Any good team can have a bad month — this May for the Yankees being a prime example (though it’s got nothing on that nightmarish Septemer 2000). But that’s hardly part of a pattern for the team. Cub Reporter Christian Ruzich, on the other hand, has studied how his Cubs have fared in June, and the news for North Side fans is discouraging.

Ruzich identifies 14 times since 1969 (when divisional play began) when the Cubs entered June either first or second in their division. In ten of those 14 Junes, the Cubs were below .500, and overall they went a combined187-214 (.466), leaving June either #1 or #2 in the division only six times. Only twice did they end up winning the division (1984 and 1989), and in 1998 they won the Wild Card slot in a one-game playoff.

Suffice it to say that June tends to weed out the pretending Cub teams from the contending ones. All of this is relevant because the Cubs are currently leading the NL Central by two games. Read Ruz’s rundown of those ruinous Junes.

As the Yanks gather for their organizational meetings this week, they’re doing so without Vice President Gene Michael. As much as Joe Torre, Brian Cashman, or any other Yankee exec, “Stick” is the architect of the recent Yankee run. Long before Billy Beane was reinventing the wheel, Michael was emphasizing on-base percentage as the key to building an offense. As Jack Curry writes in Thursday’s New York Times:

Michael was Beane before Beane, the celebrated general manager of the A’s, was anything more than a low-level scout a dozen years ago. While Michael did not succeed with a modest payroll, as Beane has done, he was a pioneer in stressing the importance of on-base percentage to improve the Yankees, an approach Beane has adopted and been lionized for in Oakland.

Before Michael became general manager of the Yankees for the second time, in 1991, they finished last in the American League in on-base percentage. Michael noticed that awful statistic and obsessed over it, preaching patience and adding players who he felt were selective at the plate. By 1993 the Yankees were second in the league in on-base percentage. By 1994 they were first. This approach was the model the Yankees followed in winning four World Series titles in five seasons, starting in 1996.

“It took other teams eight years to catch on,” said Michael, whose nickname is Stick. “I think they finally caught on to what we were doing in 1998.”

Actually, they were third-to-last in ’91, but only 3 points out of last. Anyway, the reason Michael’s being left out in the cold is that he’s currently negotiating for a long-term contract extension; his current contract expires October 31. Should he decide to leave, the Stick would be a hot commodity; there isn’t an organization in the game that wouldn’t benefit from his wisdom. Last year George Steinbrenner denied the Red Sox permission to speak to him about their GM opening, and the Mets are rumored to be interested in him once they give Steve Phillips the Old Yeller. The Boss’s maneuver is a hedge against the possibility that Michael, who’s spent 33 years in the Yankee organization as a player, coach, manager, GM and scout, may decide after the season to test his mettle elsewhere. But Steinbrenner, despite his precautions, told the Times that Michael’s contract would be completed soon.

Still, this decision may run deeper than Michael merely wanting to stay with the Yanks and them wanting him to return. Stick is 65, and the window for him to run a team from the GM post may close if he gets a long-term contract. One way or another, this is a free-agent situation worth keeping an eye on.

Well, that worked. Bronx Banter’s Alex Belth and I attended Tuedsay night’s Yankees-Red Sox game and watched the Bombers return to form, winning 11-3. The two of us were also in the house the last time the Yanks won at home, on May 14 vs. Anaheim. Since then it’s been 8 straight losses in the House o’ Ruth, a streak which justifiably has mad King George frothing and sharpening his guillotine, as you’d expect. Alex and I are going to have to go to more games if we’re going to keep the Yanks on track, I guess.

I’ve got a longer writeup of the game in store [it’s now up here], but for now, check out what Alex has to say of the ballgame, and read his interview with Allen Barra. Allen’s off base when he busts out the rusty old Juan Samuel comparisons for Alfonso Soriano, and a bit hyperbolic in other spots, but he’s on the same page as the rest of us griping about the Yanks.

• • •

Speaking of hyperbolic griping about the Yanks, Larry Mahnken gets off a good one at Derek Jeter’s expense (see May 26 entry):

After Jeter was injured on Opening Day, the Yankees went 25-11 until his return. Since his return, they have been 3-11. I think you can guess where I’m going here.

