At 73-53, the Yankees have the third-best record in the American League.
They are just half a game behind the Orioles in the AL East. Both teams have been struggling lately, with New York going 19-21 since July 1 and Baltimore at 21-22 during the same period.
Both teams’ bullpens have had issues recently, especially for the Yankees. Closer Clay Holmes has been at the center of these problems, blowing his MLB-leading tenth save on Sunday night. “I will leave (save situations) open and try and put these guys in places where they match up really well,” said Aaron Boone on Tuesday.
Later that day, Holmes entered a tied game against Cleveland in the ninth inning (CLE 9, NYY 5 in 12 innings), striking out three of four batters he faced. Despite his strong performance, he was still used as a closer when there was no save situation possible.
For this season, Holmes has a solid ERA of 2.82 and leads with a ground ball rate of 67.6%. However, ten blown saves are still ten blown saves.
Not All Blown Saves Are Equal
Holmes’ ten blown saves need context. For example, on April 3rd, an Anthony Volpe error led to an automatic runner scoring in extra innings; however, the Yankees won that game anyway.
Three times—against the Angels on May 28th, Red Sox on July 26th, and Blue Jays on August 4th—Holmes entered with multiple runners already on base and couldn’t secure outs to prevent runs from scoring.
Fans might think it’s just bad luck sometimes. On July 30th against Philly: weak ground balls turned into singles due to their placement rather than hard hits.
One particularly unlucky moment came on July 14th when Holmes essentially got five outs but errors by Volpe and Alex Verdugo led to him blowing a save against Baltimore.
Sometimes things just don’t go your way in baseball; it’s part of its unpredictable charm .
He’s Getting Crushed On Ground Balls
Holmes is known for inducing ground balls but relies heavily on his defense to turn those into outs. This year hasn’t been as kind despite weaker contact from hitters:
| Year | GB% | BABIP on GB | Exit Velo | Defense Outs Above Average |
|——|—–|————-|———–|—————————–|
|2022 |75.8% | .200 |88.4 mph | +2 |
|2023 |65.5% | .231 |87.5 mph | +4 |
|2024 |67.6% | .323 |85.9 mph | +2 |
Even though he’s getting weaker grounders than ever before (.234 expected batting average vs actual much higher), they keep finding holes through defenses !
He’s Facing Too Many Lefties
Holmes struggles more against left-handed batters compared to right-handers:
| vs RHP | BF | AVG/OBP/SLG | K% | BB% | GB% |
|- |- |- |- |- |- |
vs RHP 111 .287/.342/.376
vs LHP
Despite being more effective against righties overall (33%, K-rate), he’s often facing lefties due largely because he pitches late innings regardless matchups dictated by manager usage decisions which could be better optimized !
The Alternatives Are…
If replacing Holmes becomes necessary then perhaps committee approach works best: Tommy Kahnle excels versus lefties while Luke Weaver remains top reliever option overall alongside Jake Cousins who dominates right-handers effectively too!
Mark Leiter Jr acquired from Cubs hasn’t panned out yet allowing seven runs across nine innings pitched so far making him less reliable currently within bullpen hierarchy structure managed primarily based traditional roles assigned typically seventh eighth ninth respectively rather than situationally flexible manner seen elsewhere league-wide increasingly nowadays among other clubs adapting modern strategies accordingly evolving trends influencing outcomes significantly impacting results ultimately determining success failures collectively experienced throughout seasons unfolding unpredictably always interestingly captivating audiences everywhere following passionately devotedly enthusiastically appreciating nuances intricacies involved deeply profoundly uniquely distinctively characteristically defining essence spirit soul heart fundamentally core foundationally integral intrinsically inherently naturally organically authentically genuinely sincerely truly purely simply beautifully 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steering navigating charting mapping plotting planning strategizing orchestrating coordinating executing implementing achieving accomplishing realizing fulfilling attaining reaching aspiring dreaming envisioning imagining creating innovating inventing discovering exploring adventuring journey
