Archived articles from 10/28/2009 - 11/3/2009
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by Reggie No comments
A simple look at some previous stats for each hitter versus tonight's starting pitchers (numbers include the playoffs) and a few comments
Game 4 will feature Game 1 starter CC Sabathia and Joe Blanton. As you remember, Sabathia pitched Game 1 at Yankee stadium allowing 2 ER on 4 H while striking out 6. Sabathia�s location was the culprit for his early troubles and eventually led to the 2 homeruns by Chase Utley. Another reason for Sabathia�s troubles was falling behind early to hitters which forced him to use his fastball in favorable matchups for the hitters. Sabathia will be pitching on 3 days rest tonight, which he has done 4 times during his career (mostly with the Milwaukee Brewers).
Sabathia pitching on 3 days rest: 3-1, 1.01 ERA, 26 K, 26.2 IP, .083 WHIP
On the other side of the diamond, Joe Blanton last pitched against the Dodgers in the ALCS, going 6 innings and allowing 3 runs. Blanton is 7-4, 3.77 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and has given up 16 HR at home this season. In order for Blanton to have success, he will need to have first pitch strikes, as the Yankees are patient hitters.
On a closing note, can Ryan Howard tie or break Willie Wilson�s record for most strikeouts during the World Series? Howard currently has 9 through 3 games, it took Wilson 6 games to achieve the record of 12. Stay tuned.
NYY vs. Joe Blanton| AB | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | |
| Alex Rodriguez | 7 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | .571 | .727 | 1.571 | 2.298 |
| Jorge Posada | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .400 | .500 | .600 | 1.100 |
| Mark Teixeira | 27 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 3 | .333 | .357 | .704 | 1.061 |
| Derek Jeter | 12 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .333 | .385 | .583 | .968 |
| Nick Swisher | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .333 | .333 | .666 |
| Eric Hinske | 18 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | .222 | .222 | .667 | .889 |
| Jose Molina | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .214 | .214 | .214 | .428 |
| Johnny Damon | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .200 | .200 | .300 | .500 |
| Melky Cabrera | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .167 | .167 | .334 |
| Hideki Matsui | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | .143 | .250 | .571 | .821 |
| Robinson Cano | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .111 | .200 | .111 | .311 |
| Average of Players Total | .275 | .323 | .529 | .852 |
by Dan Port 1 comments
A simple look at some previous stats for each hitter versus tonight's starting pitchers (numbers include the playoffs) and a few comments
Two crafty lefthanders face off in Game 3, as the World Series moves to Philadelphia , the city of brotherly cheesesteaks. The hitting history below doesn�t reveal a whole lot about the matchups, other than that Mark Teixeira has power (duh) and Ryan Howard has struggled against Andy Pettitte (go figure). The sample sizes are simply way too small for most of them.
Raul Ibanez is 6 for 21 with a home run lifetime against Pettitte, and this is notable but not all that surprising since Ibanez has actually hit for a better clip against lefties the last couple of seasons. It�s worth remembering this if he comes to the plate with runners on base.
Pettitte�s ability to control the running game could be a big thing to watch for, particularly if he struggles with his control and puts runners on base. Philadelphia has yet to really start being aggressive on the basepaths in this series, but a move to their home ballpark (and a familiar infield) might change that. If Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino can get in scoring position, it could mean all the difference against a successful post-season hurler like Pettitte.
Also key to this game is Phillies rightfielder Jayson Werth, who is only 1 for 13 lifetime against Pettitte, but that one hit was a home run. Werth�s AVG/OBP/SLG against lefthanders in the regular season was an excellent .302/.436/.644 and his power stroke has been huge for Philly this post-season.
When you come right down to it, though, the game is really going to hinge on how well Cole Hamels can control the Yankee lineup. Hamels had a down season and has been bad-to-mediocre in his three post-season starts. He needs to rediscover some of his form from the 2008 post-season to have any kind of shot against a heavy-hitting Yankee lineup.
