Long will be one busy coach this spring with making sure A-Rod is on target, and correcting Brett Gardner’s flaws.
He’ll work a lot with Frankie Cervelli, and Ramiro Pena.
GB,
Tried to relay this to you yesterday, not sure if you got it. I watched “the hurt locker” this weekend and thought it was great. About the Iraq war and the team that defuses bombs. I think you might enjoy it.
2010 New York Yankees:
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Johnson DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson LF
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Brett Gardner CF
CC Sabathia
AJ BUrnett
Javier Vazquez
Andy Pettitte
Phil Hughes
David Robertson
Mariano Rivera
but how about those Mariners?
Cliff Lee- Felix Hernandez- Erik Bedard
RayVT…..It was a baseball belief that your best hitter hits 3rd…..However, I think Giradi is just obsessed with the righty / lefty combo throughout his lineup, also I think he loves have the flexability of have a switchitter hitting 3rd……As Wave pointed out, it’s a nice to have such issues to deal with…..I’d have Alex hitting 3rd also
Rick,
I think Winn will also be in that line waiting for some Long assistance.
Granderson can’t bat 2nd!
(per Scott Boras)
But what is the heart of the Mariner’s line-up: Kotchman, Griffey, Bradley?
Nick in SF in NC
February 4th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
Granderson can’t bat 2nd!
(per Scott Boras)
************
I have a brilliant idea to solve the batting second debate.
SIGN JOHNNY DAMON!
S.o.S., I don’t go to movies very much, but, I’ll probably watch it when it hits the movie channels. But, yeah, I did see your message, and forgot to answer it back.
Pat
I think it would be a good idea of having ARod hit 3rd if Granderson is batting 2nd. If I’m a pitcher, I’d worry more about ARod than Tex. Also, Tex could get more RBIs because ARod is faster. NJ or Cano would have to protect Tex & I think it will be Cano.
Granderson can’t bat 2nd!
(per Scott Boras)
=======
Nick,
More so per Erica.
If Freeney cant go or is still limping, do you still put your money on Indy?
Johnny Damon?
That ship has already sunk.
Nick in SF in NC
February 4th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
Nice Lob to Erica!!!!!! LOL! I too would love to have Damon batting 2nd. I just don’t want him putting on a glove other than a batting glove.
There you have it. She beat me to it.
RayVT….It’s Cano’s time to slip into the 5 hole….His time has come, & his potential will be fullifilled in 2010…..
Thoughts on this lineup.
Jeter
Granderson
Johnson
Alex
Tex
Cano
Posada
Swish
Winn
Ray,
Can we add no glove and no ball in his hands?
Nick in SF grooves a bp fastball for Erica……..Denny Mclain to Mickey Mantle…..
S.o.S.(GO COLTS!!)
February 4th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
Yes Indy! The Vikings had 5 turnovers & Saints were lucky to win. Indy won’t have 5 turnovers. Plus the cheap shots the Saints put on Farve won’t go unpunished in the Super Bowl.
Nick Johnson is not a speed guy obviously but he is not as slow as you may think he is. he is a good situational base runner and has no problem going 1st to 3rd or scoring from second on a single or double.
And please stop with the stopwatch drills,this is the majors not high school the Yanks know exactly who and what Nick can do, remember they drafted and developed him.
Thank you boys. I’ll take my bows now
(And yes, I know he is not coming back, but he is still unsigned and I can dream. I do believe in baseball miracles)
S.o.S.(GO COLTS!!)
February 4th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
LOL! Yes!!!!!
DYD INDA WUL
February 4th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
GB 7
True. Since he won’t be trying to go yard on outside pitches, he could develop the patience and discipline to go the other way.
With his swing, he could drive the ball to left. We could be seeing many more triples out of him if he figures it out.
And you know that’s were Long will be going with him.
————————————————————
Not sure how many triples Granderson will hit. Ys hasn’t been much of a triples park for about 40 years, but, I can see him hitting 20 or so homers and around 40 doubles a season, and, that’s just fine with me. Not sure about Johnson, because he needs to avoid the odd injuries over the last 6 years. He could match Granderson’s numbers or, he could match Cabrera’s last year.
