Girardi spoke on Tuesday at the Baseball Assistance Team dinner in New York, where he received the inaugural Bobby Murcer Award on behalf of the Yankees. The club acquired Granderson in December to play center field, but Melky Cabrera has since been traded to the Braves and Gardner's value is as a pure center fielder.I've been behind the idea of Gardner in center for a while, simply because he's faster and could possibly cover more ground then Granderson. And although the sample size might not be big enough to come to any conclusions based on UZR Gardner was the better centerfielder last season. Either way with the Gardner and Granderson in left and center (whichever way the Yanks decided to play it) the Yankees outfield defense should be at its best in years.
"That's something that we'll discuss as we get down to Spring Training," Girardi said. "You kind of wait to see what's going to happen here, if we do sign another bat and another outfielder, and how that really adjusts everyone's playing time.
"I'm not really locked into anything. We're going to do whatever makes our team the best, but until we have that full team, it's kind of hard to make that decision."
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"When you look at our outfield, right field is the short porch, and left and center are the areas to cover ground," Girardi said. "I think wherever we put either one of them, they're going to cover a lot of ground when they're out there.
"If Gardy is in left, he's going to cover a lot of ground and that's going to be helpful. Our field is built to where you want your left fielder and your center fielder to cover a lot of ground."
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"I think Curtis Granderson, as skillful as he is, could play anywhere in the outfield," Girardi said. "That's something that he could do. But right now, we're not sure exactly what our club is going to be, so it's hard to say what everyone is going to be."
I may have asked you this before, but who would you rather see in center?
