(In Photo: Brandon Laird)
I know I’m not in good company when I say that headline out loud, but let’s face it, I can’t stand the errors that Nunez is offering night after night and while it isn’t fair for me to choose Brandon Laird over Eduardo Nunez based merely on minor league numbers, I am and I will because I can.
This isn’t to say I don’t like Nunez. I’ve heard it time and time again, "Nunez can learn to play a better in field" or "Nunez can learn to throw better." OK, When? He’s a major leaguer, it’s not like there’s a more elite league after the Majors; This is it, so the time is now. Show me something. Nunez has a terrific bat and while he filled in for Jeter, he was hitting close to .300. I will give him that, but 12 errors is the team high and Nunez owns that and he hasn’t played all that much before the Jeter fill in role.
(In Photo: Brandon Laird)
On the other side of the coin, when the Yankees got word that Ramiro Pena needed to have his appendix removed (HERE), suddenly they had a roster spot for an infielder, so Brandon Laird was called up. Laird was hitting .266 in Scranton Wilkes Barre and had 10 homers and 21 doubles. The kid's got huge potential and the best part is, he can play almost anywhere. By almost anywhere I mean some key spots, third base, first base and the outfield. Yes, the chatter about Laird has been positive and I’m the first person to buy into it. Remember Brian Gordon? I embraced him, and here comes Laird and I’ll do the same, I'm easy. Why? Because early on, the hype around Laird was big, and hopefully he’ll measure up.
So yes, when errors stack up fast and when errors lose ball games, people are going to start talking. And I’m not saying I’m rooting for that to happen, I’m just saying that’s the only way people will open their eyes.
Girardi is clearly fooled by Nunez’s bat and Girardi told Pete Caldera at the Bergen Record that “He’s earned that” in reference toNunez having A-Rod’s spot at 3rd while A-Rod recovers from surgery. All I’m saying is, give Nunez a few days off, play Laird and watch him perform, that’s all. Yes, your heart may be set on Nunez, but all I’m saying is I feel like something’s coming. Nunez has dodged a few bullets on errors and pretty soon, I don’t know when, there’s going to be a costly error that will make people say enough’s enough. 
No, I’m not the Amazing Kreskin, this is a gut thing…. Hopefully I’m wrong….when it comes to this stuff, I like to be wrong.
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