Yankees Editorial: Who From the Yankees Can Snowball Fight?

As Winter Storm Juno hits New York and litters two feet of snow on the ground, I am left looking for a break from the repetitive news headlines of “Blizzard Warning”. That is when the light-hearted thought came upon me. Who would I pick from the New York Yankees to be on my side in a snowball fight? This thought slowly became a rabbit hole and numerous factors began to be weighed.

My first thought was Brett Gardner is automatically out. His pee-shooter of an arm would not help me whatsoever and he would become more of a liability than he is worth. Gardner only had five assists in 2014 which was 11 behind the AL leader Yoenis Cespedes who put up 16. How could I trust him to save me when he can’t even throw people out? However, his uncanny range could prove useful and help me cover mass amounts of ground with his pure speed. There is a reason he has a 9.2 defensive WAR through 7 seasons and was the 2010 AL leader in runs saved. Also, his fantastic eye at the plate could make him tremendous at being elusive to snowballs. My verdict is despite his weak arm, Gardner is a tremendous asset to my lineup. His scrappy, fundamental passion for the game makes him a gritty, hard-working player. 

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Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran, and Alex Rodriguez are out. They are too old and too often injured to prove valuable down the stretch. They might hold up in the beginning but in the long scheme of things it would take too big of a pay check for the under performance I will be receiving. If I wanted them on my team based upon their past accomplishments rather than their future then by all means I would recruit them. All three of them averaged 77.3 games played last season. That is unfair since A-Rod’s 0 is factored into that, but then again that proves my point further on how unreliable he is. Furthermore, Tex played in 15 games in 2013 and 123 games in 2014 and while there were exponentially more games played in 2014, his slash line of .216/.313/.398 is atrocious. Beltran barely made it above 100 games in 2014 and didn’t provide much of an impact like he was supposed to.

I think I need some brains to help me develop a strategy. In steps Brian McCann. I can trust someone who is an expert defensively. I did go with Gardner based on his ability to save runs with his unlimited range, so why not McCann who can call an outstanding game? He has the ability to make any pitcher better with his pitch selection and on top of that has a strong enough arm to throw people out consistently. In 2014 he was number one in the MLB for throwing out opposing base runners with a .372 percent. I trust McCann, based on potential, that he can contribute beyond defense. His offense is still there despite a rough 2014. I believe his second season will go a lot smoother than his adjustment period of his first season in the New York limelight. He gets the nod.

Why do you guys think?  Would Jacoby Ellsbury be a good addition?

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