Look at me, I can be centerfield….According to Joel Sherman at the New York Post, Curtis Granderson will play CF for the Yankees, Brett Gardner will play left. It’s only a surprise because in off-season interviews Brian Cashman opened the door to the possibility of flip flopping positions for the two players. Certainly with his power Granderson fits the profile of a corner outfielder better than Gardner, and I know some were concerned about a decline in Granderson’s defense last year. But I think especially if his troubles stem from getting bad jumps and taking odd routes on fly balls, Granderson–and thereby the Yankees team–is best served by staying in CF where the balls are easier to judge off the bat and the fielder has to worry less about running into a new stadium’s nooks and crannies. Rob Abruzzese at Bronx Baseball Daily notes this also means the Yanks can leave Granderson in CF straight through next year when they go sign Carl Crawford. Here’s hoping.
Fifth Starter Day…It’s fifth starter day (or maybe the decision will come down tomorrow). No doubt Hughes will get the shot, and I think it’s the right decision. Hughes has better mechanics than Joba–in other words I think he has a chance to be more consistent as a starter. He seems to have more command of multiple pitches. And he seems to be a little better at setting up hitters. He’s still a kid of course, prone to nibbling (afraid sometimes of pitching to contact), falling behind, and then giving up a long ball. And he’s still working on an out pitch he can consistently throw to lefties. Joba meanwhile has struggled when he’s had to rely on more than fastball-slider or when he’s tried to pace himself. His greatest success so far has come in the bullpen and everyone in the stadium (including Joba) seems to enjoy him pitching in that role. I love Joba’s arm, but he seems like the kind of pitcher who is better off in a situation where he has to think less and just through hard stuff to the mitt.
Best catchers in NY baseball…Well, MSG has started it’s NY baseball history series The Lineup, in an effort to assemble the best starting nine in NY baseball history. This is something we here at A Train Baseball have been planning to do and we won’t let MSG’s show stop us. Tom and I have yet to put our heads together on final roster. But when it comes to catchers I’m with Mike Silva of NY Baseball Digest.
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