Should Brett Gardner not make it in baseball, his modeling career is off to a great start.

For anyone still concerned about the Yankees LF situation, I’m going to put some perspective in it.  Let’s take a look at the AL pennant winners over the last 10 years and review their weakest link in the lineup.  Should we truly be concerned about a platoon of Brett Gardner, Randy Winn, and potentially Jamie Hoffman or Marcus Thames?

The 2009 World Series champions had essentially 1 player with a below 100 OPS+, the CF platoon/combo of Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner.

The 2008 AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays had 3 regulars OPS+ under 100, 2 of whom were under 90 in Bartlett and Crawford.

2007 World Champion Red Sox had Julio Lugo and his 65 OPS+ and Coco Crisp and his 83 OPS+ get over 500 ab’s each.  That is two huge holes in a lineup.

The 2006 AL Champion Detroit Tigers had 5 regulars under 100 OPS+, including Placido Polanco at a blistering 80.

The 2005 WS Champion White Sox had a whopping 6 regulars OPS+ under 100, including and outfield with Gardner clone Scott Podsednik at 86 and gritty Aaron Rowand at 93.  That team, unlike the 2010 Yankees, did not have one of the greatest infields of all time.

The 2004 World Series Champion, and true juggernaut Boston Red Sox had 1.5 regulars with OPS+’s below 100.

The 2003 AL Champion Yankees had 1 regular below 100 OPS+, with both third basemen, Robin Ventura and Aaron Boone in the 90’s.

The 2002 WS Champion Angels had 2 regulars below 90 OPS+, one of whom was at 58!!  The other was at 86.

The 2001 AL Champion Yankees had 3 regulars below 100 OPS+, including……wait for it…..their left fielder, who provided horrible defense.

The 2000 WS Champion Yankees had several below average hitters in the lineup, Tino, Knoblauch, Brosius, O’Neill. (but damn they’re a gritty bunch).

So there we have it.  The last 10 AL Champions have had at least 1 below average offensive player in their lineup, and have averaged 2.75 below average players in their regular lineups.  If the LF trio puts up an OPS+ of 85, which I would consider below expectations, the Yankees will be just fine.  If they put up a 95, things will be rosy.  Again, this one below average spot in the lineup will provide plus defense and is easily platoonable with a right handed hitter, a left handed hitter, and a switch hitter.  The cries for Johnny Damon are just unbearable and ridiculous.  Simply put, if the Yankees fail this year, it will not be due to their left fielders.

Yankee outfielder Brett Gardner arrived at Spring Training in the best shape of his career, at least according to him. “Man, I look good, I feel good, my heart is now 50x stronger than it had been last year, so I’m expecting big things for 2010,” said the speedy South Carolinian, the only Yankee possessing [...]