Saturday, February 18, 2012

Countdown To Pitchers & Catchers


TOMORROW boys and girls. Tomorrow is the day that pitchers and catchers report to George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa St. Petersburgh Florida for the start of Spring Training. Hopefully by tomorrow we will have our bench filled out with the many choices we have and the Burnett trade is official. Enjoy your last day before baseball is back in full swing Yankees fans

Raul Ibanez vs. Johnny Damon

Why do people like me?

Now that AJ Burnett has been traded (pending the approval of MLB), attention has been turned to who the Yankees will sign. Specifically when it comes to the "DH vs. RHP" spot.

The three names that have been discussed the most are Raul Ibanez, Johnny Damon, and Hideki Matsui. Well, Matsui has pretty much been counted out due to him being the closest one could get to being a DH-only, while the Yankees want a guy that can play the OF if/when needed. We've been reading about the Yankees being more interested in Ibanez over Damon, but I wanted to look into those players since many Yankee fans would like to see Johnny return to New York.

Now, before I go further, yes... I have covered this before. But I'm still hearing about Damon, so I can't help but repeat myself. So here goes...

In 2011 Johnny Damon hit .255/.314/.401 vs. RHP in 457 plate appearances, while Raul Ibanez hit .256/.307/.440 in 437 plate appearances. In 2010 Damon hit .270/.352/.408 vs. RHP in 419 plate appearances, while Raul Ibanez hit .277/.366/.455 vs. RHP in 445 plate appearances. So against right-handers, which is what the Yankees are looking for, Raul has hit better the last two seasons.

As for last season, Raul played in the OF in 1196.2 innings, while Johnny played the OF in only 84 innings. So it should go without saying that Raul, while not a great defender by any means, would be better out there for the Yankees in 2012.

So I really want to know... why are fans all about Johnny Damon?