WHY GARDNER'S GRIT GIVES HIM AN EDGE

Who would you like as the Yankees lead off hitter, Derek Jeter or Brett Gardner? According to Mark Feinsand of the Daily News, Joe Girardi keeps hinting it'll be Derek Jeter. After all, Jeter is the spark plug that always gets the team going. He's done it for years even though the Yanks continually signed lead-off hitters from time to time. Kenny Lofton, Tony Womack anyone? It always comes back to Jeter.

But to me, let's face facts, Jeet's getting alittle older, slightly slower and Brett Gardner is quicker and built to be a lead-off guy. Think back to today's game verses the Braves, he looked good in that lead-off roll.

While Jeter is a terrific leader and a decent lead off guy, I would rather utilize his bat somewhere else in the lineup. Second in the lineup would be ideal.

Look, I know the formula of Jeter, Swish, Tex in the lineup works wonders too. I'm just saying, Brett's the guy we need there. According the Feinsand, some inside the Yanks want Gardner on top as well.

My thinking is the way Gardner's built. Little, quick, has bunting ability, good instincts and pure grit. I think back to my little league days, it's my only personal reference. My impersonation of Rickey Henderson paid off, minus lead-off home runs of course. I utilized my speed and bunting ability to get on, I'd steal, and the next batter would get me home at least once every game.
While the majors are a much bigger scale, the fundamentals are the same. Having Gardner 1st in the lineup just makes sense. Have Jeter at 2nd makes better sense. The mentality is Get on and hit him home. Little league or pros, it doesn't matter, fundamentals rule in this situation. Small ball. It's our National Past time...Baseball, the greatest sport in the world, you play to score runs and win. That's what it's all about.

You can vote in our poll on the left of Bleeding Yankee Blue. We want to hear from you.

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images North America)