The NY Yankees Black hole at Third

The NY Yankees Black hole at Third

by Dan Salem and Todd Salem (1-14-13)


DAN:
Alex Rodriguez is once again getting surgery and the Yankees are left with a hole in their team for at least the first third of the 2013 season. Some might say the hole was there whether he was healthy or not, but I'm not one of those haters.

How do the Yankees, our team, fix this? I really like Eduardo Nunez, but he was Jeter's backup and not a consistent enough hitter as of yet to be relied upon every day. Does he convert to a shortstop / third base hybrid? They signed Youkilis, but can we really rely on him at this point in his career? I don't know farm systems enough to propose a trade, but something needs to happen now!

TODD: 

So many directions to go here; I'll tackle each one like they were shot with a bullet... but something less dangerous and foreboding. This deserves tranquilizer points!

--> Alex Rodriguez is out for six months, give or take 65 days on either end. This creates a huge hole in the Yankees' lineup. I am with you up to this point. However, I am one of those "haters" of the belief that A-Rod is on his last legs. I feel like a mandatory benching for surgery is actually beneficial here. The Yankees will be able to sit him without the backlash and story surrounding. A man more skeptical than myself may even suggest Yankees brass "encouraged" A-Rod to get another surgery.

--> I too like Eduardo Nunez. He runs, puts the bat on the ball and adds some energy to a sluggish lineup. He is not a third baseman though. He struggled with the glove during his time at third last season, and had a very hard time sliding around the diamond defensively. I think his best use will be to DH when added speed is needed, spell Jeter at short and to play sparingly elsewhere. Unless the glove progresses, Nunez won't be effective as an everyday third baseman.

--> There was no hope at all in the free agent pool and we signed the top available corner infielder in Kevin Youkilis. Down the road, moving around a current Yankee to open up a different spot seems like a long shot. Could Cano move to third with his arm strength? Yeah, probably, but that does not seem like something Girardi or Brian Cashman would want to do.

--> The Yankees farm system is worse than it was a year ago. Many of the top pitching prospects had poor or injury-riddled seasons in 2012. The young catchers are not quite ready and things are shallow everywhere else. It also seems against corporate policy for the Yankees to ever make a trade FOR a young prospect, although being able to deal for a young 3B here would be rather intriguing.

--> What does that leave New York with? The answer is simple and discouraging. Kevin Youkilis is a stop gap player for at least six weeks as the season begins. If he is competent, he’ll remain until A-Rod's return. If he is gruesome, other options will be explored. Welcome to a world where Ryan Roberts is the starting third baseman of the New York Yankees!

DAN: 

I don't care for the 'options' you mentioned and who is this Ryan Roberts you speak of? I don't want to know! Back to players I know of and most notably A-Rod and the Youk. Your idea that the Yankees brass encouraged A-Rod to get surgery is intriguing and I'd even consider it if we had even one good option to fill in. Seeing as there's none, even with Youkilis, I respectfully disagree.

As for the Youk, I'm all for irony and poetic justice and that crap, but if Kevin Youkilis fills in for Alex Rodriguez and plays really well then I may just cry. We won’t want A-Rod back at all and Youkilis might actually replace Alex entirely. I enjoyed when Johnny Damon joined the Yankees. Loved it actually as a haha moment. But I don't like Youkilis. I actually dislike him. He is the quintessential image of the chicken and beer fiasco in my mind. And now he is a Yankee? Our guy! No way. Keep out! Do not enter. I'd rather field "insert name of random Marlins player here" than him. Unfortunately that isn’t happening. Give me a few weeks in April and I’m sure I’ll come around.

[Part Two]