Via The Star-Ledger:
“The Yankees placed designated hitter Lance Berkman on the disabled list before Thursday’s game with the Tigers and called up infielder Eduardo Nunez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
“‘There’s only so long you can feel comfortable going without a backup infielder,’ Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said.
“The Yankees have essentially been playing short, with catcher Francisco Cervelli as the only backup infielder since Berkman sprained his right ankle on Sunday and third baseman Alex Rodriguez strained his calf on Monday.”
With two guys, Berkman and A-Rod, on the bench and unable to play, the Yankees have been forced to use Cervelli as a third baseman. That’s a no-no, especially considering all the problems Jorge Posada has been dealing with lately. If Cervelli has to play third and then Posada gets hurt, it’s Marcus Thames who will have to play third base. In those circumstances, the Yankees will practically be giving away wins.
So Berkman goes on the DL because A-Rod is more important to the success of this team. This move is retroactive to August 16th, so he’s eligible to be activated September 1st. So this could mean Eduardo Nunez is here to stay for the remainder of the season.
This is actually a good break for Nunez, who now gets two extra weeks to audition for the playoff roster. If his bat shows life and his defense is at least average, then he could replace Ramiro Pena on the playoff roster.
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