By Max Caster
Since Joe Girardi got tossed from Wednesday’s game against the Braves, we all vividly remember why this Yankees team is so good. While guys are of different walks and from much different places, they’ve all come together as one close, cohesive squad.
The team shows great hustle, aggressiveness, desire, and savvy. All of those combined make for a relentless onslaught for the opposing team.
So not to sound insensitive, but the Yankees will benefit from Xavier Nady’s season, and potentially career, ending elbow injury.
Nady has been courageously attempting a comeback to the main roster after suffering a torn elbow tendon earlier this season. Several times it appeared that he was only days away from coming back to the Bombers, but each time he encountered a physical setback. Most recently, he left in the middle of a Triple-A rehab start; later learning that he would need Tommy John surgery, the second of his career.
For a couple of months, the future of the Yankees lineup with Nady has been debated. He would have to displace one of the young players on the team in order to fit onto the roster. But I, and many others, feared that decision Joe Girardi was bound to make. There is truly no one who can be replaced on the current 25-man roster.
Brett Gardner has heated up tremendously. He’s coming off last night’s 5-of-6 performance against the Mets. He launched a homerun in the 8th inning and an RBI triple in the 9th. That moved his batting average up over 20 points to .303 on the year. He’s getting on base at a great rate and is always a threat to steal. He’s 17 of 19 of stolen base attempts.
Melky Cabrera is able to play every outfield position and is defensively sound at all of them. Plus, he’s proven that he can hit late into games. Above all, he can’t be sent down to the minors; his options are used up.
Since Joe Girardi got tossed from Wednesday’s game against the Braves, we all vividly remember why this Yankees team is so good. While guys are of different walks and from much different places, they’ve all come together as one close, cohesive squad.
The team shows great hustle, aggressiveness, desire, and savvy. All of those combined make for a relentless onslaught for the opposing team.
So not to sound insensitive, but the Yankees will benefit from Xavier Nady’s season, and potentially career, ending elbow injury.
Nady has been courageously attempting a comeback to the main roster after suffering a torn elbow tendon earlier this season. Several times it appeared that he was only days away from coming back to the Bombers, but each time he encountered a physical setback. Most recently, he left in the middle of a Triple-A rehab start; later learning that he would need Tommy John surgery, the second of his career.
For a couple of months, the future of the Yankees lineup with Nady has been debated. He would have to displace one of the young players on the team in order to fit onto the roster. But I, and many others, feared that decision Joe Girardi was bound to make. There is truly no one who can be replaced on the current 25-man roster.
Brett Gardner has heated up tremendously. He’s coming off last night’s 5-of-6 performance against the Mets. He launched a homerun in the 8th inning and an RBI triple in the 9th. That moved his batting average up over 20 points to .303 on the year. He’s getting on base at a great rate and is always a threat to steal. He’s 17 of 19 of stolen base attempts.
Melky Cabrera is able to play every outfield position and is defensively sound at all of them. Plus, he’s proven that he can hit late into games. Above all, he can’t be sent down to the minors; his options are used up.
Ramiro Peña has done an extraordinary job filling in for 2 hall of famers – A-Rod and Derek Jeter – in his rookie year. Cody Ransom hit well in his return. And the chance of Francisco Cervelli being dent down won’t arise until Jose Molina is healthy. Even then, Molina will probably be shown the door.
With an elbow issue, Xavier Nady was most likely going to be a designated hitter. Throwing from the outfield is how he injured himself in the first place and the latest instance as well. Adding him to that bench with Hideki Matsui, another DH without outfield skills, would create a lack of flexibility for Girardi in terms of lineups and substitutions.
Also, with the recent play of Francisco Cervelli, and Matsui’s propensity to pull every pitch, Jorge Posada could find himself as the primary designated hitter soon.
Ev
en if a need at outfielder came up, I would have called up Austin Jackson from Triple-A Scranton before bringing Nady back. Jackson is an offensive juggernaut this season. He’s hitting .321 and is 12-for-12 on stolen base attempts. While he is a bit raw and may not be entirely ready for the big leagues, he’s the future of the team. Nady would have been gone after this season anyway. Jackson is 22-years old and isn’t getting younger. He deserves a few appearances with the Yankees before Xavier Nady.So there is no spot for Xavier Nady because the team has been great without him. Every single position is filled adequately, and does not need any additional support right now. This creates less complication for Joe Girardi and the Yankees staff, and gives them more time to think about important issues – like Chien Ming-Wang.
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