Two Pujols' Related Tweets

The Mets should be proud to get Albert Pujols out with the bases loaded today. As we said, the man's a machine. Two reactions after he got out from Twitter:

@dgoold Pujols flies out, ending a run of 10 consecutive PAs with the bases loaded and at least one run produced.

@SI_JonHeyman before flyout, pujols was 8-for-8 with 26 RBIs with bases loaded (stolen from @dgoold a few days ago). i woulda walked him

I would have too, Jon, but congrats to the Mets for getting him out, finally!

Maybe A Little Patience Is Needed With Mets

Although I never actually said that I think Joe Girardi or Jerry Manuel should be fired (merely suggested it), some people took umbrage, especially having to do with Manuel. So I think I need to clarify a bit.

Jerry Manuel's biggest problem right now is injuries. He's missing some of the best players on his team and playing guys who shouldn't be in the major leagues. And some of those who "should be" are underperforming. I thought Daniel Murphy would do a fine job for the Mets but he hasn't. His defense was subpar in left and he's really never found a position (thought 1st may be his best bet). And he's been one of the disappointments. As FanGraphs wrote on Tuesday: "Originally an infielder, Murphy’s penchant for errors led to a move to the outfield, where he spent all of 2008 while in the Majors. This season, he’s split his time between left field and first base. His 2009 line of .250/.324/.362 is below average for both positions, as is his ISO at .112." And Baseball Prospectus via ESPN.com wrote on Tuesday that Daniel Murphy ranks among the worst regulars in the majors with Daniel Murphy .250/.324/.362 line, 1 SB, and a -2.1 VORP all while compiling 216 PA (at that point). And the Mets have had to keep on playing him because of injuries.

But one of the "good" side effects of the injuries, as Ken Rosenthal points out, is that it saves Omar Minaya from himself:

No one trade will fix the Mets' problems, not when the team is without center fielder Carlos Beltran, shortstop Jose Reyes and first baseman Carlos Delgado.

The last thing Minaya should do is trade prospects for a short-term solution. Better he should wait for his injured players to recover and then reassess his needs near the July 31 non-waiver deadline.

The Mets need to stop depleting their inventory of young talent. One rival general manager, when asked to rate the Mets' system, says, "to call it ordinary would be kind."...

Since the end of the 2006 season, the Mets have moved two young players for second baseman Luis Castillo, four for left-hander Johan Santana and four in the three-team, 12-player blockbuster for setup man J.J. Putz. They also have parted with Padres closer Heath Bell, Marlins closer Matt Lindstrom and Royals right-hander Brian Bannister in deals that yielded little in return

So while the blame, in some ways, should definitely be shared between Minaya, Manuel and the players, and injuries have killed this team, they will need to shape up quickly. The Phillies are getting Brad Lidge back and Jimmy Rollins is probably going to get better at some point (and they'll probably go get a pitcher too). The Rockies won 17 of 18 to get back into the Wild Card race. The Brewers have a dangerous team that beat out the Mets last year. The Giants have the best 1-2 in the game. The Cubs are better than they've shown. And Cincinnati, Florida, and Atlanta could all get hot with the weather (especially with their pitching). So Manuel needs to get his team ready to play.

My biggest problem with Manuel is not how the players have played (not his job), but rather the lack of hustle and fundamentals they've shown (probably his job) and how he's managed the team (definitely his job). As Jon Heyman wrote: "Mets manager Jerry Manuel has been about the unluckiest manager in terms of injuries. And while the team has hung in the race (only three behind Philly despite the loss of Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, J.J. Putz, John Maine and now Carlos Beltran), he's getting criticized by Mets fans for his use of the bullpen. Or in a couple cases, overuse."

And that overuse is one of the things I talked about yesterday on this blog. The other problem is his penchant to throw players under the bus and have odd feelings towards certain players. He seems to hate Ryan Church with a passion, for instance. I don't think that Manuel should be fired yet, but this team does need to start playing better with the players they do have for him to keep his job past this season.

Jamba Juice BOGO

Just because we can't pass up on a great deal...

 

Why Joba Won and Home Is Not So Sweet

Buster Olney's blog has a great section every morning where they break down why a certain pitcher won. From today:

Why Joba Chamberlain won, according to ESPN Stats & Analysis:
• He threw strikes 71% of the time, his best mark on the season(59% coming into the game, below the 62% MLB average).
• He worked inside, getting hitters to go 0-6 with four strikeouts on pitches inside.
• Braves hitters chased 44% of Chamberlain's pitches outside of the zone, much higher than his season average of 21%.

