Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Cause For Concern?

Tim Dierkes of MLBTR came out with a list of free agents who are off to a poor start this year. Don't worry, the Yankees only have $435.5M worth of commitments to guys on the list:
  • Mark Teixeira, Yankees: .206/.363/.381 in 80 plate appearances.  This contract runs through 2016, so it's barely begun.
  • C.C. Sabathia, Yankees: 4.73 ERA in 32.3 innings.  So far we haven't seen the expected walk and strikeout rates.  This one runs through 2015.
  • A.J. Burnett, Yankees: 5.47 ERA in 24.6 innings.  Home runs and walks have been the problem so far.  He's signed through 2013.
  • Damaso Marte, Yankees: 15.19 ERA in 5.3 innings.  Signed through 2011.
I'd agree that they all belong on this list, but allow me to offer up some homeristic justifications/excuses for their poor starts.
  • We were all told that Teixeira is a slow starter because he's a switch hitter and needs time to get both of his swings in order. His defense has been great. I'll start taking calls in a couple weeks. 

  • Sabathia's ERA is only slightly higher than his career average in April (4.73 to 4.54). While not being terribly effective he has averaged over 6 1/3 IP per start. His K/BB ratio is somewhat alarming, but that has traditionally improved for him as the season progressed as well. 

  • Burnett's ERA before Saturday's game against the Sox? 3.20. Early in the season, 8ER in one start is going to skew an ERA pretty wildy. 
     
  • Damaso Marte... Um, he like, used to be good and stuff. 5 1/3 innings is a very small sample size, and he has looked good at times. The Yankees have options in their bullpen, and even if Damaso Marte turns out to be a horrible signing, it's not the worst thing in the world. It's $4M a year. 
Are any of these guys really worrying you at this point? Feel free to vent in the comments. Except for you, Anon

3 comments:

  1. "The Yankees have options in their bullpen"

    I'm guessing they're pretty sad they let Ramiro Mendoza get away during spring training.

    ReplyDelete
  2. LOL... I was thinking more of Mark Melancon and David Robertson

    ReplyDelete