Grading the Yankees: Midseason Report Card

I don’t know whether the Yankees were still emotionally drained after the passing of Bobby Murcer on Saturday, or if they just thought the All-Star break began a day early, but the Bombers were flat again on Sunday in their 4-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

The defeat not only ends the first half of the season on a bad note, but it also leaves me one game shy of the record prediction I made in my article “Grading the New York Yankees: First Report Card in 2008” back on May 11. 

In the article, I wrote, “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.”

I was right about Joba (1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in seven starts), half right about Giambi and Cabrera (Giambi is hitting .346 batting sixth and just .194 in the five hole, but Cabrera has really nose-dived to a .241 average at the break), and I nearly nailed the record (the Yanks are 50-45).

Surprisingly, pitching has really been the strength of the Yankees lately, despite the injury to ace Chien-Ming Wang. Still, I believe New York needs to make a trade for another starter.

While a postseason rotation of Wang, Mussina, Pettitte, and Chamberlain sounds pretty good, the team may not make it to October with too many Rasner and Ponson starts between now and when Wang is scheduled to return in September.

The offense, however, is really where the Yanks need to improve. 

The team is seventh in the league in runs scored, far below where a lineup like the one the Bombers sport should be. As I’ve been saying, the loss of Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon hurts, but a team with Jeter, Abreu, A-Rod, Giambi, Posada, Cano, and Cabrera should still be averaging more than three runs in its last 10 games. 

The main problem is a lack of good situational hitting. The Yankees are next to last in the American League with just 21 sacrifice flies and a .250 average with the bases loaded, 10th in the AL in hitting with runners on (.269), and 11th with runners in scoring position (.256). Someone needs to step up and get that runner home from third with less than two outs.

Now, let me explain how my midseason grades work.

Throughout the season, I have handed out grades to each player, and manager Joe Girardi, following each game. Those letter grades are then converted 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 (864), 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 each player on their individual performance, but rather on their overall contributions to the team. 

That is important to remember when you see the GPA given to guys who have missed time due to injury.

Here are the Yankees, listed in order of their importance to the team so far, with their corresponding GPA.

Mike Mussina, SP: (3.28) I wanted Moose out of the rotation in April, but now I’m calling him the team’s MVP at the midway point. Quite a turnaround for a guy who was 1-3 with a 5.75 ERA on Apr. 17. Mussina is now third in the league with 11 victories, while sporting a 3.61 earned run average.

Andy Pettitte, SP: (3.26) I wrote in my Spring Training preview for the Yankees that Pettitte would determine how successful the team would be this year. At the quarter pole, Pettitte was at .500 and so was New York.

Now at the All-Star break, he’s a few games over, and so is the team. The left-hander has put together six good starts in his last seven outings since being crushed by the Royals for 10 runs on June 7—a game the Yankees won 12-11.

Chien-Ming Wang, SP: (2.90) Wang was the team MVP after the first quarter of the year, but he surrendered 23 earned runs during a four-start stretch between May 18 and June 5, before injuring himself running the bases in Houston on June 15.

That was a big blow for the Yanks. Wang was returning to form, giving up just one run in his final two starts before going on the DL. Dan Giese and Sidney Ponson have done a solid job replacing him, but the organization is really looking forward to hopefully getting its ace back in September.

Alex Rodriguez, 3B: (2.67) A-Rod has been the most important hitter on the team with a .313 average, 19 home runs, and 53 RBI, but his GPA is lower than you might expect because he missed 20 games with a quad injury.

Johnny Damon, LF: (2.36) Damon’s first career stint on the disabled list has really stalled the Yankees' offense. Since he was placed on the DL on July 5, New York is averaging just 3.25 runs per game. Up until that point, the Bombers were scoring 4.7 every night. Damon is really a catalyst at the top of this lineup, and his return is needed.

Hideki Matsui, DH: (2.31) Godzilla was the best hitter on the Yanks after the first quarter of the season, and while his average is still at .323, his absence since late June with a knee injury has dropped his GPA, and the Bombers’ runs per game.

