Kuzul

Since the Curtis Granderson injury, Brett Gardner has stopped being platooned with Marcus Thames in left field. Gardner is now the starting center fielder and is making the most out of his opportunity.

Not that the opportunity wasn’t warranted in the first place. I have repeatedly said that Gardner should have been the starting center fielder, even last season when he struggled early on. I wrote this piece last season on why Brett the Jet should have been the starter . It is that the Yankees (and their fans) have no patience for anything which goes badly, especially when a young player struggles.

They want that struggling guy out, and they want him out now.

But Gardner’s professional history is that he struggles early in his first time at a new level, then adjusts and improves “second time through.”

His first pro season was in short-season Staten Island, then was skipped over Low A Charleston (ironic since he played college ball in Charleston, but it was the only minor league city he did not play) his first full season. Beginning in High A Tampa in 2006, Gardner shined, then was moved up to Double A Trenton, where he slashed .272 BA/.352 OBP/.318 SLG/.670 OPS.

He began 2007 in Trenton and improved his play at that level to .300/.392/.418/.810 OPS—a marked improvement. This garnered a promotion to Triple A Scranton for the balance of that season where he slashed .260/.343/.331. Beginning the 2008 season in Scranton, Gardner repeated that  level, improving his game to .296/.414/.422 and improving his OPS by 160 points.

Isn’t it amazing how Gardner adjusts to the higher level second time through, building on all three percentage numbers? That is something I never have seen before—a huge testament to Gardner’s character and feel for the game.

All Brett the Jet needed was a full time opportunity, not just a month of April at bats like in 2009 before he lost his starting job, but a good half a season to get his game of speed and defense going.  

Gardner hit his second home run of the 2010 season on Friday night against the Twins, and after the May 14, 8-4 Yankee win, Gardner’s numbers and presence are impressive. Despite going hitless at the plate, he continued to help the Yankees win the Gardner way when he made two great catches in the outfield.

People were wondering if Gardner would get on base around 35 percent of the time to utilize his speed.

But Brett has a .394 on base percentage, contributing to his 17 stolen bases and Yankee-leading 31 runs scored. Getting on base at a great clip, playing good defense and even hitting at the top of the lineup, Gardner has done more than people had envisioned.

Gardner’s success in the major leagues began after his prior failures at the major league level.  But Gardner adjusted very well after his recall from Scranton late in 2008, hitting much better in September. After a slow start to his 2008 ML season, Gardner hit .357 BA/.386 OBP/.667 SLG/1.034 OPS in his last ten starts in CF. And these weren’t your typical out of contention September starts, either.

Starting pitchers in those last ten starts included Mark Buehrle and Gavin Floyd of the Chicago White Sox, Jesse Litsch (13-9, 3.85 ERA in 2008), AJ Burnett (we all know who he is) and Roy Halladay of the Toronto Blue Jays, plus Dice-K (he was good then) and Tim Wakefield in Boston. Gardner had three of the six Yankee hits (including a double) against Halladay in Roy’s 20th victory that day .

Brett continues to show his ability to help win games today. With his speed and current stolen base/caught stealing ratio of 17 to 1, it is likely that if there is any type of hit in an inning after Gardner gets on base, the Yankees will score a run. He showed that electric speed last Friday night when he scored from first on Mark Teixeira’s hard double down the right field line.

No one else in baseball scores on that double.

He also scored after a two-out walk last night on another Teixeira double, and started the wining rally in the ninth inning with a lead off double off of Jonathan Papelbon. He scored three runs last night for a now team leading 31 runs scored.

I remember when NY Daily News columnist Bill Madden called Gardner “a singles-hitting flyweight with zilch extra-base pop destined for a career as a fourth outfielder and pinch runner.” Madden also wailed on Austin Jackson in that piece , then a Double A prospect. Is Madden ever correct about anything?

Madden just finished a book about George Steinbrenner , which is probably a good read. I remember one of the Steinbrenenr stories after the 2003 World Series about the Florida Marlins.

