Brett Gardner Wins Yankees Center Field Job
By Historical Archive ~ March 29th, 2009. Filed under: Digest Contributors.
To no one’s surprise, Brett Gardner has won the coveted and glamorous New York Yankees center field job over Melky Cabrera. While each player had a strong spring training, Manager Joe Girardi was impressed with Gardner’s overall speed and what it brings to the Yankee lineup.
“Gardie finished up strong and had a great camp. Right now I think Gardie has a little bit of the edge. He brings a little more speed to the lineup,” said Girardi.
Knowing the Yankees’ penchant for impatience with young players, I said in yesterday’s post that Gardner will be given little margin for error before being replaced, Girardi stated that Gardner IS his center fielder.
“What happens April 6 doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what’s going to be June 1. As players, you have to perform. But right now we think Gardy has a little bit of an edge,” Girardi said. “It’s not going to be day by day. Gardy is our center fielder.”
Those are strong words and signals that Melky Cabrera is solely the 4th outfielder, but there have been rumors of Cabrera being traded. Why? What do the Yankees need? They have tremendous starting pitching and a deep bullpen, with quality reserves in Triple A waiting for their turn to both start (Phil Hughes, etc) and relieve (David Robertson, Stephen Jackson).
The Yankees lineup is deep with good hitters one through nine in the order. Mark Teixeira has hit well all spring and the injuries to Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada do not seem to bother either player. (So far I have been wrong about Posada). Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter are stinging the ball and Gardner looks like the second coming of Ty Cobb*.
Seriously, Cobb wasn’t that good as he hit .400 or better ONLY three times.
*Can you believe that at age 37, Cobb hit .378 with 12 HR’s (career high) and 102 RBI’s but struck out only 12 times in 490 plate appearances? Cobb was religiously devoted to baseball and would appear at the Hall of Fame ceremonies each season. After he was inducted in the first year in 1936 and many others (including Cy Young) were inducted in 1937, there was a photo taken of all the HOFers at the time. All were there including Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Young, Walter Johnson etc. All were present but Christy Mathewson (died in 1925) and Cobb. Cobb’s train was late and he couldn’t get to Cooperstown on time for the photo, but never missed another HOF ceremony until he died in 1961.
But, someone asked Cobb at a HOF ceremony in the mid 1950′s what he would hit if he were playing today, and Cobb said, “probably about .260.” The stunned questioner asked why so low an average for the great Ty Cobb, and Cobb replied, “well, I am almost 70 years old!”
Gardner is not quite that good – yet (just joking), but he is the New York Yankee starting center fielder. So far this spring, Gardner has hit a Cobb-like .418 with a .468 on base percentage (OBP). He also has three doubles, two triples, three home runs, six RBI and five stolen bases. Although Melky is not the starter, there is no reason to trade him away.
After all, under the pressure of competing for his job, Melky hit .328 with a .400 on-base percentage, including five extra-base hits and nine RBI.
Melky also plays pretty good defense with good speed and is still only 25 years old. He makes a fine “fourth outfielder” if you don’t consider Nick Swisher solely an outfielder and know Matsui is strictly a designated hitter. With Xavier Nady the right fielder and Swisher a jack of all trades and pretty good bat off the bench for say, Cody Ransom late in a game against a right handed pitcher, Cabrera is needed to back up Nady’s terrible defense and to spell Johnny Damon’s aging legs once in a while.
Congratulations on Brett Gardner winning the center field job, but it would foolish to trade Melky just because he is not a starter. He has many other attributes that will help the Yankees this season and beyond, especially with Damon and Matsui impending free agents in the off season and not likely to be around in 2010.