Granderson, Jeter and Rodriguez should be able to steal close to 15 to 25 bases, if they run as usual. They won’t steal for numbers, but, they will be selective when they do run. Rodriguez may not run as much as last year, but, he looked great doing it after June.
Ray,
The only problem with the 5 turnover game is Brees wasnt Brees. He was over throwing recievers and not converting 3rd downs. If we dont have a pass rush ala Vikings, i cant see him making those mistakes. Its going to be like that playoff game a few years back Colts vs. Chiefs(i believ) where no one punted the ball.
Damon is dead to me
S.o.S.(GO COLTS!!)
February 4th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
Thoughts on this lineup.
Jeter
Granderson
Johnson
Alex
Tex
Cano
Posada
Swish
Winn
That is not a bad lineup at all. I prefer the ARod 3rd Tex 4th idea, but it would be good. I like the not Gardner batting 9th. I am probably the only one here that thinks Hoffman will be batting 9th & playing LF.
The Colts cover even if Freeney is ineffective…..Saints needed 5 turnovers to only win by 3 against Minnesota…Manning won’t make the same mistakes
You guy are nuts if you think the Yanks are going to just completely re do their lineup.
ARod will stay in the cleanup spot and Tex will stay in the 3 hole.
The other thing that you guys are forgetting about Granderson is that he stikes out 140 times a year. When Sori was here I’m sure most of you guy wanted him out of the leadoff spot and hitting lower in the order. Grandy is a LH Soriano with less power and less speed.
He’s hitting in the 5 or 6 hole my guess is 5th as he should.
RayVT
February 4th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
S.o.S.(GO COLTS!!)
February 4th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
Thoughts on this lineup.
Jeter
Granderson
Johnson
Alex
Tex
Cano
Posada
Swish
Winn
*****************************************************
my thoughts are it ain’t happenning…
Ray,
Dont tell me your letting Gritties infield track power scare you?
S.o.S.(GO COLTS!!)
February 4th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
I like both teams, in that I am a fan of the Skins & Panthers. I also rooted for the Vikes this year. LOL! I will just enjoy the game. It should be a good one. I believe nerves will play a part early in helping Indy get ahead. Just my opinion.
Striking out a lot is the key to great hitting!
(per Andre Dawson)
Champ,
Your right, i dont have a red bat line to Girardi. So unless Cashman(reads this blog)gets my memo, its safe to say it wont get to the lineup card. I just thought that the #5 spot was the biggest question mark, not the 2.
Scratch that. Lets talk Damon for the 4 straight month.
Yo Champ, have you ever been to spring training ??? They have always and still do bring out the old stop wtach and record your time on multiple baesrunning situations…..
champ809
February 4th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
LOL! Champ you are probably right! I didn’t see the Genuis move of Jeter to leadoff & Damon to 2nd but Joe G did. ARod hitting 3rd with protection of Tex & others would be awesome for ARod. LOL!
GB, Either YS has a historically low triples total or the Yankees have had a dearth of speedsters through the years. Maybe the statheads can help us with that one.
All I’m saying is that along the lines of your dead-on comment that Granderson will likely not have the need to try to yank everything out to right, if he at least learns to hit the gap in left center, he could ring up an unusually high number of three-baggers for the Yankees, if not for YS.
My hero Bobby V would bat Nick Johnson leadoff.
The other thing that you guys are forgetting about Granderson is that he stikes out 140 times a year.
–
Grandy is a LH Soriano with less power and less speed.
–
He’s hitting in the 5 or 6 hole my guess is 5th as he should.
=============
So he cant bat 2nd because he strikes out too much. And he has less power than Sori. But you want him to do his Sori version batting 5th?
It’s gonna get ugly for Damon.
Jim Thome just signed with the Twins for $2.2 million, a big reduction from his $13 million salary from last year. And Thome had good numbers last year, 24 HRs, 74 RBIs, .249 in 107 games.
Don’t see Damon getting much more than $2.2 million.
