The New York Yankees finished the first half of the 2011 season with a 53-35 record which had them leading in the Wild Card Race (by five games over the Rays) and they are only 1 game behind the Red Sox in the A.L. East. The Yankees have had some injury issues and players not playing or pitching up to their ability in first half of the 2011 season. Look for the Yankees to seek some upgrades to a few areas at the trade deadline later this month. Here is a look at the players who have stood out the most for the Yankees so far in 2011:

MVP of the first half: This is a easy one, it’s 30-year old lefty swinging CF Curtis Granderson. The Yankees traded for Granderson two winters ago feeling that he would be a perfect fit for the new Yankee Stadium. Well, he didn’t do too well in his first year with the Yankees. But, he’s more than making up for that so far in 2011. Granderson has played in 87 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 88 for 327 (.269 avg, .935 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 25 homers, 63 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. He is in line to have monster final numbers for the Yankees in 2011 as long as he can just stay healthy.

Biggest Surprise: Righty starting pitcher Bartolo Colon has by far been the most pleasant surprise for the Yankees so far this year as they had a huge hole at the back end of the starting rotation when 2011 began. Colon replaced in injured Phil Hughes and he has been solid for the Yankees this year. Colon has pitched in 15 games (12 starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 6-4 with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. The Yankees hope that Colon can stay healthy the rest of the season.

Biggest Disappointment: 25-year old righty starting pitcher Phil Hughes was terrible before getting put on the disabled list with a “dead arm”. Hughes has pitched in 4 games (all starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 0-2 with a 10.57 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. He has given up 25 hits (4 homers) in his first 15 1/3 innings for the Yankees so far this year! If Hughes doesn’t get his act together soon, Ivan Nova will snatch his spot in the starting rotation.

The New York Yankees won two out of three games over the weekend against the Tigers. The Yankees did it with hitting over the weekend as they outscored the Tigers 23-19. The Yankees slugged 9 homers over the weekend and they needed all of them as the pitching wasn’t that great. C.C. Sabathia was solid, A.J. Burnett was o.k. but Phil Hughes was horrible. Hughes could barely get up to 90 mph yesterday and the Tigers’ hitters were running up to the plate to bat against him. I think it’s safe to say that the Yankees will go as far as their hitting takes them in 2011.

The Yankees are 56-32 on the season which has them in first place in the A.L. East, 2 games ahead of the Rays. The most exciting thing for Yankees’ fans has to be the fact that they have not been clicking on all cylinders so far this season. Here is a look at the most pleasant surprises so far this season and the biggest disappointments for the Yankees in the first half:

Pleasant Surprises: 26-year old LF/CF Brett Gardner has been outstanding all season long for the Yankees. He has played in 81 games for the Yankees this season and he is 85 of 275 (.309 avg, .811 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 5 homers, 29 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Andy Pettitte hasn’t just turned back the clock this season as he’s pitching the best ball he ever has for the Yankees. Pettitte has started 17 games for the Yankees this year and he is 11-2 with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. I’m not so sure that Pettitte can keep up this pace the rest of the year due to his age (38). 24-year old righty Phil Hughes had struggled as a starter earlier in his career with the Yanks but this season it’s all coming together for him. Hughes has started 16 games for the Yankees this year and he is 11-2 with a 3.65 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. The Yankees hope he doesn’t run out of gas in the second half of the season.

Disappointments: The Yankees expected Curtis Granderson to hit 30+ bombs for them this season but he has been pretty awful with a bat in his hands. Granderson has played in 64 games for the Yankees this year and he is 54 of 225 (.240 avg, .718 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 7 homers, 24 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Yankees need much more from him in the 2nd half of the season. The Yankees had to know that Nick Johnson was one of the most brittle players in the majors so signing him was a big mistake. Johnson might be done for the season and he was pathetic before getting injured. Johnson has played in 24 games for the Yankees this season and he is 12 of 72 (.167 avg, .693 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 2 homers and 8 RBIs. A.J. Burnett has been a huge mess for the Yankees this season. He has started 18 games for the Yankees this season and he is 7-7 with a 4.75 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. The Yankees might look to replace Burnett in the rotation despite how much money he makes if he continues to pitch batting practice. The Yankees appear to have screwed up Joba Chamberlain big time by making him a starter a little more than a year and a half ago. They thought moving him back to the pen would be a cure all but it has been far from that. Chamberlain has pitched in 39 games (0 starts) for the Yankees this season and he is 1-4 with 2 saves, a 5.79 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.

The Yankees are 9-3 on the season which has them in 2nd place in the A.L. East, 1/2 a game behind the Rays. The Yankees have won 4 games in a row and they have outscored the opposition 69-44 this year. The Yankees are excelling despite getting next to nothing out of DH Nick Johnson and 1B Mark Teixeira with the bat so far this season. The Yankees will be on the road against the A’s (3 games) and Angels (3 games) this week.

The Yankees took two out of three games from the Rays this weekend. They did it with good hitting and solid starting pitching as C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett rebounded well from rough first starts in 2010. The Yankees will be on the road this week hitting Anaheim to play the Angels starting Tuesday for a three game series and then down to Texas for a three games series against the Rangers. The Yankees are 4-2 on the season which is good for second place in the A.L. East, 1 game behind the surprising Toronto Blue Jays.