Poll results: Gardner should stay in lineup

Eighty percent of fans voted to keep Brett Gardner in the lineup despite a small slump that started post-All-Star break. He’s picked it up in the past couple of weeks, but isn’t near the .320 batting average he once held.

I actually voted with the minority on this poll. Austin Kearns and Marcus Thames could provide a solid platoon for left field, and I think putting a little extra  pressure on Gardner to perform might pay off.

We all saw what a little kick in the rear end did for Joba Chamberlain. Why not try something similar with Gardner?

He would still be valuable to the Yankees as a pinch-runner. Plus, it would freshen up his legs, as fatigue has slowed his stolen base rate.

Next poll: Should Cano hit cleanup when A-Rod returns?

Robby’s 6 ribbies boost Yanks to 10-0 win

Robinson Cano drove in six runs, four coming on the Yankees’ 10th grand slam of the year, and CC Sabathia was lights out in a 10-0 win over the Mariners.

Best of All: Austin Kearns and Jorge Posada each added solo shots and Mark Teixeira reached base in all five of his at-bats.

Cano’s six RBIs tie a career high and bring him to 86 on the year. He’s never had a 100-RBI season.

The Yankees are now 12-0 this year without Alex Rodriguez in the lineup.

Worst of All: Every starter had at least one hit except for Brett Gardner, who walked twice and scored once. Marcus Thames was the only starter who didn’t score a run.

Coming Up: The Yankees hit the road this week for three in Toronto and then wrap up the week in Chicago.

Sabathia sets the tone for Royals series

The big Yankees’ ace CC Sabathia put on a show in the series opener with the Royals last night, as he fell just one out shy of completing the game, a 4-3 victory.

Best of All: With a reformed swing, Curtis Granderson notched two hits, including a double, against lefty starter Bruce Chen. It’s only one game, but there’s good reason to believe last night’s game was the start of a turnaround to his season.

Nick Swisher collected three hits and inched closer to the .300 mark. Austin Kearns hit his first homer as a Yankee in the fourth inning.

Worst of All: Mark Teixeira went 0-for-4 in his first game back after the birth of his child. Let’s hope he can return to home run-hitting form soon.

Coming Up: The second game of four is tonight at 8:10 p.m.

Bondy: Girardi sounds like a hockey coach

Do you think the Yankees lost yesterday because Joe Girardi has been messing with the lineup too much and putting the team out of rhythm? Well, Filip Bondy of the Daily News does, and, on an unrelated note, he also thinks Girardi sounds like a hockey coach with all his nicknames.

And I couldn’t disagree more, with both of Bondy’s conjectures.

Bondy’s first mistake was neglecting to mention why Girardi used backups yesterday.
As you can see from the lineup, the only subs used were for the seven-eight hitters, which, in Bondy’s mind, turns the ‘A’ lineup into a B-minus. Let me explain why I think Girardi did what he did:

1. He used Marcus Thames over Lance Berkman because Berkman is terrible vs. lefties and Thames is great vs. lefties. It seems Bondy would’ve preferred the .185 hitter over the .328 hitter.

2. Brett Gardner had played 14 straight days and Girardi really wants to get a good look at Austin Kearns now to judge how much he should be used down the stretch. If anything, a day off for Gardner keeps his legs fresh, which he’s complained about this year.

Another thing Bondy forgot to mention was the Yankees were facing Jon Lester. He hadn’t allowed a hit until the fifth inning — and that hit belonged to one of the subs! Of the six Yankee hits yesterday, two came from the subs.

…he benched Brett Gardner, whose fleetness of foot can't change games while he's sitting until the eighth.

This is true, but when Gardner did get his chance in the eighth, when the Yankees really needed a steal, he couldn’t judge what pitch to go on — against a righty. He should’ve left on the first pitch because no Red Sox catcher is going to catch him stealing.

Sometimes it seems Brian Cashman has brought in half the Western hemisphere to audition for the roles of Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui, who might still be here but for several measly million dollars.

That was his lede paragraph. He says this without acknowledging Gardner and Curtis Granderson have played up to, if not better, than last year’s duo thus far.

Girardi manages by the book and does an excellent job of keeping his older players fresh. I guess he, the manager of the team with the best record in baseball, has some things to learn from Bondy, the writer for the Daily News.

I can’t wait to see what arguments Bondy will come up with if Mark Teixeira misses a few games this week.

I think Bondy felt like dissing Girardi because his name is already in Girardi-nickname form. He’s probably upset about that.

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Apparently, another Daily News reporter wrote an unreasonable column for this morning. Brien of It’s About the Money, Stupid took it down.

Poll results: Yanks don’t need Lee or Haren

Fans were very clear with their stance in my latest poll. A whopping 87 percent said the Yankees can win the World Series without the likes of Cliff Lee or Dan Haren, two pitchers the Yankees had their eye on before the trade deadline.

Lee went to the Rangers and Haren went to the Angels, while the Yankees picked up Lance Berkman, Austin Kearns and Kerry Wood at the deadline.

Next poll: Grade Cashman at the deadline.

Yankees notes: A loss, Berkman, Kearns

If you went out last night and missed the Yankees news, here’s a quick news roundup to get you up to speed:

• The Yankees suffered a tough 3-2 defeat in Tampa, as Phil Hughes watched his 2-0 lead disappear when he allowed a three-run homer to Matt Joyce in the sixth inning. The two Yankee runs were scored by the first two batters of the game, as Nick Swisher slugged his 19th homer of the year. Meanwhile, Alex Rodriguez is still stuck on 16 for the year and 599 for his career.
  
• The Lance Berkman deal will be announced later today and the Yankees will likely send reliever Mark Melancon and infielder Jimmy Paredes to the Astros.
  
• After the loss to the Rays Brian Cashman completed another deal, acquiring outfielder Austin Kearns from the Indians for a player to be named later and cash considerations. Here are Kearns’ career stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.