We must kill Derek Jeter.

Hey, I like the guy, but it’s obvious that his presence on this team has ruined their rythym, and that the mere thought of his imminent return sent waves of panic through the team, as they went 3-5 in the games before his return. Bernie Williams and Nick Johnson were so eager to get away from his awful presence that they injured themselves in the days following his activation. Even the ball dreads him, as shown by it’s proclivity for avoiding his glove. There can be no other explanation for his inablity to get to balls hit in his area, as he is clearly an excellent defensive shortstop, as evidenced by that play two years ago where he was out of position.

Elsewhere Larry refers to the Yankee relievers as “a bullpen that makes Baby Jesus cry.” If I were drinking beer at this early hour, it would be coming out of my nose right now…

Robert Tagorda, who writes a blog called Priorities & Frivolities, has an interesting comparison between Braves closer John Smoltz and Dodger closer Eric Gagne. Smoltz is being celebrated for the Braves having won a whopping 72 straight games in which he’s appeared, dating back to last June 3. It’s an impressive stat, to be sure, but it’s also one which reminds us just how rigidly defined the job of a closer is. In a more rational universe a team’s best reliever would be called upon in all kinds of situations, not just when the team’s ahead, and not just for the last three outs. Bill James did a study in the New Bill James Historical Abstract in which he concluded that the optimal times to use your relief ace were:

• two innings in a game when the game is tied

• two innings in a game when you have a one-run lead

• one inning at a time in other games when the game is close at the end and the relief ace hasn’t been used for a day or two.

Anyway, we’re nowhere near that kind of usage pattern for the modern-day closer, but that’s a problem for another day. Tagorda was simply interested in pointing out that if we’re talking dominant one-inning closers, Gagne has the numbers over Smoltz. The bespectacled one is limiting opponents to a microscopic .339 OPS (.191 OBP/.141 SLG) compared to Smoltz at .574 (.265 OBP/.309 SLG). This isn’t exactly a fluke; last year Gagne held opponents to a .535 OPS (.232 OBP/.302 SLG). Tagorda’s eye-popping numbers also show Gagne to be more efficient than Smoltz, and more valuable in terms of saves in 1-run games. Good stuff that I wish I had more time to dig into.

That Dodger staff is putting up some astounding numbers; they’re on pace to allow fewer than 500 runs, which hasn’t been done over a 162-game season since the Year of the Pitcher, 1968. Baseball Prospectus’ Joe Sheehan has a good piece about how the Dodger pitchers and hitters are faring this season.

With the Yankee offense already hobbled by the loss of Nick Johnson and a subpar performance from Jason Giambi, the team received more bad news on Thursday. Centerfielder Bernie Williams has torn catrtilege in his left knee and will likely undergo arthroscopic surgery and miss 4-6 weeks. Williams had really been struggling the past few days; 0-for-21 to be exact, putting a capper on a dismal .197 AVG/.567 OPS month of May.

Juan Rivera will be recalled from AAA, slotting into leftfield while Matsui moves over to centerfield (you were expecting Charles Gipson to hold onto the job?). Rivera was hitting .327/.371/.420 at Columbus. The 24-year-old is walking more frequently than last season (once per 14.5 PA in 2003, compared to once per 18.4 last year) but showing very little power thus far. Still, except for his golf cart avoidance skills, Rivera looked ready for the majors last season, even starting in the Yanks short-lived postseason. So like the Almonte/Jeter situation, the Yanks get a chance for a long look at the future — even if that future only means the July 31 trading deadline.

Williams’ injury also gives the Yanks an opportunity to see how well Matsui handles center; with the Yanks already 13th in the league in Defensive Efficiency (converting balls in play into outs), this might stir thoughts down the road of reorganizing the outfield to compensate for Bernie having already lost a step.

But those minor silver linings aside, this is another blow for the Yanks. This team started out hot enough to withstand the loss of one of their offensive cogs in Jeter. But with Williams joining Johnson on ice as the rest of the lineup slowly cools off, they’ll struggle for runs unless the likes of Giambi, Matsui and Rivera pick up the slack. The Yanks better hope that happens, or they’ll be shopping for a bat (preferably a lefty one) to go with that bullpen helper soon enough.

