Yankees' Spring Game: Who's On First?

One of the joys of spring training is watching trim young athletes competing for a spot on the big club. Not so with the Yanks this year. The big competition is among a bunch of big lugs hoping for playing time at first base. And, of course, the first base sweepstakes is directly tied to the fortunes of two over-the-hill leftfielders, Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon.

As Yankee fans know, the Bombers' best-case scenario has Jason Giambi back in the lineup as a full-time first baseman, so Matsui and Damon can share time in left and at DH. All these guys are lefties, so there's no lefty/righty platoon involved. In fact, Damon is only a factor because he's presumably the team's best leadoff hitter.

On the televised games, Giambi looks like he's in great shape. And he's hitting: .333 with a double and a homer in 12 at bats. But Giambi is bound to break down at some point and that's where the competition comes in. You've got to think that Shelley Duncan will be back on the big squad. He hit 7 HRs in 74 ABs last year and became a fan favorite. Everyone loves Shelley, right? He's tearing it up this spring, with three doubles, two homers, a team-leading 9 RBI and a .500 average in 16 ABs. He bats right and he can also play rightfield. That mean he can occasionally spell either Giambi or Abreu. (And those are both tough to spell!) Unfortunately, Shelley has iron hands. I watched five minutes of the Yankee game on Saturday and saw him botch a routine play. The announcers blame it on inexperience, but I don't get that. Hasn't this guy been playing first base since he was 8 years old?

So what about Morgan Ensberg and Jason Lane? Aren't they the same guy? They both had career years with the Astros in 2005 (Ensberg hit 36 HRs and batted .283; Lane hit 26 HRs and batted .267). They both bat right, stand tall and run slow. (Did you see Lane legging out a triple last week? I felt the earth move from seven states away.) Both are having nice springs. Ensberg's got four doubles in 14 ABs and a .429 average; Lane's at .313 with a double, triple and homer in 16 ABs.

And then there's Wilson Betemit. he didn't hit much last year and is only at .235 this spring, with a double and a homer. But Betemit has versatility on his side, and he's a switch-hitter -- which isn't a factor if you can't hit. Speaking of which, Nick Green, another would-be first basman, is hitless in seven at bats this spring.

So, who's on first? You'd have to figure Ensberg and Duncan will get the call. That means manager Joe Girardi will have his hands full juggling these guys into the lineup with Damon, Matsui, Giambi and Abreu. There's plenty of talent there, but with the possible exception of Duncan all these players' best years are behind them. And all are best-suited to DH.