The Yankees had the top offense in baseball last season, and are expected to repeat in that category this year (at least in the American League). What’s very unusual about this year’s lineup is they have their three outfielders at the very bottom of the order.
| Sunday | Tuesday |
| 7. Curtis Granderson | 7. Nick Swisher |
| 8. Nick Swisher | 8. Marcus Thames |
| 9. Brett Gardner | 9. Curtis Granderson |
Last year the Yankees had Johnny Damon batting second most of the time, but Nick Johnson, the designated hitter, replaced him this year. Now the Yankees will likely bat their three outfielders at the bottom of the lineup each game.
The Yankees have a weird lineup like this because of their two stars in the middle of the infield, Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter, which are normally weak-hitting positions. I did some searching through lineups this year and couldn’t find any other lineup doing the same thing as the Yankees. If you know one that does, please let me know!
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Interesting lineup note: According to Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger, Joe Girardi said Thames will be “starting against most left-handers, though not necessarily always for Gardner.”
This was a lot more playing time than I was expecting for Thames. I’m not sure if I’m in love with the idea just yet, but I want to see a few more games before I take a stance.
