NFT: Twins (8-9) @ Yankees (12-9) - Tuesday - 4/24/18 - 6:35p ET

Let's keep rolling.

This teams starting to have fun

young pitcher. (despite tripping on their dicks in the field)

In comment 13929262 DennyInDenville said:

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Big guy giving us that length today

That's what she said - ( New Window )

up big, Nails Helmo at the plate to keep it tied in the 9th and then crushes a Kimbrel offering to end it 4-3 Jays beat the Sawx...the Grandy man can!

Grandy threw out the go-ahead run at the plate in the ninth, then hit a walk-off homer in the tenth.

Girardi in studio on MLB Network, doing a great job. Kinda sad listening to him talk Yanks though.

Even with Stanton and Sanchez struggling.

In comment 13929444 bceagle05 said:

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Girardi in studio on MLB Network, doing a great job. Kinda sad listening to him talk Yanks though.

haha - same watching Joe.

Woohoo.

In comment 13929448 Greg from LI said:

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Even with Stanton and Sanchez struggling.

Weather got warm. Bats getting hot. You knew Sanchez would start hitting soon. Stanton will relax with the other bats thumping and then start raking.

In comment 13929459 Dave in Hoboken said:

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Woohoo.

Granderson with a 10th inning walk off bomb off of Kimbrel!!

but another good night in Yankee land!

playing great defense at SS. Wow.

They handed a guy with no experience a fucking juggernaut. Gary freakin' Sanchez had a horrible start and still leads all AL catchers in HRs, RBIs, and runs scored.

Didi looks huge next to him

He's getting more comfortable out there that's for sure. It's amazing to see how young and loaded this squad is going forward.

Yankees PR Dept.
‏
@YankeesPR
.@ElGarySanchez is the first player in Major League history to record nine multi-HR games in his first 196 career games.

Tomorrow is Sonny Gray Day, after all.

and given up 1 run or less...maybe Gray can keep it going?

In comment 13929386 section125 said:

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He's calling for it and then gave up on it. Gardner is still the best CF on this team.

Been saying this for years. I guess they want to save his legs so he�ll only play there when hicks is resting but it�s clear as day that gardy is the best defensive player on his team and I�m talking at any position. Yes, Gardner is a better defensive outfielder than didi is a shortstop

* Judge is such a good hitter
* ditto Didi
* Sanchez breaks the Mendoza Line! What a blast to CF! Amazing he leads MLB catchers in every power category and he started like shit
* not worried about Stanton, he's getting there. Just a tick off last night.One thing I would watch for: is there a pattern developing where he has bad games at the plate when he is a DH rather than playing in the field? Too soon to say now, but bears watching.
* Betances? UGH! Where's his fastball? It's probably a coincidence, but he hasn't been the same since that asshole Levine attacked him after his arb hearing.
*I don't think Romine is going to be Gray's caddy. They have a day game after night game on Thursday, so Sanchez was going to sit one of those anyway. And besides, Gray has sucked equally with both guys catching.
* Sox lose again!!

I'm starting to lose faith in WAR

Player A a CF has a 2.3 WAR

.308/.418/.691/1.110 OPS 206 OPS + 20 runs scored 28 hits, 63 TB

Player B a RF has a 1.8 WAR

.341/.476/.659/1.134 OPS 208 OPS + 22 runs scored, 28 hits, 54 TB

Both are excellent defensive players. What am I missing?

I have yet to see a decent analysis as to why Didi, at least for now, has become one of the best hitters in baseball. He doesn't have substantial body mass, his bat speed is good but not off the charts. But, he centers on the ball consistently and amazingly well. From CBS sports:

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The plate discipline is a big part of the surge. He improved in the second half last year on the walks and strikeouts front. This year, he's struck out nine times against 15 walks. Go back to 2016 and you'll find that Gregorius only walked 19 times all season, compared to 82 strikeouts. In looking at his profile, he's swinging at far fewer bad pitches. He's actually swinging at fewer pitches in the strike zone too, he's just making exceptional contact when he does swing and punishing the ball. He's also hitting more balls in the air -- roughly half his balls in play this season -- while pulling a lot more. That's a good approach for a left-handed hitter in Yankee Stadium with the short right field porch. It's paying off for Gregorius, even if he was overshadowed coming into the season.

