07/12: YanksBlog.com Midseason Grades
Posted by: YB Bloggers
By Michael, Patrick and Seamus.
As we're now at the all star break, we thought that we would take a look at the first half performance of each individual Yankee. Certain players that have not had much time with the Yankees or had an opportunity to be with the Yankees for very long have been excluded. These include Jason Anderson, Wayne Franklin, Darrell May, Scott Proctor, Melky Cabrera, Sean Henn, Colter Bean, Andy Phillips and Kevin Reese.
Hitters
C - Jorge Posada: B-
Michael: Jorge is as solid as they come on this team. He has been consistent at what he does and manages the game very well. His .259 BA and 10 HR is on pace with his averages from years past. I would like to see him become a little more aggressive in the second half, which should hopefully lead to him raising his OBA some.
C - John Flaherty: C-
Seamus: Flaherty is having another decent season as the Yankees' backup catcher. He doesn't hit well, but that's not his job. What he is, though, is a guy you can rely on every 5th day or so to start at catcher and give Jorge Posada a rest. He is solid defensively behind the plate and he can give you that sac fly or bunt when you need him to.
1B/DH - Jason Giambi: B-
Patrick: After a relatively unproductive April and May, Giambi has turned it around with a strong June (.310 AVG, .474 OBA) and a hot start to July (.423 AVG, .545 OBA, 5 HR and 10 RBI in 9 games). For the season, he's hitting .278 with a .426 OBA, 10 home runs and 32 RBI. If he can keep up the .278/.426 mark, he'll be a big contributor for the rest of the year.
1B - Tino Martinez: C+
M: When the Yankees brought Tino back, the first thing I thought of was defense. Then May came along and with it, those 10 HR. Tino has since come back to Earth, but his glove is most counted on in the late innings as Giambi’s replacement.
2B - Robinson Cano: B
S: Robinson Cano has probably been the most pleasant surprise for the Yankees along with Chien-Ming Wang, obviously. Cano, a 22-year old rookie, was not even expected to play in the Major Leagues this year at the start of the season. In early May, when the Yankee hierarchy decided they needed to shuffle things up a little bit, Cano was called up to play second base and has given us more than we could have asked for. He is hitting just under .290 and is a good contact hitter and decent power hitter who can drive in runs (he'd drive in more if he wasn't batting 2nd). People complain that he can't bunt, but that's not the type of hitter he is. Nobody complains that Gary Sheffield or Alex Rodriguez can't bunt. He doesn't have great speed but he runs the bases well, especially for a rookie. His defense at second base has been average at best with a few "rookie" mistakes, but he has maybe the best arm I've ever seen from a Yankee at second base.
3B - Alex Rodriguez: A+
P: Potentially on his way to an MVP season, the starting third baseman for the AL all star team is hitting .317 (8th in the AL) with 23 home runs (2nd), 72 RBI (4th) and a .416 OBA (T2nd). On pace for 43 home runs and 135 RBI.
SS - Derek Jeter: A-
M: Jeter normally comes out of the gate slow and turns up the burners in late May til the end of the season. Not this year, as Jeter is having one of his better years at the plate even though he dipped some in May.
IF - Russ Johnson: C-
S: Johnson hasn't played much but is pretty reliable as a pinch runner or a defensive replacement late in the game. He can play any position so it's nice to have him around if somebody gets hurt. He's not the guy who I'd want at the plate in a key situation, though.
IF - Rey Sanchez: C
P: Rey was a useful utility guy early on, maintaining a respectable batting average of .279. But, he was sidelined with bulging discs in his back and hasn't played since June 8.
LF/CF - Hideki Matsui: A
M: After a slow start, Godzilla has turned it on for the last month now. In June alone, Matsui's bat was ablaze with a .398 BA and a .477 OBP. All of this came after the injury to his ankle. Perhaps he should injure the other one.
