...Brett Gardner.
Not much of a surprise here as the young man played great in spring training to outduel Melky Cabrera for the job. Gardner is solid defensively and on the basepaths and showed signs at the end of last year that he can be a decent hitter. I think it's a good choice.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi confirmed Sunday that Brett Gardner would be his Opening Day center fielder.
Melky Cabrera will be a reserve unless traded. Gardner isn't at all likely to make it as a long-term regular, but if he can get on base 35 percent of the time, the Yankees could live with him in center. He'd be a candidate to swipe 30 bases if everything breaks right. However, we wouldn't want to count on that happening.