What about ‘Whatever’???  I don’t think they lost two straight with it.

This might be my favorite non-Posado lineup.

What about ‘Whatever’???  I don’t think they lost two straight with it.

Gotta pick our spots.  It may be time to stress the importance of these games again.

what’s their record in games started by CC? 7-10? 8-9?

I guess 8-9, since the being under .500 would change with a win tonight.

I like the non-out strategy there. Excellent.

I like the non-out strategy there. Excellent.

Seconded!

I guess 8-9, since the being under .500 would change with a win tonight.

Yep, 8-9 entering tonight.

Bases-empty Cano strikes again.

Cano-is-a-good-player strikes again.

Hey fellas. Went to my wee cousin Caits wedding in Belfast Saturday.
Poteen and stout. No Mrs. Fun weekend.
I kind of missed you lads. I’m shot. See yiz tomorrow.

Way to go Cervelli.  I have a good feeling about this game.

Serious question, at what point would you accept that Cano’s performance with runners on wasn’t some sample-size issue and was due to some underlying factor?  How many seasons/PA?

Nice that Gardner moved up on the sac fly - or was it the obvious thing to do?

Don’t most hitting stats stabilize at about 300 AB?

Welcome back thurm.  Team’s actually playing well, shocking but true.

Yikes, Cervelli’s production is approaching Molina’s projections for 2009:

Cervelli 2009: .257/.273/.324
Molina’s 2009 average projection: .232/.270/.334

I’ll take the sac fly there though.

Wow, strike three on Jeter there.

Yikes, Cervelli’s production is approaching Molina’s projections for 2009:

Yikes as in approaching from above or below?

“Serious question, at what point would you accept that Cano’s performance with runners on wasn’t some sample-size issue and was due to some underlying factor?”

I’ve already done so to some extent here.  I just find it tiresome that every single Cano AB is the subject of confirmation-bias ratcheting.

Serious question, at what point would you accept that Cano’s performance with runners on wasn’t some sample-size issue and was due to some underlying factor?  How many seasons/PA?

I’ve read 2000 PAs for most splits.  Cano’s around 400 PA with RISP.

While I generally think the notion of “the clutch hitter” is over-stated, I do think there is such a thing as an ‘un-clutch hitter’ who can have an approach that makes them consistently underperform in higher leverage situations.  Cano has consistently performed worse in higher leverage situations (career .260/.295/.403 with RISP compared to .322/.355/.512 with the bases empty).  Does this mean his hack-tastic style makes him easier to pitch to in more important situations?  You’d think that if that was the case he should be pitched that way all the time, right?

While I wouldn’t claim Cano’s RISP splits in his career to date are definitive proof that he is not clutch, they are certainly at least circumstantial evidence that he may be.

57 pitches for Baker already.  Always good to get into the other team’s bullpen early in a series.

Yikes as in approaching from above or below?

Yikes as in trending downwards, although it should have been expected.  He’d never really shown enough offensively to justify the numbers he was putting up early in the year.

I just find it tiresome that every single Cano AB is the subject of confirmation-bias ratcheting.

It’s definitely to that point.  I’m counting on his scorching second half making the runners-on woes disappear, and this becoming a moot conversation.  I am, however, a bit of an optimist on this front.

A-Rod K’s - is he relatively unclutch for his career?

Certainly Cano’s BABIPwRISP is oddly low.  If anyone can compare his LD/GB/FB rates w/w/o RISP that would be cool.

I just find it tiresome that every single Cano AB is the subject of confirmation-bias ratcheting.

Eminently fair.  I didn’t really mean much by my statement, just playing off the “confirmation bias” as you said.

SG, I see Cano as having 780 PA with RISP and 1400 PA with the bases empty.  I agree with your statement that his current resume is not proof of unclutchness, but I think I’m definitely on the side that it’s meaningful and should be accounted for when putting together the lineup.

Am I imagining things or has CC yielded more HRs recently.

an ‘un-clutch hitter’ who can have an approach that makes them consistently underperform in higher leverage situations

Or is it that in high leverage situations he changes his approach ? I think deep down he wants to swing, and maybe figures the payoff of driving in runs makes it worth swinging at pitches he otherwise would take.

Does data conveniently exist that would allow us to compare, for instance, how many pitches he sees in AB’s with RISP versus not ? That might give a clue to what happens to his plate discipline in these situations.

