Yankee Report Cards

Hey everybody, remember me? Sorry it's been so long but with school starting up, the Yankees essentially having the division locked up in early September and the AdSense account getting deleted due to someones (cough* Corey *cough) actions, the blog hasn't been at the front of my mind. But, with it being playoff time, I though it would be fun to review this past season and hand out grades for each player. Obviously, about 40 people played for the Yankees this year and that is far too many to do in this blog today, so what I am going to do is grade the 25 men who made the ALDS roster. Although the ALCS roster will be different, I am gonna stick to the ALDS and grade the 25 men currently playing for the New York Yankees. Remember, this team won 103 games, so there will probably be a lot of A's given out.

Lets start with the Catchers

(1)Jorge Posada: B+
At age 37, Jorge Posada had one of his top five years as a major league player. He hit a very solid .285 (8 points above his career average), with 22 home runs, 81 RBI and he also only played in 111 games due to an injury early in the season. For a catcher who is 37, coming off of a year where he only played in 51 games, you could not have asked for more. Add to that his 17th career stolen base and you have one heck of a year. On the negative side though, two injuries in two years does make you concerned about his future considering he has two years left on his contract, and his disagreements with AJ Burnett have drastically hurt our offensive potential in the playoffs, but those are just two small concerns in an otherwise great year.

(2)Jose Molina: D+
I know all of you think I am a panda hater, but it is not without good reason. Granted, Molina is a fantastic defensive catcher, that's why he got this good of a grade, but his defense in the 55 games he caught is not going to save anything. His .292 OB% is embarrassing and his .217 BA is somehow more embarrassing. He only had 30 hits all year and had twice as many strikeouts as walks. With that said, he did set a new career high in walks, WITH 14! Congrats Jose Molina on your 14 walks, a new career high! Without those walks, who knows, maybe you would have only scored 10 times instead of your very impressive total of 15 this year!

(3)Francisco Cervelli: C+
The man loved by all (including me), but overrated by many, hopefully our 2010 back-up catcher, Francisco Cervelli came out of nowhere to play with the heart and passion that New Yorkers love. He played with fire, and his teammates all loved the spark he brought to the team. With that said, he is not the future catcher of the team. Sorry. Like I said in April, remember the names Jesus Montero and Austin Romine (who just so happened to be named the #2 and #10 best prospects in the Florida State League, not to mention the only two catchers on the list). Cervelli's .292 BA is impressive for a guy who was hitting .190 at AA before he was called up, but his .309 OB% to go along with it is quite terrible. While he is sure to be loved by everyone and will def. see some playing time in the big leagues, don't get too excited about this kid.

Now for the infielders....

(4)Mark Teixeira: A
What more could anybody want out of this guy? His first year in NY he hit .292, tied for the league lead with 39 home runs, led the league with 122 RBI and 344 total bases, had a .383 OB% and although his UZR/150 (ultimate zone rating or how much ground someone covers) is at -0.7, he has the potential to win his third career gold glove this year. With 2 outs and runners in scoring position Tex hit .355 and also hit 9 homeruns while the game was tied, including one very big homer against the Red Sox in August. While he did have a very slow April, that was not unexpected and his first year in pinstripes could not have gone better. If it wasn't for a man named Joe Mauer, Teixeira may have been the MVP this year.

(5)Robinson Cano: A-
Robinson Cano bounced back from a very disappointing 2008 to have his best overall year in the majors in my opinion. Playing in 161 games, Cano hit .320, developed his power to hit 25 homers, got 85 RBI, tied a career high with 5 SB, set a career high with 204 hits and played solid defense. He recorded two walk off hits and hit very well in the clutch considering his 9th inning BA was .382 and his extra inning BA was .444. His .352 OB% is decent, but considering how his his BA is, it should be higher. Take a few more walks, and next year this will be a solid A.

