Wednesday, March 11, 2015

What If Stephen Drew Remembers How to Play Baseball?


Joe Girardi, the manager of the New York Yankees, tried to break the internet and specifically Twitter yesterday when he announced that Stephen Drew was signed to be the Yankees second baseman. Honestly what was he supposed to say but anyway I digress. Many on Twitter were furious over the "news" and I had a lengthy conversation for an hour on my lunch break about the topic when the news broke that was on the borderline of getting heated. You guys know me, I have been beating the drum for Refsnyder since last season, but what if Drew actually remembers how to play baseball and has a season that matches the back of his baseball card in 2015?

We have to keep in mind that Drew is playing an offensively anemic position at second base and if Girardi's spring training lineup is any indication he will be batting 8th in the Yankees lineup. Drew hit .162/.237/.299 combined with the Yankees and Red Sox with a whopping seven home runs. Honestly I think that was more of the exception to the rule because his career numbers, including his dismal 2014 season, sit at .256/.322/.425 with a 162 game average of 15 home runs. The fact that Drew is left handed and playing inside Yankee Stadium can only help that fact and turn what could be fly balls, pop outs and doubles into home runs with New York. 

So let's assume that Drew hits closer to the .256/.322/.425 than the .150 he hit in New York in 2014 and closer to 15 home runs than the three he hit in the Bronx last season and that can only help what was an anemic offense last year. Refsnyder hit for a high average in the minor leagues but that's just that, the minor leagues, and has no guarantees of doing so in the major leagues. If Drew remembers how to hit in 2015 then he is an absolute bargain for the Yankees this season and if he doesn't his salary makes him or Brendan Ryan easily expendable (with Drew heading to the bench). If Drew is let go and Refsnyder fails then the team has no suitable backup plan so it only makes sense to hope for the best with Drew and hope the lack of a spring training hurt him last season. If, if, if I know but it's March, not July, and "ifs are all we have right now. 

1 comment:

  1. I missed this post.

    Be careful, Daniel. Optimism is not popular around here. Especially when it's for somebody as hated as Drew.

    Although, I too think he's better than last year, and could be a solid contributor. And by "solid", I don't mean "all star".

    ReplyDelete

Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)