Yankee Opening Day lineup revealed early?

Joe Girardi was very careful with his words when talking about the lineup with the beats on Sunday. Still, another big hint slipped out, making the Opening Day lineup pretty obvious.

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Johnson DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF/LF
Nick Swisher RF
Brett Gardner LF/CF

The most recent hint was on the fifth hitter, Cano. He said he stresses batting average — opposed to pop — in that spot. The power guy that expected to fight for the fifth spot was Granderson, who was also vying for the second spot. Now he’s likely to hit as low as seventh.

Granderson becomes the best No. 7 hitter in all of baseball. I’d go as far as saying it’s undeniable.

I’m glad Girardi is looking past Cano’s rough stretch in clutch situations last year. There’s no reason to believe that is a predictor for his entire career, as it is not a trend found in his career before 2009.