Why Wang Got Whacked, Again

Because he sucks? Well, not quite. Although no one can say for sure, Wang's piss-poor performance, his second in as many starts, is, once again, most likely related to his out-of-whack release point, which is leaving the ball up in the zone and resulting in a somewhat troubling drop in velocity, according to Mike A: 

First of all, those post-May 18th points that are mixed in with the pre-May 18th points are scattered over several starts. It’s not like all those pitches came from one or two starts, they’re spread out over all six starts. Secondly, it’s very likely that the difference in the general horizontal location of the pitches is caused by Wang move more towards the first base side of the rubber, but we’re focusing on the vertical location since Wang said he wanted to come more over the top.

In general, Wang’s throwing the ball from a spot about six inches higher this year than he did last year, no matter if you consider the good ‘08 Wang or the bad ‘08 Wang. That contradicts what he said after the game, but that doesn’t mean he’s lying or the data’s wrong. It’s entirely possible that he wants to release the ball from an even higher spot than he currently is, but I have to ask why? I mean, if throwing it from a slightly lower slot worked last year, why change it? I’m no pitching coach or pitching mechanics expert, so I won’t even attempt to answer those questions. All I do know is that for some reason Wang is releasing the ball from a higher spot than last year and yet he still wants to come even more over the top. 

Like Mike A., I think the 10 months off messed up Wang's mechanics a little bit, and I assume Wang will get his groove back sooner rather than later. I'm not ready to give up on a pitcher who's won 19 games twice in four years. At least not yet, anyway. 

Incidentally, I'm not going to do this after all of Wang's starts. I'm just really impressed with the consistently sterling work by the RAB triumverant. It's really impressive, and deserves many, many looks. I'm crushing on them almost as hard as Andrew Sullivan does on Nate Silver. For serious. 

Brett Gardner and Joey Gathright: Separated at Birth?

Not at first blush, but River Avenue Blues takes a closer look. The similarities are striking. To wit: 

Both players were drafted at age 21 and then assigned to a low level squad in the minors (Gardner went to the short season NY-Penn League, Gathright to the Low-A South Atlantic League). Both players started their age 22 season at the High-A level and earned a midseason bump to Double-A, then started the next year back at Double-A before being promoted to Triple-A in the middle of the season. In their age 24 season, their third full professional season, each player started the year in Triple-A before being called up to the big leagues during the summer and finishing the year there. 

The fun doesn't stop there, though. After breaking down their career statistics, both from the minors and the majors, RAB seems to think Gardner will outperform Gathright in the long run, so to speak. 

[W]e can expect Gardner to be a more productive big leaguer than Joey Gathright. He’s shown better on base skills and a better ability to hit for power throughout his minor league career, and he’s a much more efficient basestealer. Simply put, Gardner’s proven to be much more capable of turning his physical gifts into baseball skills, and in turn, offensive production.

I, for one, would be satisfied if Gardner produced at a level equal to that of Gathright. That he might even be a better all-around player gives me even more hope for the upcoming Yankees season. Although Gathright's career numbers aren't anything to write home about, if Gardner produces at or above a similar output, he won't exactly kill the Yankees as a regular center fielder, even if he's splitting time with Melky. Based on RAB's analysis, Gardner might even help the Yankees-- or least land them a pretty good lefty reliever.