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 Score: 6/10
Source: bats.blogs.nytimes.com --- 12 days ago
Marcus Thames, who signed a minor league deal with the Yankees last month, has hit 100 career home runs in the fewest at-bats in major league history. ... Source: nyc.fwix.com --- 13 days ago
This from our good friend Bill Chuck of Billy-Ball.com Marcus Thames has hit 101 career homers. No batter ever reached the 100 homer plateau in fewer at bats than Thames' 1,549. That's one Thames... Mar 1st, 2010, at 2:51am GMT ...
Source: tatersandgophers.wordpress.com --- 15 days ago
Marcus Thames can opt out of his contract with the Yankees if he is not on the major league roster when camp breaks. “He was brought in to compete for a spot on the 25-man roster,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Friday. “And at the end of camp, if he makes it, great. If he [...] ... Source: www.nydailynews.com --- 18 days ago
It was a day, a swing, that Marcus Thames would never forget, but he always seemed to get a reminder of it whenever he came to Yankee Stadium as a member of the Detroit Tigers the past six years. ...
Source: www.lionsredzone.com --- 30 days ago
Dark Days in Detroit. Two venerable vets, two quality people, two players on the verge of big things, Grandy and Thames, both dealt this offseason. It goes without saying that winning team evolve with the times, they cut fat during the offseason and acquire hopefuls in the spring. So far in this young year before spring training, we have yet to see many hopefuls in Tiger caps. Thames was the quintessential DH against LH pitching. He was a game changer, who could go yard at any given moment. He has made some big hits in Tigerland, and you mean to tell me he wasn't even worth Vet Minimium? The Tig's front office must be talking to the Lions. This last week the Yanks signed him to minor league contract, the vet minimium. What a deal I say! I'm not too impressed so far with Dubrowski and company, relying on unproven players, virtual rookies to mend the outfield is not a recipe for success. There could be some surprises...this Austin kid could be something, but history says he won't. How many rooks jump a lineup and are released less than two years later. Tons. Not many make the grade on a continual basis, not many can handle the day-to-day grind of the MLB. We had two, Grandy, who towed the line day in and day out and Thames who could fill a void, or injury without missing a step. We have taken two steps back to go one step forward. Some say the pitching has improved, signing Verlander to a deal was no doubt a good move, but what about the ot ...
Source: bleacherreport.com --- 32 days ago
From Buster Olney’s blog regarding Thames going to the Bronx: Marcus Thames signed a minor league deal with the Yankees. Mark Simon of ESPN Stats & Information dug out this note on Thames: He’s a good fit for Yankee Stadium, given his slugging capabilities. Isolated power, as defined by Bill James, measures extra bases per at-bat (i.e.: how well you can hit doubles, triples, and home runs…eliminating singles from the equation). Among active players with 1,500-plus plate appearances, Thames ranks 16th-best, but look at who is ahead of him: Ryan Howard : .307 Albert Pujols : .294 Jim Thome : .280 Manny Ramirez : .278 Adam Dunn : .271 Alex Rodriguez : .271 Ryan Braun : .266 Carlos Delgado : .266 Prince Fielder : .266 David Ortiz : .263 Russell Branyan : .257 Lance Berkman : .256 Ken Griffey Jr. : .256 Carlos Pena : .255 Mark Teixeira : .255 Marcus Thames: .248 Read more New York Yankees news on BleacherReport.com ...
