Monthly Monday MLB Report Card: New York Yankees

Jump to Comments

On the first Monday of each month we roll out our Monthly MLB Report Card (forever to be known as MMLBRC) for the Mets, Phillies and Yankees. We’ll check in early each week from here on out with short posts to quickly take the pulse of each team, but think of the MMLBRC as an in depth physical (anal probing not included). Truthfully, a month is probably too small of a sample size to make overarching claims like we will attempt to, but dammit, you want content! So rather than write well-reasoned quarterly updates, we’ll make rash decisions based on far too little data. First up: Pride, Power, Pinstripes. Enjoy!

There’s a palpable paranoia surrounding the Yankees right now amongst the media and fans as New York sits just one game over .500 through 33 games. The soap opera that is Hank Steinbrenner certainly contributes to the low-level hysteria, as does the Bombers finding themselves three games behind the Red Sox (And, for the record, it’s still far too early to worry about where a team stands in the division. The season is so long, unless a team completely runs away/buries itself, scoreboard watching in April and May is much too premature). The Yankees are closer to <gasp!> last place, than first place as of Cinco de Mayo.

But, fear not, Evil Empire. Any panicking is far too hasty (there’s that small sample size issue again). As a matter of fact, I’d go so far as to say the Yanks are in much better position than they could have hoped for. Consider:

The Negatives

• The entire infield has been injured/struggled thus far. Robinson Cano and Jason Giambi have opened the season in horrific slumps. We’re talking AC Green level slumps here, folks. Cano has OPSed .470, an almost unfathomably low number for such a good hitter. The Giambino has flexed his way to a mighty .700 OPS, which isn’t terrible. What has been especially disturbing about Giambi is he’s only gotten on base slightly more than 30% of the time. For him, a guy who would get on base at a .400 clip in his sleep over his career, this is worrisome, particularly considering his paltry average of .150. Like most clear-minded baseball fans, we don’t put much stock in averages, but red flags go up when it’s that low. Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez were placed on the disabled list as of April 29, and even the captain, Derek Jeter has missed some time.
• The rotation could best be summed up as “The Big Two, Then Who?” The youngsters in the rotation, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, have been abysmal. Hughes’ rib injury and eye problems are actually encouraging to me. At least we know what to chalk his poor performance up to. We wish him the best in his recovery, and expect him to be the pitcher we envisioned when he returns. Mike Mussina looked cooked in his two starts against the Sox, surrendering nine earned runs in just 8.2 innings.
• Aside from the Great Mariano, the bullpen has been in turmoil. Joba has been better than we expected, which is tough to do considering we had extremely high expectations for him. He has been more than reliable, and his reason for missing time (to be with his ailing father) is certainly warranted. The loss of Brian Bruney weakens what was an already soft underbelly of the pen. LaTroy Hawkins, he of the 7+ ERA, has allowed 26 base runners in just 16.2 innings pitched. Ross Ohlendorf has the raw stuff to be a reliable reliever, but his control has been suspect (nine BB in 22 IP). Joe Girardi still needs to find at least one more quality arm to bridge the gap to Joba before I feel comfortable.
• The schedule. In a word, brutal. The Yanks went through a stretch where they played 18 of 20 games on the road. And, let’s be honest, when you’re only home for two days in three weeks, can you even consider those two games a homestand? Didn’t think so

So, processing all that, reevaluate where the Yankees are. They’ve won more games than they’ve lost, survived the most ruthless schedule MLB has (perhaps) ever doled out despite having an infield that looks like swiss cheese, set-up men that are about as effective as me, and only two reliable starters. Now, consider:

The Positives

• Cano’s slow start is just that — a start. Historically, April and May are Cano’s worst months (OPS .717 and .677, respectively for his career). For his career, Cano has OPSed almost 150 points higher after the All Star break than he has before. He will bust out of this funk at some point, and has shown signs of doing so lately. He’s the least of our worries. Giambi might be a legitimate concern, but he hasn’t been as bad as his numbers indicate. He’s still hitting the ball hard, but at fielders as evidence by his BABIP of less than .100. Think about that. There’s no way his BABIP can stay that low much longer. Right? Please say that I’m right. A-Rod will be back soon and should remain healthy barring a freak injury. Jeter has returned to the lineup, and, like A-Rod, his track record says he’ll remain there. Posada’s absence hurts, but the Yankees can overcome the loss.
• Wang has been terrific and Pettitte has been more than solid, if nothing else. Mussina has seemed to find the fountain of youth over his last two starts, both against good hitting clubs, which is encouraging. He will need to continue his mini-resurgence as the back of the rotation is still in flux (a kind way of putting it on my part).
• Joba to Mariano is the best 8/9 combination in baseball. The Yanks basically play seven inning games if they have the lead. The managerial change from Torre to Girardi has benefited Kyle Farnsworth, who is off to a nice start. Ohlendorf still has nasty stuff, and we continue to contend that Edwar Ramirez can be a light’s out reliever in the big leagues.
• The Pope left! Which means no more wacky schedules. Just as nice — the inordinate amount of road games means the remaining schedule is littered with home games. Ah, home cooking!

5 Comments

Filed under New York, New York Yankees

Tags: A-Rod, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, MMLBRC, New York Yankees, Red Sox, Small sample sizes