Bruney’s walk rate is troubling.  If he gets that under control, look out.

one thing i have noticed about Vizcaino is that he has issued NINE intentional BB’s this year.  in some of those situations, he probably pitched himself into that spot, but others were purely tactical, including some where he was brought into the game to issue an IBB.

there is no doubt he was craptastic for a solid 6 weeks, but i wonder how many of those IBBs came around on him to score

i guess it’s more likely the explanation for his recovery is simply that he had dead arm from pitching so much in April, and now his velocity is back.

Welcome back SG.  You realize of course if the Yankees start losing you have to leave again.

As always, wonderful charts.  A few things I’d like to say about them:

1) Mike Myers receives a lot of flak for being extraneous, unnecessary, etc.  But I think all he has done this year is pitch well, and has even done a good job in long relief when needed.  Sure, I’d rather have a mid-90’s Mike Stanton as the primary lefty, but Myers has done quite well.

2) Has there been any research done into trying to determine “fault” in SB situations?  In other words, I think there have been several times this year, where Posada has on zero chance of throwing out the base-runner, but it still counts against him.  I wonder if there is a way to determine how many base-stealers an average catcher would get, given jump of the runner, time pitcher takes to get the ball to home, etc.  I’ll need to check The Fielding Bible to see if they tried that, but I don’t recall anything about it.

3) I heard again - this time from Waldman on the radio - about how Giambi’s injury was the catalyst that started the Yankees to winning, because now they are playing more small-ball, moving the runners, etc.  I’m just so tired of that.  The reason they are winning more now is they are pitching better, fielding better, AND hitting better (getting on base more, getting more XBH’s).

All I want to know is when can we go back to booing Alex.

The reason they are winning more now is they are pitching better, fielding better, AND hitting better (getting on base more, getting more XBH’s).

i think it has more to do with the schedule. 

but i agree, unless Giambi being out has somehow sparked Abreu, then that’s a load of BS.  b/c make no mistake about it, Abreu is the reason for the turnaround.  3 weeks ago, the Yankees basically traded Bubba Crosby for Manny Ramirez.

Sure, I�d rather have a mid-90�s Mike Stanton as the primary lefty, but Myers has done quite well.

Myers is one of the unsung heroes of the team so far this year.  With his apparent improvement against righties, he’s a lot more useful to the team.  Also, setting up for the platoon advantage is smart, statistically sound baseball. As hot as Posada has been this year I’d like to see him and Matsui flip-flopped at some point because it breaks up the Matsui/Cano grouping.

A lot of people don’t like carrying 12 pitchers because it limits the bench, but really, what’s that extra bench guy going to be doing? 

Has there been any research done into trying to determine �fault� in SB situations?

What’d be interesting to see is to track some pitchers who’ve moved around a lot from team to team and see how the different catchers they’ve had did with those pitchers compared to their averages.  I’m not aware of any studies examining it, but it’s obvious that some pitchers are much easier to run on than others, and it ends up making the catcher’s look worse than they are.

One thing to realize when we look at defensive ratings, and really all the nunmbers listed above, is the distinction between value and ability.  When we look at someone like Mientkiewicz, he shows a slightly negative defensive value in ZR this year.  That doesn’t mean he’s not a good defensive player, it just means that for whatever reason he’s converted fewer outs than an average player.  It could be a more challenging distribution of chances, some bad/unlucky hops, or a change in his positioning.  Thinking that because someone is good or bad because of 1/3 of a season’s worth of numbers is a misuse of statistics.

I went off on a tangent, but back to the catcher thing.  Posada may be a better defensive player than the numbers show this year ability-wise, but the SB he’s allowing do hurt the team. 

I heard again - this time from Waldman on the radio - about how Giambi�s injury was the catalyst that started the Yankees to winning, because now they are playing more small-ball, moving the runners, etc.

It’s just lazy reporting.  The numbers our out there for anyone to do the research on the real reasons why the team is doing well.  Team ERA of 3.79, that’s not small ball.  Team SLG of .511, that’s not small ball. 

Why don’t they say that the real catalyst was Mientkiewicz being hurt?  The resurgence happened right around the same time, didn’t it?

Incidentally, how about Wang for pitcher of the month?  He’s 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA in June, and should get two more starts.

Thanks for all that SG.  Yes, I know the small sample with Posada and all that.  But I have heard a number of times - probably mostly here - that Posada hasn’t been able to throw anyone out this year.  The numbers obviously support that, but it just seems to me that he hasn’t really had the opportunity to throw many out.  Obviously I haven’t tracked every SB opportunity, nor do I know which ones *should* be made.  It seems to me like the type of thing that John Dewan was trying to get to in The Fielding Bible, so I was curious if any of that was out there.  Apparently isn’t yet.

Why don’t they say that the real catalyst was Mientkiewicz being hurt?  The resurgence happened right around the same time, didn’t it?

I think part of it was that Torre started this idea - though I can’t attribute it to a particular quote - and the media has run with it.

Incidentally, how about Wang for pitcher of the month?

If he can keep striking out batters like last night, how about Wang for Cy Young?

Re: Posada… to be fair, even when he DID throw a guy out (by three freaking feet!), he was called safe. 

Wang for Cy - possible, I suppose, though the time missed with the hammy hurts a bit.  He’s not gonna pitch 200 innings this year.

Wang for Cy - possible, I suppose, though the time missed with the hammy hurts a bit.  He’s not gonna pitch 200 innings this year.

Very true…but if from here on out he can his K-rate is anything approaching 7, his ERA will likely be below 3, and he’ll have a good shot at 20 wins.  Last night was probably more the exception than the (new) rule.  But we can always hope.

Why don’t they say that the real catalyst was Mientkiewicz being hurt?  The resurgence happened right around the same time, didn’t it?

if you want to trace it to an exact moment, i have one word for you: “HA!”

By September they’ll tell us if the surge is working

Wang is not a fluke.  He’s a statistical outlier.

if you want to trace it to an exact moment, i have one word for you: “HA!”

Jon Miller actually made that point last night, that the Yankees began their streak that night.

I think it was just a chance by Miller to take a shot at A-Rod, but it was funny nonetheless.

Hey, SG, do you have any info about the Chinese guys the Yankees signed? Or no more info than we’re getting in the news articles?

Anyhow, good piece, SG. Good to have you back.

Wang is not a fluke.  He’s a statistical outlier.

He’s neither.

Pitchers with low strikeout rates don’t stick because they have an unlucky season that results in a 6.50 ERA and are never heard from again.  Wang will probably have a horrible season down the road, but he’s earned his spot in the majors and will stick.  He will generally be good, occasionally great.

I don’t think Wang’s a fluke, I was poking fun at the haters with my comment.  His stuff is too good for him to be a fluke, but he’ll have to adjust if he wants to have a long career.  We’re seeing signs of some of those adjustments already in flashes.

Hey, SG, do you have any info about the Chinese guys the Yankees signed? Or no more info than we’re getting in the news articles?

Unfortunately not, but I’ll keep an eye out.

I was wrong about Myers. His ineffectiveness against lefties caused me to want him to get DFA’d.