LF/2B - Tony Womack: D
S: Womack has probably been the Yankees' biggest individual disappointment so far this season. His speed doesn't help us at all if he isn't going to get on base. A guy like that who is known for what he can do on the base paths needs to get on base more than 28% of the time. His defense in the outfield has been poor, but he's not an outfielder and it's not like he asked to go out there. Nonetheless, he hasn't helped us very much to this point.
CF - Bernie Williams: C
P: Bernie has been cold for most of the season, checking in with a .257 batting average and a .349 OBA. But, he's off to a good July, hitting .348 with a .444 OBA so far this month. Despite the Yankees trying to find ways to get him out of the field, Bernie has continued to find solid chunks of playing time and likely will continue to do so for the rest of the season.
RF - Gary Sheffield: A-
M: Sheff is having another spectacular year. An OBP of .399 and a BA just under .300. But the one stat that truly speaks of him is his batting average with runners in scoring position, which is .383! All of this with the media haunting him at every turn, from the fan interference in Boston to the engineering of his own no trade clause. It’ll be interesting to see if any more pressure can come down on his back.
OF - Bubba Crosby: C-
P: A backup outfielder for the Yankees at various times during the season, he's split time between the big leagues and the minors. His batting average of .235 certainly has not helped him maintain a roster spot.
DH/OF - Ruben Sierra: B
S: Sierra doesn't put up eye-popping numbers, but he is one of the best clutch hitters on a team that is loaded with guys who are known for coming through in clutch situations. It seems as if he comes up with a hit every time he comes up in the 8th or 9th inning in a close game. Saturday's game is an example as he launched a home run in the bottom of the 9th to cut the Indians' lead to just one. He's also one of the few guys who you'll find out there who will hustle on every ball and if you watch him play, you'll notice he has surprisingly decent speed. He isn't fast, but he isn't a snail like many other power hitters his age.
Pitchers
SP - Randy Johnson: B-
P: Although 9-6 with a 4.16 ERA would be good for most pitchers in baseball, Randy is not most pitchers. He was brought in to be the ace and, so far, has not put up ace like numbers. His season has been a bit of a roller coaster with it's very good (3 complete games) and it's very bad (7 ER allow in two outings). He's on pace for a 16-11 record. While not terrible, not exactly what we're looking for. Hopefully he'll have a better second half and make it more like 18-9.
SP - Mike Mussina: B+
M: A better than average year for Moose. His 3.97 ERA and 80 strikeouts are putting him on pace for a better year than last. He’s solid and stable on the mound.
SP - Carl Pavano: C
S: Carl Pavano has been an enigma so far this season for the Yankees, much like Javier Vasquez was for them last season. He'll put up the occasional lights out performance, but overall he has been mediocre at best. He doesn't seem to put too many batters on base, but he has a problem keeping the ball in the ballpark. His numbers on the road are much better than at home. Perhaps the Yankees' crowd gets to him, but I think it has more to do with the 314 down the right field line at Yankee Stadium as Pavano is a more laid back type of guy.
SP - Chien-Ming Wang: A-
P: Wang has been the greatest surprise of this season. As a rookie, he is 6-3 with a 3.89 ERA (we're 8-5 in games that he's pitched). He has been remarkably solid with his most runs allowed in a start being 5 (twice). Besides that, he's allowed 4 once, 3 five times, 2 three times, 1 once and 0 once. He's failed to pitch 6 innings only twice and has gone 7 or more on 6 different occasions. When we needed someone to step up and be a rock, he stepped up.
SP - Kevin Brown: D
M: Putrid on the mound. He has given up 91 H and 40 ER in 65.2 innings pitched. Brown is showing his age being on the DL twice this year with a bad back. Joe should think of putting him in the pen.
SP - Jaret Wright: F
S: Well, the only reason I can't call Wright the Yankees' biggest disappointment is because if it weren't for him, we wouldn't have been able to see what Chien-Ming Wang was capable of. It's one thing that he has made only four starts this season. People get hurt. But in those four starts, Wright is just 2-2 with an ERA of 9.15. He has given up 36 hits in just 19 and 2/3 innings.