(6)Derek Jeter: A
What can you say about Derek Jeter this year? Coming off a disapointing season for him, he faced many critics (including myself), and basically proved every single one of them wrong. Moving into the leadoff spot, Jeter hit a fantastic .334 with 18 homers and 66 RBI. He recorded another 200 hit year, finishing with 212 and had 30 SB, the first time he has reached that plateau since 2006. Always Mr. Clutch he hit .366 in Late and Close situations and even had one of his best defensive years ever with a 6.4 UZR/150. Like Tex, if it wasnt for Joe Mauer, Jeter too would have a very strong chance to win the MVP this year. Although I am still not ready to give Jeter $100 million after next year, I will be the first to admit I was very wrong on my predictions for Jeter coming into the season.

(7)Alex Rodriguez: A
Coming into the 2009 season, Alex Rodriguez was not anybodies favorite players. Between the steroid news, his 9 different and odd confessions about the steroids, off season hip surgery that should have happened last year, dating Madonna, Torre's book, the allegations about him tipping pitches to opponents and his well known "All about Me" attitude, the love for A-Rod was not where he wanted it to be. Then, a season came where he proved a lot to all of us, especially me. Rodriguez did something he had not done at all in a while, especially during his time in NY; he played baseball. He seemed to enjoy the game and forget all the rest. He wanted his team to win, not just himself, and in the process, he gained one big fan in me, the same guy who refused to cheer for him when he first came back. Not to mention, he did all of this while coming off of very bad hip surgery which clearly affected his play (aided by the fact that Joe Girardi didn't even think to give him a rest every now and again for his first month and a half back). A-Rod went on to hit .286 with 30 HR and 100 RBI in only 124 games, imagine what they would be if he played another 30 games or so? He stole 14 bases, had an OB% over .400. His -8.2 UZR/150 is not pretty, but I believe that is mainly from him playing hurt when he first came back because lately, he has looked very good at third base. Although we still have him for 8 more years, which is too long to guarantee anybody, A-Rod had one of his best seasons in my opinion. Not only for his stats, but for the way he went about getting those stats.

(8)Jerry Hairston Jr.: C
Hairston came over from the Reds in the Yankees sole trade deadline deal. He played well at first, but then began to perform poorly. Overall as a Yankee he hit .237 with 2 homers and 12 RBI. The fact that he was able to give almost everybody a day off is where is true value comes in and his .352 OB% is pretty good for a guy off the bench. Overall, he was a solid bench player but this will probably be his only time in pinstripes.

(9)Erik Hinske: C
Erik "Paul Blart" Hinske came over to the Yankees in a deal with Pittsburgh (there have to be at least 8 or 9 guys in the Pittsburgh organization that were formerly in the Yankees organization) as soon as the Yankees found out Xavier Nady (remember him?) was done for the year. Again, Hinske's value came from the fact that someone was finally able to give Nick Swisher some rest, as well as Johnny Damon and towards the end of the season, A-Rod. His .226 BA is pretty ugly, but as a left handed power bat off the bench, 7 home runs is pretty strong. The Yankees were interested in him during last off season and if the Yankees make the WS, this will be Hinske's 3rd straight year there after TB in 2008 and BOS in 2007, so it will be interesting to see if the Yankees keep him around.

Now its time for the Outfielders and Hideki Matsui

(10)Hideki Matsui: A-
Matsui has played in less than 100 games in two out of the previous three years coming into 2009. He has two surgically repaired knees and is pretty much a robot from the knees down. Nobody knew what to expect from him and everybody assumed this would be his farewell tour in pinstripes. Well, obviously we don't know the Yankees off season plans, but I for one would not be surprised if he was a Yankee next year. In 142 games, Matsui hit a decent .274 with 28 homers and 90 RBI. Statistically, he was the best DH in baseball. His .367 OB% is very strong, but whats even stronger and more rare is the way he hits left handers. While most left handed hitters struggle against lefty pitchers, Matsui hit .282 vs. lefties with 13 homers and 46 RBI in only 131 AB. He also only got stronger as the year went on hitting .284 in the 2nd half compared to .265 in the first. Finally, always a clutch hitter, he hit .310 in Late and Close situations and .319 in high leverage situations. I don't know about you guys, but I can't think of many people I want up with the game on the line over Hideki Matsui.

