Splitting the series with Indians was big in my opinion. We still hold a 2 game lead in the WC and with Boston on a 6 game win streak we have to keep close if we want the division. Which of course we do.
Judge may be coming out of his funk. Hicks will be back soon.
Here is a great article on Sonny Gray.
Gray - (
New Window )
Framing: +4.0 runs (13th)
Blocking: -1.3 runs (80th)
Throwing: +0.8 runs (10th)
Total Fielding: +3.5 runs (15th)
Blocking pitches is the only thing Sanchez does poorly according to these stats, which may or may not be accurate. I dont see how looking at these is any different than the pointing out Sanchez leads the league in baseball balls. The more information, the better. These are all tools in the shed. To call Sanchez a bad defensive catcher is unfair. Hes bad at blocking balls. Hes a quality framer and thrower and that stuff matters too.
Also his CERA is .75 better than Romine and one of the best in the league. Mostly a reflection on the pitching staff, but not exclusively.
Quote:
Here, for the sake of discussion, is where Sanchez ranks among the 87 catchers to play a big league game this season in the various catcher defense metrics at Baseball Prospectus:
Framing: +4.0 runs (13th)
Blocking: -1.3 runs (80th)
Throwing: +0.8 runs (10th)
Total Fielding: +3.5 runs (15th)
Blocking pitches is the only thing Sanchez does poorly according to these stats, which may or may not be accurate. I dont see how looking at these is any different than the pointing out Sanchez leads the league in baseball balls. The more information, the better. These are all tools in the shed. To call Sanchez a bad defensive catcher is unfair. Hes bad at blocking balls. Hes a quality framer and thrower and that stuff matters too.
I can agree with all of that. My whole thing is I am not confident at all in Gary performing the most basic of catcher's functions: receiving the baseball. He cost us two runs on Friday (I think), cost us runs in the past, has allowed base runners on SOs more often this season than any other catcher I have ever seen and Im sure we lose that game Saturday with Monty on the hill throwing those diving curveballs.
While Romine is awful at the plate, he has become a necessary evil given our staff's propensity to throw lots of breaking balls that wind up in the dirt.
Also his CERA is .75 better than Romine and one of the best in the league. Mostly a reflection on the pitching staff, but not exclusively.
cERA? Means nothing. Catcher has no control over a pitcher having a bad day. Hell they don't even call all the pitches. A couple of bad Tanaka outings is enough to ruin anyone.
Sorry a contrived stat that is completely useless.
Quote:
it's also a thing that he catches for several pitchers who have bad-ass breaking stuff. Some of that is captured in the wild pitch stat, but some of it isn't.
Also his CERA is .75 better than Romine and one of the best in the league. Mostly a reflection on the pitching staff, but not exclusively.
cERA? Means nothing. Catcher has no control over a pitcher having a bad day. Hell they don't even call all the pitches. A couple of bad Tanaka outings is enough to ruin anyone.
Sorry a contrived stat that is completely useless.
I'm not inclined to put a ton of stock in cERA, but comparing the stat between Sanchez and Romine would seem to, at a minimum, discount the often used nonsense that Romine adds value in "calling games" and "handling the staff".
Castro has started light running, but hamstring injuries are tricky. Speculation is that he is still a few weeks away.
If it has value it is 2 cents. I have no confidence that a catcher can be charged with a pitcher's lousy pitching. You can make a stat for anything, doesn't mean it is valid. He can call the right pitch and a hanging slider is turned into a HR. He can call a FB low and away and it doesn't get there and it is crushed. He can have Michael Pineda that Ks 16 then gives up 5 runs in 2/3 inning.
Useless stat.
That is not the question. Sanchez is THE catcher. Maybe the best arm in MLB. Just whether Romine is a decent back up.
Still Sanchez needs to get the PBs down. He is too good to be missing that many balls, not to mention the WPs.
He went to Trenton so he wouldn't need to go on the Railriders road trip.
Joe said maybe next week to the Bronx...
1. Andujar - Did well during his first cup of coffee, is already on the 40-man roster, is hitting .336 with 7 HRs in 33 games for SWB
2. McKinney - Earned Prospect Team of the Week recognition last week (second time since being called up to AAA), is hitting .353 with 9 HRs in 31 games for SWB
1. Andujar - Did well during his first cup of coffee, is already on the 40-man roster, is hitting .336 with 7 HRs in 33 games for SWB
2. McKinney - Earned Prospect Team of the Week recognition last week (second time since being called up to AAA), is hitting .353 with 9 HRs in 31 games for SWB
Its really almost to the point where at least one of these options is explored....preferably Andujar seeing as how he did well when he was called up. Holliday might be finito.
