Where’d Mark Teixeira’s bat go?

The Yankees have yet to lose in the 2009 postseason, despite seemingly underperforming on offense (although it appears perception may be greater than reality in this instance). If not for a very timely single in the bottom of the 9th and the game-winning home run in the bottom of the 11th of Game 2, more might be made of Mark Teixeira’s offensive output so far.

This post comes with a caveat — obviously 22 at-bats across five games is as small a sample size as it gets, and I’m not worried about Big Tex by any stretch of the imagination. I’m a huge Teixeira fan and was the biggest proponent of anyone I know of signing him last winter. This is in no way meant to indict him or diminish his tremendous value to the team, and I’m fully confident that he’ll be major contributor for the remainder of this tremendous postseason run. He just seems to be struggling more than anyone else on the team right now, with the 3rd-lowest OPS (.481) among the nine starters. Robbie Cano and Nick Swisher also only have three hits apiece, but neither of them are the Yankees’ number-three hitter, so I thought it might be helpful to try to take a look at how opponents have been pitching to him, and also give you something to kill time with while we wait for Game 3 to start.

A word of warning, what follows next is way more data than anyone really needed, but once I decided to see if I could draw any conclusions based on the pitches Teixeira was seeing, I couldn’t stop myself. If you have no interest in parsing through all of this, feel free to scroll down to the end of this post. This data has all been compiled from MLB.com’s Gameday application.

ALDS Game 1: 0-4, saw 15 pitches, worked one full count

1st at-bat, bottom 1st, v. LHP Brian Duensing: Grounded out to shortstop on a 1-2 count, saw 5 pitches
1st pitch: 2-seam fastball, called strike
2nd pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
3rd pitch: Curveball, foul
4th pitch: 2-seam fastball, foul
5th pitch: 4-seam fastball, out

2nd at-bat, bottom 3rd, v. LHP Brian Duensing: Grounded out to shortstop on an 0-1 count, saw 2 pitches
1st pitch: Changeup, foul
2nd pitch: 2-seam fastball, out

3rd at-bat, bottom 5th, v. LHP Brian Duensing: Popped out to 2B on an 0-0 count, saw 1 pitch
1st pitch: Changeup, out

4th at-bat, bottom of the 7th, v. LHP Francisco Liriano: Grounded into double play on 3-2 count, saw 7 pitches
1st pitch: 2-seam fastball, ball
2nd pitch: 2-seam fastball, ball
3rd pitch: Slider, called strike
4th pitch: Slider, ball
5th pitch: 2-seam fastball, foul
6th pitch: Slider, foul
7th pitch: Slider, double play

ALDS Game 2: 2-5, HR, RBI, saw 23 pitches, worked one full count

1st at-bat, bottom 1st, v. RHP Nick Blackburn: Popped out to shortstop on a 2-2 count, saw 7 pitches
1st pitch: Slider, ball
2nd pitch: Curveball, ball
3rd pitch: 4-seam fastball, called strike
4th pitch: Changeup, called strike
5th pitch: Cutter, foul
6th pitch: 4-seam fastball, foul
7th pitch: Curveball, out

2nd at-bat, bottom 4th, v. RHP Nick Blackburn: Popped out to 2B on an 2-0 count, saw 3 pitches
1st pitch: Curveball, ball
2nd pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
3rd pitch: 4-seam fastball, out

3rd at-bat, bottom 6th, v. RHP Nick Blackburn: Flied out to LF on a 3-2 count, saw 6 pitches
1st pitch: Slider, ball
2nd pitch: Curveball, ball
3rd pitch: 2-seam fastball, foul
4th pitch: 4-seam fastball, foul
5th pitch: 2-seam fastball, ball
6th pitch: 4-seam fastball, out

4th at-bat, bottom of the 9th, v. RHP Joe Nathan: Singled on 1-1 count, saw 3 pitches
1st pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
2nd pitch: Slider, called strike
3rd pitch: 4-seam fastball, single

5th at bat, bottom of the 11th, v. LHP Jose Mijares: Home run on 2-1 count, saw 4 pitches
1st pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
2nd pitch: Changeup, swinging strike
3rd pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
4th pitch: 4-seam fastball, home run

ALDS Game 3: 0-3, BB, K, saw 19 pitches, worked two full counts

1st at-bat, top 1st, v. RHP Carl Pavano: Popped out to 2B on an 0-2 count, saw 3 pitches
1st pitch: 4-seam fastball, called strike
2nd pitch: Slider, foul
3rd pitch: Slider, out

2nd at-bat, top 4th, v. RHP Carl Pavano: Struck out looking on a 3-2 count, saw 6 pitches
1st pitch: Changeup, called strike
2nd pitch: Changeup, foul
3rd pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
4th pitch: Slider, ball
5th pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
6th pitch: Sinker, strikeout

3rd at-bat, top 7th, v. RHP Carl Pavano: Grounded out to 3B on an 1-1 count, saw 3 pitches
1st pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
2nd pitch: Changeup, foul
3rd pitch: Slider, out

4th at-bat, top 9th, v. LHP Ron Mahay: Walked on 3-2 count, saw 7 pitches
1st pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
2nd pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
3rd pitch: Changeup, called strike
4th pitch: Slider, called strike
5th pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
6th pitch: Changeup, foul
7th pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball

ALCS Game 1: 1-5, 2 Ks, saw 22 pitches, worked two full counts

1st at-bat, bottom 1st, v. RHP John Lackey: Flied out to LF on a 3-0 count, saw 4 pitches
1st pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
2nd pitch: Curveball, ball
3rd pitch: Curveball, ball
4th pitch: 4-seam fastball, out

