Ari @ Yankees June 12-14

Giambi's absence is helping the Yankees out now. I hate to say it, but it is. A HEALTHY Giambi is a huge loss for this team. The Giambi that was playing sucked. Now Melky improves the defense in center a lot, and Damon has a chance to get healthier, so he's in center. The lineup has more flexibility now in terms of speed and stuff like that, and although I'm not a big fan of all that, it looks like it's sparked the team a little, though crediting Giambi's offense to Abreu's turnaround is absurd.

 

You either believe what the stats tell you or you go with your "gut feeling". The stats tell me that Damon has been significantly worse in the month of June then he was in May. His OBP is down .033 and his SLG is down .071. He's stealing bases at roughly the rate he's been stealing them all year.

The lineup didn't come around "all at once" either. As noted, Damon has been bad in June. Jeter and Matsui haven't been good. Posada has been raking all season long. A-Rod has been crazy hot already this year and he's in the middle of another of those streaks. Abreu is also crazy hot after a terrible start and Cano is playing well. To me the only thing in the Yankees lineup that would signal some kind of divine intervention is the fact that Posada is having such a great year at the plate at his age.

That last statement is pretty patronizing and if 10p10 were still around I don't think I'd have too difficult a time of it either.

 

Whatever you say there Dusty

As for fan commentary you need only look at the all star voting each year to determine that the average baseball fan knows little to nothing about the actual ins and outs of the game.

 

Listen man, I heard it from two noted experts on Yankee baseball on WFAN, Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts.:rofl:

 

I think you're mistaking my argument.

I'm not arguing that Giambi is the sole reason this team is playing better. Both events happened simultaneously.

This team is better, overall, with Giambi out. Damon has hit when needed. If we have a 5 run lead, and he grounds out, I'm not worrying about it. I'll take his leadoff single to set the team up for an early lead over padding that lead. Stats don't tell you that.

To say Damon has "been bad in June" is uninformed, at best.

Jeter had been down until he sat at the end of the Chicago series, but is now showing signs of life again. Matsui has struggled all year until this past weekend. ARod is the player he is supposed to be. Abreu and Cano started dismally, but suddenly both seem to be back in the game mentally, and that's improved both their play exponentially.

Posada having a good year is simply a combination of hitting near ARod, and the fact that he's always been a good hitter. Tony Pena has helped improve him as a player, but regardless of his age, I never expected his production to go down.

As for what mack said, yes, a healthy Giambi (who is not a distraction due to steroids,) is better for the lineup at DH than Damon at DH. I wouldn't go any further than that. (I know that's not what mack said or implied, but that's as far as I'd go.)

People forget how to win baseball games in this era of Manny, Papi, Bonds. You need baserunners. Damon leading off with singles, Melky getting on, and Cairo bunting him over. THEN the big bats taking care of business. THAT'S what wins baseball games. When you stack your lineup with power, all it takes is a guy to go cold in the middle, and the dominoes start falling. Power hitters need protection, and when your 5 or 6 guy is lagging, that affects 3 and 4, who in turn affect 1 and 2.

 

Shit.

That "any" was supposed to read "many."

I douchebagged myself.

 

2 of the 3 HR hitters you mentioned get on base at an incredible rate. Bonds' career OBP is .444, Manny's is .410 and Ortiz has been right near or over .400 the last few years. Giambi too, has a .413 career OBP. This is in addition to their power output. This is also whey they're some of the most valuable players in the game. It's because of their ability to get on base that even when they "go cold" with the power numbers for a bit or aren't getting many base hits they're still getting on base so other people can drive them in. Giambi had a .380 OBP this year, Melky's is .319, Cano's is barely over .300. That Cairo would be in the lineup at all would seem to be problematic as well.

 

sabrmetrics vs. gut reaction.

and the winner is . . . . .

 

T-storms in the area. Game could be delayed

 

A Bobby bomb!!!

 

so it is safe to say that Abreu is back in good graces with the Yankee faithful?

 

See, that's the thing. It may seem like I am going solely on my "gut" but that's not the case at all.

I've been very honest with my belief in small ball. If you can't manufacture runs, you will not win enough games from April to October. You can have power up and down the lineup, but when it goes cold, it fails.

This April and May was the culmination of years of this building up. The lineup grew more powerful, and the ability to score multiple runs disappeared.

It doesn't matter how many home run hitters you have on your team. If you're hitting a bunch of solos you're not going to win.

Case in point: tonight's game. Damon got on base, then a hit and run by Jeter moved him to third. That's good for getting to the pitcher and forcing him to throw strikes with no one out. So what happens? Abreu puts one over the wall.

I've said this before. When you get baserunners, you do far more damage to a pitcher's psyche than with a solo shot. Pitchers shrug off single run homers. When there's guys on base, they have to go into the stretch, which breaks their rhythm. You also force them to throw strikes. When a balanced lineup, like the Yankees have now, is playing, you get power coming up after baserunners. That's when the RBI start coming.

Give me baserunners. Let things develop from there, and I'm happy. Giambi's departure from the lineup has allowed that.

 

I think that's probably a fair assumption. :wink:

But more than his hitting, I'm happy to see him playing a good right field again.

 

Addition by subtraction. Giambi on his BEST day doesn't make half the plays that Cairo does. Of course, I still preferred Doug, but Miguel is doing a helluva job.

 

The only flaw with that is the fact that other than Posada, Jeter, and Arod, Giambi was getting on base more than any other Yankee.

 

All right, I don't mean to be a dick, but if you truly would rather see Miguel Cairo with a bat in his hand, thats your prerogative.

Giambi has been one of the top offensive players since he got here, except for the season he had the steroid flu. You really can't lay the blame for the Yankees failures since '01 at his greasy locks. Neither he, nor Cairo, throws the ball from the mound. Thats were the problem lies, as it always has.