Through Wednesday, the average ratings for Yankee games on the YES Network were down 38% compared to the same period last season, according to Nielsen figures.
The drop is even more remarkable when you consider that last year’s ratings were the Yankees’ lowest since 2003.
The author of the article suggests that Yankee fans only want to see stars, and that’s why ratings at YES are down.
But maybe people just don’t want to see stick-a-fork-in-them re-treads like Vernon Wells?
Update 6/17: Only a few hours after we posted this, Dietrich Enns was promoted to High-A Tampa. He let us know on Twitter. Congrats to Dietrich.
Biggest transaction news on the week: JR Murphy was promoted to Triple-A and Rafael De Paula was promoted to High-A.
Note: Tampa (High-A) had a short week due to FSL All-Star Game.
Pitcher:
Dietrich Enns, 22, LHP, A
6 IP, 10 K, 1 BB, 3 H, 1 ER
Notable: 69 K in 44.1 IP
Another week, another big batch of strikeouts for Charleston’s lefty-relief ace…
Recently named to the SAL All-Star Game, this is Enns’ second MLPW on the season.
In 44.1 innings of work, the Charleston multiple-inning reliever has K’d 69, good for a K/9 of 14.08. That is tops in the SAL for all pitchers with a minimum of 40 IP — even better than former teammate Rafael De Paula.
He’s also yet to allow a HR, has only walked 14 (2.86 BB/9), and been very effective against hitters from both side of the plate.
With De Paula getting the promotion, when will Enns be moved up to Tampa?
Hitter:
Kyle Roller, 25, LHB 1B, AA
.429/.429/.810 in 21 PA
Notable: .195 ISO / 16th-highest in Eastern League
If there is ever a chance that Kyle Roller makes the big show, he’ll have to hit his way there. Not offering much value defensively, the lefty first-baseman has a career professional line of .275/.365/.462. With this being his first year at Double-A, he’s been the best hitter at Trenton, leading the team in OPS (.844), wRC+ (133), wOBA (.380), and ISO (.195).
His K rate is typical of a slugger (27.7%), and you’d like to see the walk rate a touch higher than the 9% he’s averaged over the past three seasons. The North Carolina native can hit, no doubt. But, can he hit prolifically enough to make himself a legit MLB-caliber first baseman bat, or does he simply have a Four-A ceiling?
Honorable Mentions:
Brett Gerritse, 22, RHP, A
8 IP, 10 K, 3 BB, 5 H, 1 ER
Over 2 appearances, 4.07 ERA / 2.18 FIP – huge difference
Charley Short, 24, RHP, A+
1 IP, 3 K, 0 BB, 1 H, 0 ER
23 K / 4 BB in 13.2 since being promoted to High-A
Evan Rutckyj, 21, LHP, A
6 IP, 5 K, 1 BB, 5 H, 1 ER
Actually got the loss in this game, despite the solid performance
Francisco Rondon, 25, LHP, AA
3.1 IP, 7 K, 2 BB, 2 H, 0 ER
Season has been a mess: 7.98 K/9, but 6.34 BB/9
Jeremy Bleich, 26, LHP, AA
4 IP, 6 K, 1 BB, 1 H, 0 ER
Bizarre NYY first round pick in 2008, 3.16 ERA / 3.30 FIP on season
Luis Niebla, 22, RHP, A
5 IP, 6 K, 0 BB, 3 H, 0 ER
Signed out of Mexico in 2011, 6.17 ERA / 3.80 FIP in 35 IP
Gary Sanchez, 20, RHB C, A+
.333/.333/.750 in 12 PA
Includes going 1-for-1 with a 2B in the FSL All-Star Game
Ben Gamel, 21, LHB CF/LF, A+
.429/.429/.643 in 14 PA
.280/.348/.398 on the season
Cito Culver, 20, RHB SS, A
.250/.323/.607 in 31 PA
3 HR on the week, but still not hitting overall: .213/.312/.347
Jake Cave, 20, LHB CF, A
.367/.406/.633 in 32 PA
2011 6th round draft pick
Peter O’Brien, 22, RHB C, A
.316/.350/.579 in 20 PA
Last week’s MLPW winner just keeps winning
Robert Refsnyder, 22, RHB 2B, A+
.455/.571/.455 in 14 PA
Hitting .299/.414/.424 since promotion to Tampa
Zoilo Almonte, 24, SHB OF, AAA
.423/.444/.462 in 27 PA
.292/.366/.419 on the season, big-time platoon splits — much better against RHP
After many grievances were aired during a 5-game losing streak, the Yankees scored a miraculous 6 runs (including 5 in one inning!) to beat the Angels, 6-5.
