Quicks splits heading into the playoffs

Managerial decisions heading into October are often predicated on a player’s splits from that year, so I wanted to do a post on some of the more notable splits of prominent Yankees.  Should help shed some light on why Girardi will go in one direction or another, and recap how players have performed in situational spots this year.

Phil Hughes-Home/Away troubles have been well documented. ERA goes from 4.84 at home to 3.52 on the road, much of the Yankee stadium woes the result of HRs. Hasn’t faced the Twins all that much, logging 7.1 career innings in 3 appearances (1 start). Phil should start on the road, but with the Yanks headed for a WC berth, that would make him the Game 2 starter (CC goes 1 and 5). If healthy Andy will likely get the call for Game 2, but it will be interesting to see how Girardi plays this one. I always want a player, especially a young player, put in the best spot to be successful. I trust Andy at home or away, Phil not so much. May also be a good idea to break up the Lefties.

Alex Rodriguez-Hasn’t hit Lefties this year (VS. LEFT: .211 / .717 VS. RIGHT: .297 / .899) for whatever reason. Call me crazy, but I don’t think they’ll platoon him. Getting hot at the right time, heading into the playoffs he’s posting a line of .333/.410/.682 (1.092 OPS) with 7 HRs for the month of September.

Kerry Wood-As good as Granderson has been lately, Wood is still the best deal Cashman has made since last year for me. Completely stabilized a shaky bullpen and made Joba’s woes an afterthought. Has posted this line-

I      Split W L  W-L%  ERA  G GS GF CG SHO SV   IP  H  R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF  WHIP SO/9 SO/BB
    2nd Half 2 0 1.000 0.37 22  0  1  0   0  0 24.1 13  1  1  1 14   1 28   1  0  2 99 1.110 10.4  2.00

since becoming a Yankee. Expect to see him as the go-to guy in big spots the playoffs.

Curtis Granderson-Lefty/Righty splits still an issue (vs. Left: .236 / .634 vs. Right: .258 / .870) But he’s turned into the true Yankee Stadium hitter (Home: .261 / .842 Away: .240 / .740) we all hoped he’d be when they traded for him this off season. Another player getting hot at the right time, posting a line of .291/.385/.646 (1.031 OPS) in September.

AJ Burnett-Nothing to see here. Equally bad splits all around (vs. LEFT: .278 / .796 vs. RIGHT: .285 / .819 Home: .280 / .809 and Away: .283 / .805). The riddle remains unsolved, and at 33 I’d just give up and accept him. Or even better replace him, but that’s a topic for the off season.

Joba Chamberlain-Another edition from the ‘who cares’ file. Like AJ, throws 96+ and all too often has zero command of the fastball. Mistakes get hit way too hard to trust him with anything but a clean inning. First two batters beat him like a rented mule, which is especially a problem when you’re a reliever. Was a subpar starter last year and has been worse as a reliever this year. We can talk peripherals all we want, he’s been bad for 2 years now.

Francisco Cervelli-Has always hit Lefties (vs. LEFT: .300 / .816) better than Righties (vs. RIGHT: .239 / .594). Heated up of late, since August 27 he’s hitting .400 with 9 walks and 4 strikeouts in 30 at-bats. You know he’ll catch AJ, and will probably start behind the plate when Liriano or Lee pitches.

Derek Jeter-Down year has been well documented. Platoon splits have been weak (vs. LEFT: .315 / .869 vs. RIGHT: .245 / .632) along with everything else this year. I’m not overly swayed by his recent hot streak, which may just be a correction coming off a deep slump. I’ll need to see more before thinking he’s back to being his former self.

Ivan Nova-Yesterday’s quick exit does nothing to change my thinking on Nova. He’s followed a familiar pattern where he dominates the first few times through the order, then gets knocked around in the middle innings. Here’s his Times Facing Opponent splits from BR:

Split               G PA AB  R  H 2B 3B HR SB CS BB SO SO/BB   BA  OBP  SLG   OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB ROE BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+
1st PA in G as SP   7 63 56  1 11  1  0  1  0  0  6 13  2.17 .196 .286 .268  .554 15   0   1  0  0   0   0  .238    58    60
2nd PA in G as SP   7 63 61 10 15  4  0  3  0  0  1  9  9.00 .246 .254 .459  .713 28   1   0  0  1   0   0  .240    98    88
3rd PA in G as SP   7 32 25  6 10  2  0  0  0  0  7  2  0.29 .400 .531 .480 1.011 12   1   0  0  0   2   0  .435   189   169
1st PA in G as RP   2 12 12  0  4  0  0  0  0  0  0        1 .333 .333 .333  .667  4   1   0  0  0   0   0  .364    90    8

Perfect choice for a post season bullpen role. Like him so much I’d go 10 pitchers and carry the extra bat.

Andy Pettitte-Just gets better with age. Destroyed Lefties as usual (vs. Left: .189 / .484 vs. Right: .272 / .766) and has been good both home and away (Home: .260 / .728 Away: .235 / .637). Very tempted to give Andy the pivotal Game 3 start at home and let Hughes pitch on the road in Game 2.