The Yankees may be the early favorites to win the World Series, but the defending champs are not without flaws.
According to the New York Post, the Bronx Bombers will use spring training to figure out where their new acquisitions will hit. They lost lineup regulars Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Melky Cabrera but replaced them with Curtis Granderson, Nick Johnson and most likely Brett Gardner.
The biggest question mark comes with who slides into the two hole vacated by Damon. It's a comfy spot with Derek Jeter hitting in front and the duo of Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez hitting behind. Whoever fills that slot will be assured of getting pitches to hit.
Granderson and Johnson both have a shot at filling the role for now. Granderson has both more power and speed than Damon at this point in his career, but historically has been atrocious against lefties, hitting .210 for his career against southpaws and just.183 last season. Johnson bats from the left side of the plate but has hit lefties well in the past. That opens up the possibility of a fluid lineup depending on the pitching matchup, something manager Joe Girardi is not opposed to exploring.
"If we need to tweak it a little, we will," Girardi told the Post.
If Johnson makes his home in the two spot, it will create a logjam of left-handed hitters further down in the lineup. Although Yankee Stadium is conducive to lefty power hitters, given its short right-field porch, if Granderson ends up near the bottom of the order with fellow lefty Robinson Cano and switch- hitter Nick Swisher (who is just around a .250 hitter from both sides), the Yanks could have a problem late in games.
With Granderson in the two spot, the other team could likely throw out their lefty-specialist for just one batter, two if they are feeling lucky about going after Teixeira. But at the bottom of the order, a team could take an entire inning away.
Whether Granderson or Johnson hits second, both players will find a home somewhere in the potent Yankees lineup. The fifth and seven spots still need to be filled in Girardi's lineup card, and he's open to suggestions.
He still has all of spring training to figure it out.