RUN BMG: 2-4, 2B, SB / PRONKY: 3-Run Feat of Strength
The offensive effort was nearly wasted though, as LAA put up 5 runs in the ninth off Sabathia, D-Rob, and Mariano. The game ended with Mo striking out Albert Pujols with the bases loaded.
Don’t worry, Albert. You’re not the first to look silly.
Girardi on the lack of offense:
I don’t see anything different in the approach that we’ve had all year. Our hitters have not changed who they are, in a sense, in their approach. We’re just not getting results. I don’t think they’re playing to their capabilities. I think they’re better hitters than they’ve shown. I believe that.
Well, Joe, you are incorrect. These hitters are performing exactly to their capabilities, and your superiors dealt you a bad hand this offseason. Everyone knew this team would struggle offensively and that’s exactly what’s happened. Fortunately, due to great pitching and a little bit of luck, you’re still in the hunt.
However, let’s not pretend these offensive woes were unforeseen. This is the business Hal has chosen!
Yanks now averaging 3.91 runs per game on the season — 21st in MLB.
Through 8 games on this west coast road trip, the team is averaging 2.75 runs per game.
David DeJesus sprains shoulder after crashing into fence, headed to disabled list http://t.co/Kym6yg5BtC #mlb #hbt
— HardballTalk (@HardballTalk) June 15, 2013
Looks like DeJesus is pulling a “Kevin Youkilis.” At least they called up Thomas Neal…
The Yankees reached what has to be their lowest point of the season (so far) in Oakland this past week – capped off by a miserable 18-inning, 3-2 loss after leading 2-0 in the 1st inning. Fans and pundits alike have started to make their minds up on what’s wrong with the current state of the team. There is a lot (injuries, slumps, mistakes) going awry lately – some of which is confusing, while more is easy to understand. There’s no “correct” answer as to why the team is performing as badly as it is, nor can we look to the past few weeks as any serious barometer of what to expect from the Yankees moving forward into the second-half where the games become more significant and the playoffs (a mandate for the franchise every season) not guaranteed. Almost every team hits a snag at some point during a 162-game season and part of getting through times like these require understanding that. Another part is trying to make adjustments and changes.
There are some players who are probably just slumping right now (Cano, Teixeira, Hafner, and Youkilis in particular) and others who probably won’t improve much (Stewart, Nix, Ichiro and Wells) moving forward.
Since there’s no “real” way of saying what’s wrong with the team, we may as well forego a diagnosis and just suggest a few tweaks and adjustments that the team might consider making for the time being, while reinforcements (Michael Pineda, Francisco Cervelli, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, even Eduardo Nunez) wait in the wings to return as regular contributors.
DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING SUGGESTION IS THAT OF THE AUTHOR AND MAY NOT REPRESENT THE SITE’S GROUPTHINK ON THE WHOLE
Trade Joba Chamberlain for another bat
The Yankees have nothing more to offer Joba Chamberlain. He’s at the end of his contract and has already expressed a desire to start or close. The Yankees do not have any plans for Joba – not with a role, not with a contract. His value is not particularly high – he hasn’t been exactly pitching well (5.52 ERA), though some of that can certainly be attributed to bad luck (xFIP of 4.06) and a few “blowup” innings where the big, picky twitter account holder allowed more than 1 run to score. In examining teams who may have a need for a hard throwing right handed potential closer/back of the rotation starter, one might look to the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Miami Marlins and the Milwaukee Brewers. All of these teams are, and have been in perpetual “rebuild/no playoff” modes with no real immediate future help in sight. They could benefit from a player like Chamberlain, who still has a high ceiling and can’t possibly command the type of money you’d typically give to a starting pitcher/closer given the injuries and erratic performance over the course of his career thus far. So, for today, let’s take a look at what one of these teams may have to offer the Yankees: The Cubs.
Chicago signed LH RF Nate Schierholz to accompany Alfonso Soriano (LF) and David DeJesus (CF) in the outfield. All of these players are likely available for the right price.
Schierholz is perhaps the most intriguing of the group, as he is on a friendly 1-year deal and has performed quite well, with a slash line of .297/.330/.558 (.374 wOBA, 136 wRC+) along with 8 HR, 23 RBI and 3 SB. This gives him a WAR of 1.8 on the season, despite the fact that he only has 183 plate appearances! The Cubs must love the production they are getting out of Schierholz, so perhaps they might be reluctant to deal him for JUST Joba Chamberlain. In this instance, including other players from the Yankees should be discussed and the Cubs’ other OF options should also be explored.
