DAVID MALINSKY
4* NY YANKEES/DETROIT UNDER
A cool, perhaps even cold, night in Detroit with the wind blowing in from left rarely brings this kind of Total into play. But that is what happens with the starting pitchers show tags of 1-3/9.78 and 2-3/7.50. But neither Javier Vazquez nor Rick Porcello are going to remain anywhere near those production levels, and that gives us excellent value to step in here.
Vazquez is coming off 10 straight seasons in which he has made at least 30 starts, with half of them resulting in an ERA of less than 4.00, and his 2.87 ERA and 9.8 K’s per 9 were career bests LY. So it is not as though he is going to fall off the table. We can anticipate an ERA climb as he goes from a favorable park for a flyball pitcher in Atlanta to Yankee Stadium, and some tougher A.L. ballparks for his style, but we will also see that same pop from his arm, and note that even in the disastrous bottom line so far he has recorded 20 K’s in 23 IP. Now he has been skipped for a start to get his head back in order, and the combination of tonight’s weather, and a Detroit offense that is tied for 24th in the Majors in home runs, bodes well for his correction to begin. And with no fatigue issues for any key bullpen arms the latter stages are in good hands.
Then there is Rick Porcello. To go from the 14-9/3.96 of his rookie to season to the current 2-3/7.50 looks like a precipitous drop, but take a closer look. In 2009 he had 2.74 W’s per 9, that has only gone to 3.0. In 2009 he had 4.69 K’s per 9, that is actually up to 5.70. In 2009 he allowed 1.21 HR’s per 9, that is down to 0.9. And once again he is keeping the ball down in the strike zone, with 2.42 ground ball outs for every fly-out. So what has gone wrong? A little bit of baseball geometry. There are 123 pitchers that have worked at least 30 innings, and his BABIP sits at #3, a .398 rate that will play back in his favor in the innings ahead. Behind him is a bullpen that has been the best in the Major Leagues so far in 2010, and with only Joel Zumaya carrying a fatigue rating there are plenty of good options for Jim Leyland in the end-game.
4* NY YANKEES/DETROIT UNDER
A cool, perhaps even cold, night in Detroit with the wind blowing in from left rarely brings this kind of Total into play. But that is what happens with the starting pitchers show tags of 1-3/9.78 and 2-3/7.50. But neither Javier Vazquez nor Rick Porcello are going to remain anywhere near those production levels, and that gives us excellent value to step in here.
Vazquez is coming off 10 straight seasons in which he has made at least 30 starts, with half of them resulting in an ERA of less than 4.00, and his 2.87 ERA and 9.8 K’s per 9 were career bests LY. So it is not as though he is going to fall off the table. We can anticipate an ERA climb as he goes from a favorable park for a flyball pitcher in Atlanta to Yankee Stadium, and some tougher A.L. ballparks for his style, but we will also see that same pop from his arm, and note that even in the disastrous bottom line so far he has recorded 20 K’s in 23 IP. Now he has been skipped for a start to get his head back in order, and the combination of tonight’s weather, and a Detroit offense that is tied for 24th in the Majors in home runs, bodes well for his correction to begin. And with no fatigue issues for any key bullpen arms the latter stages are in good hands.
Then there is Rick Porcello. To go from the 14-9/3.96 of his rookie to season to the current 2-3/7.50 looks like a precipitous drop, but take a closer look. In 2009 he had 2.74 W’s per 9, that has only gone to 3.0. In 2009 he had 4.69 K’s per 9, that is actually up to 5.70. In 2009 he allowed 1.21 HR’s per 9, that is down to 0.9. And once again he is keeping the ball down in the strike zone, with 2.42 ground ball outs for every fly-out. So what has gone wrong? A little bit of baseball geometry. There are 123 pitchers that have worked at least 30 innings, and his BABIP sits at #3, a .398 rate that will play back in his favor in the innings ahead. Behind him is a bullpen that has been the best in the Major Leagues so far in 2010, and with only Joel Zumaya carrying a fatigue rating there are plenty of good options for Jim Leyland in the end-game.
