Results tagged ‘ A.J. Burnett ’
Home is Where the Production is
Courtesy: marketplace.secondlife.com
Back before the humidor, the Colorado Rockies were capable of padding their stats by launching balls out of Coor’s Field through the thin air in their 81 home games. We saw Dante Bichette become a force and Mike Hampton became a pitcher who didn’t matter anymore, along with Denny Neagle. Today, there are still some hitter-friendly ballparks, but you’ll see some of the guys below taking advantage of some home field love below.
Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds
.405/.507/.793, 18 2B, 9 HR, 28 RBI, 4 SB, 28:24 K:BB in 116 AB at home
.331/.468/.529, 12 2B, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 26:31 K:BB in 121 AB on the road
Votto has been an absolute freak in 2012, posting an MVP-like .367/.468/.658 line. It doesn’t really matter where he is this season, the Reds new franchise player is unstoppable.
Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Colorado Rockies
.382/.441/.733, 6 2B, 2 3B, 12 HR, 35 RBI, 5 SB, 29:13 K:BB in 131 AB at home
.288/.344/.508, 9 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 5 SB, 24:10 K:BB in 118 AB on the road
CarGo is still taking advantage of the thin air in Denver despite the humidor. He is an excellent all-around player on his own, but he may not be capable of substantial numbers without the Coor’s Field effect.
Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B, Cleveland Indians
.371/.389/.743, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 2 SB, 4:1 K:BB in 35 AB at home
.125/.125/.125, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 3:0 K:BB in 24 AB on the road
It is only 59 at bats, but the Indians could have the power bat that they need for the middle of their order…when they play at home. Chisenhall doesn’t turn 24 until October and he has a bright future, but he has some flaws, especially with plate discipline and left-handed pitching. But…hey, he can hit at home!
Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels
.350/.385/.570, 9 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 6 SB, 19:6 K:BB in 100 AB at home
.326/.409/.484, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 13 SB, 22:13 K:BB in 95 AB on the road
Trout has been more than anyone expected since finally getting his opportunity with the Angels. You can’t call anything about his game weak, he is clearly an excellent hitter, runner, and he is a well above average outfielder, too.
Angel Pagan, OF, San Francisco Giants
.338/.389/.451, 6 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 7 SB, 20:11 K:BB in 133 AB at home
.261/.289/.410, 6 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 19 RBI, 5 SB, 21:6 K:BB in 134 AB on the road
San Francisco’s home park is not typically thought of as a hitter’s paradise, but Pagan really thrives there. He has better power numbers and run-production on the road, but he is also not as patient. Either way, Pagan is a beast at home in 2012.
R.A. Dickey, RHP, New York Mets
6-0, 1.20 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 52.1 IP, 54:13 K:BB in 7 home starts
5-1, 2.89 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 46.2 IP, 49:8 K:BB in 7 road starts
You can’t say Dickey without smiling and the Mets wouldn’t be anywhere near the top of the NL East without the 37-year-old Cy Young front-runner.
Chris Capuano, LHP, Los Angeles Dodgers
5-0, 1.57 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 46.0 IP, 46:13 K:BB in 7 home starts
3-2, 4.02 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 40.1 IP, 34:18 K:BB in 7 road starts
Capuano has dominated at Dodger Stadium, but has been about as good as his career statistics outside of that. Capuano is struggling mightily in June with a 4.24 ERA…since when is that awful?…but when compared to his dominating April and May, his 1-1 record in April seems so pedestrian. Don’t jump ship on him yet!
Tom Milone, LHP, Oakland A’s
5-1, 0.99 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, 45.2 IP, 19:8 K:BB in 6 home starts
2-4, 7.42 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 43.2 IP, 33:16 K:BB in 8 road starts
Milone may have the worst home-road split in baseball, but he has been fantastic at home. You have to wonder which pitcher he is and whether he will even things out by being absolutely horrible and really good…maybe even just decent when he is at home or on the road. The soft-tossing lefty is just 25, so we have time to see what he really is.