RP - Mariano Rivera: A+
P: After two consecutive blown saves against Boston to open the season (where he allowed just 1 ER in each game), you had (some) people saying Mo was done. Yankees fans, Red Sox fans, other people. Since those first two games, Mo has saved 20 consecutive games and possesses an ERA of 0.56. From May 7 through July 7, he failed to allow a single run to cross the plate. For the season, he is 4-2 with 20 saves and a 1.01 ERA.
RP - Tom Gordon: B+
M: Flash continues to be an integral part of the Yankees bullpen. With a healthy Gordon and Rivera, the Yankee starters only have to pitch 7 innings (6 if Sturtze is in). He started the year a little off par, but is pitching to his standards now.
RP - Tanyon Sturtze: B
S: Tanyon Sturtze is one of my favorite guys on this ballclub. He's been a little shaky the last week or two, but for the most part he has been pretty reliable for the Yankees in the 7th inning. He's been a plus for this team especially considering the disappointing performance of Paul Quantrill over the past year. People give Brian Cashman a lot of heat for making some bad deals and signing some guys to bad contracts, but it looks like he hit it right on the spot with this one.
RP - Felix Rodriguez: D-
P: After pitching only 11 games (with a 5.40 ERA), Rodriguez tore the meniscus in his left knee and hasn't pitched since May 5. With any luck, he'll be a useful member of the bullpen in the second half.
RP - Buddy Groom: C
M: Often used as a late inning replacement for Gordon or Sturtze. He has given up 27 H in 23 innings of work.
A-Rod receives the highest possible grade while Jaret Wright receives the lowest. The team is a bit of a mixed bag this year. Great performances, bad performances, great surprises, terrible disappointments. But, as we prepare for the second half, we're right in the thick of it. We're facing a tough schedule where we'll be playing good teams (we open the second half with 30 straight games with teams that currently hold a record of .500 or better, including all 3 AL division leaders as well as the wild card leader) - we'll have to earn it.
As we're now at the all star break, we thought that we would take a look at the first half performance of each individual Yankee. Certain players that have not had much time with the Yankees or had an opportunity to be with the Yankees for very long have been excluded. These include Jason Anderson, Wayne Franklin, Darrell May, Scott Proctor, Melky Cabrera, Sean Henn, Colter Bean, Andy Phillips and Kevin Reese.
Hitters
C - Jorge Posada: B-
Michael: Jorge is as solid as they come on this team. He has been consistent at what he does and manages the game very well. His .259 BA and 10 HR is on pace with his averages from years past. I would like to see him become a little more aggressive in the second half, which should hopefully lead to him raising his OBA some.
C - John Flaherty: C-
Seamus: Flaherty is having another decent season as the Yankees' backup catcher. He doesn't hit well, but that's not his job. What he is, though, is a guy you can rely on every 5th day or so to start at catcher and give Jorge Posada a rest. He is solid defensively behind the plate and he can give you that sac fly or bunt when you need him to.
1B/DH - Jason Giambi: B-
Patrick: After a relatively unproductive April and May, Giambi has turned it around with a strong June (.310 AVG, .474 OBA) and a hot start to July (.423 AVG, .545 OBA, 5 HR and 10 RBI in 9 games). For the season, he's hitting .278 with a .426 OBA, 10 home runs and 32 RBI. If he can keep up the .278/.426 mark, he'll be a big contributor for the rest of the year.
1B - Tino Martinez: C+
M: When the Yankees brought Tino back, the first thing I thought of was defense. Then May came along and with it, those 10 HR. Tino has since come back to Earth, but his glove is most counted on in the late innings as Giambi’s replacement.
