Comments on: Yankee Panky: Intentional Pass?

By: Yankster

Yankster — Fri, 28 May 2010 19:42:23 +0000

Not that I count, but I’ve been hating on Teix here and elsewhere all season. He’s stinking up the joint given his payroll weight. But there are few solutions – he has a full no trade clause, a monster salary, and tons of years. Ortiz is in a contract year – it’s fruitful to load up on him. Teix will be with the Yankees for many more years and there’s no advantage to actually doing anything about him even if he stinks all year long – we would still have to hope he will be good next year. I was against signing him too, and I’m glad that I was as wrong as I was about that.

By: Larry Koestler

Larry Koestler — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:40:14 +0000

Hey Will,

Fantastic write-up on Tex’s struggles; as usual I find myself agreeing with everything you wrote.

Additionally, thanks for the mention! Also, a point of clarification — the Tex article you linked to on my site was actually written by my Yankeeist co-author, Mike Jaggers-Radolf. No biggie, just didn’t want to be incorrectly credited with the piece.

Thanks!
Larry

By: williamnyy23

williamnyy23 — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:34:23 +0000

[22] Hitting him 8th would serve no purpose, as Torre learned in the playoffs with Arod. I wouldn’t mind moving him up to #2, however, if his struggles continue. Sometimes a small move like that can help change the mindset. Unfortunately, Girardi seems hell bent on using Gardner there, despite the fact that Gardner is not one of the team’s better hitters and that spot in the order seems to inhibit his base stealing.

By: williamnyy23

williamnyy23 — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:31:50 +0000

[20] I posted some directional numbers over at my place, and it seems like Tex’ biggest drop has come from balls hit to left field as a lefty (he is currently 1 for 14 in that subsplit). I think he may be alternating between forcing things to left and trying to hit over the shift.

By: a.O

a.O — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:12:00 +0000

Re: Tex.

It seems we got to the bottom of the issue in 20 posts or less.

I’m far more interested in the issue of why he is a sacred cow who can’t be dropped in the order until he pulls his head out of his ass. It’s like we can’t risk bruising his fragile ego or perhaps acknowledging that a guy who makes this much money might just not hit sometimes. Hit him 8th until he stops swinging at ball four on 3-0 counts and put the team first for a change.

By: a.O

a.O — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:08:50 +0000

Re: Vazquez for Oswalt: You never know until you try. There have been far worse trades made by many teams. And it seems pretty clear to me that the second Vazquez tenure is doomed.

It was only the giant new stadium and the fact that several balls were hit right at guys (e.g., Swisher) that prevented last night from being a(nother) complete disaster. He was hit far harder than his line showed. At this point, I’d take a bucket of balls for the guy.

By: OldYanksFan

OldYanksFan — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:05:32 +0000

[7] Agree 100% about the shift on Teix.
Watching Sox games, it’s amazing how many balls Big Poopi has hit that off the bat looked liked hits, only to be an out to the 2nd baseman playing 140′ foot deep in RF. Carlos Pena too. I believe these guys, Thome, and all the extreme LH pull hitters are at a distinct disadvantage against ‘the shift’.

Did Teix ever go the other way as a LHB? 10 hits a year can cost 20 pts of BA, some RBI, and maybe a game or 2. As has been brought up here before, it’s crazy that Teix (and that ilk) don’t learn how to push a bent towards SS/3rd. Aside from a near automatic base hit, it might also force the defense to not ‘shift’ and open up the possibility of even more hits. To watch Teix make an out into the shift when the entire left side is unmanned is very frustrating. I honestly can’t figure out why Girardi doesn’t teach/have Teix bunt.

I mean, I know he’s a doubles and HR guy, but I am perfectly happy with a bunt single, and leaving the big hit to ARod.

By: Iyasu

Iyasu — Fri, 28 May 2010 16:22:30 +0000

[0]
Agreed, last year’s championship, Tex’s big role in getting to the ’09 postseason, his D and his persona have earned him a grace period.

but if the days start to pass by in June and there’s no substantial upward trend, we can expect it to be gone…

Hopefully he can get enough hits to stop pressing.

