GREEN MONSTER
Rookie Refsnyder helps Yanks KO Sox with first home run:
BOSTON — This really shouldn’t be a tough decision. Remember, Stephen Drew is hitting .182, so why in the world wouldn’t the Yankees leave Rob Refsnyder at second base for awhile and see what he can do?
Everyone has said he’ll hit bigleague pitching, and the rookie looked the part as he finished his weekend audition here with a flourish, going deep over the Green Monster for a two-run home run that turned out to be the decisive runs in an 8-6 victory over the Red Sox.
If you want to point to the error he made in the ninth inning as reason for concern about his defense, well, it’s worth considering that Andrew Miller threw a bullet that was a bit behind Refsnyder as he was moving toward second base — a ball Refsnyder should have caught but far from a routine play.
And Joe Girardi can always use Drew for defense in such late-inning situations with a lead.
Actually, the fact Drew wasn’t in the game told you Girardi was feeling comfortable about Refsnyder’s glove, especially after the kid made a gutsy decision to make a backhand flip to second for a close force play the previous inning.
At the time, the Yankees were leading by two runs and he could have easily justified going to first on a slowly hit ground ball. The decision to go for the force — and the sometimes-dangerous backhand flip — was a testament to the work Refsnyder has put in since he was moved from the outfield upon being drafted out of college by the Yankees.
“It’s not easy,” Refsnyder said, “but it’s a play you need. If I go underhanded there, it might be too late. I’ve worked at it. I think that’s one thing people may not realize: young guys can get better if they work at it.”
The play even had a little Robinson Cano flair to it, and this isn’t to say Refsnyder is the next Cano at second base for the Yankees, especially with the glove, but his bat at least offers the possibility that he could be a significant upgrade over Drew.
“I haven’t seen a lot of him, but he looks like a good righthanded bat,” Alex Rodriguez said, “and that could be good for us, with all of the lefties we have.”
So you’d think there wouldn’t be any question that he’ll be with the Yankees after the All-Star break, but GM Brian Cashman on Saturday said Refsnyder’s debut was strictly a short-term decision based on facing two Red Sox lefthanders over the weekend.
After Sunday’s game, Girardi spoke highly enough of Refsnyder’s play over two days to make it seem likely that he’ll stick around, but the manager wasn’t committing to any such thing publicly.
“We’ve got four days off, so we have a lot of time to think,” Girardi said, “but he played well. He played really well today.”
Refsnyder said he hadn’t been told anything, but he was planning on spending the All-Star break in New York, as his fiancée happens to be moving into an apartment in the city this week.
“I’ll help her move,” he said with a smile. “Moving furniture, all that fun stuff. It’s good timing.”
Refsnyder had to be exhilarated as he processed the events of the day, getting his first major-league hit, a hard single to right, after starting 0-for-5, and then a home run that mattered. But you couldn’t really tell as he spoke in the clubhouse, composed and seemingly very even-keeled.
He did admit to getting anxious after five hitless at-bats, perhaps aware that he needed to do something to give the Yankees a reason to keep him around.
“I’d be lying to say that after a couple of at-bats go by you don’t start thinking about it,” he said. “I told (John Ryan) Murphy, ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see (his seventh-inning single find) green grass in my life.”
His emotions had to be soaring when he went deep in his next atbat, his home run giving the Yankees an 8-4 lead at the time.
At that point, Girardi could have justified pulling him for Drew’s better late-inning defense, but, he said, “I wanted to see how (Refsnyder) reacted” to late-inning pressure.
The botched play left some doubt, but Miller could have made it easier on him, and the lefty admitted he thought at first that Didi Gregorius was covering second on the comebacker — then saw Refsnyder closer to the bag and threw behind him. R“I’ll wear that one,” Miller said. efsnyder said he should have caught it, and Girardi said, “It’s a play we’ve got to make,” but overall he played well enough for two games to ease concerns about his defense.
So this really shouldn’t be difficult for the Yankees. They know by now what Drew can — and can’t do. Give Refsnyder at least a few weeks to see if he can do better.