Curtis Granderson symbolizes the Yankees. And not only in older, talented, injured.
He has stuck with a season in which surrender would have been easy. Granderson fractured his right wrist in his first spring at-bat, missed 38 games, came back and 10 days later had his left pinky broken by another pitcher. Of all the injuries this season, Joe Girardi was most devastated by that one because it just felt random and unfair and happened in Granderson’s walk year.
“You just have a limited amount of time for earning power in your career,” Girardi said.
And Granderson appeared to be running out of time. He missed 10 more weeks. When he returned — already having been stripped of center-field duties in spring — he found himself a part-time corner outfielder/part-time DH. Girardi recognized Alfonso Soriano — obtained during Granderson’s second disabled list stint — was more comfortable playing the field than DHing and Ichiro Suzuki offered better right-field defense.
As a platform season to show what he could do for potential suitors, how could this be going worse?
“Well, actually I don’t get down because I think things could always be worse,” Granderson said. “You don’t pout, you take advantage. You remember your are down, but not out.”
He is talking about himself. But it could be his club. Both have stuck with it and stuck with it and look where they are now. The Yankees, even with an MLB-high 27 DL stints, control their playoff destiny. And here is Granderson now back in center field, back as a power force, back showing everyone just what he can bring to a team.
A season is a long, strange, twisty thing.
And it turned in a too familiar way for these 2013 Yankees Thursday. They beat the Orioles 6-5, taking three of four in this series, staying one game behind the Rays for the second wild card, but controlling their destiny because they have three games upcoming versus Tampa Bay in The Bronx.
But they lost Brett Gardner, who along with Robinson Cano had been the constants in the devastated Yankees lineup. Gardner left after his first at-bat with what the team called a strained oblique. He is scheduled for an MRI Friday in New York and there was hope being held out. However, this injury is usually marked by weeks, not days, so Gardner’s regular season is very likely done.
Granderson, who did not start against lefty Wei-Yin Chen, replaced Gardner — and that is going to be for a while. He is again the center fielder. Again going to hit in the middle of the lineup. Both should help his free agency after so much this year worked against that. He stuck with the season, refused to surrender and now is as vital as ever to the Yankees.
“That tells me he is the ultimate team guy,” said Rob Thomson, the Yanks’ third base and outfield coach. “He really is. He is a great teammate always ready to help or do what is necessary. And his story this year has become really fantastic.”
Granderson homered in each of the last two games of this four-game series, both mammoth shots beyond the right-field bleachers and onto Eutaw Street. His homer in the finale came off Chen, who had just retired 13 straight on 40 pitches.
After David Robertson gave up a three-run lead in the eighth, Granderson sacrificed two runners into scoring position in the ninth, which positioned Brendan Ryan to score the winning run on a Jim Johnson wild pitch.
Ryan was the team-record 55th player used this year by the Yanks, who have shown even at this late date they will keep adding to fill holes. So maybe the Yanks try to find a veteran outfielder to help with the mix with Gardner sidelined. Seattle is a frequent trade partner — as was proven again with the Ryan deal. Franklin Gutierrez and Endy Chavez could make sense. Chavez is a free agent, Gutierrez has an $7.5 million 2014 option with a $500,000 buyout, and probably is not in Seattle’s future plans.
No matter what, though, Granderson is going to have to be a main man for the Yanks down the stretch if they are going to finish the run from injured and left for dead to the wild card.
“It is an exciting script, but we are only in Chapter 15 of 20,” Granderson said.
Yep, there is story left and Granderson had the perseverance to be part of the late chapters. He stuck with it and stuck with it through the dark days — a symbol of these Yankees.