So Far So Good

Sheffield looks at first galnce to be a defensive upgrade on Giambi at first and given how bad G has been with that sore wrist (185 and no homers in forever), it becomes easy to imagine Sheffield taking over at first, Matsui remaining primarily a DH and Cabrera hanging on to his job in left. If as Torre always says, parroting the conventional wisdom, pitching wins in the postseason, the correlary is that defense is inddispensable in the postseason. And with hitting like the Yankees promise to have (providing Sheffield gets his timing back over the next week)defense should not be sacrificed. Surely we can score enough runs with the following line-up, while limiting the number we give away.

Damon
Jeter
Abreu
AROD
Cano
Sheffield
Matsui
Posada
Cabrera

Notice too that this line-up gives you perfect right left alternation all the way down to the switchhitters at the bottom of the order; it gives you a wrap around with Cabrera, lots of OBP and lots of pop. If Giambi is healthy and has his stroke back, you definitely want him in the line-up: he's the best clutch slugger we have. But if not, this is a batting order more than scary enough. If they are eliminated at any point in the playoffs, it will likely be owing to bullpen blow-ups and/or defensive lapses.