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End of the Innocence – The End of August – Part 1

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So the likelihood of the New York Yankees reaching the post-season gets slimmer and slimmer. August wasn’t the month of finally finding their way that Mr. Girardi had hoped for but it was a month with some bright spots and some hope for the future

New York Yankees – Batting – Month – August 



Name                   AB  R  H  RBI 2B  3B HR BB SO SH SF SB  BA   SLG   
Ransom, Cody            5  3  3   5   1  0  2  1  1  0  0  0  .600 2.000 
Jeter, Derek          113 12 39  11   1  0  2  7 21  2  2  3  .345 .407 
Abreu, Bobby          114 16 39  10   6  0  1 12 19  0  0  2  .342 .421 
Gardner, Brett         15  1  5   2   1  1  0  1  2  0  0  2  .333 .533 
Nady, Xavier          107  9 33  19   5  0  6  5 28  0  0  0  .308 .523 
Damon, Johnny         115 22 35  11   2  1  4 14 22  0  0  9  .304 .443 
Betemit, Wilson        34  4 10   5   1  0  1  1  9  0  0  0  .294 .412 
Cano, Robinson        100 14 29  10   3  2  4  7 18  0  0  0  .290 .480 
Rodriguez, Alex       103 23 25  16   8  0  6 13 30  0  1  1  .243 .495 
Giambi, Jason          82  9 19  22   0  0  8 10 25  0  3  0  .232 .524 
Molina, Jose           45  8 10   4   2  0  2  1  7  1  0  0  .222 .400 
Christian, Justin      15  2  3   1   1  0  0  0  3  0  0  2  .200 .267 
Rodriguez, Ivan        56  6  11  2   1  0  2  3  9  0  0  1  .196 .321 
Matsui, Hideki         43  4  8   6   2  0  2  5  6  0  0  0  .186 .372 
Sexson, Richie         13  1  2   4   1  0  1  2  5  0  0  0  .154 .462 
Cabrera, Melky         26  1  3   1   0  0  0  0  3  0  0  1  .115 .115 

Pluses

Bobby Abreu. Abreu has been our most consistent hitter and outfielder and that continued in August. Hitting .342 on the month, he is not hitting for power but he is a singles-and-doubles hitter par excellence and is lively on the bases.

Derek Jeter. Jeter had to have a good month at some point and August seems to have been it. He has never been awful but has never lived up to his performance of previous years. Again, the power wasn’t there but .345 on the month is more like it.

Xavier Nady. Nady hasn’t slowed since he came to the Bronx and this month he hit .308 and was second in homers. He looks a key part of the outfield for 2009.

Minuses

Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod has been consistently good if not great so far this year but the second half of August was a real let-down. Again and again, he would be in a clutch hitting spot with runners on base and again and again, particularly in late innings, he would come up with nothing. This meant hearty booing from the bleachers which livened up some dreary defeats but, like A-Rod, really achieved nothing.

Melky Cabrera. And the cupboard was bare….. Melky is back in the Bronx in September but doesn’t look likely to feature much. It has been an awful year for this guy.

Ivan Rodriguez. Sharing the catching equally with Jose Molina (and hitting less than him) and batting .196 on the month with no power to speak of, it has been a bad trade which saw Farnsworth go to Detroit for this guy whose glory days are behind him.

Surprises

Brett Gardner. Gardner has finally begun to hit for average as well as being a base-running threat. Best month of a limited season.

Cody Ransom. We all smiled when Ransom had two-at-bats and two home runs. It had to end but he has acquitted himself very well in his very limited role.

Wilson Betemit. Betemit has continued to impress me with his commitment and hitting / fielding off the bench. He has become a very serviceable player in the second half of the season.

Yankees and pitching and August…… so far

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Well, after last night’s debacle it is not a good time to be commenting on the pitching but it’s got to be done…..

Pluses

Brian Bruney. Bruney has come back from injury with few problems and he has resumed the role he had before his foot gave way. This has been especially timely following Farnsworth’s departure. He has a 2.33 ERA but more significantly a team leading OBA of 1.76.

