Runners Left on Base

by jscape2000 on Apr 16, 2008 11:44 AM EDT in Game Recap

Driving home last night, I listened to John Sterling on the post-game show talk about Runners Left on Base. The Yankees left a lot of runners on base, especially in the 7th, 8th, and 9th. This true, but let's not confuse a description of the situation with analysis.

Runners Left on Base is one of my least favorite numbers (I differentiate between numbers and stats, stats tell us something, numbers happen).

Last night, the Yankees left 10 runners on base. They've left 109 men on base this season (about 7.3 per game).

Last season the Yanks left 1,265 runners on base (7.8 per game). While I haven't done the math (H+BB+HBP-GIDP-RS) for the entire league, I'm willing to bet that number leads the league, because the only way to score runs is to put men on.

It's a good thing.

0 recs | Comment 8 comments

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You're right

in saying that to score runs, they need to put guys on base. Obviously. But since they’re scoring less this year, that means less players are getting on base to begin with. So of course fewer base runners are getting stranded. That’s not good by any measure.

by docgonzo on Apr 16, 2008 12:10 PM EDT 0 recs

Too early ...

We are winning without slugging. That’s a change for us. The hitting will come. Guys like Arod, Cano, Posada, Jeter, are all going to hit. I’m paying more attention to our pitching and the fact they are keeping us in tight games and giving us a chance to win.

When the synergy between hitting and pitching gels, I really think we’ll roll off a couple of 10 game winning streaks. Be patient.

"Baseball is the background music of my life." -George Will

by Ronster22 on Apr 16, 2008 12:34 PM EDT 0 recs

I really hope we

can continue to get length from all of our starters. It won’t take too many more 2-3 inning performances to really create a strain on our bullpen. They have all been throwing well, but as soon as they start to get overused we are gonna have all kinds of trouble. I was particularly impressed with Farnsworth’s outing last night. Ten pitches, 7 Strikes. I’ll take that.

Crowds are won and lost and won again, but our hearts beat for the diehards.

by Edwantsacracker on Apr 16, 2008 3:25 PM EDT up 0 recs

Unfortunately, if Hughes or Kennedy

has a couple of more outings in which they pitch 2-3 innings (a likely scenario), I think there is a good chance someone like Rasner or Karstens will be promoted to the big club.

One bad outing can really kill a pen for a few days when they don’t really have a long man to save the wear and tear on the other arms.

I know Ohlendorf was a starter until last June, but he’s not really ideal for that role. I’d like to see him pitching more one or two inning stints.

by anaconda on Apr 16, 2008 4:00 PM EDT up 0 recs

Kennedy

I may be in the minority here, but I thought Kennedy was excellent in his last outing. He was pitching ahead and attacking the hitters. He looked 100% better than in his previous outting.
Hughes is my biggest concern. He’s beginning to strike me as a Mike Mussina-type. By that I mean he lets outside influences affect his performance.

He was blowing on his hand after EVERY pitch. He couldn’t possibly be focused on the job at hand when he’s worried about his hand.

"Baseball is the background music of my life." -George Will

by Ronster22 on Apr 16, 2008 4:18 PM EDT up 0 recs

Kennedy was very good the other night

My response had to do more with his first start and Hughes in his last two starts. I really liked what I saw from Kennedy on Monday.

We both know there are going to be more stinkers and bad outings from that duo this season. That said, I’m not worried about either of them.

I think we’ll get a much better look at the real Yankees when the weather warms up. Seems like a lot of the good teams are slow getting out of the gate this season.

by anaconda on Apr 16, 2008 5:50 PM EDT up 0 recs