Yankee Fans Unite

As I did last year, I'm going to grade the 1st-half performances of each Yankee. The grades are given relative to my expectations of players, so because of that people like Gardner get As while Sabathia gets a B.

The As:
-Jeter. The Captain has improved in practically every facet of his game since last year, proving once again why he's one of baseball's greatest.
-Teixeira. After a slow start he's looked every bit the starting all-star first baseman, transitioning quite easily to New York.
-Gardner. Considering the pre-season expectations, he's been wonderful for the role he's asked to play.
-Burnett. He's won me over with his pitching performances; we'll see if he can stay healthy.
-Aceves. He's emerged as a vital piece in the bullpen with wonderful versatility.
-Rivera. The savior's had a few more bumps in the road than usual, but he seems to be over that, and it's hard to argue with that ridiculous 14.33:1 K/BB ratio (and one of those 3 walks was intentional!)
-Hughes. Forget what he did as a starter at the beginning of the season, he's given up 2 runs (both in one outing, his second) in 18 and 2/3 innings since moving into the bullpen. Has earned the setup role.

The Bs:
-A-Rod. Was hurt for a bit, and struggled for a bit too, but the power numbers are there. I expect a big second half.
-Damon. He's not getting on base as often as he used to, but his power is up quite a bit. Will leave the Yankees with a decision to make after this season if he keeps it up.
-Posada. Had an injury and his defense seems to be regressing, but he's the same offensive performer he's always been.
-Cano. Though we've spent most of the half ripping his lineup places, his numbers really are pretty good.
-Melky. Has bounced back from last year with a strong half full of clutch hits that's given us confidence in his future once again.
-Cervelli, Pena-Nice debuts for young players who we certainly haven't seen the last of.
-Sabathia. Has been a reliable horse, but a few too many ugly starts to get an A. Almost the ace we want, but not quite there yet.
-Coke. He's becoming a reliable lefty specialist, something the Yankees haven't really had all decade.

The Cs:
-Matsui. Has had some hot streaks, but hasn't hit quite at his former level. Knees are clearly a problem.
-Swisher. He's as advertised--a mediocre hitter who walks a lot and hits a few home runs.
-Molina. Hurt for a long time, but is hitting okay and plays well defensively, as always.
-Joba. His numbers aren't all that bad, but he's not going deep enough into games and has struggled of late.
-Robertson. Good, but hasn't really been tested.
-Albaladejo. Started out badly, but seems to be turning around.

The Ds:
-Ransom. Eh.
-Pettitte. Perhaps a bit harsh, but I am genuinely concerned about Andy, who is making it look like last season's tailspin was not a fluke. That does not bode well for the second half.
-Tomko, Melancon, Edwar. Unremarkable in minimal playing time.

The Fs:
-Angel Berroa, who was allegedly on this team for a while.
-Wang. Utterly ineffective, then hurt.
-Veras. Ugh.

Incomplete:
-Nady. Out for too long to grade fairly.
-Hinske. The early returns are good, but we need more than 12 at-bats to go off of.
-Bruney. Did not come back well from his injury, but I don't think what we've seen is enough to judge.

Overall, it really wasn't an awful first half. They've got the 3rd-best record in baseball and the 2nd-best in the league. Despite the departures of Abreu and Giambi they've still got arguably the best offense in the league. The bullpen, after a disastrous beginning to the year, has stabilized quite well. All of this without anything at all out of their #2 starter.

The most unstable thing right now, though, is the pitching staff. As it has been since 2003. This is not a good thing, and makes me worry a little about how the rest of this season will play out. If it can hold up more or less as is right now, they shouldn't have too much trouble making it back to the playoffs, but I forsee more of the same once we're there. If it doesn't, Tampa will pass them and it'll be another October at home. If it can pull together, then, and only then, they've got a shot at #27.

I think I would give Teixeira a B. You can't ignore his horrendous April. Other than that one month, I would agree with your A rating. But adding that in, he drops to a B in my mind.

I agree about Teixeira. Even for him, April was incredibly bad, and he's been known for his slow starts. I would bump Melky up to an A for his play after losing the starting job. I would move Cano down to a C because despite his overall good numbers, he hasn't been getting it done when it matters (with RISP).

I guess my reasoning with Teixeira was that, while he was bad in April, he has been ridiculously good ever since A-Rod came back, and that helped make up ground.

I can definitely see why Melky might be bumped up--though one thing that has not seemed very good this year compared to previous ones is his defense. He seems much more erratic. And as for Cano, I might attribute some of the inability to perform that we perceive due to poor usage by management--he spent a lot of the half batting somewhere he was not comfortable.