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August 02, 2005
There's No Place Like Home?
This morning, I was looking at Robinson Cano's stats, and I noticed that he's been struggling in the Bronx. He's batting .344 (!) on the road to date - but, only .246 up at the Stadium. (I have no idea why this is? Maybe he's hanging out too much? Anyone see him at Jimmy's Bronx Cafe a lot or something?)
So, while I was at it, I started to look at some "splits" for the other principle Yankees batters, and this is what I saw (stats shown are Home Batting Average followed by Road Batting Average):
A-Rod: .367/.265
Jeter: .364/.240
Sheff: .322/.274
Giambi: .315/.256
Womack: .277/.211
Tino: .255/.191
Those are some pretty big swings between home and road batting. Could it be possible that the Yankees are stealing signs in the Bronx?
Now, personally, I swore, during the 2002 ALDS, that the Angels were stealing signs. And, for years now, people have been saying that the Red Sox are sign stealers in Fenway. (And, some, like Yadier Molina, think the Sox steal them on the road too.)
At first, I wanted to scream "Cheaters!" when I saw/thought those things about Boston and "L.A." But, after discussing this with other fans, I've come to a new position on sign stealing. In reality, what sign stealing is, at the end of the day, is gamesmanship - that's it.
Does baseball have a rule that says you cannot steal signs? No, at best, if they think someone is doing something, they say "Cut it out" and that's it. There's no fines, or suspensions, or the like. Therefore, now, when I see/hear/think someone is sign stealing, I say "Shame on the other team, they should do a better job at hiding/masking their signs."
So, if the Yankees are sign stealing, I say "What took you so long?"
Still, while the numbers for A-Rod, Jeter, Giambi and the others may bring cause for some questioning, you have to also consider the Home/Road Batting Averages for Posada (.250/.250), Bernie (.243/.248) and Godzilla (.322/.294). The swings in the "splits" are not as large for them in terms of saying "Bronx Batting" is helping. What does that mean? (It could mean that Matsui is just a great hitter period, and that Jorge and Williams are too stupid to have the signs help them, I suppose?)
Anywho, it would be nice to say something like "Small Sample Size" and write this off - but, the season is 4 months old. So, that's not going to work. And, maybe it's the park effect? But, when it's three lefties and three righties that are getting the home boost, that's a reach too.
Don't get me wrong, again, I'm not complaining. In fact, if anything, I'm just now glad that the AL won the All-Star Game and the AL gets the home field in the World Series. And, I think it would be in the Yankees best interest not to shoot for the Wild Card this year, and try and get the home field for the ALDS, if possible.
The cooking at home is too good to pass up.
Posted by Steve Lombardi at August 2, 2005 11:31 AM
Comments
Jimmy's has been closed for a few years now ):
Posted by: Raf at August 2, 2005 12:35 PM
Shows that I'm a little behind the times!
Posted by: Steve Lombardi at August 2, 2005 01:03 PM
Those are some mighty strange splits. I wouldn't be surprised to see A-Rod, Jeter, and Sheff hitting better on the road, seeing how Yankee Stadium can be murder on right-handed hitters. But lefties too? Isn't the short porch supposed to help them out?
Posted by: DFLNJ at August 2, 2005 01:54 PM
I tend to think that the playoffs are a whole different animal when it comes to this stuff.....I am more curious to know how they do at home/road in the playoffs.
Having homefield advantage last year really worked out, huh? :)
Posted by: philly phil at August 2, 2005 02:56 PM
Well, it did allow them to get to a game 7..........
Posted by: Steve Lombardi at August 2, 2005 03:03 PM
Steve, Cano is chatting on espn.com tomorrow at noon - you could always ask him yourself then. I think it'd be really interesting to see what he says!
Posted by: Shaun P at August 2, 2005 03:51 PM
Thanks for the heads-up!
Posted by: Steve Lombardi at August 2, 2005 05:19 PM
Hmmm... Kay once again mentions something on air that was posted here first (Cano's numbers on the road compared to home).
Posted by: Jen at August 2, 2005 07:23 PM
Really, when? I almost always miss the start of the games, putting the kiddies to bed. I hope it's true. Again, it's flattering.
Posted by: Steve Lombardi at August 2, 2005 07:46 PM
He said it during Cano's first at-bat, that unlike most players he has better numbers on the road. Of course this could be more coincidental than the rock'em sock'em mention, but it's still a little weird.
Posted by: Jen at August 2, 2005 08:44 PM
Thanks Jen.
Posted by: Steve Lombardi at August 2, 2005 10:44 PM