Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Every Day Interleague Play Creates Bucket List MLB Schedule

April 29, 2013 by William Juliano

Do you know where the next interleague game is? With the new balanced alignment, teams from the American and National leagues have been squaring off on a nightly basis, making it difficult to keep track of these daily showdowns between interleague combatants. The next game could be coming to a ballpark near you. To help clear up some of the confusion, attached to this link is a handy interleague schedule displaying every contest between AL and NL teams in chronological order as well as on an individual team basis.

Tonight’s visit by the Houston Astros to Yankee Stadium isn’t on the interleague schedule because last year’s NL Central cellar dwellers have since taken up occupancy in the basement of the AL West. Yankee fans that haven’t been able to reprogram their baseball consciousness to regard the Astros as an American League opponent need only examine the impact Houston has had on the records of the Bronx Bombers’ potential playoff rivals to slap them back to reality. For a month, the rest of the A.L. has been fattening its win total against the Astros, and tonight, the Yankees get their first chance to fill up.

The novelty of the Astros in the American League will wear off as Houston faces each existing member of the junior circuit for the first time. However, those aren’t the only unique match-ups that will be crossed off baseball’s bucket list schedule this season. Since the advent of interleague play in 1997, every franchise has hosted the other 29 current MLB teams for a regular season game, with only the rare exceptions noted below. And, by the time the season has ended, those nine never “never before seen” match-ups will be whittled down all the way to one.

Never Before Match-ups Between MLB Franchises

interleague
*Match-ups previously occurred in World Series.
Source: baseball-reference.com

When the San Diego Padres finally make their first, long awaited trip to Toronto at some unknown date in the future, every pairing of franchises will have been achieved. Even if you extend the exercise to involve each franchise’s current city, when the Twins visit Washington in June, that loop will be closed as well (the Nationals have never visited Oakland and Kansas City, but the Expos did). After 16 seasons of interleague play, there wasn’t much virgin territory left in the MLB schedule to begin with, but thanks to realignment, soon there will be none.

Posted in Baseball, Baseball History, Interleague, MLB | Leave a Comment »

Yankees Cost Cutting Plan on Chopping Block; I Told You So?

April 26, 2013 by William Juliano

The last time the Yankees reversed course on finances, they wound up signing Mark Teixeira.

The last time the Yankees decided to bust their budget, they wound up signing Mark Teixeira (and winning the World Series the next year).

After a year of raking Yankee fans over the coals of cost cutting, Hal Steinbrenner has reportedly abandoned his plan to lower the team’s payroll below the luxury tax threshold in 2014. Is it too soon to say “I told you so”?

Over the last several months, I’ve written extensively about the motivation for and wisdom of the Yankees’ proposed attempt to slash payroll below $189 million (see index of posts below). Although the potentials savings were undeniable, it was hard to fathom why Steinbrenner would risk doing damage to the Yankees brand when the team’s finances were so robust. Ultimately, I concluded that Steinbrenner was either underestimating the task of maintaining excellence on a budget, or overestimating the loyalty of Yankee fans. And, sure enough, with attendance down significantly, and Joe Girardi fielding a make shift lineup every night, both of those miscalculations have come to fruition.

The Yankees have already started to face some early fallout from the team’s belt tightening, and, according to reports, it’s been a rude awakening. Yahoo!’s Jeff Passan is now reporting that the team no longer intends to pursue its goal of getting below the luxury cap, having realized the enormous difficulty of the task. If only Hal Steinbrenner had read the Captain’s Blog!

Passan’s report relied on anonymous sources, so the death knell for Plan 189 will have to wait until someone in the Yankees’ front office goes on the record. However, it is encouraging that the organization has finally realized the flaws in its fiscal logic. Unfortunately, it’s also a shame they weren’t able to do so sooner. Had the Yankees realized it made little sense, and cents, to run a premium brand on a no frills budget, some of the team’s austerity-based decisions could have been avoided. Instead, the Yankees find themselves with a depleted roster playing in front of increasingly smaller crowds, a trend that could worsen if the team’s injured superstars don’t return sooner than later.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Baseball, Business and Finance, Hal Steinbrenner, MLB, Yankees | 8 Comments »

Smaller Crowds at Yankee Stadium Could Have Big Impact on Future Plans

April 25, 2013 by William Juliano

(The following was originally published at SB*Nation’s Pinstriped Bible)

Empty seats have been more common at Yankee Stadium this season.

