The Postseason’s Worst Hitters: A Recap

Throughout the postseason, I have picked individuals as the worst hitters remaining in the postseason.  Given that I have already discussed the Yankees and Phillies twice, I will only briefly recap them.  The Phillies worst hitter is Pedro Feliz, by far, and the Yankees worst is either Jose Molina, if he is starting that day, or Melky Cabrera, when Posada is catching.  In my first post on this topic, I cautioned that in a short series, anything can  happen.  So how have our worst hitters from the LCS fared this postseason?

Jeff Mathis, Catcher, Angels – Mathis went 8 for 15, with 5 doubles and a walk. He scored 2 runs and had 1 game winning RBI. He had an OPS of 1.313, truly astonishing.
Russell Martin, Catcher, Dodgers – Martin went 5 for 25, a batting average of .200. He scored 2 runs and drove in 3. He had an OPS of .595, even lower than his regular season.
Jose Molina, Catcher, Yankees – Molina went 1 for 4, his one hit a single, in 3 games played.
Melky Cabrera, Center Fielder, Yankees – Cabrera went 11 for 35, hitting .314 with 4 runs and 4 RBIs. He had an OPS of .870, considerably above his seasonal mark.
Pedro Feliz, Third Basemen, Phillies – Feliz went 5 for 31, hitting .161 with 3 runs and 2 RBIs. He had an OPS of .567.

So what do our final five worst hitters teach us? Anything can happen in a short enough stretch. Probability wins out, as 3 of the 5 (Martin, Molina, and Feliz) had putrid postseasons at the plate. However, Mathis and Cabrera have looked much better than their regular season numbers would suggest. For Yankees fans, don’t expect this kind of production in the World Series. On the other hand, Nick Swisher should not be as bad as he has been up to this point, as well.

Who do you think will be our upcoming fluke players? Conversely what legitimately good hitter is liable to look like he took hitting lessons from Jose Molina?

Building a Winner

Four different teams made it to the LCS this year. Where did they come from? I have already addressed the Phillies, and the folks at River Avenue Blues covered the Yankees. I would like to address the two Los Angeles teams briefly to see what we can learn about building the best teams in baseball.

Los Angeles Dodgers
1B – James Loney – 1st Round Draft Pick, 2002
2B – Orlando Hudson – Signed as Free Agent from Arizona, 2009
SS – Rafael Furcal – Signed as Free Agent from Atlanta,
3B – Casey Blake – Traded by Cleveland, 2008
RF – Andre Ethier – Traded by Oakland, 2005
CF – Matt Kemp – 6th Round Draft Pick, 2003
LF – Manny Ramirez – Traded by Boston, 2008
C – Russell Martin – 17th Round Draft Pick, 2002
SP – Clayton Kershaw – 1st Round Draft Pick, 2006
SP – Randy Wolf – Signed as Free Agent from Houston, 2009
SP – Clay Billingsley – 1st Round Draft Pick, 2003
SP – Hiroki Kuroda – Signed as Free Agent from Japan, 2007
CL – Jonathan Broxton – 2nd Round Draft Pick, 2002

The Dodgers acquired 6 players via the draft, 3 from trades, 3 from free agency, and 1 from Japan.

Los Angeles Angels
 1B – Kendry Morales – Signed as Amateur Free Agent, 2005
2B – Howie Kendrick – 10th round Draft Pick, 2002
SS – Erick Aybar – Signed as Amateur Free Agent, 2002
 3B – Chone Figgins – Traded by Colorado, 2001
RF – Bobby Abreu – Signed as Free Agent from Yankees, 2009
CF – Torii Hunter – Signed as Free Agent from Minnesota, 2007
LF – Juan Rivera – Traded by Washington, 2004
C – Mike Napoli – 17th Round Draft Pick, 2000
DH – Vladimir Guerrero – Signed as Free Agent from Nationals, 2004
SP – Jered Weaver – 1st Round Draft Pick, 2004
SP – John Lackey – 2nd Round Draft Pick, 1999
SP – Scott Kazmir – Traded by Tampa Bay, 2009
SP – Joe Saunders – 1st Round Draft Pick, 2002
CL – Brian Fuentes – Signed as Free Agent from Colorado, 2008

The Angels acquired 5 players via draft, 3 via trades, 4 via free agency, and 2 as amateur free agents.