A.J. Burnett, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates
4-0, 1.27 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 42.2 IP, 36:9 K:BB in 6 home starts
3-2, 7.18 ERA, 1.94 WHIP, 26.1 IP, 22:15 K:BB in 5 road starts
Burnett is 6-1 with a 4.02 ERA in his last 9 starts for the Pirates, but he has a split that has rivaled Milone’s terrible home-road split. Burnett’s inconsistency is well documented in his 14 year career, and it is more of the same this season. You could argue that some of his stats would make him an asset at the trade deadline, but as teams look at his production on the road, they will be scared off.
Zack Greinke, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers
4-0, 1.08 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 41.2 IP, 52:8 K:BB in 6 home starts
3-2, 4.96 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 45.1 IP, 43:12 K:BB in 8 road starts
Greinke will be a rich man when he signs this winter as a free agent. With that being said, his splits are just not very good in 2012. Clearly, Greinke is dominant at home. Maybe Greinke has some issues pitching on the road that go back to his anxiety disorder that he had earlier in his career. From 2009-2011, Greinke had a 29-8 record and a 2.99 ERA in 49 starts and a 13-20 record and 3.72 ERA on the road in 45 starts. The 2012 stats fall in line with his last 94 starts prior to this season, so he is and will be dominant at home.
GM for the Day: New York Yankees
What a difference a weekend makes, huh? When the Yankees were showcasing a starting rotation that looked just a little better than the dung that the Red Sox call a rotation, with Ivan Nova, Phillip Hughes, A.J. Burnett and Freddy Garcia behind C.C. Sabathia, it looked like they were heading in the wrong direction, as well. Suddenly, the Yankees traded super-prospect Jesus Montero to Seattle for Michael Pineda and they signed Free Agent Hiroki Kuroda, then you’re wondering what role two of Burnett, Hughes, and Garcia will have with the club in 2012. The roster is still aging, and the contracts that were forced to Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter will probably come back to bite them in the buttocks, but they still have one thing going for them. Money…and lots of it. Here is a look at the current 25-man roster:
2 Catchers: Russell Martin and Francisco Cervelli
1B: Mark Teixeira
2B: Robinson Cano
3B: Alex Rodriguez
SS: Derek Jeter
LF: Brett Gardner
CF: Curtis Granderson
RF: Nick Swisher
DH: Andruw Jones
Bench: Eduardo Nunez (INF), Ramiro Pena (INF) and Chris Dickerson (OF)
Starting Pitchers: C.C. Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Hiroki Kuroda, Michael Pineda, and Freddy Garcia
Relief Pitchers: Mariano Rivera, David Robertson, Rafael Soriano, Boone Logan, Corey Wade, Phillip Hughes and A.J. Burnett
You have Garcia, who can’t be traded until June due to his contract, at the back of the rotation to build value. He could be bumped for Burnett, who still has two-years and $33 million on his deal, to see if they can get something out of their investment. He could be bumped for Hughes, who will need to show something to become a part of the Yankees future. It’s a nice “problem” to have, especially after looking lot a hot mess just a week ago.
The offense is an interesting blend. They have a young, speedy left fielder in Brett Gardner (28). They have the future of the organization, their best and most valuable asset, Robinson Cano. They have a slugger in his prime who has changed his swing and become a menace to pitchers around the league, Curtis Granderson. Then, they have the declining stars: Jeter, Rodriguez, and Teixeira. Why is Teixeira’s name there? He’ll be 32 in 2012 and his OPS since joining the Yankees in 2009: .948, .846 and .835; however, people tend to focus on Jeter’s decline and A-Rod’s decline because it has been so obvious. When Rodriguez opted out of his contract after the 2007 season, did they really think that a 10-year deal for a 32-year-old was a good idea? Well, do the numbers 138, 124, 137, and 99 mean anything to you? Those are the number of games Rodriguez has played since 2008. Not to mention his OPS has dropped from Good luck with Pujols, Angels. Jeter will be 38 in 2012 and he has declined since 2009; however, not as drastic as some would think. He did have a .297 AVG and .355 OBP in 2011, but it’s the .388 SLG that is killing his “value.” His WAR was a career worst 0.7 in 2011. He still has value…he just isn’t driving the ball and his range stinks. Jeter certainly isn’t worth the 3-year, $51 million deal he got before 2011. Public relations can be a bitch.
