Daniel's Huge American League Midseason Report Card

New York Yankees
Record: 48-34
Grade: B+

Season In Review (Grades)

Management: B-
Joe Girardi hasn't made the best moves, but the team has still been successful under him. There are sometimes where I question why some people are playing or why the bullpen in managed in an eerie way, but it's led to a 12 games over .500 record, so I am impressed.

Defense: B+
The Yankees have only committed a collective 42 errors. Mark Teixeira has been playing gold glove defense at first. Robinson Cano has made significant strides at second and Derek Jeter has been impressive at shortstop. The bulk (12) of the errors come from third base and the outfield looks confused at times. Jorge Posada only catches 31 percent of thefts.

Starting Pitching: B-
The starting pitching staff has a 4.63 ERA and has only hurled 36 quality starts. CC Sabathia (7-5, 3.85 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 2 CG) has been inconsistent and effective at times. AJ Burnett (7-4, 3.83 ERA) started off the season cold, but has been on-fire lately. Andy Pettitte (8-4, 4.53 ERA) and Joba Chamberlain (4-2, 4.04 ERA) have both been too inconsistent. A key question is about the fifth starting spot on the rotation because Chien-Ming Wang (1-6, 9.64 ERA, 2.00+ WHIP) went on the disabled list. Are trades at the deadline looming?

Bullpen: B+
The bullpen has been impressive. They only have a 4.03 ERA and .227 batting average against. Brian Bruney (7 H, 4.11 ERA) started off great, but hasn't looked the same since coming off the disabled list. Phil Coke (7 H, 2.97 ERA) and Alfredo Aceves (2.03 ERA, 0.93 WHIP) have been extremely reliable, while Jonathan Albaladejo (5.40 ERA) has been iffy. Phil Hughes has been great in the bullpen (1.23 ERA). They also have the best closer of all time with 21 saves and a 2.60 ERA.

Offense: A
The Yankees have a dominant offense. They lead the American League in runs, home runs, total bases, RBI, slugging, and on-base percentage. They have Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano, each batting .300+ with 35+ RBI. Johnny Damon and Nick Swisher have also driven in a lot of runs. Mark Teixeira is putting up MVP numbers and Alex Rodriguez (43 RBI) and Hideki Matsui (38 RBI) are finally starting to heat up. Jorge Posada has also looked good. The bench is pretty deep with Brett Gardner, Francisco Cervelli, and the recent acqusition of Eric Hinske.

Team Thoughts

New York's most valuable player has been Mark Teixeira. His glove has completely altered the way the Yankees can play defense. His bat has been great, batting .273 with 20 home runs, 61 RBI, and a .928 OPS. Alex Rodriguez's return made Mark Teixeira come alive and earn his paycheck,

New York's least valuable player has been Chien-Ming Wang, who is now on the disabled list. This was a guy that they needed to depend on, based on past success. However, he had a 9.64 ERA and 2.02 WHIP. Opponents were batting .365 against him and he never got past 5 1/3 innings pitched on the year.

New York's best moment came on May 15. This game included Brett Gardner hitting a home run for a sick child in a hospital. However, the Yankees were also down 4-2 going into the bottom of the ninth.  They rallied against the best closer in the game and won on a Melky Cabrera walk-off single. The Yankees would win the next two games on walk-offs.

New York's worst moment came on April 18. After getting embarrassed during the opening of new Yankee Stadium, the Yankees had to do something worse. Against the Indians, they gave up 14 runs in the second inning. They got blown out 22-4, and gave up 25 hits. Every Indians starter got a hit and scored a run.

Power Rankings

New York's highest ranking was 2.
New York's lowest ranking was 22.
New York's average ranking is 9.54.

Playoff Potential

The Yankees will likely make the playoffs. They need to fix the end of their starting rotation, and they'll be set. They'll either win the Wild Card or division outright. Steinbrenner guaranteed it, duh.

Oakland Athletics
Record: 35-46
Grade: D-

Season In Review (Grades)

Management: F
Bob Geren made a decision to play a bunch of washed-up veterans on offense. That list includes Jason Giambi, Nomar Garciaparra, Orlando Cabrera, and so on. Eric Chavez went down with injury, surprise. The young pitching staff has performed well, but having the worst offense it the American League is not getting the job done.

Defense: D
Oakland has committed 57 errors as a team already, which is the fourth most in the American League. The bulk (12) of the errors have come from Orlando Cabrera at shortstop. Bobby Crosby and Adam Kennedy have also contributed (13 combined) a lot to the total, despite their limited playing time. The outfield has mostly been good and Kurt Suzuki doesn't catch enough (25 percent) thefts.

Starting Pitching: C
Now this is a young starting pitching staff filled with lots of rookies. The rotation has a 4.46 ERA, .276 batting average against, and 1.41 WHIP. Dallas Braden (6-7, 3.13 ERA) has been extremely effective as has Vin Mazzaro (3-4, 3.59 ERA). Their records aren't indicative of their pitching. The inconsistent pitchers include Trevor Cahill (5-7, 4.55 ERA), Brett Anderson (5-7, 4.86 ERA), and Gio Gonzalez (1-2, 6.17 ERA), who was just placed as a starter. Josh Outman (4-1, 3.38 ERA) looked to be superb, but underwent Tommy John surgery.

Bullpen: C+
The bullpen has only blown seven saves on the season. It has a 4.04 ERA and opponents only bat .245 against it. Brad Ziegler (3.22 ERA) and Michael Wuertz (9 H, 2.77 ERA) have been reliable. Santiago Casilla (6.52 ERA) and Russ Springer (5.16 ERA) have been inconsistent. All-Star Andrew Bailey (9 saves, 2.03 ERA) has been a great rookie closer.

Offense: F
The A's have the worst offense in the American League. No team gets less hits or home runs. Also, no team has a worse batting average or OPS. The addition of Matt Holliday hasn't really beefed up the offense. Jason Giambi and Jack Cust drive in runs, but they cannot do anything else a baseball player can. Adam Kennedy has been a nice surprise and Kurt Suzuki has been playing consistently well. They also just acquired Scott Hairston from the Padres. The bench (Landon Powell, Bobby Crosby, Rajai Davis, and Travis Buck) isn't good or deep.

Team Thoughts

Oakland's most valuable player has been Matt Holliday. It's just that everybody else is worse. Holliday is the only player who can drive in runs (43) while getting on base a lot (.374). He also has nine stolen bases and has an adequate glove in the outfield.

Oakland's least valuable player has been Jason Giambi. Sure, he has 40 RBI. But a .198 batting average is unacceptable for any hitter. He doesn't even make up for hit with his on-base percentage (.336). Giambi is batting .227 with runners in scoring position.

Oakland's best moment came on April 14. The A's were playing the Red Sox and the game was tied 5-5. Extra innings were forced and in the bottom of the twelfth inning, Travis Buck hit a walkoff infield single to beat the Red Sox at home 6-5.

Oakland's worst moment came on May 30. The A's were playing at Texas against Brandon McCarthy. The A's got on the board early in the first, leading 1-0. That's all they would get. McCarthy shut them down and the Rangers blew the A's out 14-1, only allowing five A's hits.

Power Rankings

Oakland's highest ranking was 19.
Oakland's lowest ranking was 29.
Oakland's average ranking is 24.62.

Playoff Potential

The Athletics won't make the playoffs. Their offense is too horrible and their pitching staff is too young and inexperienced. Also, the other three teams in the AL West are just flat out better.

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