Jose Veras. 4th on the bullpen with 43 appearances and one of those ahead of him has headed off to Detroit. Veras has a 2.84 ERA for the season. With the occasional wobble, he remains mostly solid and dependable.

Mike Mussina. 16 wins, 7 losses, 3 no decisions. I would have bet heavily against that performance from Mussina coming into the season (if I was a gambling man!)

Minuses

Damaso Marte. If we leave out his figures from the time before he came back to New York (yes, he was here before, you could look it up!), he has accumulated a 11.05 ERA. He was going to be the sole left-handed reliever. He has already disappointed enough to make Traber’s recall necessary – which hasn’t been pretty.

David Robertson. Arriving from Double-A with a minimum of fanfare, Robertson settled into his role with a minimum of difficulty. Like with so many players this year, the difficulties began in the Bronx and Girardi’s coaching staff have been unable to iron them out. This has led to some lacklustre performances and a 5.96 ERA which the 3-0 record cannot hide.

Chris Britton. For the onlooking fan it was difficult to see earlier in the year why they weren’t giving Britton a more extended stay at the major league level. Now he has achieved that, it has become obvious. His ERA has drifted out to 4.61 and he has only 6 strikeouts in 13.2 innings of play.

Surprises

Billy Traber. He’s still on the major league roster in the second half of August. This is enough of a surprise for me. Earlier in the year when they would send him in for a 1/3 of an innings to get out the left-handed hitter, he didn’t look so bad. Now he and his 7.02 ERA need to go back to Scranton.

Sidney Ponson. He’s still on NYY’s major league roster in the second half of August. He’s managed to control and behave himself in the clubhouse by all accounts and his pitching has been way better than it was last time around. It’s almost been a positive surprise. But then came last night……… 

Ian Kennedy. Still don’t figure this one. He returned to the roster earlier in the month. Pitched two innings as a starter. Gave up 5 runs on 9 hits. In interview after the game it didn’t seem to matter to him. He was demoted. This weekend there’s a gaping hole in the rotation a mile wide and we’d rather go with Pavano. That’s how bad it’s got for Kennedy. What happened to the pitcher we saw last season?

Yankees and hitting and August…. so far

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Well, I’ve been going through an unusually quiet time. Nothing much to say about anything else but a few words on what’s happening with the Yankees through the first half of August:

Pluses

Alex Rodriguez – A-Rod has been a positive influence in the first half of the month and through the season as a whole. 2nd in RBIs (77) and 1st in Homers (28). He’s spoken up over the last few days demanding the team press and put together a winning streak before it’s too late.

Bobby Abreu –  Abreu leads the squad in RBIs (81) but also in strikeouts (89). It’s been a mixed year but the positives have outweighed the negatives for Abreu.

Xavier Nady – Nady has hit .309 since joining the Yankees. He has plugged holes in the outfield where most of the players who have been used have performed when they have been fit – but Damon and Matsui have had difficult years in terms of fitness. Nady has proved to be all that a quickly obtained outfielder could have been.

Minuses

Ivan Rodriguez – Where Nady has continued the solid season he was having before joining the Yankees, the same cannot be said for Pudge Rodriguez. There weren’t many home runs before he left Detroit but now the batting average has dried up as well. .229 since moving to New York which when combined with Molina’s .227 doesn’t amount to much.

Melky Cabrera – .242 in 117 games and demoted to Scranton (AAA). Cabrera couldn’t have envisioned this season and neither could the fans or the management. Gardner and Christian don’t have much more to offer in batting average and the fact that they chose to re-assign Melky shows how deep the malaise has become.

Richie Sexson – The signing and eventual release of power-hitting Richie was one big mistake. During 22 games and 28 at-bats he came up with one home run.

Surprises

Hideki Matsui – The very fact that Matsui is in the line-up again in 2008 is enough of a surprise to qualify as a major surprise. Not sure it will produce much but its time to play our last cards and Matsui is just that.

