With an aging team, the Yankees are injury prone and their bench play is crucial. This year, we are getting banged up early; Granderson missed six weeks, Nick Johnson might be out for the year, A-Rod has been having issues lately, and obviously Jorge has had to sit often too. I have been impressed by the role players who have stepped up to fill this void. Francisco Cervelli is reliable behind the plate and a great hitter with runners in scoring position; he’s a gamer. Swisher, one of my favorite Yanks, has always been a good hitter but no one expected him to be batting over 300. He’s also an able fielder, and I know it’s early but his strong start is promising. Cano finally rid himself of his routine slow starts and is becoming the player fans have always hoped he would be. Finally, I owe an apology to Bret Gardner; I always dissed him and said all he could do was run, but he is really exceeding my expectations at the plate this year. These four guys are bailing out our veterans, especially Teixeira, who will break out of this slump, by the way. He always struggles out of the gate, this year more than usual and fans need to get off his back!

Let me know what you think… Fletcher