Melky Not Done Yet

Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner have a competition for the starting center field job this spring. The winner will be the primary center fielder for the season, and the loser will probably be sent to a fourth outfielder job, or the minor leagues. The winner of the competition will play center on most days, and Johnny Damon will play center when the Yankees need to get Nick Swisher some playing time, or when they want to go with a more offensive lineup for that day. When Brett Gardner got to a hot start this spring, most people immediately said, "this is our center fielder" and are expecting that he is a lock.

Not so fast.

Joe Girardi reported that Melky is "very much alive" in the center field competition, and it seems to be that, when most people thought Gardner had all but won the job, Girardi comes out and gives an indication that the battle is pretty much even. 

For me, I really like Melky Cabrera. Now, I like Gardy too, but I honestly believe that Melky deserves the job. I know that he struggled last year, but I think, overall, he is a better baseball player than Gardner. Melky has a stronger arm, can lay down a bunt, can play good defense, and is actually a better hitter than Gardner with more power. Gardner has more speed on his side, which can help him track down more balls. However, his arm is almost as bad as Johnny Damon, and I'm not even sure he's capable of hitting .220 in the majors. This spring hasn't changed my mind.

Remember Brett Gardner last year? Except for a little hot streak for the last 2 weeks, Gardner couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. I watched him, game after game, for the longest time when he started, watching him go 0 for 4, or 1 for 5. He had a good game here and there, but I don't think he's capable of hitting in the majors. He hasn't proven anything.

Melky Cabrera, however, has proven to me that he can hit in the big leagues. He was above average as our starting center fielder in 2007. He hit for the first month and a half of 2008 too before slowing down. However, he has worked hard this offfseason. It's a new year. There are a lot of guys that had off years in 2008. He's one of them. He's more than capable of coming around this year. Am I saying he will? No. For all I know, maybe Gardner will be a better hitter. But from what I've seen so far from both players, Melky is the better hitter. Thats all I'm saying.

My favorite thing about Cabrera is his throwing arm. It is probably the best arm I've seen us have since we had Raul Mondesi. And Cabrera has a better arm than Mondesi. He led the AL in assists in 2007. He saved us a whole bunch of runs that could have made the difference in some games. Gardner doesn't have nearly the same arm. I believe that Melky and Damon together give us range in the outfield that is as good as any team in the majors. Gardner would give us better range because he can just fly. I will give him that. He's one heck of an outfielder for tracking down balls. I remember him robbing a home run at Yankee Stadium last year against Baltimore. However, I think that Melky's arm makes a bigger difference than Gardner's range, simply because the difference between Melky's arm and Gardner's arm is much bigger than the difference between Gardner's speed and Melky's speed. Other people might disagree, but thats more than okay.

When you look at it all, I'm actually fine with either of them there. Both of them provide different talent with a lot of upside. I would prefer Melky because I think he can make more of a difference if he starts. I would actually like the Yanks to hang on to Gardner as a pinch runner, or back up outfielder for defensive purposes. Gardy can be great use there, pinch running in a big spot, or coming in to play defense in a close game. Thats another reason. What does Melky Cabrera do on the bench? Not really much. But Gardner can do quite a bit off the bench. I think we would be using more out of both of these players if Melky starts, and Gardy plays off the bench. I think that would give us the best chance to win.

What do you think?