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.

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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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*