Yankee's Cabrera Struggling In Center

Melky Cabrera has had an abysmal season in centerfield for the New York Yankees. His lackluster offensive capabilities have hurt or ended several Yankee rallies. It would be easy to accept this lackluster offensive production if Cabrera was laying down bunts, or stealing bases, but he has failed to contribute to the Yankee offense.

Yankee fans were quick to jump on the Cabrera bandwagon in 2005 after he made a few clutch hits and catches. Fans have been quick to love him, but they have a false sense of Cabrera’s offensive capabilities; Cabrera has never batted over .280 in a season, and he has never hit over eight homeruns either. Cabrera isn’t a patient hitter, batting around .200 with two strikes.

Many perceive Cabrera to be fast on the base paths, yet he has only stolen 31 bags in three full seasons! Another reason to be concerned about Cabrera’s performance is his work ethic. Cabrera has been spotted in the New York City club scene, although he has not been clubbing the ball, batting .198 in his last 25 games.

Fans have the tendency to overate him because of his above average defensive capabilities, and because he is a homegrown player. Unlike recent Yankee teams, almost every World Series Champion has had at least one power threat in their outfield; 2007 Red Sox-Manny Ramirez, 2006 St. Louis Cardinals-Jim Edmonds, 2005 White Sox-Jermaine Dye, etc. Cabrera seems to be holding the Yankees back from an appearance in the "October Classic" this year.

While Cabrera’s offensive performance has been deficient for a center fielder, there aren’t any clear options for the Yankees to replace him. Johnny Damon is a better choice offensively, but with his weak arm he has difficulty hitting the cutoff man from warning track, and he is very injury prone.

While Yankee prospect Brett Gardner has shown some speed on the bases, he doesn’t posses the power the Yankees are searching for desperately. In the Minor Leagues the Yankees have two potential replacements listed in Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects: Jose Tabata and Austin Jackson. Jose Tabata has drawn several Bernie Williams comparisons, but the Yankees are skeptical about his capabilities as a power hitter. AA Trenton prospect Austin Jackson is also a potential candidate but he lacks the home run power the Yankees are searching for in the outfield.
Right now the Yankees can only hope that Cabrera starts to heat up offensively because they can no longer absorb his offensive deficiencies.