One last hurdle for Granderson; Opening Day likely
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Mar 29, 2011 
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Curtis Granderson said he got six or seven at-bats this afternoon. He faced righties and lefties, and went through everything from solid contact to checked swings to swings and misses. His oblique was fine through all of it.
Although the grass was too wet for Granderson and Chris Dickerson to play the field — the minor league games were cancelled this afternoon — they went through normal outfield drills after their simulated at-bats, and again suffered no setbacks.
“Every at-bat felt good,” Granderson said.
This was easily the most optimistic Granderson has sounded when talking about his chances of playing on Opening Day. Barring an unexpected setback tomorrow –when he’s scheduled to play in a full minor league game — Granderson should be in New York on Thursday.
By the way, Granderson said he and Dickerson faced primarily minor league pitchers, but there was some talk about getting an at-bat against Mariano Rivera.
“We were going to,” Granderson said. “And then I was like, I didn’t bring that many bats.”
“I didn’t bring that many bats.”
<3 this guy.
good news
?We were going to,? Granderson said. ?And then I was like, I didn?t bring that many bats.?
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Glad everything went well for him
Can’t hold down Granderson. He’s going to own this year.
By the way, I’ll have a post on it later today, but Girardi said after tonight’s game that Jeter will definitely leadoff against lefties. He hasn’t decided who will leadoff against righties. My guess is Gardner, but Girardi said he wants to talk about it with his staff during today’s flight to New York.
Sox with a new revenue stream- sold naming rights to spring training stadium- JetBlue Park.
Chad-
Thank you very much for your excellent off season coverage.
Have a safe flight back. Wear a warm jacket.
yes Chad, much appreciated
pat -
JetBlue?
***
Guess we just have to see how Granderson feels tomorrow, but it sure sounds promising.
I am extremely happy that Mexico has now been represented in the Dawson awards.
Congratulations Manuelito. May your season be filled with much success.
Jeter should lead off against lefties. I like Gardner/Jeter against righties.
Thanks Chad – enjoyed and looked forward to your spring training coverage!
Great news on Granderson
Jeter vs LHP but waffling on who to pick against RHP is at least a step in the right direction, and I am confident they will go with the very smart Gardner choice.
Doreen
JetRed would have been more appropriate I suppose.
They entered into an 8 year sponsorship agreement with them that now includes re-naming of the new Spring Training Park as well as special promotions that will take place in season at Fenway.
Blake-
Will this be the year the Curtis returns to the All Star game ?
.280, 35, 100+, 20 steals. >.250 against lefties.
Awesome D.
MTU,
With good health….possibly.
Blake-
Dare to dream.
Here’s my take on our starters :
CC- solid, no surprises.
AJ- uptick in performance to 2009 levels.
Phil- slight decrement but a great season nevertheless. At least 15 wins.
Nova- greatly exceeds expectations.
Freddy- Solid as #5. just has to stay healthy.
I’m not sure gaining Gardner but losing Swisher at the top is much more than a wash. Not a huge believer in the almighty stolen base as opposed to the HR but hopefully it all clicks.
If the decision to bay Gardner at the top of the lineup has the effect of putting Grandy in the 8 spot, not really sure I’d be thrilled with the decision.
WYH-
Give it some time. It will grow on ya’.
JetBlue Park? I guess they need some more cash to pay all those big contracts they’re handing out.
LGY, putting Gardner at the top will have a cascade effect throughout the lineup, it’s unavoidable. But since I don’t think lineup tinkering has a huge effect anyway I’m not going to worry about it. For now anyway.
Not a huge believer in the almighty stolen base as opposed to the HR but hopefully it all clicks.
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Gardner scores a ton of runs when he gets on base, see’s a lot of pitches, and had the highest on base of any yankee. Plus batting Jeter 2nd is the first step in moving him to a lower spot if he struggles against righties since it bypasses the move him to 2nd choice.
f the decision to bay Gardner at the top of the lineup has the effect of putting Grandy in the 8 spot, not really sure I’d be thrilled with the decision.
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From 7 to 8 he might lose 18 PA?
I’ll make a prediction. Fans in the Bronx won’t take kindly to the lackadaisical play of Andruw Jones. His goofy grin after a strikeout won’t cut it.
By no later than June, Cashman will turn to Dickerson or Golson who will play with fire for less money.
I’m not sure gaining Gardner but losing Swisher at the top is much more than a wash. Not a huge believer in the almighty stolen base as opposed to the HR but hopefully it all clicks.
