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Bantermetrics: Sabathia likes the Stadium

Much has been made of CC Sabathia’s prowess in Yankee Stadium.  Here was what Sunday’s Yankee “Game Notes” had on Sabathia’s hometown hammer:

CREATURE OF COMFORT: Is undefeated in his last 19 starts at Yankee Stadium – dating back to the 2009 All-Star break, posting a 14-0 record with a 2.27 ERA (135.0IP, 34ER) and a .207 opp BA. (100-for-483)…the Yankees have gone 17-2 in those starts…according to Elias, it is the longest active home winning streak in the Majors.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it is the longest undefeated streak of starts by any pitcher at any stadium since Johan Santana’s 24-start undefeated streak at the Metrodome from 8/6/05-4/2/07.

Elias also notes it is the longest undefeated streak of starts by a Yankee at any stadium since Ron Guidry did not record a loss over 19 starts at the original Yankee Stadium from 5/4/85-4/29/86…should Sabathia not lose today, it will mark the longest home winning streak by a Yankee since Whitey Ford from 8/8/64-8/18/65 (21GS).

So, with his win today, he marches up the list of longest streaks without a loss at home.  Yes, that is *the* Kenny Rogers topping the list, with an amazing 38 consecutive starts at home without a loss, spread over four different teams over a nearly three year period.

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22 comments

1 Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO   ~  Aug 22, 2010 8:45 pm

Great Win!

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/news/story?id=5483775

Goodbye Sweet Lou, always an emotional guy..this clip made me sad too..

2 monkeypants   ~  Aug 22, 2010 9:24 pm

[1] I can't believe that he's "only" 66. Seems like he's been in baseball forever...and relative to my own memories of the game, he has.

3 Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO   ~  Aug 22, 2010 9:50 pm

Yes, completely. I remember my older sisters and my mom thnking he was "cute" during his Yankee playing days..loooong time ago...

4 Mattpat11   ~  Aug 22, 2010 10:19 pm

I was at Sabathia's last regular season home loss.

I'm bad luck.

5 Just Fair   ~  Aug 22, 2010 11:05 pm

Mussina has been regarded by many as the of best free agent signings in Casman's Yankee land. CC's off to pretty good start to topple that one. He's a machine.

6 Mattpat11   ~  Aug 23, 2010 12:19 am

[5] I think Mussina is hands down Cashman's best free agent signing and one of the better long term pitching signings in decades.

7 Raf   ~  Aug 23, 2010 12:24 am

[5,6] Wish he was a touch better during the 2004 & 2005 seasons.

8 Dimelo   ~  Aug 23, 2010 8:40 am

[7] I do remember him being the only guy you wanted on the hill during the '04 ALCS.

I love CC, he's quickly become one of my favorite players.

9 Cliff Corcoran   ~  Aug 23, 2010 8:52 am

I'm sorry "the Kenny Rogers" is the guy who sang "Lady" "Lucille" "The Gambler" and all that. The ex-Yankee lefty is "that Kenny Rogers."

Oh, and Moose, CC, and Lou all rule.

10 williamnyy23   ~  Aug 23, 2010 9:10 am

[8] I was pretty comfortable with El Duque too.

11 williamnyy23   ~  Aug 23, 2010 9:12 am

I loved C.C.'s response to Kim Jones mentioning that Girardi said he pitches so well at home because "he knows the ballpark well". With an expressionless face, C.C. stated, "I pitch the same in every ballpark".

12 Dimelo   ~  Aug 23, 2010 9:13 am

[10] Agreed. Leiber was pretty solid too.

13 monkeypants   ~  Aug 23, 2010 9:47 am

From LoHud:

Just a guess, but there’s a chance you’ll see both Ramiro Pena and Eduardo Nunez in the same lineup this series.

That just made me sad.

14 williamnyy23   ~  Aug 23, 2010 9:51 am

[13] Is that a promise, or a threat? I just hope we get to see Cervelli in that lineup too.

15 rbj   ~  Aug 23, 2010 10:04 am

[14] Fine. I'll just cut to the chase and start banging my head against a concrete wall now.

I remember Lou's last game as a player -- seemed like everyone in the Yankee's lineup was trying to get him that one last At Bat -- but then he grounded out for a 0-5 day.

