Being a Red Sox fan at heart, I am always interested in what the Yankees are doing and where they are headed. Thus, I pose this question: Just what are the '08 Yankees? I wanted to take a look at the team at the (sort of) half way point. AL ranks are in parentheses.

Offense
R/G 4.59 (8th), H 863 (5th), HR 90 (7th), K 549 (1st), BA .266 (5th), OBP .338 (T3rd), SLG .413 (6th), OPS+ 102 (T6th)

For me, this has been the biggest surprise of the first half. I would think that most people would have believed that the Yankees were going to be a stronger offensive team than they have been. They have been mediocre in most categories. Injuries have played a factor here, as Posada would likely have played in about 40 more games, A Rod in about 15 more, Matsui in about 20 more, and Damon in about 10 more. These are the perils of having a large number of aging veterans. But the real offensive problems have been Cano and Melky. Their 08 lines are virtually identical, with Cano at .246/.285/.358 and Melky at .241/301/347. Couple those two with the aforementioned injuries and you have the primary reason for an underachieving offensive team.

Reasons for Yankee fan optimism
The biggest reason for optimism is the additional games that will be played by Posada and A Rod. Those are big bats that were missed for a not insignificant number of games. Jeter is coming back to career norms. Cano and Melky couldn't have a worse half (could they?). It seems likely that the Yankees would have a better offensive second half.

Reasons for pessimism
The injuries to Damon and Matsui could have lasting effects on the second half, as both played well in the first half. It also seems likely that Posada will be seeing substantial time at 1B and DH in the second half, forcing Molina's inferior bat into the line up on a regular basis. I've heard it mentioned that the Yankees don't hit "in the clutch", or have trouble scoring runs at key moments.

NYY O .266/.338/.413 OPS .751
RISP .254/.337/.376 OPS .713
Men On .268/.342/.403 OPS .745
L+C .269/.341/.404 OPS .745
Hi Lev .282/.351/.413 OPS .764

Overall, the Yankees actually perform at about the same level in these situations. And if you key in on a couple of the regulars, you'll see that they actually excel in these scenarios. So where is the suck? Where you would think it is, Melky and Cano. Add in Molina's bat (someone who is likely to see more PAs in the second half), and this is how it breaks down for these three in these situations:

RISP .226/.273/.313 OPS .586
Men On .237/.273/.312 OPS .585
L+C .244/.265/.378 OPS .643
Hi Lev .266/.290/.342 OPS .632

Pitching
R/G 4.34 (7th), ERA 4.13 (7th), K/9 6.97 (5th), BB/9 3.12 (6th), H/9 9.02 (7th), HR/9 .90 (T7th) ERA+ 99 (7th)

Overall the pitching, like the offense, has been mediocre. Really, the starters have been the problem here, as the bullpen has been excellent. While Mussina has outperformed expectations, Pettitte and Wang were mediocre, Ponson has been decent, and the rest have been bad. Joba has shown signs of being a front of the rotation pitcher, and may even be their ace in the second half. As was mentioned, the pen has been very good. Farnsworth and Veras have exceeded what most though they would do in 08, and Mariano may be having his best year ever. A bunch of promising young arms may solidify the pen even more in the upcoming months, and replace the dregs (Hawkins, Ohlendorf).

Reasons for optimism
Joba looks to be the ace of the future for the organization, and could anchor the staff in the second half. Mussina really hasn't shown you anything to think that he will slow down in the second half. I honestly expect the pen to continue to be one of the better ones in league, if for no other reason than the fact that Mo would make any pen about league average almost by himself. If Hughes or Kennedy, or both, can be close to the hype that surrounded them before their bad 14 starts, the rotation could actually be decent.

Reasons for pessimism
Wang is out for at least another month. Pettitte has been a pedestrian pitcher so far. Two guys named Rasner and Ponson are the back end of the rotation currently. I was curious about how the numbers for the starters would look if you subtracted the IK and PH starts. Honestly, they aren't much better:

08 starters ERA 4.25, H/9 9.25, HR/9 .98, BB/9 3.01, K/9 6.10
08 no IK/PH ERA 4.06, H/9 9.70, HR/9 .81, BB/9 2.55, K/9 6.24

The staff ERA(slightly), HR/9(significantly), and BB/9(significantly) go down, while the H/9 and K/9 (slightly) go up. So, despite removing those awful starts, you are still left with a mediocre staff, with the AL rankings not moving much, with the exceptions of BB/9 and HR/9, which both become the second best rates in those columns. I just can't see this staff winning many games down the stretch without significant help from the offense. Really, the only downsides to the pen are if Farnsworth comes back down to earth, and if Veras or Ramirez blow up in high leverage situations.

The questions I have are: Is this team capable of a second half run? If so, why? If not, should they look to acquire talent at the deadline? Or, should they consider becoming sellers? I'm curious what Yankee fans have to say about this...