Backup Infielders

I was just thinking that if Wilson Betemit cannot be trusted with a middle infield spot for seemingly only a few days then what is the point of having both him and Morgan Ensberg on the roster? Both players are playing backup for first and third and neither is seeing significant time. Surely it would make more sense to have someone who is able to play shortstop and second while keeping Shelley on the roster for occasional spot starts, a strong bat from the bench AND to have as a back up outfielder.

 

I’m sure Joe Girardi has a thought process behind his decisions(it’s probably why he pipped me to the managerial post) but i’m failing to see it at this point. In my opinion we could see a trade in mid-season seeing Betemit being moved for bullpen help.

 

 

Yanks looking good

With only nine games gone in the season and panic starting to set in amongst Yankee fans over a fairly average start, i have come to the conlusion that overall, the signs are mostly good. Let me explain:

 

The Yankees biggest worry in the offseason was in regards to the pitching staff. Wang has been great, Moose has been much better than expected, Hughes has been average(although i don’t think he was helped by the weather in KC), Kennedy has looked shaky and the jury is still out on Pettitte after only one start removed from injury. The ‘pen has largely been quite good with the poorest performances coming from Farnsworth and Hawkins, the two most “dependable” middle relievers we’ve got.

 

Obviously the offense has been very poor, but if anyone actually thinks that this team is not going to start scoring runs then they don’t know baseball that well. It’s not a question of if they will hit, it’s when?

 

Overall, my point is this – most of our question marks are performing well, and IF they can keep that up, by the time the offense starts playing like they can this will turn into very successful season. Right now, we’re keeping afloat with few of our apparent strengths firing on all cylanders. If the pitching stays generally strong i can see Yankees putting a lot more wins in the column than losses.