WHY HE'S WERTH EVERY PENNY

Since the Yanks have been elimintated, here is so much talk over the past week on what the Yankees are going to do about the catcher’s position. Do we split Posada’s catching time with “The Great Gazoo” or is it time to bring up one of these young catching studs we keep hearing the Yankees have in their farm system? There’s also a lot of chatter flying around about moving Jeter to 3rd, DH’ing A-Rod, going out and getting a young SS, etc. And, of course, there's lots of buzz about what to do with the starting pitching and bullpen. Do we pull out all stops to try and get Mr. & Mrs Lee (Sorry... she comes with the package)? What happens to AJ? Does Pettite come back? Does Kerry Wood come back or will another team sign his as their closer? Lots of questions getting bounced around here on BYB.

But today, I’ve been asked to discuss the Yankee outfield situation. Easy, right? NOT! Man, after taking a few days to break down what we have now and what is potentially available in the free agent market, this is no easy task -- but, it is fun, so here I go…

Lets look a what we had in 2010:
Brett Gardner in Left -- Brett finished with a .277 Avg., .383 OBP, 47 SB’s, and 97 Runs. Who doesn’t love Gardner? I mean, this guy really had a break out year and I think earned the right as the full time leftfielder, am I wrong? He was batting over .300 for a while this year and seems to be on base every time the Yankees had something going. His defense is certainly not gold glove but, he's above average and for the most part, has not hurt us. But, the question remains, do we keep Gardner in leftfield or do we go get Carl Crawford? I think we keep Gardner! I really do! I love the way the guy plays and think he has a Paul Molitor type career ahead of him. His at bats were a bit sluggish and unproductive as we headed toward September and October but, then again, which Yankees’ at bats weren’t? Sure he needs to walk more and lay down more bunts and I think that is definitely something he will work on this off season. My only issue with Gardner, and this is not his fault, is where he bats. I Love Jeter, don't get me wrong, but Gardner needs to be our lead-off hitter. I mean, come on, who doesn’t think he is the perfect lead-off man? A guy with Gardner’s speed and he was only 4th on the Yankees with runs scored? Sorry Jeet, but you have always been a team-guy first and this batting spot should be no exception. Let Gardner lead-off this team in the batting order. He creates havoc on the base pads and really battles pitchers. Finishing up Gardner, Let him stay, but ONLY if we plan on locking him into the lead-off spot!

Curtis Granderson in Center-- He finished 2010 with 27 HR’s, 97 Runs, in just 133 games. This is a no brainer to me. Granted, Granderson seemed to have two seasons with the Yankees in one; The first half, everyone was ready to trade him or even bench him but the second half he showed just how awesome this guy is! There is no one on the MLB’s who should even be considered to replace Granderson in Center. I can see Curtis roaming our CF at Yankee Stadium for years to come. His at bats really came around as the year went on and as he got healthier and more comfortable. He is a class act and reminds me in so many ways of Bernie Williams. It's just easy to root for Curtis. He can hit for power, he runs the bases with intelligence and I hope this stigma that he couldn’t hit lefties will finally be laid to rest. Dear Yankees, please leave Granderson alone! - Love, "Donnie Baseball - - BYB Contributor"

Nick Swisher in Right? -- Nick finished 2010 with .288 Avg., 29 HR’s, 91 Runs,

.359 OBP. Okay, this is the guy that you either love or hate. There really doesn’t seem to be too many fans in the middle when it comes to Swish, but there are a few of us and I am one of them. Love the enthusiasm this guy brings to the clubhouse and I think there isn’t one Yankee player who would disagree with that. Give Cashman credit with Swish. Cash really saw something in this guy a few years ago. Just about every team thought Swish was done, washed up, and would never be productive. Cash saw the opposite and he was right. Okay, that being said… The Swisher experiment is over. It must be. It's time to move on. Thank you Nick and best of luck, but there is someone who is Werth more then you. That’s right, let's get Jayson Werth!

Jayson Werth in Right-- This guy is clutch. The guy can play a decent right field (certainly no worse then Swish) and has averaged 24 home runs the last three years. He is about to peak and we need him to explode in the Bronx when he does! Plus, his post season numbers compared to Swisher are eye opening. Let’s break down the last two years for both players in the post season…

Swisher last 2 years, post season stats:

25 games & 81 AB’s = .152 AVG., 3 HR’s, 4 RBI’s, .259 OBP
Werth last 2 years, post season stats:

24 games & 81 AB’s = .250 AVG., 18 Runs, 9 HR’s, 29 RBI’s, .350 OBP

He will be worth every penny -- Go get ‘em Cash! By the way, The Mighty Casey has his own opinions on Swisher verses Werth, and you'll see that soon, look for it.

--Mikey Blue BYB Senior Writer

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