Two things mildly surprised me about the pregame interviews with Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman. 1) Ramiro Pena is very much in the mix for the utility job. 2) Brett Gardner apparently has not been ruled out for Triple-A. Cashman indicated there's a chance Gardner will go to Triple-A to play everyday rather than come off the bench in New York. That is, of course, unless he wins the center field job outright which he seems to be doing, and his case was made once again with his triple on Tuesday. He keeps hitting, and his speed is unlike anything else on the Yankees roster.There were also these two comments in Jennings post that I thought were relevant. The first comes from SteveB:
And this is the response from Jennings:Chad, tell me if you think I am 'out in left field' with this one--- do you think that Melky's & Swisher's status affect Gardner's status perhaps more than we realize? It sure seems to me Gardner is winning the CF job handily, but Melky hasn't played badly either, he has no options and I don't think the Yankees are ready to give up on him just yet. Meanwhile, I suspect Girardi likes Swisher, and we know Swisher belongs in the big leagues & he's signed for the next 3 years. So perhaps Girardi wants more AB's for Swisher that he could get if Gardner were on the team, so he sends Gardner down and he gives Melky all the rope he needs to either prove he is an everyday CF-er or that he doesn't belong on the team.
Frankly, I don't know how Gardner doesn't start in CF, so maybe I'm just thinking too hard. But I'm throwing it out there for you.
I think the idea of Swisher and Cabrera affecting Gardner could be legitimate. Otherwise, I don't see the point of even mentioning that he could be sent to Triple-A.I still think he wins the job, but with that said, I'm surprised that Cashman would even make a comment like that.
6 Comments:
This is just Cash/Girardi showing their 'anything is a possibility/everything must be earned' motto. I mean Girardi's said Melky's playing at a 'high level'... when he's simply been respectable. If you were to get a completely straight answer, I'm pretty sure they'd say Gardner's already won the CF job.
didnt they say something during the game about how melky was out of options and that he may win the job because the yankees didnt want to lose him while gardner is safe to bounce around between AAA and the show?
Yes, Melky is out of options.
Rumor is now the Yankees are actively shopping Melky
I just noticed that on my rotoworld thing on the sidebar. I'm going to post something about it now. Thanks for the heads up Margo.
Gardner is clearly outplaying Melky. If they give Melky the starting job and send Gardner to triple A. They should of never announced that is was an open competition.
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