Girardi has put together two different lineups when the Yankees are facing a righty pitcher versus a lefty pitcher. When facing off against a lefty Andruw Jones starts over either Gardner who has been struggling or Posada who can’t hit a lefty (Lefty Lineup) and when they face off against a righty, Posada starts as DH (Righty Lineup). Much of the lineup remains the same although Girardi has been giving some of the guys random days off for rest.
The Rule
Looking at these two lineups, the Yankees have been very successful against lefties. They have only faced 9 lefty starters throughout the first month of the season, but they have faced quite a few lefty relief pitchers. The results are impressive as the team’s “Lefty Lineup” batting average against lefty’s is .270 while the “Righty Lineup” has a .239 batting average. A 40 point jump can be dramatic when the team has been struggling offensively as of late. Even more impressive is a few guys’ batting average increases.
The Most dramatic jump is for Nick Swisher who is hitting a mere .141 against righties, but when he faces off against a lefty, he hits .400! Swish’s on base percentage jumps to .444 when facing against a lefty. That means when he goes to the plate against a lefty, there is nearly a 50% chance he will reach base! Girardi may want to consider bumping Swisher to the top of the lineup against lefties if he can keep up these numbers.
Jeter is another player whose numbers jump when facing a lefty pitcher. Surprising enough, even with Jeter’s sub par first month, he is actually batting .313 against lefties, with a .405 on base percentage. He only bats .235 against righties. That is over a 75 point jump in his numbers when facing lefties. I suppose that is why Girardi has been batting him leadoff against lefties.
Brett Gardner has been off to a slow start in the first month and is hitting a meager .197 against righties, but when he faces lefties, his average jumps to .286. That is nearly 100 points added to his average! Texeira has about a 100 point jump when facing a lefty as well. Tex’s average against lefties is .333 compared to only .219 against righties. Of course Andruw Jones has better numbers against lefties, and that is why he starts games against lefties. Jones’ average against lefties is .231 compared to .200 against righties.
Exception to the Rule
Of course there are a few exceptions to the rule and of course, Arod is on that list. Arod bats .286 against righties while only .200 against lefties. This stays consistent to his career average against lefties coming in higher at .289 compared to .307 against righties. This does seem unusual though as Arod bats righty, and should theoretically have a higher average against lefty. Cano joins Arod as the exception to the rule as he is batting .313 against righties and .270 against lefties. No different than Arod, Cano’s career splits are better when facing off against lefties. He hits .296 against lefties compared to .314 against righties.
Granderson had started off very hot against lefties after working with Kevin Long last August but in the last week, his average against lefties dropped from .318 to .258. Granderson went 0-2 against Holland on Friday, which attributed to the drop in average. He is batting .269 against righty’s. Granderson has always been known to have problems when facing lefties, but he has made significant strides since coming to the Yankees.
AND THE CATCHERS
One of the bigger surprises was Russell Martin who seems to struggle against lefties and is only hitting .136 against them, compared to .304 against righties. In fact, Martin has hit 6 of his 7 homers off righties. This issue (if it is actually an issue) can be tinkered with by substituting Martin with Cervelli when they are facing lefties. Although Cervelli has only played one game so far so we don’t have a sample for 2011, his career splits against lefties is higher than righties. Cervelli hits .328 against lefties compared to .247 against righties. His 2010 numbers were similar as well since he hit only .246 against righties and .322 against lefties. It’s obviously much easier said than done, to replace Martin when facing a lefty, as there are more variables involved with a catcher such as the Yankees starting pitcher, but it could lead to better offensive production.
Although he has not caught a game, Posada is still considered a catcher by me. Posada is batting .192 against righties and is batting 0 against lefties. In his 29 plate appearances against lefties, he has yet to get one hit. His numbers are the biggest cause for concern on the team in my opinion.
I wonder if we could see some changes to the lineup throughout the season if these lefty trends continue. If Swish continues his .444 on base percentage it would be crazy to not keep him in the top of the order so Tex, Arod or Cano could drive him home.
No comments:
Post a Comment