Wilson Betemit – Betemit has had enough discouragements this year. Slumps, injuries, eyesight problems and being overlooked when major roles were available. That he has raised his average to .261 and has a higher slugging percentage than Jeter under those circumstances is quite an achievement.

Cody Ransom – Didn’t expect Ransom to make the majors this year. 1 at-bat, 1 home run. It’s a nice story.

Sometimes…..

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Earlier I said:

“Personally, I’d rest Rasner and give him a moment to catch his breath and allow Giese to take his next start.”

Then the Yankees said:

“The Yankees announced Monday that Dan Giese will take over as the team’s fifth starter, while Rasner will settle into a long relief role. Giese’s first start will come Friday in Anaheim after a string of successful relief performances earned him a promotion.”

Got that one right

July review – New York Yankee pitchers

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On the whole, July has been a good month for pitching for the Yankees with few exceptions. Even those who didn’t do so well managed the odd good outing:

New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – July

Name                  GP   IP  H RA ER BB SO W L Sv    ERA   OBA

Ramirez, Edwar        10 11.1  0  0  0  3 16 1 0  0   0.00  .000

Giese, Dan             6 10.1  8  2  2  2  5 0 0  0   1.74  .211

Farnsworth, Kyle      10  8.1  4  2  2  4  9 0 0  0   2.16  .133

Chamberlain, Joba      6 35.2 30 11 10 10 43 2 1  0   2.52  .227

Mussina, Mike          5 31.0 36  9  9  2 27 3 1  0   2.61  .300

Veras, Jose           11 10.1  8  3  3  5 13 0 1  0   2.61  .211

Rivera, Mariano        9 11.0 11  4  4  1 15 2 1  4   3.27  .262

Hawkins, LaTroy        6  6.2  6  3  3  1  5 0 0  0   4.05  .240

Pettitte, Andy         6 38.0 41 23 20 10 33 3 3  0   4.74  .281

Robertson, David      12 12.2  8  7  7  7 16 2 0  0   4.97  .174

Rasner, Darrell        4 21.2 29 16 15 11 11 1 2  0   6.23  .333

Britton, Chris         1  3.2  7  3  3  0  1 0 0  0   7.36  .438

Traber, Billy          2  2.1  2  2  2  1  1 0 0  0   7.71  .222

Marte, Damaso          3  2.1  4  2  2  1  4 0 0  0   7.71  .364

Ponson, Sidney         4 20.2 33 18 18  8  8 1 1  0   7.84  .379

Pluses

Edwar Ramirez. In 10 appearances in July, Ramirez didn’t give up a run and achieved 11 1/3 innings on the mound. He’s already experienced a wobble in August but in July he was as good as it gets

Joba Chamberlain. Joba is finally settling into this starting business. In July, he achieved two wins and was solid in every other statistical category.

Mike Mussina. Moose continues to enjoy his indian summer. With solid support from the offence and some canny pitching, he continues to succeed despite allowing two many runners.

Minuses

Sidney Ponson. Despite the occasional good start this has not been a good month for Sidney. 7.84 ERA and only 5 innings (on average) per start.

Darrell Rasner. Rasner and Ponson give us two games in every five where we’re lucky to be level when the starter leaves. Personally, I’d rest Rasner and give him a moment to catch his breath and allow Giese to take his next start.

David Robertson. After beginning well, he appears to be fading fast. His ERA was a whisker under 5 for the month.

Surprises

Kyle Farnsworth. Farnsworth was finally in his stride. An OBA of .133 on the month was positively miserly resulting in a 2.16 ERA for that period. It must have hurt Girardi to see him go.

Dan Giese. Giese continues to be successful. Soon I’m going to stop being surprised by this. Proportionally, he gave up a lot of hits but very few of those passed home plate.

Mariano Rivera. Rivera is struggling when he comes into a game level or behind and generally it is the first batter he faces who hurts him. Maybe this is psychological at the moment but it is a mar on an otherwise great season.

