Where each contending team stands at the All-Star Break: New York Yankees

The Yankees season has been nothing new: high expectations, not being able to meet them, powerful but inconsistent pitching, poor starting pitching (while using a lot of starters). Just another season in New York. Though the performance is similar to season’s past two things are different: they have a new manager, Joe Girardi, and they not only look up to the Red Sox, but the Tampa Bay Rays.

The teams pitching has been saved, no not by Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes, but by pitchers who are actually on the active roster, Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina. Pettitte and Mussina have combined for 21 of the starters 36 combined wins, and are the only two pitchers in the rotation to accumulate over 100 innings pitched. Joe Girardi, Brian Cashman, the GM, and the noise maker that is Hank Steinbrenner, have had to patch together the final three spots in the rotation. None of which have been overwhelmingly successful. With the injury to Chien Ming Wang, the Yankees were forced, after much discussion, to move Joba Chamberlain from his dominant set-up role as a reliever to become the third starter of the staff. He has done well during his short tenure in the rotation, but this was not the time that the Yankees wanted to make him a starter. Desperate times call for desperate measures. The teams’ pitching ERA is very respectable at 4.13, but when it comes to a team of the Yankees caliber, their playoff hopes shouldn’t ride on the arms of Darrell Rasner, Sidney Ponson or Dan Geise.

Their offense, like their pitching, has been patched together together at times and is very suspect. Sure they have stars in Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Jason Giambi, but because of various injuries their lineup is discombobulated. Hideki Matsui has been out since June 27th with a knee problem, and has just recently started to swing the bat. The Yankees have missed him dearly, not only because of his incredibly talented bat, but his veteran presence in the outfield. I mention his veteran leadership because, in his stead, the team has had to use rookies, such as Brett Gardner and Justin Christian, to take over his position. In his absence their offense has been a roller coaster ride. Johnny Damon was hitting very well until he got injured, (forcing Gardner and Christian to swing the bat, albeit unsuccessfully) Jeter isn’t have a Jeter-like season (before a recent stretch he was hitting in the .270’s), and A-Rod and Bobby Abeu aren’t having their prototypical seasons. If they get Matsui healthy and hitting, they could have a dominant offense (only if everyone gets on the same page), one that New York expects. As a team they are hitting .267, with Matsui as their top hitter, average-wise, at .323. As their team average suggests, they miss his consistency.

If the team wants to make it to the postseason they’ll need another hitter (they are looking Richie Sexson, who was released from the Mariners. Like that would help: .218 BA, .315 OBP, 76 strikeouts) maybe a couple starting pitchers, and a shut down reliever (the Yankees bullpen desperately needs a replacement for Chamberlain, maybe Brian Fuentes from Colorado would suffice).

All I know is they need help, soon, and badly.