Yankees Field of Dreams

Center field holds a special place in Yankees' lore. DiMaggio and Mantle set a legendary standard which guided the excellence of successors Murcer and Williams. When Bernie moved to music, an opportunity opened for the next big thing. Problem was there was no home-grown star on the horizon. A ready for prime time free agent, Carlos Beltran, hit the market. The superstar pined for pinstripes and offered a $20 million-dollar discount. The Bombers' Brass dropped the ball when they chose to go the austerity route.

The reverberations from that mangled decision reverberated for years. Damon was signed but couldn't stand up. Cabrera was plucked from a barren farm, provided an unlikely burst of energy and fizzled in '08.

Spring training '09 started with a casting call. Brett Gardner's blazing speed and meek bat would be pitted against Cabrera's accomplished defense and erratic stick. Two men enter, one man leaves. Not so fast.

Competition has fueled optimized performance from both combatants. Each has earned Major League cred. Girardi does what good managers do. He puts players in the position to succeed. In a simple twist of fate, both did.

Cabrera and Gardner both share scouting reports that would make legends blush. Flawed fourth outfielder is the theme. Melky and Brett won't remind anyone of Joltin Joe or The Mick, that's OK. As the old song says, "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you'll get what you need."--(Rolling Stones.)

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