Yankees Turn Center Field to Gardner

One of the storied positions in sports – think Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Bernie Williams – now belongs to Brett Gardner.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi declared Gardner had won the spring competition with Melky Cabrera, who from June 1, 2007, through Aug. 3, 2008, started 205 of 222 games in center.

But Cabrera last year was exposed as more of a fourth outfielder than a regular, and Gardner brings the Yankees a speed dimension they have lacked since Chuck Knoblauch.

A scout who followed the Yankees this spring said he likes the choice.

"Brett Gardner's been great," the scout said. "I like Brett Gardner. I think he brings some energy to the club they need. But he'll probably be on a short leash."

Meaning: The Yankees expect to go deep in the postseason, and the manager is under pressure to win, so if Gardner starts slow, it's back to Melky (or talk of Mike Cameron or someone else).

Gardner has a career .389 on-base percentage in the minors and stole 153 bases in 384 games. While he is seen as mostly a slap hitter, the scout said Gardner should hit a few homers. Especially with the close right-field corner at Yankee Stadium (same dimensions as the old Yankee Stadium), Gardner can drop the head of the bat and turn on a down-and-in fastball, much like Johnny Damon will do.

After hitting .165 through his first 29 big-league games, Gardner made an adjustment at the behest of hitting coach Kevin Long. Instead of lifting his right (front) foot off the ground, he merely picked up his heel and set it back down, his toes never leaving the ground.

"He's going to be in a better hitting position more often," Long said at the time. "He can see the ball better, react to the ball better, attack the ball better."

Over his final 13 games, Gardner hit .357 with a .476 slugging percentage.

"He was patient [this spring], he saw a lot of pitches, hit a lot of hard line drives," Girardi said. "He was productive for us the last three weeks of last season, and he just carried it over."

"... It's not going to be day to day," Girardi said. "Gardy's our center fielder."