Time For a Change: Switching The Line Up



Swisher should convince Jeter to get a
mo hawk.

 Six in a row and it's time to panic in the Bronx. Among Yankees fans, I would say that I amongst the cooler heads and won't overreact to a losing streak like this in May. But looking at the losing streak and the games even before the streak the Yankees had not been that impressive. Sure they were out homering everyone, but doing little other wise. So here is my pitch for what Joe Girardi should do with the line up.

1. Derek Jeter - Yes he stays on top of the line up, in the ideal world I would hit Jeter lower, but you can't do that to the captain unless he comes to you and asks to bat lower, especially after this weekend long drama with Jorge Posada hitting 9th. Jeter looked like he was improving, until the Boston series when he turned back into ground ball Derek.

2. Nick Swisher- Before he hits second I think Swisher needs to sit a day, he has looked off and his comments the other day about trying too hard to hit home runs was alarming. Give him a day to clear his head, and then insert him back into the line up hitting after Jeter. Sure the possibility of the ground ball double play could be large, but Swisher was great in this spot last year. He is going to see a ton of fastballs and good pitches to hit, since most pitchers would rather face Swisher then Tex of A-Rod.

3. Robinson Cano- Here is the first big switch, Cano hits third. Robby has frustrated me this season with his lack of patients at the plate but has been the Yankees second best hitter all season long. Other than his slump this past week, Cano has been fairly consistent and deserves the chance to move up and hit third.



If they can play the infield together, they can hit
behind each other

 4. Alex Rodriguez- A-Rod was hitting .385 when he hurt his oblique, since then he has hit just .180 and has looked lost at the plate. Either way, Girardi loves A-Rod in this spot, and it is the best possible spot for him.

5. Mark Teixeira- The move is basically flip flopping Cano and Tex in the line up, Teixeira had a great April and avoided his annual slump, but that seems to have carried over to May. No doubt in my mind Tex will bounce back, but how soon?

6. Curtis Granderson- "The Grandyman can, oh the Grandyman can" that line has been frequently heard on WCBS 880 when John Sterling breaks it out for Granderson. In his second season with the Yankees Granderson has been everything and more from what they expected from him. He already has 14 home runs and has a realistic shot of hitting 40. If Curtis hits 6th, he would be able to collect a few more RBI's. Although I am often against switching guys in the batting order when they are doing well, I do believe that what ever Kevin Long did that night in Texas last August has helped and will continue to show throughout the season.

Granderson has hit many home runs with that bat.

7. Jorge Posada- I hope hitting 7th does not bruise his ego, because this is the best spot for Jorge. I think he is going to turn it around and hit better than the way he has so far, I mean it can't possibly get worse, right?

8. Russell Martin- The Canadian catcher has hit a bit of a slump come May hitting just .167, but he is still getting on base and has had some good at bats. I like hitting him 8th since behind him will be Brett Gardner, and Martin has some speed, so if both get on I wouldn't mind a double steal.

9. Brett Gardner- The way he has played this month has been under the radar, hitting .341 in May and getting on base at almost .100 more than his batting average. The alarming thing has been that Brett has gotten caught stealing more times than he has been safe (CS-6 SB-5). Gardner's hitting may lead to him moving back up to lead off, but I am a big fan of him hitting 9th at this time, creating a double lead off. The one issue I have with Gardner is his lack of base running skills. Sure he is fast, but some of the choices he makes on when to go or not shock me, he also waits way too long to run and the hitter up at the plate take hittable pitches because of this.