1. Andujar - Did well during his first cup of coffee, is already on the 40-man roster, is hitting .336 with 7 HRs in 33 games for SWB
2. McKinney - Earned Prospect Team of the Week recognition last week (second time since being called up to AAA), is hitting .353 with 9 HRs in 31 games for SWB
Agreed on Andujar. I'm one of his biggest fans. My favorite non A list prospect since Nooney.
Also random separate post but Bob Meusel should be in the HOf
Sanchez is being done a disservice. Sure, work with him and help him improve, but don't bench for a guy who isn't so great behind the plate and can't hit.
I don't like that Montgomery was 1) pulled after 5 innings and 2) sent down.
Judge seems to be coming out of it. laying off those shit pitches.
Sanchez is being done a disservice. Sure, work with him and help him improve, but don't bench for a guy who isn't so great behind the plate and can't hit.
I don't like that Montgomery was 1) pulled after 5 innings and 2) sent down.
Judge seems to be coming out of it. laying off those shit pitches.
Don't count on 1 HR by Judge being the end of swinging at that slider low and away. Neither with Sanchez. Talk to me again in a week. If he lays off 50% of the time I'll be happy.
No matter, he'll still swing at that slider, but he does such a great job coming from 0-2 counts he just needs to use the same restraint. He just needs to accept that the next pitch will be an outside slider and leave it alone.
The more important thing will be not missing his pitch. He did a great job with solid contact to start the year and now he (and Gary) are just not crushing the hittable pitch.
Cave Is better. Mason Williams had a ok night
Which leads us to the real keys, Judge and Sanchez, Sanchez and Judge, they get hot then watch out, they remain cold and the Yanks will struggle to make the playoffs, let alone catch the Red Sox, unfortunately it is mostly on them.
I have given up on Todd Frazier to get back to what he once was, this guy needs to stop trying to pull everything out of the park or he will never get back to anything close to what he was, and he was a very good player in Cinncy, great defense, and clutch hitting, it amazes me how far off a player of that caliber can get. His team hoping has not helped, but this is on him, he is a veteran player now, it's too bad because the Todd Frazier of Cinncy would have really helped this team, I thought coming here could do it, but he has shown no sign as of yet.
Didi will continue to be what he is, and he has been excellent, Torreyes has been a god send also, and I now call him Chase Carew, but all kidding aside, Headley has been playing good ball for a while now and I think we can count on him staying like this. He just doesn't have any power. Clint has the potential to be a true 5 tool player, time will tell how close he gets to being what he could become, which is a star player.
Quote:
Hicks no where to be found, not in the dugout. Not playing. Did he get called back up?
Thanks
He went to Trenton so he wouldn't need to go on the Railriders road trip.
Joe said maybe next week to the Bronx...
Quote:
and Hicks is on the verge of returning, Castro will beging running this week, Bird has resumed baseball activities. All good.
Sanchez is being done a disservice. Sure, work with him and help him improve, but don't bench for a guy who isn't so great behind the plate and can't hit.
I don't like that Montgomery was 1) pulled after 5 innings and 2) sent down.
Judge seems to be coming out of it. laying off those shit pitches.
Don't count on 1 HR by Judge being the end of swinging at that slider low and away. Neither with Sanchez. Talk to me again in a week. If he lays off 50% of the time I'll be happy.
No matter, he'll still swing at that slider, but he does such a great job coming from 0-2 counts he just needs to use the same restraint. He just needs to accept that the next pitch will be an outside slider and leave it alone.
The more important thing will be not missing his pitch. He did a great job with solid contact to start the year and now he (and Gary) are just not crushing the hittable pitch.
Sure, if you think Headley is going to continue to hit .341 and Frazier.179 the rest of the season. I'd expect those numbers to both level off to some extent
Quote:
by no means elite, a step down from Frazier, but Headley is hitting .341 in the second half, Frazier a robust .179. Even allowing for the difference in patience and pop, Headley's stick in the lineup means a lot more right now than Frazier's glove in the field.
Sure, if you think Headley is going to continue to hit .341 and Frazier.179 the rest of the season. I'd expect those numbers to both level off to some extent
Maybe not, but recent performance suggests that even a leveling off still puts him in the .250-.280 range. For Frazier his BA decline has been steady over the last four seasons, so .200-.220 wouldn't be out of the ordinary. Frazier isn't even really a bunch guy, he had an insane May 2015 but otherwise his month to month stats have been relatively consistent. Consistently shitty, some pop, walks a bunch, awful batting average.
