Clearly, the Yankees have a hole at third base. They also have a few spare outfielders sitting around as well as a large stockpile of good, young prospects. Somehow, someway, this hole will be filled.
Right now, the rumors as the GM meetings begin in Orlando involve the Yankees and the White Sox. The Yankees are rumored to be interested in Joe Crede; the White Sox are intrigued by Johnny Damon. Over at The Bronx Block, EJ Fagan believes, as I do, that the Yanks can do better than Crede, and John over at Yanksfan vs. Soxfan notes the Crede-Brosius comparison.
I understand the appeal of Crede when it comes to Scott Brosius nostalgia. Crede is a glove man at third who has shown some flashes of hitting ability at the plate. Crede turns 30 in April; Brosius was 31 when he arrived in New York.
But let me tell you the dirty little secret about Scott Broisus: Despite his postseason success and career year in 1998, he wasn’t very good as a member of the Yankees.
In 1998, Brosius was an All Star for the Yanks. He hit .300/.371/.472 with a career-high 19 HR and 98 RBI. It looked like the Yanks had landed themselves an unheralded star in a lineup of top performers. But it all came crashing down after that.
From 1999-2001, Brosius hit .254/.316/.411 with 46 HR. Take out 2001, and those numbers are even worse (.239/.303/.394). Now, I loved Scotty-Bro just as much as the next Yankee fan. He was a great number nine hitter in a pretty powerful lineup.
But 2007 is not 1998. In 1998, the Yankees were trying to replace Wade Boggs. He was a great hitter, but he wasn’t the centerpiece of the lineup. In 2007, the Yankees are trying to replace their number four hitter and third baseman at the same time. There are plenty of better options out there, and the Yanks, with all of their resources, shouldn’t settle on Joe Crede this early in the offseason.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.