Yankees News: Yankees Lead AL in Errors

Throughout the first 6 games of the season, New York Yankees fielding has been downright mediocre. The team currently leads the American League with 9 errors committed so far.

The leaders in this dubious category are Stephen Drew and Chase Headley. They are responsible for two mistakes each.

Coming out of Spring Training, Yankees skipper Joe Girardi had asserted that the Yankees would be a better team defensively. That has yet to be the case. Girardi, sticking to his guns, said: “I still believe that defense is going to be a strength of ours, we just haven’t shown it yet.”

As bad as their defensive start seems, some growing pains were expected out of spring training. Case in point: Alex Rodriguez. The all-star slugger is still adjusting to his role at first base. During Rodriguez’s first start last Saturday, he dropped the ball and was unable to properly handle a wide throw from Chase Headley. The second error, charged to Headley, came with two outs in the eighth inning. The Red Sox rallied from there on to increase their lead by three runs.

“You have to know your infielders, just like a catcher knows his 12 pitchers,” Rodriguez said. “Every guy has a different arm strength, a different touch — the ball moves differently, and that’s going to have to be my job early, to realize the patterns for each guy.”

After his first start in first base Rodriguez has a new respect for starting first baseman Mark Teixeira. “Not that I needed any more evidence to tell you how great Mark Teixeira is and has been for years, but I had so much action my head is spinning,” Rodriguez said.

Another weak spot in Yankees fielding has been back-up catcher John Ryan Murphy. Between Friday and Saturday he was charged with two past balls and a throwing error. The error came on Saturday. It helped the Red Sox seal an 8-4 victory against the Yankees. When asked about Murphy’s performance Girardi said: “He played well and threw well in spring training.’’

Even though the Yankees lead the league in errors, the season is still young. For the most part, the mistakes by A-Rod are due to inexperience and Murphy will continue to improve as the season progresses. So there’s no need to panic…yet.