Out of left field is an occasional post with matters that don’t require 1,000 words of analysis, but should be mentioned anyway. In no particular order… I wrote about the curious case of Eugenio Suárez for Off the Bench Baseball on Friday and something jumped out at me when I was doing research for the … Continue reading Out of left field: Contact rates

We’re going to hear (already have in some cases) a lot of talk today about Derek Jeter that has nothing to do with celebrating his career. The “Jeter was overrated!” camp and “Jeter is one of the best shortstops and best Yankees ever!” camp have already weighed in on social media. Here are my two … Continue reading Jeter HOF – my thoughts:

The other day the following graphic appeared on the screen when Matt Chapman of the As stepped into the box against the Yankees. A .729 OPS and a 105 OPS+...my head dropped, I rubbed my eyes, looked upward and sighed. I don't remember in what order. Let’s start from the beginning. OPS is On Base … Continue reading I Hate OPS. Use this instead. A primer…

Since Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo made their debuts with the Yankees on July 30th, the Yankees are 22-4. Balancing out the right handed dominant lineup with some lefties, especially in Yankee Stadium, sure worked out, didn’t it? Yeah, that’s not it. The Yankees offensive success has been driven by right handed power. People don’t … Continue reading Adding Gallo and Rizzo isn’t what turned the team around.

Out of left field is an occasional post about matters that don’t require 900 words of analysis, but need to be addressed anyway. In no particular order… On the Yankees this past weekend: From the department of not looking a gift horse in the mouth, as I noted on my post-game recap of yesterday’s game … Continue reading Out of left field

It’s been a slow couple of days in Yankee land. Yes, of course I’m joking! Every time I look at my phone or watch TV over the past couple of days, something big happened, is about to happen or the thing that was supposed to happen didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not a complaint … Continue reading Quick thoughts on the Yankees’ trades:

Last night, the Yankees hit three home runs and three doubles in addition to drawing nine bases on balls. That’s going to get you a win far more often than not if you do that over nine innings regardless of just about everything else. Yet it was other aspects of the game, such as key … Continue reading Under the radar good signs

I was at the Yogi Berra Museum this past Thursday morning for the unveiling of the U.S. Postal Service's new Yogi stamp. (You can read the full story HERE.) Longtime MLB sportscaster Bob Costas was the Master of Ceremonies and as I mentioned in the original article, did a great job of detailing Yogi's "unique" … Continue reading Yogi, part II:

I wrote this on May 12th : "Phil Nevin needs to be better — it’s that simple. I’m bullish on being aggressive when sending runners who are rounding third, especially with two outs, and the number of opportunities may be a factor. But there is simply no positive manner in which to spin 'We lead … Continue reading Yankees base running, part 2:

Out of left field is an occasional and informal post where we’ll chat about a few topics that don’t necessarily need 900 words of analysis, but are worth addressing briefly – in no particular order: First, an apology for not posting here as frequently as I’d like over the 2021 season. My gig at Pinstripe … Continue reading Out of left field…