With Juan Pierre at the top of the Marlins order, he wreaked havoc for the Yankees all series long. Big Stein wanted his own type of “Pierre guy” and forced the Yankees to go out and get Kenny Lofton.

Joe Torre, a big supporter of Yankee centerfielder Bernie Williams, that Lofton incident was the beginning of the end for Torre.

The Yankees now have their own home grown Juan Pierre.

Could Gardner, with even more production move a slumping Derek Jeter out of the lead off spot?

Gardner has been nothing short of a winner in every stage of his pro career, with several minor league championship rings, and a new one in the Show. After a slow start to his major league career, Brett has become quite a force in that powerful Yankee lineup.

That is likely to remain for quite a while.

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The Yankees took two of three against the Twins over the weekend, but lost the finale in stinging fashion when Mariano Rivera gave up a grand slam in the eighth inning. New York will have to bounce back from that blow quickly, though, as it welcomes the arch rival Red Sox to Yankee Stadium for a quick two-game set.

The Bombers (24-13) have taken four of six from Boston (19-19) already this season with all of those games being played at Fenway Park.

The Sox — which currently sit in four place, 7 1/2 games back of the leading Rays and 5 1/2 back of the second-place Yanks — continue to struggle from the mound. Boston’s 4.83 ERA is second worst in the American League and the two pitching matchups in this series appear to both be in New York’s favor.

Monday, May 17 – Phil Hughes (5-0, 1.38) vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka (2-1, 6.35)

If the AL Cy Young Award was handed out today, Hughes would win it. The young right-hander leads the league in wins, winning percentage, ERA and WHIP (0.92), and he proved he can pitch against the Red Sox on May 7, when he allowed just two runs on seven hits with one walk and seven strikeouts in a seven-inning victory. Hughes is now 1-2 with a 5.85 ERA in nine games (three starts) versus Boston.

He hasn’t given up a hit to Dustin Pedroia (0-for-11), Adrian Beltre (0-for-7, 4 K’s), Jason Varitek (0-for-4), Jeremey Hermida (0-for-3) or Bill Hall (0-for-1).

But J.D. Drew (4-for-6, 4 walks), Mike Lowell (2-for-5), Victor Martinez (3-for-5) and David Ortiz (3-for-4, 2 doubles, 3 RBIs, 2 walks) have had success facing Hughes.

Matsuzaka has improved in each of his three starts, culminating with his best performance his last time out, when he yielded just one run on three hits and no walks with nine strikeouts in a 6-1 win over Toronto on Tuesday.

The right-hander is 3-3 with a 5.49 ERA in seven starts versus New York and while he struggled at the old Yankee Stadium (1-1, 6.57), he pitched better at the new ballpark last year (0-1, 1.29).

Dice-K has dominated Robinson Cano (4-for-19, .211, 7 K’s) and Alex Rodriguez (1-for-16, .063, 7 K’s), but a few Yanks have had success facing him.

Derek Jeter is 6-for-14 (.429) with two homers, Jorge Posada is 6-for-12 (.500) with three doubles and Nick Swisher is 3-for-10 (.300), but questions still linger about his ability to bat from the left side due to a biceps injury.

Tuesday, May 18 – CC Sabathia (4-2, 3.71) vs. Josh Beckett (1-1, 7.46)

Two of Sabathia’s three worst starts this season have come against the Red Sox, during which he’s surrendered eight earned runs in 10 innings for a 7.20 ERA. But the big lefty’s poorest outing came in his last time out, when he yielded six runs in six frames at Detroit.

He’ll try to bounce back against a team which he’s compiled a 5-5 record and a 3.74 ERA in 13 career starts. Both of CC’s bad games versus the Sox this year have come on the road. Now, he gets a shot at them at home, where he’s 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in 2010.