More than that Joba--and the rest of the pitchers--really don't seem to feel comfortable pitching at home as compared to on the road. They throw less strikes because they nibble and they end up getting behind batters and walking them. They're scared to throw inside to lefties because they know a little mistake will be jacked out into the "jet stream" of the New Yankee Stadium.

Here's a look at home/road splits:

• Joba Chamberlain
• Home - 0-2, 5.18 ERA, 21 BB to 36 SO, 9.82 K/9, 1.55 WHIP, 3 HRs in 33.0 innings, .246 BA/.738 OPS against
• Road -  4-0, 2.74 ERA, 16 BB to 33 SO, 6.96 K/9, 1.31 WHIP, 5 HRs in 42.2 innings, .255 BA/.755 OPS against
• CC Sabathia
• Home - 2-1, 3.99 ERA, 15 BB to 29 SO, 5.26 K/9, 1.15 WHIP, 4 HRs in 49.2 innings, .227 BA/.620 OPS against
• Road -  4-3, 3.44 ERA, 16 BB to 41 SO, 7.05 K/9, 1.13 WHIP, 4 HRs in 52.1 innings, .225 BA/.637 OPS against
• A.J. Burnett
• Home - 2-1, 3.91 ERA, 23 BB to 45 SO, 8.80 K/9, 1.43 WHIP, 7 HRs in 46.0 innings, .253 BA/.775 OPS against
• Road -  3-3, 4.61 ERA, 21 BB to 37 SO, 8.12 K/9, 1.44 WHIP, 6 HRs in 41.0 innings, .250 BA/.755 OPS against
• Andy Pettitte
• Home - 3-2, 5.77 ERA, 18 BB to 31 SO, 5.77 K/9, 1.76 WHIP, 9 HRs in 48.1 innings, .332 BA/.892 OPS against
• Road -  4-1, 2.35 ERA, 15 BB to 26 SO, 6.10 K/9, 1.15 WHIP, 2 HRs in 38.1 innings, .207 BA/.611 OPS against

So Pettitte is almost 3.5 runs better on the road, Joba is almost 2.5 runs better on the road, and Sabathia is half a run better on the road. A.J. Burnett is the real outlier here. He's actually pitched marginally better at home than on the road though his splits are pretty much even except for the 0.70 bump in ERA (which could be due to that stinker he threw against the Red Sox).

But the rest of the pitchers, not so much. Amazingly, everyone but Pettitte has a better OPS against at home, but the ERA jump is huge for Pettitte and Joba. Why is Joba's K/9 so much higher at home? Because I think he feels he needs to strikeout guys to win in that park. He nibbles around corners and gets into trouble with walks. Joba's batting average against is actually worse on the road, but the reason his WHIP is 0.24 higher at home is because he's afraid to let hitters put the ball in the air. Pettitte has a huge different in WHIP, HRs, BAA and OPS so you can see where his troubles lie. Sabathia has just had more success striking out guys on the road for some reason, a number he needs to fix.

While this explains some of the struggles of Joba and Pettitte especially, both guys need to learn how to pitch in their home park.

 

On a side note, the Yankees best OPS against at home is Brian Bruney (.333) followed by David Robertson (.464). I think it's time to give Robertson some more important outs. The Yankees best OPS against on the road is Brian Bruney (.322) followed by Mark Melancon (.350), albeit in small samples sizes. I think it's unfair to banish Melancon to the minors just because he couldn't get out of bases loaded in the rain against the Red Sox (at home, no less). He would certainly be a more intriguing arm out of that bullpen than Brett Tomko. 

Random Yankees Thought for the Morning

If the Yankees hit homeruns every time Joe Girardi gets thrown out, maybe they should just fire him...

(just kidding...sort of)

Speaking of Girardi's hotseat, WFAN's Sweeny Murti discusses the topic with the big point I made: who are you going to replace him with mid-season that would be any better? If there's no one better, it's a good idea to wait until the end of the season and see what happens. It's very rare that a situation happens like what occurred in Colorado where a change in managers spurs a team to win 17 or 18. I don't think it'll happen in New York. Though it's possible they'll hit some more homeruns if they get rid of Girardi...

Better To Be Lucky Than Good

Nick Swisher's home run hit the top of the wall and ended up bouncing over. Cano got hit with an easy double play ball and a run scored. Brian McCann had another error on a steal from Jeter and an Atlanta pitcher forgot to cover first base with Johnny Damon running. The difference in the game wasn't much more than luck and sloppy play from the Braves.

