WHY THE CHAVEZ INJURY WILL FORCE THE YANKEES HAND

Eric Chavez on the DL… Wow! No one saw that one coming! It's actually the 7 day concussion DL, according to Suzyn Waldman.  I didn't realize they had that, but ok.

The crazy thing is, the season started for Eric Chavez the same way it did last year when he got hurt in Detroit, on May 5, 2011, read HERE. That turned into a lot of time missed.  Look, I find Eric Chavez to be a very dynamic player, or should I say... maybe I am thinking too much about the old Eric Chavez before he got hurt a lot.  Chavez to me is one of those guys that has had a string of bad luck for a long long time when it comes to injury.  When he’s healthy though, he’s great to watch and I seriously dig him as an athlete.  The problem is, and we know this, you’re always taking a chance with Chavez.  I mean whiplash? Seriously? How does that even happen? I often joke that Eric Chavez is a walking cermanic because the guy's way too fragile.  Well, what are you going to do now? The Yankees made some moves, Jayson Nix for one.

It's funny though, ironically I was just talking about Brandon Inge last week, a terrific defensive third baseman whom I suggested the Yankees could have signed for nothing.  Well, the timing was off, Inge was signed by Oakland within days of his unconditional release by the Tigers and then last night…Chavez got hurt. 

So, the Yankees did the next best thing, they signed infielder Jayson Nix to be the backup and he and Eduardo Nunez will juggle duties between the infield and outfield. Read about Nix HERE.  Don’t forget, Brett Gardner is still out too and so is Nick Swisher. Not to mention Mariano Rivera got hurt last night fielding fly balls in batting practice, he twisted his knee, read HERE. This is nuts. 

Jayson Nix is someone the Yankees appear to like, but what I found interesting was a nugget from Mikey Blue when was down at Spring Training.  We were having a conversation about Nix and he told me “I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in the dugout.” Nix was there, talking to Kevin Long.  But not just for a moment… for many innings, all the time… he was literally shadowing Long.  Mikey said “Nix was taking it all in getting as much knowledge as he could, it was obvious, he wants to play.” 

We all know that Nix is no home run hitter, and as a hitter in general, he’s nothing outstanding.  The Yankees signed him for his defense, and if Nix can hit too, well, that’s a plus.  

But the bigger question is, how long with it take for Chavez to get back? No idea.  Look, one thing I know about Chavez is, whatever number of days they a lot for his injury… it’s always safe to say you should tack on 30 additional days.  Chavez takes a long time to heal.  It’s always been that way.  In the meantime, Nix and Eduardo Nunez will have to step it up.  Look, Eric Chavez is no longer a superstar ballplayer, but when healthy, he’s darn good.  

I just hope that in his absence, guys like Swisher and Gardy come back and guys like Nunez and Nix step it up…back up roles are important pieces of the puzzle too and I’d love for the Yankees to start winning as a team…it’s time already! Enough's enough.

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