lol

Last year, he was almost a ghost. In my opinion, his injury was easily the worst hit that the team took last year, moreso than Chien-Ming Wang’s. The dropoff at the plate from Posada to Molina and I-Rod was astronomical, not to mention the lack of leadership in the clubhouse. Hopefully he’ll be back this year at close to full strength.

I dont know if you are still reading the comments but I had a question – can you give us some thoughts on your initial impression about Girardi speaking with the media in 2009? Do you think he will be better this year based on what you have seen so far? I remember you or someone saying that he was fine in ST and then, his relationship with the media fell apart in NY for a while but I was wondering if he has said anything down there or if you observed anything that made you think Joe hard turned a new leaf… I am really rooting for Girardi and the media to get along and I think it will happen at some point. I just dont like reading nasty remarks in the newspaper about Joe just because the reporter didnt like his post-game interview. He is a solid manager and the media can actually change some peoples minds if they say something long enough so I would hope at some point, they would defend Joe like the media ALWAYS did with Torre even when he didnt deserve it (up until this month of course).

I cant imagine damon starting in center this season ever – Occasionally, his arm appears more like a wet noodle. He did not qualify among center fielders in that new defensive arm metric – ARM but I think they said that if he had qualified, he would have finished dead last in that category and by a decent margin. Every baserunner will be testing his arm every game he plays. i DONT think its a good idea. Frankly, if Melky and Gardner are both absolutely terrible this spring, the yanks will have to shop nady or swisher for a center fielder and offer to pay off some of his contract while taking on all of the CF contract. It is the only way to find a decent replacement and it is obvious from the start that there could easily be a scenario in which neither melky nor gardner perform capable of starting. I am rooting for gardner and i certainly hope one of them works out but the yankees have to be thinking of a plan C that doesn’t involve Damon or a blame D according to Girardi.