Gardner called up

[nykgeneralmanager]

http://www.thetandd.com/articles/2008/0 ... 394678.txt

They're finally coming. First Robertson, now Gardner. Cox and Melancon shouldn't be too far behind.

He definitely deserves the opportunity, hopefully he makes the most of it and sticks. He has to be better than Melky right now.

[VinnyTheMick]

Damnit I was going to post this! Oh, well I'll just post what Abraham says.

A second source confirmed it at 1 a.m.

Gardner was at .287/412/.429 through 80 games for Scranton. He had three homers, 29 RBI and 34 stolen bases.

It’s too late to call Brian Cashman for further information on this. That will come later today.

It’s uncertain what the corresponding move will be. Joe Girardi said today that they planned to keep three catchers.

I don’t believe anybody is injured, but that is certainly possible. The Yankees have no apparent use for Alberto Gonzalez. Gardner also could replace Justin Christian.

Girardi said today that he planned to use Wilson Betemit as the DH in place in Hideki Matsui. But Gardner would be an intriguing No. 9 hitter because of his speed.

Or maybe the Yankees simply aren’t thrilled with Melky Cabrera (.249/.315/.357) in center field. Cabrera has been regressing offensively for the last two seasons and was 2 for 16 in the Mets series.

UPDATE, 1:19 p.m.: This is a very interesting move on several fronts. Gardner is the kind of outfielder the Yankees usually don’t have in that his best weapon is his speed and ability to make contract.

Gardner is a scrappy type of player, the kind of guy who purposely slaps it on the ground, beats the throw to first, steals second and scores on a single. Gardner is charitably listed at 5-10, 180 and was a walk-on as a freshman at the College of Charleston. By his senior year he hit .447 and led his team to 48 wins and into the NCAA tournament.

I watched him play a lot in spring training and at Scranton a few weeks ago. There’s a chance he’ll get overmatched. But there’s also a chance he’ll add a burst of energy into the offense. I would imagine he’s coming up to play, otherwise they’re stunting his development.

http://yankees.lhblogs.com/

[HCYanks]

I hope he gets a fair shot at starting in CF. He might not be a long-term starting solution--at least for the Yankees, anyway--but Melky's been beyond awful offensively for two months now.

[Jitpal]

Looks like he is playing LF and leading off tonight. Melky in CF. No Damon in the lineup. -Jitpal

[Pharmcat]

bout time

[PR07]

Yeah, this was long overdue. He should've been in the lineup over Justin Christian.

[nykgeneralmanager]

Fans are going to absolutely love him, there aren't many guys like him around baseball and I can't remember the last time the Yanks had a player like him.