Welcome to the second edition of Deconstructing Champions. Today we look at the catchers and pitchers of the 2009 Yankees. For the past few years, pitching has posed quite a setback for the Yankees and the beginning of this year looked like it would be a another bad year for pitching. Luckily, the Yankees found a nice rotation towards the middle of year, which included Sabathia, Burnett, Pettite and Chamberlain. When the postseason came around, many people were worried with Joe Girardi's decision to use a three man rotation but as we know the Yankees pulled through. So with that we look at the contributions of the ptichers and catchers that led the Yankees to their 27th victory.
Jorge Posada - Posada made his debut as a Yankee in 95, the same year that his fellow teammate, Captain, and good friend Derek Jeter made his debut. Jorge Posada has always been consistent as a catcher and a batter. Ending the season with 109 hits, Posada did quite well this year. He hit the homer in the ALDS against the Twins to give the Yankees a 2-1 victory and his double in Game 4 of the World Series helped secure a 7-4 win against the Phillies. Posada had always worked hard and it was finally good to see him pick up his 5th World Series ring.
Jose Molina - Being a backup catcher for Posada, we didn't see Molina as much during this season, but he deserves an honorable mention. With the help of A.J. Burnett he did a good job when he played in Game 2. Although he did perform as well as he did last year offensive wise he got 30 hits this season and 1 home run.
Francisco Cervelli and Kevin Cash deserve honorable mentions for their contributions during the regular season.
Pitching
C.C. Sabathia - Acquired during the offseason last year, Sabathia proved to be a helpful add to the Yankees starting rotation. With a fantastic 19-8 record and excellent pitching in Games 1 and 4 of the World Series, he has quickly become a favorite among many Yankee fans. As long as Sabathia never has to pitch to Utley again, he'll help shut down the opposing team.
A.J. Burnett - While Game 5 might have been a bad night for Burnett, we can't forget the excellent game he pitched in game 2. Like Sabathia, he signed on to the Yanks during the offseason and had a tough season with a 13-9 record. Usually pitching great starts in his games, he could go five or six innings without giving up a hit. He pitched a hitter against the Mets and pitching an immaculate inning when the Yanks played the Marlins.
Andy Pettitte - In Game 6, when Pettite left the mound and was given a standing ovation, it kind of reminded me of the scene from "Angels in the Outfield" where everyone flaps their arms for Tony Danza. Like Jeter and Posada, Pettitte made his debut with the Yankees in 95. He had a decent season with a 14-8 record. However,Pettitte's performance in Game 3 and 6 helped secure the win for the Yanks. He definitely would've been a good candidate for the MVP.
Alfredo Aceves - Quite effective as both a starter and a reliever, Aceves pitched an excellent season and had Girardi decided to use at least a 4 pitcher rotation, maybe the Yankees would've have won it in four. He ended the season with a 10-1 record.
Joba Chamberlain - The poor guy keeps on getting thrown back and forth as a starter and reliever. A tough year for Chamberlain he went 9-6 for the year and was almost sent back to the minors. Although he did give up that home run against Pedro Feliz he got a couple of strike outs. We're not sure what will happen to Joba next year but for now he could celebrate his first World Series championship.
Phil Coke - Although his performance in the post season was not too great, he had an ok regular season with a 5-3 record including 2 saves. Nevertheless he did help the Yankees in helping them pick up their 27th World Championship.
Phil Hughes - Fully recovered and healthy from the end of last season, Hughes replaced Wang at the end of April and had a great year with a 8-3 record. He spent the second half of the season as relief pitcher, but there is much speculation that he might be back on the starting rotation for next year.
Damaso Marte - A good reliever, who did very well in the post season. He struck out the two big hitters Utley and Howard in Game 6, which set up for Rivera to come in and finish the series. He retired 12 of the 14 batters he faced during the postseason, five of which were strikeouts.
David Robertson - Although he contributed to the 6-1 loss in game 1 of the World Series, he also helped the Yankees get out of a tight spot in both ALCS and ALDS.
Mariano Rivera - The fourth current Yankee, who started in 95,Rivera has always been called in to seal the deal and he's usually delivered. With his fifth World Series ring and turning 40 in a couple of weeks, we wonder what will become of Mariano Rivera in the future. For now, he can celebrate along with the rest of his team for a 27th World Championship.
With Rivera, we round up the pitchers and catchers who did an amazing job, but we must give honorable mentions to several other pitchers including Michael Dunn, Chad Gaudin,Brian Bruney, who does a better job causing controversy, and Chien-Ming Wang, who still got a World Series ring despite being disabled for most of the season.
Next time, we hit the outfield and look at the power and talent out there.
This has been Ian K. Feldman speaking words of wisdom.
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