So the regular baseball season is over and my most recent trip to the Bronx seems quite a while ago. The playoffs continue without the Yankees for the first time since 1993 (we would have won it all in ’94 if it wasn’t for that damn strike). My hopes are pinned on the LA Dodgers principally because of the Joe Torre link.
Anyway time to survey the second half of September.
New York Yankees – Batting – Month – September
Name AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB SO SH SF SB BA SLG
Cabrera, Melky 13 3 6 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .462 .462
Miranda, Juan 10 2 4 1 1 0 0 2 4 0 1 0 .400 .500
Jeter, Derek 76 15 26 9 1 0 3 12 11 2 0 2 .342 .474
Betemit, Wilson 30 4 9 5 5 0 1 0 9 0 0 0 .300 .567
Cano, Robinson 94 13 27 12 8 0 1 2 12 0 2 1 .287 .404
Gardner, Brett 53 9 15 7 3 1 0 2 11 1 0 6 .283 .377
Rodriguez, Alex 79 16 22 23 2 0 6 13 20 0 1 2 .278 .532
Abreu, Bobby 87 19 24 17 4 1 5 14 16 0 1 7 .276 .517
Ransom, Cody 38 6 10 3 2 0 2 6 11 1 0 0 .263 .474
Moeller, Chad 16 3 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 .250 .313
Damon, Johnny 88 16 22 14 1 1 6 9 10 0 0 4 .250 .489
Rodriguez, Ivan 37 5 9 1 3 0 0 1 5 0 0 3 .243 .324
Matsui, Hideki 43 2 10 5 2 0 0 2 11 0 0 0 .233 .279
Giambi, Jason 84 11 19 12 6 0 4 12 25 0 2 0 .226 .440
Nady, Xavier 103 11 23 17 4 0 4 7 16 0 1 1 .223 .379
Molina, Jose 28 3 4 3 0 0 1 1 11 1 1 0 .143 .250
Cervelli, Francisco 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 .000 .000
Pluses
Derek Jeter. Jeter saw the season out with his strongest month at the end of a season where he seemed a little jaded. No such problems in September when .342 BA on the month edged him over .300 for the season
Brett Gardner. Gardner also saved his best to last. He was a big threat on the base paths and with .283 on the month was able to use that threat more often. Little in the walks column though.
Robinson Cano. Cano was so inconsistent this year. The benching that Girardi dealt him was too late in the season but at least it upped his personal endeavours.
Minuses
Hideki Matsui. We gained nothing from delaying Matsui’s surgery. His power dissipated and he looked distracted at the plate. Hope his surgery doesn’t hinder his role in April or we will have really lost.
Jason Giambi. Still produced something in the power columns and had patience at the plate but .226 BA was way lower than acceptable for what is hopefully his last month in pinstripes.
Xavier Nady. Spent too many nights at DH in September and had by far his worst months in pinstripes.
Surprises
Melky Cabrera. All the signs are that he may well be done in the Bronx but with a strong final month with Scranton and then his .462 when recalled by the Yankees, it is hard to see why they don’t intend to persevere. Defensively he is strong and even after a poor year, he still outhit Gardner.
Juan Miranda. I saw his debut in Pinstripes and seemed to be the only guy in the Stadium who knew who he was. Given that, I didn’t expect him to be in the lineup that night or this season or to hit as well as he did. Likely to end up in a trade in the close season but he has, at least, increased his value.
Wilson Betemit. He would have been on my list of players that I wanted to see shipped out of the Bronx at the beginning of the year but he has had an excellent second half of the season and should be allowed to come back in a bench role next year.
The Yankees are at a decisive moment. When I wrote that age and injury would be a factor, or something like that, this is exactly what I meant. The old Joe Torre Yankees are fading. Better to trade a player a year early than a year late.
It’s astonishing to hear a Yankee fan backing the Dodgers. I’m still annoyed with Reggie Jackson. 🙂 The Dodgers have a decent shot at the World Series. As i write, it looks like the Angels will be eliminated on any pitch….