2K12 NY Yankees: Boom Boom in the Boogie Down

[B-Fly]

The A-Rod radio chatter has been unbelievably inane, but Girardi pinch-hitting for him and that guy - even older than A-Rod - hitting a game-tying HR and then game-winner is outstanding theater.

interesting tweet d'jour

Paul Katcher @PaulKatcher

Alex Rodriguez has an .833 OPS in 56 postseason games with the Yankees. Joe DiMaggio's was .760 in 51 games

A-Rod had one of the best post-seasons of all time for the Yanks in 2009, so that's not a huge surprise. I think it's clear to anyone who's been watching over the past few years, however, that A-Rod is no longer the same hitter that he was in 2009. He still has decent on-base skills, but his capacity for key HRs or even XBHs is severely diminished. At this point, I just don't view him as a solid middle of the order masher any more. And Girardi's decision was more than just a hunch. There's no question that Ibanez is much more capable than A-Rod of cranking a pitch to the short porch. I suspect that if the Yanks had a man in scoring position where they could've tied the game with a single, Girardi would have let A-Rod hit.

[Judge Jude]

Agreed re A-Rod. He has fork marks in his back now, and rightfully so.
But it's funny that he STILL has a higher career postseason OPS than Jeter does (.855 to .844). Not one WFAN radio caller in 100 would ever believe that stat.

Jeter in 155 games is 197 for 718, .310 AVG, .375 OBP, .469 SLG, 20 HR, 61 RBI, 109 R

A-Rod in 71 games is 70 for 312, .268 AVG, .376 OBP, .479 SLG, 13 HR, 41 RBI, 43 R

A-Rod 7 for 61 in his last 3 postseasons

Jeter's RBI rate is poor, interestingly enough, even for a leadoff hitter

[B-Fly]

Agreed re A-Rod. He has fork marks in his back now, and rightfully so.
But it's funny that he STILL has a higher career postseason OPS than Jeter does (.855 to .844). Not one WFAN radio caller in 100 would ever believe that stat.

Jeter in 155 games is 197 for 718, .310 AVG, .375 OBP, .469 SLG, 20 HR, 61 RBI, 109 R

A-Rod in 71 games is 70 for 312, .268 AVG, .376 OBP, .479 SLG, 13 HR, 41 RBI, 43 R

A-Rod 7 for 61 in his last 3 postseasons

Jeter's RBI rate is poor, interestingly enough, even for a leadoff hitter

Huh? I think if you're using OPS (or HRs or RBIs) as your measure, anyone would assume A-Rod would be and should be better than Jeter. I'm not sure that saying A-Rod has a post-season OPS higher than Jeter's is much of a point for A-Rod, considering that A-Rod's career post-season OPS is 70 points lower than his career regular season OPS (.925), whereas Jeter's post-season OPS is 19 points higher than his career regular season OPS (.829). Since one generally faces much tougher pitching in the post-season than the regular season, the fact that Jeter has elevated his OPS when on the post-season stage while A-Rod's has plummeted only serves to reinforce the common fan view that Jeter is more clutch.

[senorsheep]

old men can still feast on elevated pitches. Great night though

Well, some old men can still feast on elevated pitches. Others, not so much...



Personally, I liked the Oakland finish better.

[OaklandA's]

Huh? I think if you're using OPS (or HRs or RBIs) as your measure, anyone would assume A-Rod would be and should be better than Jeter. I'm not sure that saying A-Rod has a post-season OPS higher than Jeter's is much of a point for A-Rod, considering that A-Rod's career post-season OPS is 70 points lower than his career regular season OPS (.925), whereas Jeter's post-season OPS is 19 points higher than his career regular season OPS (.829). Since one generally faces much tougher pitching in the post-season than the regular season, the fact that Jeter has elevated his OPS when on the post-season stage while A-Rod's has plummeted only serves to reinforce the common fan view that Jeter is more clutch.

By looking at postseason OPS, you are addressing the question - who has been the better hitter in the postseason? And I think most Yankee fans would expect that Jeter would have been better in the playoffs than A-Rod.

I don't think most fans evaluate a player's postseason performance by comparing it to his regular season stats; they just look at the absolute numbers. So a .900 OPS player who hits .800 in the playoffs would be viewed as more clutch than a .600 OPS who goes .700 in the playoffs. (Ignoring the fact that most fans don't look at overall OPS to evaluate "clutchiness" anyways). The most clutch playoff player is usually the one with the best stats, not the largest improvement from the regular season.