Empty seats have been more common at Yankee Stadium this season.

“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” – Yogi Berra

The turnstiles at Yankee Stadium have not been spinning as often this season. Through the first nine home games of the year, the average crowd in the Bronx has been 38,432, which compared to the same point last season, represents a drop of nearly 4,000 fans per game. Although still good enough to rank sixth in the majors, the attendance at Yankee Stadium has fallen significantly when compared to the recent past. Not only has the team’s average dipped below 40,000 for the first time since 2000, but five crowds have been the smallest to attend a game in the Bronx since 2004, and each has taken turns setting the new Yankee Stadium’s all-time low attendance mark.

With only nine games played on the home schedule, there’s plenty of time for the Yankees’ attendance to rebound. However, it seems clear that the smaller crowds are not the result of temporary factors like weather, but rather the byproduct of a significantly eroded season ticket base. If so, and the declines remain consistent, it will represent the acceleration of a more gradual trend that has seen crowds in the Bronx dwindle from over 90% capacity to less than 80%.

Yankees’ Attendance/Game vs. Capacity, 1993 to 2013YTD

nyyattend

Note: 2013 data as of April 24, 2013.
Source: baseball-reference.com

Continue Reading »

Posted in Alex Rodriguez, Baseball, Business and Finance, Hal Steinbrenner, MLB, Yankee Stadium, Yankees | 11 Comments »

Have Yankees Had Their Fill of Hughes’ Inconsistency?

April 24, 2013 by William Juliano

(The following was originally published at SB*Nation’s Pinstriped Bible)

Is it too late for Hughes to fulfill his potential? (Photo: AP)

Is it too late for Hughes to fulfill his potential? (Photo: AP)

After stumbling out of the gate with two disastrous outings, including one of the worst of his career, Phil Hughes has since rebounded with two strong performances. What’s more, according to one report, the 27-year old right hander didn’t just pitch well, he did so with a new, more aggressive approach. Is Hughes finally on the verge of a breakout? Or, does his inconsistent start presage another season of mediocrity? For six years, Yankee fans have been asking those questions, each time hoping that the answer would be be different.

Every time Hughes has a string of strong starts, there is a rush to read between the lines. This time around, his strong performances were attributed to having an “edge”. Last August, a run of success was said to be predicatedupon his “gaining the confidence to shrug off a bad start and move forward”. In 2011, Hughes’ brief recovery from early struggles was chalked up to improved arm strength and the comfort of having a guaranteed spot in the rotation. Despite the empty promises of the past, the media, fans, and organization have always been eager to explain why a current hot streak from Hughes is different from the others.

Hughes’ periods of inconsistency have been more common than his spurts of excellence. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2010, Hughes has had three straight outings with a game score above 60 on only three separate occasions. If you put aside his first six starts in 2010, the right hander hasn’t even topped 50, a baseline reading for measuring the quality of a start, in more than three consecutive outings. By any measure, Hughes’ inconsistency is undeniable.

Hughes’ Individual Game Scores, Since 2010

Hughes_GS

Source: Baseball-reference.com

Continue Reading »

Posted in Baseball, MLB, Roster Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Yankees | 2 Comments »

Joe Girardi Shuffles, But Without a Stacked Deck

April 23, 2013 by William Juliano

Joe Girardi has been dealt a much different hand this season, and he hasn’t been shy about shuffling the cards. In only 18 games, the Yankees’ manager has already used 13 different lineups, and, with the return of the team’s injured stars still several weeks away, the number of different combinations is likely to increase.

