After having hip surgery, noted hip specialist Dr. Marc Philippon reported that Alex has an 85-90% chance of allowing him to play the rest of the season. While the odds are overwhelmingly in his favor, that represents a significant chance he misses major time above and beyond the May 15 return date. What would that mean for the Yanks? Could they withstand losing one of the premier sluggers in the game?
Lets take a look back to the Yankee glory days of the 1930′s (especially apt in our current economy) for some guidance.
It’s 1939. Lou Gehrig, still one of the premier players in baseball at age 36, struggles through the first 8 games of the year. We all know what happens next, but lets look at what happened to the team after losing its cleanup hitter and one of the best players in baseball.
The 1939 Yanks went on to score more than the 1938 edition, and became arguably the most dominating team to ever play the game. Their run differential was a staggering 411 runs, a record that stands to this day. So how did they do it?
It wasn’t Lou’s replacement. That was a fellow named Babe Dahlgren, a major league backup at best. He posted an OPS of .689 for the 1939 season, down from Gehrig’s .933 in 1938. It wasn’t due to any of their other star players doing anything extraordinary, DiMaggio and Bill Dickey 1939 campaigns were remarkably similar to their 1938 seasons.
Here’s how they did it. Second baseman and recent HOF inductee Joe Gordon did his part, raising his OPS to .876 from .842 the year prior. ‘Old Reliable’ Tommy Henrich was relied on a bit less, platooning with the more productive Chalie Keller, a move which also served to stregnthen the bench when either didn’t play. But the key to the 1939 Yanks was pitching depth. Manager Joe McCarthy employed . . . . . get this. . . . a SEVEN man rotation. No starter got more than 28 starts, most had around 20. Simple concept, he played the entire season like one would the playoffs, matching up pitchers against opposing teams weaknesses. The record setting Run Differential is evidence that the idea worked out pretty well.
Hmmm. Lost their cleanup hitter, Second baseman had a bounce back year, pitching depth a key factor, a Right Field platoon that improved the bench, this is getting creepy . . .
But seriously, think of how fans and sportswriters must have reacted to the loss of Lou Gehrig. Many would have been certain the Yanks could never withstand such a blow, even the mighty Yankee teams of the late 30′s. And while they might have still been a very good team, there was certainly no way they could possibly score more runs replacing Lou Gehrig with Babe Dahlgren.
But that’s the beauty of sports. It’s the theater of the unexpected.
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0 Responses to What if A-Rod Misses the season?
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TIQ IQ
First, I want to thank Moshe again for the invite. This is new for me and its really a blast. Hope you guys enjoy this piece, the 1939 Yanks are a favorite topic of mine.
It is great to have you aboard Steve. I think your post makes a very important point that can be lost when people go “ZOMG replacing AROD!!!!” They just need incrementally better performances from a variety of players coming off poor seasons. If they get that and pair it with their suddenly great pitching staff, they could weather many a storm.
Exactly, and it wouldn’t really take much to improve on the 2008 Yanks with all the injuries they had (7th in Runs Scored),
And people seem to forget that the Rays were 9th and Angels 10th. Why did they win? Pitching. 2nd and 3rd in ERA respectively.
BTW-That’s probably tomorrow’s post right there.
Yeah, this is a pitching-centric team. They actually were not terrible on the mound last season, and they have gotten so much better. The only thing that can hold this staff down is health.
Ha, lose Lou Gehrig and you’ll have to employ a 7-man rotation in order to make up for it. Okay, maybe not, but I will say that the Yankees can handle A-Rod’s absence for a few weeks. The team really should go with Damon in LF, Swisher in CF and Nady in RF in order to soften the blow.
Welcome aboard Steve.
If Arod goes down for the whole season, I say sell off Damon and Nady at the deadline.
Whoa!! Wouldn’t that depend on where they stand? With this pitching, it would be silly to give up on the season, even to help the farm. Teams with the financial means that the Yankees have are not forced to make that kind of decision.
Not to be confused with Steve S, even though I am Steve S, if that makes any sense. I know Girardi would’nt do it, but a 6 man rotation with Hughes would actually make a lot of sense. Save wear and tear on some of those that are injury prone, and cut down on Chamberlain’s innings. Keep everyone fresh for October, which was the big problem for CC last year with Milwaukee.
It really depends on Hughes. If he is a 4.5 ERA pitcher this year, it makes no sense to use him and take innings from 5 pitchers likely to be lower. If he can get around 4, it might make more sense. Will never happen, but would make more sense.