Alfonso Soriano was thought of as an “obvious” trade candidate for the Yankees when Curtis Granderson went down in his first AB of Spring Training. Instead of giving up potential value before evaluating the team in-season, the Yankees opted to go with in-house candidates, which they then abandoned, eventually leading to trading for Vernon Wells and picking up 2 years/$13.9M of the $42M he’s owed for the duration of his contract. Wells was a pleasant surprise for the Yankees in the first month of the season, but that player no longer exists. He’s now an automatic out and can’t be considered an everyday option for any team looking for production out of a corner OF. Soriano, on the other hand, has been relatively more consistent and, in some ways, better. The former Yankees 2B prospect is currently “boasting” a slash line of .267/.301/.422 (.311 wOBA, 93 wRC+) to go with 7 HR, 28 RBI and 8 SB. In short: he has not been better than Vernon Wells overall, but it’s easier to imagine a more consistent performance from Soriano on a day-to-day basis than it is for Wells. Soriano has another year on his contract at $14M per, so it would probably not be in the Yankees’ best interest to re-acquire the man who was once traded for A-Rod – but doing so would represent an ever so slight upgrade over Wells. Still: he may not even be worth giving up a portly, occasionally mustachioed, yet hard throwing middle reliever.
Which brings us to DeJesus. The long under-valued CF from Brooklyn is in the last year of his deal with the Cubs and would fit well in any lineup or role for a contending team. DeJesus is presently carrying an “OK” line of .258/.316/.434 (.327 wOBA, 104 wRC+), which basically shows that he is slightly better than average at the plate. But DeJesus has always been known for his glove, and this year is no exception. His UZR/150 is 3.6 and most of his defensive metrics are in line with his career averages, save for a few outstanding seasons earlier on in his career. Adding DeJesus’ average bat and above average glove would represent an upgrade over the current Yankees’ OF alignment. While he has not done so this year, DeJesus has played corner OF positions (as recently as last season) and could easily man LF or RF instead of Ichiro (69 wRC+) and/or Vernon Wells (76 wRC+), both of whom are capable outfielders who do not even offer the pedestrian offense of DeJesus. He’d be an undeniable upgrade who would be much more likely to contribute wins than the current collection of over-the-hill veterans being trotted out by the team on a daily basis.
The Cubs are not a contending team in 2013, and have a dearth of players at a position that the Yankees need to improve in, at least until Curtis Granderson is able to come back. Joba Chamberlain is better than any relief pitcher on the north side of Chicago and could help the team in both the short and long term, should they decide to sign him. There is additional OF depth within the Cubs’ organization (Julio Bourbon, Scott Hairston, Ryan Sweeney, Jorge Soler) that they can lean on for the duration of this season should they decide to deal one of the 3 men mentioned above. Now that Theo Epstein (Cubs’ President of Baseball Operations) and Brian Cashman are allowed to be friends, there’s no reason to not explore the possibility of helping each other out.
The other teams mentioned above have bats that the Yankees could acquire for Chamberlain or other “touchable” players, and we will get into who and how, but today the Cubs seem like Ca$hman’s best possible suitor.
Vernon Wells since May 1:
143 Plate Appearances | 3 Extra Base Hits | .224 OBP
He has a NEGATIVE wRC+ in June.
Where’s all those articles that ballwashed the trade?
As one of only two players acquired this offseason for more than two years, Hal’s cash cow looks like a rotten hamburger.
The following represents a list of major league baseball players in the American league that have at least 200 plate appearances and a lower wRC+ than Ichiro (their 2013 year-to-date wRC+ figure is noted in parentheses — wRC+ of 100 is average, below 100 is below-average):
Jeff Kepinger (26)
Mike Moustakas (46)
Alcides Escobar (54)
Brendan Ryan (55)
Aaron Hicks (57)
Elvis Andrus (62)
Alexei Ramirez (64)
David Murphy in Texas is next on this list. His wRC+ is actually tied with Ichiro’s. Both currently have a wRC+ of 66.
Two members of the White Sox, two Royals, a Mariner, a Twin, and two Rangers giving the benefit of the tie with Murphy….
This means that Ichiro is the worst hitter in the American League East year-to-date using wRC+ as a gauge of effectiveness. He is 34% worse than an average hitter. Money well spent.
There’s deserving candidates in Triple-A.
You have 85 infielders on the roster and two outfielders that can’t hit.
Make a move.
(P.S. If you’re serious about making the postseason, you’ll need to trade for a bat too).