Yankees vs. Cole Hamels
| AB | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | |
| Johnny Damon | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .600 | .714 | .800 | 1.514 |
| Derek Jeter | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .571 | .571 | .571 | 1.142 |
| Melky Cabrera | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .500 | .667 | 1.167 |
| Francisco Cervell | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 | 1.500 |
| Mark Teixeira | 17 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3 | .294 | .294 | .647 | .941 |
| Jerry Hairston | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .200 | .200 | .600 | .800 |
| Alex Rodriguez | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .000 | .333 | .000 | .333 |
| Robinson Cano | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Hideki Matsui | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Jorge Posada | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Brett Gardner | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Average of Players Total | .242 | .283 | .390 | .672 |
Phillies vs. Andy Pettitte
| AB | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | |
| Carlos Ruiz | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .667 | .667 | 1.667 | 2.334 |
| Shane Victorino | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .500 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 |
| Ben Francisco | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .400 | .500 | .400 | .900 |
| Raul Ibanez | 21 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | .286 | .318 | .476 | .794 |
| Pedro Feliz | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | .286 | .500 | .286 | .786 |
| Miguel Cairo | 36 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | .278 | .297 | .389 | .686 |
| Jimmy Rollins | 18 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .222 | .222 | .389 | .611 |
| Chase Utley | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .143 | .250 | .143 | .393 |
| Ryan Howard | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .111 | .111 | .111 | .222 |
| Jayson Werth | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | .077 | .077 | .308 | .385 |
| Matt Stairs | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Paul Bako | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Average of Players Total | .248 | .287 | .389 | .676 |
by Reggie No comments
A simple look at some previous stats for each hitter versus tonight's starting pitchers (numbers include the playoffs) and a few comments
Pedro Martinez and A.J. Burnett are featured in Game 2 tonight from New York. Below are some quick batting numbers related to the starting pitchers tonight. AS you noticed last night, previous hitting history didn�t really matter against Cliff Lee as he�s proving to just be unhittable no matter what the situation is.
The last time Pedro faced the Yankees was in June of 2008 while with the Mets. He went 5.2 IP, allowed 6 ER, walked 5 and struck out 4. Martinez faced the Yankees with pretty much the same lineup as this season, minus Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher. In Pedro�s last two starts (both were playoff starts), he has pitched a combined 11 innings and has received no-decisions for both. The last time he pitched was the last time the Phillies lost a game (2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in LA). You should also expect to see the bullpen at some point tonight either in the 6th or 7th inning, as Pedro typically doesn�t pitch past the 6th inning. Just because you knock Pedro out, don't think the Phills bullpen makes it any easier. They have a 2.88 ERA in the postseason, which is 2nd best during the playoffs.
Burnett last faced the Phillies during interleague play this season, allowing 5 ER in 6 IP while striking out 7. He did allow 3 HR in the game (Werth, Rollins and Ruiz) and left after facing 28 batters, throwing 95 pitches, 59 which were for strikes. Burnett has appeared in 3 playoff games this season, earning no decisions in all of them. He�s averaged 6 innings in each start while at least walking 3 to 4 batters. For the most part, AJ has been effective and kept the Yankees in the past three games, but Burnett will need to be on-point tonight as the Yankees bullpen has found a streaky patch here recently.
