Remember that in front of every silver lining lurks a dark cloud. So slightly obscuring the view of another Yankees series win that included yesterday’s 16-hit, 12-3 rout of the White Sox, who looked about as baseball competent as the Chicago Blackhawks, was news outfielder Curtis Granderson could be lost for a month.
Granderson, who suffered a Grade 2 left groin strain Saturday when he tried to alter his running angle at second base, said he didn’t know how long he’d be out beyond his 15-day stay on the disabled list. But he opted for the rosy view.
“Hopefully, not too much longer after that,” said Granderson, noting it’s hard to gauge because “I’ve never had this.”
But Granderson, who moved from a Tigers team that lost a one-game tie-breaker for the playoffs to a Yankees team that celebrated its 27th World Series title last season, knows about good fortune.
“It definitely could be worse if it were an Achilles, an ankle or a knee,” he said.
Despite a somewhat positive MRI, the nature of the injury demands caution.
“You’re probably looking at a month,” said manager Joe Girardi, stressing that Granderson will sit until completely healthy. “It’s one thing if you’re a DH who doesn’t run extremely fast, but when you’re a center fielder, it takes some time. I hope it’s less than that.”
The hope is the time may be closer to three weeks. But however long, the Yankees figure to summon outfield help.
“Eventually we probably need to add an outfielder,” said Girardi, who indicated the initial solution will be a leftfield platoon between right-handed Marcus Thames and switch-hitting Randy Winn with Brett Gardner in center.
The Yankees yesterday brought up Mark Melancon (two innings pitched, two earned runs) to bolster a bullpen whose long men were taxed in recent days. The plan is to summon outfielder Greg Golson from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. They want another center fielder, Golson’s primary spot, to have more than Winn backing Gardner.
Granderson, limping noticeably, claimed “it feels better” and “just hurts a little bit.” He admitted disappointment that he’ll miss the Yanks’ 4-game trip to Detroit next week because of the injury that arose from trying to adjust to a Gardner hit while attempting to steal.
“I was stealing second and my angle was to steal the base, but when Gardner hit the ball, I had to create a better angle to go to third because he hit the ball to the outfield,” Granderson said. “I had to get deep and when I did that, I ended up reaching for second base. As soon as I did that, I felt it grab in the groin area. No pop, no snap, nothing like that. Just a grab.”