So, what can the Yankees do from here? They could get a DH. Rumors have Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, Jorge Posada and Lou Gehrig returning to the Yankees…Actually, add Carlos Pena, Raul Ibanez, and Vladimir Guerrero to the list of “legendary” Yankees. All of these guys can get coffee for $1 at McDonald’s all day (old…), but they could be had for pennies on that dollar. Due to the left-handed power alley, I’d take Carlos Pena. Pena is also a solid defender at first, so he could spell Teixeira there on occasion. The Yankees could then put Jones into a reserve outfielder or right-handed platoon at DH-role, utilizing his power and strengthening the bench. Chris Dickerson is a decent 4th outfielder, and suddenly, the Yankees are just as poor as the Red Sox and can’t pay a luxury-tax. Cry me a river big market. Welcome to reality! They’ll settle with Dickerson there.
The rotation is set, the bullpen is loaded, and you have depth with Hughes, Burnett, and/or Garcia in the pen. I wonder when over-working kills Robertson the way that it killed Scott Proctor, but ride him while he’s there. The Yankees are basically locked in at this point with the roster. A DH is about all you’ll see them reach out for, and they should be able to get a veteran that wants to win a championship to sign on the cheap to fill that role. So, this is the new roster based on my simple moves:
2 Catchers: Russell Martin and Francisco Cervelli
1B: Mark Teixeira
2B: Robinson Cano
3B: Alex Rodriguez
SS: Derek Jeter
LF: Brett Gardner
CF: Curtis Granderson
RF: Nick Swisher
DH: Carlos Pena
Bench: Andruw Jones (DH/OF), Eduardo Nunez (INF) and Chris Dickerson (OF)
Starting Pitchers: C.C. Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Hiroki Kuroda, Michael Pineda and A.J. Burnett
Relief Pitchers: Mariano Rivera, David Robertson, Rafael Soriano, Boone Logan, Corey Wade, Phillip Hughes and Freddy Garcia
How One Play Can Be Grand-erson
One floating knuckler from Wakefield to Boone, one “shot heard ’round the world” from Bobby Thomson, and one leaping, game saving catch by Granderson. Baseball. One game. One play. One champion. We sit around all year, many of us bored to death by the constant statistics and uber-long season, only to be lifted up by the wonder of what October brings. New hero, new legend, new superstars. In football, mistakes can be fixed, like Revis making a pick to even out Mark Sanchez stinking. That floating knuckler that Wakefield mistakingly threw to Boone can’t be brought back. That foul ball that was taken away from Moises Alou by Steve Bartman can’t be brought back. That is what makes baseball so different. It is a story that has the ending on the last page and you just need to sit back and read the first 300 pages before taking a look. Some people have put it down and never come back and they are really missing out right now. Just ask those who came back and saw the Rays and Cardinals take over for the Braves and Red Sox on the last day, or those thousands of fans who showed up at Tropicana Field for game four of the ALDS yesterday after not being there all season. It all matters now. And…one play is all it takes to win your heart back or to win the championship.
If you haven’t seen “the catch” or catches that Curtis Granderson made on Tuesday night, the link is above. To say that after 162 games that one play can prove to make your season is an understatement. Bases loaded, two outs, A.J. Burnett just about to implode and the first inning jumping catch saves the season. With Don Kelly’s speed, that could have been an inside-the-park homerun, at least a base-clearing triple that would have put the Tigers up 3-0.
Needless to say, Burnett may have allowed another 2-4 runs after the implosion was finally complete, but he can thank Granderson for the effort and look in the mirror today and see a man who threw 5 2/3 innings in a game that he was a goat to start with. The leash was shorter than Britney Spears’ first marriage and New York and the media was waiting for his eventual failure. Instead, 81 pitches later, they can all breathe a sigh of relief and wait until the next series for that.
Granderson is just looking better and better to those who are going to be voting on the AL MVP. Although I said that Miguel Cabrera should win, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Granderson grab it. He does, after all, garner the spotlight that comes along with the pinstripes. If only the .262 batting average and 169 strikeouts weren’t so damning…
The Yankees live to see another day, and probably another series, as the momentum goes into their favor for game five in Yankee Stadium. Granderson could add to the legend of Yankee centerfielders, following DiMaggio, Mantle and Williams to the greatness of titles and legacies from the position. If nothing else, he did his part this season and in this series.