July review – New York Yankee hitters

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Mmmmm…….. Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez for Kyle Farnsworth. Girardi described it as robbing Peter to pay Paul. Too true. The last two months are the first time that I’ve been glad to see Farnsworth on the Yankees roster sheet and now he is gone. Pudge is not the player he once was but he seems to have matured as a person. So I guess this one hangs in the balance and may do until late September. July was a very mixed month for the Bronx Bombers. Here is how it played out on the offensive side of the account (I’ve included the stats for actual Yankees appearances for the incoming players):

New York Yankees – Batting – Month – July

Name                   AB  R  H RBI 2B 3B HR BB SO SH SF SB    BA   SLG  

Mussina, Mike           2  0  1   0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  .500  .500 

Christian, Justin      10  2  4   3  1  0  0  2  0  0  0  3  .400  .500 

Rodriguez, Alex        95 20 32  21  6  0  7  9 20  0  1  4  .337  .621 

Rodriguez, Ivan         3  0  1   0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  .333  .333 

Sexson, Richie         15  1  5   2  0  0  0  4  5  0  1  0  .333  .333 

Cano, Robinson        101 11 33  17  6  1  3  3  9  1  0  0  .327  .495 

Damon, Johnny          54 11 17  11  4  0  1  7  6  0  0  2  .315  .444 

Abreu, Bobby           97 21 29  20 11  0  4 14 15  0  0  2  .299  .536 

Jeter, Derek          100 14 28  14  8  0  2 10 16  0  0  1  .280  .420 

Nady, Xavier           18  6  5   4  2  0  2  2  4  0  0  0  .278  .722 

Cabrera, Melky         92 11 25   3  3  1  1  2 13  1  0  2  .272  .359 

Giambi, Jason          64  7 15  16  1  0  3 14 18  0  1  0  .234  .391 

Molina, Jose           50  8 11   1  2  0  0  5  9  1  0  0  .220  .260 

Betemit, Wilson        46  4 10   3  1  0  0  3 15  1  0  0  .217  .239 

Posada, Jorge          42  5  9   2  2  0  0  8 14  0  0  0  .214  .262 

Gardner, Brett         56  8  9   7  1  0  0  5 16  2  1  4  .161  .179 

Moeller, Chad          12  1  1   0  0  0  0  0  2  0  0  0  .083  .083 

Gonzalez, Alberto       1  0  0   0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  .000  .000 

Pluses

Alex Rodriguez.   A-Rod continues to be consistent and impress. Of the players who have been on the roster all month he leads in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging average, home runs, and is tied for lead in stolen bases.

Robinson Cano. Having begun to turn things around before the All-Star break, he was red-hot immediately after the restart. A swollen hand saw him dip again at the end of the month and then drop out of the lineup in early August.

Bobby Abreu. .299 in July with 11 doubles and 4 home runs. It’s the nearest he’s come to his previous from during this season.

Minuses

Alberto Gonzalez. Gonzalez looked a good prospect at the beginning of the season. He was only given 1 at bat in July, leaving him at .173 batting average and .212 slugging for the season. Not surprisingly, he was traded at the deadline for anything we could get.

Jason Giambi. 3 home runs and .234 batting average. Giambi is busy turning a comeback year into nothing special.

Chad Moeller. 1 hit in 12 at bats for Moeller and third string catcher gave us enough reasons to be sure that a Molina-Moeller tandem was never going to cover Posada’s absence. So Moeller is gone and Pudge is in but we have had to give up Farnsworth to achieve this.

Surprises

Wilson Betemit. Betemit was poor for the part of the season, massively improved for the second and hit the skids again shortly after. Defensively he’s been okay but poor offense has let him down – somehow we think Sexson is going to be an improvement.