How did the Yankee players fare in the Feilding Bible? I see where Pete talked about the RSox players.
With the way players are getting peanuts compared to previous years,I wonder what kind of contract Tex, Burnett and C.C. would have recieved if they came out this year? Much less?
anyone know what teams if any are still interested in Damon? Is it just the Tigers and Rays?
CD
February 4th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
It’s gonna get ugly for Damon.
Jim Thome just signed with the Twins for $2.2 million, a big reduction from his $13 million salary from last year. And Thome had good numbers last year, 24 HRs, 74 RBIs, .249 in 107 games.
Don’t see Damon getting much more than $2.2 million.
*****************
For that price we could have signed him and not Mr. Randy Winn
That’s sad, Erica.
A-Rod will have a big year as he does every year…
I bat Granderson 2nd and Johnson 5th.
CG will see lots of fastballs and hit well in the #2 hole. I would not doubt Grandy matches Damon’s 107 runs out of the 2 hole.
NJ has a great eye and will hit for more power this year. I can see NJ matching Sui’s RBI total no problem.
NJ is better protection for A-Rod than Posada. Posada will only play in about 120 games.
S.o.S.
exactly! Just like it is intriguing to have a guy like Sori or Grandy with a speed/power combo at the top of your lineup both guys however secondary skillsets are better served in the middle to lower part of an order to take advantage of rbi chances.
They are low .obp/high strikeout hitters.
A guy like Beltran is different in that he’s a low k/high .obp guy with the power/speed combo who is dynamic in the 2 3 spot in an order.
Nick in SF in NC
February 4th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
That’s sad, Erica.
**********
You are just sweating it out that this is dragging on so you can’t collect/brag
Sorry GB to stir up “SA”!
Earlier somebody linked to a CNNSI article about SP acquisitions. The blurb on Vasquez/NYY mentioned how well they did last season despite Wang/Mitre…I looked into that a little and the numbers are pretty interesting. The Yankee staff allowed 753 runs in 1,450 innings. However, Wang/Mitre actually gave up 12% of the team’s runs, despite only pitching 6% of the innings. Another advantage of Vasquez should be that the bullpen will pitch a limited number of innings. Consider that Wang, Mitre, Albie, Veras, Edwar, and Tomko combined to pitch only 195 innings (likely less than Vasquez will this year) yet they allowed over 20% of the team’s runs.
No. I meant sad that you still don’t get it. Damon wasn’t/isn’t signing with the Yanks for $2 million.
I mean, maybe if he doesn’t have a job in May and the Yanks have a need for him then.
Otherwise, no. He turned down the best offer(s) he’s gotten!
Nick in SF in NC
February 4th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
No. I meant sad that you still don’t get it. Damon wasn’t/isn’t signing with the Yanks for $2 million.
I mean, maybe if he doesn’t have a job in May and the Yanks have a need for him then.
Otherwise, no. He turned down the best offer(s) he’s gotten!
****************
Oh- I get it. I just don’t like it. Therefore, I choose not to believe it.
CG will see lots of fastballs and hit well in the #2 hole.
======
Champ,
I cosign this statement.
Nick in SF in NC
February 4th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
No. I meant sad that you still don’t get it. Damon wasn’t/isn’t signing with the Yanks for $2 million.
I expect Damon to wait until June when someone needs an OF/DH because someone got injured. I can’t see him signing anywhere before that for less than $5M a year.
S.o.S.(GO COLTS!!)
February 4th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
CG will see lots of fastballs and hit well in the #2 hole.
======
Champ,
I cosign this statement.
I approve this statement!! LOL!
When Damon finally signs somewhere and it’s for less than the Yankees offered, don’t blame Cashman!
He’s been Johnny’s best friend. That’s sad too!
S.o.S.(GO COLTS!!) February 4th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
Thoughts on this lineup.
Jeter
Granderson
Johnson
Alex
Tex
Cano
Posada
Swish
Winn
—
You absolutely should not move Alex/Tex down to 4-5 and give both Johnson *and* Granderson more AB’s.
