Why is Girardi playing Melky?

Question

He is hurting the offence and he is miscomunicating with Bobby Abreu (witch is odd cuz they both speak spanish)

Justin Christian has more speed and and can give u everything melky can without the arm.

We should start Christian for a while to see how well he hits.

Who do you think should start for the Yankees in Centerfield?

Answer 1

melky because he has a great arm and plays terrific defense, and we've been winning tith him there havent't we.

Answer 2

Christain sure he isn't an all star rookie like Evan Longoria but he shows good speed, the ability to hit major league hitting, and some nice defense in center. I thought melky would have a break out year but he is really getting progressively worse

Answer 3

That's a good question.

You eventually get to the point where you have to weigh whether his plus defense gets outweighed by his very below average offense so far this year.

Melky is a very good defender. His range is a slight plus and his arm plus plus. However, his bat is awful. He's been hitting about .230 over the last three months and his OBP is below .300. He has no plate discipline and hits into double plays or strikes out almost every time runners are on base and has trouble getting bunts down to move runners up.

As a 9 hole hitter he might not be as bad if he can sacrifice and such, but if molina is playing, Melky's bat in the 8 spot is a lot more painful.

Melky lacks discipline all over the field. He slides into first base feet first, he made an error in center field to WAVE to the bleacher creatures during the roll call, and he doesn't hustle down the line on dropped 3rd strikes because he's mad at himself.

It's tough to take him out of center for his defense, and with pudge his bat isn't needed as much, but if molina were around as the everyday still, I'd say you'd need to bench Melky for someone with comparable defense who has better at bats, and even Gardner fits that bill with his speed and dynamic offense plus plate discipline.

For now you're stuck playing him because he's a "fan favorite" and gives good defense, but they are definitely approaching a crossroads with him soon, and even if he does a little better, a legit prospect in Austin Jackson might be ready soon, in which case Melky might become trade bait if Jackson is truly ready.  

Answer 4

I think Melky should.

Justin Christian might make those "rookie mistakes" that people,such as idk Bobby Abreu,have overcome and have perfected.Justin should watch Melky a little more and try to imitate what he does in the OF with the weird hops off the wall so he knows where to set up so he wont get so much c**p about it from Yankee fans as to why he didn't read the ball right or something.

Answer 5

If Hideki Matsui comes back soon,their gonna have to bench him and put Damon in LF and let Nady play CF.

Answer 6

Bench Melky for 2 weeks to see if he can break out of his slump when he returns. Not likely, but it's possible that's what he needs.

While he's on the bench, I wouldn't mind seeing Christian start in CF.

Answer 7

MELKY IS  GOOD

Answer 8

You have something against people who speak Spanish?

Melky is on the defensive, but the offensive is the worst

Answer 9

b/c of his defense-------

Answer 10

Christian is good but they want to make Melky the permanent CF, to see if he can handle it. and you dont start benching young talent to make room for younger talent. Christian will get his chance (most likely next year because many guys become UFAs after this season) but for now they want Melky to get used to the everyday CF role, because if he cant do it then they need to find someone who can (manybe Christian)..

but for now you gotta have faith in  Melky  

Answer 11

Bring back Mickey Rivers.  Did you see the throw he made in the Yankees Old Timers game?

Answer 12

Communication doesn't necessarily have much to do with the language you speak.

Melky should be starting. He's young, but even so, he has more experience than Christian. Everyone has bad years, but honestly, Melky has never been a great bat. Are people just now noticing? By the end of this season, he'll end up with similar stats (if not a little below par) as his other seasons.

A good question to ask is: Why did Melky hit leadoff so often when Girardi KNEW that Melky was struggling offensively?

We may never have an answer.

Answer 13

BERNIE WILLIAMS!!!