My girlfriend and I threw a rooftop housewarming party last night, so it was just as well that I missed the second game of the Yankees-Red Sox series. Partying with your friends while admiring the Manhattan skyline definitely beats watching the Yankee bullpen cough up five runs. Then again, coughing up five beers to the porcelain god would beat that sorry performance — not that I had any problem keeping mine down, thanks.

Suffice it to say that there are a lot of frustrated fans pulling their hair out over these two teams’ respective bullpens. Through last night’s ballgame, both pens have the same bad ERA (5.29), though the Sox relievers have thrown nearly 50% more innings (146.1 to 100.1). More is definitely less here, and the Yanks can thank their starters for eating up the innings — almost one more per game than the Sox (6.7 to 5.8).

Baseball Prospectus uses a method to rate relievers called Adjusted Runs Prevented, which is based on how many runs can be expected to score given the base/out situation when a reliever enters or departs. The BP numbers show the Yanks pen at -11.7 runs and the Sox at -19.8, about a full game worse. The worst offender on the Sox is the turncoat, Ramiro Mendoza, coming in at -7.9 runs (some would say he’s still working for George Steinbrenner), while the worst Yank is Juan Acevedo at -7.8.

The two pens are constructed very differently, however. The Yanks adhere to a traditional hierarchy, with closer Mariano Rivera at the top of the food chain, a couple of servicable setup men, and several guys who apparently bathe in kerosene. The Sox, as you’ve read a thousand times, eschew the traditional notion of the closer, though confusion exists between Grady Little’s and Theo Epstein’s offices as to just what the hell that means. “Closer by committee” is the only-partially-correct shorthand; the Sox strategy is to *try* to deploy their best relievers in their highest-leverage situations. Their main problem is identifying just who their best relievers are, with the smart-assed answer being “None of the Above.”

The AL East may well be decided on the relative strength of these two bullpens, not only in their performance but also in the front-office trade-deadline machinations which will bolster these sorry squadrons.

I’ve got plenty more to say about two pens, particularly the Yanks one (though some of it’s unprintable), but I’ve got a full night of viewing ahead, with Roger Clemens gunning for 299 in Fenway (where he hasn’t won since April 14, 2001) and a screening of Bad News Bears. Does it get any better?

I’m sitting here watching the first game of the season between the Yanks and the Red Sox. As David Wells grunts through without his best stuff on the eve of his 40th birthday, I’m doing a little bit of site maintenance, and I wanted to call attention to a few new blogs out there.

The first, BaseballBooks.net, comes from Baseball Prospectus’ Greg Spira. Greg’s created a handy blog devoted to tracking reviews and excerpts of new and notable baseball books “from Amazin’ to Zim.” Greg knows his books. As Baseball Primer’s Sean Forman testified: “I’ve visited Greg Spira’s apartment, and I can attest that the guy is a serious fan of baseball books. They are in his closets, his kitchen cabinets, stacked on the floor and even in some bookcases.”

I can relate; I’m dangerous when the new titles flood the market in the spring. But with my new, smaller apartment, shared domestic space, and financial austerity plan, I’ve had to resist the urge to buy every 300-page tome that vaguely interests me. I did purchase Rob Neyer’s Big Book of Baseball Lineups because I love books that lend themselves to browsing, I can’t shut up about the latest Roger Angell book, and it’s all I can do to put Moneyball down to watch a ballgame, write a blog entry, or go to work. I’ve got an itch to pick up Michael Shapiro’s The Last Good Season, except I know it will be weeks before I even start it. Ditto dropping science with the late great Stephen Jay Gould. And I still haven’t really put a dent in Baseball: A Literary Anthology, which a friend gave me as a parting gift when I left my job in February…

Anyway, if you’ve gotten enough of the new stuff, Greg’s got another portion of his site called Buying Baseball Books: A Guide. Hold onto your wallet here, folks, because he tells you not only where to get the best prices for new books but also the places to look for those hard-to-find ones. Personally, I’m big on Hamiltonbook.com for remainders and Advanced Book Exchange for out-of-print stuff.

