Yankee's Wins and Loses Breakdown

I wanted to take a look at how the Yankees have won and loss their games this season since so many people know about the 14walk off wins the Yankees have this season (The Most since 1943). I am going to have 3 categories for both wins and losses asides from total, home, and away: 1. One Run Games 2. Blow out Games 3. Extra Innings.

*Blow outs are by 8 or more runs (8 runs= 2 Grandslams)

Wins

Total: 94

Home: 52
Away: 42
One Run Games: 17
Blow outs: 14

Extra Innings: 7

Loses
Total: 54
Home: 23
Away: 31
One Run Games: 15
Blow outs: 5
Extra Innings:3

SP in Blow outs:
CC Sabathia: W-5 L-1
A.J. Burnett: W-5 L-2

Chin-Ming Wang: L-2

Philip Hughes: W-2
Andy Pettitte: W-1
Sergio Mitre: W-1

Now it could just be coinscidence, but the Yankees do seem to score the most for the pitchers seen as there Ace and #2 guy. Now granted A.J. hasn't been himself of late, but the only start where he seemed to have his stuff, over the last months time, occured in a Yankees blow out of the Rays. So it may be said the Yankee hitters can tell early on when their pitchers are on, and there is a major release of pressure off their backs. Afterall It could just be wild coinscidence, but it's still fun to see that the Yankees have only been blown out 3 times since the early season Wang disaster. Also note since they have 14 games in which they've blown out opponents and have played a total of 147 games they have practically blown out teams in 10% of their games. Hopefully the Yankee bats feel the same confidence and ease in every game come playoff time!

Matsuzaka Effect

After Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka's outstanding comeback from the DL last night, 6IP 3 Hits 3BB 5K, I wanted to take a look at how the Yankee's top 5 now compared to Boston's top 5.

1.
NYY: CC Sabathia- 17-7 3.42 ERA 178K 58BB
BOS: Josh Beckett- 15-6 3.82 ERA 180K 51BB
*Post Allstar Break: CC- 9-1 2.75 ERA / Beckett- 4-3 4.60 ERA

2.
NYY: AJ Burnett- 11-9 4.33 ERA 167K 87BB
BOS: Jon Lester- 13-7 3.29 ERA 211K 60BB
*vs. BOS/NYY: AJ- 0-2 8.85 ERA / Lester- 1-0 2.70 ERA

3.
NYY: Andy Pettitte-13-6 4.14 ERA 140K 67BB
BOS: Daisuke Matsuzaka- 2-5 7.02 ERA 39K 21BB (9 starts- DL: all of July/Aug)

4.
NYY: Joba Chamberlain- 8-5 4.39 ERA 122K 68BB
BOS: Tim Wakefield- 11-4 4.22ERA 68K 41BB
*Post Allstar Break: Joba- 4-3 4.61 ERA / Wakefield- 0-1 3.46 ERA (2 starts)

5.
NYY: Sergio Mitre- 3-3 7.63 ERA 27K 12BB
BOS: Clay Buckholz- 5-3 3.66 ERA 49K 30BB
*Both called up in July

Obviously teams don't use 5-man rotations in the playoffs, but those 5th starters often become the playoff longmen when needed. The discrepency between talent in that 5 spot is scary. Now Joba is still a playoff question mark so that is yet to be determined, but come the playoffs if the Yankees are playing Boston in the ALCS the hitting can NOT have what Yankee fans have come to call typical performances. It is very questionable as to whether the Yankees can win a 7 game series if it is decided by the pitching so scoring early will be key!

Fight Night Round 17 of 18

Ok Just Quick Mention of the Posada Carlson Fight here do not want to spend to much time on it, but in the 17th of 18 meetings between the Yanks and Jays Posada and Carlson went toe to toe after Posada had a pitch go past his back. Now this isnt a major surprise since Yankee pitching had been wild all night and last game Josh Towers plunked Ruiz in the face. The only problem I have here was the extensive instigating Carlson did. On the Gardener double to right Jesse should have been backing up the 3rd base side of home plate but instead went to the first base side setting up a face to face run in with Posada which is when the major battle went down. Not being a homer, because I'd rather seen Posada just ignore the ignorance instead of risking injury to himself or another player, but what's done is done. Now we wait to see what the suspension is and just be happy no Yankee was hurt bad.