The team hopes to have him back in the next few weeks, which would be a major addition to a struggling offense.

Derek Jeter, SS: (2.31) The Captain is having somewhat of a down year so far, hitting just .287, but he’s still clutch, batting .385 with runners in scoring position and two outs. The good news for Jeter is that he’s a career .322 hitter after the All-Star break.

Bobby Abreu, RF: (2.28) While he doesn’t have great range, and he sometimes misreads the ball off the bat, Abreu’s arm makes him an important part of the defensive outfield. Bobby’s eighth assist on Sunday puts him just one behind Nick Markakis for the lead among AL right fielders. Abreu is hitting .274 with 10 homers and 59 RBI.

Joe Girardi, Manager: (2.25) Girardi did a better job of leading the team in the second quarter of the year than he did over the first 40 games. He’s playing more small ball (the Yankees are fifth in the league in steals and sacrifices), and he did a good job handling Joba’s transition to the rotation and its subsequent non-effect on the bullpen.

The only problem I’ve had with Girardi is that he seems to change the lineup everyday, which I think makes it more difficult for hitters to get in a groove. It’s okay to give a guy a day off once in a while, but not all at the same time, and especially not when two big starters (Damon and Matsui) are already out with injuries.

Joba Chamberlain, SP: (2.24) Remember when people wanted this guy to remain a set-up man? He now may start Game One of the ALDS, if the Yanks get there.

Jason Giambi, 1B: (2.23) Giambi’s monstrous moustache not only doubled his GPA, but it also influenced my roommate Matt to try to grow one of his own. That attempt was sadly thwarted, though, when Matt realized he has the facial hair of a freshman on the varsity bowling team.

Nevertheless, Giambi’s recent success is due to the fact that he finally decided to hit balls up the middle and the opposite way. It’s a lot easier when you have only one infielder to contend with, as opposed to three.

Mariano Rivera, RP: (1.58) I have to laugh when I see writers like Jayson Stark award Rivera the midseason AL Cy Young over guys like Justin Duchscherer, Cliff Lee, Joe Saunders, and Ervin Santana. 

Rivera’s not even the best pitcher on his own team. Once Mo starts retiring batters three or four times in one game, we can start talking about giving him the Cy Young.

Sure, he’s been very important to the Yanks' success this year, but he doesn’t even get in the game unless the starters and hitters do a good enough job over eight innings so that the team has a lead going into the ninth.

Robinson Cano, 2B: (1.57) Cano’s .246 average is one of the main reasons why the Yanks’ offense has been so disappointing this year, but the second baseman is hitting .289 since his dreadful .151 in April, so things are looking up.

Melky Cabrera, CF: (1.56) Cabrera has started to hit a little better since Brett Gardner arrived on the scene to challenge for the center fielder position once Matsui and Damon return, but Melky is still batting just .242 on the season and has really cooled off since his .299 April.

Darrell Rasner, SP: (1.54) Rasner was the team’s savior in May when he went 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA in place of Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes. But Rasner has gone downhill since then, going 1-6 with an earned run average around 7.00.

Jorge Posada, ex-C: (1.29) Posada is no longer the full-time starting catcher for the New York Yankees because he’s near the bottom of the league with a .189 caught stealing percentage, while Jose Molina is tops in baseball among catchers who have played at least 23 games, throwing out 48.1 percent of base stealers. 

Jorge’s GPA is so low because he’s played only 49 games this year, thanks to shoulder problems.

Kyle Farnsworth, RP: (1.13) Is Farnsworth actually becoming sort of reliable?  He hasn’t given up a hit or a run in his last seven appearances. 

Edwar Ramirez, RP: (1.12) Ramirez has worked five straight scoreless appearances to drop his ERA to 2.81 and has solidified his spot as the sixth or seventh-inning man.

Jose Molina, C: (1.05) I wasn’t happy when Girardi began starting Molina over Posada behind the plate, but I’m beginning to warm to the idea. The question is whether or not the improvement defensively is worth the hit the Yanks take offensively by starting Molina’s .226 average over Wilson Betemit’s .243.