(11)Johnny Damon: B-
Damon, more than anybody, has to be loving the new Yankee Stadium. He tied his career high with 24 home runs, and 17 of those were at home. He hit .282 which is good and his .365 OB% is solid, but as good as Damon's season seems on the surface, there were many negatives. He never went on the DL yet only played in 143 games because he had to be rested so often. He only got 12 SB, the first time as a Yankee he didnt record at least 20. He struck out a career high 98 times and also grounded into 9 double plays, the second most of his career. On top of it all, he played terrible defense with his -11.8 UZR/150 and hit .247 in September. It will be very interesting to see if Damon, like Matsui, will be brought back in 2010, especially with guys such as Matt Holliday and Jason Bay available on the free agent market.

(12)Nick Swisher: B+
I am not going to say I told you so, but I did. While so many people were rooting for the X-man to get the starting job in right field, you all know I always wanted Swisher. He went onto hit .249 (4 points above his career average!), with 29 home runs and 82 RBI. In case any of you care, Xavier Nady's career high for home runs is 25. Swisher also revitalized the clubhouse and brought an intensity and insanity the likes of which have never been seen before. An instant fan favorite, Swish also posted a strong .371 OB% while seeing the 2nd most pitches-per-plate appearance in the major leagues. Swisher did struggle at times, especially in the 1st half when nobody was there to give him any rest, but he got through it to have a great year. Not to mention, as bad as he looks out in right, he is actually a slightly above average right fielder with a UZR/150 of 1.3

(13)Melky Cabrera: C
I would have given him a C-, but I feel like you guys would think that's a little too rough. Melky, to put it simply, is annoying. He hit .321 in May, but .225 in June. .289 in July, but .223 in August. Who is the real Melky Cabrera? We have been asking ourselves this for years due to the fact that he is either extremely good, or extremely bad. Although he did have a great year in the clutch, we all know that, it seems as though Melky is just going to be a very streaky, frustrating player. His 1.5 UZR/150 is OK, nothing special, and his 13 home runs were a career high, but I am just not very impressed by his play. He sometimes seems lost in center and also seems to have a hard time listening to the CF (Usually Gardner), if Melky is placed in left or right. He would be a good 4th outfielder, but as long as the Yankees keep thinking he is a starter, all he gets is a C.

(14)Brett Gardner: B-
Gardner is a player who many people said at the beginning of the year if he hit .250, they would be happy. Well, in 248 AB Brett Gardner hit .270 with 3 homers including a very exciting inside-the-park homer. He takes many pitches which lead to a few too many strikeouts, but this was his first full year in the league so that will come with time. He played a game with a broken pinkie and still managed to get a triple and is easily the fastest player on the team, swiping 26 bases this year. In his career, Gardner has 39 stolen bases while only getting thrown out 6 times. Gardner's 2009 UZR/150 was a fantastic 13.3 and he also had only 10 more strikeouts in 2009 than in 2008, despite over 120 more at bats, a clear sign of him developing as a batter. While we know what Melky is as a player, Gardner has still only played 150 games in the big leagues, not even 1 full season. He can still develop into something while Melky is Melky, not to mention, Gardner's speed alone makes any ground ball an exciting and potential single.

Now for the starters, we will begin with the three men who will be the startes in the ALDS

(15)C.C. Sabathia: A
The big man, the $161 million man, Carsten Charles Sabathia. Coming over to NY with the biggest expectations and the biggest uniform in years, Sabathia had a fantastic first year in New York. He was great clubhouse presence, uniting all of the pitchers instantly as well as hosting events at Cleveland Cavaliers games and hosting dinners for all of the players. Sabathia led the AL and tied for the lead in the majors with 19 wins and had an ERA of 3.37. He did have some trouble early in the year but he did not let that affect him. He was a true ace giving up only 197 hits in 230 innings while striking out 197, he gave up less than 1 HR per 9 and only walked 2.6 batters per 9 innings as well. He also pitched two complete games including one shutout. He made all of his 34 starts and was an absolute horse, routinely throwing 120-130 pitches per game. Although this is a review of the regular season, I can't help but mention his pitching performance in game one of the ALDS.

