Trivia Tuesday: RBIs aplenty

It's a little late in the day, but better late than never to revive one of NYaT's longest traditions...

Going into the 2011 season, the Yankees' lineup seemed old and primed for a dropoff in production, while the Red Sox (having added Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford) were expected to be an offensive juggernaut.  Alas, we have seen a very different story over the last five weeks.  There are 5 Yankees ranked in the Top 20 American League RBI producers (Cano, Martin, A-Rod, Granderson, and Teixeira) while the Red Sox have just one (Gonzalez).

Way back in 1961, Roger Maris led the AL with 142 RBIs.  Who was the next Yankees player to lead the league in RBIs?

Bonus: In what year did he do it, and how many did he drive in?

Bonus No. 2: Who was the most recent Yankee to lead the AL in RBIs?

Put your answers in the comments below and later tonight I'll reveal the correct answers!

Filling Out a Lineup Card: Boston Red Sox

As we get closer to opening day and managers have to figure out who is going to fill out their starting lineup, we're going to have a guest post series by Jordan who is going to give his thoughts into the batting order each team will go with this season. Currently Jordan is leaving up in Red Sox territory so it's fitting he starts with the Yankees' heated rivals. As always, let us know what you think in the comments below. Here is his first entry in the series:

Jordan says "The Smurf" should bat 6th in this potent lineup (Boston Herald)

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There has been much debate over the projected Red Sox batting order. Manager Terry Francona has difficult task ahead. With the additions of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, the batting order will look dramatic different. I would expect Tito to break up the lefties as much as possible. My predicted order:

1. Dustin Pedroia (R)
2. Carl Crawford (L)
3. Adrian Gonzalez (L)
4. Kevin Youklis (R)
5. David Ortiz (L)
6. Marco Scutaro (R)
7. J.D. Drew (L)
8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia (S)
9. Jacoby Ellsbury (L)

This line up gives the Red Sox the most advantages. The only back-to-back lefties are the key acquisitions that can both hit lefties. Ellsbury drops from lead off to the ninth spot in the order to create a second leadoff batter when he starts off an inning.

Some may find it odd that Scutaro is batting sixth, but he is needed there to break up Ortiz and Drew, who both can struggle against south paws. If Drew was bumped ahead of Scutaro, opponents could have a lefty come in to face Crawford through Drew. Scutaro is a better option in the sixth spot as opposed to the fourteen lettered, Saltalamacchia due to striking out less.

Hot Stove Coal: Should the Yankees Trade An Outfielder? (Nick Swisher Edition)

I know, I know: the report today from Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News is that the Yankees are out of the Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth sweepstakes. But I don't believe that for a second. The Yankees were also out on Mark Teixeira and look what happened there. Plus, I've already gone through the rest of the outfield having covered Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson. So let's finish up the series and see if the Yankees should keep or trade their righfielder (and about-to-be-married-man), Nick Swisher.

Swish was a Yank for 2 postseasons; will he be around for a 3rd? (LoHud)

When the Yankees acquired Nick Swisher after the 2008 season, it was seen as a reclamation project. After putting up 3+ win seasons for the Athletics in 2007 and 2008, Swisher had struggled playing under Ozzie Guillen and looked like he needed a change of scenery. The Yankees acquired Swisher for three bags of baseballs players: Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez. He was owed just over $22 M for the next three years or $31.3 M for the next four depending on the option the club controlled. Swisher was originally acquired to be the Yankees everyday first baseman until the Yankees surprised many and signed the aforementioned Teixeira to a long-term deal. Suddenly, with first filled by Tex and the OF/DH spots all covered, Swisher was relegated to a bench role. That quickly changed in April of 2009 as Swisher's hot start combined with a Xavier Nady injury got Swish into the lineup everyday in rightfield. And since that time he's been one of the Yankees most important players.