2nd at-bat, bottom 3rd, v. RHP John Lackey: Singled on a 1-1 count, saw 3 pitches
1st pitch: 4-seam fastball, called strike
2nd pitch: Changeup, ball
3rd pitch: Changeup, single

3rd at-bat, bottom 5th, v. RHP John Lackey: Struck out swinging on a 3-2 count, saw 7 pitches
1st pitch: 4-seam fastball, called strike
2nd pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
3rd pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
4th pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
5th pitch: Curveball, swinging strike
6th pitch: Curveball, foul
7th pitch: Curveball, strikeout

4th at-bat, bottom of the 7th, v. RHP Jason Bulger: Grounded out to 2B on 1-0 count, saw 2 pitches
1st pitch: Slider, ball
2nd pitch: 4-seam fastball, out

5th at-bat, bottom 8th, v. RHP Matt Palmer: Struck out looking on a 3-2 count, saw 6 pitches
1st pitch: Curveball, ball
2nd pitch: Curveball, ball
3rd pitch: Changeup, ball
4th pitch: 4-seam fastball, called strike
5th pitch: Changeup, swinging strike
6th pitch: Curveball, strikeout

ALCS Game 2: 0-5, BB, saw 27 pitches, worked one full count

1st at-bat, bottom 1st, v. LHP Joe Saunders: Struck out swinging on a 3-2 count, saw 7 pitches
1st pitch: 4-seam fastball, called strike
2nd pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
3rd pitch: 2-seam fastball, foul
4th pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
5th pitch: Curveball, ball
6th pitch: 4-seam fastball, foul
7th pitch: 4-seam fastball, strikeout

2nd at-bat, bottom 3rd, v. LHP Joe Saunders: Grounded into a forceout on a 2-0 count, saw 3 pitches
1st pitch: 2-seam fastball, ball
2nd pitch: 2-seam fastball, ball
3rd pitch: 4-seam fastball, out

3rd
at-bat, bottom 6th, v. LHP Joe Saunders: Reached on infield error on a 2-1 count, saw 4 pitches
1st pitch: Curveball, ball
2nd pitch: 4-seam fastball, called strike
3rd pitch: Curveball, ball
4th pitch: 4-seam fastball, no out

4th at-bat, bottom of the 9th, v. RHP Kevin Jepsen: Grounded out to 1B on 2-2 count, saw 5 pitches
1st pitch: Curveball, called strike
2nd pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
3rd pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
4th pitch: Curveball, foul
5th pitch: Pitch type missing on MLB.com for some reason (I’ll assume 4-seam fastball), out

5th at-bat, bottom 10th, v. LHP Daren Oliver: Grounded into a force out on a 1-2 count, saw 4 pitches
1st pitch: Cutter, ball
2nd pitch: Cutter, called strike
3rd pitch: 4-seam fastball, called strike
4th pitch: Cutter, out

6th at-bat, bottom 12th, v. RHP Ervin Santana: Walked on a 3-0 count, saw 4 pitches
1st pitch: 2-seam fastball, ball
2nd pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball
3rd pitch: 2-seam fastball, ball
4th pitch: 4-seam fastball, ball

———————————-

What does all this mean? Probably that I wasted a ton of time compiling scads of mostly inconsequential data that isn’t going to tell us anything about how Teixeira will fare going forward.

Pitchwise, Tex has seen 106 pitches in the postseason — 60 for strikes, 46 balls. Of those 106, 44, or 42%, have been of the 4-seam fastball variety. 16% have been curveballs, 12% changeups and 12% sliders. Of the six times he’s reached base (3 hits, 2 BB, 1 error), five have come on the 4-seam fastball.

Tex has only swung and missed at one of the 44 4-seam fastballs he’s seen. He’s had two swings and misses on curveballs, three on changeups, three on sliders and one on a cutter, for a total of 10 swinging strikes, or approximately 9% of all pitches he’s been thrown. He’s taken 18 called strikes. Tex has struck out four times, two swinging and two looking, with all four instances coming on full counts.

Tex is 1-9 with a walk against lefties, and 2-13 with a walk against righties, so he’s struggling equally from both sides of the plate, although based on the above data, he doesn’t appear to be getting outright fooled by anything. He’s worked some deep counts, found himself in several good hitters’ counts and fouled off a fair number of pitches. Like the majority of the Yankees, he’s been doing the bulk of his damage in the later innings, primarily off relief pitching.

He wasn’t particularly patient in ALDS Game 1 and only got ahead of the count in his last at-bat of the night. As we all know, ALDS Game 2 was his best night by far, as he mostly stayed ahead in the count and picked up those two huge hits. No one on the Yankees did much of anything against Carl Pavano in Game 3 until A-Rod in the top of the 7th. In all, Tex only reached base safely three times in the first round, all off Minnesota’s relievers.

Tex finally picked up a base hit against a starter facing John Lackey in ALCS Game 1, but was quiet in his subseqent nine at-bats of the series, save the 12th-inning walk off Santana in Game 2.

The bottom line is, Teixeira is obviously not a .481 OPS hitter, and anyone can fall into a 5- (or more) game slump at any time, it’s just unfortunate that Tex happens to be doing it now when the offense could really use his .948 OPS bat.

I know runs are at a premium in the postseason, but it’d really be phenomenal to see the Yanks give the Halos a good ol’ fashioned thumping via multiple three-run bombs. Of course, last time the Yankees won Game 3 of the ALCS in a blowout we all know what happened, so I suppose I should be careful what I wish for.