Moving on… Baseballblogs.org is a blog devoted to aggregating as many baseball blogs as its proprietor can find (78 at last count). The site uses RSS feeds to generate brief excerpts of the blogs, and among your options, you can view blogs by team (there’s at least one for each team now) or by today’s entries. Pretty sweet.

Finally, on the Yankee front, Larry Mahnken’s Replacement Level Yankees Weblog has a great name and an endearingly self-deprecating tone (check out the excerpts from Baseball Primer on the left). Larry’s got a great list of blog links and an Alfonso Soriano Wager Watch, comparing Sori’s walk rate over the past two seasons.

Speaking of the Yankees, it’s 5-1 in the seventh with two on and two out, and Boomer’s done. Time to go sweat this one out with the bullpen…

A week ago, I sat down to write a lengthy evaluation of the Yankees as they approached the quarter mark of their season. At the time, the team had just lost its second series of the season, both to the Oakland A’s. But aside from a leaky bullpen, the Yanks appeared genuinely solid, if not invincible, and the highly-anticipated return of Derek Jeter looked to solidify their standing.

A week later, things look less rosy for the Yanks. The team is now in the throes of a 4-9 skid which has seen them lose three consecutive series to AL West teams. A few offensive outbursts have disguised a sputtering offense, while Joe Torre has revealed just how little he trusts his bullpen by leaving his starters to sink on their own several times. Jeter returned to the lineup and quickly locked in at the plate, but his replacement in the #2 spot in the order, Nick Johnson, was lost for 4-6 weeks with a broken bone in his hand. The team got more bad news about Steve Karsay, who is likely done for the year without appearing in a game, and Juan Acevedo continues to pitch like a man better suited to going before a firing squad. It’s been a rough week in the Bronx.

But with the effects of the team’s torrid 18-3 start largely neutralized, now is a better time for a clear-eyed assessment of the 2003 Yankees. In this first installment, we’ll start with the basics and cover the offense. All statistics and records in this piece are through Saturday’s game.

The Yanks are 27-15, holding a slim one-game lead over the Red Sox in the AL East. With the recent slide, they’ve squandered their claim to the game’s best winning percentage. Through Saturday, they’re now in a 3-way tie for the second-best record in baseball, 2.5 games behind the surprisingly resilient Atlanta Braves. A .643 clip projects to 104 victories, but we all know the Yankees hunt even bigger game(s) than that.

The Yanks have scored 250 runs, an excellent 5.95 a game, third-best in the majors (the Blue Jays lead at 6.02, followed by the Red Sox at 6.00). They’ve allowed 175 runs, an average of 4.17 per game, seventh-best in the majors (the Dodgers lead at 3.09, followed by the A’s at 3.45). Their 3.82 ERA is also seventh. The Yankees’ expected winning percentage based on their runs scored and allowed (the simple Pythagorean method) is .671, best in baseball and a full game better than their actual winning percentage. They’re 5-3 in one-run games, which confirms that luck isn’t a big part of their record. Despite the past week’s indignities, the numbers still say they’re a very good team.

Here are some basic statistics for the Yankee hitters as of Saturday. Before I begin my player-by-player evaluation, it is worth noting that these stats are still at the mercy of one very good or bad week which can drastically color the perception of a player’s season thus far.

