Gardner expected to resume workouts: MLB.com reports the Yankees expected outfielder Brett Gardner (elbow) to report to Tampa on Thursday to resume baseball workouts. (Updated 05/21/2012)
Injury Report
Elbow - 15-day DL. Out until at least late May (Updated - 5/11/12)
Fantasy Analysis
Gardner is expected to have an MRI before Thursday, but it seems he's progressing enough for the Yankees to be confident in him resuming baseball workouts. This is a quick turnaround after Yankees manager Joe Girardi didn't sound confident Sunday that Gardner was healing fast enough. Gardner will likely need some rehab games before returning, so it might be a few more weeks before he is active. Continue to stash Gardner in Fantasy. (Updated 05/21/2012).
04/14/2012 09:02 Hit Parade for Week 3
Chipper Jones apparently not going out quietly, as his bat still seems to have plenty of life. Our Scott White helps you set your lineups for Fantasy Week 3 in his Hit Parade.
04/14/2012 00:50 The Lineup: Big bounce-backs
Hey, every team has played at least one home game now! All the special openers have concluded, so we can officially look forward to the grind. Friday night was yet another great night of baseball, with some huge pitching performances, a few good offensive displays and a pair of extra-inning contests. Let's start with some bounce-backs.
04/10/2012 23:53 Yanks' Ibanez wins it with RBI in 12th
Raul Ibanez doubled in the tiebreaking run in the 12th inning, and the New York Yankees overcame a three-run deficit and a wild performance by starter Freddy Garcia in a 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.
04/09/2012 22:31 Yankees top O's for first win of '12
The New York Yankees finally won their first game of the season, using four hits by Derek Jeter and an effective pitching performance by Ivan Nova to defeat the Baltimore Orioles 6-2 Monday night.
04/08/2012 17:01 Yanks fall to 0-3 for first time since 1998
Jeremy Hellickson came within one out of a three-hit shutout on his birthday and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 3-0 Sunday to complete a season-opening sweep and match the best start in club history.
After making the most of his first season as a regular in 2010, Brett Gardner's second year as a starting outfielder didn't go quite as well. While he increased his stolen bases from 47 to 49, Gardner's batting average and on-base percentage dropped substantially. Gardner was extremely patient two seasons ago, averaging 4.6 pitches per plate appearance, but he was merely very patient (4.2 PPA) last year, and it resulted in fewer walks. While Gardner hit a robust .321 on grounders, he made more outs when getting the ball in the air. While that is a trend that could easily reverse itself, more concerning were Gardner's increased struggles against left-handed pitchers (.233 batting average, .272 slugging percentage), which could prevent him from getting more at-bats against southpaws going forward. Even if Gardner rebounds this season, the potential for him to sit against lefties limits his value to that of a middle-round pick in Rotisserie leagues and a late-round pick in Head-to-Head leagues. (Updated 1/26/12)