Cairo back?

by John Amato on Dec 29, 2005 6:37 PM EST in New York Yankees News

Miguel Cairo was an excellent Yankee in his brief stint here in 2004. He batted .292 and played a decent second base. Forget about his season with the Mets. What stood out for me about him was that he became a clutch hitter late in games. (Remember-he won that great Boston extra inning game when Jeter almost broke his nose diving into the stands to make a circus catch)

He seems to be a perfect bench player for the Yanks and the fact that he thrived in Pinstripes makes him the best possible choice to be our back-up infielder. If he signs, add another feather in Cashman's cap this off season.

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Cairo

i agree totally. in 2004 while everyone else was having pretty much sub-par years, Cairo was one of the only Yankees who actually hit better than his career average. i was disappointed that we lost him, and would love to have him back.

by lee on Dec 29, 2005 7:59 PM EST reply actions

Solid off the bench

The best thing Cairo has going for him is that he doesn't strike out much. This helps in those late game spots.
He's shown the ability to play 2nd, 3rd, and left field passably.
I was nervous about him as a starter, but he'll be great as a reserve.

Have faith in the Yankees my son. Think of the great DiMaggio.

by jscape2000 on Dec 30, 2005 2:22 AM EST reply actions

Still scratching my head over Cairo

I never understood why the Yankees let him go in the first place. He was very steady, and I remember him to be pretty clutch. Maybe he wanted to go?

I don't remember reading anything that suggested that. I just remember one day we had Tony Womack, and I was thinking, "This is an up-grade?"

I hope they can entice him to come back.

by 22Ronster on Dec 30, 2005 3:21 PM EST reply actions

Cairo

I remember reading that "they" (don't know if this was Cashman or Steinbrenner) thought Cairo had a flukey kind of career year and played over his head, so they went for Womack thinking he was a big upgrade. They could have been right about Cairo - guess we'll find out - but they were dead wrong about Womack, obviously.

by Yankee Fanne on Dec 30, 2005 6:00 PM EST up reply actions

Right and then wrong...

The Yanks' brass was definitely right when they decided that Cairo's 2004 season was a fluke. His performance in 2005 confirmed that suspicion. Unfortunately, they replaced him with Womack, one of the few players in the majors who actually did worse than Cairo.

That being said, the Yanks should have stuck to their 2004 offseason assessment and passed on Cairo again. While he's not the worst player in the league, he's close.

Felix Escalona would likely put up identical numbers to Cairo in a reserve role, so this signing was unnecessary. And Escalona would have done it for about $650,000 less.

by screechpowers on Dec 30, 2005 9:28 PM EST reply actions

Not sure about this ...

Cairo's stats certainly aren't Hall worthy, but he is a .270 hitter with more than 700 hits. As much as I support plugging in "homegrown" talent, I honestly don't think Escalona would hit .270.

Plus, I don't know that I would feel comfortable sticking a rookie at short, or third base in critical situations--we saw how Cano melted in the playoffs with the glove. Not that Cairo is going to become Craig Nettles, but his .980 fielding pct. overall is solid enough.

I think it's a good signing--even though I agree with you that he's not likely to duplicate his numbers.

by 22Ronster on Dec 30, 2005 11:02 PM EST reply actions

agree

i agree with you. and good point about the experience. i'm betting Cairo turns in another year like he had in 2004 with the Yankees. good signing indeed!

by lee on Dec 30, 2005 11:49 PM EST up reply actions