NAME        HR  BI   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS

J. Posada   10  31 .244 .351 .558 .909

J. Flaherty  0   2 .258 .303 .323 .626



J. Giambi    8  23 .207 .335 .380 .715

N. Johnson   5  18 .308 .455 .517 .971



A. Soriano  12  32 .306 .378 .554 .932



D. Jeter     0   1 .391 .440 .522 .962

E. Almonte   1  11 .272 .337 .370 .706

E. Wilson    1   3 .189 .211 .324 .535



R. Ventura   7  20 .296 .352 .513 .865

T. Zeile     4  12 .190 .278 .380 .658



H. Matsui    3  29 .269 .317 .383 .700

B. Williams  7  30 .314 .427 .503 .930

R. Mondesi   8  23 .325 .403 .591 .994

B. Trammell  0   4 .296 .367 .444 .811

Jorge Posada (C): With Ivan Rodriguez now sleeping with the Fish in the NL, Posada is unquestionably the top-hitting catcher in the AL. He’s off to a strong start and leads all major-league catchers in homers and RBI, and he’s third in OPS behind Mike Piazza and MIke Lieberthal, with a homer and RBI production that nearly equals those two combined (10/31 compared to 11/33). Offensively, a few of his statistics might raise an eyebrow. He’s walking only once per 9.4 plate appearances, considerably less frequent than his career rate (1 per 7.6 PA). He’s also seeing fewer pitches, 3.62 per PA compared to 3.93 for his career. And he’s hitting fewer ground balls and many more fly balls than he usually does (0.74 grounders per fly, compared to 1.2 G/F for his career). These anomalies are all bucking trends which have been very consistent since Posada became a regular in 1998; taken together they suggest that he may be falling into some bad habits. Worth keeping an eye on.

Where Posada’s shown improvement is in his defense. While he still leads the league in passed balls, he’s committed only one error thus far (compared to 12 last year). Most impressively, he’s recovered from the shoulder troubles which sapped his arm strength the past two seasons, throwing out 11 of 27 baserunners (41%) after catching only 29% last season.

John Flaherty (C): Though Joe Torre once again proved his ability to choose the lesser of any two backup catchers if given the chance (yes, Joe, Tom Pagnozzi is still retired), he’s shown a commitment to resting Posada more regularly; Jorge’s caught in 81% of Yankee games, down from 85% last season. Flaherty won’t make anybody forget Joe Girardi, though. but he won’t have anybody pining for Chris Turner either. Even in only 26 ABs, he’s only one point off of his career OPS (669). The Yanks have lost his last four starts, though. For this they whacked Chris Widger?

Jason Giambi (DH-1B): If there’s one area besides the bullpen that the Yanks could use major improvement, it’s Giambi’s bat. His numbers are uncharacteristically low (one double? one measly, stinkin’ double?), and though he’s still drawing his walks, his K/W ratio is definitely declining (1.5 strikeouts per walk this season, compared to 1.0 last year and 0.6 the season before). B-Pro’s Will Carroll says that Giambi’s admitted his knee’s hurting: “The official word is patellar tendinitis, but Giambi is being told it’s non-surgical at this point. Even so, like J.D. Drew last season, Giambi would likely be able to play through the season regardless.” Add to that an eye infection that’s been dogging him for a couple of weeks and which caused him to miss last weekend’s games against the A’s, and you’ve got all the makings for a frustrating seven weeks. It certainly doesn’t help with G telling the world, “I’m okay on fastballs, because that’s what I see. But anybody with any good off-speed pitches is going to be able to handle me.”

Giambi’s been spending more time at DH this season than he did last season, ostensibly because Joe Torre desired to protect his slugger from cold-weather hamstring and back difficulties while jump-starting Nick Johnson. Like most regulars, Giambi dislikes DHing, and his productivity has traditionally suffered in the slot (200 OPS points lower from 2000-2002). But he’s drastically reversed this trend this season, and now that his injury has been revealed, it make some sense. Here’s a chart showing Giambi and Johnson’s OPS breakdowns by position, along with the percentage of a player’s PAs in that slot:

2002       1B          DH

Giambi   1.135 (58%)  .886 (42%)

Johnson   .691 (53%)  .837 (44%)



2003       1B          DH

Giambi    .595 (42%)  .823 (56%)

Johnson  1.014 (68%)  .868 (31%)

While it would seem appropriate to write Giambi a one-way ticket to DH for at least the rest of the season, Johnson’s injury (a stress fracture in the third metacarpal of his right hand, for those scoring at home) nixes that plan. It’s worth noting that Big G’s defensive stats this season are actually better than Johnson’s. Getting 37% of the team’s playing time at first base, he’s yet to make an error (Johnson has one) and his Zone Rating is .957 compared to Johnson’s .795. The obvious explanation for his puzzling stats as a first baseman? He’s channeling J.T. Snow, of course.

