The Yankees form slid a little in May. In April, they had been 16-10, May was 15-13. They also surrendered first place and dropped to second in the table. Let’s see who was bucking the trend and who was failing to keep their end up:
The pitchers have been largely responsible for the Yankees better-than-expected start to the season. Let’s see who did well:
The Yankees had the most unlikely start to the season, especially if you listened to those who assessed their chances in the pre-season. In fact, as their injury list got longer, the impressiveness of their remaining amongst the teams with the highest winning percentage in major league baseball, just became more evident. Let’s see who led the way in April and who were amongst the few who failed to reach the necessary mark. Batters up first!
The Yankees dominated in the American League Division Series (ALDS) against Baltimore but then just stopped hitting in clutch situations in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) against Detroit. Consequently, this is a rather cursory glance at the pitchers during that period because the truth is that it doesn’t matter how well you perform if you have next-to-no run support. Few of the pitchers were outstanding and only a couple ran into real problems but the bats couldn’t make any noise at all during that fateful final series.
If, at the end of the regular season, someone should have predicted that the stars of the Yankees’ playoff run would be Raul Ibanez and the bullpen and that number 2, shortstop and Captain, Derek Jeter would end his series in hospital there would have been gasps of disbelief and ridicule. Let’s see who except Raul Ibanez among the batters managed to stand up and be counted (Jeter pun intended)
Mr Girardi has a tendency to use the full range of his expanded roster when it turns September 1st. Unfortunately, this means that players are used to pitch on an irregular rest period and the continuity and consistency of the pitching tends to fall apart. This may be the last season he has to face that temptation as the rules on September roster expansion seem likely to change soon. In the meantime, here’s how the Yankees fared under the current system.
It was also a really mixed bag for the Yankees on the pitching front in August. Two or three starters were effective but others particularly Ivan Nova were well below expectations. Let’s see who did what:
Without A-Rod and Mo for the whole month and with key players like Teixeira out for handfuls of games, the Yankees did better than you might expect in August. They won 15, lost 13 which gave them above .500 on the month and kept them ahead of the division. However, things were not going as well as they might. Let’s see who did what in this decidedly mixed month:
Well, the home run and the relief pitching have been the heart of the Yankees’ successful season so far and July wasn’t much different. We have coped with the loss of Alex Rodriguez and Mariano Rivera and maintained a lead at the head of the division. Who were the contributors in that surprising situation?
July was an unusual month for the Yankees. They surprised the pundits by bringing in Ichiro Suzuki who looked likely to spend the whole of his American Major League career with Seattle and designated Dewayne Wise, who had become a fan favourite following a remarkable June. They persisted with Russell Martin and saw Alex Rodriguez head for the disabled list. But who were the solid bats behind a creditable month. Let’s see:
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