After putting up 3.3 WAR last season in helping the Yankees win the World Series, Nick Swisher had the best season of his career, putting up a WAR of 4.1. Although Swisher became more free swinging and walked less in 2010 (only 9.1% of the time, a far cry from 16% last season), he improved his average (career high .288) and slugging numbers and combined that with improved defense in right. He seemed to come into camp in much better shape and besides a late-season knee injury, seemed to be playing with much better comfort in the field. He was also moved around quite a bit in the lineup, filling in the second slot at times and moving further down in the order at others (he batted in every slot except lead-off).

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Hot Stove Coal: Should the Yankees Trade An Outfielder? (Curtis Granderson Edition)

Yesterday we looked at whether the Yankees should trade Brett Gardner to make room for Jayson Werth or Carl Crawford. The overwhelming response seemed to be against it. But let's move around the outfield and check out Curtis Granderson. Although heading into September it looked like there was no way the Yankees could trade The Grandyman, a strong end to the season coupled with a really hot playoffs could change some minds. But is it enough to make it worth trading Granderson? Let's take a look.

In the end, The Grandy Man could for the Yanks in 2010 (NYP)

Curtis Granderson came to the Yankees with great expectations, having been traded for much-heralded prospect Austin Jackson and two pitchers who were on the Major League team in 2009 (Ian Kennedy and Phil Coke). So when Jackson (and Kennedy) hit the ground running and Granderson failed to produce at the beginning of 2010, many saw it as a bust. And they weren't so far off. Although he missed most of May, Granderson wasn't missed much in the Yankees lineup as he hit .233/.302/.392 through July 20th with only 7 HR and 24 RBI. Part of Granderson's problem was a BABIP one, but at times he looked just plain overmatched at the plate. He was awful against lefties and wasn't much better against righties and his inability to get on base was making his speed worthless.

But as the season went on things started to click. Granderson hit two solo homers on July 25th against the Royals and including that win, Granderson would hit .255/.342/.557 the rest of the season with 17 HR and 43 RBI. But at the time he wasn't hitting southpaws. Anyone who watched Yankees games all season could see that Granderson's swing was too long and had too many moving parts and after swallowing his pride and working with Kevin Long in August, Granderson turned around his season against pitchers regardless of which side they threw from. From the New York Times' piece on Kevin Long we linked to a few weeks back "with a shorter swing, Granderson hit more homers (14 to 10) and drove in more runs (34 to 33) over his final 165 at-bats than he did in his first 301." September was Granderson's best month of the year as he hit .263./.362/.596 with 9 HR and 25 RBI.

His hot hitting spilled over to the playoffs where Joe Girardi started him regardless of what hand the starter was going to be pitching with and he rewarded Girardi's faith with a big hit in Game 1 of the ALDS. In the Yankees 2010 postseason Granderson hit .357/.514/.607 with 4 XBH and 6 RBI. He also had 8 walks (and one HBP) to only 5 K. Although the Yankees were eliminated, Granderson went from zero to hero for the Yankees and a lot of credit has to be given to him for his willingness to adjust mid-season when needed. Overall Granderson put up a WAR of 3.6 for the regular season which was his highest output since an amazing 7.4 in 2007. Although he got terrible jumps for much of the season, Granderson finished eighth in the Fielding Bible Awards for centerfield and had an UZR of 5.3 which was his first positive output in the past three years. And although we don't get to see the inner workings of the clubhouse, Granderson seemed to fit in well there and his adjustment to New York was completed in the playoff run.

But will the Yankees keep him in the clubhouse in 2011?

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Hot Stove Coal: Should the Yankees Trade An Outfielder? (Brett Gardner Edition)

The World Series is over so it's time to fire up the Hot Stove Coal series once again. Last off-season the Yankees passed up on bidding for Jason Bay or Matt Holliday. Some of the thought behind that was that they would wait one season and bid heavily on Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth, both seen as better options for the Yankees than last year's duo. But with free agency about to descend upon us, the question has to be asked: do the Yankees have any interest in acquiring an outfielder? And if that answer is yes, who do the Yankees trade in the outfield? We'll take a look at each of the Yankees outfielders over the next week but let's start in leftfield with Brett Gardner.