(16) AJ Burnett: B-
Possibly the streakiest of all the Yankee pitchers, Burnett had an interesting first year in pinstripes. Burnett went 13-9 with a 4.04 ERA, .20 higher than his career ERA. Burnett, like Melky, was simply too streaky to completely get on board with, although when he was on, Burnett was one of the best pitchers in the game. Burnett's 5.40 ERA in March and April was followed by a 4.18 ERA in May. Then he had an ERA of 2.10 in June and 2.43 in July. In August he resorted back to the way he pitched in the beginning of the year with an ERA of 6.03, but calmed down in September posting a 3.83 ERA. Burnett also tied for the league lead in hit batters and led the league in wild pitches. All in all it was a successful year for Burnett though, considering he stayed healthy, pitched 207 innings, struck out 195 and was surprisingly an amazing clubhouse guy, but considering he is making $16.5 million for the next four years, he should focus a little bit more on pitching, and a little bit less on pies.


(17)Andy Pettitte: B
After struggling in the 2nd half in 2008, Andy Pettitte had a solid bounce back year in 2009. He managed to win 14 games at age 37, while also lowering his 2008 ERA of 4.54 to 4.16 in 2009. He pitched 194 2/3 innings including 87 1/3 innings with an ERA of 3.31 in the 2nd half. Overall, as a #3 starter, even though he went into the year as the #4 starter (remember Chien-Ming Wang?), Pettitte won double digit games, was a veteran presence in the clubhouse and stayed healthy all year, only missing one start; a very solid year for Pettitte and again, it will be interesting to see if he returns in 2010.

Now, we will move onto the pitchers who are in the bullpen for the ALDS, even though Joba was a starter during the regular season and Chad Gaudin pitched both out of the bullpen as well as a starter.

(18)Chad Gaudin: B
Acquired from the San Diego Padres for a bag of balls and not much else, Chad Gaudin came to NY and pitched to an ERA of 3.43 in 42 innings including 6 games started and 5 appearances out of the bullpen. While he may not be the go-to guy in any situation, he has been a solid addition and is still under contract in 2010.

(19) Joba Chamberlain: C
I am sorry, but this year was mess for Joba Chamberlain. Some of it is not his fault though, whether it be the Joba Rules, version 3.0 or the non-stop clammoring for him to be put back in the bullpen. Joba made 32 appearances this year, 31 of them were starts and finished the year at 9-6 with an ERA of 4.75. His ERA is the 5th WORST in Yankee history for any pitcher who made at least 30 starts, that is not a place you want to be. Joba tied Burnett for the league lead with 12 hit batters. Joba walked 4 batters per nine innings and also averaged more than one homerun allowed per game. With that said, it wasn't all bad. Joba made all of his starts and surpassed his 150 innings limit by pitching 157 1/3, also, in his first three starts after the all-star break, Joba gave up only 2 earned runs in 21 2/3 innings proving he can make it as a starter. He also stayed healthy, something many people were worried about. As someone who used to be on the "Joba to the bullpen" bandwagon, I then pulled a John Kerry and flip flopped to the "Joba as a starter" guy. Joba's one appearance out of the bullpen this year was a scoreless inning that only took 7 pitches; I have to admit that Joba looks like a completely different pitcher when pitching out of the bullpen. With that said, I am still in support of Joba being a starting pitcher, especially considering what we had to go through this year with the Joba rules so he could be let go next year, but I would be lying to you if I said I wasn't thinking about getting back on the bullpen side of the argument. Only time will tell.

(20) Alfredo Aceves: B+
After making four starts for the Yankees down the stretch last year, Aceves was placed in the bullpen this year as the long man. The 26 year old led all relievers with 10 wins, while only recording one loss and an ERA of 3.54. It's interesting that in 114 career innings, this guy has a 3.24 career ERA. He appeared in 43 games, walked less than 2 batters per nine innings, and if you exclude his one start where he gave up 4 runs in 3 1/3 innings, was solid all year long. As a reliever this year, Aceves' ERA was 3.35 and it will be a solid core member of the bullpen in the years to come

(21) Phil Coke: B-
I know a B- is a pretty strong grade for a guy with a 4.50 ERA, but if you take out Coke's performance on August 1st where he gave up 6 runs in 1/3 of an inning, his ERA drops down to 4.13. Coke had 21 holds and a WHIP slightly above one at 1.07. He held lefty batters to a .195 BA and in the bandbox that he Yankee Stadium, he held ooposing hitters to an average of .183 with a 2.97 ERA. We all know this guy is prone to giving up the home run, but if he can cut down on that, this 26 year old will be another member of the bullpen for a long time coming.

