Guest Blogger Nathan Hirsch makes his debut on lenNY’s Yankees

Hey readers, my name is Nathan Hirsch and Lenny has given me an opportunity to do some guest blogging. The idea is for me to make a weekly post every Monday morning. Hopefully I can help Lenny expand and improve on what has already been a successful blog. Every week I would like to do a summary of the week that was, along with a look ahead at the upcoming schedule. For this post, I would like to introduce myself and hopefully get to know some of the readers.

I am from Longmeadow, Massachusetts (yes I know a Yankee fan from Mass?!).  My dad grew up in New York City and I have been going to Yankee games since I was 5.  I attend Quinnipiac University and will be graduating in May. I have watched or followed almost every Yankee game dating back to at least 2002. Hopefully I can provide some new insight and opinions as we go forward. I consider myself a fan that combines sabermetrics with what I have watched on TV over the past 10 years.

I think the best way to get to know a Yankee fan is to hear his/her opinions on certain Yankee topics. So to introduce myself I have made a list of my top Yankee opinions/ pet peeves (in no particular order). Hopefully we will have plenty of time to discuss these in the future and feel free to add your own comments at the bottom.

1. Joba should be a starter (Yankees messed this up, badly.)
2. Brett Gardner should never bunt ever. Period. (Having the guy on your team that takes the most pitches and is least likely to make an out bunt makes no sense.)
3. Joe Girardi is underrated. He is one of the best bullpen managers in the game and it is not a coincidence the Yankees’ bullpen has been at the top the league since he took over. It’s also not a coincidence that we haven’t had a Paul Quantrill, Scott Proctor, Ron Villone situation since he’s been here.
4. Kevin Long is one of the best, if not the best hitting coaches in baseball.
5. The reason everyone likes A-Rod now is because he has hired a very expensive PR team to fix everything. I know this means nothing, but it surprises me how no one ever talks about this.
6. Hitters with high OBP and pitchers that get strikeouts lead to winning baseball. I understand there is more, but when the Yankees make a trade or sign a free agent this is what I look at first.  It is also a great way to see if a prospect will make it in the show.
7. I have no problem with the Yankees leaving Jesus Montero at AAA this year. One of two things is going to happen. Russell Martin is going to have a productive year or he will be replaced by Montero. Both of these situations are fine and credit Brian Cashman for getting Martin away from the Sox.