An exciting race ends with a fairly lackluster finish as Brett Gardner beats out Melky Cabrera for the CF spot. At the very least, it was a good race that saw the speedy Gardner win the spot away from the younger and more experienced Cabrera.
Personally, I like either in this spot. With that in mind, I hope to never see Johnny Damon or Nick Swisher out in Center. In case you forgot, I need defense in that outfield. While I'm at it, I also never want to see the name Mike Cameron anywhere near the words "trade talks heat up".
The one thing that does surprise me about this move is the fact that we start Cody Ransom instead of the rehabbing Alex Rodriguez at 3rd base. I just think that Melky's experience kind of wins out in this situation. Maybe I'm splitting hairs, but an 8-9 of Cabrera, Ransom seems like it would turn over the lineup a bit better than Gardner, Ransom or Ransom, Gardner at the bottom.
I do expect to see a lot more running from this team this year though, and that seems to be the way Girardi's leaning. Melky's poor baserunning and nonexistant basestealing plus his lackluster and fading numbers are, after all, what sent him to Scranton last year. Anyone who's seen Gardner play knows that his speed is his game. And just to hammer his point on speed home, Girardi had this to say on the subject, “Speed is an interesting dimension to a club, and I like it, because it puts a lot of pressure on the defense”.
There you have it. With the Jeter-Damon flip-flop, the addition a Teixeira, a healthy Jorge and Matsui, Nady for a season with a touch of Swish, and Brett Gardner looking to swipe a few bags we've got a very new, new-look New York Yankees on our hands. This looks to be a very proactive and clever club equally adept at manufacturing runs as well as knocking them in.
Only one more week...
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