Last year’s ALCS MVP has held the following Boston hitters in check: Ortiz (7-for-29, .241, 5 K’s), Pedroia (1-for-19, .053, 6 K’s), Varitek (2-for-16, .125), Beltre (1-for-16, .063, 6 K’s), Drew (3-for-14, .214, 7 K’s) and Hall (1-for-8, .125, 4 K’s).

But Marco Scutaro (7-for-21, .333, 5 walks) and Kevin Youkilis (8-for-21, .381, 3 XBH) have had success.

Beckett, who has been dealing with some back issues which forced him to miss his last turn in the rotation, has been absolutely lit up by the Bombers in two starts this season (0-1, 12.60 ERA).

The good news for the right-hander is that he’s 17-11 with a 3.09 ERA when starting on at least six days’ rest (he’ll be working on 10 days’ rest), but the bad news is that he has a 5.96 ERA despite a 9-6 record in 19 starts against the Bombers.

Beckett struggled at the old Yankee Stadium (5.66 ERA in six starts), but he flourished at the new ballpark last season (1-0, 2.08 in two starts).

The 30-year-old Texan has been knocked around by Cano (17-for-49, .347, 10 RBIs), Posada (11-for-33, .333) and Marcus Thames (3-for-8, .375, HR), but he’s had success facing Teixeira (4-for-26, .154, 9 K’s) and Brett Gardner (3-for-14, .214, 4 K’s).

Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison .

Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

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One old baseball adage states, “Speed slows down the game,” a quote likely coming from Casey Stengel or Yogi Berra.

On the surface, this statement makes no sense. But when you dig deeper, you gauge that when fast players get on base, the entire game changes. From throwing over to first base, to the pitcher stepping off the rubber, a once ncrisp moving game can get stalled as the pitcher and defense woorries about the speedy runner.

Funny thing is that the runner by himself can’t hurt the pitcher, unless he steals second, third and home. Only the hitter holding the bat can hurt the pitcher. But the runner does take the pitchers full concentration off the hitter, causing more fastballs to be thrown, often causing a big fat pitch over the middle of the plate.

Just by getting on base, the speedster affects the next couple hitters.

Don Mattingly of the New York Yankees had many of his best seasons hitting two batters behind and in his prime Rickey Henderson.

However, speedsters affect the game in many other ways, including stolen bases, tracking down long outfield drives and turning certain extra base hits into big play (and game changing) outs.

This list includes major league baseballs top 15 fastest burners, all known for their stolen bases, great defense and ability to score from first base on a hard hit double.

It is an aspect of the game in which “you can’t teach” and is top heavy with centerfielders, with many young players of recent major league status. One of the reasons these guys are now major leaguers is that after consistent drug testing, baseball has transformed itself again into a speed game.

Begin Slideshow

Brett Gardner is having a great season at the plate.

He currently ranks 8th in the American league in batting average at .333, and 2nd in stolen bases with 16, while being caught stealing only once.  His On Base percentage is good enough for 4th in the AL, at .411, and he ranks 2nd in runs, with 28.  He has also drawn 14 walks.

Gardner has done all this from the number 9 spot.

A change in the Yankees lineup that would shift Short Stop Derek Jeter, who is currently batting lead-off, to the number two hole, could benefit the Yankees at this point.  Jeter is only batting .273 at lead-off, and giving Garnder the extra at bat per game could prove to be a benefit based on his current play.  This would also allow Jeter to have more chances to bat with a runner on base, something he has been very good at over his career.

Gardner’s lighning quick feet, good eye, and patience at the plate are the qualities of a Major League lead-off hitter, and so far Gardner has shown the type of play that warrants this switch.

Will the Yankees give the chance to their budding young outfielder, or are they content to let his play go unrewarded and keep him at the bottom of the order?

Only time will tell.

*Brett Gardner has just stolen his 17th base as I write this.

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On a windy day in Detroit, the Yankees were shut out for the second time in the past three games as Justin Verlander dominated them in a 6-0 loss on Thursday.

