He also regularly contributes to SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight, ESPNews, ESPN New York 98.7 FM and ESPN Radio. Girardi would not stay in NY for long though, joining his hometown Chicago Cubs in 2000.
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ANAHEIM, Calif. – The swing looks so easy as it glides through the strike zone. When New York Yankees rookie catcher Gary Sanchez’s bat collides with the ball, the ball exits in more of a rush than a business person late for work.
In the first inning Saturday against the Angels, Sanchez took Ricky Nolasco deep with a looping shot near the left-field foul pole. It was his fifth homer in the last six games.
McCann is batting.231 this season with 15 homers and 45 RBIs.
“I could see him doing a lot of different things for us”, Girardi said of using McCann as a DH, an occasional catcher and a first baseman in a pinch; McCann is taking grounders at the position.
Sanchez, 23, has already passed his tryouts. That hasn’t been in doubt since the Yankees signed him in 2009 as a 16-year-old for $3 million. Each day is a tryout. However, both players have seen their playing time decrease, especially with the additions of Tyler Austin and Gary Sanchez. This is both a good thing and a bad thing, because it shows their potential and the disappointment of the Yankees’ original starters.
Ever since Yankees top catching prospect Gary Sanchez was called up, he has lived up to expectations. But manager Joe Girardi expects to put Austin back in the lineup when the Yanks arrive for Monday’s series opener at Seattle. “I think it is important to instill confidence”. While McCann figures to catch sparingly the rest of the way, he should still see plenty of action as the designated hitter, which is where he was slotted in seven times over the same 11-game stretch previously referenced.
“The biggest thing is he’s always had a ton of talent”, Girardi said.
McCann called Sanchez “one of the better, if not the best, young catchers since I’ve been in the big leagues”.
Judge is in right because Carlos Beltran was traded. Cessa and Green are in the rotation because of the ineffectiveness of Luis Severino, the trade of Ivan Nova and the injury to Nathan Eovaldi.
It was only a matter of time before Sanchez took the reigns from McCann.
“It says that they’ve handled whatever we’ve given them so far”, Girardi said.
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It’s tough to gain the necessary experience as a young catcher when you play once a week. You just are not going to. The Braves are moving into a new stadium next year (which seems odd in itself since their current stadium is only 20 years old), and after the dismal year they are having now, acquiring a player like McCann who grew up and lives nearby, not to mention played for them during all of his career with the exception of his time in the Bronx, would help sell tickets and make their next season a financially successful one, regardless of the outcome on the field.