If Betemit was hitting higher, I’d say no, but as long as Molina can pick up just one single or sac bunt per game, his arm has to be in the field.

However, once Damon and Matsui return, I may not be as keen on sitting one of their bats in favor of Molina’s arm.

Jose Veras, RP: (1.02) He’s only given up three runs since June 5 and so Girardi has given him the edge over Ramirez for the seventh-inning job.  Personally, I’d rather see either of them come in the game instead of Farnsworth.

LaTroy Hawkins, RP: (0.94) Hawkins has adjusted nicely to his new role as “Guy Who Only Pitches When the Team is Up or Down by At Least Five Runs.”

Dan Giese, SP: (0.80) His time in the rotation only lasted two starts, but he has become a major asset out of the bullpen. Giese’s versatility allows Girardi to use him as a long man or a seventh-inning type.

Ross Ohlendorf, RP: (0.80) Ohlendorf is terrible.

Wilson Betemit, IF: (0.53) Betemit’s hitting just .243, but he does have a little pop, as shown by his four homers and .411 slugging percentage. Still, he’s such a liability in the field that it’s hard to find a place for him now that Molina is playing almost every day.

Sidney Ponson, SP: (0.50) Two good starts, one bad one. I’ll take that from a guy the Yanks just took a flier on after Wang got hurt.

Ian Kennedy, SP: (0.49) Hopefully he can improve enough to have some sort of impact in September.

Chad Moeller, C: (0.46) I don’t understand the need to have a third catcher on the 25-man roster. Moeller’s had just seven at-bats since June 3, and he’s taking a spot away from Justin Christian or Alberto Gonzalez, who can both add some much-needed speed to the team.

Phil Hughes, SP: (0.42) The same holds true for Hughes and Kennedy.

Morgan Ensberg, 3B: (0.38) Ensberg became obsolete after A-Rod and Betemit got healthy. He was sent to the minors in May, later dropped, and has since been signed by the Cleveland Indians.

Brian Bruney, RP: (0.38) Was pitching well until he got injured in late April.                  

Jonathan Albaladejo, RP: (0.36) Albaladejo’s elbow injury in early May could put him out for the remainder of the season, which is kind of a disappointment because he was pitching well.

Billy Traber, RP: (0.34) Girardi thought Traber sucked, but he wasn’t completely positive, so he put him in the game against Toronto on July 11, and the manager’s suspicions were quickly confirmed.

Alberto Gonzalez, IF: (0.33) I’d like to see Moeller sent to the minors and Gonzalez recalled on a more permanent basis until Damon and Matsui return.

Brett Gardner, OF: (0.28) If Gardner can get his on-base percentage up from its current .282 to around .350, he will become a huge asset for the Yankees. He’s lethal on the basepaths, swiping five bags in five attempts since being called up on June 30.

David Robertson, RP: (0.27) Robertson’s been okay out of the 'pen. I’d say he’s the Yanks’ sixth best reliever right now.

Shelly Duncan, 1B/OF: (0.26) Duncan didn’t provide the power off the bench the Yankees were hoping for, hitting just one homer in 57 at-bats before being sent to the minors in early June.

Chris Britton, RP: (0.21) Are you still reading this?

Justin Christian, OF: (0.11) Christian is 3-18 on the season and is being overshadowed at this point by Gardner.

Kei Igawa, RP: (0.03) The $46 million the Yankees spent on Igawa before the start of 2007 ranks up there with Carl Pavano’s and Giambi’s contracts as the biggest wastes of money in franchise history.

Scott Patterson, RP: (0.00) Patterson gave up a run in an inning and a third on June 1.

Chris Stewart, C: (0.00) One bad game.

Yankees' Overall Grade: (B-) The Bronx Bombers are 50-45 at the break, which puts them six games back of Boston for the AL East lead and 5.5 behind the reeling Rays for the Wild Card.

They also trail Minnesota and Oakland for the Wild Card, two teams the Yanks open up the second half against before playing the Red Sox at Fenway.

Jordan Schwartz is Bleacher Report's Yankees Community Leader. His book "Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man" is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and authorhouse.com.