(22) Damaso Marte: C-
I know you all think im crazy for giving Marte anything above a D, but bear with me. Marte, out for most of the year, pitched only 13 1/3 innings this year to an ERA of 9.45. He pitched to an ERA of 15.19 before he went on the DL, but he was pitching hurt from an injury in the WBC. After coming off the DL, he pitched 5 2/3 innings and gave up 5 runs, but this is why ERA's are almost pointless while dealing with relievers; 4 of those runs were given up in one appearance. Marte made 14 appearances after coming off of the DL and only gave up runs in two of them. As a lefty specialist who doesn't throw many innings, one bad outing kills his ERA. If there was any other reliever who didnt allow runs in 12 of 14 appearances, you would all be satisfied so don't give Marte a hard time just because he has an ugly ERA. Not to mention, since he is just a left specialist who will not see a right hander in the post season, he held lefties to a batting average of .120 this year. Last year he was considered the best left-handed reliever in baseball and although his contract wasn't a good idea and he is 34, lets give this guy a chance.

(23) David Robertson: B+
Robertson, a 24 year old power righty had a very successful 2nd year in the majors after pitching to an ERA over 5 in just 30 innings in 2008. Robertson pitched 43 2/3 innings in 45 appearances with 63 strikeouts and pitched to an ERA of 3.30. He walks a few too many batters with a 4.7 BB/9 ratio, but his top three K/9 ratio of 13 makes up for his walks. If he could cut down on his walks while maintaining his astonishing strikeout rate, Robertson can be one of the best relievers in baseball. At 24, adding Robertson to the already strong duo of Aceves and Coke gives the Yankees a very strong bullpen for a long time coming.

(24) Phil Hughes: A-
Phil Hughes the starter gets a grade of a C+, but Phil Hughes the reliever gets an easy A. Considering he made 7 starts, but 44 appearances out of the bullpen, that averages out to an A-. Outside of Hughes' 8 scoreless innings in a start against Texas, his year as a starter was pretty boring. As a reliever though, Hughes pitched 51 1/3 innings in 44 appearances to the tune of a 1.40 ERA. He, like Joba when he was a reliever, seems like a different pitcher in the bullpen and has clearly found an all new confidence. Being able to go multiple innings or come in to get a big strikeout, Hughes did everything and more as a reliever and was one of the best, if not the best, set-up man in baseball this year. It is obviously an extremely small sample, but including yesterdays appearance, Hughes also has a 1.42 career post-season ERA.It will be interesting to see if Hughes is a starter of reliever next year, but either way, this year seemed to be a big step in the right direction for the 23 year old Phil Hughes.

(25) Mariano Rivera: A
At this point, what can be said about Mo that hasnt been said a million times? The 39 year old pitched 66 1/3 innings, getting 44 saves including setting a career high by getting 36 consecutive saves. He had his 10th all-star appearance, struck out more than a batter per inning, recorded his 500th career save, pitched to an ERA of 1.76 and even managed to get his first career RBI in a bases loaded walk against Francisco Rodriguez of the Mets. We all know this can't last forever, but Mo has had another amazing year. In my opinion, he will and should finish in the top 10 in MVP voting, making it three Yankees in the top ten, and will continue to perform great in the post-season where he has a career ERA of 0.76. Now that I am thinking about it, can this go on forever?

Well, there ya have it. Did you guys make it? Did you read all of it? Either way, the Yankees got a very special team this year and hopefully they can keep it going in the playoffs. They have some of the best players in the game including the best reliever of all time and one of the best infields to ever play the game together. Game 1 of the ALDS was a sign of the way they can play, hopefully they can keep it going. Thanks for reading and hopefully I don't take two months off again before my next post.