| Andrew Perna. 27th May, 2011 - 4:10 pm
 The New York Yankees led all of baseball with 75 home runs heading into Friday night’s game against the Mariners in Seattle.
The power has been both a blessing and a curse in the first quarter of the season. They are first in slugging (.449) and on-base percentage (.785), but just 11th in average (.255) and they’ve often struggled with runners in scoring position.
Since their six-game losing streak, highlighted by a sweep at the hands of the rival Boston Red Sox in the Bronx, the Yankees have won seven of nine. In a number of those games it was timely hitting that led them to victory.
New York defeated Tampa Bay 6-2 on May 17, with their first two runs coming on solo shots by Alex Rodriguez. However, their final four runs came on three RBI singles and a fielder’s choice. The next day they defeated Baltimore in 15 innings without a long ball.
In their last nine games, the Yankees have scored 55 runs. Of those runs, 38.1% have come via the home run. In two games they failed to hit one out of the park and in two others they clubbed a combined seven homers that accounted for 12 runs.
The Yankees have just 11 sacrifice hits (23rd), but two recent innings have showcased how successful they can be when playing small ball.
Case #1
On May 22 against the Mets, they exploded for eight runs in the seventh inning, which allowed them to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 9-3 victory. They scored eight runs despite just one extra-base hit (a double by Brett Gardner) in a merry-go-round inning that included five singles, a walk, a hit-by-pitch, an intentional walk, a sacrifice and an error.
Case #2
Headed for a disappointing loss to the Blue Jays on May 24, the Yankees rallied in the late innings in a performance reminiscent of the 2009 squad. Russell Martin scored the game’s first run with a second-inning home run and they entered the eighth inning down 4-1 despite seven hits.
Curtis Granderson led off the eighth with a double and moved to third on a ground-out by Mark Teixeira. Following a Rodriguez strike-out, Robinson Cano doubled to bring Granderson home. Martin then singled Cano home, bringing New York to within a run.
After a 1-2-3 inning thanks to CC Sabathia’s ninth inning of work, the stage was set for drama with or without a long bomb or a completed comeback.
Gardner grounded out and manager Joe Girardi sent Jorge Posada to pinch-hit for Eduardo Nunez. Posada promptly deposited a double into right center, sending Yankee Stadium into frenzy.
Derek Jeter grounded out, moving pinch-runner Chris Dickerson to third base with two outs. Granderson then delivered a two-out single to tie the game. After stealing second, he scored the winning run on a single to shallow right field that was extremely well-placed by Teixeira.
A loss became a win thanks to back-to-back innings that included three singles and three doubles, without a single hit launched more than a dozen feet in the air.
The Reality
The Yankees will win often because of their power, but the ability to string a series of hits together in the middle-to-late innings is paramount to their success as the season progresses.
You’ll win most games in which you hit four home runs, but the Red Sox and Rays don’t have staffs full of pitchers willing to let the Yankees play pepper with the baseball.
New York has five players among the top 15 in home runs in the American League, with Granderson and Martin ranking as surprises.
Granderson has 16 homers and is hitting one per 11.4 at-bats. For his career, he’s averaged one per 22.8 at-bats and his high is 30, which came in 2009 during his final season in Detroit.
Martin, meanwhile, has once again become one of the game’s best offensive catchers after a poor 2009 campaign and an injury-plagued 2010 season. He has turned into New York’s primary backstop while recording career-highs in slugging (.504) and on-base plus slugging (.874).
He has nine home runs already, just 10 off his career high (2007). His rate of one per 15.4 at-bats is much greater than his career average of one homer per 39.4 at-bats.
The chances that Granderson and Martin continue their power surge into late summer are unlikely, but the boost has allowed the Yankees to get by offensively while waiting for Jeter, Nick Swisher and Posada to come around.
New York doesn’t have a regular hitter hitting above .287 (Rodriguez’s average) and Teixeira’s early home runs (13) have disguised his .253 average (nearly 30 points below his career average).
The ironic thing about their offensive “woes” is that their pitching, which was supposed to weigh them down heavily, has been better than expected. Their 3.66 ERA, batting average against, quality starts, innings pitched and strikeouts all fall in the middle of the pack.
The Yankees have gotten great efforts from their starters. Their trio of fill-ins (Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon and Ivan Nova) are a combined 9-10 with a 15 quality starts and a 3.77 ERA. |