Nick Johnson (1B-DH): The early part of this season showed exactly why Brian Cashman fended off a thousand trades designed to pry Johnson from the Yanks: he can flat-out hit. He can walk, too; Johnson recently tied the club record with a base on balls in 17 consecutive games and was on pace for a whopping 137 this season before the injury. His power has come along nicely as well. He’s been a perfect fit for the #2 spot, even more perfect (ssssh) than the man he replaced there. It’s tough to watch a guy with a .455 OBP get kicked to the bottom of the lineup, but it’s even tougher watching him get kicked to the DL.

One thing that’s very different for Johnson this season is that he’s standing further off the plate, with one of the results being that he’s yet to get hit by a pitch after being plunked 12 times last year. Given how much more valuable he’s becoming, that’s not an unwelcome development, but as this week has shown, bones break due to other causes too.

Alfonso Soriano (2B): Recent slump notwithstanding, this freak of nature has defied his critics and continues to grow as a hitter. His 12 homers are tied for third in the league, and he’s in the top 10 in four major categories. But what’s most impressive is his improved plate discipline. He’s walked 16 times, compared to only 23 last year, and though five of those are intentional, that doesn’t obscure the gains he’s made. His strikeout-to-unintentional walk ratio is 3.5, compared to 7.1 last year, and his overall K/W is 2.4, compared to 6.8. His .378 OBP is a vast improvement on last year’s .332 (he was above .400 until a week ago), and he’s on pace for 62 walks to go with his 147 strikeouts (compared to 157 last year). None of this has compromised his ability to crush bad balls outside the strike zone. You can tell those Juan Samuel comparisons to shut up.

Defensively, Sori’s seems more comfortable pivoting on the double-play, and he’s made only 2 errors. But while his Range Factor is steady with last year’s, his Zone Rating is down considerably (.772 from .813); in other words, he’s getting to a lower percentage of balls in his area. The Yankees defense as a whole relects this; their Defensive Efficiency rating is down to .688, 13th in a 14-team league and 23 points below the league average (last year .708, 8th in the league and 3 points below league average). We’ll return to this subject later.

Derek Jeter (SS): They survived without him, doing well enough that sooner or later somebody will whisper Ewing Theory. But an unsettled score with the Boss and a desire to prove himself fully fit might foretell an even more focused Jeter than usual. With his hitting this past week, so far so good. Nick Johnson’s bat covered for Jeter’s absence almost perfectly; now the Yanks need Jeter to return the favor.

Erik Almonte (SS): Gotta hand it to him — the kid acquitted himself reasonably well with the stick during Jeter’s absence. That .706 OPS won’t win any awards, but it does suggest he can handle major league pitching better than the Reys and the Enriques of the world. We’re only talking about 100 PAs or so, but he hit significantly better on the road than in Yankee Stadium, suggesting either that nerves might have played a part or that his optimal future lies beyond the Bronx — or perhaps both:

      PA  AVG    OBP   SLG   OPS   K/W

Home  41  .237  .293  .289  .582   7.0

Road  60  .296  .367  .426  .793   1.5

Nine errors, a .922 fielding percentage, and a .663 ZR won’t make anybody forget Jeter’s glove, nor do they inspire much confidence in Almonte’s ability to handle third base. But with Drew Henson still looking like a quarterback trying to play third, the Yanks have little to lose by sending Almonte back to Columbus to experiment with the hot corner. But even if he continues full-time at short, at the very least the Yanks have given themselves another potential body for a trade come July.

Enrique Wilson (SS): You might assume I’d champion the cause of just about any futility infielder whose butt warps the planks of the Yankee bench. But you know the old saying, when you ASSUME it makes an ASS out of U and ME. Enrique, on the subject of derrieres, took one look at Luis Sojo and decided that junk in the trunk must be the secret to longevity in a futilityman. Increasingly, the only thing every Yankee fan in the range of YES knows about Wilson is that this guy couldn’t hit his ass with a paddle, let alone major-league pitching. The Yanks were 100% correct not to let Wilson anywhere near the regular shortstop job in Jeter’s absence, now the question is just, what is he still doing here?

Robin Ventura (3B): A hot (1.187 OPS) week has put Ventura’s season back on track, but here’s yet another example of a Yankee with a falling walk rate: one per 12.5 PAs this year, compared to one per 6.2 last season and per 7.7 for his career. The net result is a batting average that’s 49 points higher than last season, but an OBP that’s 16 points lower — another chin-scratcher.

