I'd rather have Melky in center than Gardner. At least Melky prevents runners from advancing, plus he can switch hit (even though he's really only a lefty), and if he takes some pitches for a change maybe his average would go up.
Melky is a good outfielder and has a good arm. I would rather sacrifice some offense for solid defense. Melky would be the number 9 hitter, we dont need him to hit .330. If he can rebound and hit .270-.280 and play good defense thats fine with me
lets get real, more like 230 to 240, I would rather have gardner hit 230 to 240, in the 9 spot and he could use his speed to really spark the top of the lineup. Really either way they both suck but whatev, just keeping the seat warm for one year until AJAX arrives
Well, if you want to "get real" about it... Melky did hit .280 and .273 with the Yanks before hitting .249 last year... and put up a line of .296/.347/.420/.767 in his brief minor league career. Gardner's minor league line is .291/.389/.385/.774. They're not much different, except Melky is better in CF. Less speed, but better arm and takes better routes to the ball (which is really more of a knock on Gardner than praise for Melky). I think both are serviceable, given the Yanks' needs. And I wouldn't be surprised if either of them put up league average-ish numbers. (Not saying I expect them to.)
They can manage with Melky in center until the trade deadline. If he costs the team wins then they will trade for a CF. Hopefully by then the trade bait's stock has risen due to good performance or demand.
Is Jackson getting the invite to spring training? I had read somewhere weeks ago that there was an outside possibility that he'd get the invite with a chance for serious consideration to go pro if the Cameron deal fell through. (That was quite some time ago now though, and a lot has happened since, so I don't know if the Yankees would even consider it anymore.) As for the Melky vs. Gardner argument, as Cappy said, Melky has the advantage defensively, and if he can play offensively to at least his pre-'08 level he's a better option in the lineup as well. The problem with Gardner is that all he has is speed. He's not a great outfielder in terms of how he plays the ball, I can throw harder with my off-arm than he can with his good one, and he's just scary to watch at the plate. Speed does no good when you aren't on base to spark something. It also doesn't do you a lot of good in deep center in Yankee Stadium with a runner in scoring position and a ball hit to the warning track. I have no problem with them both coming into spring training and whoever proves to be the better option getting the start. I just don't think Gardner has what it takes. If he beats out Melky I think that says more about Cabrera than Gardner. But as with anything, competition is good.
Absolutely not, they'd have already tried the gamble on Cabrera and would want an absolute sure thing player to help them win down the stretch. Aren't you supposed to learn from history? Of course if they start the season with Jackson in center that's a different story.
Huh? Cabrera has never projected to be even half the player that Jackson could be. And "gamble" though it might be... why would they trade away talent when there's a good chance that they'll see improvement just by promoting Jackson? And what "absolute sure thing" would the Yanks try to get? If their long-term plans include Jackson, they're not going to trade for a CF with anything more than one year on his contract. Well... they might, if they decide they can move that player to one of the soon to be vacated corner OF positions. But, realistically, I don't think you see the Yanks make a trade for a CF, unless it's that previously rumored Melky for Cameron deal.
We'll have to see. They weren't supposed to get Texeira either... I personally believe you don't put all of your eggs in one basket, if Jackson incurs a career ending injury the first day of the season then you have nothing to fall back on? I think the Yanks acquire a CF for 1 year, by the break, contingent upon Melky's performance offensively relative to the team's performance offensively.
They're not putting all of their eggs in one basket. They have options. Melky is the first option. Jackson is the second option. You're suggesting they bypass the second option completely and proceed straight to giving up talent to get a CF if Melky doesn't hit well. And think about it... how poorly would Melky need to be doing in order to justify making a move? If he's hitting poorly enough that it's hurting the Yanks, then it's that much easier for Jackson to outperform him. Teixeira is a different story. He's a premier first baseman and was a free agent. Everyone expected them to make an offer, if not get him. They had a need at first base, and no in house options available. Signing Tex made sense. That is not the case with trading for a CF this year.
Excellent point. But if Melky is hitting .190 Jackson hits .220 (a 30 point increase is substantial?) then it really still doesn't fix the problem.
Hey Mangold, let's keep one thing in mind. No matter who starts in center, whether that is Melky, Gardner, or Jackson, they are the number nine hitter in this lineup. It's going to be hard to justify the Yankees doing anything to improve centerfield offensively at this point. I'd say it's safe to project the lineup as: Damon LF Jeter SS Teixeira 1B ARod 3B Matsui DH Posada C Cano 2B Nady/Swisher RF Melky/Gardner/Jackson CF The only places where any flipping whatsoever could occur would be the 3 & 4 spots switching, the 5 & 6 spots switching, and the 7 & 8 spots switching. The only way Melky or Gardner aren't in centerfield on August 31 is if both have hit .198 at which point Jackson may as well be brought up because he couldn't possibly be a downgrade. BTW: Thanks for the clarification on the OBP Cappy. I didn't realize Gardner had a better one. But is that including both minors and majors? Or just majors? I'm not sure there's enough sample data for Gardner in the majors to make an honest assessment.
Right Alio, that's why I said in a former post, I can live with Melky in center at .250. But also, like I said Molina will be in there spelling Posada so thats 2 outs at the bottom of the order again. Edit: I'm sure Melky gets the point the Yankees are tired of him, maybe it motivates him.
I see your point. But I'd be okay with Molina taking up a spot once a week. It shouldn't degrade the offense too much. This is all dependent on Cano though. If he doesn't hit, the entire bottom of the lineup would start to suck.
1. I really dislike using batting average as an indicator of a hitter's performance. 2. Be honest... what are the chances that either of the two situations you propose (Melky hitting .190 or Jackson hitting .220) occur? Not very good. So why are you proposing or predicting a trade for a CF to fix a very low probability occurrence that only solves a short-term problem and covers the #9 spot in the batting order? That's a panic move on a level of King George from the early eighties. Their pitching should be much, much improved. (And honestly, with the pitching upgrades, they could use the defensive help more than a bat.) Their lineup performance should be better than last year as well, even if Melky sucks post-coital rhino. And Alio, that's minors and majors for Gardner's OBP.
Those were just arbitrary numbers I threw out. But yes, precisely why Melky will be the CF. The pitching, on paper, is improved and the lineup surely won't produce less than last year, I hope!
If the lineup doesn't improve significantly from last year, expect huge changes next winter. The kind even Ol' George would shed a tear of nostalgia for.
