Your end of the season MLB report cards?

Well, you'd have a point except for the fact that I gave Clemens a B and not an A.

My reason for giving him that grade is because without him, this team definitely doesn't make the playoffs. He gave this team everything I expected from him...if you were expecting NL-esque stats in the AL, you were setting yourself up for a dissapointment. Clemens has been a solid number 3 or 4 starter, which was what he was brought back to be. He wasn't supposed to be an ace.

Without Clemens, this team only has 2 reliable pitchers. Wang and Pettitte have been excellent all year, but Mussina has sucked and Hughes was hurt. You're telling me that if Clemens isn't brought back and we go the rest of the year with, say, Igawa as our 5th starter, we would have made the playoffs?

The offense woke up, like you said...but you need good pitching to be able to win. Roger was the best mid-season move we could have made and it didn't cost us any of our farm system. It was worth it, to me at least.

New York Yankees
Overall Grade: B
Record: 91-67
Standings: 2nd place in AL East, clinced playoff berth
Team MVP: Alex Rodriguez
Team LVP: Carl Pavano
Best Starting Pitcher: Andy Pettitte
Worst Starting Pitcher: Kei Igawa
Best Relief Pitcher: Mariano Rivera(Chamberlain doesn't count... didn't pitch enough)
Worst Relief Pitcher: Kyle Farnsworth

Staff:
Joe Torre (Manager) - B+
Ron Guidry (Pitching Coach) - B-
Kevin Long (Hitting Coach) - A(when you're working with All Stars, do you really have to do much... heck, the only guy he really helped was Carlos Pena, and he's on another team)

Position Players:
C Jose Molina - B+
C Jorge Posada - A+
1B Doug Mientkiewicz - B
1B Jason Giambi - C-
1B Wilson Betemit - C+
1B Shelley Duncan - B
1B Andy Phillips - C+
2B Robinson Cano - B+
2B Alberto Gonzalez - Inc.
SS Derek Jeter - A
3B Alex Rodriguez - A+
RF Bobby Abreu - B+
CF Melky Cabrera - B
CF Bronson Sardinha - Inc.
LF Hideki Matsui - B+
LF Johnny Damon - C+

Pitchers:
Chien-Ming Wang - A
Andy Pettitte - A
Mike Mussina - C-
Roger Clemens - B-
Kei Igawa - F
Ian Kennedy - B+
Phil Hughes - C+

Joba Chamberlain - A+
Mariano Rivera - A
Sean Henn - D
Luis Vizcaino - B
Ross Ohlendorf - B+/Inc... I'd give him a B+ based on the short amount of work he's had.
Edwar Ramirez - C-
Ron Villone - C
Jose Veras - C-
Brian Bruney - C
Jeff Karstens - F
Matt DeSalvo - D
Tyler Clippard - C-
Carl Pavano is a failure at life. He is human garbage.
Chase Wright - D
Kyle Farnsworth - D
Chris Britton - C
Darrell Rasner - C-

New York Yankees
Overall Grade:
Record: 91-67
Standings: 2nd place in AL East, clinced playoff berth
Team MVP: Alex Rodriguez
Team LVP: Kei Igawa
Best Starting Pitcher: Andy Pettitte
Worst Starting Pitcher: Kei Igawa/Chase Wright
Best Relief Pitcher: Joba Chamberlain
Worst Relief Pitcher: Kyle Farnsworth

Staff:
Joe Torre (Manager) - B
Ron Guidry (Pitching Coach) - B-
Kevin Long (Hitting Coach) - A-

Position Players:
C Jose Molina - A
C Jorge Posada - A+
1B Doug Mientkiewicz - B-
1B Jason Giambi - C
1B Wilson Betemit - B
1B Shelley Duncan - B+
1B Andy Phillips - B-
2B Robinson Cano - A-
2B Alberto Gonzalez - Inc.
SS Derek Jeter - A
3B Alex Rodriguez - A+
RF Bobby Abreu - B
CF Melky Cabrera - A
CF Bronson Sardinha - Inc.
LF Hideki Matsui - B-
LF Johnny Damon - B-

