The All-Star break affords the opportunity to look back at the first half to see what went right and wrong for the thirty MLB teams. The New York Yankees are up next, and here is the pre-season post on the AL East.
| Statistic | NY Yankees | AL Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Runs per Game | 5.62 | 1st |
| Batting Averge | .276 | 2nd |
| On-Base Average | .358 | 1st |
| Slugging Percentage | .471 | 1st |
| ERA | 4.56 | 11th |
| Strikeouts per 9 IP | 7.5 | 2nd |
| Walks per 9 ip | 3.71 | 12th |
| HR per 200 IP | 28.4 | 14th |
What Went Right
The Yankees needed some players to bounce back from poor 2008 seasons, and for the most part they did. Robinson Cano is hitting over .300 again with power. Jorge Posada is back in the lineup and getting on base. Hideki Matsui can’t play the outfield, but he’s contributing a high OBA and slugging percentage from the designated hitter slot.
The competition for the centerfield job worked very well. Both Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner are getting on base at about a .350 clip, better than most expect from either of them. Nick Swisher provided needed depth in the outfield as well.
Given Jason Giambi’s struggles in Oakland, the Yankees did the right thing letting him go and replacing him with Teixeira, but that seemed like a no-brainer. With the Yankees leading the league in runs scored, pretty much everything’s gone right on offense.
Mariano Rivera recovered nicely from his off-season surgery, and Phil Hughes’s move to the pen allowed him to show he can pitch at the major league level.
What Went Wrong
The Yankees haven’t really gotten their money’s worth out of Sabathia and Burnett yet. One big positive from putting those two in the rotation is a high team strikeout rate, something the Yankees need to take pressure off their defense. The great Yankees team of last decade combined that with a low walk rate, and that’s not happening. The pitchers are giving up a ton of homers. Part of that is the stadium, but with all the walks, it’s a dangerous combination.
Chien-Ming Wang’s injury took longer to heal than expected, and brought on other injuries. He pitched very poorly while the Yankees figured out what was wrong. Joba Chamberlain’s been up adn down, while Andy Pettitte may be on his way out. Getting more out of the rotation will be a key to the Yankees success in the second half.
The Yankees are 5-15 against the four first place teams they’ve played, Boston, LAnaheim, Detroit and Philadelphia. The only team they beat is Detroit, 2-1 so far.
Other teams in this series:
- Oakland Athletics
- Seattle Mariners
- Texas Rangers
- Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Cincinnati Reds
- Houston Astros
- Chicago Cubs
- Milwaukee Brewers
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Baltimore Orioles
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Tampa Bay Rays
Posted by David Pinto at 12:09 am | Team Evaluation | Permalink | 4 Comments
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July 15th, 2009 @ 2:37 am
Nice write-up. Do NOT like that tidbit about the record against 1st place teams. Though if you leave Boston out of it, it becomes a bit more tolerable.
I’m smelling an early exit in the playoffs again this year.
July 15th, 2009 @ 7:50 am
“He pitched very poorly”
Nice, euphemistic, understatement for pitching to a then 34.00+ ERA.
July 15th, 2009 @ 10:47 am
Nice writeup. I thought your preseason analysis was too favorable to the Yankees, but they are still in the AL East race despite not being able to beat the Red Sox.
Its been pretty obvious that their offense has been peforming well, and their defense has improved, and the big problem has been the pitching.
I wonder if this is the team to try a three man rotation, plus spot starters?
July 15th, 2009 @ 11:26 am
@Ed: An interesting idea, Ed. Or even two starters, and rotate Joba, Hughes, Wang and Pettitte based on the opponent.