In what has been a dreary past few days, the Yankees continue to struggle against the Toronto Blue Jays. Overall, the Jays have beaten the Yankees 7 times this season. Larry of Yankeeist provided the sobering fact that the Yanks have lost more times to the Jays than any other team in baseball. That's really lovely. I can't even begin to express how thrilled I am for the Blue Jays. *sigh*
Rather than discussing last night's game any further (lets face it, shitty performances aren't all that fun to talk about anyway), I'm going to spend some time complimenting Marcus Thames. He's been everything the Yankees have hoped for and then some.
Just take a look at some of his stats (compliments of Fangraphs).
Back in February, MLB Trade Rumors had reported that the Yankees had signed Thames to a minor league contract valued at $900K. Most of us anticipated Thames would probably get limited playing time and quite possibly get designated for assignment. After all, the 4th outfielder role was initially reserved for Randy Winn (yeah...that guy).
As it turns out, Winn had a very brief tenure in pinstripes and Thames did get summoned from AAA. Since then, he has certainly made the most out of his opportunities. For a guy whose splits have historically underscored horrendous production against Righties, 2010 has proved to be an exception. True to form, Marcus is still mashing Lefty pitchers, but his stats against Righties are acceptable. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'd like to see him be a full time position player (his defense has always been less than inspiring), but for a guy coming off the bench hired to provide some pop, he sure has worked out nicely.
So thank you, Marcus. Thank you for providing what little offense (and joy) the team could muster last night.
I feel stupid for being torn in spring training between Thames and Jamie Hoffman due to Hoff's defensive and baserunning value. Hats off to Thames though, he has been fantastic.
ReplyDeleteYeah, you're not alone there though. Many of us were pleased with Hoffman's contributions throughout spring training. Similarly, many of us were surprised to see Thames be so helpful. I guess you just have to enjoy the old cliche, "take what you get."
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