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Live by the sword ...

Frayed Knot Apr 25 2011 03:42 PM

Whenever I flick over to check on a Yanqui game it’s usually the second inning or so and almost always I find the Yanx are already up by 2 or 3 runs so my first reaction is; “OK, who hit the homer?” And, sure enough, I find out that someone hit a 1st inning HR with one or two on base and the other team is trying to play catch-up for the rest of the night. So this led to a little investigating. - Despite playing the fewest games in MLB so far (18 games, all other teams have played between 20 and 23) the Yanx do indeed lead the majors in HRs: 36 while only Texas (30) has more than 27 - The Yanx are also way out ahead in R/G with 6.06, more than 3/4 R/G ahead of Texas and nearly 1.75/g above 2011’s ML average. Their BA (8th best of 30 teams) and OBA (3rd) are good, but hardly outrageous. - But what’s really stunning is just how dependent they are on the HR. More than 60% of their runs so far have come via the HR - almost double the league norm of 32.4% (Mets = 29.3%) Main “culprits” so far - Russell Martin (6 in 66 PAs) - he hit a combined 12 over the past two seasons in nearly 1,000 PAs - Jorge Posada - nearing 40 and manning the DH spot regularly for the first time, he’s hitting a robust .153 but 6 of his 9 hits are HRs - Curtis Granderson (7) - he hit 30 once in Detroit so it’s not like he’s incapable, but is on pace for about 65 and 12 of his 19 hits are XBHs. 7 also makes him tied for the ML lead with the likes of Pujols, Tulowitski, Bautista, Braun, & Beltre - Teixeira (6), Rodriguez (5), and Cano (4) are certainly more expected to have multiples. Andruw and Gardener have 1 each. Probably helps that 11 of their first 18 (plus their next six straight) are at home. The trick is going to be whether they can keep this up (not likely) OR whether the weak spots they do have in their lineup so far: Gardener (.140/.197/.263), Jeter (17 of 19 hits are singles), Posada (other than the power) are going to be there to pick up the slack when the homer barrage starts to fade.

Fman99 Apr 25 2011 03:50 PM Re: Live by the sword ...

Oh, see, by the title, I thought this was the cock joke thread. Oh, wait, that's EVERY thread.

Ceetar Apr 25 2011 06:02 PM Re: Live by the sword ...

Gardner hitting a robust .138 now.

Edgy DC Apr 25 2011 06:09 PM Re: Live by the sword ...

Frayed Knot wrote: The trick is going to be whether they can keep this up (not likely) OR whether the weak spots they do have in their lineup so far: Gardener (.140/.197/.263), Jeter (17 of 19 hits are singles), Posada (other than the power) are going to be there to pick up the slack when the homer barrage starts to fade. I figured the trick was going to be keeping their starting pitchers from imploding when the worm turns on them.

Frayed Knot Apr 25 2011 06:24 PM Re: Live by the sword ...

Edgy DC wrote: The trick is going to be whether they can keep this up (not likely) OR whether the weak spots they do have in their lineup so far: Gardener (.140/.197/.263), Jeter (17 of 19 hits are singles), Posada (other than the power) are going to be there to pick up the slack when the homer barrage starts to fade. I figured the trick was going to be keeping their starting pitchers from imploding when the worm turns on them. Well that too. CC has pitched decently but hasn't been getting wins. Burnett's actually been kind of good. It's been ancient warrior Freddie Garcia & that escaped Thanksgiving Day float Bartolo Colon who have been keeping them solvent lately. Meanwhile Phil Hughes cut short his re-hab start tonight with ... more dead arm syndrome.

soupcan Apr 25 2011 07:41 PM Re: Live by the sword ...

But they play 81 games in a bandbox and ARod, Texiera, Posada, Cano and Granderson are going to keep hitting them even if Martin and the rest of them cool off, no? I'd think that having a park like that and relying in the homerun isn't necessarily a dumb thing. Earl Weaver won lots of games that way.

Edgy DC Apr 25 2011 07:53 PM Re: Live by the sword ...

I think making a more reachable fence makes A-Rod and Teixiera that much less special. If you put the fences 90 feet away, A-Rod would hit 200 homers, but I might be able to hit 40 myself. A big leaguer like Josh Turner? He'd hit 120-130. Now, the fences aren't 90 feet away, but the difference in the effect is only a matter of degreees. But that's the consequences of making the highest achievement of an at-bat that much more achievable. It has a normalizing impact on their highly paid superstar sluggers.

Frayed Knot Apr 25 2011 08:56 PM Re: Live by the sword ...

soupcan wrote: But they play 81 games in a bandbox and ARod, Texiera, Posada, Cano and Granderson are going to keep hitting them even if Martin and the rest of them cool off, no? They'll hit a lot, but they won't hit them like this. Plus when your offense depends so much on the HR you don't get around to building runs when the power does slump (like tonight when they got 2-hit by Philip Humber and a bad ChiSox bullpen) I'd think that having a park like that and relying in the homerun isn't necessarily a dumb thing. Earl Weaver won lots of games that way. Sure, if only it were as easy as simply telling a lineup of almost entirely post-30 players to just go hit HRs at well over their career rates or have a ridiculous percentage of their hits go for HRs.

soupcan Apr 27 2011 08:46 PM Re: Live by the sword ...

Yanks beat the ChiSox 3-1. Cano, 3-run home run in the 1st inning.

Frayed Knot Apr 27 2011 09:04 PM Re: Live by the sword ...

Which now makes it 71 of their 114 runs via the HR - or 62.3%