You can see Cervelli there using his glove to indicate he wants CC to keep that change down - and indeed he does.  Nice K.

SG, I see Cano as having 780 PA with RISP and 1400 PA with the bases empty.

Oops, yeah, wandering eye picked up the wrong row. 

Am I imagining things or has CC yielded more HRs recently.

Apr 6, 2009 to May 30, 2009
380 batters faced, 4 HRs (1.0%)

Jun 6, 2009 to Jul 7, 2009
157 batters, faced, 7 HRs (4.4%)

3 swinging strikes in 1 AB all on changeups?  Huh.

My bias will be confirmed if Cano GsIDP here.

Baker’s just about at 70 pitches through 2 and 1/3.

I really wish Sterling would call pitches with a little more detail than “the pitch”

CC squeezed on the 2-0 pitch.

So I wasn’t imagining things.  Damn.

Gameday has 3 of CC’s last 5 pitches as strikes… and all 5 were called balls. Is he really getting squeezed that badly?

No strike zone complaints from Sterling, but Gameday had 3 out of five of those consecutive balls as CLEAR strikes.

I’ve noticed a few close ones.  But the 2-0 to cuddyer was certainly a strike.  A similar high pitch from Baker was called in the first.

Er, not Cuddyer - Punto.

BTW, Kellogg has been squeezing both pitchers.  I thought Jeter was out in the 2nd inning on a 1-2 pitch.

In play, run(s) is so sweet.

I now hate Gomez for one more reason.

Well that’s a shame.

For those without TV, Gomez stole a Grand Slam from A-Rod.  I can’t imagine how the call went on the radio.

I would like to see Swisher apply the non-out strategy right here.

It would be more informative if they (GameDay) indicated that there were both runs and outs on a play.  Only for a few seconds, but I’d find it useful.

I can’t imagine how the call went on the radio.

It was shockingly mediocre, which is to say, brilliant by Sterling’s standards.  He did the “it’s long drive, Gomez back, he’s at the track, he’s at the wall, the ball is…. ..... .....CAUGHT!  Oh whatta catch!”

Only for a few seconds, but I’d find it useful.

I couldn’t agree more.  Or at least do “run” or “runs”....same with “out(s)”.

Another groundout to the right side with RISP for Cano.

He’ll break out of this tremendously bad streak.  He just needs the All Star Break to come and go.

Are there places where to find data on out-of-zone swing habits by Cano with and without RISP?

I think he swung at least three pitches out of the strike zone in that AB.

I think the change in approach with RISP is real with Cano.

[46] - His last 10 games his OPS is .833, last 20 games it’s .882.  He’s been on a decent run.  Unless you just meant with men on base.

The game thread seems dead, no post over the last 15 minutes or so. Is it because

1. People don’t care.
2. The business side of the game is not getting proper attention.
3. Pitcher is not battling.
4. Yankees are actually winning, thus making the mandatory bitching moot?

I think the board is really creative and funny when it swears during losses, but we may not want to abandon the community here when the team is actually winning.

Healthy helping of [4] with a little [3] thrown in.

Teixeira heating up again after the ASB would make me happy.

IDK, I’m not particularly into this game for some reason. CC is pitching really well and the offense is kicking ass.

Nothing to complain about, but nothing that I can get super excited about today.

Although it would be cool if the entire lineup got a hit. Looking at you ARod.

The game thread seems dead, no post over the last 15 minutes or so. Is it because

1. People don’t care.
2. The business side of the game is not getting proper attention.
3. Pitcher is not battling.
4. Yankees are actually winning, thus making the mandatory bitching moot?

5. Somebody’s cutting up some watermelon to enjoy with the rest of the game.

Teixeira heating up again after the ASB would make me happy.

Yeah, this lineup is much more potent with Teix hitting well.

Giambi looks practically dead as far as bat speed is concerned.

Somebody’s cutting up some watermelon to enjoy with the rest of the game.

Hmm. I have watermelon…

The Singleton-Cone duo really works in the booth.  They tell interesting stories without having to be prompted by Kay.

I am at a weird situation where I am seeing the My9 feed and listening to the Twins broadcasters over the internet. The Twins broadcaster is relieved that neither Rodriguez nor Ramirez is going to the All Star game, and it will be clean fun.

As opposed to probably adulterated fun.

Yay Cano!

There it is.

Hip hip Cano!

Hmm. I have watermelon…

I highly recommend it.

My TV is f’ed up.  Cano just got a single, but there were runners on base.  This does not compute.