Full Fight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAqi4MqoiHI

2010 MLB Schedule Released. Wait Really? Really.

Today around 1:00p.m. Eastern time the MLB released the 2010 season schedule for all 30 big league teams. Now unless I am mistaken this is quite early for Bud Selig to already set a schedule for next season; especially since the 2009 season is not yet even in the playoffs. All of the other pro sports leagues release their schedule following the conclusion of the playoffs in that respective league, including little followed leagues such as MLL and NLL (both lacrosse leagues). This is absolutely absurd for the schedule to be put out there so early, BUT since we have it why not take a little look see.


First thing the Yankees open the season @Boston for a 3 game series in Fenway. Another questionable decision by the MLB since it makes more sense to have opening day be games that may not sell out otherwise. Boston/NYY will always sell out, but it does add for extra excitement if your a Yankee or Red Sox fan. The Yankees home opener will be on April 13th vs. the Rangers, and overall in Aprilthe Yankees play 12 games vs. the AL West (6 against LAA). May brings us our first Interleague series @ the NYM from 5/21-5/23. Then comes June which has the Yankees 5 other interleague Series against the Astros, Phillies, Mets, Diamondbacks, and Dodgers (in LA so no NY return for Torre unless its a Dodgers/Yankees World Series). July 12th and 13th brings the 2010 Homerun Derby and Allstar Game, to be held in Angel Stadium, which will mark the 3rd time an Allstar game has been played in Anaheim. August and September should bring some exciting playoff push baseball and the season ends in most likely semi-dramatic fashion in Boston 10/1-10/3. Hopefully come the 2010 playoffs Yankee fans will be watching a World Series defence and run for a 28th title by their NY Yankees.

For a full view of the Yankees 2010 Schedule:
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=nyy&m=10&y=2010

Getting Ready for the Postseason...

So believe it or not Postseason baseball is less than a month away! Currently sitting at 92-52 the Yankees have 18 games remaining, and this is now the time to take a serious look at the lineup and pitching staff going into the Postseason. The hitters Postseason stats are as follows:

1) Derek Jeter- .309 AVG 17 HR 49 RBI
2) Johnny Damon- .278 AVG 7 HR 21 RBI
3) Mark Teixeira- .467 AVG 0 HR 1 RBI (1 Series)

4) Alex Rodriguez- .279 AVG 7 HR 17 RBI

5) Hideki Matsui- .302 AVG 6 HR 26 RBI

6) Jorge Posada- .236 AVG 9 HR 31 RBI

7) Robinso Cano- .245 AVG 2 HR 8 RBI

8) Nick Swisher- .208 0 HR 1 RBI (NOT 1 Series)

9) Melky Cabrera- .158 AVG 1 HR 2 RBI

*NOTE: Yankees four main bench guys (Molina, Hinske, Gardner, and Hairston Jr.) have a combined 12 Postseason ABs.

The top five batters he seem to give the Yankees a great chance of success this Postseason, but everyone knows about A-Rods struggles the past 3 playoff appearences (.136 AVG 1 HR 1 RBI) and for the Yankees to turn it around that must change. Also the bottom four guys in the lineup will need to produce to prolong innings and wear down strong pitchers such as Verlander or Jackson of Detroit.

Next up Pitchers:

1) CC Sabathia- 2-3 W/L 7.92 ERA 24K 22BB
2) AJ Burnett- N/A
3) Andy Pettitte- 14-9 W/L 3.96 ERA 139K 60BB
4) Joba Chamberlain- 3.2 IP 4.91 ERA (2 Games in Relief)

RP: Chad Gaudin- 3.1 IP 0.00 ERA

RP: Alfredo Aceves- N/A
RP: Sergio Mitre- N/A
RP:Brian Bruney- 2.2 IP 3.38 ERA
RP: David Robertson- N/A
RP: Phil Coke- N/A
RP: Philip Hughes- 5.2 IP 1.59 ERA
CL: Mariano Rivera- 0.77 ERA 34 SV

Pitching is quite interesting seeing as it is currently unknown how Joba will be used in the playoffs since they seem to be putting him in the bullpen for the 1st round. Will Joba be able to stretch out outings in the 2nd round? Also the bullpen is young and there is not much experience there. four of the bullpen guys have no playoff experience and besides Mariano the others all have less than 6IP. The starters too are suspect with CC's poor performances in the past and AJ's recent faltures plus lack of playoff experience. The only locks you can find in the Yankees staff are Pettitte and Mariano so hopefully they perform to their usual standards.

The Yankees are looking for a big turn around after the major failures of the past 5 seasons (not counting '01 or '03 where they atleast made it to the World Series) can this be the team to do it?