2B - Robinson Cano: B
S: Robinson Cano has probably been the most pleasant surprise for the Yankees along with Chien-Ming Wang, obviously. Cano, a 22-year old rookie, was not even expected to play in the Major Leagues this year at the start of the season. In early May, when the Yankee hierarchy decided they needed to shuffle things up a little bit, Cano was called up to play second base and has given us more than we could have asked for. He is hitting just under .290 and is a good contact hitter and decent power hitter who can drive in runs (he'd drive in more if he wasn't batting 2nd). People complain that he can't bunt, but that's not the type of hitter he is. Nobody complains that Gary Sheffield or Alex Rodriguez can't bunt. He doesn't have great speed but he runs the bases well, especially for a rookie. His defense at second base has been average at best with a few "rookie" mistakes, but he has maybe the best arm I've ever seen from a Yankee at second base.
3B - Alex Rodriguez: A+
P: Potentially on his way to an MVP season, the starting third baseman for the AL all star team is hitting .317 (8th in the AL) with 23 home runs (2nd), 72 RBI (4th) and a .416 OBA (T2nd). On pace for 43 home runs and 135 RBI.
SS - Derek Jeter: A-
M: Jeter normally comes out of the gate slow and turns up the burners in late May til the end of the season. Not this year, as Jeter is having one of his better years at the plate even though he dipped some in May.
IF - Russ Johnson: C-
S: Johnson hasn't played much but is pretty reliable as a pinch runner or a defensive replacement late in the game. He can play any position so it's nice to have him around if somebody gets hurt. He's not the guy who I'd want at the plate in a key situation, though.
IF - Rey Sanchez: C
P: Rey was a useful utility guy early on, maintaining a respectable batting average of .279. But, he was sidelined with bulging discs in his back and hasn't played since June 8.
LF/CF - Hideki Matsui: A
M: After a slow start, Godzilla has turned it on for the last month now. In June alone, Matsui's bat was ablaze with a .398 BA and a .477 OBP. All of this came after the injury to his ankle. Perhaps he should injure the other one.
LF/2B - Tony Womack: D
S: Womack has probably been the Yankees' biggest individual disappointment so far this season. His speed doesn't help us at all if he isn't going to get on base. A guy like that who is known for what he can do on the base paths needs to get on base more than 28% of the time. His defense in the outfield has been poor, but he's not an outfielder and it's not like he asked to go out there. Nonetheless, he hasn't helped us very much to this point.
CF - Bernie Williams: C
P: Bernie has been cold for most of the season, checking in with a .257 batting average and a .349 OBA. But, he's off to a good July, hitting .348 with a .444 OBA so far this month. Despite the Yankees trying to find ways to get him out of the field, Bernie has continued to find solid chunks of playing time and likely will continue to do so for the rest of the season.
RF - Gary Sheffield: A-
M: Sheff is having another spectacular year. An OBP of .399 and a BA just under .300. But the one stat that truly speaks of him is his batting average with runners in scoring position, which is .383! All of this with the media haunting him at every turn, from the fan interference in Boston to the engineering of his own no trade clause. It’ll be interesting to see if any more pressure can come down on his back.
OF - Bubba Crosby: C-
P: A backup outfielder for the Yankees at various times during the season, he's split time between the big leagues and the minors. His batting average of .235 certainly has not helped him maintain a roster spot.
DH/OF - Ruben Sierra: B
S: Sierra doesn't put up eye-popping numbers, but he is one of the best clutch hitters on a team that is loaded with guys who are known for coming through in clutch situations. It seems as if he comes up with a hit every time he comes up in the 8th or 9th inning in a close game. Saturday's game is an example as he launched a home run in the bottom of the 9th to cut the Indians' lead to just one. He's also one of the few guys who you'll find out there who will hustle on every ball and if you watch him play, you'll notice he has surprisingly decent speed. He isn't fast, but he isn't a snail like many other power hitters his age.
Pitchers
SP - Randy Johnson: B-
P: Although 9-6 with a 4.16 ERA would be good for most pitchers in baseball, Randy is not most pitchers. He was brought in to be the ace and, so far, has not put up ace like numbers. His season has been a bit of a roller coaster with it's very good (3 complete games) and it's very bad (7 ER allow in two outings). He's on pace for a 16-11 record. While not terrible, not exactly what we're looking for. Hopefully he'll have a better second half and make it more like 18-9.
