A note of caution about Melky

by Ed Valentine on May 1, 2009 7:47 AM EDT in New York Yankees Analysis

Melky Cabrera has answered the challenge posed by Brett Gardner with an impressive start this season. The Melk-man is, for now, the Yankees' every day center fielder.

Here is Manager Joe Girardi.

"He'll be out there tomorrow . . . Melky has played his rear end off and he's going to keep playing."

Melky is now hitting .327 with four home runs and 9 RBI in just 49 at-bats. He also has a .400 OBP. His teammates have noticed his stellar play.

Here is Derek Jeter.

"When he's gotten his opportunities to play, he's contributed. He kept working. If he sat around and didn't do anything, you'd be worried, but he worked hard."

Before we go crazy and anoint Melky as an All-Star and the center fielder for the next 140 games, let's remember one thing. He started hot last season, too, hitting .299 with 5 home runs and 12 RBI in April. He wound up hitting just .249 with 8 home runs, and spent a month banished to AAA.

So, impressive as he has been, let's see how this plays out. Two or three weeks from now, Gardner could be back out there.

Even with the prices slashed, there were still plenty of empty premium seats at the Stadium last night.

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Comments

While I agree that we should be cautious about annointing Melky anything, I think it’s reasonable at this point to say that he is a better option than Brett Gardner, who cannot hit worth a damn and strikes out way too much for a guy with no power.

Melky is also nearly a year younger, and since Gardner hasn’t proven to be the defensive player people thought he was, I can’t think of a single thing he does better than Melky with the exception of stealing bases, which is impossible to do when you’re sitting on the bench after striking out.

Melky also looks like he’s in much better shape than he was last year.

by New York Sports Jerk on May 1, 2009 10:14 AM EDT reply actions

Gardner

I think the jury is still out on Gardner. There is a lot of baseball left to play and Gardner does have only 206 career at-bats. Granted, he has only hit .226 (.274 OBP) in those ABs, but it’s too soon to write him off completely. That said, it’s obvious right now that Melky should be playing.

by Ed Valentine on May 1, 2009 10:40 AM EDT up reply actions

I’m writing Gardner off based on his minor league numbers. A guy with no power shouldn’t strike out 76 times during a AAA season.

As bad as Melky was last year, he had 73 more ABs at the ML level than Gardner had at AAA and struck out only 59 times.

It’s too soon to write Melky off after having one bad year as a 23-year-old at the major league level. I just wonder why people love Gardner so much. Melky has tons more talent and has proven he can hit ML pitching over a full season.

by New York Sports Jerk on May 1, 2009 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't think anyone is writing off Gardner

No one is writing of Gardner, they are just playing the hotter player right now and that is Melky. Neither players have earned the right to play through an extended slump like stars such as Posada, Jeter, Tex, A-Rod have. So if one is hot, he plays. Nice to have that kinda depth when either candidate is a decent choice.

by HappyLuckyGoldenDragonNumber1! on May 1, 2009 1:10 PM EDT up reply actions

"Since Gardner hasn’t proven to be the defensive player people thought he was" ?

Gardner has been excellent in the outfield. He has made some really excellent plays. I wonder what you’ve been watching.

Melky has been outstanding and deserves to be playing.

I think we should be pleased with BG’s progress too.

If I's known I was going to live so long, I'd have taken better care of myself. Casey

by Cbeck3 on May 1, 2009 1:10 PM EDT up reply actions

"Some really excellent plays"

And some really bad ones.

BG isn’t showing an progress, he’s showing that he’s not a major league hitter. People just love how scrappy (read: white) he is. He strikes more than 1/5 of the time he comes to the plate in his entire minor and major league career.

Enough with Brett Gardner.

by New York Sports Jerk on May 1, 2009 1:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Do you NOT like him

Because he is white? I can’t speak for everyone but I think YOU are MORON for suggesting that people love him because he is white. Personally, I would love to have a guy on the team that could get on base, be a threat to steal and provide some good defense in centerfield. It would be great if Brett or any player (black, white, brown, purple, orange, magenta, periwinkle) could do that for us. All this having been said, Brett’s approach at the plate has not matched his approach in spring training. Leave Melky out there until he needs a break and put in Gardner. I’m not giving up on Gardner the same way I never gave up on Melky.

by Rusty23 on May 1, 2009 1:48 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't like him...

….because he’s not a starting ML outfielder and people pretend that he is. It’s insanity.

It would be great if we had a CF who can get on base and be a threat to steal, unfortunately Brett Gardner CANNOT get on base. Spring training success means exactly nothing because you’re hitting against guys who are either

a) working on their stuff and not yet in form

b) going to be bagging groceries by April 1.

No objective analysis of his minor league career would suggest he’s anything more than a 4th outfielder. He can’t hit. It’s not complicated.

I love him as a pinch runner, and late game defensive replacement for Damon or Swisher. If he gets 400 ABs for this team, it’s a bad sign.

by New York Sports Jerk on May 1, 2009 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions

On that, I agree.

by Rusty23 on May 1, 2009 2:15 PM EDT up reply actions

I would love to have a guy on the team that could get on base

Problem is, he can’t get on base.

by HappyLuckyGoldenDragonNumber1! on May 1, 2009 2:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Young guys need time to develop

Last year we read a lot about Melky comparing well with Bernie Williams at the same age. Then last year Melky and Cano disappointed us.