The Tigers ace allowed just four hits and struck out four in 6.2 scoreless innings as he outdueled CC Sabathia, who was touched up for six runs on nine hits in six frames.

New York’s offense has gone silent over the past week. Outside of a six-run ninth on Wednesday, the Bombers have scored just nine runs in their last five games, losing four of them.

Is it injuries, an expected slump, or the wrong people being slotted in the lineup?

Let’s take a look at the grades from the series finale at Comerica Park.

Joe Girardi, Manager: (C-) The bottom third of the Yanks’ order on Thursday resembled a Spring Training lineup. Juan Miranda, who was making his season debut after 19 career at-bats the previous two years, hit seventh; Randy Winn, who entered the game batting .219, hit eighth; and Greg Golson, who picked up his first big league hit on Wednesday, hit ninth.

Part of the problem is injuries: Curtis Granderson and Nick Johnson are both on the disabled list (although neither of them were exactly tearing the cover off the ball when they were healthy). And Nick Swisher sat out due to soreness in his bicep.

I don’t have a huge problem giving Swisher a day to rest because he’s 7-for-38 (.184) with 14 strikeouts in his career against Verlander anyway, but starting Miranda, Winn and Golson on the same day against the Tigers’ best pitcher gave the Yanks very little chance to score runs.

I thought Francisco Cervelli (.408 average, .276 vs. RHP), Marcus Thames (.341 average, although he does hit only .231 vs. RHP) or Ramiro Pena (2-for-3 vs. Verlander) would’ve all been better starts than Miranda and Golson.

Most importantly, the Yankees need to figure out a way to get Cervelli into the lineup more, especially with Granderson and Johnson out. They should call up a third catcher, so Cervelli and Posada can DH when they are not catching and there’s no risk to running out of catchers in case one of them gets hurt. This is a more valuable position to have on the roster than a fifth outfielder (Golson) or a sixth infielder (Miranda).

Derek Jeter, SS: (C-) The captain continued his recent slide by going 1-for-4 with a strikeout. He is now 8-for-51 (.157) in May, or as I like to call it, the anti-Teixeira.

Brett Gardner, CF: (D) I love Gardner in the No. 2 hole and hope he remains there even after Johnson returns, but the center fielder had a rough game on Thursday, going 1-for-5 to drop to 5 for his last 20 (.250).

Mark Teixeira, DH: (D+) A lifetime .366 hitter as a DH, Teixeira went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.

Alex Rodriguez, 3B: (D) A-Rod wasn’t very patient at the plate, seeing just eight pitches en route to an 0-for-4 performance, but he did make a nice spinning play on a Magglio Ordonez grounder in the first.

Robinson Cano, 2B: (D+) Cano was 0-for-3 with a walk to drop to 5-for-28 (.179) since May 5.

Jorge Posada, DH: (A-) Posada was the only Yankees batter to pick up two hits or an extra-base knock, but in typical Posada fashion, he had a passed ball and let another pitch bounce off his glove when no one was on base.

Sabathia has a 2.50 ERA in 36 innings pitching to Cervelli. He has a 6.23 ERA in 17 1/3 innings with Posada.

New York would be best served with Cervelli catching three out of every five games, and Posada catching the other two, with both of them in the lineup at least as the DH every day.

Juan Miranda, 1B: (D+) Miranda was 0-for-3 with a walk.

Randy Winn, LF-RF: (C) I’ll give credit to Winn for fouling off a lot of pitches against Verlander and working up his pitch count, so that he had to exit in the seventh. However, the Yankees couldn’t do anything against the Tigers’ bullpen either. Winn saw 28 pitches in four plate appearances.

Greg Golson, RF: (F) I imagine I’d look exactly the same as Golson did facing those first two breaking balls from Verlander in the second inning. Then again, I’m not a Major Leaguer.

Marcus Thames, PH-LF: (C+) Despite his poor batting average against right-handers, Thames did work a walk against Verlander in the seventh before striking out against Joel Zumaya in the ninth.