Nick in SF in NC
February 4th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
When Damon finally signs somewhere and it’s for less than the Yankees offered, don’t blame Cashman!
He’s been Johnny’s best friend. That’s sad too!
******************
I’ll blame whomever I want to blame!!! Careful there buddy or it may soon be YOU!
Has anyone written about the Damon debacle specifically blaming Boros?
his rep should take a beating.
Noooooo, don’t blame me. I wanted Damon back.
Nick
Did you hear SF was rockin’ and rollin’ without you today.
S.o.S.(GO COLTS!!)
February 4th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
Thoughts on this lineup.
Jeter
Granderson
Johnson
Alex
Tex
Cano
Posada
Swish
Winn
Personally I think you would be taking too many ABs from A-Rod & Tex by having Granderson/Johnson @ 2/3. My hope is that either Granderson/Cano fulfill their elite potential and earn the #5 spot, with the other being the league’s best #7 hitter. I can see Winn playing over Gardner, if he can return to form he’d be a major asset at the bottom of the lineup. Besides health, I think the key to this season will be Granderson/Cano and Joba/Hughes…if those guys perform up to their capabilities we’ll hear whispers of dynasty by July.
Hadn’t heard, pat. But I’m boarding my flight home right now. Yikes.
S.o.S.(GO COLTS!!)
February 4th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
CG will see lots of fastballs and hit well in the #2 hole.
======
Champ,
I cosign this statement.
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so will Nick Johnson….as I stated in post from this morning the Yanks #2 hitters saw fastballs just under 70% of the time last season which was 4th best in the league.
If the yanks really wanted to exploit that then they would hit Cano in the #2 hole as he’s the best fastball hitter on the team and actually led the majors in .baa vs 1st pitch fastballs last year….
However the most important offensive stat in baseball related winning games is RUNS. The idea all teams have is to have as many oppurtunities with men on base for you rbi bats during the course of the game.
That’s why the Yanks braintrust thought let’s sign Nick Johnson and his .430 obp to hit second behind Jeter and in front of Tex and ARod.
The question they asked themselves was,” how many runs would we likely score if 40-43% of the time Jeter and or Nick Johnson is on base with Tex and ARod coming up?
I see we actually have people thinking thru the lineup in this thread and how it will actually work next season. A lot more thought than Cashman put into it when he assembled it IMHO
Uncle Ellsworth (Expert textpert choking smokers, don’t you think the joker laughs at you) February 4th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Has anyone written about the Damon debacle specifically blaming Boros?
his rep should take a beating.
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Won’t happen.
The press loves Boras because he’s a quote machine and he constantly feeds reporters with leaks.
When the press loves you, you can do no wrong. Conversely, when the press hates you, you can do no right (See ARod/PeteAbe).
DYD INDA WUL
February 4th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
GB, Either YS has a historically low triples total or the Yankees have had a dearth of speedsters through the years. Maybe the statheads can help us with that one.
All I’m saying is that along the lines of your dead-on comment that Granderson will likely not have the need to try to yank everything out to right, if he at least learns to hit the gap in left center, he could ring up an unusually high number of three-baggers for the Yankees, if not for YS.
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Except for a few occassional leaders in triples like Williams and Jeter along with a one time good total by Cabrera, the yanks haven’t had many triples shooters since they lost their 457 foot gap and 461 foot center field. At the old Stadium (pre-1974), they had some good triples hitters and the defense couldn’t play hitters against the fences. hard to believe that Williams and jeter, with all of their speed, never reached a single season double figure and neither reached 60 career total in 15 years. gardner may become the first double figure triples hitter for the yanks since the 60s, including Mickey Rivers.
Thome got 1.5 mil with the remainder in plate appearance incentives.
And those PA’s could be hard to come by.
Still, Damon has more to offer than Thome but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll get more $$$.
It’s funny but last week I heard Damon say that his original goal, and what he instructed Boras to seek, was Yankees / 2 year contract.
And he got it.
Johnny would have been wise to listen to Marcellus Wallace’s lesson on “Pride” when considering the Yankees offer.