2,722

CONGRATS DEREK JETER YOU NOW HAVE THE MOST

HITS IN YANKEES HISTORY!

A Deeper Look into the Yankee's Record

All season I have seen the Yankees do a pretty good job at picking eachother up when one guy has a bad day, but just how well have they been able to pick one another up? I decided to take a look at the game log and see what the yankees record was when each player did not recieve a hit in a game they appeared in.

*Note: These stats do NOT exclude games where a player only had one AB in the game.

Yankees common lineup and record when each player did not record a hit:

1) Derek Jeter: 16-13
2) Johnny Damon: 15-23
3) Mark Teixeira: 18-18
4) Alex Rodriguez: 16-14
5) Hideki Matsui: 31-17
6) Jorge Posada: 13-21
7) Robinson Cano: 17-19

8) Nick Swisher: 29-20
9) Melky Cabrera: 36-17

Nothing here is a big shocker. The players who are known to be more valuable to winning are the ones where when they dont hit the Yankee's record is close to .500. It's quite impressive to see Jeter only playing in 29 games where he didn't record a hit since he has appeared in 134 games this season. Maybe the most interesting is the fact the Yankees have the lowest win percentage when Posada and Damon dont record hits. The only evaluation I can give there is Damon is the Yankees leader in runs scored and batting 6th Posada has a lot of ABs with men on base so his bad game tend to be very detrimental to the team. Either way it shows just how many of the starters are extremely valuable to the Yankee's success.

Congrats to Derek Jeter!!!

Congradulations Derek Jeter for tying the great Lou Gehrig atop the Yankees alltime hitlist and cementing your place in Yankee history. Stealing First applauds you. Can't wait for 2,722!

Nick Swisher vs. Jason Giambi Value Battle

After yesterday's exciting finish with Nick Swisher hitting a walkoff homerun, his second of the game, I thought I would take a glimpse of how Swisher's value this season compares to Jason Giambi's from last year. I choose Giambi to compare to Swisher, because when the trade of Swisher was made most people figured him to put up a Giambi type average with an OK number of homeruns, coming off the bench. Then Nady's injury allowed Swisher to start, and here we are now. Giambi's '08 stats and Swisher's '09 stats (to date):


Giambi's 2008 Stats:
AB: 458

AVG: .247
2B: 19

HR: 32
RBI: 96

Runs: 68
BB: 76
SO: 111

OBP: .373

Swisher's 2009 Stats:

AB: 433

AVG: .254

2B: 29

HR: 26

RBI: 77

Runs: 74

BB: 87

SO: 112

OBP: .378

Giambi's 2008 Salary

- $23,428,571

Swisher's 2009 Salary

- $5,400,000

It is clear Giambi had more HR and a decent amount more RBI, but Swisher has the edge in average, doubles, runs, walks, and on-base percentage, while only having one more strikeout. Yet stats are not the big picture in this comparison, because if you take a glimpse at the differential in salary Swisher makes 25% of what Giambi made last season. Swisher has also been a gem in the clubhouse adding energy the Yankees have been looking for. Swisher hasnt hit well in Yankee stadium, but if he can keep his road perfomance going he will be a very essential player for the Yankees come the postseason.

When it comes to value salary wise I thought I'd take the average of there salaries since both give major pluses, but neither is worth Giambi's '08 salary. So as for numbers I think both are worth about 14 million (isn't it unbelievable how that is about half of what the highest paid players recieve).

Giambi's Value= -9million

Swisher's Value= +9million

MLB's Chinese Calendar: Summer of the Carpenter

How good of a Summer is Chris Carpenter having you ask? Well he is on the same team as baseball' best hitter, Albert Pujols, and the league leader in wins, Adam Wainwright, and yet neither has been the best player on the team since July 1st. That title belongs to Chris Carpenter.


Since July 1st Carpenter is 11-0 with a 1.97 ERA, and add to that 2 CG and 1 SHO the man has been unstoppable in the Summer sun. With a 16-3 record and a 2.16 ERA he has all but sured up his case for NL CY Young, the award which since about April 15th was already being handed to Tim Lincecum. The two starts in which he didnt factor into the decision the Cards did lose but in both outings Carpenter only allowed 2 runs to score. This brings up another discussion though. Is it possible the Cardinals are the only NL team that can beat an AL team in the WS this season?