CC Sabathia, SP: (F) The big lefty turned in his worst start of the season and was really done in by back-to-back homers by Miguel Cabrera and Brennan Boesch in the fourth.

Ivan Nova, RP: (A) The one bright spot in this game was the Major League debut of Nova, who struck out one and allowed just two hits in a pair of scoreless innings. But much like Romulo Sanchez, who pitched a solid 3.2 innings the other day, Nova should be headed back to Triple-A shortly.

Yankees Overall Grade: (F) The Bombers managed just four hits, going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranding 11 baserunners. It was only their second lost series of the season, though, and those have both come on the road against teams that will be in the hunt for the playoffs. The Yankees face four different teams over the next eight days, all without leaving New York City.

Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison .

Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

I’m going to start this piece by stating the following: Yes, I’m aware it’s only May 12, and therefore, “on pace” articles are always rebutted with “It’s only been ___ number of games!”

Regardless, part of the fun in sports in projecting things. So that’s what I’m here to do.

Brett Gardner of the New York Yankees stole his 15th base in the first game of a double-header against the Detroit Tigers. Gardner’s only been caught once, and his current projection is for 80 steals in 85 attempts.

The raw steal numbers are impressive enough. The last player to steal at least 80 in a season? Rickey Henderson in 1988. You may have heard of him.

Vince Coleman stole 80 that year as well. Stolen bases are just not as prevalent now compared to in Henderson’s time, so stealing 80 bases is nothing to sneeze at.

But more impressive is the success rate. Gardner’s 93.7% success rate is astounding. According to baseball-reference.com, the highest SB rate for players with at least 80 steals was Vince Coleman’s 88.4% in 1986. (I’m assuming players like Ty Cobb were thrown out stealing in the 1910’s and the data just wasn’t kept/isn’t available).

The fewest caught stealings by a player with 80 steals? Henderson, who stole 80 bases and was caught just 10 times in 1985.

In the year Henderson stole 130 bases, he was caught 42 times, for a success rate of 75.5%. Likewise, Lou Brock was only successful on 78.1% of his attempts when he stole 118 bases in 1974.

There’s a metric devised that looks at the value of steals vs. caught stealings, so if you want to debate whether going 80-for-85 is more or less valuable than going 130-for-172, feel free.

As for Gardner, it’s unlikely he’ll keep his current pace up. He’s not going to finish the season with a .416 on-base percentage, and it goes without saying that the fewer times he’s on base, the fewer bases he’ll steal.

But for now, Gardner’s on a run unlike anything we’ve seen in recent years. Even current speedsters Jose Reyes, Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford don’t keep that pace.

Reyes was successful on only 78% of his attempts in his best year, (78-for-99 in 2007), Crawford on 85.6% (58-for-67) and Ellsbury 85.3% (70-for-82)

But if Gardner can keep up this pace, he’ll find himself in pretty elite company.

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The Yankees had their six-game winning streak snapped in Boston on Sunday, but the Bombers still stand just a half-game back of Tampa Bay and the best record in baseball as they visit the Tigers and two familiar faces.

Johnny Damon landed in Detroit this past offseason after the Yanks opted not to re-sign him, and he’s off to a great start, batting .294 with a .409 on-base percentage and 14 RBIs.

Brian Cashman isn’t completely regretting his decision, however, because Brett Gardner (.344 average) has been a more-than-satisfactory replacement in left field.

Austin Jackson, on the other hand, is a different story. The rookie was traded on Dec. 9 in a three-team deal that brought Curtis Granderson to the Bronx, and while Granderson is currently on the disabled list following a slow start, Jackson is leading the league with a .371 batting average.

The Tigers as a team are second in the AL with a .278 average, but their pitching (4.36 ERA, ninth in league) has been mediocre.

