The Yankee Clipper: Disappointing Loss

There are games that you should win, and last night was certainly one of those for the Yankees. So why did they come out on the short end? While This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes looks for some rays of sunshine, let's take a look (with A-Rod looking absolutely ridiculous Presidential on the right from ESPN.com):

1. The Yankees bullpen and defense didn't perform. Boone Logan and David Robertson (and to a lesser extent, Alfredo Aceves) just didn't get the job done. Phil Hughes struggled but got through 5 2/3 with a 2-1 lead and turned the ball over to Boone Logan with the lefty, Luke Scott, up at the plate. Logan promptly walked him. Robertson came on to face Wigginton who he hit (on an 0-2 pitch). He then allowed three straight RBI singles to Rhyne Hughes (rookie), Nolan Reimold (struggling), and Caesar Izturis (just bad) before finally striking out Adam Jones.  As the Post's Joel Sherman writes, the Yankees bullpen is a little bit of a mess in front of Mo. Ben from River Ave Blues breaks down the Boone Logan decision.
2. The bullpen was bad, but the Yankees' defense didn't help them out. Aceves' run could have been prevented but bad defense by Derek Jeter (error to lead off inning) and Jorge Posada (who sailed a throw down to second into CF) but Caesar Izturis (Yankee killer) made it 5-2. Randy Winn also had a chance to throw out Luke Scott at the plate in the 6th but ended up throwing the ball straight into the ground (a la Todd Zeile in the 1996 ALCS).
3. The Yankees base-running was atrocious--and hurt them. Jorge Posada hit a home run but had a tough game defensively and running the bases. In the 6th inning, Posada was caught straying too far off second base (where the heck was he going) and Miguel Tejada easily threw over to get Jorge. Posada is not a good baserunner and this is not the first time a base-running gaffe of his hurt the Yankees.  Another bad baserunner on the Yankees is Robinson Cano who somehow thinks he's a base stealer just because he's a middle infielder. Well Cano got caught at second and ended a potential rally. NoMass has a memo to Cano to stop attempting steals.

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Hot Stove Coal: Yankees Defensive Projections

Beyond the Boxscore posted their Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) projections for 2010 on November 15th. I extracted the Yankees players (and their free agents) and sorted them from best to worst. Here's what it looks like (pitchers and catchers excluded):

Name	Position	Projected UZR
Brett Gardner	CF	3.0
Jerry Hairston	LF	0.7
Melky Cabrera	LF	0.2
Nick Swisher	LF	0.0
Eric Hinske	LF	-0.1
Mark Teixeira	1B	-0.1
Eric Hinske	RF	-0.3
Nick Swisher	RF	-0.3
Melky Cabrera	RF	-0.8
Jerry Hairston	SS	-0.9
Eric Hinske	1B	-1.0
Nick Swisher	1B	-1.5
Robinson Cano	2B	-2.4
Derek Jeter	SS	-2.6
Xavier Nady	RF	-2.6
Melky Cabrera	CF	-2.6
Johnny Damon	LF	-2.8
Nick Swisher	CF	-2.8
Hideki Matsui	LF	-4.5
Alex Rodriguez	3B	-4.5
Johnny Damon	CF	-5.0

I bolded the 2009 Yankees regulars in their starting positions. Now UZR is just one measurement that goes into figuring out the defensive worth of a player and these are only projections, but this does not show a very good defensive team. Now Derek Jeter bounced back this past season with a good defensive season and a guy like Mark Teixeira was better than his UZR reading indicated, so this should all be taken with a grain of salt. Also, the Yankees won't be playing Johnny Damon or Nick Swisher CF (and for good reason), so you can basically ignore that part of the ratings. But this is an aging Yankees team that saw the value in better defense last season after the success of Tampa Bay in 2008, and finding positive UZR free agents/trade candidates may help the 2010 cause as well.

Let's take a look at some free agents or trade candidates who have had their names linked the Yankees with a few names bolded:

Name	Position	Projected UZR
Carl Crawford	LF	9.9
David DeJesus	LF	8.2
Randy Winn	RF	8.1
Chone Figgins	3B	6.4
Matt Holliday	LF	4.2
Mike Cameron	CF	3.2
Mark DeRosa	RF	2.0
Randy Winn	LF	1.8
Rocco Baldelli	CF	1.7
Curtis Granderson	CF	1.6
Craig Counsell	SS	1.1
Craig Counsell	2B	0.9
David DeJesus	CF	0.7
Craig Counsell	3B	0.6
Eric Bruntlett	SS	-0.1
Randy Winn	CF	-1.8
Garrett Atkins	1B	-2.1
Mark DeRosa	3B	-2.6
Mark DeRosa	2B	-2.8
Rick Ankiel	CF	-3.1
Chone Figgins	CF	-3.4
Garrett Atkins	3B	-6.1
Jason Bay	LF	-10.5
Jermaine Dye	RF	-17.5

