Brett Gardner is one to watch for
ByOver at ESPN’s new and entertaining (but poorly named) The Max Info blog, Yankee fan and RAB reader Katie Sharp named leftfield favorite Brett Gardner the Yankees’ player to watch for the 2010 season (Insider req’d). She points out that Gardner had by far the best speed score (9.2, a metric developed by Bill James that considers things like stolen base percentages, triples, etc) of any batter with at least 250 plate appearances last season, and that his 16% infield hit rate was tied for Ichiro as the best in the business. As soon as he improves his bunting, I’m hopeful that number will go up even more.
I don’t think Gardner’s quite as good defensively as his small sample UZR suggest, but he’s obviously very good. If he can work his way into being a non-zero offensive player out of the nine-hole, then I’ll take it every day of the week.
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Does Ms. Sharp have a handle?
Please tell me its not Bo.
Jake, actually
“I don’t think Gardner’s quite as good defensively as his small sample UZR suggest, but he’s obviously very good. If he can work his way into being a non-zero offensive player out of the nine-hole, then I’ll take it every day of the week.”
coming around on gardner are we mike?
Allow me to answer that as a fellow Gardner-doubter.
No one ever said he has to do all much with the bat to be a useful player. Let’s just see him do it first. I think there is a fair chance that Winn gets a good chunk of at bats next season.
I think he’s just saying what many of us have been saying. We know Gardy is above average out there in center. However, citing his UZR as fact is silly.
The worst is when people throw in his UZR/150, which distorts the small sample size even further.
I think Gardner is going to lose the LF job to Winn, honestly.
Well that’s the luxury of Winn, he’s a proven vet who Girardi can put in if Gardner struggles. I’m sure he will at some point during the same, not every player is good all year long, but I think Gardner will end up with more ABs than Winn, because if his defense is elite I’m willing to let him go through a rough patch in order to see how he reacts with the bat when he struggles.
I second that.
Hey guys i’m new here,
Brett Gardner is my cousin in law, we were reading this article here in florida as well. He’s pumped!
BTW I can get you a picture of him holding up an RAB sign lol if no one believes me.
“BTW I can get you a picture of him holding up an RAB sign lol if no one believes me.”
You are now obligated to do so.
Agreed. I believe him, but I want to see the picture either way.
Yes. The chance to get a pic of a Yankee with a RAB sign is not something to pass up.
+1
I believe him too but I still want a Gardy/RAB pic
I want JMK to see the pic. His head will explode.
Can we also get a pic in which JMK’s head explodes?
if he gets the pic, it has to go on the website…Grit, not JMK, although that would be kind of cool too!
Wouldn’t make much difference. I wear a burqa at all times so as to not upset the women and children with my freakishly large eyelashes.
while i disbelieve the burka, for some reason…yes, i believe you have freakishly long eyelashes…i bet you looked cute in that bikini.
/EWWW’d!!!
I don’t believe you unless he is also holding todays newspaper.
What is this the mob?
LOL
The picture is going to be this one http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2009/05/07/6nIBC72H.jpg (safe), but with a piece of paper with the words RAB photoshopped over the baby’s head.
BTW Brett Gardner’s wife, your cousin, is absolutely gorgeous.
Another reason to root for the guy.
LOL, the kid in the pic looks like a Brett Gardner bobblehead doll.
Cousins from a small town in South Carolina, you say? The urge not to make some sort of joke is physically paining me.
Hey, if you get a chance to chat with him, pass along this advice for me: until he can at least bench press the bar, stop upper-cutting everything.
Brian, please tell him to learn to drag bunt.
I watch Gardner bunt in Tampa last weekend. He must have bunted 30 balls – all towards 3rd base.
I think it’s interesting that everyone is lauding the moves of the sox and mariners for increasing their defense, but then those same people talk shit about the yankees having gardner as their everyday LF.
I remember when all of the haters were saying how Swish is only a 4th OF last year. Even in August they were expecting him to regress as he’s that good of a player in their opinion.
Like Swish, I hope Gardy proves people wrong.
I think the only people that have a problem with Garder as the starting LF are Yankees fans. The MSM loves him because he’s gritty and scrappy, and the Sabermatricians acknowledge that he is likely a great defensive OF, and while his hitting will suck, in this lineup it won’t really matter.
Okay, his hitting wont suck. I will be slightly above average, probably something like 275/335/400. It will be by far the worst in the lineup, but his stolen base crown should make up for it offensively.
I’d be thrilled with that line over 400+ AB’s. Combine that with his defense and you’re looking at a pretty valuable player.
On what do you base your claim that Gardner will slug .400? In 375 MLB AB’s, he has slugged .352.
Yea, that’s an SSS, but his SLG was .383 in 1467 career MiLB AB. Though, he did slug .422 with AAA SWB in ’08, and was over .400 in ’06 and ’07 prior to being promoted (A+-AA in ’06; AA-AAA in ’07).
I just want to know if you had rationale behind that line or if it was more of a shoot from the hip thing.
It was more of a shoot from the hip, I was just trying to say that gardner will not suck at the plate, as may assume.
Not a bad premise. I could see a ~.730 OPS, probably more of a .350-355ish OBP, .375-380ish SLG though.
i wonder who holds the single-season record for their obp being higher than slg percentage?
eddie stanky?
wee willie keeler?
just looked up wee willie on b/r
he was more a slugger than i expected
That’s what I thought. I’m not trying to be all smart and stuff. I just wanted to know if there was something different you were basing it on.
if brett gardner earns 400 at-bats this year, and it’s not a result of c-grand or swish getting hurt, we’re in good shape
If Winn gets 400+ AB’s this season, then we know something terrible has happened.
or cervelli
I think if posada went down again with a serious injury aka 08, that the yankees would make a trade much sooner.
They witnessed what happened having Molina over exposed did.
Did you hear Molina said something like “Posada is the reason I’m not a Yankee any more”? Yeah, it’s not like we had homegrown options that would replace your, um, offensive production while being very good defensive catchers.
Yeah, I saw that article. But I think that Posada was a little butt hurt that he didn’t catch A.J. in the playoffs.
But you are right that Cervelli can easily replicate Molina’s offensive production.
Oh Posada was TOTALLY unnecessarily butthurt about it, but it was dumb of Molina to say that. It’s not like Posada is some mafioso that controls Cashman (OR IS HE????).
anyone but pudge (unless pudge fisk comes out of retirement)
Over at ESPN’s new and entertaining (but poorly named) The Max Info blog
Excuse me but that name worked out pretty well for the hangout populated by Zach Morris and the gang.
Brett and the picture with his wife is a joke. He cheats on her all the time, including with a friend of mine!