Justin Christian. Christian was called up ahead of Brett Gardner. Gardner seemed to settle more quickly and the edge in speed on the bases. But Christian has persevered and whilst Gardner’s confidence seemed to fail as July progressed (resulting in him being sent back to Scranton), Justin produced 4 hits in 10 at bats. He’s going to see more bench time than playing time but he’s earned his spot

Richie Sexson. Five hits in his first fifteen at bats. No home runs. No extra base hits. Not sure what to make of this but it certainly wasn’t what was expected.

All-Star Break # 3 – Making my pitch……

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So yesterday we look at the performance of the Yankee hitters in comparison with predictions compared by myself and the Bill James Handbook 2008. Today, we do the same for the pitchers…….

Mariano Rivera

Predictions: Games – 41, Saves – 21, ERA  – 2.72
Actual: Games – 38, Saves – 23, ERA – 1.06

Mariano Rivera is a model of consistency. That he is still able to do this at this level at 38 years of age is nothing short of amazing. His ERA is one and a half runs ahead of where I thought it would be.

Kyle Farnsworth

Predictions: Games – 34, Wins – 2, ERA – 3.86
Actual: Games – 41, Wins – 1, ERA – 3.51

Farnsworth has had a much better year than I could have anticipated. His ERA is better now than at any time since he became a Yankee and since Chamberlain moved to the rotation, he has a clearly defined role in bridging the gap between the starter and Rivera

Mike Mussina

Predictions: Games – 16, Wins – 6, ERA – 3.74
Actual: Games – 19, Wins – 11, ERA – 3.61

Everybody expected Moose to bounce back a little but nobody tipped this to happen. He has had high run support but this can’t account for all his wins. He has been a substantially better pitcher than he ever looked like he would be again.

Andy Pettitte

Predictions: Games – 19, Wins – 8, ERA – 3.78
Actual: Games – 20, Wins – 10, ERA  – 4.03

Pettitte had a horrible post-season that he brought upon himself. The official Yankees website has been talking about him having a poor first half. In reality, he has been as good as we could have hoped for. The veteran starters have kept us in the race.

Chien-Ming Wang

Predictions: Games – 18, Wins – 8, ERA – 3.75
Actual: Games – 15, Wins – 8, ERA – 4.07

Wang began to lose his form before his injury. Given the time that he has spent on the DL and that slow down, his performance has been pretty good.

LaTroy Hawkins

Predictions: Games – 35, Wins – 2, ERA – 3.60
Actual: Games – 30, Wins – 1, ERA – 5.79

Girardi has no confidence in Hawkins. His appearances have come in non-crucial innings and it is difficult to imagine he would still be around, if they could’ve got a deal for him and if it wasn’t for the injuries. His ERA has bloated but whether this is entirely due to a loss of form or whether this is partially due to a confidence-crisis is difficult to discern.

The less predictables

In addition to these mainstays, it was impossible to make predictions for Ian Kennedy, Phil Hughes, Kei Igawa and Joba Chamberlain because they didn’t really have whole seasons at the Major League level to bases guesses upon. However, there can be no disguising the fact that no-one would have hazarded that Hughes and Kennedy would fall apart quite so badly as they did. No-one would have guessed that Igawa (and his huge contract) would really have no role to play whatsoever. The Steinbrenner (junior) influenced transfer of Chamberlain from successful reliever to average starter was a hasty decision always destined to get off to a slow start and so it has.

Pluses: Mariano Rivera, Kyle Farnsworth, Mike Mussina
Minuses: LaTroy Hawkins, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Kei Igawa
Surprises: Dan Giese, Jose Veras

Jose Veras has been another key piece of the puzzle. I wouldn’t have expected him to be a regular part of the bullpen at all at this stage but he has stepped in Chamberlain’s role very effectively.

Dan Giese wasn’t even on the compass. He has filled some gaps very nicely.

So what happens next……? We’ll see

All-Star Break #2 – Where do we go from here?

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I averaged out predictions I made before the season began with those made by the Bill James Handbook 2008 and compared them with the stats actually produced up to the All-Star Break.