Granted the Phillies won it all last year, but they defeated the scrappy Rays who dont have a makeup of say the Angels or Yankees. Theres also the Dodgers but there questionable starting pitchers and the over use of their relievers could spell elimination. The Cardinals have 2 CY Young canidates leading there starters and very reliable pitchers after that in Pineiro and Smoltz (although Smoltz will not dominate the AL as he has NL). The hitting is no joke either with NL MVP Albert Pujols in the lineup along with Ludwick, Molina, Rasmus, Schumaker, and key midseason additions Matt Holliday and Julio Lugo. There closer, Ryan Franklin, has put up numbers comparible to what Brad Lidge did last season, and there other relieves such as Reyes, McClellan, and Miller have been lights out. People may talk about there weak division, but they are playing consistently no matter who they face up against. No matter how it shapes up these Cards will definitely be fun to watch come postseason baseball, and you never know this just may be The Year of the Cardinal.

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Yankees Remaining Schedule

The Yankees are really down to the final stretch now; with 25 games remaining and a 10 game homestand beginning today. Here is a look at how the Yanks remaining schedule comes together:

7 Games (4vs./3@) TB

4 Games(1vs./3@) LAA

3 Games vs. BAL

3 Games @ SEA

3 Games vs. BOS

3 Games vs. KC

2 Games vs. TOR

Splits:

Home Games: 16

Road Games: 9

Games Against Teams Above .500: 17

Games Against Teams Below .500: 8

Offdays: 4 (All Thursdays: 9/10, 9/17, 9/24, 10/1)

Just taking a glimpse at the Yankees schedule it is easy to figure out it will be a challenging remaining games. Even though the division is all locked up as a Yankees fan losing is still never an option. Taking a deeper look through the schedule you can see out of the 8 games against teams with a below .500 record 5 of those games are at home. If the Yankees can sweep those 5 games it gives them leway with the rest of the schedule.

Projected outcome: 16-9

Final Season Record: 103-59

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AL East FA

2nd Basemen

-Akinori Iwamura TB: (Option)- With the success of Ben Zobrist it is unlikely Iwamura's will be on Tampa come 2010. Look for a team such as Houston to give him a long look.

Shortstops

-Alex Gonzalez BOS: (Option)- Good pickup by Epstein to filla whole, but with Lowrie coming back next season its doubtful Alex will be back in Fenway.

-John McDonald TOR: Has become a very reliable defensive replacement in Toronto last few years, and his best chance of stayin in the big leagues is probably right where he is now.

-Marco Scutaro TOR: Seasoned veteran putting together one of his best seasons statistically. I look for Toronto to keep him unless he is loking for to big of a payday.

3rd Basemen

-Melvin Mora BAL: (Option)- Been on the Orioles since 2000, though many expect this is his last year in the white, black, and orange. After a down season chances are he looks toward the NL where his numbers can get back to looking good.

Catchers

-Victor Martinez BOS: (Option)- Boston did not get Victor as a rental at the Dealine he will be back.

-Jason Varitek BOS: (Option)- I don't believe Varitek is ok being second in line. This may be it for the Boston Captain.

-Jose Molina NYY: One of the team favorites in NY, and the pitching staff loves the guy. My bet is for Jose to spend atleast one more season in pinstripes.

-Gregg Zaun TB: (Option)- Guy is 38 now but still putting up respectable numbers. Even if he is not back with TB someone will gve him a shot.

OF

-Rocco Baldelli BOS: Year long bench player, but has put up decent numbers after the health problems of recent.Is already on a contender so look for him to negotiate with BOS before anyone.

-Jason Bay BOS: Rumor has it the Yankees will be taking looks at Bay and Holliday this offseason, and my guess is with that information out there Boston will attempt to lock up Bay before the Yankees can.

-Carl Crawford TB: (Option)- Will probably top his highest SB total this season, and to this point has been a life long Ray so I'm assuming he will be back in Tampa.

-Johnny Damon NYY: His super season has most likely given him another year in pinstripes.

-Hideki Matsui NYY: The fact Hideki can only DH will make him odd man out in NY. Yankee fans have to hope this doesnt come back to bite them after seeing the season Abreu is having.

-Xavier Nady NYY: Injured for majority of this season he will not be back in NY but whenever he is eligible to come back if the Docs clear him look foralot of teams to be interested.

SP

-Josh Beckett BOS: (Option)

-Andy Pettitte NYY

**My guess is both resign with their current teams. Pettitte probably a 1 year deal.

RP

-Danys Baez BAL

-Chad Bradford TB

-Troy Percival TB

-Billy Wagner BOS

-Jamie Walker BAL

-Jason Isringhausen TB

**In the ever moving world of Relief Pitchers my guess is atleast four of these guys have new teams. Also great chance Percival and/or Isringhausen retires.

