Melky is not taking his surprise suspension lying down (h/t bronxgrl1 and NumberSeven):
Melky Cabrera still maintained Saturday morning that he didn't punch the Rays' Evan Longoria in the melee last week and he plans to appeal his three-game suspension, though he's going to watch video of the incident with his agent first.
My gut says 'Melky wouldn't say he didn't hit him if he actually hit him.' But my brain says, 'Hello, Roger Clemens!'
WasWatching has an interesting article up.
To me, when you look at Boggs, Knoblauch and Randolph on this list, it suggests that a player with little pop can a productive big league player if he:
While I agree that Brett Gardner fits those three criteria, what Steve Lombardi overlooks is that those three Yanks were infielders. Furthermore, Boggs was a multitime batting champ and far past his prime by the time he was a Yankee. In his best years in Boston, Boggs topped .475 SLG.
1. Hits for a pretty decent batting average, and
2. Walks a lot, and
3. Is a good base-stealer.
Either way, I think Gardner needs to start the season on the bench as insurance. With Melky unavailable, the Yanks have no one able to play center.