After 38 games, the Yankees are nearing the quarter pole of the 2008 season, and with Sunday's game against Detroit rained out, I thought it was about time to hand out New York's first marking-period report card.
Throughout the season, I have handed out grades to each player and Manager Joe Girardi following each game. I have now converted those letter grades to a corresponding number, using the old Grade Point Average (GPA) system where an A+ is a 4.3, an A is a 4.0 and so on.
I added all their scores up, multiplied that sum by the number of innings each has played, and finally divided by the total number of innings played by the Yankees this year, to come up with each Yankee's GPA.
To make things fair for pitchers, who don't play as many innings but have a greater impact on the innings they do participate in, I have multiplied their final scores by nine. That still leaves relievers with a lower score than some of you may feel they deserve, but in this report card, I am not grading them on their individual performance, but rather on their overall contributions to the team.
Confusing enough? Good. Let's get to the grades. (Remember, 4.3=A+)
Chien-Ming Wang, SP: (4.17) Wang is far and away the team MVP through the first six weeks of the season. The Yankees are 7-1 when he starts, with the only loss coming to Cliff Lee, who is currently the best pitcher in baseball.
Andy Pettitte, SP: (3.13) Pettitte's had four good starts and three bad ones, but his ERA remains at a very respectable 3.77. I don't think it's a coincidence that Andy is .500 and the Yankees are .500. Like I've been writing all year, Wang will be great and the 3-5 starters will be question marks this season, so the success of the Pinstripes will probably lie in the left hand of Andy Pettitte.
Hideki Matsui, DH: (2.99) Godzilla is the best hitter on the team right now, but his lack of defense has kept his score down somewhat. Nevertheless, Matsui is so potent right now that Tigers manager Jim Leyland wisely intentionally walked him in the ninth inning Friday night, thereby putting the potential go-ahead run on, to get to the weaker Shelley Duncan.
Mike Mussina, SP: (2.74) After four starts this year, the Moose was 1-3 with a 5.75 ERA, and everyone from me to Hank Steinbrenner was calling for his head. Since then, Mussina has won four straight starts and lowered his earned run average to 4.36. I'm still not confident with him as a number three starter when you compare him to other number threes in the division, like Dustin McGowan and Jon Lester, but right now, the Moose is the least of the Yankees' rotation concerns.
Melky Cabrera, CF: (2.49) Cabrera is the biggest unsung hero on the team so far this year. He has the second-most homers on the Yankees, and has driven in 18 runs, despite often being placed too far down in the order. If the Bombers are to improve going forward, one of the things they need to do is move Cabrera up in the lineup so he can get more at bats than Giambi.
Johnny Damon, LF: (2.38) Damon has increased his batting average from .197 to .282 over the last three weeks. If I was grading on just the second half of the first marking period, the leadoff hitter would be sporting a GPA closer to 4.0, but we can't forget the first 19 days of the season, when his lack of offense set the tone for the entire lineup. Nevertheless, Johnny is now leading the team in doubles, steals, and get this, slugging!
Bobby Abreu, RF: (2.32) Abreu is among the top three on the team in nearly every offensive category. He's leading the Yankees with 23 RBI and Abreu joins Robinson Cano as the only two Bombers to play in every game this year.
Derek Jeter, SS: (2.24) The Captain's five missed games due to a quad strain hurt his GPA after the first quarter, but by the All-Star break, Jeter will once again be among the most valuable players on the team. His .308 average is second on the team, and his first homer on Saturday even had Girardi thinking of batting him in the cleanup spot Sunday. Jeter's importance can never be understated; he's still the guy I'd most want up with the game on the line.
Joe Girardi, Manager: (1.87) That comes out to about a C for the skipper, and with the team at 19-19, average seems about right. Girardi has made some improvements since the end of the Joe Torre era. He's bunting more, stealing more (but not enough), and leaving his starting pitchers in a little bit longer. But often times it feels like Torre is still running the team. His constant lineup changes and inconceivable loyalty to Jason Giambi (.183 average) is eerily reminiscent of his predecessor.
