Why Not Both?

In the wake of the euphoria over the Yankees World Series victory, the one question that seems to be on everybody's mind is this: Damon or Matsui? Both of them contributed hugely to both the Yankees regular and postseason success. Both also came up huge in the World Series. Both are also getting older though, and neither have shown any indications that they may be the least bit interested in retirement.

Damon hit well over .300 and his heads up double steal in Game Four was huge in a series that felt like it could have gone either way. He had a major regular season resurgence at the plate, taking advantage of a short porch in rightfield that seemed to be made specifically for him. The only flaw in his 2009 season was that his traditionally excellent range completely vanished.

Matsui's Game Six heroics earned him a well deserved World Series MVP. He essentially won the clincher for the Yanks and its tough to tell him to pack his bags after a series like that. Besides that, he had a monster year at the plate. His typically quiet excellence was largely overlooked and as long as he doesn't have to play the field, their's no reason he can't repeat his performance in 2010.

Their's a perception in Yankeeland that the Yankees need at least one of these guys. Their are valid reasons for this argument, as well. Obviously this team is good enough to win without splurging on a massive Matt Holliday contract. Besides that, it would be foolish to go and gamble millions on a guy who is an unknown when it comes to New York with the ever clutch Damon and Matsui readily available. Overpaying for the vastly overrated Jason Bay would be an even bigger mistake and nobody else on the free agent or trade market really jumps out at you. So, its clear that it would be prudent to re-sign at least one of them.

Why though, do the fans and Yankees brass believe we only have room for one of the two?

I know all the arguments for getting younger and giving Austin Jackson a chance to break into the majors. I also understand why people are tempted to leave that DH spot open so it can be used to rest our aging stars. In an ideal world where the lineup on Opening Day is that same as that of Game Six of the World Series, it sounds like a great idea. However, we don't live in that perfect world and players will get hurt.

Remember last year when everybody wanted to trade either Nick Swisher or Xavier Nady for starting pitching? We all had the perfect plan to pluck Jonathan Sanchez from the Giants or to add Aaron Harang to the back of an already imposing preseason rotation. None of that came to fruition though and Cashman correctly decided to hang onto both for depth. Because of that depth, when Nady went down the Yankees were ready to simply name Nick Swisher the starting right fielder and absorb the loss. Instead of being forced to look outside the organization for help and having to give up prospects at the trade deadline for an aging corner outfielder, it was an easy fix. Perhaps even an upgrade.

Looking ahead to the potential 2010 outfield configuration, we will probably have Swisher in right, Gardner/Melky in center, probably Damon in left, and a rotating cast of characters at DH. Then you have Austin Jackson waiting in the wings, still probably unready for the big leagues. All in all, a pretty solid cast. Nothing to write home about but its a solid crew out there.

Now, what happens when somebody goes down? If Swisher goes down and you decide you want to give Jeter or A-Rod a half of a day off at DH you're looking at a lineup that boasts the likes of Melky, Gardner, and Ramiro Pena at its back end on some days. If Posada goes down your seven, eight, and nine hitters will become Cervelli or Molina, Gardner, or Melky, and, if he's even brought back, Eric Hinske at DH. That's not worst case scenario folks, that's the reality of what you're going to have to watch if just one guy gets hurt for an extended period of time and they go into the year lacking a strong DH or leftfielder.

The reason they won over 100 regular season games was because of the offense. Sure, the pitching was vastly improved but what got the Yankees into the playoffs was their incredibly deep lineup. It was a group where anybody could beat you on a given day and if somebody fell into a little slump, you could count on somebody else picking them up with a big day. If they go into the season one injury away from losing that edge, its going to be a very different regular season from that of 2009.

I know I might get some flak for this and their's some sentimentality to my desire to see both of these guys back in pinstripes. After all, it was only yesterday that I saw these guys march down to the Canyon of Heroes to be given a key to the city of New York. However, this is also the logical move to make.

They're two guys who put up with OBA's of .376 and .378 in the regular season. That kind of production simply can't be replaced by an Austin Jackson or a Melky Cabrera. Sure, Damon's a liability in the field but we're only looking for his legs to hold out another year or two. Both of them could probably be had on a one year deal, although Damon will probably get two. These guys are really clutch, professional hitters who probably have another year or two left in them before they're finished with baseball. The Yankees need depth and these two can offer it for a relatively low price.

What do you guys think?