Grading the New York Yankees: First Report Card in 2008

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.