What to make of this list? Although some may argue that the Green Monster skews UZR ratings for Boston leftfielders, it does not look like Jason Bay is a good defender (and Jermaine Dye is beyond bad). When you look at Matt Holliday, you see the opposite. While the Yankees will almost certainly inquire on Carl Crawford for their leftfield hole, another option in which they wouldn't have to give up so much would be David DeJesus, and excellent defensive leftfielder who is a pretty good hitter (he was also born in Brooklyn and went to high school and college in NJ so he's a local product). While Curtis Granderson is an intriguing trade candidate, a much smarter option for CF may be Mike Cameron who is not only better defensively, but also crushes lefthanded pitching (while Granderson makes Jose Molina look like a good hitter against lefties). And While Chone Figgins looks like he'll have another solid season playing the infield, he may not be as solid if asked to play the outfield.

Other cheap veteran pickups for the Yankees for the bench could be a guy like Craig Counsell to play the infield or Randy Winn to play the outfield.

Just some food for thought...

Pictures courtesy of Reuters and CNNSI

Let the Celebrating Begin

18 straight games without an error, a new major league record. And some great leather tonight all around. I honestly can't believe that more wasn't made of this record. It's pretty cool for a team that was supposed to be so bad defensively.

But by far, the best play today was this one in very grainy YouTube style as Joba Chamberlain dove (read: belly flopped) for a huge double play. Fist pump and all...

"I felt the ground shake all the way from right field" - Nick Swisher



(H/T Twitterer @Bronx_Bombers)

16 Games Without An Error

I think one of the most impressive things the Yankees have done this season so far has been this streak of 16 games without an error. Granted, you can't get charged with an error if you never get to a ball (paging Derek Jeter) and an error is still a decision made by the official scorer...but this is quite impressive. They're one game away from tying the major league record set by the 2006 Red Sox--which is amazing to me...there's been many good defensive teams and many years of baseball and the fact that 17 games without an error is a record is a shock to me.

The most impressive part of this is that the Yankees have been tremendously subpar defensively in past seasons. By the end of last year they had a starting lineup with Xavier Nady in LF (average at best), Johnny Damon in CF (speedy but poor defender and extremely poor arm), Bobby Abreu in RF (decent arm, but subpar fielder), Jason Giambi at 1B (subpar), Robinson Cano at 2B (below average to above average depending on how he felt), Derek Jeter (poor defender), A-Rod (average, but good arm), and Jorge Posada (average at best).

This year Brian Cashman wanted to improve the defense of his team and he certainly did so. Swisher is an upgrade in RF, Melky/Gardner in CF (and Gardner is one of the top 3 defensive CFs in the league), Teixeira at 1B (who could win some Gold while with the Yanks and saves errors from the other infielders), and an improved bench of plus defenders in whoever is not starting in CF (who can play all 3 OF positions) and Ramiro Pena (who can play all infield positions).

The problem with errors is that not only do they sometimes end up in unearned runs, but they also make your pitcher throw more pitches. And when you make your starters throw more pitches, it hurts your team in ways not shown in the boxscore. This is especially important in the Yankees bandbox in the Bronx because extra pitches means greater chances someone will hit the ball out of the park.

I'm not taking anything away from what the Yankees starters have done the past few weeks, but the starting pitching looks better because of the good defense. I'm not sure how long this errorless streak is going to last, but it's because of increased focus on improving the defense this year that it was even possible.

Play Clean and You Don't Lose

One of the big knocks on the Yankees coming into this season was that they even though they were improved from last year, they were a poor defensive team. Well one of the things they've done during this amazing streak they've been on is play good defense. Even with the lack of errors, they still don't always play great defense (Derek Jeter is a prime example). But they've made some great plays (including Teixeira today) and have found a way to make all the routine ones.

And, for all those who doubted him, Mark Teixeira is not only playing great defense and making great plays, but he's saving errors from the other infielders as well. He may not be as good as Don Mattingly, but if he isn't, he's close.

From the New York Daily News' Anthony McCarron:

I leave you with this tidbit, some praise for the Yanks - they have gone 10 straight games without an error, the longest current errorless streak in the majors and third longest this season. The last boot came on May 13 in Toronto. It’s the team’s longest streak since 1995. You win when you catch and throw, too - Yanks are 9-1 over that span and 22-5 this season.

Good job by the Yankees. Let's hope they keep it up.