None of these teams are completely bought. The Phillies acquired 8 through the traditional draft, Rule 5 draft, or amateur free agency. The Yankees acquired 7 that way, plus another through Japanese free agency. The Dodgers acquired 6 like the Phillies and join the Yankees with 1 from Japan. Finally, the Angels 7 through the draft and amateur free agency. Overall, the Phillies are the most homegrown team, and either of the LA teams have brought in the most players from other teams.

What conclusions should we draw from this?

Postseason Dominance

The 2009 Yankees have now done something only 2 teams have done since the advent of the wild card in 1995, win their first 5 postseason games.  Let us look briefly at their company to see if we can divine how the rest of the postseason might play out for the Yankees.

In 1999, the Yankees cruised past the AL West champions Rangers, winning 8-0, 3-1, 3-0. They followed that up by taking the first two games from the wild card Red Sox, 4-3 and 3-2. Then, they lost Game 3 13-1, getting dominated by eventual Cy Young winner Pedro Martinez. The Yankees did not lose again. They wrapped up the Red Sox with 9-2 and 6-1 victories, then they swept the Braves 4-1, 7-2, 6-5, 4-1. Game 3 of the World Series was their only close game after their only loss. The 1999 Yankees were the most dominant postseason team of the wild card era, rivaled only by the 2005 White Sox.

The 2005 White Sox are the one near miss. They swept the wild card Red Sox by a combined score of 24-9, then they dropped Game 1 of the ALCS to the West champion Angels, 3-2. They followed that up with four straight wins by a combined 21-9. They then swept the Astros, though they did not win a single game by more than 2 runs.

The other winner of 5 straight games to open the postseason were the 2007 Colorado Rockies. After beating the Padres in a one-game playoff, they swept the equally hot NL East champion Phillies then took four straight from the West champion Diamondbacks. How did they follow up this stretch of dominance? They were swept by the Red Sox, with a lead only in the first 3 innings of Game 2.

This Yankees team has a much stronger resemblance to the 1999 incarnation than it does to the 2007 Rockies. The Rockies were one of the great fluke teams in major league history, with a blistering hot stretch that still barely got them the wild card. Once they faced the clearly superior Red Sox, their hot streak came to a screeching halt. The 1999 Yankees, in contrast, led the American League in victories. They were not the great team that the 1998 version was, but they still were the best team in the American League, scoring the third most runs and giving up the second fewest. The 2009 Yankees led all of baseball in wins and runs scored, and finished sixth in the American League in runs allowed. As has been said all along, the Yankees only danger is pitching, and that has held up well so far. While I would not go so far as to predict a run like the 1999 Yankees, this team is in good position for continued postseason dominance.

Revisiting the Postseason’s Worst Hitters

Last week, I posted a feature on the worst hitters in the postseason.  I would like to revisit that today now that we are down to four teams.  In particular we have evidence from play in the LDS to determine which hitters are integral parts of their teams and which are merely on the bench.

New York Yankees – Jose Molina, C – Last time I picked Melky Cabrera, and he remains the weakest Yankee hitter that will start every game. However, as Molina is officially the starting catcher when A.J. Burnett pitches, which could happen twice in the ALCS, I think he deserves the title. Molina is an atrocious hitter, with an OPS of .560, down from his career mark of .609, and a wOBA of .260. The Yankees, of course, have one advantage at this point; it is easy to hide Molina in the Yankee lineup.

Los Angeles Angels – Jeff Mathis, C – If the Yankees are going to be docked for the normal backup catcher, the Angels deserve the same treatment. Mathis played in two of the three LDS games, starting Game 1. As Lackey’s catcher, he could start 2 or 3 games in the LCS, depending on how Mike Scioscia sets up the Angels rotation. Mathis can’t hit. He had a .596 OPS this season, right in line with his career .597. His wOBA was .264, which only looks good in comparison to Molina. In both the Yankees and Angels cases, they have good hitting catchers, but they each choose to play weak hitters with regularity.

Los Angeles Dodgers – Russell Martin, C – Martin had an OPS of .680 with a wOBA of .307. This year is completely out of line with Martin’s previous career, though it did continue into the LDS. In the series with St. Louis, Martin got one hit in nine at-bats, though he did draw three walks.

Philadelphia Phillies – Pedro Feliz, 3B – Feliz and Martin remain from the original list. Though Feliz is no longer as good a third basemen as he was three years ago, he is still well above average. However, he has never been an acceptable hitter, let alone a good one. For the season, Feliz had an OPS of .694 and a wOBA of .302.

For what it is worth, these players group together along series lines. Both backups that start occasionally face-off, while both poor hitting starters face off in the other league. Given that, the Yankees probably have the smallest of advantages; Jose Molina should play the least.