Has anyone noticed any mechanical differences in his swing?
(haven’t had the opportunity to watch the games much recently..)

By: The Hawk

The Hawk — Fri, 28 May 2010 16:20:28 +0000

I think at this point there are more sarcastic comments made about things being “A Rod’s fault” than there are people actually saying it sincerely.

By: The Hawk

The Hawk — Fri, 28 May 2010 16:17:29 +0000

The thing is, it’s still relatively early. And that’s the primary reason he gets a pass. He’s known as a slow starter so the first month of ineffectiveness is almost factored in, we all know that. But it also means the clock starts ticking later for “attack mode”. I guarantee you if he’s still hitting like he has been in a month he’ll start getting more attention for it.

By: williamnyy23

williamnyy23 — Fri, 28 May 2010 16:06:02 +0000

[12] It could make sense if:

(1) The Astros can’t trade Oswalt because is $18mn guaranteed for 2011 (with 2012 buyout) is too prohibitive;
(2) The Astros can trade Oswalt but will have to accept lesser propsects or eat some money because of the prohibitive contract; and
(3) The Astros feel they can more easily trade Vazquez.

I don’t think all three assumptions are outlandish. It actually could make sense. Of course, I am not sure why we should expect Oswalt to do any better in the AL than Vazquez. If Oswalt bombs, the Yankees would be stuck with an $18mn pitcher for 2011.

By: williamnyy23

williamnyy23 — Fri, 28 May 2010 16:01:26 +0000

[10] I posted a bunch of numbers, but the nutshell is it seems as if Tex is doing two things as a lefty: making weak contact to left (i.e., forcing his swing to beat the shift) and hitting fewer deep flyballs to right (i.e., trying to lift the ball more than usual).

By: Crazy8Rick

Crazy8Rick — Fri, 28 May 2010 16:00:26 +0000

Tex is easy to like. Nice face, nice smile, always gracious. And he has a championship ring on his finger. You win a championship in NY and it buys you a stack of “Get outta Jail” free cards!

As long as the Yankees are wining, and Tex keeps flashing that boyish grin, this year will continue to be a love fest for him and CC.

But let us not make the playoff…. Oh baby. Victory has a thousand fathers, but failure is an orphan. They will still blame my man, A-Rod. Go figure!

By: cult of basebaal

cult of basebaal — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:46:12 +0000

[12] Jayson Stark had a long Rumblings and Grumblings column that spent a bunch of space covering the angles of the Oswalt situation

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&page=rumblings100527

By: cult of basebaal

cult of basebaal — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:43:39 +0000

[6] I think that plea is better directed towards someone with the necessary pull to make it happen, like maybe God, perhaps?

[9] Yeah, but I don’t think it doesn’t make sense in turn with the way that the Astros tend to not make sense. If that makes any sense.

By: rbj

rbj — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:39:32 +0000

[9] I think the only one who makes that trade is Steve Philips.

By: ms october

ms october — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:39:00 +0000

[7] i think you are on to something william. tex has historically done a bit better as a rh hitter anyway, but the extreme shift that teams are employing this year on him as a lh hitter is part of the circular problem he is having as a lh hitter.

By: williamnyy23

williamnyy23 — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:27:39 +0000

[8] Money…Oswalt makes more and has an extra year, I believe. It still wouldn’t make sense, but we are talking about the Astros.

By: Link

Link — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:23:09 +0000

[6] and why would Houston trade a younger, more dominant pitcher straight up for an inconsistent pitcher that has pretty low value right now?

By: williamnyy23

williamnyy23 — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:16:51 +0000

I don’t think Koestler’s hypothesis has m uch merit. The differences in pitch percentages are so small that I doubt they have been a factor in his struggles.

I also took a look inside the numbers and am more of the mindset that Tex’ struggles may be the result of a more prominent use of the shift when he bats lefty. If you look at his splits, Tex’ struggles have mostly been as a lefty. Also, where he hits the ball as a lefty seems to be a factor. I think that’s the root of the problem right now.