Mariano Rivera, RP: (1.63) If you grade Mo on his performance alone, it's easily an A+, but Rivera rarely single-handedly wins games for the Yankees. He only gets to play when the offense has scored enough runs, and the starter has pitched well enough to give the team a lead in the ninth inning. The closer has participated in just 15 of the team's 342 innings so far this year. That's 4 percent.
Alex Rodriguez, 3B: (1.60) A-Rod has missed 14 games already due to injury, and therefore his contribution GPA is lower than what it should be for a defending MVP. This is one reason for Yankee fans to be optimistic. The team has been without the best player in baseball for a large portion of the year, and yet New York is still within striking distance in the division.
Jason Giambi, 1B: (1.52) The Giamzero's refusal to hit the ball the opposite way on the ground has ended a number of rallies this season, and led to his team-worst .183 average. He has shown signs of life recently, going 5-13 with two home runs in his last four games, but that was mainly off of pitchers he has historically dominated. You have to credit Giambi for his good eye (he leads the team in walks), but overall, he's generally a waste of space.
Robinson Cano, 2B: (1.35) Cano's score is even lower than Giambi's due to Robbie's lack of power, but I have more confidence in Cano's ability to raise his average, which has already gone up 34 points this month.
Joba Chamberlain, RP: (1.26) How in the world does Igawa get another start before Joba gets his first?
Ross Ohlendorf, RP: (1.25) He can consistently chew up innings, but he can't consistently get people out.
Jorge Posada, C: (1.24) The Yankees' starting catcher has missed more than half the games played so far this year due to shoulder problems, but was still able to contribute a .302 average, one homer, and 11 runs batted in. Posada could be back in early June, and his return is yet another reason to be optimistic about the rest of the Yanks' season.
Darrell Rasner, SP: (1.22) Wang is the team MVP so far this season, but Rasner is the Yankees' most important player this month. A pair of six IP, two ER wins have instantly solidified the rotation.
Kyle Farnsworth, RP: (1.14) The lower pressure of the seventh inning suits Farnsworth.
LaTroy Hawkins, RP: (1.13) Hawkins is either really good or really bad. Overall, his 6.38 ERA is certainly not worth $3.75 million.
Phil Hughes, SP: (1.06) An ERA of 9.00 and a WHIP of 2.14. Was the injury the cause, or simply an excuse? I guess we'll find out later this year.
Jose Molina, C: (0.95) The backup catcher's offense has dropped off greatly since first replacing Posada, but his defense has been stellar at times.
Brian Bruney, RP: (0.95) Bruney was pitching well before being sidelined with an injury. His decision not to undergo surgery this season will allow him to possibly return in August, which could impact the Yankees' stretch run.
Jonathan Albaladejo, RP: (0.90) Five good appearances, two bad ones.
Morgan Ensberg, 3B: (0.79) He's better defensively at third than Wilson Betemit, but worse at the plate.
Alberto Gonzalez, 3B: (0.67) This should be the guy playing third until Rodriguez returns. He's got the bat of Betemit and the glove of Ensberg.
Chad Moeller, C: (0.67) Moeller is the better hitting backup catcher, but Molina has turned into the bigger asset behind the plate. Still, I'm glad Moeller cleared waivers because he will still be needed until Posada returns.
Ian Kennedy, SP: (0.64) Kennedy has been absolute garbage at the Major League level this year, but I still would've started him over Kei Igawa on Friday. Kennedy's last start in the minors was a good one, and with Darrell Rasner becoming a more reliable number four than Phil Hughes was, maybe there will be less pressure on Kennedy when he returns to the fifth starter's role. Of course, Joba should be starting ahead of all of them.
Billy Traber, RP: (0.61) Another lefty specialist who couldn't always get lefties out.
Edwar Ramirez, RP: (0.53) Maybe Girardi should replace one of these eight guys he has spitting seeds in the bullpen with a bench player.
Wilson Betemit, 3B: (0.40) Friday night, Betemit put together one of the worst defensive games you will ever see out of a third baseman. He's definitely the fourth-best hot-corner man in the organization, but he continues to get starts thanks to his .269 average.