If Girardi’s head is spinning, he shouldn’t expect much sympathy from Rays’ manager Joe Maddon, who has already used 17 different batting orders. Of course, Maddon is used to juggling his lineup. In 2012, the eccentric Rays’ skipper came up with 151 batting orders, with no combination used more than three times. Clearly, Girardi hasn’t been pushed to that extreme, but with a unique lineup used in over 72% of the Yankees’ games to date, there has been a lot less stability in the Bronx so far in April.

Rate of Unique Batting Orders Used by the Yankees, 1916 to 2013
Unique_Batting_Orders_NYY

Source: Baseball-reference.com

Continue Reading »

Posted in Baseball, MLB, Roster Analysis, Yankees | 2 Comments »

Can Yankees Tale of Two Lineups Lead to a Storybook Finish?

April 22, 2013 by William Juliano

(The following was originally published at SB*Nation’s Pinstriped Bible)

Vernon Wells has been the Yankees' main weapon against left handed pitchers. (Photo: Getty Images)

Vernon Wells has been the Yankees’ main weapon against left handed pitchers. (Photo: Getty Images)

After three weeks, the Yankees’ lineup has defied even the most optimistic expectations. With four of the team’s best hitters currently on the disabled list, the Bronx Bombers’ ability to score was supposed to take a nose dive. Instead, they have maintained their typical lofty position atop most of the offensive leader boards, including an impressive wOBA of .349 that easily leads the American League. However, all is not well with the Yankees’ offense.

It’s difficult to tie a ribbon around the Yankees first 17 games, so I figured I’d look to the classics for inspiration. At first glance, it’s tempting to say something like the reported demise of the team’s lineup has been greatly exaggerated. The overall numbers certainly agree with that assessment, but it’s really an oversimplification.

Mark Twain may have known about Connecticut Yankees, but his wisdom doesn’t apply to ones from the Bronx. Instead, we have to turn to Charles Dickens because 2013 has been a tale of two lineups for the pinstripes. When facing a right hander, the team’s hitters have enjoyed the best of times, compiling a major league leading wOBA of .391. No other team is even close.  With a lefty on the mound, however, the Yankees’ hitters have posted a wOBA of only .263, which ranks at the bottom. The worst of times in deed.

Yankees’ Batting Splits, 2002-Present
NYY_Split

Source: fangraphs.com

Continue Reading »

Posted in Baseball, MLB, Statistical Analysis, Yankees | 1 Comment »

Time for MLB to Tackle Bench Clearing Brawls

April 12, 2013 by William Juliano

(The following was originally published at SB*Nation’s Pinstriped Bible)

Baseball always suffers when it tries to imitate football. Never was that more evident than last night in San Diego.

For the first five-plus innings of yesterday’s game, the Dodgers and Padres treated the fans at PetCoPark to an entertaining baseball game. Then, Carlos Quentin decided to do his best Donald Butler impersonation. After being hit by a pitch, the Padres’ left fielder started walking toward the mound like a linebacker preparing for a blitz. The intended target was Dodgers’ pitcher Zack Greinke. Unfortunately, he forgot to wear his shoulder pads. The end result was a broken collarbone for Greinke, who will now earn his $24 million salary on the disabled list for at least the next few months.

What motivated Quentin to charge the mound? Greinke was nursing a 2-1 lead at the time, and Quentin had run the count full, so there’s no reason to suspect the hit by pitch was intentional. Maybe there was history between the two? After all, it was the third time Quentin had been the victim of a Greinke pitch. Even that excuse doesn’t wash. The outfielder, who has led the league in being hit by a pitch in each of the last two seasons, has been a frequent target throughout his career because of a batting stance that crowds the plate. In fact, he has been plunked more than once by 18 different pitchers, including four times by Nick Blackburn. If Quentin felt the need to settle old scores by charging the mound, baseball’s health insurance premiums would go through the roof.

In the post game, Quentin tried to shift some of the blame to Greinke, who may have uttered less than inviting words to the outfielder as he approached the mound. According to Quentin, had the Dodgers’ ace made a more conciliatory gesture, the incident could have been avoided. Blaming the victim isn’t a very convincing defense, so Quentin might want to explore a different angle when he goes before baseball disciplinarian Joe Torre.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Baseball, MLB, Rulebook | 2 Comments »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »