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.

The Yankees went into Fenway Park and took two out of three games from the Red Sox. They did it with timely hitting and solid work out of the bullpen. The Yankees can’t pat themselves on the back too long as they travel to Tampa to take on the 2-1 Rays. Many think the Rays, and not the Red Sox, will be the Yanks’ top competition for the A.L. East this season. Only time will tell on that one but one thing is for sure and that is that the Yankees will need better work out of C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett this weekend as the Red Sox rocked them both.

The real Mariano Rivera has returned after the All Star Break for the Yankees.  In 29 games since the break, Rivera is 1-1 with 17 saves, a 2.05 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP.  Rivera has worked 30.2 innings in the 2nd half of the season and he has allowed 27 hits, walked 5 batters and whiffed 36.  Rivera’s overall numbers look pretty good now.  In 62 games this season, Rivera is 3-4 with 29 saves, a 2.98 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP.  In 66.1 innings, he has allowed 63 hits, walked 10 batters and whiffed 69.  The Yankees have won 8 of their last 10 games which has them 5 games ahead of the Tigers in the Wild Card.  But the Yankees who are now 87-64 on the season are only 2.5 games behind the Red Sox in the American League East.