Here’s how the Yankee hitters are doing compared to those pre-season expectations:

Hideki Matsui

Projected: Games – 79, Average –  .293, Home Runs- 15.
Actual: Games – 69, Average – .323, Home Runs – 7.

Two factors here – the first is the inability to hit for power (markedly less home runs), the second is the inability to play the field on a regular basis. Both of these point up the significance of his problems with his legs which may have finished him for the rest of the season. By contrast, his batting average is up as much as his slugging is down. A future as a successful singles hitter and DH (an unusual combination) or early retirement. Time will tell.

Johnny Damon

Projected: Games – 89, Average – .278, Home Runs – 9
Actual: Games – 82, Average –  .319, Home Runs – 6

Similar story for Damon. His decline began in the second half of 2006 and is also associated with aging legs. His average has rebounded to 2005 (Boston) heights but power is down and he has his first period on the disabled list. The twist in this is that his injury is a damaged shoulder and nothing to do with his legs. This suggests that there is more hope in him continuing as an outfielder than Matsui but he is another reason for the dramatic reduction in the Yankees’ power production.

Alex Rodriguez

Projected: Games – 93, Average – .300, Home Runs – 28
Actual: Games – 75, Average –  .312, Home Runs – 19

Rodriguez’s stint on the disabled list has hampered his home run total but not his slugging pct. (I had him at .586, he is actually 581 – a very minimal difference. Not many people expected A-Rod to still be a Yankee right now. Given the shenanigans of the close season and the off-field rumours as well as the injury, he is doing remarkably well.

Derek Jeter

Projected: Games – 93, Average – .312, Home Runs – 9
Actual: Games – 88, Average – .284, Home Runs – 5

Jeter is just not quite himself at the moment. His figures are still good but he has set a remarkable standard for himself which he is not matching. Difficult to know if this is just a blip or whether it is a sign of a slight downturn.

Bobby Abreu

Projected: Games – 94, Average – .285, Home Runs – 12
Actual: Games – 92, Average – .274, Home Runs – 10

Again, a slight downturn but it is made more significant because there is a trend like this across the team. 10 points off average and only 2 home runs down but we need him to step up as one of the few injury-free players in the squad.

Jorge Posada

Projected: Games – 84, Average – .281, Home Runs – 12
Actual: Games – 49, Average – .272, Home Runs – 3

Posada had a BIG year in 2007. So far, injury and lack of managerial confidence have spiked his year in 2008. He spent a long time out (35 games down on prediction) but despite the fact that Molina didn’t carry the responsibility of being first choice during the actual injury time, part of this is because Girardi has continued to favour Molina since Posada’s return; citing arm strength as his reason. During this period of uncertainty, Posada’s batting average has dropped off markedly but his home run production and slugging has never got out of the doldrums.

Jason Giambi

Projected: Games – 72, Average – .249, Home Runs – 15
Actual: Games – 83, Average – .253, Home Runs – 19

Going into the season, Giambi was going to share DH with Matsui and 1B with a whole range of possible candidates. Not many of those candidates reached expectations and with Mientkiewicz already gone to other pastures and Shelley Duncan failing miserably, Giambi became the most prominent first baseman due primarily to his huge contract – if we’re going to have to pay him, he might as well play somewhere. The remarkable thing is that this undue perseverance actually paid dividends. First, he began to hit for power and then his average perked up as well. Things are a little quieter right now and whilst no-one is going to make this guy a sporting hero (stache or no stache), he is so much more valuable than I expected.

Robinson Cano

Projected: Games – 88, Average – .322, Home Runs – 11
Actual: Games – 93, Average – .246, Home Runs – 6

Robinson is stranded in a season-long funk (so far) and his fall off in every offensive category is more marked than anyone else on the team. The only positive is that his batting average in July (but not his slugging) has taken a marked upturn to .273 on the month. This is still nowhere near what we expect but it is a step in the right direction.

