Posted by TMS:
as long as we get to keep Kennedy i don't know what's holding up the deal... i think the Yankees are gonna try & unload Matsui's contract in order to clear up a little room for Johan's huge contract.
as for Gardner, he's not really a viable starting option for us in CF IMHO... he's got no pop in his bat whatsoever... if anything he's a stopgap solution at best until Jackson is ready to be called up to the majors... i'd feel more comfortable w/signing Cameron to a 1 year deal if they decide to make the deal for Johan.
TMS, all indications are that Gardner can be much more than just some 4th outfielder. Many people on the forums at the Yankees' page over at scout.com (pinstripeplus.com), including the editor Patrick who's actually been a guest on the Max Kellerman radio show, commonly refer to him as one of their favorite minor league players, a guy who can be a real difference maker (I've read that Patrick was told by a scout that the only real difference between Brett Gardner and the highly-touted Jacoby Ellsbury is 3 inches). He's not a power guy, true, but he seems to be everything else you would want in a leadoff hitter. He can hit for average, he's a patient hitter who will run deep counts, spray base hits as well as shoot drives into the gap, he's a pretty high OB% guy, can bunt very well & run like the wind plus he can field his position very well (thought by many to posess the best range of all the outfielders in the entire organization) and throw (doesn't have Melky's arm but it's above average - nothing like Damon's or Bernie's). Besides, if you get any power at all out of the leadoff spot, like with Damon in his heyday, that's just gravy anyway and certainly nothing that should ever be expected. And remember Damon's older now and definitely on the decline - for every HR he'll hit for us at this stage in his career, he'll have countless other terrible looking at-bats - you know, those one-handed flailing swings of his where he corkscrews himself into the ground that usual result in some weak off-balance popup somewhere. And for the record, Mike Cameron's another guy on the decline - I'd be suprised if he took a one year deal. Older, lost a step, high strikeout guy. The LaTroy Hawkins of outfielders. I'd rather take my chances with Damon everday if it came down to that.
I like the scrappy, old-school type of player Gardner is at the top of the order and what he can do for the rest of the lineup. For all the A-Rods, Abreus, Matsuis & Posadas, we need a guy who will set the table for them. Bunt hit, stolen base, RBI hit Jeter, 1-0 ----- base hit, single Jeter, 1st and 3rd, HR A-Rod, 3-0. Remember how many solo shots did we hit against Cleveland that last game? 4 runs, 4 solo HRs. I hated how we went out like that....
My whole point is that I think Gardner's time has come and he certainly makes for a nice cost-effective in-house option if we decide to deal Melky as part of this Santana thing and he'd give us some more time to be patient developing Austin Jackson for the future. You know baseball bro, ask yourself how valueable a guy like Brett Butler was for the Dodgers, Jose Reyes is for the Mets (before the long slump), Chuck Knoblauch was for us. There's a good chance Gardner could be that type of guy for us. It might be time to find out.
[Edited by - finestrg on 12-17-2007 09:43 AM][Edited by - finestrg on 12-17-2007 09:48 AM]
