First Half Report Card (Part 2)

The following is Part 2 of the River & Sunset First Half Report Card. On Monday we covered the position players, today we're tackling the pitching staff and manager. Click here to check out Part 1.

Starting rotation


Chien-Ming Wang
Stats
It was the lowest point in the Yankees season, a moment they're still scrambling to recover from. Wang, New York's ace, rounds third in a lopsided game in Houston and blows out his foot. He's been on the disabled list since June 16 and his return in 2008 is very much in question. Prior to his injury, Wang had just come out of a month-long slump and was back to looking like the pitcher who had won 38 games the two seasons prior. So far, the Yanks are 2-2 in his missed starts.Barring an unlikely trade for an ace, the Yanks need Wang back and productive by September if they're going to make the postseason. I don't see any other way around it.
Grade: B+ (prior to injury)


Mike Mussina
Stats
Admit it, you didn't see Mussina's jumpstarting his career the way he has in 2008. Could you have seen him fighting his way to a 12-10, 4.40 type year? Sure. How about a final season in pinstripes as a long reliever? Not out of the prism of possibility in March. But here he is, with 11 victories and a 3.61 ERA at the break. Without a revitalized Moose, it's likely that the Yankees' season would have been already lost. His production has meant that much to this team.
Grade: A+


Andy Pettitte
Stats
Pettitte has been a streaky little critter this season hasn't he? Rock bottom was a series of poor starts that culminated with a 10-run outing against the Royals on June 7. Pettitte responded by going unconscious in allowing three runs over 27 innings in his next four starts. Three starts in July have provided more pedestrian production, but Pettitte is giving you what you expected, 14-16 wins and a bulldog fight every time he's out there.
Grade: B+


Joba Chamberlain
Stats
Despite media and fan calls to the contrary, the Yankees beautifully handled Chamberlain's transition from setup man to starter. By the time the Yanks hit the break, he was already a full-fledged rotation member without limits. Nicely played. Meanwhile, Joba has silenced the other doubters who thought he was better suited for the 'pen. He may have only one victory since joining the rotation, but blame that on the pathetic Bombers offense of the past month. This kid is a stud, and he's pitching like somebody who will be an ace for many years. Joba rules, indeed.
Grade: A


Darrell Rasner
Stats
If you're a frequent reader of this blog, you know by now that Rasner has already been consumed by The Karmic Curse of Aaron Small. This happens when a mediocre pitcher jumps out to an unexpected fast start and the media inevitably likens him to the 2005 Bombers hero. Because of this, River & Sunset asserts, the compared pitcher will immediately be struck down based on the reasoning that only once in 10,000 years is a team allowed to have a bad pitcher go 10-0 for them. After his 3-0 start, the Razz has been more or less brutal. His spot in the rotation is very tenuous at this point and if the Yanks had even a decent option, he may have already been history.
Grade: C


Sidney Ponson
Stats
I find it funny that Josh Hamilton has drug and alcohol problems and he's hailed as a hero while Sidney Ponson enjoys grandpa's cough syrup a little too much and he's an unredeemable dirtbag. Whatever the reason, Ponson isn't very well respected, and Yanks fans are waiting for the other shoe to drop on another Sidney DFA. Problem is, he hasn't been that bad for the Bombers in the three starts since joining the team on June 27. I'm not saying he's a longterm answer, but he'll do for now.
Grade: Incomplete

Bullpen


Mariano Rivera
Stats
What else can you say about the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All-Time)? Of all the amazing things Mo has done in his 12th season as Yanks closer (23-for-23 saves, 50 K's, 4 BBs), this one truth probably distills his amazing 2008 the best: At 38 years old, Mariano Rivera is better than he's ever been. Is it impossible to figure out? Of course. All we can do is sit back and watch the greatest Yankees pitcher ever do his thing. He is the American League's leading Cy Young candidate in my mind.
Grade: A+


Kyle Farnsworth
Stats
Mr. Farnsworth is not well-received around these parts ... a fact that I'm sure kills him. But you have to hand it to the big guy, he's been better than expected since Joba's move to the rotation and, combined with Veras, he has created a very walkable bridge to Rivera. He's still allowed too many homers, and I don't trust him as far as I can throw him, but Farnsworth will continue to be a key piece of this team unless Brian Cashman upgrades the 'pen. And since he hasn't allowed a run in his last eight outings and has been generally good since June, it's fair to get off his back for the time being.
Grade: B-


Jose Veras
Stats
Veras has been a flat out savior to the Yankees bullpen this season, the X-factor the team desperately needed when Joba began his departure for the starting rotation. He has been a steady seventh-inning man for the Bombers, a hard-throwing right-hander who has been a rock for the better part of the season. If he and Farnsworth can keep up their surprising production, the Yanks might not have any issues in their bullpen after all.
Grade: A


LaTroy Hawkins
Stats
Hawkins was one of those players that you knew would fail in New York the moment you heard he was acquired. Arriving in the Bronx via the Rockies in the Jose Vizcaino deal, Hawkins has been a nightmare, a proposed setup man reduced to infrequent tasks of long relief. It's hard to imagine another team even taking a flyer on the veteran at this point, though it seems so many of these crappy relievers have nine lives. Hawkins may have used eight of them here in three months.
Grade: F


Edwar Ramirez
Stats
If a relief pitcher has only one good pitch, and it's a changeup, can he succeed in the Major Leagues? That is the question that encapsulates Ramirez, who has looked equal parts excellent and awful for the Yankees this season. Ramirez is the type of relief pitcher that really scares you only because you never know who you're going to get ... Jekyll or Hyde. He needs to become a more consistent player to stick around in the long term.
Grade: B-


Dan Giese
Stats
Giese is the obligatory spot starter-long reliever of the team, providing mostly middling production with moments of success. If you're looking for someone to hand the mop to, he's the man in the bullpen.
Grade: C+

Manager


Joe Girardi
Girardi had some giant Italian loafers to fill upon assuming Joe Girardi's spot as manager of the Yankees and he's done a very good job overall. Watching him handle the bullpen catching duties in yesterday's All-Star Game, it made me think how refreshing it is to have a young and energetic leader in the Yanks dugout. Strategically, the Yankees are a more aggressive team then in season's past, the Joba transition was handled very well, and the overall management of the bullpen and bench has left little room for complaint. He seems to mess with the lineup a bit too much, and he will make the occasional strategic gaffe, but it's important to remember he still has just one full season of managing under his belt. Nothing against Torre, but it was the right time for him to exit. Girardi is a student of the game, he's passionate, and he's respected by his team and the fans. So what if he's a little bit smug or sometimes testy with the media? He's a strong personality, which is a job requisite for the toughest manager job in the Majors.
Grade: B+