RayVT
February 4th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Sorry GB to stir up “SA”!
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It’s good to see that I finally have some help in keeping Randy out of trouble. He’s getting to be a real handful.
new post re: Jeter on MLB TV
Nick- Sounds like SF was far enough out that you should be okay but your car alarm (if you have one) may still be going off when you get home.
“That’s why the Yanks braintrust thought let’s sign Nick Johnson and his .430 obp to hit second behind Jeter and in front of Tex and ARod.”
I agree, batting NJ outside of the top two spots in the lineup would be squandering his #1 asset. NJ won’t create opportunities with his legs, but how often would Granderson attempt to steal? Maybe 30 times? Going first to third…Tex singled in about 13% of his plate appearances last year. When Tex doesn’t make an out, it’s usually going to be a walk or an extra-base hit. In those situations, the speed of the guy in front of him is less important. Speed helps, no doubt, but it isn’t a replacement for just being on base as often as possible.
Jeter
Johnson
Tex
Alex
Cano
Granderson
Posada
Swisher
Gardner
That is one sick lineup. And Cano is definitely more of a #5 than Posada or Granderson. Sure, he has struggled there before, but if we don’t put him there how can he ever get over those struggles?
He profiles as a #3 or #5 as he tries to raise his walks totals.
GB, I was just thinking about Mickey Rivers. Granderson kind of walks like him (no offense intended). You also reminded me of the drives out to the monuments. If memory serves me, I believe I saw a young Murcer chase a few out there.
I can see Gardner slapping his triples down the line. But I see Granderson, (if he figures it out) going to the gap with power.
Granderson’s stretching a gapper from a double to a triple also depends for that matter on how he’s played and who’s manning left and center for the unfortunate opponents.
It could be a great year for Yankee triples between GGBG & Granderson.
If somebody had told me one year ago that Damon would not be a Yankee in 2010, I would have been a believer but not signed by any team on February 4th ?
Scott Boras must be content and satisfied with the commissions he made from other clients or else Damon really is THAT greedy.
((Posted in line with the theme of the original post))
Analysis of Jeter & Johnson being on base for Tex & A-Rod:
Jeter’s career OBP = 38.8%, Johnson’s career OBP = 40.2%
DJ on* DJ off NJ on* NJ off | one on* both on*
38.8 …. 40.2 …. | …. 15.6
38.8 …. …. 59.8 | 23.2 ….
…. 61.2 40.2 …. | 24.6 ….
…. 61.2 …. 59.8 | …. ….
TOTAL On Base Percent = 47.8 + 15.6 = 63.4%
Net results– Either Jeter or Johnson should be on base* 47.8% of the time when Tex comes up to bat (or ARod if he bats 3rd); both should be on* 15.6% of the time; and either one or both should be on* 63.4% of the time. Of course, for Tex’s 2nd+ at bat it is also possible that other runners could be on base (GGBG, Swish, Cano).
*Note- these numbers are not adjusted for home runs, on by error, or runner lost due to DP. Thus, actual frequency of DJ or NJ being on base when Tex comes up would be somewhat different. I’m looking into adding these events to the analysis. Some preliminary numbers:
– Note that DJ’s career HR rate is 2.3%, and 2.5% last year. NJ’s career HR rate is 2.9%, although it was only 1.4% last year.
– DJ’s Reached on error (ROE) rate last year was 1%. NJ’s was 0.5%
– NJ’s GDP rate is 2.3%, although with a DJ’s higher OBP rate batting in front of him, his DP rate could go up to 3%.
Note- Granderson’s career OBP = 34.4% (32.7% in 2009); his career HR rate is 3.5% (4.2% in 2009); his 2009 ROE rate 0.3%; his career GDP rate is 0.6% (0.1% in 2009).
Thus, doing the calculations as in the chart above, the TOTAL line for Jeter + Granderson batting 1 & 2 would be (career stats):
TOTAL On Base Percent = 46.6 + 13.3 = 59.9%
(( Please post a note under this post if you read it here. Thx. ))