Baseball's a tough game.

16 monkeypants   ~  Aug 23, 2010 10:08 am

14) seriously. In fact, LoHud suggested getting Jeter a day off from the turf by making him...the DH! So, id they are right (and it is only idle speculation), that lineup would include Peña and Nuñez and the lightest hittinf regular at DH. Now, throw in Frankie and you would really have something cooking!

Now, I am one of the biggest Jeter apologists here, and I do think that he should be getting some more days off from a very demanding position (forgotten in all the talk of his decline and future with the team is just durable he has been...I wonder how productive he could be for,say, the next three years if he only played 130 games per year instead of 150+). But there is no denying that he is now the weakest hitting starter. He may still be having a pretty good season for a SS, but there is no way he should DH when he gets a day off from the field.

17 ms october   ~  Aug 23, 2010 10:40 am

[16] agreed, and also said as one of jeter's "apologists."
and in addition to the fact that he shouldn't dh because of his numbers, he shouldn't dh because he could really use some full days off.

18 Shaun P.   ~  Aug 23, 2010 11:54 am

[16] [17] Agreed that "time off" should be "sits his ass on the bench the whole game", not DH.

That said, I'm not afraid of a lineup that has Jeter-Frankie-Pena-Nunez in it, so long as the opposing team is, say, the Athletics. Against a team that can actually score runs? Nope.

Speaking of teams that can't score runs, I don't see why we didn't see this lineup yesterday. CC on the hill, the punchless Mariners in town? That's the perfect time for one of Torre's old "Thursday afternoon get-a-way day" lineups. Who cares that they aren't going anywhere?

19 monkeypants   ~  Aug 23, 2010 12:19 pm

[17][18] Yay, we all agree!

It is interesting how, in discussions of Jeter's pending contract, his inevitable decline, his overratedness, etc. it is rarely assumed or even posited that he could transition into a "part-time, full-time" IF at the end of his career. The focus has generally been on A) moving him to 1B or DH or corner OF to compensate for his defense and keep his bat in the lineup (but would his hitting justify a corner spot?), or on releasing as soon as he gets 3000 hits, if not sooner, because SS do not age well and so Jeter surely does not merit a 4 year contract at 100 million dollars (or whatever the assumed contract will be).

Yet nearly all great players eventually succumb to sitting out at least once a week. Jeter has a lot of mileage, considering the position he plays, the number of regular season games he plays, and the number of postseason games. Actually making him take some significant time off has yet to be tested.

I'm willing to bet that he would benefit significantly from getting 20 or 30 games off each season going forward, especially if his gets sat down v. tough RHP. Even if his offense remained where it is, 130 games of 100 OPS+ at SS would *still* be a real asset to the organization.

Now, what about his back-up? Well, given that both he and ARod would require some real time off, it would make sense for the Yankees to make BUIF a real focus of the off season, and not an afterthought, not "let's just endure Peña because he's only gonna play a few games anyway and he has a slick glove."

20 seamus   ~  Aug 23, 2010 12:25 pm

[16] [17] [18] I don't totally agree that a "day off" needs to be a full day off. Jeter has been hitting pretty well of late actually. Well, certainly better than Posada anyhow. :b

But I think whether a player gets a full day off versus a DH day off should depend on several factors. And since playing the field causes the most wear and tear, it makes sense to me that you can limit the number of full off days for your best players using the DH.

21 monkeypants   ~  Aug 23, 2010 12:33 pm

[20] Right now, given the state of the bench, it may make sense to DH Jeter. But I would sit his ass down and bat Kearns/Thames. More generally, if Jeter is going to spend the rest of his career around 100 OPS+ rather than, say 120, he should not DH when he is not at SS.

As for Jeter hitting better lately than Posada, I guess that depends how one defines lately.

Last 7 days: Posada 1.054 OPS, Jeter .779
Last 14 days: Posada .843, Jeter .692
Last 28 days: Posada. 621, Jeter .727

Jeter has the advantage over the last month, since Jorge was really scuffling a couple of weeks ago. But Po has been mashing the last couple of weeks.

22 Raf   ~  Aug 23, 2010 12:58 pm

[8,10] Rainouts and scheduling screwed up the schedule

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