2012 has been quite a year for major league shortstops. Jose Reyes has mesmerized crowds with his blazing speed, wreaking havoc on the basepaths. Asdrubal Cabrera is continuing his ascent to the top of the MLB shortstop ranks, and Ian Desmond is showcasing his powerful stroke for all to see in D.C. Elvis Andrus and Jhonny Peralta have powered their respective clubs into contention in the AL West and AL Central respectively, and second-year stud Starlin Castro has given life to the punch-less Chicago Cubs. Particularly in the power department, shortstops are ...
WAR (Wins Above Replacement) is today's go-to statistic used to determine just how much value a player brings to a team's win-loss record. Admittedly, it still confuses me, and not just because there isn't one universal formula used for its calculation. It's the basic premise that I find baffling; WAR is designed to measure the disparity between a given player and a "replacement-level" player, the latter of which, as Baseball Reference clarifies, is not meant to be interpreted as "average."Replacement-level players are typically minor leaguers, non-roster invitees or life-long bench ...
After a recent setback for Andy Pettitte while recovering from an ankle injury, the New York Yankees should continue scouring the waiver trade market for another starting pitcher just in case those problems persist. According to Andrew Marchand of ESPN, Pettitte suffered the setback a little over a week ago. While it was only a precaution to shut Pettitte down in the mean time, the Yanks have been no strangers to players having setbacks this season. Brett Gardner, another of the Bombers wounded, got injured back in April and after ...
Generally speaking, power hitters should rack up a prodigious amount of doubles.
They certainly hit the ball hard enough to reach the outfield wall or split the gaps in the alleys. And except for Harmon Killebrew, whose feet of lead carried him to only 290 career two-baggers—against nearly twice as many home runs (573)—the majority of sluggers do possess doubles totals that correlate with, or at least approach, their home run totals.
Ted Williams slammed 525 doubles to complement his 521 clouts. Lou Gehrig’s 534 doubles outdid his 493 round-trippers. ...
On Thursday, the New York Yankees completed their series with the Detroit Tigers by beating them 4-3 at Comerica Park.The final game had somewhat of a playoff-atmosphere feeling between the two. I mean, granted, these two teams met in the 2011 American League Division Series back in October.But for the last four days, the battle between the Yankees and Tigers had that playoff atmosphere. The Yankees are trying to hold onto their lead over the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East, while the Tigers are just a game behind ...
Most people would correlate the New York Yankees' most recent struggles with the absence of Alex Rodriguez, but how can that be when Eric Chavez is tearing the cover off the ball at the moment?Chavez finished up another great day for the Yanks at third base. He went 2-for-4 against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, capping off a series that saw him go 9-for-16 with two homers and five RBI.Not to mention, Chavez hit the eventual game-winner in the series finale with the Tigers, helping New York leave Detroit with ...
Russell Martin's nightmare season continues after a 1-for-5 Wednesday night against the Detroit Tigers that was, as usual, unproductive.Martin has had a slightly better August thus far for the New York Yankees, but any time you get excited about a guy hitting .261 during any given month, there is something wrong. In all, Martin is still on the interstate with a batting average of .194.Chris Stewart has been much of the opposite from Martin this season. After a tumultuous beginning—thanks to a negative fan reaction to the demotion of Francisco ...
If you look closely enough, you'll find right there, nestled in the No. 2 spot in the New York Yankees' rotation, the unassuming and quietly dominant Hiroki Kuroda. In late May, Kuroda's ERA had ballooned to 4.56 following his second straight loss. At 3-6, it looked like Brian Cashman's one-year free-agent signing was another tragic case of a good National League pitcher gone bad in the American League East. Kuroda appeared a different man, adjusting poorly to facing the smaller parks and more powerful bats of the junior circuit. Now, ...
On July 24th, Alex Rodriguez was struck by a Felix Hernandez pitch and suffered a broken hand. Since then, the New York Yankees have gone 6-7. Has the aging third baseman's importance to the team been underestimated?Looking at the statistics, one would think that the Yankees haven't missed a beat at the plate since "A-Rod" was hurt. The team is hitting .286 in his absence—a very decent team average. In eight of the 13 games without Rodriguez, the team has 10 or more hits, and the club has scored 75 ...
Despite a great game against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night, Curtis Granderson is having a horrible August, and it isn't looking so certain the New York Yankees will extend him at season's end.Granderson is hitting .160 in August and has completely fallen off the map offensively.Entering Wednesday night's game, the Yanks center fielder was hitting .240. He's spent most of his time hitting in the No. 2 hole before being dropped to No. 6 because his struggles are just too detrimental to the top of the Yankees order.That low ...