You Down Wit OBP?
October 1, 2008, 8:20 pm
From Bryan Hoch (Yankees’ website):
With Giambi up for free agency, several players have lobbied to play first base for at least a portion of the season, including Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui.
Cashman said that playing either out of position is not something he gravitates toward — Cashman prefers the idea of Matsui as a DH and likes the range Damon offers in the outfield.
“I’d like to put a first baseman at first, rather than have somebody who’s trying to step up on behalf of the team,” Cashman said.
Of Giambi and Abreu, Cashman said, “They happen to be the most selective hitters that we’ve got. This year’s team, overall … we were more of a free-swinging unit than we had been in the past. Obviously, the free agency of Giambi and Abreu is a concern to that area of weakness.”
This issue pertaining to plate discipline hasn’t been discussed all that much, as the rotation has been the primary focal point of our (potential) offseason dealings. Giambi and Abreu obviously possess tremendous plate discipline, something that others in the lineup simply don’t have (which Cashman doesn’t hesitate to acknowledge). Damon, Jeter, Posada, Matsui, and A-Rod are still very solid in this regard. However, Cano and Nady along with Melky Cabrera, who played a lot this year, aren’t exactly the most patient hitters on the planet.
It’s a problem of outs, really. The lower your OBP, the more likely you are to make an out (well, your inability to get on base is reflected in a low OBP). It’s harder to maintain rallies, it’s harder to score runs, and it’s harder to get to the soft underbelly of the bullpen if you can’t work a starter. That’s Yankee baseball (thanks, in part, to Wade Boggs’ approach when he was a Yankee).
Nady will slot in at RF (probably), and his career OBP is .335, yet he only produced a .320 OBP in limited time, this year, with NY. He’s replacing Abreu’s .371 OBP from this season, although I would think that Abreu’s on-base numbers could continue to regress as he gets older. Cano, as we know, had a bad year but his inability to get on base via the walk really hurt him (26 BB and an OBP just a hair over .300). Melky probably won’t play and they may try to insert Gardner into the lineup simply because he has shown a knack for getting on base throughout his minor league career.
This aspect of the Yankees team will have to be tweaked next year. I’m sure that the Yankees will work with Nady and Cano on increasing their plate patience, but it’s not like Nady is a kid and Cano is what he is. The topic of first base, addressed in the first few sentences I posted from Hoch, will play a big part in this. Cashman notes that he’s looking for a real first baseman and you know he’s thinking about Mark Teixeira. Mark Teixeira is a huge upgrade in terms of getting on base, consistently. In fact, he’s a huge upgrade over Jason Giambi, as his .410 OBP (2008) eclipses Jason’s .373 (2003).
So, if you wondered about Mark Teixeira and the Yankees possibly joining together in a beautiful union, then you have to look at Cashman’s comments about the team’s style in ‘08. He characterized their “free-swinging” as a weakness and one that must be addressed. Mark Teixeira would certainly help in that area.
In case Tex doesn’t want to be a Yankee, know who else has a high OBP (.386 for this season, and .381 for his career) and is young (28 years old) and hits HRs (40 or more each of the last 5 years) and is a free agent and plays 1B (will be better defensively than Giambi)- Adam Dunn.
Dunn could be a good backup plan. He’s played nearly 130 games there (career), so he has a pretty good idea on how to play first (obviously). Nevertheless, I believe, the Yankees will do everything they can to sign Teixeira. He has expressed an interest in playing for NY and he fits their needs, perfectly (offense, defense, young).
I’ve heard the market isn’t too hot for Dunn, so maybe he could find his way into a Yankee uniform if the team decides to splurge.
Yeah, obviously Tex is the first choice because of the whole switch hitter and tremendous defense aspects to his game. However, Tex is getting at minimum 7 or 8 years. While Dunn seems to not have that many suitors, maybe because of his low BA (who cares with his high OBP and OPS) and high strikeout totals (again, who cares if he is a lock for 40 HR and gets on base). Also, Dunn’s lefty power plus that short porch in RF could bump up those totals even more. Not to mention, Dunn isn’t the big oaf defensively that the league perceives him as. If a man his size was able to even play the amount of OF he has in his career, he must be quite agile. He should be able to handle 1B at least better than Giambi, and he is a very big target over there.
If I were Cashman in the offseason, I would pursue Tex, but at the same time pursue Dunn as well. If someone you land both of them, then Matsui is getting traded and Dunn is the new DH. I would be more confident in Dunn being the DH who occasionally played RF than with Matsui as the DH who occasionally played LF.
[...] and lots of money. Teixeira has enjoyed two straight seasons of a .400+ OBP, and he would be a perfect fit for the Bronx, says iYankees. If the years are right, the dollar amount doesn’t really matter. Share and [...]
Tex is a must sign.
I like the idea of getting big Tex and Making a trade for Holliday, I would give up Kennedy and Cano. I would then sign Orlando Hudson. Damon would be expenpable because Holiday would play LF.I woudnt sign CC, AJ, or Sheets, I think CC arm is going to be shot soon for his inning log and the lack of res between starts. I AJ and Sheets are to injury prone. I would rather see than sign an innng eater such as Derek Lowe or Oliver Perez. I would give Gardner a shot in CF.
Higer OBS means more runs. Food for thought….Matusi for Gary Matthews Jr. (could be used as insurance policy if Gardner doesnt work out)….
Since the Yankees do intra-divisional swapping with the Orioles, how much would it take to pick up Aubrey Huff for first base? That guy is under-rated.
BigNaca … you’re right about Matthews and Tex, way off on trading Cano … let the guy have one mediocre season! He never had the sophmore swoon through which others generally suffer. In a year, you’ll see his value is equivalent to Holliday. Besides, we already have Nady … basically the same player without Boras hanging around his neck.
I like Huff a lot. I’m surprised more teams didn’t try and trade for him as the season progressed. He’s getting old, but he’s not THAT old.
Also, I wouldn’t trade for Holliday. He’s going to hit the FA market, therefore, there’s no need to move quality (young) talent for him. That Matsui-Mathews deal is a pretty neat solution, although I don’t know how realistic it would be. His offense is so poor and he’s locked up for another 3 years, I believe (I don’t know if the Yanks would want to make that commitment).
I couldn’t be less interested in any player than I am in Matthews Jr. He has had a grand total of ONE good season his entire career, and that was in a contract year and immediately after that season he was busted for using performance enhancing drugs. His career OPS+ is 94, so he is actually a below average hitter. He might be good defensively, but there is NO way he is a better defender in CF (especially at age 34) than Gardner is. And all of that is before mentioning he is locked in to that awful contract for 3 more years.
Oh, and he has a VORP of -5.4 and will only get worse as he is entering his decline years.
In other words, one year of Matsui at DH is worth so much more than 3 seasons of Matthews Jr.
Huff is intriquing but only if they fail to land either Tex or Dunn because they are superior players and wouldn’t cost anything in terms of trading chips. Huff was very good offensively this season (137 OPS+), but the O’s would be smart to keep him as they are only on the hook for $8M next season and then at the very least will get a couple draft picks for him. He might end up on the trading block before the deadline next year if they are out of it and the O’s don’t think they can lock him up longterm.