Cervelli and Denorfia: Entirely Different Septembers

Just prior to leaving for Italy on September 2, I wrote my "Where Are They Now?" posts about Italian WBC players Chris Denorfia and Francisco Cervelli, giving both of them some props for their contributions to their respective playoff-contending teams this year. Well, if you believe in superstition, then I gave good luck to one while completely jinxing the other, as they experienced entirely different individual and team results from that point until the end of the season.

Denorfia went 8-for-45 (.178) in September, walking three times for a .245 OBP, with just one RBI and two runs, in 20 games. He tried to make up for it by going 5-for-11 in three October games, but overall his performance from September 2 on (.232 BA, 3 BB, 7 SO, 1 RBI, 3 R, 2 SB) did not help his team in their quest to make the playoffs. As you may recall, at the time I wrote my post about Denorfia, the Padres had the best record in the National League. After that, they lost 16 of 30, and ended up losing the NL West by two games to the Giants, and the wild card by one to the Braves.

Cervelli, on the other hand, shrugged off the slump I wrote about in my post and went 13-for-31 (.419), with 6 RBI, 8 runs, 12 walks and a .578 OBP, in 15 games after September 2. The Yankees' performance (12-16) didn't exactly mirror his, but they won enough games to qualify for the postseason.