STANTON’S JUST NOT RIGHT:
Stanton’s ugly date in OF
TAMPA — Say this for Giancarlo Stanton: He didn’t make any excuses for his mishaps in left field on Sunday, handling his first adversity in pinstripes like a pro.
Still, this experiment couldn’t have gotten off to an uglier start for the Yankees and their new superstar. And it makes you wonder whether it can work for team and player by the time the games start to count in the standings. Battling a tough sun and wind at a mostly unfamiliar position, Stanton looked uncomfortable and failed to come up with any of the three balls hit to him in a 9-1 loss to the Rays.
“They were in the sun, but it doesn’t matter,” Stanton said. “It’s still part of the game.”
Stanton last played five games in left for Double-A Jacksonville in 2010. It was painfully obvious it had been awhile — made worse by the weather conditions that seemed to conspire against him, as well as ev- ery other fielder out there at Steinbrenner Field.
Stanton had trouble in the second, fourth and fifth innings, with one ball deflecting off his glove for a double, one ending up as a ground-rule double and the other landing in front of him for a single.
“I felt all right out there,” Stanton said. “I got some bad balls that didn’t help the team at all. I have to find a way to get behind them or do something with those, but I felt all right. The routes and everything were good, the rest not as much.”
Aaron Boone remains optimistic about Stanton in left, which, of course, is much easier to do when wins and losses don’t matter just yet.
“Honestly, today I kind of saw what I wanted to see, because it is different, going to that side,” Boone said. “The first-step reads, moving toward the ball, I was pleased with all that, and I think this is a good start in the process.
“But at the end of the day I also want and need and expect him to feel comfortable out there, and that’s why he and Aaron (Judge) are all part of this process. We’ll kind of talk through it, work through it each day in their work. But honestly, I saw nothing today that didn’t keep me from still being optimistic about him.”
The Bombers have planned to experiment with Stanton and Judge, who both play right, in left this spring. Each has been taking flies in left off a machine in practice, alongside outfielder coordinator Reggie Willits. Stanton will return to left on Tuesday in Lakeland against the Tigers, while it’s possible Judge could get a start there later this spring, Boone said.
Asked how he can get better at catching balls in the sun in left, Stanton deadpanned: “You get sun vision so you can see right through the sun.”
Rays prospect Nick Solak, formerly of the Yankees, also lost a high pop-up in the sun.
“I felt worse in the box my first ABs than I did my first time in left, so it’s a process. It’s fine,” said Stanton.
Stanton will see a lot of time at DH — perhaps in 100 or more games. But there are going to be times when the Yankees want to use that spot to give someone else a half-day off. There’s also going to be times where they give veteran Brett Gardner a blow to keep him fresh over the 162-game marathon.
So they’re going to need Stanton to play the field in order to keep his 59-homer bat in their lineup — especially during interleague games on the road.
Still, you wonder how Stanton would handle the huge left field at Yankee Stadium, which can be even more difficult during day games because of the sun. Gardner turned himself into a Gold Glover at the position, but it took time.
The Yankees don’t have much of that. They simply have to hope that Stanton, a solid fielder in right, can figure it out. Or maybe it’s Judge who will have to slide over when necessary, returning to his old college position.
Stanton is doing his best to adjust to playing in New York, while showing a willingness to do whatever is asked of him.
His adjustment to playing left couldn’t have started any worse. But at least he didn’t make any excuses.