I do not think Melky is as good as the year to date numbers this year, but I glad we didn’t give up on him. Do not give up on Gardner either.

If I's known I was going to live so long, I'd have taken better care of myself. Casey

by Cbeck3 on May 1, 2009 1:07 PM EDT reply actions

Guy I am excited about

That Pena kid makes me smile. That glove of his is something special, reminds me of how I felt about Jeter when I first watched him play. Hopefully Pena can develop into a solid hitter. Seems to like the clutch so far.

by HappyLuckyGoldenDragonNumber1! on May 1, 2009 1:11 PM EDT reply actions

Seats

I can’t believe people continue to bang the “the front sections are empty” drum. Did anyone who is saying that ever go to a regular season game in the last five years at the old stadium? Apparently not because there were always tons of empty seats down there at game time and for the first few innings. That’s because most people that can afford those seats work at jobs that require them to work a lot of hours. So they can’t get to the Bronx for the start of a 7:00 game. Additionally, in the new stadium, a good number of those seats are affiliated with restaurants and lounges were the food is free. People hang out in there for the first few innings and then come out eventually to watch the game live. By the fifth last night, those seats were mostly full. And just because a seat is empty doesn’t mean its not sold. If a corporate ticket holder doesn’t fill a seat (and lets be honest, that’s generally who has those seats) on a Thursday night, you can’t be angry or surprised. The only thing exacerbating the visual problem it creates are those enormous seatbacks. I don’t think its a problem at all except for poor visual it creates on television.

But whatever. Those seats have never been priced for the average fan, they never will be nor should they be really. If there were no seats available at reasonable prices, then people may have a complaint. But there are, as anyone who is willing to take a look will find. People are such whiny haters. It’s really annoying and kind of pathetic.

by instantindian on May 1, 2009 1:42 PM EDT reply actions

Ummmm

Yeah I will bang that drum. When you have weekend games in the inaugural season of the new “Cathedral” and there are STILL empty seats along the field, you have some problems. Actually, the tickets for what used to be an average seat are extensively more expensive. When I was younger I used to leave work and catch a night weekday game and pay about 14 bucks for a decent upper deck seat. I am gonna see the new Stadium when I go back to NY next month and I am looking at 60 – 90 dollar tickets for mediocre seats. The Yankees are lowering prices, that ALONE should prove to you there was and still is a problem.

by HappyLuckyGoldenDragonNumber1! on May 1, 2009 2:15 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't know where you're sitting...

or where you’re buying your tickets but if you go on stubhub for any game this week even, there are $20 tickets all over the grandstand, including more or less right behind the plate available in pairs (those tickets are $30 face I think – $25 for packages). If you need to sit somewhere more fancy than that, then I have no sympathy for you. When I was younger I used to be able to go to the movies for five bucks and when my grandfather was younger he could buy a soda for a nickel. Things get more expensive. That’s just the way of the world. Especially in New York.

by instantindian on May 1, 2009 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Hey genius

When the Yankees themselves are cutting ticket prices almost 40% down on some of their seating, weekend games look like a mid week Nationals game against the Diamondbacks, there is a pricing problem. It’s like trying to convince me that Chrysler is a solvent company after they just declared for bankruptcy.

by HappyLuckyGoldenDragonNumber1! on May 1, 2009 3:25 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't know what that other guy is talking about...

The Yankees drew 53,000 per game last year, which means even with every weekend game sold out at 56,000, they were still geting 50,000 for your run-of-the-mill Thursday night game.

Last night they announced 43,388 … and there probably weren’t 35,000 in the ballpark.

It’s not just the “Legends” seats that aren’t selling. The RF and LF outfield box seats in front of the bleachers were empty, much of the lower level was empty. Those seats were sold and used last year.

And to be honest, I have no idea why they’d build an exclusive club under the stadium to give people an incentive not to sit in their seats. It looks ridiculous.

by New York Sports Jerk on May 1, 2009 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Impressed

I believe that Swisher, Melky, Cano, A.J. and Pena have all impressed me so far in the first month of the season. Swisher is on fire hitting homeruns and driving runs in. Melky is doing it all and Cano currently has a 17-game hit streak. And no doubt about it but A.J. is our best starter as of right now. Pena is also bring the glove we are missing with A-Rod out. All the bombers need to do is keep this up and add more people to the mix. The Yankees need to ignite the fire.

by NYY27 on May 1, 2009 2:04 PM EDT reply actions

AJ is our best starter

Well, he is solid no doubt but I would say actually Joba has been the most consistent. AJ was doing awesome till that shellacking. But we have a damn fine rotation, any one of these guys is capable of winning 15+, especially if the Yanks keep averaging over 5 runs a game.

by HappyLuckyGoldenDragonNumber1! on May 1, 2009 2:17 PM EDT up reply actions