Lots of home runs, very little little ball
The Yankees' Jorge Posada takes a cut on Opening Day against the Detroit Tigers. (Mar. 31, 2011) Credit: Chris Ware
Yes, the Yankees got a pair of game-winning singles this past week. But dig a little deeper and you'll see an interesting trend over the first two-plus weeks of the seasons. The Yankees hit home runs . . . and not much else.
Take a quick look at Jorge Posada's numbers so far. Five of his seven hits (in 50 plate appearances) have been home runs.
The Yankees lead the majors with 27 home runs in 14 games, five ahead of the Reds' 22 in 15 games.
But, in terms of total hits, the Yankees rank 23rd in the majors in 118. In other words, 22.9 percent of the Yankees' hits this season have cleared the fence. That's a nice number in the sense that it has helped them go 9-5 to open the season. But as the season progresses, Yankees fans should hope this trend goes away.
Their .257 team batting average is 15th in the majors, which is neither good nor bad for the moment.
To put these numbers in more specific context, let's see how they compare with American League teams since that's who they compete against for a playoff spot.
27 home runs - 1st in AL, 1st in AL East
118 hits - 10th in AL, 2nd in AL East
.257 average - 6th in AL, 1st in AL East
