2010 Yankee Report Cards Part III: The Rotation

* CC Sabathia- A: I was thinking about bumping old Parachute Pants down for his miserable postseason performance, but I'll give him a pass because of the knee injury.  Who knows how long the guy was dealing with it through the 2010 season and he still managed to put up insane numbers: 237.2 IP, 21 W (I know, I know, it's a flawed stat), 3.18 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, .656 OPS against, 134 ERA+, 5.4 WAR.  So far he's been every bit the ace the Yankees signed him to be, and he did it again this year with a bum knee and a constantly unstable rest of the rotation behind.  That's OK in my book.

* A.J. Burnett- D-: The only reason this isn't an F is because of his strong start to the season (4-0 with a 1.99 ERA through his first 6 starts).  But from then on it was all bad news for A.J., whose basic stats are so ugly (5.26 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, .285 BA against, .824 OPS against) that it makes going into the advanced and sabermetric categories completely unnecessary.  But he was top 10 in the AL in losses and walks, so I guess it's not all bad news, right?  A.J. Burnett has been a complete abortion in his 2 years in pinstripes and if he doesn't get his shit together next season, I would be all for outright releasing him and eating the rest of his contract or paying somebody connected to just off him.

* Andy Pettitte- A-: Only gets bumped down to the "-" because of the lost time due to injuries.  When he was on the mound, Andy Pettitte was hands down the Yankees' 2nd best pitcher this season, sometimes their ace, and the only starter in the postseason who consistently pitched well (and he pitched VERY well).  At age 38, Pettitte had one his 5 best seasons in 2010, posting a 3.28 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 130 ERA+, and 3.1 WAR, and continuing to use his Tom Glavine 2.0 repertoire to outwit opposing batters.  Unlike the rest of the Yankee pitching staff, Pettitte shined with runners on, often limiting potential big rallies or crushing them altogether by making big pitches in clutch situations.  If this was his last season, it was a damn good one.

* Phil Hughes- B: It was a tale of 2 halves for Phil Hughes this year: outstanding first half (11-2, 3.65 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, .239 BA against pre-ASG) and a bit of a rough second half (7-6, 4.90 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, .250 BA against post-ASG).  But at the end of the day his yearly totals aren't bad for a 24-year-old in his first full-time season as a starter, and the future looks bright for Phil if he can continue to evolve his approach and improve his secondary pitches.  Even with his second half struggles, Hughes finished second on the team in total Ks, finished just behind CC as the #1 starter in terms of K/9, and posted 2.7 WAR.  Rest assured that my Phil Hughes boner will be back in full effect in 2011.

*Javy Vazquez- F: Not so surprisingly, Javy's second stint in New York was just as bad, if not worse, than his first.  It's one thing to be a big blubbering pussy who melts down at the first sign of trouble when it's 2004 and you still have your stuff.  It's another thing completely when you're still a big blubbering pussy who melts down at the first sign of trouble in 2010 when you have absolutely no stuff left.  In 8 starts through June and early July, Javy was actually one of the best Yankee starters, but it was all downhill from there and his final numbers (5.32 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 1.86 K/BB, .818 OPS against) show just how putrid he was.

** 2010 Report Cards wrap up tomorrow with the lineup.  Try and guess what Jeter's will be. **