Yankees vs Pedro Martinez
| AB | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | |
| Jerry Hairston | 27 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | .370 | .433 | .519 | .952 |
| Alex Rodriguez | 58 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 20 | .293 | .388 | .379 | .767 |
| Eric Hinske | 30 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 10 | .267 | .303 | .367 | .670 |
| Derek Jeter | 102 | 27 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 27 | .265 | .348 | .431 | .779 |
| Hideki Matsui | 43 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | .209 | .244 | .372 | .616 |
| Jorge Posada | 72 | 15 | 4 | 12 | 11 | 34 | .208 | .321 | .458 | .779 |
| Johnny Damon | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .200 | .259 | .200 | .459 |
| Jose Molina | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .200 | .273 | .200 | .473 |
| Melky Cabrera | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .200 | .333 | .200 | .533 |
| Mark Teixeira | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .167 | .167 | .333 | .500 |
| Robinson Cano | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Nick Swisher | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Average of Players Total | .198 | .256 | .288 | .544 |
Phillies vs A.J. Burnett
| AB | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | |
| Carlos Ruiz | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.000 | 3.000 |
| Greg Dobbs | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .667 | .714 | .833 | 1.547 |
| Chase Utley | 21 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7 | .286 | .348 | .524 | .872 |
| Paul Bako | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .286 | .333 | .286 | .619 |
| Matt Stairs | 11 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | .273 | .333 | .818 | 1.151 |
| Raul Ibanez | 15 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | .267 | .294 | .333 | .627 |
| Jimmy Rollins | 43 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 12 | .256 | .340 | .395 | .735 |
| Ryan Howard | 12 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | .167 | .167 | .667 | .834 |
| Shane Victorino | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .167 | .500 | .667 |
| Jayson Werth | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | .143 | .333 | .571 | .904 |
| Pedro Feliz | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .133 | .133 | .200 | .333 |
| Miguel Cairo | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .125 | .222 | .250 | .472 |
| Ben Francisco | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .250 | .000 | .250 |
| Average of Players Total | .290 | .356 | .567 | .924 |
by Reggie No comments
A simple look at some previous stats for each hitter versus tonight's starting pitchers
Game 1 of the World Series features an incredible pitching matchup featuring two pitchers with dominant stuff. Both CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee have CY Young hardware and have both been unbeatable in the postseason. Below are the career batting numbers for each player against the starting pitcher for tonight�s game. The numbers include postseason statistics as well. Baseball Press isn�t trying to show a winner for game one, we are simply trying to show you previous success or failure for each hitter.
PHI vs CC Sabathia
| AB | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | |
| Shane Victorino | 9 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | .556 | .600 | 1.000 | 1.600 |
| Carlos Ruiz | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .400 | .400 | .400 | .800 |
| Jimmy Rollins | 13 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .385 | .429 | .769 | 1.200 |
| Ryan Howard | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .333 | .333 | .444 | .777 |
| Raul Ibanez | 40 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 10 | .275 | .326 | .525 | .850 |
| Jayson Werth | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .250 | .250 | .500 | .750 |
| Ben Francisco | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .200 | .333 | .400 | .733 |
| Pedro Feliz | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .125 | .125 | .250 | .375 |
| Chase Utley | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .000 | .167 | .000 | .167 |
| Eric Bruntlett | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Matt Stairs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .333 | .000 | .333 |
| Average of Players Total | .229 | .300 | .390 | .690 |
NYY vs Cliff Lee
| AB | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | |
| Derek Jeter | 27 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | .407 | .467 | .519 | .986 |
| Brett Gardner | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .400 | .400 | .400 | .800 |
| Mark Teixeira | 23 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | .391 | .462 | .696 | 1.158 |
| Nick Swisher | 18 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | .333 | .458 | .444 | .902 |
| Alex Rodriguez | 15 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 3 | .333 | .450 | .733 | 1.183 |
| Hideki Matsui | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .294 | .368 | .412 | .780 |
| Jorge Posada | 21 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | .286 | .273 | .667 | .940 |
| Melky Cabrera | 11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .273 | .333 | .545 | .878 |
| Jose Molina | 11 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | .273 | .273 | .636 | .909 |
| Robinson Cano | 18 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .222 | .263 | .222 | .485 |
| Jerry Hairston | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .167 | .667 | .834 |
| Johnny Damon | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .091 | .130 | .091 | .221 |
| Eric Hinske | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Average of Players Total | .267 | .311 | .464 | .775 |