Wilson Betemit

Projected: Games – 77, Average – .263, Home Runs – 10
Actual: Games – 47, Average – .243, Home Runs – 4

It’s hard to be positive about that second line but I’m going to be. Simply put, prior to his time on the disabled list, Betemit was awful. Since that time, he has become our most important bench and utility player. Offensive figures don’t show everything (particularly not the meagre selection presented here) and he has done very well defensively as well as putting up .267 BA in June. So far, July has seen him back in the doldrums with the bat but the mere fact he is still here is quite something after the opening to the season he had.

Melky Cabrera

Projected: Games – 90, Average – .283, Home Runs – 6
Actual: Games – 92, Average – .241, Home Runs – 8

With Cabrera I’m looking for a good day in the field and a clutch of singles. Perversely, his home run hitting is up! Defensively, he has been fine but that 40 point drop in average is part of the general trend but is worrying all by itself. You begin to wonder about the coaching staff when the malaise is this wide spread.

So that it’s for the hitters:

Pluses: Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon,
Minuses: Jorge Posada, Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera
Surprises: Jason Giambi, Wilson Betemit

All-Star Break # 1 – Adding insult………………….

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There are many ways to consider the Yankees performance in the first half of the season. One of the main things to influence our performance (and put us in third place) is the extensive list of players who have spent time on the disabled list during this period. Here they are (in alphabetical order):

RHP Jonathan Albaladejo — Out for the season with a stress fracture in his right elbow. Albaladejo was a surprising breakthrough but he will have to do it all over again.

IF Wilson Betemit — Missed 19 games beginning on April 14 with corneal conjunctivitis, then was on the disabled list in May with a strained right hamstring. Fortunately, he’s come back a better player for the examinations he received during that time.

RHP Brian Bruney — Tore a ligament in his right foot in April; avoided surgery and could rejoin the Yankees in late July. We need him back and we need him to be the player that he was this season rather than the player he was at the end of last year.

OF Johnny Damon — Hit the disabled list for the first time in his career on July 6 with a sprain and contusion of the left joint of the left shoulder. His best-case return would be 15 days, and his throwing may be limited. The good money is that he will be out quite a bit longer.

1B Shelley Duncan — Separated his right shoulder while diving for a ball in a game at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and may be out for the season. Let’s face it, he was going nowhere before he was sent to Scranton.

RHP Phil Hughes — Has been on the disabled list since April 30 with a stress fracture in one of his ribs. He could return in August. Let’s hope the 2007 guy show’s up if he does make it back then.

SS Derek Jeter — Was hit in the left hand by a Daniel Cabrera fastball on May 20 and fell into an extended slump immediately after. Things have improved since then but he’s still not the Jeter of old.

RHP Ian Kennedy – Went to disabled list but there’s obviously far more going on here mechanically than a simple injury. I don’t expect to see him making a run at the Major Leagues before Spring Training

DH Hideki Matsui — Aggravated his left knee by playing the outfield for two games in Houston and is currently on the disabled list. Season-ending surgery is a possibility. He was the guy to cover for Damon’s aging legs. He can still hit but his fielding days might be behind him.

RHP Carl Pavano — Continuing to rehab from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery and could be ready for a big league promotion in August. But why would you need to work for a living when you can earn all that money for doing nothing?

C Jorge Posada — Was on the disabled list from April 28 through June 3 with right rotator cuff tendinitis that curtailed his throwing. Since then has done far more at DH and 1B (!) since then. What’s that about? Girardi doesn’t trust his arm.

3B Alex Rodriguez — Missed 16 games with a strained right quadriceps after turning a strain into something more serious by rushing back. It was Rodriguez’s first stint on the DL since 2000. He’s one of the few who’s bounced back from injury.

RHP Humberto Sanchez — Currently pitching in the Minor Leagues, Sanchez (acquired from Detroit in the Gary Sheffield trade) could be considered for his big league debut in September. However, we are not holding our breath.

RHP Chien-Ming Wang — Suffered a partially torn tendon in his right foot on June 15 while running the bases in Houston. He is on crutches and is out until September. Along with Bruney and Damon, one of the three costly on-going absences which might cost us a spot in the post-season.