But as the Yankees have learned lately, it's better to be lucky than good.

Good signs:
-Joba pitched well and walked no one (a big F.U. to Mike Francesca's minions who think he's "ruined")
-A-Rod had a big two-run single and Tex a big RBI single
-Mariano Rivera still is Mariano Rivera

Bad signs:
-They had a perfect game going against them (by two different pitchers) through 5 innings
-They still squandered chances (at times) while the game was close
-Derek Jeter looks awful out there and Cano looks great one day a week and awful the rest of them

Overall, though, it's all good things for the Yankees. Francisco Cervelli hit his first homerun and looked so happy to do so that you really feel good for him. Mariano Rivera came up for his second career at-bat and looked pretty good swinging the bat to the humor of much of the Yankees' bench. And, finally, Angel Berroa is off this team.

I know it's one game, but it's worth enjoying it right now when times have been quite tough.

Shaq headed to Cleveland ("90% done")

ESPN is reporting that the Phoenix Suns and the Cleveland Cavaliers are "90% done" in reaching a blockbuster deal that would send Shaq to Cleveland in exchange for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic.

The impact of this trade will be enormous. Cleveland, which was obviously a championship-caliber team this season (and may have actually presented a better challenge to the Lakers than the Magic did), will only get better with a big body like Shaq. Plus, they are giving up two guys who essentially amount to spare parts. And giving up Wallace's salary helps them deal with Shaq's huge contract.

Part of the reason Orlando lost to Los Angeles in the Finals was that they didn't have a big man (beyond the relatively ineffective Dwight Howard) to counter Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. Shaq is far from his 2000-2004 form, but he can still pound the paint. You heard it here first: if Shaq is a Cavalier next year, Cleveland will win it all. He makes a great time really, really great.

Utter Domination

From ESPN.com's mobile site, a crazy "Did You Know?"

"Alexander Ovechkin is the first forward to win consecutive Hart Trophies since Wayne Gretzky won eight in a row from 1980 to 1987."

Wow.

-Andrew

New York Managers Need To Shape Up

How many of us thought two years ago we'd be longing for the days of Joe Torre and Bobby Valentine? But Yankees and Mets fans are there right now. And if Joe Girardi is on the hot seat as we discussed yesterday, Jerry Manuel has to be as well. Some may say that's unfair: since taking over for Willie Randolph last season, Manuel has now managed in exactly 162 games (a full season) and has gone 90-72 with the Mets. The problem? They're 35-34 this year. A lot of this can be blamed on injuries (what can you expect from a relative of Rondell White?), but at some point, Manuel's mismanagement has to come into effect as well. One example of this? How he's used his bullpen.

From Buster Olney:

Jerry Manuel's preference for constantly playing match-up with his relievers on a regular basis already seems to be taking a toll on the Mets' bullpen. There are some teams that don't have a single reliever on pace to make 70 appearances, and the Mets have four (and would have had five if Putz hadn't broken down). It's difficult to consider these numbers without concluding that the Mets' relief corps is being mismanaged.

 

(Key: For every pitcher below, three numbers are listed for games and innings pitched. The first category is current total, the second is projected total and the third is career high total. The "NA" will refer to rookies, and former starters.)

Francisco Rodriguez
Games: 34 | 81 | 76
Innings: 34.2 | 81 | 86
Work on consecutive days: 9

Sean Green
Games: 33 | 79 | 72
Innings: 32 | 76 | 79
Work on consecutive days: 10

Pedro Feliciano
Games: 40 | 95 | 86
Innings: 30 | 71 | 64
Work on consecutive days: 18

Bobby Parnell
Games: 36 | 86 | NA
Innings 27 | 64 | NA
Work on consecutive days: 12

Also, K-Rod, the big free agent signing at closer, also pitched quite a bit in the World Baseball Classic. Not good. And I thought Joe Torre was bad with bullpens.

And things are certainly not good in the Bronx either where Peter Abraham points out that $423.5 million doesn't buy what it used to. Especially not when Hideki Matsui and Brett Gardner are trying to carry the team in hitting. It's not Girardi's fault that the New Yankee Stadium was built too small and that the hitters can't adjust correctly when they can't jack homeruns and it's not his fault that his hitters can't hit with RISP, but at some point, the lack of effort in this team has to come back to the manager.

Just Walk Him Already

After his 2-run single today, here are A-Rod’s Albert Pujols’ numbers with the bases loaded in 2009:



5-5, 3 Grand Slams, 16 RBIs



Just walk him already. He's a machine.