No fooling in April: A 'Kudos & Wet Willies' summary

It is close enough to the end of April now to review the good and bad of the season's first month for our New York Yankees. There is no better way to do that than with a 'Kudos & Wet Willies' post.

In case you are not familiar with 'Kudos & Wet Willies,' here is how it works. 'Kudos' go to those performers deserving of praise. 'Wet Willies' go to those guys who aren't getting it done. Occasional a 'Kwillie' will sneak in there for someone who has been good at times and bad at others.

So, let's get started

Kudos to ...

• Andy Pettitte: The classy left-hander can keep on talking about retirement, but how can he stop when he is pitching like this. Pettitte (3-0, 1.29 ERA) is pitching as well as he ever has.
  
• Mariano Rivera: Eight games, no runs, no walks, a .57 WHIP. Maybe he can pitch until he's 45!
  
• Phil Hughes: The Phranchise has without doubt justified his spot in the starting rotation thus far. At 2-0, 2.19 with a near no-hitter under his belt Hughes may finally be turning the corner and becoming the pitcher the Yankees have always hoped for.
  
• Curtis Granderson: No big adjustment to New York for Grandy. He is only hitting .246, but he has been a huge factor is several games and it seems like he has been in pinstripes forever.
  
• Brett Gardner: When will Joe Girardi realize that Gardner needs to be (.327 BA, .421 OBP, 9 stolen bases) needs to be much more than a platoon player on this team. How is it that Girardi can't see that Gardner's speed, defense and ability to make contact help the Yankees more than the occasional power and awful defense of Marcus Thames?
  
• Derek Jeter: The Captain just keeps on keepin' on. He will slow down someday, but with a .316 average, three home runs and three stolen bases already that time does not yet seem to be upon us.
  
• Robinson Cano: So far, so good for Cano in the fifth slot in the lineup. He leads the Yankees in home runs (5), RBI (14), has a .368 batting average and seems much more comfortable and confident than ever before.
  
• Jorge Posada: Yeah, you're never sure if he is actually going to catch the ball unless it's right down the middle. But, Jorgie (.315, four home runs, 11 RBI) can still hit, and he is still a very important Yankee.
  

Wet Willies to ...

• Javier Vazquez: Umm, Javy, this is not a good idea. Pitching to a 1-3 record and an ERA of 9.00 in your first four starts, when many Yankee fans are pre-disposed to wishing you weren't on the team in the first place, is not going to endear you to the faithful. Like it or not, you are connected to possibly the most painful memory in Yankee history. And if you keep this up, you will be connected to Ed Whitson and other 'unforgettable for the wrong reasons' Yankee pitchers of the past.
  
• Mark Teixeira: Somebody has to hide all the calendars on Tex, and convince him that the season actually begins in May. To Teixeira, April = Awful. He is batting a puny .119.
  
• Nick Johnson: By comparison to Teixeira, Johnson is actually having a good month. But, that does not mean the new Yankee designated hitter is ACTUALLY HAVING a good month. At .135 with one home run and five RBI he has done almost no damage with his bat. His incredible 18 walks, though, have at least somewhat made up for his apparently forgetting to bring a bat with him to home plate for most of April.
  
• Randy Winn: I know it's only 10 at-bats, but the guy doesn't have a hit yet. In fact, I'm not sure he has a hard-hit ball yet. If you want to take some of Thames' ABs there, son, you gotta pick it up.
  

A few other notable things for April.

• The best and worst of A-Rod: Since life with the Yankees is all about Alex Rodriguez, even when he apparently isn't trying, here are the highlights and lowlights of his month. The highlight had to be starting a triple play against Oakland. The lowlight, against those same Athletics was his jaunt across the pitcher's mound that drew the ire of A's pitcher Dallas Braden.
• Blockhead of the month: That has to go to Joe Girardi for Sunday's wishy-washy effort against the Angels. The let's bring in David Robertson. Nope, let's leave Damaso Marte in and walk Kendry Morales. Nope, let's pitch to Morales after starting the intentional walk. Then, let's keep pitching to him at 3-0, gift wrap a fastball and lose the game. Almost like Joe G. was begging to get beaten. Joe G. is sometimes guilty of over-managing, which I will live with as long as he is decisive. Indecision with the game on the line, though, is unforgivable.
• Diarrhea of the mouth award: Has to go to Chan Ho Park.