Law: Yanks should just go with Gardner
January 12, 2010, 4:45 pm by iYankees · 23 Comments
From ESPN’s Keith Law:
“Either Nady or [Reed] Johnson represent marginal improvements that may not justify the cost. Neither is really a full-time player. Johnson is strictly a platoon player, and can back up Granderson, but they have Gardner for that. Nady, even when healthy, was a platoon guy until ’08. I’m not a Gardner guy, never have been, but their offense is fine even if they put a pointed stick in left field (if the ball hits the stick, the batter is out). So why not play for defense a little with the cheap guy in-house? Eventually, some other option will emerge and there’s no reason for the Yanks to spend money on left field simply for the sake of spending money.”
While it’s not exactly a glowing endorsement of Brett Gardner, Law’s conclusion makes sense. Still, in my opinion, the Yankees would be wise to spend a few more dollars and add a right-handed outfielder like Reed Johnson, just in case. Law doesn’t seem to think that such a move is necessary, but the flexibility provided might be a justifiable cost.
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