Torre has almost completely shielded lefty-hitting Ventura from lefthanders — only 13 PAs thus far. He didn’t do spectacularly against them last season (.218/.310/.475/.785 in 115 PA), and he’s got a career 73-point dropoff in OPS against southpaws. But Torre’s handling of Ventura has more to do with preventing him from wearing down late in the season. Over the past three years, he’s fallen off the cliff after the All-Star break to the tune of 140 OPS points.

Todd Zeile (3B-1B): This Joe Torre favorite is ostensibly Ventura’s platoon partner at third; he’s got a 95-point OPS advantage against lefties over the past three seasons, and it’s even more pronounced in his limited PAs this season: .820 vs lefties, .546 vs. righties. Unfortunately, Torre continues to find him opportunities against righties which further everyone’s misery.

But where the third-base platoon’s broken down has been Zeile’s ability to play the field: 5 errors and an .886 fielding percentage in 17 games, though his Zone Rating is virtually identical to Ventura’s and his Range Factor and double-play rates actually higher. Insert sample-size caveat here. Over the next 4-6 weeks, Zeile will be picking up some time at first base and DH, provided his bat warms up. The Yanks could probably do better elsewhere, but you know how Torre loves Zeile’s bland brand of Proven Veteran-ness.

Hideki Matsui (LF): “RBIs aside, he’s hitting like Chad Curtis,” observed Steven Goldman, who writes the fantastic Pinstriped Bible column for the YES website. With a .702 OPS, that almost sums it up. A 4-for-33 slump towards the end of April is still skewing his stats a bit; take that away and he’s at .302/.349/.443. Matsui’s struggling especially against lefties (.631 OPS), in the daytime (.564 OPS) and with nobody on base (.587 OPS).

Much was made this spring of how little Matsui strikes out, but with 25 in 189 PA, he’s looking ordinary in that department, suggesting the pitchers may have gotten a book on him pretty quickly, and now it’s up to Matsui to adjust. It’s too early to give up on him, but those 25-homer projections look like a pipe dream. The Yanks and Matsui would likely benefit from moving him lower in the batting order, where the expectations aren’t quite so high. In the field, Matsui’s generally looked good, but he’s had a few lapses which may be due to communication barriers between him and Bernie Williams as much as anything else.

Bernie Williams (CF): Though his May’s been a chilly one (.706 OPS), Bernie’s scalding April has left him ahead of where he was last year at this time, and far healthier too. He’s fifth in the league in On Base Percentage, and generally looks as if he’s about to run off another carbon copy of his typically excellent season (that;s eight straight, by the way). The biggest aberration in Bernie’s stats appears to be improved plate discipline; he’s got 2.1 walks per strikeout, compared to 0.9 for his career. Defensively, his Range Factor and Zone Rating numbers are better than last year, and he’s yet to make an error. The Yanks have plenty to worry about right now, but this guy ain’t the problem.

Raul Mondesi (RF): Along with Nick Johnson, Mondesi’s been the biggest surprise with the bat for the Yanks. Considerably more fit than last year, he’s hitting better than he ever has in his career. Hell, he’s mashing to the tune of a .994 OPS. Most refreshingly, he’s showing plate discipline, with an OBP about 70 points above his career average and a 0.5 pitches more per plate appearance. With Giambi and Matsui struggling, Torre ought to think about moving Mondesi up in the order; right now it would be no shame to bat him cleanup between Williams and Posada. That would have sounded ridiculous last summer, but it should be considered a measure of Mondy’s improved approach as well as the team’s circumstances. Defensively, he’s still a treat to watch, reducing doubles off the wall to long singles with that cannon of an arm. Rock and Rauuuuuul!

Bubba Trammell (DH): Bubba’s the forgotten man on the Yankee bench due to a confluence of several circumstances, namely Johnson’s emergence, Mondesi’s resurgence, Giambi’s woes, and Torre’s Zeile for veterans he can trust. Trammell was expected to pick up some playing time against lefties at DH and in the outfield to spell Mondesi, but thus far he’s played only 9 games and gotten a paltry 30 PAs. His lack of a glove isn’t helping Torre find room for him; Joe had enough trouble giving time to another lefty-masher who could catch the ball: Shane Spencer. If he hasn’t completely rusted, he ought to start taking at-bats from Zeile as the latter’s weaknesses gets increased exposure in Johnson’s absence.