*NOTE: No 1st Basemen in the AL East are FA*

Yankees Grades by Position

My immense apologizes for disappearing but this blog shall now be updated regularly!

With the playoffs coming I figured i'll grade each of the Yankee starting positions, and do a little outlook on what they must accomplish come playoff time.

SP: B+. For the most part the SP'ers have been fantastic this season for the Pinstripes, but there are to many question marks for a team who should be favored to win it all. We all know of CC's terrible playoff numbers, and the lack of experience for Burnett. Pettitte just may be the key to the Yankee success come postseason.

RP: A++. Have performed beyond expectations but are young. One question: Can they get the big outs when necessary in October (if we get there).

CL: Infinite. Mariano Rivera....expecting more? Nope thats all.

C: Jorge/Molina/Cervelli- B+/B+/B. Catching tandem has been very valuable. Molina and Jorge recieve the same grade because Molina makes up for his lack of bat where Jorge lacks in the field. Cervelli quietly got the job done while both where injured he was a very valueable asset. Don't Expect to see much of Molina come playoff time though.

1B: Mark Teixeira- A+. Possibly MVP of the team if there was not a guy named Derek Jeter on the team. Mark has done it all hit, field, lead, and excite all he is around. If he does not make you excited for the next 10 years nothing will. If his short stint in the playoff last season showed anything he is simply CLUTCH.

2B: Robinson Cano- A. If you actually study the numbers many are better than Jeters, but he isn't nearly the leader. Still very valueable and a possible Gold Glove/Silver Slugger winner. Seems like he understands what must be done, a very important way to be in the playoffs.

3B: Alex Rodriguez/Cody Ransom- B/F. A-Rod has been very important to Tex's success but his struggles at the plate at times have been detrimental to the team, and A-Rods failures in the postseason since the Yanks '04 collapse is known by all. Will this be the turn around? As for Ransom's stint with the Yanks, he is baseballs version of the Power Play.

SS: Derek Jeter- A+++. Mr. November, Mr. Clutch, MVP Canidate, and by the official end of the season Yankees leader in hits. Must i say more?

LF: Johnny Damon- A. Has possibly given himself another year on the Yankees with his wonderful regular season performance. If he continues in the playoffs the projected fact he may have to take a paycut will be forgotten.

CF: Melky Cabrera/Brett Gardner- B+. Small ball guys. Don't let many balls fall in the outfield, run the bases well, and are young and energetic. Come playoffs Melky in the 9th spot is a God-send and Brett to pinch-run off the bench is Dave Roberts on Boston in '04.

RF: Nick Swisher/Eric Hinske- B. Add pop to the lineup, major energy guys, will keep clubhouse up even when losing, and make this GAME fun. Both may be terrible in the field, but if they are the weak spot in a lineup ill take it anyday.

DH: Hideki Matsui- B. If he could play more than just DH i wouldve given him a B+ but the fact he fills up the DH spot hurts his rating. Unfortunately will probably be odd man out in the Yankees plans for 2010, and lets hope his farewell is him showing his clutch abilities in October.

Extended Bench: Ramiro Pena/Jerry Hairston- A. For a bench very impressive showings, and although bench players have smaller roles come playoff time look for the Yankee bench to be a factor in most games.

Coaching: A+. Not just girardi but Tony Pena and all the other Yankee coaches have handled this team well allowing them to have fun. A major intangible come playoff time. Girardi deserves AL MOY.

That's my 2009 Yankee playoff Ratings and outlook of what I hope will be the 2009 World Series Winning Yankees when the playoffs are said and done.

The Stealing First Drinking Game Vol. 1.1

Ok well I'd first like to introduce myself, I am The Sports Dalai Lama and this is my blog Stealing First. This is a fun little game i like to play.

The Stealing First Drinking Game: Drink everytime you can see Derek Jeter age as he "sprints" to first base. Intoxication Level: On the floor.

Derek Jeter will be 35 on Friday, June 26th, and unfortunately as aYankee fan it is scary to say im watching him deteriorate right in front of my eyes. The end of his tenure will be an end of an era, and a day not one Yankee fan will have dry eyes. The Jeterian hit still looms, but the speed has diminished; even with his decent stolen base numbers. Personally if Jeter hit .220 (still better than A-Rod) i wouldn't care; as long as he is a Yankee he will be loved.