However, this may be the first series the Yankees aren’t favored to win due to the fact they have Sergio Mitre starting Game 1 in place of Andy Pettitte and the struggling Javier Vazquez going in Game 2.

Let’s take a look at the pitching matchups for the four-game set.

Monday, May 10 – Sergio Mitre (0-0, 2.79) vs. Brad Thomas (1-0, 5.40)

Pettitte wasn’t too pleased when he heard he was going to miss a turn in the rotation thanks to some minor elbow issues, and most Yankees fans can’t be thrilled either that Mitre will be taking his place.

The right-hander has pitched pretty well in five relief appearances this season, but he’s 13-23 with a 5.47 ERA in 61 career starts, and will probably only be allowed to throw 65 to 75 pitches, which should put a heavy load on a bullpen that is just beginning a stretch of 17 consecutive games without a day off.

Mitre has never pitched against the Tigers and therefore, only two players on their current roster have ever faced him. Adam Everett is 2-for-5 with a double and two strikeouts, while Miguel Cabrera is 1-for-5 with an RBI and two K’s.

Willis was scratched from his scheduled start Monday with an unspecified illness, according to MLB.com. Lefty reliever Thomas will start in his place, so this game should wind up becoming a battle of the bullpens.

Tuesday, May 11 – Javier Vazquez (1-3, 9.78) vs. Rick Porcello (2-3, 7.50)

It was wise to push back Vazquez’s start so that he wouldn’t have to face the Red Sox, but it would be wiser to yank him from the starting rotation altogether and replace him with Joba Chamberlain.

The right-hander, who was promised to eat up innings for the Yankees this season, hasn’t pitched more than 5 2/3 frames in any of his five starts, failing to escape the fourth in his past two, so we could see New York relievers taxed quite a bit over the first two games of this series.

Vazquez is 6-7 with a 4.50 ERA in 13 career starts against the Tigers, including a stellar 2-5 record and 6.09 ERA at Comerica Park.

For some reason, Magglio Ordonez (7-for-36, .194) and Brandon Inge (7-for-31, .226, 13 K’s) have struggled when facing the 33-year-old, but Cabrera (9-for-23, .391, 3 HRs), Damon (7-for-21, .333, 2 HRs), and Everett (5-for-13, .385, 2 doubles) have not.

Another bullpen battle could be on tap because Porcello hasn’t lasted more than six innings all season. He faced the Yankees once during his rookie campaign last year, getting knocked around for six runs in 3 2/3 innings. Nick Swisher had a three-run homer.

Wednesday, May 12 – Phil Hughes (4-0, 1.69) vs. Jeremy Bonderman (1-1, 5.74)

Hughes may have taken a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the A’s and held the White Sox scoreless over seven, but his best start of the year came on Friday, when he gave up just two runs and struck out seven in seven frames against the Red Sox.

The questions about his durability will come when he eclipses his career-high 86 innings in one season, but as of now, the right-hander looks like the real deal.

Hughes is 2-2 with a 5.30 ERA in five games (three starts) versus the Tigers, and he’s 1-1 with a 3.75 in Detroit.

Against him, Ordonez is 1-for-8 (.125) and Laird, Inge, Everett and Ramon Santiago are a combined 0-for-12 with seven strikeouts, but Cabrera is 3-for-6.

Bonderman was pleased to see his stats washed away in a postponed game against the Indians on Friday. The right-hander had allowed six runs in 2 1/3 innings when the rains came.

Bonderman is 3-7 with a 5.55 ERA in 12 appearances (11 starts) versus the Yankees, but most of the players he had trouble with are gone as the current Bombers’ roster hits just .214 off him.

Derek Jeter is 8-for-33 (.242), Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano are both 5-for-22 (.227) and Mark Teixeira is an astounding 0-for-12 with three strikeouts.

Alex Rodriguez (8-for-26, .308, 2 HRs) is the only one with success against Bonderman.

