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November 04, 2005

Bubba Or Bluffing?

From the Star Ledger:

The Yankees may not pursue a center fielder this winter and instead give Bubba Crosby a chance to play the position in 2006.

According to a person present at this week's organizational meetings, some at the sessions were in favor of trying Crosby rather than overpaying for a center fielder.

Bernie Williams is a free agent, and if he returns, it will be in a reserve role.

In 173 lifetime big league PA, Bubba's walked 6 times. That's like 17 walks if he were to play a full season. If, and it's a big if, Bubba can hit between .275 and .300, then the lack of walks will not be an issue (see: Mickey Rivers, 1976-78).

I still think this is a bluff to drive down the price on the trade market for a CF.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at November 4, 2005 09:31 AM

Comments

Could be both, Steve. Not much of a bluff but you never know. Failing that, I still think Bubba could play good enough CF to hold the fort until either someone from AA or above is brought up or a trade is made (there will always be guys like Matthews, Cruz, and Lofton available in July).

Posted by: JohnnyC [TypeKey Profile Page] at November 4, 2005 10:40 AM

Lofton's available now...

If they're really serious about Bubba holding down CF (I doubt they are, but let's play along), they may as well find someone like Reuben Rivera or Gerald Williams to platoon with him.

Posted by: Raf [TypeKey Profile Page] at November 4, 2005 12:12 PM

I like the idea of Bubba in center a lot. The demands on the trade market for CFers is unreasonably high, and there's been a lot of doubt whether guys like Torii Hunter (to say nothing of Johnny Damon) is really the answer for the Yankees anyway.

Bubba won't hit, but he can catch the ball. With an offense like the Yankees, I think they can afford a 9-hole hitter hitting below .250. They'll need to find a pinch hitter not named Ruben to handle the late game at-bats where we need a hit, but that should be a priority for the Yankees anyway.

Posted by: DFLNJ [TypeKey Profile Page] at November 4, 2005 12:16 PM

FWIW, Ruben Rivera was recently released by the Yankees. I saw that in the back of the recent Baseball America.

Posted by: Steve Lombardi [TypeKey Profile Page] at November 4, 2005 12:26 PM

The really good news here is that the Yankees aren't willing to overspend, whether by trading a good young player (Cano, Wang) or a huge contract that could turn into an unwieldy/untradeable mess. I'd rather have speed/glove in CF, with a bat a bit above Womack, and leave the bopping to Matsui, Sheff, A-Rod, Giambi, Jeter, Cano.
Save some dough here and spend it in the bullpen.

Posted by: rbj [TypeKey Profile Page] at November 4, 2005 02:21 PM

I'm all for this. What are Crosby's OBP numbers like in the minors? I think it's a little hard to judge his MLB numbers since his playing time has been so hit-or-miss. As long as we get good defense from center, the rest will be gravy.

Posted by: JeremyM [TypeKey Profile Page] at November 4, 2005 08:42 PM

What are Crosby's OBP numbers like in the minors?
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Not very good...

http://www.sports-wired.com/players/C/bubba-crosby.shtml

Posted by: Raf [TypeKey Profile Page] at November 4, 2005 10:59 PM