Depth perception issue in OF

I have a bad habit of getting sucked into horrendous MTV reality programming from time to time. I grew up on The Real World and later became transfixed by the athletic ballet that is the Real World/Road Rules Challenge, so I'm guessing the head of programming at Viacom must have me subliminally trained at this point. One decade you're being taught about HIV awareness and gay rights by Pedro Zamora (RW: San Francisco), the next, two lonely chicks with low self esteem wrestle in a kiddie pool of spaghetti and meatballs (That's Amore!). I fear for our children.

I bring this up because there's another MTV reality program that mirrors the mind-set of many Yankees fans. It's called My Super Sweet 16, a show that chronicles the party-planning efforts of spoiled rich girls who make walking all over their clueless parents a competitive event. Many Yankees fans seem to share the same the same sense of entitlement as the little monsters on My Super Sweet 16, especially those who still want Manny Ramirez playing left field.

Ah, the Yankees outfield. Now that the Bombers have the dynamic starting rotation and mighty first baseman they were looking for, popular opinion now states something must be done on the big lawn. The Teixeira signing essentially made Nick Swisher a man without a country, and with five players slotted for three slots, many are calling for a trade to bolster the pitching staff.

That's all well and good, of course. Unless we can get the short-center fielder roster spot transferred from the Sunday Morning Elks League to Major League Baseball, people are going to end up on the bench. But is having options really a bad thing in this case?

Swisher, Johnny Damon, Brett Gardner, Melky Cabrera and Xavier Nady will all be in the mix when Spring Training kicks off next month. And while depth is always nice, quanity doesn't always mean quality. After Damon (one of Cash's best FA signings), there are question marks right down the list.

Gardner may be a Double-A offensive talent. Swisher batted .219 last year. Nady hit .223 in a September that included some of the worst at-bats you'll ever see. As for Cabrera, that AL scout evaluation last August still sticks with me: “In a few years, Melky will be playing in some independent league. Or in the Mexican League.”

It stands to reason that it would behoove the Yanks to enter the season with an OF surplus and see how it plays out before trading away potential contributors. On a related note, am I the only one who thinks the Yanks pulled the plug a little too early on the Bobby Abreu Era?

Quantity doesn't guarantee quality. In that sense, the outfield is kind of like Real World: Brooklyn using eight strangers instead of seven in the house this season.

Well, except for the towering transexual part. Nevermind.