Shelley Duncan, 1B: (0.35) With the injuries to A-Rod and Posada, the Yankees could have used a little more production from Duncan off the bench, but in 11 games, Shelley has been able to muster just a .194 average, no homers, and a single RBI. And yet for some reason, Girardi continues to bat him fourth and fifth, ahead of Matsui and Cabrera. Ponderous.
Chris Britton, RP: (0.23) One appearance on the season. At least it was a good one.
Jose Veras, RP: (0.22) Two good appearances.
Chris Stewart, C: (0.00) One bad game.
Kei Igawa, SP: (0.00) What a joke his start was on Friday. It looked like he was throwing batting practice in the first inning. Just because the team signed a horrible contract with him last year doesn't mean he has to continue to lose games for them this year. It will be completely ridiculous if he gets another start over Chamberlain, Kennedy, or whoever else is pitching at Scranton.
Yankees Overall Grade: (C) The Yankees have been without two of their best players for most of the season, their star second baseman is hitting .185, and their original No. 4 and 5 starters are a combined 0-6. When you consider those three facts, a 19-19 record and a four-and-a-half game deficit in the AL East really isn't that bad.
A-Rod and Posada will soon be back in the lineup, Cano is hitting .364 over the last week, and Darrell Rasner is beginning to shore up the back end of the rotation, so things are looking up.
If the Yankees ever switch Giambi and Cabrera's spots in the lineup and put Chamberlain into the rotation, they may actually have a shot at going far this year. As for now, I will predict a 51-44 record at the All-Star break.
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5 months ago
good piece, I don't agree with your grade of Rivera, he has pitched great this year and has seemingly put to rest the talks that he was too old to get another contract from the Yankes. Jeters grade could go up also as he is picking it up in the past week alone. Other then that everything seems ok. I like how Giambi's gpa is seemingly the same as his batting average is right now, I know he will pick it up though, as a Yankees fan I know april may and the first part of June are cruising periods its after that that I wait for them to pick up the pace a bit and I am sure they will. I also like how you use the ASU GPA standards that they set over here haha, nice. Good job
from 5 months ago
I agree that Rivera's grade may be too low, but the point of the GPA system was to rank the players in order of their importance. Do you think Mo has been more valuable this year than Wang, Pettitte, Matsui, Mussina, Cabrera, Damon, Abreu and Jeter?
from 5 months ago
so far this year he has been more important then 6 of the players u named there, only two that are more important then Mo so far have been Wang and Jeter
from 5 months ago
It is impossible to me that Mariano Rivera, who has participated in 4% of the Yankees innings this year could be more important than Hideki Matsui who has played in 35 of the Yankees' 38 games and is hitting .331 with four homers and 17 RBI. You have to explain that to me.
from 5 months ago
Yeah well throw Latroy Hawkins or Farnsworth in as closer and then you'll see what I am talking about.
10/10 on saves, 0.00 era in 14 appearances, 15 innings pitched, .40 whip and a .122 opponent batting average. Matsui is having a great year but Rivera is more vital to the Yankees, especially in the pen where I don't think the Yankees are that strong there or even in the rotation obviously.
5 months ago
I don't agree with most of your report card, but it is a good piece, and a lot of thought went it to it. The "waste of space" is leading our team with HRs, while you glorifiy Abreu, the worst outfielder altogether, who costs us way more in runs than the giambzero. Abreus lack of range tells the tale of a BAD outfielder. Abreu is a DH, plain and simple. Save runs, play "Shelly I Gotta Gun and Legs" in right. Damon maybe is clutch pinch hitter, as he showed the other night in the 9th, while sitting it out against the Tigers. OR...Damon / Matsui in right and left. Bobby stinks out there.
The Big G also is amongst the top in runs, and RBI. Not too bad for empty space, nor a slumping hitter. What happes when he really getd hot? Look out. He is the reason we are 500, and not 200!
Moose, very decpetive. Should have been 2-2 to start, but for a coaching error in Boston, where Abreu shot down Wangs no hitter with a weak jumping "error" which resulted in him tipping the ball over the fence.. Paulie ONeil threw his water cooler at home afterwards.