SP - Mike Mussina: B+
M: A better than average year for Moose. His 3.97 ERA and 80 strikeouts are putting him on pace for a better year than last. He’s solid and stable on the mound.
SP - Carl Pavano: C
S: Carl Pavano has been an enigma so far this season for the Yankees, much like Javier Vasquez was for them last season. He'll put up the occasional lights out performance, but overall he has been mediocre at best. He doesn't seem to put too many batters on base, but he has a problem keeping the ball in the ballpark. His numbers on the road are much better than at home. Perhaps the Yankees' crowd gets to him, but I think it has more to do with the 314 down the right field line at Yankee Stadium as Pavano is a more laid back type of guy.
SP - Chien-Ming Wang: A-
P: Wang has been the greatest surprise of this season. As a rookie, he is 6-3 with a 3.89 ERA (we're 8-5 in games that he's pitched). He has been remarkably solid with his most runs allowed in a start being 5 (twice). Besides that, he's allowed 4 once, 3 five times, 2 three times, 1 once and 0 once. He's failed to pitch 6 innings only twice and has gone 7 or more on 6 different occasions. When we needed someone to step up and be a rock, he stepped up.
SP - Kevin Brown: D
M: Putrid on the mound. He has given up 91 H and 40 ER in 65.2 innings pitched. Brown is showing his age being on the DL twice this year with a bad back. Joe should think of putting him in the pen.
SP - Jaret Wright: F
S: Well, the only reason I can't call Wright the Yankees' biggest disappointment is because if it weren't for him, we wouldn't have been able to see what Chien-Ming Wang was capable of. It's one thing that he has made only four starts this season. People get hurt. But in those four starts, Wright is just 2-2 with an ERA of 9.15. He has given up 36 hits in just 19 and 2/3 innings.
RP - Mariano Rivera: A+
P: After two consecutive blown saves against Boston to open the season (where he allowed just 1 ER in each game), you had (some) people saying Mo was done. Yankees fans, Red Sox fans, other people. Since those first two games, Mo has saved 20 consecutive games and possesses an ERA of 0.56. From May 7 through July 7, he failed to allow a single run to cross the plate. For the season, he is 4-2 with 20 saves and a 1.01 ERA.
RP - Tom Gordon: B+
M: Flash continues to be an integral part of the Yankees bullpen. With a healthy Gordon and Rivera, the Yankee starters only have to pitch 7 innings (6 if Sturtze is in). He started the year a little off par, but is pitching to his standards now.
RP - Tanyon Sturtze: B
S: Tanyon Sturtze is one of my favorite guys on this ballclub. He's been a little shaky the last week or two, but for the most part he has been pretty reliable for the Yankees in the 7th inning. He's been a plus for this team especially considering the disappointing performance of Paul Quantrill over the past year. People give Brian Cashman a lot of heat for making some bad deals and signing some guys to bad contracts, but it looks like he hit it right on the spot with this one.
RP - Felix Rodriguez: D-
P: After pitching only 11 games (with a 5.40 ERA), Rodriguez tore the meniscus in his left knee and hasn't pitched since May 5. With any luck, he'll be a useful member of the bullpen in the second half.
RP - Buddy Groom: C
M: Often used as a late inning replacement for Gordon or Sturtze. He has given up 27 H in 23 innings of work.
A-Rod receives the highest possible grade while Jaret Wright receives the lowest. The team is a bit of a mixed bag this year. Great performances, bad performances, great surprises, terrible disappointments. But, as we prepare for the second half, we're right in the thick of it. We're facing a tough schedule where we'll be playing good teams (we open the second half with 30 straight games with teams that currently hold a record of .500 or better, including all 3 AL division leaders as well as the wild card leader) - we'll have to earn it.