So, BigBlueShock, I politely ask you: what in God's name leads you to believe that T. Frazier will suddenly get hot? Are you suggesting that this is a small sample size?
So, BigBlueShock, I politely ask you: what in God's name leads you to believe that T. Frazier will suddenly get hot? Are you suggesting that this is a small sample size?
Wtf? Where did I EVER say that Frazier would get hot? Where the hell does that come from? Because I said that I don't think Headley is a .200 points better hitter of the course of the rest of the season? Come on now, you don't have to invent arguments.
I'm not trying to defend Todd Frazier. He's been dreadful. My only point was that if this team is getting the production that they are capable of from the rest of the team, you can deal with Frazier at 3rd because of his defense.
Takes Montgomery's roster spot and assumes long man role tonight in Toronto.
As far as Sanchez goes seems to be a very odd and counter productive way to develop a young all star. But pretty much right in character for Girardi. Sanchez has basically become Posada 2.0 for Girardi. Maybe we'll get lucky and it will cost him his job.
Agreed but might be late Cave. Pretty sure he's some kind of free agent minor leaguer who can sign anywhere next season and I would think he'd choose a team with more open OF spots
I never thought I'd be defending Chase Headley, but....he's really been pretty consistent for the past two seasons for the most part. In both 2016 and 2017, he's been a decent hitter outside of a single unspeakably bad month. Last year it was his April (.150/.268/.150), this year it was May (.165/.211/.235). Some months have been better than others, but outside of those two months he hasn't been awful.
Link - ( New Window )
At the end of the season, the following players become FA-each opening a 40 man roster spot- CC, Garcia, Todd Frazier, Holliday. So that's 4 spots.
I think it is fairly safe to assume that Cooper will be removed from the roster- he and Austin duplicate roles.
That means that the Yanks will have 5 spots open.
As of today, the top 5 prospects IMO who need Rule 5 protection are: Torres, Abreu, Tarpley, Acevedo and Estrada. So, let's mark them down to fill those 5 open spots.
Other guys who should be considered are: McKinney, Cave (who is a minor league FA, so he would have to be given a major league contract), Feyereisen, Cortes.
I think that Feyereisen is likely to be traded, much like Pazos last year simply because the 2018 bullpen is already quite full- and numerous arms are available in AAA and AA to back them up that are on the 40 or do not need protection.
That leaves 3 guys- McKinney, Cave and Cortes. In reality, it is only 2 that can be protected- McKinney and Cortes.
I think Cave will be the most difficult because it is not just a matter of the Yanks protecting him- he has to agree to sign a contract with them as a FA- and he might want to go somewhere with a clearer path to the majors.
My suspicion is that the Yanks will trade at least one of Ellsbury, Gardner and Hicks. I also think that the Yanks will try to trade at least two (likely 3) of Cessa, Gallegos, Heller, Herrera, Holder, Mitchell, Smith and Shreve. Simply, with Chapman, DRob, Betances, Kahnle, Warren and Green- the bullpen is already quite full.
Thus, I think that it might be November before the bigger moves are made, but when the time to submit rosters for the Rule 5 draft come around, I think that the Yanks will be able to protect everyone that they want to- and what they leave available they will probably assume that they can replace or won't miss them.
Honestly, that sounds kind of similar to what the Yankees did to Phil Hughes. Even though he was dominating the minors at a very young age, they kept monkeying with his mechanics and repertoire.
Quote:
Hes hitting .221/.283/.297 (55 wRC+) and thats awful. Runners are 18-for-21 (86%) 18-for-21! stealing bases against him and that too is awful. Go back to last year and its 38-for-45 (84%). The catcher defense stats at Baseball Prospectus say hes is a tick above average at framing pitches (+2.4 runs) and exactly average at blocking (+0.0 runs). Romine is a classic Nichols Law catcher. Whats the carrying tool here? You want your backup catcher to be able to do something well, right? Usually its throw and play defense, but some clubs have gone offense first with their backup. Romine doesnt give you any of that. He doesnt hit and his defense is just okay, both according to the numbers and the eye test.
Link - ( New Window )
Ok let's find one and don't suggest Higashioka. If Cash can find an upgrade, so be it.
Tick above average framing and avg blocking. That is a net plus, while his arm is, meh to below meh.
Ok. I give up. Find an upgrade at league minimum or just over.