Here’s a fun stat. As of this morning, the Yankees have scored 2 runs or less in a game 28 times this season.
Last year, over the entire season, the Yankees scored 2 runs or less in a game 33 times.
And, recently, for a full season, the mark on this stat for the Yankees has been around the mid-thirties: 33 times in 2007, 34 times in 2006, 33 times in 2005, 34 times in 2004, 39 times in 2003, and 33 times in 2002.
Now, a big part of the Yankees batting issue this season has been the poor production, overall, from Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera. And, to an extent, part of the problem has been the overall lack of “clutch” hitting from the likes of Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez.
For example: At the Hardball Times, they track a stat called “Clutch.” This is the portion of Bill James’ Runs Created formula that includes the impact of a batter’s batting average with runners in scoring position and the number of home runs with runners on.
Here are the Yankees leaders and trailers in “Clutch” to date:
Batter Clutch Abreu 5.6 Damon 5.2 Jeter 1.4 Matsui 0.8 Gardner 0.7 Moeller 0.4 Christian 0.4 Stewart 0.0 Duncan -0.3 Posada -0.3 Molina -1.2 Gonzalz -1.3 Ensberg -1.6 Cano -2.4 Betemit -3.3 Cabrera -3.4 Rodrigz -6.4 Giambi -7.8
What do you think? Would you agree that the fault lies with Cano, Cabrera, A-Rod and Giambi – with respect to why the Yankees have so many games this season where they have scored 2 runs or less? Or, do you think it’s something else? If yes, what?
3 Responses to “Yankees Bats Offensive?”
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July 4th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I was really amazed when I heard Olney mention that stat last night. What it really shows is that the offense has not clicked for an entire half a season, which is mind-boggling for a Yankee team. I’m not sure that the “clutch” stat is the best way to find the culprit – it looks to me that Giambi ranks low because his RBI total relative to home runs is low. But is that an indictment? Is it fair to blame him if opponents pitch differently based on how bad he can hurt them at the time? “Clutch” performance has something to do with results, but its not everything. Runs scored from first on a double or homer count the same.
Some writers are making the comparison to the 2006 Red Sox, that they had to take a step back in order to take a step forward and that the Yankees are doing the same thing. And in a way that may be true in the sense of young pitchers who didn’t perform as hoped – Beckett, Delcarmen and others, vs Hughes, Joba and Kennedy.
But the disconcerting thing is that the Yankee offense shoulders a lot of the blame for the failures to date, and the potential is there that guys like Jeter and Posada are entering their decline years. So it seems to me there is a risk going forward that even as the pitching improves, there’s a chance that the offensive heights may not be reached with such regularity.
Guys like Gardner can make a big difference though and I expect Cano to be an all-star again. But some of the key cogs may not ever be as good as they were again. That makes the minors and free agents like Tex even more important because the team has to get younger at some point.
July 4th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
2007 Yankees Offense: 5.98 runs/game
2008 Yankees Offense: 4.72 runs/game
I don’t think it’s all that surprising that a team scoring more than one run/game fewer than last year has more games where they score 2 runs. They score fewer runs overall!
There’s nothing especially magical going on here.
July 5th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Once was, I agree with that 2006 Red Sox analogy. I really don’t expect this 2008 Yankee team to make it to the playoffs in lieu of the fact that the Rays are now a powerhouse and the Os can play well enough.
ONe of the major problems is that the Yankees are an old team. One can’t expect players in a post roids era to elongate their careers anymore. The post 30 set looms large in this Yankee clubhouse. Rememeber last year when the Yankee bats fell asleep in the first half? Very similar syndrome. Many of the same characters are on this team. And relief from their bench? They spent 209 mill and their bench is very weak. That was an asset in the past and is now a great disability.