Random musings after a Yankee loss

Here’s your game wrap up: At least Boston and Tampa lost as well.

But enough of that. The sooner we forget tonight’s 13-4 debacle, the better off we are. Mussina didn’t have it; David Robertson didn’t have it; Kyle Farnsworth picked a good game to give up a few runs; and the Yanks got shellacked. It happens. We move on.

So instead of waxing philosophic on the Yankee loss, how about we look at some longer-term trends from our boys in the Bronx right now? We’ll start with the offense. Offensive numbers are through Sunday night’s game.

Melky Cabrera since May 6: 275 plate appearances, .233/.283/.289
Bobby Abreu since June 1: 205 plate appearances, .258/.341/.396
Jason Giambi since June 18: 112 plate appearances, .216/.375/.364

Interestingly, Cabrera and Abreu have both been hot, short-term, as the Yankees’ bats have come alive. What these numbers tell us, however, is that with Jose Molina in the lineup perpetually, the Yankees are facing decreased overall production from a number of key offensive spots. Center field has been a black hole of offense for three quarters of the season, and Abreu has scuffled since hitting a line drive off of Nick Blackburn’s face. We all await a Jason Giambi hot streak.

On the pitching side, let’s play around with this idea. According to long-time RAB reader and frequent commenter Jamal, statistically, Edwar Ramirez is having a better season than Francisco Rodriguez. You’d never know it though because Francisco Rodriguez is challenging the all-time single-season saves record while Ramirez is just some middle reliever.

Edwar Ramirez: 38.1 IP, 21 H, 10 ER (2.35 ERA), 15 BB, 44 K. That’s 10.33 K/9 IP and a K/BB of just under 3/1.
Francisco Rodriguez: 47.1 IP, 31 H, 13 ER (2.47 ERA), 28 BB, 49 K. That’s 9.32 K/9 IP and a K/BB of 1.75/1.

Of course, where these two relievers differ is in the type of innings pitched. K-Rod has faced 127 batters in high-leverage situations while Edwar has faced just 18. To that end, K-Rod’s OPS against in those situations is actually .100 lower than Edwar’s. At the same time, K-Rod has faced opponents with a combined .754 OPS while Edwar has faced opponents with a .727 OPS. As K-Rod has pitched more innings than Edwar, he has the edge but not by much.

Now make of this what you will, but it’s interesting to see that, in age that has seen the save devalued, Rodriguez will earn a very large contract in the off-season based on that one stat. Meanwhile, Edwar Ramirez is showing that other, low-cost relievers can put up similar peripherals to the elite closers. When the Angels opt to let K-Rod walk instead of signing him to a $10-million-per-year contract, they’ll head into 2009 with a new closer, and one that will do the job just as well. Yet, teams will race to sign K-Rod. Such are the state of things.

Anyway, those are my random musings tonight after a boring Yankee loss. Feel free to muse on anything in the thread tonight. Nothing — within reason — is off-topic.