Monday, April 6, 2015

The Daily Dozen: April 6, 2015 Edition

Hello all you Greedy Pinstripers out there...today was the beginning of the 2015 Major League Baseball season for the New York Yankees and in turn is the RETURN of the Daily Dozen: Twelve Takeaways from Today's Game...

1. For the first time since 1995, the New Yankees Roster does not include a man named Derek Jeter.  It's a sad day indeed..especially with his replacement Didi Gregorious (I know, it just falls of the tongue so smoothly, doesn't it?) having a lackluster first day in Pinstripes.  But you know, in order for the Yankees to move on with their new "Royal-esque" approach, the Core Four needed to be retired.

2. Mr. Joe Torre got to throw out the first pitch today.  It seems like the animosity between Torre in the Steinbrenners is completely gone now...at least publicly.

Joe Torre knows how to pitch in the Bronx (Photo Credit: CBSlocal.com)
3. An error by Chase Headley opened the Floodgates for the Jays.  I wonder if A-Rod would have made the play, or if he would have broken his hip playing 3rd base to begin with.

4. Masahiro Tanaka.  Not such a good start of the season for #TanakaTime, but it is a long season.  It will have to be in order to get that 9.00 ERA down.  He probably would have done just that if it were May instead of April.  The Binder had him on a strict 90-pitch count, which with the Yankees bullpen isn't such a bad idea.  An interesting stat I saw from Mr. Lou DiPietro of the YES Network ~ Tanaka gave up as many runs today to the Blue Jays (5) as he did in 18.1 innings against them last season.  I'm personally looking forward to those shutouts coming in his next 2 games against Toronto to even that stat line out.

5. Six Ks are not equal to Five Rs.  I know this due to my advanced Science degree.  Check out this equation below, which tells you what 6 Ks are really worth:

                  6K = R^5 - sin^2 / tan (sqrt of xHRs)

In case you missed it, that was the important part of Tanaka's line through 4 innings pitched.

6. Kevin Pillar.  Seriously...the guy's name is Kevin Pillar...is this just Kevin Millar in disguise?  The dude went 2 for 4 today and of course is a lifetime .239 hitter.  Of course.

(Photo Credit: JaysProspects.com)
I'm not sure if they resemble each other or not...but knowing
what a prankster Millar is...(Photo Credit: KevinMillar.com)
7. Speaking of "OF COURSE"... The curse of the ex-Yankees continues this season with Russell Martin adding 2 very important RBI in the Tanaka-killer 3rd inning.  We miss you Russell...

8. Isn't it IRONIC...don't you think?  Alex Rodriguez became the first baserunner for the Yankees this season batting 7th in the lineup after missing the entire 2014 season.  It's like rain on your wedding day.  Mr. A-Rod went 1-2 with a walk and is batting .500 with a 0.667 OBP to start his 2015 foray into what could be a COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR type season or one that fizzles him into obscurity...let's hope as Yankees fans for the former.  For what it's worth, the Yankees fans on hand today seemed to welcome him back with open arms.  Maybe it was the lack of Bronx Bombing last year that made them happy to see him...?
I can't tell if Alanis is amused or not...
9. Chris Martin's Debut.  Speaking of the Yankees Bullpen.  Mr. Martin (the "other" Martin in the game today) came into the game in the 5th to relieve #TanakaTime...he only recorded 3 strikeouts on 17 pitches to record a perfect inning in his Yankees debut...not too shabby!  I'll probably be following him on the morrow on Twitter...

10. So what is the chance...?  What is the chance of winning the World Series after going 0-1?  A quick glance at the last TEN World Series Champs revealed the following:

2014 San Francisco Giants...won their first game
2013 Boston Red Sux...won their first game
2012 San Francisco Giants...went 0-3 to start the season
2011 St. Louis Cardinals...went 0-2 to start the season and 2-6...they were awful
2010 San Francisco Giants...won their first 3 games
2009 New York Yankees...lost their first 2 games and were 15-17 by May 12th...left for dead
2008 Philadelphia Phillies...lost their first 2 games and were 8-10 by April 19th
2007 Boston Red Sux...lost the first game of the season
2006 St. Louis Cardinals...won their first 3 games
2005 Chicago White Sox...won their first 2 games

So...it's 50/50 in terms of the last 10 World Series Champions...that's right...the first game doesn't really count...it's what they do in the next 161 that really matters...here's to a 161-1 season!  A big shout out to BaseballReference.com for having these stats so readily available.  Love that site...

Is #28 coming to a Bronx near you?
11. How about that bullpen, ehh?  5 innings of 1 run ball will go a looooong way to giving the Yankees a shot at winning.  But then again, if the Yankees are counting on 5 innings of relief every day they are probably in for a losing season.

12. What kind of season will Brett "The Hitman" Gardner have?  Well, right now he's on pace to hit 162 home runs.  Sounds crazy right, but so did the thought of him hitting 17 dingers last season.  I think he'll end up with right around 25 for the year, which would look mighty nice next to 60 stolen bases.  One can wish, right??
"HULK....SMAAAAASH"

8 comments:

  1. Missed these. Welcome back Knepper

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  2. Yes welcome back Knepper. Very talented and missed writer around here in the offseason.

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  3. So I read all of this and don't understand 90% of it. But I know how important all of this is to you and our boys. Glad you are writing again!

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  4. BRYAN KNEPPER ( dm23HOF )....not sure how well I know you.
    I'm riding on the coat tails of the two guys that just complimented you.
    Jack & Daniel know their stuff. Therefore, allow me to welcome you back also.

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    1. Knepper I have known since 2008-ish, probably a little before that truth be told but my memory isn't what it used to be. He's kicked my butt three separate times in the Mega Prediction game, wrote the Daily Dozen last year, did some Yankee Stadium tour for us and some other interesting articles.

      Dude has talent, no doubt.

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  5. You guys are making me blush...and I'll teach you all about it when I get home tonight Sarah!

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  7. I for one, am glad to have him back as well. I like his writing skills and insight and am Jealous as hell of him! He, like a very few other writers, join a list headed by Fred Astaire that I have tried to emulate and failed.

    You did want to Blush didn't you Bryan? Oh, I misread what you wrote...sorry!

    Welcome back! lol

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)