All well and wonderful, but how? I love what I'm seeing, but how has he surged past so many other players? I know he does have one advantage: hitting where he does in the order, he never gets pitched around and can expect pitchers to be trying to throw him strikes. But what else? What makes his swing special?

In comment 13930188 arniefez said:

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I'm starting to lose faith in WAR Player A a CF has a 2.3 WAR .308/.418/.691/1.110 OPS 206 OPS + 20 runs scored 28 hits, 63 TB Player B a RF has a 1.8 WAR .341/.476/.659/1.134 OPS 208 OPS + 22 runs scored, 28 hits, 54 TB Both are excellent defensive players. What am I missing?

WAR takes positional scarcity into account. C/SS/CF are the more valuable positions. If two players are putting up comparable numbers and similar defense, but one is doing it at SS and the other in LF, the SS will have a greater WAR.

In comment 13930188 arniefez said:

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I'm starting to lose faith in WAR Player A a CF has a 2.3 WAR .308/.418/.691/1.110 OPS 206 OPS + 20 runs scored 28 hits, 63 TB Player B a RF has a 1.8 WAR .341/.476/.659/1.134 OPS 208 OPS + 22 runs scored, 28 hits, 54 TB Both are excellent defensive players. What am I missing?

Are you referring to Judge and Trout? BC I was wondering about this last night...Trout is off to a scorching start, but Didi is ahead in most offensive categories...at a position where offense is typically less on balance I think. Trout is an elite defender, Didi pretty close to elite as well.

So how does Trout have a 2.3 WAR and Didi have a 1.7 WAR?

Really just curious too

In comment 13930303 mfsd said:

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In comment 13930188 arniefez said: Quote: I'm starting to lose faith in WAR Player A a CF has a 2.3 WAR .308/.418/.691/1.110 OPS 206 OPS + 20 runs scored 28 hits, 63 TB Player B a RF has a 1.8 WAR .341/.476/.659/1.134 OPS 208 OPS + 22 runs scored, 28 hits, 54 TB Both are excellent defensive players. What am I missing? Are you referring to Judge and Trout? BC I was wondering about this last night...Trout is off to a scorching start, but Didi is ahead in most offensive categories...at a position where offense is typically less on balance I think. Trout is an elite defender, Didi pretty close to elite as well. So how does Trout have a 2.3 WAR and Didi have a 1.7 WAR? Really just curious too

Player B is Aaron Judge

But how does it favor Trout even more over Didi, when Didi as of this morning is better in almost every category?

has Trout's defense worth 0.6 WAR so far this season and Didi's worth 0.2. That accounts for the majority of the difference.

In comment 13930334 Kyle in NY said:

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has Trout's defense worth 0.6 WAR so far this season and Didi's worth 0.2. That accounts for the majority of the difference.

Copy that, makes sense. Didn't realize the defensive worth counted so much

have a decent case. It values defense about as equally as it does offense. And while defensive evaluation has come a long ways, it's still much more subjective than measuring offensive contributions.

and yes it's Trout and Judge. WAR is a flawed metric because there's no real way to quantify defense. It's given way too much consideration by most people.

In comment 13930275 manh george said:

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He doesn't have substantial body mass

Hey George - don't have answers to your other questions other than what you linked about Didi becoming more selective, but so far as body mass -- Didi is not a small guy, he is 6'3" and 205 lbs per the Yankee roster. Greg noted above how in that gif Didi looks very big compared to Torres, and Torres is 6'1" (but a lot skinnier than Didi).

yet Stanton is still on pace for 35 and 100 rbis. He will have a hot stretch or two. He will hit 40 plus. Hang in there.

Not at all concerned.

Gray and Betances are the concerns.

Yanks ALWAYS have one starting pitcher that shits the bed here even during the best of times. Gray is the latest. He nibbles...always fucking nibbling out there. Doesn't trust his stuff.

They've got to be the physically largest team in MLB history. From the roster:

6'3": Green, Tanaka, Didi, Walker
6'4": Bird, Shreve, Chapman
6'5": the newly acquired AJ Cole
6'6": Stanton, Sabathia, Montgomery
6'7": Judge
6'8": Betances

None of those guys are beanpoles, either. Didi is the lightest at 205.

