My article originally appeared here, earlier today, and reposted here with permission.

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With a crack and a thud, David Wright slammed into the Citi Field batter’s box. He had just been struck in the head by a mid-90s Matt Cain fastball, and after a few frightening moments and an unsteady walk back to the dugout, Wright was taken to the hospital for treatment of a concussion. Three days earlier on August 12, 2009, David Walstein of the New York Times asked David Wright about Rawlings’ new helmet, one that could protect a player’s head from a 100 mph fastball. Despite other players’ negative reactions that noted an increase in discomfort and a decrease in style, Wright responded, “If it provides more protection, then I’m all for it. I’m not worried about style or looking good out there. I’m worried about keeping my melon protected.” It was a somewhat surprising response given the other players’ reactions, but it is one that seemed sound and level-headed. Wright, however, was not wearing that helmet when the fastball crashed into his skull.

Wright’s injury could have been prevented. The risks and dangers of being hit in the head by a pitch are well-known. The solution was well-publicized. Yet, baseball—its players, coaches, teams, and commissioner—continually lag behind when it comes to safety concerns. Why is this? What causes baseball to ignore the safety of its employees, especially when they so heavily invest in them, when the risks and solutions are so readily apparent? To answer these questions, it is necessary to delve deeper into an understanding of ourselves, professional sports, and societal pressures.

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When the Yanks get guys on base, particularly in scoring position, it just feels like those runners are too often left out there. So I checked the data:

Let’s define the colums:

• <2,3B: Less than 2 outs, man on third
• Scr: Runner scored
• 0,2B: No outs, runner on second
• Adv: Runner was advanced
• %: rate

The Yanks are slightly above average (53% vs 50%) in getting the runner in from third with less than two outs. However, when they have a runner at second with no one out, they are among the worst (33% vs. 41%) in getting that runner over to third to put them in that “Less than 2 outs, man on third” situation.

Does this team seem to reliant on the big hit rather than small ball stuff to get the runners over? Are they bad situational hitters? Well, it doesn’t always appear so:

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There are some very low BAPIP figures up there, well below the team’s average. Bad luck? The line that sticks out, to me, is the -23 line, meaning when runners are on second and third, when they are batting a mere 0.190 (silver lining: they are getting on base 34.5% of the time in that situation, putting the team in a much more advantageous bases loaded position). To not deliver in this situation is backbreaking.

Again, it just feels like the Yanks have failed in this situation too many times.

The Yankees won the first two games of this series because of good pitching performances and managing to get enough offense to finish the job.  The pitching disappeared last night, as Javier Vazquez and the bullpen couldn’t stop Minnesota’s big bats, and the offense continues to show few signs of life and even fewer signs of the dominant offensive force the Yankees should be.  Minnesota took the game 8-2 as the Yankees head back to the Bronx.

Vazquez walked Orlando Hudson in the first inning and gave up a single to Joe Mauer, putting Hudson on third.  A sac fly by Justin Morneau gave the Twins the 1-0 lead.  The Twins started the second inning with back-to-back doubles by Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel, scoring their second run of the game.  J.J. Hardy singled on a line drive to center, moving Kubel to third.  Alexi Casilla then grounded into a double play, but Kubel scored on the play, giving the Twins a 3-0 edge.

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