OK, I’ll complain about the Twins broadcast. Play-by-play guy said a little while back that Kevin Slowey “should be back to form by the time he comes off the DL”.

Oh, and they were discussing the AFLAC quiz, and one of them observed that the main thing all the names they were throwing around had in common was that they all played first base. Today’s question: who was the last 1B to lead the league in RBI ?

What just happened? I thought I saw Cano get a hit and an RBI, but that can’t be right.

[46] - His last 10 games his OPS is .833, last 20 games it’s .882.  He’s been on a decent run.  Unless you just meant with men on base.

I did.

The game thread seems dead, no post over the last 15 minutes or so.

Working on the game for stats.  Otherwise I’d be snarkin’ away.

I like how the Yanks are almost 60 pitches into the Twins bullpen in the 6th inning of the first game of the series.

Yay Gardner!

Mark it 8, dude.

No, mark it 9. Wahoo !

Steal home on the knuckler!

Yay Gardner.  Now hitting .283/.359/.416.

Yay Cervello!

Yay Cano!

Yay indeed!  This is one of those times when confirmation is not a good thing

Cervelli has a helluva nice swing for a backup catcher.

I highly recommend it.

It was/is delicious.

Does this mean I have to eat watermelon every game?

All right, you folks keep it going. I have to go to bed somewhat early tonight.

Goodnight all.

[71] A backup backup catcher.

Was that… a runs party?

Does this mean I have to eat watermelon every game?

is that a bad thing?

Was that… a runs party?

It was in fact lots o’ runs.

is that a bad thing?

Definitely not.

Why is Brendan Harris hitting second for the twins?

[80] The Twins are…. an interesting… team offensively. If ain’t Mauer or Monreau, it ain’t hitting.

Twins TV team have been complaining that they don’t bunt enough.

What happen to Damon?

Resting regulars in a laugher?

[84] Ah yeah, but why not Hinske? Is Cabrera lower on the pole?

Entire starting lie up with hits. solid.

Stat padder.

Twins guys just love making references to the Yankees payroll and their habit of “backing up a truck full of money to XXX’s front porch”.

I wonder how much of the Twin’s payroll is subsidized by the Yankees through revenue sharing. I say we add it to the Yankee payroll figure, and the next time some asshole cracks wise about the “$200 million payroll” we correct them and say “no, no. $200 million is only what they spent on OUR team. The Yankee payroll is actually like $350M”.

Cabrera is the better defender.

Tomko for two?

Nice catch by Melky.

Nice game by CC. No reason for him to come out in the 8th.

Ransom trying his best to create an error on the play.
How long until someone realizes he’s probably better suited as a 6th outfielder?

Gahd, the Yankees have stranded 11 baserunners tonite. What’s wrong with the offense ?

Tomko for two?

That’s why he’s on the team.  Maybe they give Bruney an inning to see if he can’t fix whatever ails him.

Ransom trying his best to create an error on the play.
How long until someone realizes he’s probably better suited as a 6th outfielder NBA mascot doing slam dunks off a mini-trampoline?

Tampa Bay is still in the Pythag lead, but it’s getting a lot closer.  This morning, the Yankees were +60 runs, with Tampa Bay at +75, but TB picked up only +2 today, so if the game ends at 10-1, their lead will just be 8 runs.

If.

his morning, the Yankees were +60 runs, with Tampa Bay at +75, but TB picked up only +2 today, so if the game ends at 10-1, their lead will just be 8 runs.

We’ve got to remember that the Yankees played without Rodriguez for more than a month, that April Wang was awful, and that the pen was horrendous in April as well.  I would pay less attention to the season-long run differential right now than I would in a typical season.

We’ve got to remember that the Yankees played without Rodriguez for more than a month, that April Wang was awful, and that the pen was horrendous in April as well.  I would pay less attention to the season-long run differential right now than I would in a typical season.

True.  But TB was without Kazmir for a while (and he pitched badly for a few games) and they have also suffered injuries.

But yeah, Yankees injuries are probably > Rays injuries.

I would pay less attention to the season-long run differential right now than I would in a typical season.

Another factor is that the Yankees have been a little unlucky/unclutch at combining good PAs into runs.  Their team wOBA is 5 points higher than TB (http://www.fangraphs.com/teams.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&type=1&season=2009&month=0)

If we view the difference between run elements and runs as unlucky, then there is even less to worry about.