Joe Girardi has stated that Derek Jeter will return to the leadoff spot when he comes off the disabled-list on June 29th (which is when he is eligible to return). This faith in Jeter, while predictable, can be questioned:
(Note: all stats are through game 1 of Wednesday’s double-header vs. CIN).
Argument for Gardner: Coming out of spring training it seemed Girardi made the decision to use Gardner and Jeter at the top of the order. Two things contributed to no longer using this lineup: Brett Gardner struggled mightily in the leadoff spot and Curtis Granderson was playing like an MVP. Now, with Jeter on the disabled list, Brett Gardner has had his second chance to prove he is a leadoff hitter.
Gardner is having a great offensive year: .293/.371/.444— and those numbers are with a dreadful April. Since May 1, Gardner’s slash splits are .346/.419/.471. (A .419 OBP would currently rank third in the American League.) A leadoff hitter’s job is to get on base and Brett does his job as a leadoff batter better than most in Baseball.  His speed on the bases cannot be understated. Even though Gardner is awful this year in stolen bases (14-for-24; 59%), he disrupts the pitcher when he is on base which allows Granderson, Teixeira, and Rodriguez to take advantage of mistake pitches. It is clear the Yankees have not struggled without Jeter in the leadoff spot; they are 7-1 and have scored 51 runs in those 8 games. This is not to say the Yankees do not need Jeter healthy and in their lineup, but they do not need him at the top of the order.
Â
Argument for Jeter: Unlike for Gardner, the argument for Jeter is less about stats and more about implication (because the stats don’t help him).  Jeter’s ranks as a leadoff hitter in the American League are: 7th in BA, 8th in OBP, and 13th in SLG— OK, thats another argument for Gardner. But what would batting Jeter 8th or 9th mean for the team? Would Jeter be discouraged or insulted, further impacting his numbers? I assume Girardi fears the team will be negativley impacted by batting Jeter down in the lineup or reducing his playing time. In the past Girardi was quoted, and I’m paraphrasing, “I feel bad for the manager who has to tell Jeter he can’t play anymore.” It seems he will be that manager, and he might be waiting for an offseason to break the news to The Captain.
Â
Andrew Rotondi
NYYUniverse.com Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter @Yankees_talk
