Old Guard Still Going Strong

2008 was not a good year for the remaining members of those championship Yankees teams. Joe Girardi drew some criticism as manager, Posada missed most of the year due to injury, Pettitte looked like he had very little left in the tank, and even Jeter showed some signs of serious decline. Mariano, of course, was the exception. All in all, it didn't look like our lingering heroes from the past would be lingering for much longer. In particular, Pettitte's future was in doubt last year. However, they wisely brought Pettitte back and one of the big differences between this year's team and last year's team has been the performance of the "Four Rings Club."

Joe Girardi has had, by all accounts, an excellent year managing. He has built up a bullpen that was devoid of good arms back in April, into one of the best in the league. The workload has been spread out among different players and nobody has gotten the Scott Proctor treatment. Joe does a good job of juggling the bench to make sure everybody gets the rest they need, as well. His team could win 100 games, exceeding expectations, and should win the toughest division in baseball. His decision to loosen things up back in Spring Training appears to have gone over well and these Yankees look like they're having fun.

Derek Jeter has had an incredible bounce back year. Before the season, all signs pointed to Derek Jeter hitting a steep and unpleasant decline. For three straight years his numbers had plummeted from MVP levels in 2006 to the worst year of his career in 2008. His wOBA fell to .343 that year and his defense was terrible to the point that Michael Kay actually noticed. However, he has made a remarkable turnaround. His power has returned, his base stealing ability is back, he's hitting over .330, and he's finally living up to his reputation on defense. Where it not for Joe Mauer's ridiculous season, Jeter would be a real MVP candidate.

Pettitte has surpassed everybody's expectations with the year he's having. Early on it looked like Cashman had made a familiar mistake by putting to much faith in an aging pitcher. However, since the All Star Break Andy has been on fire. He's either the Yankees #2 or #3 right now and figures to be a big part of the rotation this October. He's given the Yanks quality innings and is racking up strikeouts at a rate that wouldn't have looked unusual in the prime of his career. He's been indispensable for the Yankees and has made up for the loss of Chien Ming Wang very nicely.

Of course Mariano Rivera is having another quietly excellent year, as well. Mr. Automatic has converted 37 of 38 saves and is well on his way to another 40 save season. He hasn't been quite as good as he was last year but that's to be expected. His ERA is still under 2.00 and his strikeout rate is the second highest of his career. It was only higher way back in '96. Mariano is still going strong and looks like he has a couple more good years in him. In the playoffs his role is going to expand more and I'm sure he'll be able to rise to the occasion, like he has so many other times.

And where would we be without Jorge Posada right now? The man has gotten his share of criticism this year for his game calling skills, which always have been an issue. However, their is no disputing his offensive value. Their aren't many catcher's playing better than Jorge right now. You have Mauer, Martinez McCann, and then what? There's not much and fans would do well to remember how things went last year with Jose Molina as the backstop before they rush to bury Posada. His days as a catcher are numbered but I'd take .278/.354/.508 from a catcher any day. The guy is tough as nails and has not slowed down one bit since hitting the first home run at the new stadium.

Despite the focus on inserting younger, homegrown, players onto their roster, the Yankees are still benefiting from their older homegrown players tremendously. These guys want to win at least one more championship before they hang up the spikes and they appear to be well on their way to achieving their goals. The combined WAR of those four players is 13.8. That means, that they old guard has accounted for about 17% of the Yankees' 83 wins this year. That's a big deal and come playoff time, the playoff experience of these guys is going to be huge. So let's not forget about these guys when we give credit for the Yankees success, so far, this year.