I don't like them both. F Gardner, and F Melky. They have no business playing on a team with a $200 million dollar payroll.
Absolutely 100% agree with you. I don't really like the LF option, as it stands, and I would move to either bring in Nady or Damon if not Holliday and hope for Crawford next winter if we don't land Hollliday, but I don't think we're going to suffer a lot based on who winds up the regular LFer this year. And yes, getting Vasquez for a 3-4 starter is worth suffering Gardner in left in the 9-hole. I'm pretty confident that Vasquez will pitch better in 2010 than Joba did in '09, and give us far more innings per start. That preserves the pen more than this past year, which is always a good thing. If we can get comparable performance out of the pen again, with less innings pitched, we stand to win a lot of games. A lot more than any one bat at the bottom of the order provides. Now if Hughes (who I want to be the #5 rather than Joba who I'd rather put back in the pen) can pitch to his ability, this becomes a deadly rotation. And Joba setting up Mo is a pretty nice thought. Aceves in long relief, Marte and Robertson in the 7th, Joba as the setup man, and Mo to close. Wow. The more I think about it, the more excited I get. Jeter SS Granderson CF Teixeira 1B ARod 3B Posada C Cano 2B Johnson DH Swisher RF Hoffman/Gardner LF Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte, Vasquez, Hughes Aceves, Marte, Robertson, Joba, Mo, along with a LOOGY and either Gaudin or Mitre On the bench, Pena, Cervelli, Hinske(?) and whoever isn't in left. Wow. That's better than last year. ------------- Reading on the Yankees' web site too, Cashman isn't really talking, but he isn't denying that Damon could be brought back, but he's all but surely ruling out Holliday and Bay. I'd definitely take Damon's bat, sissy arm, and slower legs over Gardner. That would move Granderson down behind Johnson in my above order, Swisher to ninth, and Damon sloted back into the 2nd slot. Offensively, there wouldn't be a single lineup in the sport that could compare. That's a flamethrower to kill cockroaches.
I'm anticipating Johnson batting 2nd. He's slow, but with his outrageous on base percentage he's going to give Tex and A-Rod a ton of RBI opportunities. SS Jeter DH Johnson 1B Teixeira 3B Rodriguez 2B Cano C Posada CF Granderson RF Swisher LF Gardner/Hoffmann Time for Cano to grow up and become a run producer.
And maybe that's a ridiculous exaggeration? Gardner's arm is average/slightly below average. It's not an asset, but I'd hesitate to call it a liability, either. Not the way Damon's was. Or Bernie's. Of course you don't. Probably the same way you don't give a shit that Gardner outplayed Melky last year by a fair amount, and the only reason he lost the starting CF job was due to injury. That's like saying dog shit > cat shit. Such irrational hatred is beyond inane at the position and expectations we're talking about. ETA: And honestly, at this point, I doubt Nady would be an upgrade. I don't get why people give him as much credit as they do. And even Damon, given his defensive liabilities and his age might not be much of an upgrade next year. If it were Holliday, that's one thing. But I see no issues with going with Gardner for a year.
See, in this case, I'd rather have Granderson's speed up there. His OBP will go up with Tex and Alex hitting behind him, so I'd rather he was on 1st when Tex hits a long single, and turns it into a run. I won't complain if Girardi decides to bat him second, I'd just prefer Granderson's speed at the top of the lineup. I don't think I'd bat Cano ahead of Posada. I agree he needs to get it together already, especially now that is girlfriend is gone, but until he proves he can hit better than Posada, I'd have Posada's bat giving ARod security. Regardless though, whatever order you put those guys in, that lineup holds its own against any pitching staff in the majors.
Posada: .285 22 81 .363 OBP, .522 SLG Cano: .320 25 85 .352 OBP, .520 SLG Cano had a ton more plate appearances then Posada but their slugging is about the same and Cano makes more contact then Posada and I think would be more likely with a runner on 1st and 3rd with 1 out to hit a Sac Fly whereas Posada is almost an automatic double play in that situation. Johnson's OBP should be at or near .400. With Jeter in front of him, Tex and A-Rod are going to have a ton of opportunities. Doesn't matter how fast the #2 hitter is if they're trotting. It doesn't matter to me, that's just how I would do it.
I think this is the key point. The number of additional runs you'll score because you have high-OBP guys on in front of your sluggers (which includes Granderson) more than makes up for any runs you'll miss out on because the guy on first didn't score on a double (and subsequent batters failed to drive him home).
Fair enough. In either case I wouldn't freak out. It would just be a little different than how I would do it. In the end, it's a ridiculous lineup no matter how you flip those guys.
also, I would love having Granderson's speed (hitting 5th) ahead of Posada to help avoid some GIDPs and to give Jorge & Cano more RBI opportunities while Granderson himself will have 4 high OBP guys ahead of him to knock in
Very true. I think this is why when they do those optimal lineup simulations, it almost always comes out with the highest OBP/OPS guys at the beginning of the lineup, and then goes through in decreasing order. Of course, it also doesn't matter all that much. The difference between the best and the worst lineup constructions was only worth a handful of wins per year, and the ones teams use is rarely the worst. It might be worth a fraction of a win to use the optimal lineup.
I don't expect to get Holliday or Bay, but I think we'll bring in someone to compete with Gardner in left field. The loss of Melky is very little. Both him and Gardner are 4th outfielders on this team, and I'd rather have Gardner due to his elite speed. By season's end, I'd be shocked if Gardner or Hoffman was starting for us. And who would I rather have on a playoff roster? The guy with blazing speed as a pinch runner. Good deal for the Yanks. And as for who bats 2nd, I think it's Johnson. A-Rod and Teixiera are huge power hitters. I want runners on base for them. It doesn't matter how fast you are if the ball is over the fence.
what do you guys think of granderson hitting 2 against righties and johnson 2 against lefties.mim drunk but hear me out. well thats it.
I'd rather just have Johnson hitting 2 all the time, with Granderson hitting 5 vs. righties and 7 or 8 vs. lefties if it's still a big problem for him next year.
There are rumors that the Yankees are considering Jermaine Dye. I wonder if that's just an incentive to light the fire under Damon to take a reasonable deal to return.
Dye provides little but name recognition at this point in his career. I'd pass on him without question. To be honest, I want Xavier Nady back. He's a solid hitter, could create a good platoon if Granderson struggles badly against lefties (moving Gardner to center), his swing fits the new Stadium well, and he'll likely come very cheap.