Thursday, May 13 – CC Sabathia (4-1, 3.04) vs. Justin Verlander (3-2, 4.50)

Sabathia has a 7.20 ERA against the Red Sox, but a 1.93 mark versus everyone else this season. That’s not a good sign for the Tigers.

The big lefty was one strike away from earning the victory in Boston on Saturday before rain delayed the game for more than an hour and he was relieved.

The 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner with the Indians is 14-10 with a 4.50 ERA against his old Central rival, including a 7-3 record and 3.87 mark in 12 starts at Comerica Park.

Inge (7-for-47, .149, 14 K’s), Damon (4-for-18, .222), Ryan Raburn (3-for-15, .200, 5 K’s), and Everett (0-for-6) have all struggled when facing Sabathia.

However, Santiago is 7-for-21 with a double, Laird is 5-for-12 (.417) with a homer and Cabrera is 5-for-8 (.625) with six RBIs.

Ordonez has the most experience against Sabathia, going 16-for-61 (.262) with 17 RBIs and eight strikeouts.

This figures to be the best pitching matchup of the series because Verlander has won his last two starts and has surrendered only four earned runs over his past 20 innings.

The former Rookie of the Year is 3-2 with a 4.36 ERA in six career starts against the Yankees. He’s dominated Swisher (7-for-38, .184, 14 K’s), Teixeira (1-for-12, .083, 5 Ks), and Posada (1-for-10).

But Jeter (6-for-15, .400) and A-Rod (3-for-10, .300, HR) have had success, and maybe Ramiro Pena (2-for-3) could even find his way into the lineup.

Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison .

Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Last year, you might recall I had a season-long series on the art of the stolen base and whether or not we’ll ever see a 100-steal man again.

While I have my doubts, I will however be continuing that monthly column update with yearly totals so look for that at the beginning of each month for the rest of the season.

With that here is the first installment of 2010:

The top-five base stealers as of May 1, 2010 were:

1. Brett Gardner, New York Yankees

Stole 10 bases in 11 attempts in April for a team that outside of the brief Rickey Henderson years, historically doesn’t emphasize or promote base stealing.

Based on that fact and 100 years of evidence, expect Gardner, while young and exciting, to taper off to around 40 steals by year’s end as the Yankees philosophy has always been to favor power over speed and what is called “small ball”, which has to be seen as an insult to the mighty Yankees.

10 steals in 11 attempts through 23 games (15-8 team record). On pace for 73.

2. Rajai Davis, Oakland Athletics

Like Bourn before him, Davis came on very strong late last year stealing 15 of 18 in August and 11 of 14 in September, to finish fifth in Major League Baseball.

When you consider that the A’s have a history of letting their players run, and the fact Davis lasted this long in Oakland which I had doubted (see previous link) then you have to like his chances this year. Finally, 26 of his final 32 being successful 81 percent is just about his season average from last year (77%), suggesting he hasn’t lost a step.

10 bases in 10 attempts in April through 25 games (13-12 team record). On pace for 66.

3. Michael Bourn, Houston Astros

On a team with not much to cheer for, Bourn will be a season-long bright spot. 

The man not only stole a career best 61 bags last year but got better as the season went on. That’s promising for this year when you consider last year at this time he had six in April.

Stole 9 bases in 11 attempts in April through 23 games (8-15 team record). On pace for 71.

4. Juan Pierre, Chicago White Sox

Pierre hasn’t seen this kind of speed since stealing a career high 64, in 2007 with the L.A. Dodgers, who, like the White Sox are a historically pedestrian team.

Still, if Pierre can stay healthy, productive, and be in the Sox lineup, he should do fine. If the team continues to struggle he could he dealt for help so his future production may have to be readjusted based on his new team’s philosophy.

But for now, sit back and watch him run.

Stole 9 bases in 12 attempts in April through 24 games (10-14 team record). On pace for 87.

5. Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates

We saw Nyger Morgan accidentally do too well in the Steel City, and thus he forced his way out of town in a never-ending mill of prospect exchange.