Next installment: pitching and fielding.

As I’ve hinted in a few recent posts, I am now pleased to offer a line of Futility Infielder merchandise via CafePress.com. CafePress is an innovative site which handles the production, sale, and delivery of merchandise based upon designs I’ve created. Each item is made to order, and all items come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Currently my line of merchandise includes:

• four short-sleeve T-shirts (two men’s, two women’s)

• baseball jersey (available in three sleeve colors)

• coffee mug

• beer stein

• sticker

The link above, as well as the one in the navigation bar at left, will take you to a new department I’ve created on this site showing images of the products I’ve designed. By clicking the following link, you will be taken to The Futility Infielder Online Shop at CafePress.com, where you can acutally purchase the items. I appreciate your support. Thanks for shopping!

Whew, that’s more like it! I swapped emails with Alex Belth prior to last night’s Yanks game, which we both attended. Alex sounded ready to throw himself under the D Train if the Yanks couldn’t crack Angels starter Aaron Sele. See, the Bombers positively own Sele; in addition to a career 5-10 record and a 4.76 ERA against them in the regular season, he’s 0-5, 5.00 against them in four playoff series.

After losing four out of five games and two straight series to AL West teams, Sele was the perfect prescription for the Yankees’ ailments, and they beat him like a rented BP pitcher. The fun started with Alfonso Soriano homering on Sele’s second pitch and a three-run first inning, and it just kept going. The Yanks pounded Sele for 9 hits and 8 runs in 2.2 innings, and continued teeing off on Scott Shields. The score was 10-1 after four loooong innings, by which time the Bombers had gone through the batting order three times. Things were moving so slowly that when the 9:30 curfew arrived for the beer concessionaires, it was only the fifth inning. Angels manager Mike Scioscia began packing it in shortly afterwards, making four substitutions and a position switch following the sixth. It was that kind of night.

On a chilly evening which featured lots delays riding the pine, Jeff Weaver pitched about as well as could be expected, scuffling into the seventh and allowing only two earned runs. The real star of the show was Todd Zeile, who batted ninth and played first base while Nick Johnson sat with more of his mysterious hand jive. Zeile had a picture-perfect hit-and-run ON A PITCHOUT in the second, a two-run homer in the third, and a somersault over the Yankee dugout railing to catch a Brad Fullmer pop foul in the sixth (this with a 10-2 lead). Zeile’s homer, the 237th of his career, was somewhat historic. It tied him with Gus Zernial for first among major-leaguers whose names begin with the letter Z. Hey, when you’re last in the alphabet, you deserve a little celebration now and then.

The other big star of the night was Derek Jeter, who had three hits, including two wall-banging doubles and his first RBI of the season. Jeter looks locked in at the plate, and his average is still .500 (7-for-14) on the season. Raul Mondesi stood out as well, with two walks, two hits, two runs, and two nice defensive plays, a great warning-track grab of Bengie Molina’s fly ball in the second and a perfect rebound-and-throw to hold Adam Kennedy to a long single off the right-centerfield wall in the seventh.

One amusing moment from the stands: four old codgers directly behind me took note of Jason Giambi’s batting average, which is finally above .200. One of them used the term “Mendoza Line,” prompting much discussion among the four as to what exactly that meant. Another surmised that the Mendoza Line meant .150, but he had no idea to whom it referred. A third said it had something to do with World War I, possibly conflating it with the Maginot Line. The irony of the situation is that I was wearing my official Futility Infielder Baseball Jersey, which features the slogan “The website from South of the Mendoza Line” on the back. I didn’t want to seem like a smartass, so I resisted entering the conversation. But had the weather been warm enough for me to remove my jacket, perhaps I could have saved them from the ignominy of not being able to correctly spot the Mendoza Line. Such lofty goals are what the Futility Infielder aspires to, after all.

And with that, I suppose I’ve unleashed the Futility Infielder CafePress Store. Feel free to browse around, and look for more details about it here this weekend.