Brett Gardner's defense was huge for the Yankees in 2010 (Star-Ledger)

It's funny to look back at the uproar that was caused by the Yankees not signing Holliday or Bay, trading away Melky Cabrera, and handing the leftfield job to Brett Gardner. Even the prognosticators saw Gardy as only slightly improved on his 2009 self. Gardner responded by hitting .277/.383/.379 with a .358 wOBA and 47 SB. Almost as impressively, Gardner's defense was among the best in the game. He won the Fielding Bible Award in a 10-point upset over 3-time winner Carl Crawford. Mike Axisa of River Ave Blues followed that up by writing: "it didn’t factor into voting, but Gardner did finish with the highest UZR (+22.3) and UZR/150 (+39.7) in baseball this season, regardless of position." He also set the record for most pitches per plate appearance (since the stat has been tracked). All this added up to 52.1 runs above replacement which was roughly 5.4 wins, good for 9th among American League position players according to FanGraphs, ahead of such guys as Joe Mauer, Ichiro, Victor Martinez, and any Yankee besides Robinson Cano (which means he also produced the greatest value relative to his salary). Baseball-Reference was slightly less kind, putting Gardner at 4.0 WAR, though his defensive WAR was 7th in the American League among position players putting him into the upper echelon.

The problem with Gardner is that he needs to duplicate that success of getting on base to be successful. Gardner was on a tear early in the season, hitting .321/.403/.418 through the end of June. That also coincided with the time that Clayton Kershaw nailed Garnder with a 91 MPH fastball on the right wrist. Although X-rays came back negative and Gardner said he felt better, his results after that told a different story. Gardy hit .232/.363/.340 the rest of the season and really seemed to struggle to drive the ball. In mid-September an MRI showed considerable inflammation in that wrist and he received a cortisone shot. Although he hit a little better the rest of the regular season, his bat was dead in the playoffs as he hit .185/.285/.185 in the postseason with no extra-base hits, 2 SB, 8 K and 3 BB. Although he still saw a lot of pitches, he looked like he was unwilling to swing the bat until absolutely necessary, making some wonder if his wrist was not bothering him some more. And it sure didn't help that C.J. Wilson supposedly stepped on Gardner's left hand when he slid into first on that fateful play in Game 1 of the ALCS.

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Last Night Felt Like 2010's "He Dropped The Ball" Game

Every World Series champion goes through a slump at some point in the season and the 2009 New York Yankees were no exception. In the middle of June, the Yankees looked like they were going to have it rough after they lost three three straight at Boston and fell 2 games behind the Red Sox. The Mets came into town and on Friday, June 12. The Yankees, desperately needing a win, were up 7-6 in the 7th when Phil Coke blew the lead and then fell behind in the 8th when Mariano Rivera gave up an RBI double to David Wright. With two outs and Derek Jeter at 2nd, the Mets elected to intentionally walk Mark Teixeira (remember Red Sox Owner John Henry's BS about the Mark Teixeira curse--dubbed the "MT Curse"?) and have Francisco Rodriguez go after Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod had a 3-1 count but on the 5th pitched he popped the ball up to second and the game looked over...

Crawford made the third out at third base--a cardinal sin (St. Pete Times)

...until Luis Castillo, trying to casually catch the ball with one hand, dropped the ball. A heads-up Mark Teixeira raced around the bases from first and scored on the play.  "HE DROPPED THE BALL!" was a play that Yankees fans would remember the rest of the season and the Yankee win seemed to be a big turning point.

The Yankees would lose 9 of 13 during this stretch but a win on a miscue helped to make sure the bleeding wasn't worse.

Last night felt a lot like the "he dropped the ball" game. A back-and-forth affair in a high-scoring, "must-win game" that ended on a cardinal sin. Castillo's was that he didn't use two hands to catch the ball and it fell. Last night, Carl Crawford made the final out at 3rd base on a laser beam of a throw from Greg Golson. One of the most exciting plays in baseball (a fast runner vs. an outfielder's arm) ended the game and propelled the Yankees back into 1st place.

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