The Yankees rotation, and bull pen will astonish most in the second half, and we have yet to see it altogether at all thus far this season. Rasner is a shut out pitcher so far, and is a 1.6 GPA?? Shelly should have never been scolded for his agressive play in ST. Instead he was sent down. It hurt his progress. Ramirez, deadly sinker. And perfect in the minors....0 ERA. So far, I would just give the offense a C. Defense, due to Abreus' continous misses, pull ups on flies, and errant throws home (KS), is a C. Pitching, hmmm, a B-, due to the kids. The Pen had a bad two weeks to start, but since has been awesome. It can be summed up by Farns. Bad start, great lately. Ohlendorf will be the set up guy when Joba starts. Third place? I can't believe it, and we're playing our worst ball I have seen in a while.
from 5 months ago
When you swing for the fences every time up, you're bound to lead the team in home runs. And 20 RBIs when you bat behind Damon, Jeter, Abreu, Matsui, A-Rod and Posada doesn't impress me that much. Giambi's hitting .183 overall, .103 with men in scoring position, and is 0-16 with men in scoring position and two outs. He is the least clutch player on the team so I don't really care if a few meaningless homers pad his stats. Giambi's hitting .104 in the five hole, .143 in the six, and .323 in the seven. Clearly, he needs to be moved down to the bottom of the order where he feels less pressure and can't screw up as many rallies.
As for Abreu, his range may not be great, but his arm is still a weapon. He leads the Majors in outfield assists among right fielders with four and probably would have more if guys weren't so scared to run on him. You can't DH him and put Duncan in his place in right because then you have to sit Matsui or Damon, who are both among the best hitters on the team.
5 months ago
The "waste" is also second in RBI, and 3rd in Runs with 7 less games played, and about 50 less at bats than every day players. Another coaching mistake is to sit Giambi at all
5 months ago
Rivera is doing everything expected of him. He has been the only Yankees that has been earning his paycheck. Don't blame anyone else for him not getting enjoy to pitch. Rivera is perfect.
Ross has pitched very well, he had one right start giving up 5 runs. Other then that, he's been the one guy who I've been able to have some confidence in.
Whatever you give Bruney now is completely irrelevant. If the Yankees are going to expect to make the playoffs and make a run in the playoffs, I expect him to be a big part of the playoff run. He looked AMAZING when he wasn't hurt. Bruney-Joba-Rivera?
Or Bruney would have made the shift for Joba to start a little easier.
I think Mussina is pitching very well right now for the Yankees. If you consider all that he went though last year, the only time he has faced problems this year is against the Red Sox. I will continue to expect 5 solid innings out of Mussina, 85 pitches.
Ranser has a lot right on his back right now. This kid is going to get the nod Friday night in the stadium, most likely against Johan. Hopefully he can make the best of it.
5 months ago
Good article. But your mechanism for the relief pitching must be adjusted in someway.
Mo is so far the best student whenever the teacher asks him for assignments.
I enjoy most of your comments on the players, very interesting.
I hope your prediction before the all star break wrong. With .536, I guess Yankees probably rank 4th in the AL east. Sad~
As a Yankees fan, there are always bad feelings to see those "mature" players losing their power or speed. I hope it is the worst situation now, sluggers hurt or in the slump, young guns needed adjustment or rest......
Bright side is that Wang,Cabrera,Chamberlain,Rasner keep giving this team the young vitality, and
Mo,Moose fight hard for their veteran pride.
from 5 months ago
51-44 after 95 games last year would've put the Yanks in second place in the East, just five games back of Boston. I understand Tampa Bay and Baltimore are better this year, but I still think 51 wins at the All Star break should put the Yanks in second and within striking distance of the wild card and division.
from 5 months ago
Baltimore is not better then the Yankees. They are just having a surprisngly decent season so far. That will change once August rolls around. If not by the beginning of June
5 months ago
By the way, Bombers didn't bomb in April.
4 fireworks that night was impressive.
Keep bombing!
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