Pitchers:
Chien-Ming Wang - A-
Andy Pettitte - A
Mike Mussina - B-
Roger Clemens - C+
Kei Igawa - Z (yeah, I said it.)
Ian Kennedy - Didn't see much of him, so, can't really tell.
Phil Hughes - B

Joba Chamberlain - A+++++++++++++++++++
Mariano Rivera - A
Sean Henn - F-------------------
Luis Vizcaino - B
Ross Ohlendorf - Didn't see much of him, so, can't really tell.
Edwar Ramirez - B+
Ron Villone - C-
Jose Veras - Didn't see much of him, so, can't really tell.
Brian Bruney - D-
Jeff Karstens - F---------------------------
Matt DeSalvo - D+
Tyler Clippard - C-
Carl Pavano - sucks.
Chase Wright - F------------------------------
Kyle Farnsworth - F-------------------
Chris Britton - C-
Darrell Rasner - D

I can't accept anyone putting Kei Igawa as the team's least valuable player over Pavano... Granted, they both suck and deserve gonorrhea, but I can recall a couple of instances of Kei Igawa giving the team something positive... including 2 nights ago when he had a solid start. Carl Pavano contributes absolutely nothing to society.

Pirates..................................................................................................................................E


I would have given the team an F, but they made some good changes at the end of season in staff. The reason they did not get a D is because of their game today.....

One day you will understand the world outside Yankee stadium.

Lets pretend money is an issue, and that this team does not have bottomless pockets.

Did 28$ million for what Clemens gave you worth it considering you could trot out an Ian Kennedy or a whomever for 27$ million less and with a team that averaged 6+ runs a game...would that really have changed a lot?

Probably not.

It's cool, rah rah Rogah.

Not to mention, good possibility that he might not even help you when it really mattered...in October.

When you're paying for a guy like Clemens, you're paying for the name... everyone with half a brain knew the yankees weren't getting 28 million dollars worth of production from Clemens... what pitcher in the majors gives you that anyway? He was paid to lure him out of Texas, and paid for a marquis name... there aren't many bigger names in baseball history than Roger Clemens.

I don't know what the result would have been hadn't the Yankees signed Clemens... but I don't get involved in team finances. It wasn't my money spent to sign him. The team screwed up this off-season giving Kei Igawa a big contract, giving Pavano a big contract a few years back.... the rotation needed help, and they had to overpay to get it.

However, if you're telling me we're going into next season with Wang, Pettitte, Mussina, Hughes and Chamberlain... I'm pretty happy with that, and don't feel another dime has to be spent on starting pitching.

And yes, Mussina has made it perfectly clear his career isn't "finished" as some people would probably want you to believe... you don't pitch with stuff that he has shown in his past three outings if your career is over.

Considering the fact that Igawa, Clippard, and DeSalvo were all giving up more than 6 runs a game, hell yes it would have changed things.

I guess you don't understand the fact that a team's 3rd starter doesn't have to put up a 3.00 ERA. Clemens was brought here NOT TO BE THE ACE OF THE STAFF! We already had Pettitte and Wang at the top of our rotation when we signed him. Considering the fact that I predicted he'd finish the season with a 4.50 ERA, I'm satisfied with what we got from him. We already called up Joba and Hughes, but you think rushing Kennedy back in May would have helped the team in the long run?

The best part of the Clemens deal was the fact that the Yankees basically acquired a solid, middle of the rotation, dependable starter that other teams would have raped them for at the deadline. Anyone the Yankees tried to get would have cost them Joba, Hughes, Horne, Clippard, Kennedy or a combination of those guys. Clemens gave this team the same thing they tried to get out of Lidle and Chacon back when they made those deals the previous 2 years.

The best part of the Clemens deal is that you're not on hook for him next year. The Yankees are looking at a rotation of Pettitte, Mussina, Wang, Hughes, Joba/ Kennedy.

As far as the money goes...I don't care if this team gave him $500,000 or $30 million. It's not my money, and it's not like handing out green paper is going to kill our farm system like the organization has done in the past. Money is never going to keep the Yankees from getting what they want, so people just need to stop whining about it and get over it. Boston is 2nd in the league in total payroll and spent a TON of money in the offseason that no one seems to talk about.