As a Yankee fan I was obviously demoralized when both Sheffield and Matsui got injured only days apart and watching the performance of the Melky Cabrera, I turn line drives into inside the park homers, of the 2005 season I was hardly looking forward to the remainder of the season. And while Melky has yet to show power numbers and certainly not the hitter of the caliber of Sheffield or Matsui, I will not be disappointed in the slightest if one of the two are unable to come back for the stretch run (Preferably Matsui, I have Sheffield on my fantasy team and would like to get atleast one month of production out of him).One thing that has become increasingly evident, yet the Yankees ignored this in the past, is that a baseball team is not solely built around a superstar laden lineup. Looking at the Yankee's championship team of the 90's you will see players like Chad Curtis, Scott Brosius, Shane Spencer, etc. In the starting lineup. None of these guys ever were perennial all-stars but they were always solid contributors.
Melky, currently is batting a decent .278 with limited power numbers but he provides something that neither Matsui or Sheffield have in the past two seasons, solid defense. If you watched yesterday's game you would have seen Melky gun a player out at the plate in a crucial situation. Not only is Melky making accurate strong throws (He has 8 assists already) but he has made plenty of catches in the outfield that both Matsui and Sheffield would not have made. With Arod, Jeter, and Giambi anchoring the middle of the lineup the Yanks have three incredibly productive players that can be matched by a limited amount of MLB teams. What they have been dying for is for some defense to stabilize their pitching and give their starters some confidence that the outfield will make plays.
So here's to Melky being this years Cano, and being completely different than the frightened child he was in Fenway last year.
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