Guess the Yankee

Can you identify which current New York Yankee player these heat maps belong to?

Player through 17 games in 2011 (.248 wOBA; .015 ISO)

Player through 17 games in 2012 (.418 wOBA; .234 ISO)

Update on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 9:55PM by Jonathan Scippa

The answer is Derek Jeter.  The rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated.

Clay Buchholz's Cutter Location

Yesterday afternoon following the 100th Anniversary of Fenway Park, the Yankees knocked around Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Clay Buchholz.  Buchholz’s cutter gave him some trouble as the Yankees managed four hits off it (including two home runs), while making just two outs.  He gave up two line drives on the cutter (both singles) and two fly balls (the two home runs).

Take a look at where Buchholz located his cutter last season:

Click to enlargeNow take a look at where he put the pitch yesterday:

Click to enlargeFor the most part, he stayed true to form.  He kept the cutter in on lefties and away from righties.  However, that one cutter on the outside edge of the zone to the lefty was the HR Chavez hit 382 feet.  And the pitch right in the middle of the plate to the righty was the home run Alex Rodriguez hit 393 feet over the green monster. Two mistakes, two home runs.

Ivan Nova Versus Lefties

Ivan Nova hasn't lost a game for the New York Yankees since June 3rd of last season. And while wins and losses are the worst gauges of a pitcher's performance, his streak of 14 wins dating back to June 10th of 2011 is impressive nonetheless.

What's especially impressive has been Nova's performance against left-handed hitters.  Since the start of his streak on June 10th, Ivan Nova has held lefties to a .227 batting average and a .285 wOBA, compared to .274 and .324 to righties respectively.  He's given up just three HRs to lefties in those 20 games, compared to nine HRs to righties.

Ivan Nova Pitch Location to LHB, June 10th - PresentIvan Nova vs. LHB, June 10th to PresentNova has kept the ball away from lefties for the most part and limited the damage. His sinking fastball down and away has likely contributed much to his overall success. While the win streak is bound to end at some point this season, Nova should continue to see good results if he keeps up this pitching pattern.