[B-Fly]

By looking at postseason OPS, you are addressing the question - who has been the better hitter in the postseason? And I think most Yankee fans would expect that Jeter would have been better in the playoffs than A-Rod.

I don't think most fans evaluate a player's postseason performance by comparing it to his regular season stats; they just look at the absolute numbers. So a .900 OPS player who hits .800 in the playoffs would be viewed as more clutch than a .600 OPS who goes .700 in the playoffs. (Ignoring the fact that most fans don't look at overall OPS to evaluate "clutchiness" anyways). The most clutch playoff player is usually the one with the best stats, not the largest improvement from the regular season.

No, I think that just as in a political debate, people intrinsically measure performance against expectation. If a marginal player gets a few really important hits in the post-season, he gets a reputation as clutch. With regard to A-Rod and Jeter, the issue is that one has been a career top of the order table setter and the other a career middle of the order basher. So the expectation for A-Rod would be for him to produce key HR and RBI. The expectation for Jeter is key singles, doubles, stolen bases, sacrifices, runs scored. If Jeter delivers on those expectations while A-Rod falls short of his, then the average fan is reasonably going to view Jeter as the superior clutch post-season performer. A-Rod's supposed to have a higher OPS than an opposite-field slap hitter like Jeter.

[Bob Kohm]

No, I think that just as in a political debate, people intrinsically measure performance against expectation. If a marginal player gets a few really important hits in the post-season, he gets a reputation as clutch. With regard to A-Rod and Jeter, the issue is that one has been a career top of the order table setter and the other a career middle of the order basher. So the expectation for A-Rod would be for him to produce key HR and RBI. The expectation for Jeter is key singles, doubles, stolen bases, sacrifices, runs scored. If Jeter delivers on those expectations while A-Rod falls short of his, then the average fan is reasonably going to view Jeter as the superior clutch post-season performer. A-Rod's supposed to have a higher OPS than an opposite-field slap hitter like Jeter.

Seeing the forest and the trees? Watch it, Fly, you're an endangered species around here Well played.

[Erik]

If a marginal player gets a few really important hits in the post-season, he gets a reputation as clutch.

Hello, Mark Lemke.

When I started doing research for my first fantasy baseball auction in 1998, I was surprised to learn that Lemke was completely worthless in fantasy. '90s broadcasters talked him up because of what he'd done in the postseason.

[Judge Jude]

I agree with B-Fly's general premise, but I'd like your response to this part:

"it's funny that he STILL has a higher career postseason OPS than Jeter does (.855 to .844). Not one WFAN radio caller in 100 would ever believe that stat."

[OaklandA's]

If a marginal player gets a few really important hits in the post-season, he gets a reputation as clutch. With regard to A-Rod and Jeter, the issue is that one has been a career top of the order table setter and the other a career middle of the order basher.

I agree with you about the marginal players. like the Lemkes and Brosius types. But for superstars like A-Rod and Jeter, their reputations are often set based on early performances, and the actual stats don't matter anymore. A-Rod's LCS and WS stats are better than his regular season numbers. But the ALDS losses from 2005-2007 where A-Rod went 7-44 locked in his reputation. Even when A-Rod puts up nice postseason stats (ALCS - career 1.047 OPS, WS - career .973 OPS), they are ignored or dismissed as "racking up stats in meaningless situations."

[B-Fly]

I agree with B-Fly's general premise, but I'd like your response to this part:

"it's funny that he STILL has a higher career postseason OPS than Jeter does (.855 to .844). Not one WFAN radio caller in 100 would ever believe that stat."

I can't opine on WFAN callers because I haven't listened to sports talk radio (or any talk radio for that matter) since I was in high school. If anyone is shocked by that stat, then they probably don't really know much about OPS or baseball.

[Judge Jude]

If your buddies who are Yankees fans know that stat fact, you have some VERY knowledgeable buddies.

[JudeBaldo]

Surprised they didn't walk Cano.

[GwynnInTheHall]

what have you done for me lately...............

[B-Fly]

The Orioles starting pitchers are not nearly as good as the Yankees batters have been making them look in this series. What a team batting funk!