2010 New York Yankees: A Complete Team

The fundamentals of baseball are comprised of three main categories: batting, pitching, and fielding. 

After years of dominating only the first, the New York Yankees front office has finally put together a team that excels in all three categories.  And not only that, but they did it without depleting the farm system.

Batting

Everyone knows that the Yankees can hit the long ball.  But batting is more than that.  It's hitting for average.  It's working a walk.  It's running the bases.  And as we look at the projected line up, we see a group of players that can do it all.

1. Derek Jeter: The captain can get on base close to 40% of the time, hit home runs, steal bases...what more do you need from a leadoff guy?

2. Nick Johnson: With a lifetime OBP of over .400, he'll get on base often enough, giving the power hitters plenty of opportunities to drive in runs.  Not as quick as Jeter, but has averaged about 18 homers per 500 at bats.

3. Mark Teixiera: Consistently provides about 40 doubles, 35 homers, and a .290+ average and .380+ OBP.

4. Alex Rodriguez: Not your prototypical slugger, ARod not only hits for average and power, but has excellent speed too (80% steal rate).

5. Robinson Cano: He had 48 doubles, 25 homers and a .320 average last year.

6. Jorge Posada: The switch-hitting catcher may be wearing down a bit, but he can still give us 120 games, 20 homers, and a .275 average.  He's also has a lifetime OBP of .379.

7. Curtis Granderson: He had one of his worst years at the plate last year, but still hit 30 home runs without the benefit of Yankee Stadium's short porch.  He also has some speed.

8. Nick Swisher: Swish may have only hit .249, but he still had a .371 OBP and knocked out 27 homers.

9. Brett Gardner: He may not have any power, but he can get on base, and boy can he run. He's rated one of the fastest in the game (9.2 speed rating vs. Ellsbury's 8.1).  He'd provide a great distraction on base when the top of the lineup comes to bat, and we'll probably see more than a few runs scored from first base by this guy.

Pitching

I won't go through each pitcher here, but CC, AJ, and Pettitte make up one of the best 1-2-3 combos in baseball.  Then you've got Vazquez as your No. 4 and Joba in the No. 5 spot.  You also have depth with Hughes, Gaudin, and Mitre, not to mention a few guys in the minors.  Add in Rivera, Robertson, and the rest of the bullpen, and you've got a very solid pitching staff.

Fielding

The Yankees set a new record last year, having played 18 straight games without committing an error.  And with this group, that isn't surprising.  The infield is solid: Jeter and Cano have both improved, Tex is one of the best, and ARod...well, he may not be a Gold Glover anymore, but he isn't a liability either.

And the outfield is even better.  Swisher is solid in right (lifetime 11.3 UZR), and even more so with that short porch. Granderson and Gardner, no matter who plays left and center, are a huge improvement over Melky and Damon.  There's a lot of space in left and center, and these two have the range and defensive skills to cover that ground better than any combo in recent memory.

Wrapping It All Up

So if you're a Yankees fan, celebrate the fact that you have the most complete team in over a decade.  The batters can both drive in and manufacture runs, the pitchers will give opposing lineups a hard time, and the defense will let the pitchers be as effective as possible. 

We can all expect to see Yankee players featured in the Touch Em All, Web Gems, and That's Nasty segments of baseball tonight all season long.