__
he also had the highest OBP on the team last year and sees a lot of pitches. Will help the batters behind him, plus him on the bases will let Jeter and Tex see more fastballs…
Face if Gardner does get the leadoff slot I expect lot’s of hit & run and hopefully Brett has improved his ability to get a read on pitchers……
Wave
If the decision is to between Grandy and Gardner as to who bats 8th or 9th and who bats 1st or 2nd, I would rather have Gardner in the bottom and Grandy at the top.
“Plus batting Jeter 2nd is the first step in moving him to a lower spot if he struggles against righties since it bypasses the move him to 2nd choice.”
Always the optimist, JF. I don’t think the Yanks are going to be anxious to move a $15MM/yr player to the bottom of the lineup. Anyway, here’s hoping Jeter hits so well you wouldn’t dream of moving him to the bottom of the lineup.
I don’t think Grandy was part of the decision. I think it comes down to a combination of Jeter, Swisher, and Gardner
“see’s a lot of pitches”
That’s a superfluous apostrophe. He sees a lot of pitches. You’re really living up to your name, Jerkface.
Now please don’t cry and accuse me of being your personal troll.
“I don’t think Grandy was part of the decision. I think it comes down to a combination of Jeter, Swisher, and Gardner”
Probably right although Grandy got a lot of ABs in the second slot last year.
Grandy hit 2nd last year vs RH and more importantly when it counted in the playoffs.
I would hope he was part of the decision.
Don’t know why Grandy would bat below Posada. Better to put him between Swisher and Posada. He would be great 6th, but we know Joe won’t do that. So against RHP, he would bat 7th.
Against LHP… he wouldn’t bat 8th because Gardner would be 9th and Joe doesn’t do back-to-back LHH. So he would bat 7th also between Posada and Martin.
The same thing that the genius maker said last year. Just flip flop Jeter and gardner in the 1 and 9 spots depending on whether a righty of lefty is pitching.
Over the last 3 years (so this is a good amount of time and he is only older) Jeter had a .733 OPS against righties and a .901 against lefties. This is a huge difference. if this was not Jeter, nobody would be saying anything. Why do you want a weak hitter batting 2nd in front of Tex, ARod and Cano?You have your weaker hitter bat lower for a reason; they get one less AB most of the time.
I agree that Po should bat 8th. And would also prefer Grandy 6th.
Pat M.-
I too hope that GGBG is more aggressive because Jeter likes to swing early in the count.
Either Jeter needs to be more patient (doubtful) , or GGBG needs to run sooner.
H and R’s would be another way to minimize GIDP’s.
with GGBG’s high OBP and speed he ought to be capable of leading the league, or at least stealing 60 bags.
Grandy hit 2nd last year vs RH and more importantly when it counted in the playoffs.
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22 times. Spent more time hitting 7th or 8th. Don’t think Grandy hit 2nd at all during any of the full lineup games this spring.
All great fodder for GTLU!
Which will be from Wednesday night at 9 pm through Thursday morning at 8:45.
(Just a little plug!)
“I too hope that GGBG is more aggressive because Jeter likes to swing early in the count.”
GGBG better be aggressive because Jeter is going to hit a lot of ground balls.
or GGBG needs to run sooner.
–
He often ran 1st, 2nd, or third pitch. More than I think people realize.
108 stitches, I have a feeling you are right about Jones. if Jones does what he did last year we will be thrilled, but I think Golson’s defense might make up for less of a stick compared to where I think Jones will hit. Hopefully Jones does the same as last year though because we will need some of those platoon AB’s against lefties
And yes, Nick in SF – I noticed that the pm was redundant once I said “night.”
Plus batting Jeter 2nd is the first step in moving him to a lower spot if he struggles against righties since it bypasses the move him to 2nd choice.
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Hmmm. Might need to get completely on board with this.
Curtis is a unique combo of both speed and power.
You find a way to utilize it to best advantage.
I’m sure Girardi will.
“Plus batting Jeter 2nd is the first step in moving him to a lower spot if he struggles against righties since it bypasses the move him to 2nd choice.”
You better hope this doesn’t turn out to be an option because Jeter is going to have to hit really bad for him to move to the bottom of the lineup.
Face
That few? That’s what I get for not taking a glance at bref before posting.
You better hope this doesn’t turn out to be an option because Jeter is going to have to hit really bad for him to move to the bottom of the lineup.
–
If he merely repeated 2010 he would have hit bad enough to be moved down.