Source: www.i-yankees.com --- 32 days ago
According to Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman, the Yankees have signed 33-year old outfielder, Marcus Thames. Thames, a right-handed hitter, was originally drafted by the Yankees in 1996 and was traded to Texas for Ruben Sierra in 2003. He is a career .256/.329/.516 hitter against left-handers and appears to be the right-handed bench bat the team [...] ... Source: boston.fwix.com --- 32 days ago
Looking to add another righthanded bat to their lineup, the Yankees signed Marcus Thames on Monday to a minor-league... Feb 9th, 2010, at 11:51am GMT ... Source: www.freep.com --- 33 days ago
NEW YORK - Marcus Thames agreed today to a minor league contract with the New York Yankees, who also finalized a $1.1-million, one-year deal with Randy Winn to give themselves more leftfield options. ... Source: bleacherreport.com --- 33 days ago
Marcus Thames is gone. It was one hell of a ride. Word has it that the former Tigers' slugger has signed a one-year deal with the Yankees, and will likely form a leftfield platoon with Randy Winn. The Tigers picked up Thames back in December of 2003 as a free agent. For his first few years, it was tough for Thames to grab any at-bats in Detroit. He was blocked by Dmitri Young at the DH/1B position and was less than stellar as a defender. But when Young was eventually released, Thames got a lot more playing time. Marcus’ best season in Detroit was back in 2006, when every Tiger had a career year. He got into a career-high 110 games and responded with a career best 26 homers. Thames is noted for his big time home runs and for his feast or famine success at the dish. When Thames was hot, he seriously resembled Barry Bonds. He would CRUSH everything. When he was off, though, he looked like the 2007 version of Craig Monroe. Thames would strike out far too often and didn’t walk enough to hold much value. As his salary grew through arbitration, it became harder to keep him in Detroit. So, now Thames is heading back to the Yankees, the team that drafted him in 1996. I wish him the best and he automatically becomes my favorite Yankee (nothing against Curtis Granderson). Thames is one of my all-time favorites but I think letting him go was the right move. I’ll still miss him. Read more New York Yankees news on BleacherReport.com ... Source: ballhype.com --- 33 days ago
That's why the amount of stress and chaos associated with the position this offseason has been alarming, and at times, comical, particularly with such a strong rest of the offense. In the end, Brett Gardner, a player not yet in his prime with an unfairly small sample size, could be the solution ... yankeevmm posted 3 days ago from soxandpinstripes.com Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB , New York Yankees , Marcus Thames , Brett Gardner , Curtis Granderson , Johnny Damon ... Source: www.rssmicro.com --- 33 days ago
Marcus Thames (date: 2/8/2010 - Rank: 9) ... Source: blogs.courant.com --- 33 days ago
The Yankees left field competition got a little more crowded. They signed veteran Marcus Thames to a minor-league deal. Thames, who had some big years in Connecticut with the Norwich Navigators, came up to the Yankees in 2002 and hit the first pitch he saw in the majors, a Randy Johnson fastball, out of the park. He played for Texas and Detroit later on. A righthanded hitter, Thames could win a job on the strength of his presence against lefty pitchers, since both Curtis Granderson and Randy Winn struggled against lefties last season. Anyway, here are bios of the 20 non-roster players the Yankees have invited to spring training. The bios - you'll recognized a few of these names - are from the Yankees' release: ...
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NOTE – This was written just prior to the Thames signing , but it still works to support the addition. The following is an excerpt from a recent ESPN article by Mathew Carruth titled “The Perils of Pinch-Hitting.” In 2009, major league pinch-hitters hit a combined .225/.315/.353, significantly worse than their starting counterparts, who hit .264/.334/.421. That’s not a one-year fluke or a recent development, either. In 1990, guys coming off the bench hit .224/.302/.316. In 1970, they hit .226/.313/.323. Way back in 1954, their performance was a pitiful .220/.315/.323. It’s not just that the average pinch-hitter is worse than a starter, but instead, there is evidence that pinch-hitting is just really difficult. Matt Holliday has a career .552 OPS as a pinch hitter compared to a .933 mark when he starts. Joe Mauer has a .693 OPS off the bench. Even Derek Jeter is hitless in his five attempts. Baseball consultant Tom Tango, now in the employ of the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays, went through historical pinch-hitting situations in his book (appropriately titled “The Book”) and found that, even after accounting for the average pinch-hitter being of lesser ability and facing tougher pitchers in more important situations, pinch-hitters performed at a level roughly 10 percent lower than expected. That’s huge; a 10 percent penalty turns a .300 hitter into a .270 one. That reduction in performance would turn Evan Longoria into Skip Sc ...
Well, for those wondering about Randy Winn’s righty bat as far as OF platoon player goes (Winn hit .158 righty in 2009), the Yankees may have alleviated some concerns. Brian Cashman did say he was looking for a righty-hitting OF. Today they signed Marcus Thames to a minor league deal. Thames will get his shot to make the team in spring training. Thames, 32 (33 next month), hit .252-13-36 (OPS+ 99) last year with the Tigers. For his career, he is a .243 hitter with 101 HR and an OPS+ of 104. He hit 26 HR for the 2006 AL Champion Tigers and 25 in 2008. His 162 g. average is .243-31-81, 42 walks, 134 K. Low average, doesn’t walk much but has pop. He is mostly a LF, but has played RF and 1B. His very first HR in the majors came as a Yankee—on the very first pitch he saw in the majors, a fastball by Randy Johnson. Good Lord. I see other blogs advocating that Gary Sheffield be signed by the Yanks. NO, NO and NO! Sheffield is 41 . If the Yanks had worries about Damon’s declining defense, why pursue someone five years older whose defense is just as bad if not worse? Granted Sheff had a decent year for a 40 year old platoon player (.276-10-43, OPS+ 119) but NO! It’s amazing how people won’t give youngsters a chance or are impatient with them but want to keep the declining, aging ex-stars. Check out this post over at MLBTR of free agents still available. Funny how numbers can be “unretired.” Omar Vizquel will wear #11 for the White Sox this ye ...
