I don’t know about you, but between the busiest trade deadline Baseball has had in years and two nail biters between the Rays and Yanks, I’m pretty wiped out. Here are some quick links with the best stuff I’ve read over the past few days.
-Greg Fertel over at Pending Pinstripes has an organizational leader board chart that I just love. Quick, handy way to see who’s really performed this year for the Yankee farm system.
-A-Rod tells everyone to get comfortable, this is going to take a while. No kidding, Alex.
(UPDATE: Alex out of today’s lineup)
-Mike Francesa’s gonna be pretty bummed out over this one. His future Yankee CF and favorite fair haired boy Nate McLouth has been sent down to the Braves AAA Gwinnet club. What a fall from grace for a guy who hit 26 dingers playing CF and was an All Star a few years back.
-The Rangers really cleaned up acquiring Cliff Lee, Bengie Molina, Jorge Cantu, and Cristian Guzman. Maybe they should go bankrupt more often. The Yanks may have the best team in Baseball, but you can easily draw up scenarios where either the Rangers or Rays beat them in a short series.
-Quote of the week from old pal Johnny Damon:
- “I tried doing everything I could to get ready for this game,” Damon said after Detroit’s 6-5 win. “I know we’re very shorthanded. I wanted to come out and play in front of the Fenway crowd without wearing that Yankee uniform. But that looks like it’s going to have to wait.
-David Golebiewski of Fangraphs breaks down the Kerry Wood deal. Much like David Robertson, he got off to a slow start this year and has been much better of late. The injuries this year (strained Latissimus muscle in his back/blister on his right index finger) were nothing arm related. Maybe most importantly the stuff is still there. Pitching for a contract after a disastrous stint in Cleveland, I’m keeping an open mind on him.
-Not sure if this is NSFW or not.
-Mike Silva over @ NYBD has some quick facts on Lance Berkman. Don’t expect the guy from a few years ago who was one of the best sluggers in Baseball.
- Berkman came into this season with a lifetime .299 batting average. He’s hitting .245 this season and is down to .296 lifetime.
- Berkman has had 20+ homers for the last 10 seasons; he has 13 this year.
- His 19.6% strikeout percentage is the highest since he became a full-time major leaguer.
- From the left side of the plate, Berkman is hitting .188. Even Curtis Granderson is hitting .214 against lefties.
- Away from Minute Maid Park this season, Berkman is hitting .194
- Since the break, Berkman is hitting .179/1/6.
- Berkman is hitting .272 with runners in scoring position; .229 RISP/w 2 outs.
- Berkman has grounded in 12 double plays in 80 opportunities (15%).
- Berkman will have much more protection in the Yankee lineup: Astros hitting .240 with 69 homers. Yankees hitting .273 with 120 homers.
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8 Responses to Quick hits after a busy day
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TIQ IQ
Who the hell is Shaeffer Hall, and why haven’t I been hearing about him?
Exactly. There’s a guy I had no idea was pitching as well as he has. And Nova’s leading in Wins/IP but none of the rate stats illustrates why people say his ceiling is fairly low. Love that chart.
Berkman was an older player coming off a knee injury, and most of he splits Mike gives are small samples. He projects to have a .383 wOBA for rest of year, which is quite good.
Yeah, I don’t love all of those stats. But at his age, even trends like that have to concern you. Again, this was one of the top hitters in the game a few years ago, and fans shouldn’t expect him to be that guy.
Oh, definitely. Anyone expecting an MVP caliber player will be disappointed.
I thought Texas was by far the biggest winner, filling multiple needs with quality players. If the season ended today, the Yankees would play either them or the Rays in the ALCS. That should scare Yankee fans, facing that lineup, that bullpen, and Cliff Lee twice in a short series. Ditto for the Rays starting pitching, bullpen and defense.
I agree. But I don’t think any team is salivating over the chance to play the Yankees either. The Yanks are clear favorites to win it all IMO, but not by a large margin. The Rays and Rangers are both capable of knocking us off.
Thankfully, if the season ended today, the Rays and Rangers would play each other, and the Yanks would whoever is leading in the AL Central. I’ll take the Sox, Twins and Tigers any day over the Rays and Rangers.
Just for perspective, there are eight categories on the chart. Noesi appears 7 times, Hall 6 times, Stoneburner 5, Nova and Phelps 2 each, Z-Mac only once.