While that fate seems inevitable for the young (23), exciting, and affordable McCutchen, right now he’s all the perpetual cellar-dwelling Pirates have.

Enjoy him while you can Pirates fans…both of you. That’s all I have to say.

Stole 10 bases in 12 attempts in April through 24 games (10-14 team record) on pace for 65.

There you have it, the first installment of the 2010 “Stolen Base series”.

Note the new faces. We’ll have to see how long they stick around. Early trends show while it will be a ‘slow’ year on the base paths.

Twenty players currently have 6 steals or more and thus, are on pace for over 50 steals! (52 to be exact).

So while the quantity of exceptional runners has gone down, allowing them to separate from the pack like in most years, the quantity of runners in general hoping to “keep up” has gone up creating even more new faces of intrigue as we try and guess who may take over the torch of this lost art.

Be sure to check back around June 1, and the first of every month, for a continuation on this season-long look into this lost art, one of my favorite in baseball, and all of professional sports.

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The New York Yankees finished up a three game series against the Chicago White Sox with a 12-3 win today. The Yankees won the series by winning the opening game as well as the finale, but losing the middle game.

I wanted to share some thoughts that came to mind as the series wrapped up.

New Look Outfield

It appears the Yankees will have a new look in the outfield for up to a month. Center fielder Curtis Granderson left Saturday’s game with a hamstring injury and is now on the disabled list. In his absence Brett Gardner will move from left to center. That leaves Randy Winn and Marcus Thames to platoon in left field. Gardner will now need to be in the lineup every day, including against tough lefties. Someone needs to step up with Granderson out.

Rest Up

Manager Joe Girardi used today’s blow out to give some guys a little bit of rest. Third baseman Alex Rodriguez was given the day off. Some reports are that A-Rod felt something in his leg during Saturday’s game. GM Brian Cashman  said the team thinks it’s “nothing rather than something.”  First baseman Mark Teixeira got a half day off as he was the DH today. Due to the blow out score, Girardi lifted Derek Jeter  from the game early and replaced him with backup catcher Francisco Cervelli. Once this move was made, Ramiro Pena who was playing third moved over to shortstop and Cervelli played third base.

Read more thoughts from the Yankees/White Sox series plus a preview of whats next for New York at Double G Sports .

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Brett Gardner is finally where Joe Girardi has wanted him.

Gardner started in center field for the New York Yankees as they won big today against the Chicago White Sox. He went 2-4 at the plate and scored two more runs.

Gardner started in center because Curtis Granderson has gone on the disabled list with a Grade Two strain of his left groin.

Considering how well Gardner has been playing and how really badly Granderson has been, the groin strain is good luck all the way around.

Anyone who reads my pieces on BR regularly knows that I have been no fan of Brett Gardner. In fact, over the winter I went out of my way to make fun of him through satiric pieces designed to point out that he had proved nothing as a major leaguer and, in fact, not much as a minor leaguer either.

But now Gardner is proving a great deal.

Through 73 at-bats in 2010, Gardner is now hitting .342 with an on-base percentage of .415. He has also stolen 11 bases in the Yankees first 24 games. And he has now scored 18 runs.

Gardner also hit a home run today, his first of the year. Gardner will never be a home run hitter, but he is making a believer out of this old cynic to the point that he really is a major league ball player.

Until now Girardi was inclined to use Gardner in a left-field platoon with Marcus Thames. Thames has been tearing up left-handed pitching. Not that Gardner would not also hit lefties, but Girardi had been using the platoon.

Gardner is now going to get a chance every day. He will play center and hit against every kind of pitcher the American League has.

And the indications right now are that no one is going to miss Granderson.

Yankee fans may still miss Austin Jackson, who is hitting .367 in Detroit. But we won’t miss Granderson, whether he is gone a month as Girardi predicted or the rest of the season.

We won’t miss Granderson. At least not if Gardner continues to prove this old man wrong.

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