WYH-
Basically I agree with you but I do hope Jeters LD % goes up this year.
“If he merely repeated 2010 he would have hit bad enough to be moved down.”
Theoretically yes, at least vs LHP, but in actuality he will have to hit hit worse. Which would be awful so I hope he stays at the top.
Theoretically yes, at least vs LHP, but in actuality he will have to hit hit worse.
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Assuming you mean RHP, but why do you think he would have to hit worse? He hit .200 vs RHP
Edit: Jeter’s. Don’t want Nick after me.
@Doreen: there are only so many commenters I can viciously stalk and harass, so you are safe.
Pat M is also safe for now, although I noticed his own superfluous apostrophe right after I called out Jerkface.
Gardner waits, he sees pitches, he hits, he walks, he runs, he scores!
The over 45 SB prop already looks good, but I think it looks even better if he leads off at least half the time.
I was always on board with Gardner at the top of the lineup, but that was so he would take PA’s away from Jeter.
I’m not sure I want him taking PA’s from Swish or Grandy.
And the book does say, the 2 spot is the most important. But now Jeter would occupy it.
I’m conflicted.
Granderson is now locked in from the work he did with Kevin Long last year. He didn’t return to wasted movement in the batter’s box. That combined with a full year as a Yankee and acceptance by fans should see him being a valuable contributor. He just needs to see a year of good health.
Wait and see how Jeter hits. It may be a moot discussion.
I honestly believe batting Gardner leadoff is going to lead to a large amount of 1st inning runs/leads that will pay off long term.
I think Girardi knows that by making this move, Brett has to run when Jeter is up to break up the force out st 2b.
If we survive the double play or if Brett steals and Jeter can get him to 3rd consistently, that’s almost an automatic run in the first inning provided Texiera hits for higher average this year.
I’m excited about that change as taking at bats away from Gardner is not a smart thing to do by burying him at 9 with his on base skills.
I’m also excited about the addition of Chavez and Nunez to this team. Subbing isn’t going to be the death valley it was in prior seasons, although if Molina lasts long as catcher with his bat it’s akin to having a bad pitcher hitting.
Chavez is in a very interesting spot, because if he stays healthy and the bat is potent and he is hitting for average and power, he can challenge Jorge for the DH spot. We’re talking a formerly elite MVP caliber bat in Chavez that still is young. If those injuries are dealt with once and for all, I expect him to play a larger role than a lot of us think here this season.
That said, if you make it to a game this year, let Jorge hear the love every time he is up. This will be the last time we see him as a Yankee and he deserves to go out with the same kind of fanfare that the other greats did.
I remember sitting in the ALDS when Andy left the game thinking that might be the last time I saw him pitch and it apparently was. I wish the fans there that night made more of a moment out of it for him but we were all stunned/disappointed by what Cliff Lee was doing to the lineup. I hope they have a day for Andy this year so he gets a send off he deserved.
Really pumped for Thursday and hope the weather cooperates!
I do think that Granderson definitely should not be hitting lower than 6th vs rhp. I don’t care if it’s two lhh back to back. Cano doesn’t really count because he hits lhp so well.
Sorry, I did mean RHP. If he is hitting .200 vs RHP at the end of June they may move him down vs righties. I think that’s unlikely though. If you want to worry about a scenario what if he hits .270, .330 OBP, .350 SLG vs RHP? That will keep him at the top but won’t help the team.
I really hope he has a big comeback at the plate this year.
G. Love, we will have a day for Andy when he comes out of retirement to add to his postseason wins total
If you want to worry about a scenario what if he hits .270, .330 OBP, .350 SLG vs RHP? That will keep him at the top but won’t help the team.
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If he is hitting that vs RHP then he will probably have an overall line of like .300+ /.350+/.400+ if he OPS’ 900 vs LHP. in which case everyone will say he is fixed.
Wave, it would be very surprising to me if Jeter had an OPS of over .750 against righties this year…and I expect a better year than last, but not as good as 2009
The Giambino is currently spilling the beans about his involvement with Bond’s trainer Greg Anderson. Received steroids via mail but addressed to “Johnny Bench”
That’s messed up.
Why don’t we just see how it turns out….if Jeter bounces back to his career norms then you want him hitting near the top of the lineup.
“in which case everyone will say he is fixed”
Everyone but me, and I’ll catch the usual grief about it.
Everyone but me, and I’ll catch the usual grief about it.
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And Me
can’t a 6-7-8 place hitter lead off a inning more than a first place hitter ?