Brett Gardner is a better defender than Curtis Granderson. That’s an understatement; let’s put it this way: Gardy is as much better than Granderson at fielding as Granderson is better than Gardy at hitting homers. Gardner’s 15.4 UZR/150 in center last year trumped Granderson’s 1.6…by a lot. Gardner has a better arm, which is a much more valuable commodity in center than left. Do you think Granderson’s low ’09 UZR was a statistical anomaly? If you do, you’re more wrong than John Henry was when he tweeted “Curse of MT?” In ’08, Granderson’s UZR/150 was an abysmal -9.4, but back in ’07 and ’06, respectively, he posted a 12.9 and a  14.1. Good marks, but remember that this was a long ways back. Don’t get me wrong, Granderson isn’t going to botch plays like Manny Ramirez, but he just isn’t a Franklin Guttierrez-type defensive stud. Maybe I’m wrong, but aren’t you supposed to put you best defensive outfielder in center? That would mean Gardy takes center stage in the Bronx and Granderson slides over to left. So what if he hasn’t played left since ’07, and hasn’t played more than 2 games there since ’05? The only difference between playing left and center is that a centerfielder most cover more ground and make longer throws, while a left fielder needs to know how to play a ball in the corner. And that’s not brain surgery or anything that difficult. Moving from the hardest outfield position to the easiest should be a piece of cake for Curtis. Gardner can cover much more ground than Granderson, and with a stronger arm is the ideal fit for center.

If pure defense isn’t a good enough reason for putting Gardner back where he opened ’09, here’s my follow-up argument. Curtis Granderson is about as good at hitting lefties as the Red Sox were at winning World Series from 1919-2003. Jamie Hoffman, Reed Johnson, Jerry Hairston Jr, and Xavier Nady have all been mentioned as possible righty swinging caddies for Granderson, replacing him when a Cliff Lee type of lefty takes the mound. Reed Johnson posted a negative UZR in ’09, Nady is coming off Tommy John surgery, and Jerry Hairston played only 5 games in center in ’09. (Note that switching from center to left is much much easier than moving from left to center; left is easier to play than center). Hoffman’s allegedly the best fielding Yankee prospect, but he doesn’t have enough major league experience to put a number to the reputation. Chances are, he won’t be as strong a fielder as Gardner, even if he is the best in the system. With all the candidates (aside from Hoffman) being extreme doubts in center, why put Granderson there?

I might be going to quick; let me put it simply: if Granderson plays center against righties, then Gardner would have to move there against lefties. Making Gardner move between positions would be distracting for him, just like it was for Nick Swisher when he was in Chicago. If Gardner can play the same position every day, he’ll be more accustomed to it, and thus perform better. Meanwhile, Granderson and whoever his caddy ends up being will also have the luxury of playing one position on a consistent basis, thus improving their fielding.

I know that Granderson is a big name that everyone is excited to see in pinstripes, but that doesn’t make him a better defender than Gardner. Popularity doesn’t equal defense, in case you didn’t know that. Gardner should man center, there’s no good counter argument. He’s the best man for the job.