In comment 13930557 djm said:

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Yanks ALWAYS have one starting pitcher that shits the bed here even during the best of times. Gray is the latest. He nibbles...always fucking nibbling out there. Doesn't trust his stuff.

I agree djm. he doesn't seem to have "it". He needs to be somewhere where they aren't expected to win. Or perhaps a small market contender.

And the fucking nibbling is maddening. And he takes forever between pitches, almost like he's afraid. It has to be horrible to play behind him.

but he's never been THIS bad. Even the harshest critics of the trade couldn't have anticipated him pitching like this. At worst he should be a weak #3 starter or a strong #4.

The Sawx have one position player bigger than 6'2", JD Martinez. They have some tall pitchers, but Sale and Porcello are really skinny dudes.

and despite being a bit frustrating to watch last season, he was still effective after coming over.

Let's give him some time to work out his issues before writing him off.

(Other then his use of Betances). Tanaka went a perfect 91 pitches.Got squeezed on the last batter but Boone did not hesitate to yank him at 6 2/3. Green came in and was squeezed on his first batter.But the fact that Boone did not bring Green out to pitch the following inning once the Yanks padded their lead was unlike last year when they wasted Green's arm twice in a week when the Yanks had 7 leads.

Boone was able to steal an extra inning fro CC :let him throw 84 pitches. Betances did his usual imitation of Wild Bill Hickok. Betances is likely permanently lost. Shooting star that has flamed out. Wished he had been used in the 14-1 shellacking

Yankee dynasties. There were exceptions like Rizzuto and Berra, but they liked big players who looked intimidating. One of the many great tidbits from Halberstam's "summer of '49" and "October 1964"

Yankee dynasties. There were exceptions like Rizzuto and Berra, but they liked big players who looked intimidating. One of the many great tidbits from Halberstam's "summer of '49" and "October 1964"

In comment 13930709 xman said:

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(Other then his use of Betances). Tanaka went a perfect 91 pitches.Got squeezed on the last batter but Boone did not hesitate to yank him at 6 2/3. Green came in and was squeezed on his first batter.But the fact that Boone did not bring Green out to pitch the following inning once the Yanks padded their lead was unlike last year when they wasted Green's arm twice in a week when the Yanks had 7 leads. Boone was able to steal an extra inning fro CC :let him throw 84 pitches. Betances did his usual imitation of Wild Bill Hickok. Betances is likely permanently lost. Shooting star that has flamed out. Wished he had been used in the 14-1 shellacking

Yes, I agree that Boone has handled the pitchers better since that fiasco against Miami. He's using the mop up guys in blowouts and he's been careful not to overwork Robertson and Green. Even with Betances he did as well as could be expected. He brought him in with a 4 run lead and gave him the chance to straighten himself out. When it was clear he didn't have it and the tying run came to the plate, he brought in Robertson. After they scored 3 more runs, Shreve and Holder mopped up. If Holder had faltered, he still had Chapman.

In comment 13930762 Victor in CT said:

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Yankee dynasties. There were exceptions like Rizzuto and Berra, but they liked big players who looked intimidating. One of the many great tidbits from Halberstam's "summer of '49" and "October 1964"

Don't forget Bobby Richarson

In comment 13930709 xman said:

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Boone was able to steal an extra inning fro CC :let him throw 84 pitches. Betances did his usual imitation of Wild Bill Hickok. Betances is likely permanently lost. Shooting star that has flamed out. Wished he had been used in the 14-1 shellacking

Except for the previous couple of appearances where he was very good, but who is counting?

I think if you look closer you see that he throws too many balls. I think the previous outing he did get through the inning one two three but he still had 50% balls 50% strikes with his pitches. He is a stinker

In comment 13931391 Jay in Toronto said:

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In comment 13930762 Victor in CT said: Quote: Yankee dynasties. There were exceptions like Rizzuto and Berra, but they liked big players who looked intimidating. One of the many great tidbits from Halberstam's "summer of '49" and "October 1964" Don't forget Bobby Richarson

Yep. but he was surrounded by guys named Moose and Clete :-). And Elston Howard