Dark Days at Yankee Stadium – Part 2

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So now to look at the pitching in June.

Not much to say that is positive here either. However, given the scope of the injuries with both starters (Wang, Hughes, Kennedy) and relievers (Bruney, Britton) out, there is scope for improvement after the All-Star break.

Here’s the figures for the month. I’ve removed a couple of columns that proved confusing for some folks last month.

New York Yankees – Pitching – June

Name                                     GP   IP      H   RA ER BB SO W L    Sv      ERA     OBA

Ponson, Sidney         1  6.0  5  0  0  4  4 1 0  0   0.00  .238
Igawa, Kei             1  1.0  2  0  0  0  0 0 0  0   0.00  .500
Britton, Chris         2  2.1  2  0  0  0  2 0 0  0   0.00  .222
Rivera, Mariano       11 11.1  6  2  2  1 18 1 1  7   1.59  .154
Chamberlain, Joba      5 25.0 22  7  5 13 26 1 0  0   1.80  .239
Veras, Jose           13 13.2 12  3  3  7 14 2 0  0   1.98  .235
Mussina, Mike          5 34.0 33 12 12  5 25 2 2  0   3.18  .258
Giese, Dan             6 19.0 15 10  7  6 12 1 3  0   3.32  .208
Farnsworth, Kyle      11 10.2 11  4  4  4 12 1 1  1   3.38  .282
Pettitte, Andy         6 40.2 39 18 17  9 28 4 0  0   3.76  .255
Wang, Chien-Ming       3 16.2 18  8  7  6  9 2 0  0   3.78  .286
Hawkins, LaTroy        7 10.1 11  5  5  5  3 0 0  0   4.35  .289
Robertson, David       1  2.0  4  1  1  0  1 0 0  0   4.50  .500
Rasner, Darrell        6 32.0 47 24 23 11 24 1 5  0   6.47  .341
Patterson, Scott       1  1.1  1  1  1  2  2 0 0  0   6.75  .200
Ramirez, Edwar        11 11.0 10  9  9  6 13 0 0  0   7.36  .244
Ohlendorf, Ross        8  8.1 12  8  8  5  5 0 0  0   8.64  .333
Traber, Billy          3  1.2  2  2  2  0  1 0 0  0  10.80  .286

Pluses

Mariano Rivera. His worst month of the year and he’s still weighing in a 1.59 ERA and the best OBA on the team. Hall of Fame, Monument Park beckons. The best reliever I’ve ever seen.

Jose Veras. His ERA improves to 2.54 on the season as he produced a spartan 1.98 in June. Also took two wins on the month. He has become a vital cog in the machine that leads to Rivera.

Mike Mussina. It can no longer be described as a surprise but Moose is having a helluva comeback year. 2-2 on the month with 3.18 ERA puts him on track for a possible 20 win season. I would have settled for 10 after 2007.

Minuses

Ross Ohlendorf. Simply fell apart in June to the extent that he has had to go back to the minors to work on his pitches. Don’t know what this implies about the coaching staff at the major league level.

Darrell Rasner. In less injury-troubled times, Darrell would have been allowed a break from the starting rotation and gone to long relief. Again, it is troubling that the coaching staff in the Bronx are not able to help him with his confidence and his mechanics.

Edwar Ramirez. For the second season running, Ramirez looks the business on call-up and then wilts visibly as the batters get used to facing him. His 7.36 ERA on the month (compare to 2.90 on the season) is a little unlucky but even bad fortune can’t account for that bloating.

Surprises

Sidney Ponson. Well, he produced a great second debut. We all know that it is all downhill from here but he gave us one good game.

Kyle Farnsworth. Continues to survive the odd bad outing and bounced back from minor injuries to be a good part of a suffering staff. 3.38 ERA on the month.

Joba Chamberlain. Achieved his first win as a starter but the jury is still out on this transition. He only average five innings an outing in the month and most of the time was good enough to keep the Yankees in the game but not much more than that.