Brian Cashman: Melky Has to Fight for What He Has

From Peter Abraham:

But while general manager Brian Cashman has locked second baseman Robinson Cano into a long-term contract and has staked his own reputation on the abilities of young pitchers Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, he’s not yet prepared to invest as heavily in the 23-year-old Cabrera.

“Melky has to fight for what he has,” Cashman said. “I can’t stand here and tell you he’s going to be our center fielder moving forward. That’s up to him.”

Cabrera hit .273 with eight homers and 73 RBI last season, taking over for Damon in early June. But there were concerns. Cabrera hit .180 in September before going 3-for-16 in the division series against Cleveland. His on-base percentage fell from .360 in 2006 to .327 last season.

“I’m working every day with (hitting coach) Kevin Long to try and get better,” Cabrera said. “The other players, they’re staying on me. I know I have to keep getting better.”

It wouldn’t be wise to get comfortable. In 24-year-old Brett Gardner and 21-year-old Austin Jackson, the Yankees have one player on the verge of being ready for the majors and another who is moving quickly in that direction.

Gardner is an unusual Yankees outfield prospect in that he’s small of stature (5-foot-10, 180 pounds) and short on power (six home runs in 1,115 minor league at-bats). But that’s the point, Cashman said.

“Brett Gardner is not your typical Yankee-profile type of player,” he said.

“We’re trying to break that profile to some degree because there’s more to this game than hitting for power.

“We think he could be a Juan Pierre who takes a walk. Here’s a guy who can steal bases; he can get on base; he plays the short game. We need athleticism like that, especially when you have a bunch of these old farts filling the roster out. Those young burst-of-energy, athletic guys really stand out on a team like ours.”

Telling stuff. I love Melky, but in the long run, you really have to wonder whether or not he’ll have a future with the club, especially if other guys (e.g. Austin Jackson, Brett Gardner) are knocking on the door (loudly). However, if Melky can produce and exceed expectations, he could definitely keep his job (as stated by Cashman).

Also, anyone else find it strange that Brian Cashman labeled the majority of his players as “old farts”?

Igawa Says He’s Not Worried

From Bryan Hoch about Igawa’s rough outing:

“I’m not too worried at this point,” Igawa said through an interpreter. “It is the first game. I’m able to realize what I need to work on. That is a positive, moving forward.”

Igawa, 28, said that his control overall felt “pretty good” and that he is healthy. But those comments are ones that the Yankees have heard before — after continued struggles last season at the Major League level, Igawa spent time at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and also at Class A Tampa, working on his mechanics.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that he was not concerned by Igawa’s rocky outing. The club plans to have Igawa pitch again on Tuesday against the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla.

“He got himself in trouble with a walk and hit a guy,” Girardi said. “He didn’t finish off the slider, and he got in some bad counts, which hurt, but it’s early. Your pitches aren’t going to be as sharp now as they’re going to be in a month.”

Too be fair, it is very early. Igawa has a lot of time to work his issues out and hopefully he’ll get into the swing of things shortly. The Yankees invested a lot of money into him, so they’ll try to do whatever they can to make sure that he’s as effective as he can possibly be. However, he’s going to have to work extremely hard just to prove that he deserves a spot in the pen (long-man or lefty reliever).

And Then Came Kei Igawa…

Today, the Yankees played the University of South Florida (exhibition) and the team’s big three, meaning Joba Chamberlain (who started), Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes, were dominant. Joba started and threw two perfect innings, then Kennedy and Hughes combined to allow only one hit over the next 3 innings (the three of them struck out a total of 6 batters).

However, then came Kei Igawa (with a 9-0 cushion). Igawa walked two guys, hit someone, and then gave up a grand slam to a random college kid. For some reason, I feel like this may become a Spring Training trend. Well, at least the Yanks won (11-4) and we got to see Joba, Kennedy and Hughes pitch some quality innings.

Phil Hughes Q&A

Check out the LoHud Blog to see PA’s Q&A with Phil Hughes.

The Read to End All Reads

From the Jonathan Mahler of the NY Times:

“Red Sox Nation?” Hank says. “What a bunch of [expletive] that is. That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans. Go anywhere in America and you won’t see Red Sox hats and jackets, you’ll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We’re going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order.”

Wow, check out the article in its entirety. It’s probably one of the longest Yankee-texts you’ll ever read, but it sure is worth it.

No More, Please

From Andy Pettitte about Joba Chamberlain:

Andy Pettitte, quoted in the Miami Herald, on fellow Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain: “He throws a slider as hard as a lot of guys throw a fastball. Then he throws a fastball at 100. His arm has been blessed by God.”

Honestly, come on. Pettitte needs to leave the God references at home, because last time I checked, God wasn’t enough for Andy Pettitte. When injured, taking HGH to assist in the healing of a defective arm demonstrates a severe lack of faith in anything other than man made chemicals. I’m sorry. That may sound very negative, but that’s how I feel.