Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Brian McCann Sucks

I mean really sucks.  It's startling how bad he's been at the plate.  He's been awful, no other way to describe it.  Here's where McCann's key offensive numbers rank among his fellow catchers:
  • .218 BA- Last among 12 qualified/26th out of 29 w/ at least 100 plate appearances
  • .275 OBP- Last qualified/27th out of 29
  • .370 SLG- Last/25th
  • .286 wOBA- Last/26th
  • 75 wRC+- Last/26th
  • 0.5 fWAR- Last/24th
  • 5.6% BB rate- 11th/22nd
The only thing keeping his offensive ship afloat is the 7 HR he's popped (tied for 2nd best among all catchers) and the 22 RBI that puts him comfortably in the top 10.  The only thing he's truly done well this season has been catch.  McCann is generating almost all his value from what he's doing behind the plate.  What he's doing at the plate only seems to be getting worse.

Solate Is So-lumping Again

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

It was a tough night for Yangervis Solarte at the dish last night.  Hitting in the 5-spot behind Brian McCann, he went 0-4 (0-3 with RISP), banged into a rally-killing double play, and left 5 men on base.  He only saw 9 pitches in his 4 plate appearances, extending a little mini-slump he's stuck in to 6 games.  In his last 6 games, Solarte is just 2-23 with 1 R, RBI, and BB apiece.  His batting average has slipped to .285, and combined with the nagging injuries to Beltran's elbow and Teix's wrist, Solarte has helped expose the paper thin middle of the batting order.  Needless to say, he's no longer the ideal option for the #2 spot.

Wednesday Morning Injury News Roundup

It's really sweet that these are becoming a regular feature on the site, right?  No?  Oh, well then that's awkward.  Aaaaaaaanyway...

- Carlos Beltran took more dry swings yesterday, both right and left-handed with a regular bat, and felt no discomfort in his elbow.  He'll take a day off today and resume swinging tomorrow.

- Shawn Kelley's back felt good after his long toss sesh on Monday, so he threw another one yesterday.  If his back feels good again, he'll throw some more today.

- More from Teix on his stiff right wrist: “The doctor is 99 percent sure that this is inflammation from overuse and just completely expected.  He was surprised I haven’t had more flare ups. It’s been pretty good all season.”  I guess that makes me feel better about it.

(Quote and updates via Chad Jennings)

Game 51 Wrap-Up: STL 6 NYY 0

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

There was a lot of pressure on David Phelps last night.  Guys always say there's not, that every game is just another game, but when you're coming back to your hometown to make your first career start there since high school and you know you're pitching in front of tons of family and friends, that's a lot of pressure.  That's what Phelps was dealing with when he took the hill and he pitched like it.  After a 7-inning exhibition of efficiency and pitching smarts in his last start,  Phelps reverted back to some bad habits and got touched up by the Cardinals in a painful-to-watch loss.

Game Notes:

- It was effectiveness without efficiency as usual for Phelps through 2 innings.  He put men on (2 hits, 1 walk) and threw a lot of pitches (41), but kept the Cardinals off the scoreboard.

- A pair of hanging sliders by Phelps gave the Cards 1 run and back-to-back errors by Derek Jeter Kelly Johnson and Brian Roberts after an intentional walk gave them 3 more in the bottom of the 3rd.  Truly ugly stuff.

- Lance Lynn was very good when the game was tied.  After he got his 4 runs he made the cardinal (pun intended) sin of walking the leadoff batter the next half-inning.  Yangervis Solarte bailed him out with a rally-killing GIDP to end the inning and kept the Yanks scoreless through 4.

- Phelps gave up another run on an Allen Craig home run in the 5th, but did manage to work 6 innings before giving way to Alfredo Aceves.  He did Alfredo Aceves things, like giving up a home run to the first batter he faced, and the route was on.

- It was a route because the offense never got anything going against Lynn.  He put 2 runners on in the 6th and 8th and escaped both times.  Matheny even let him come out and finish the game in the 9th.  Not much more to say about this one.  Yanks didn't pitch, hit, or field.