(Photo c/o AP)
Per RAB (via Jack Curry), the Yankees are wasting no time in deploying the platoon advantage at the top of their lineup, as Brett Gardner will get the nod against the righty Justin Verlander on Opening Day Thursday afternoon, with Derek Jeter sliding down to the two spot. Against lefties, Jeter will bat leadoff, with Gardner dropping down to the nine-hole.
This should make everyone happy, as Gardner, who not only led the team in OBP last year but led the Majors in pitches-per-at-bat, will now get the majority of at-bats in the leadoff slot; while Jeter can unleash hell (.397 career wOBA v. lefties) from the top when the team faces portsiders.
While this is a great solution for the top spot in the lineup, one hopes that slotting Jeter second when Gardner leads off doesn’t inadvertently negate any advantages by way of Derek and his propensity to hit into the double-play, but I’m certain if Derek’s groundballing ways drag on into this season the team will quickly reassess the situation.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
3 Responses to Gardner to lead off on Thursday
Leave a Reply
TIQ IQ
I love the idea of having Brett in the lead off spot. Brett gets on base more than anyone in the lineup, and he takes the most pitches. I think this decision will help the yankees offense a great deal. I hope that this year Brett’s Wrist problems will go away. I hope that Brett can hit over .300 like he did in the first half. Brett is one of my favorite players and I have no doubt he can help the team win with the tools he has to offer.
I love Gardner batting leadoff. Was already a fan of the idea before last season, when the blog was still called TYU and I seemed to be the only one with faith (http://www.theyankeeu.com/2009/12/if-the-yankees-were-serious-they-would-put-gardner-in-cf-13350/comment-page-1#comment-3229).
But I just have to say this: unless Gardner always steals 2nd early in Jeter’s count, we will have a shitload of tweets calling Jeter “Captain GIDP” or “4-6-3 Jeter” till October…
Two words: Hit and run.
Sure wish Brett could hit lefties better. He’s going to be hard-pressed to replace Swish’s productive at-bats behind DJ last season. DJ was the only shortstop in MLB to score over 100 runs, in no small part, due to him. I’m frankly a little more concerned about how this move may impact Nick’s power/average surge than I am about the Captain’s GIDP percentage.