Who got best deal? Don't forget about Brett Gardner

If you are a Yankees fan and you watched the highlight shows Saturday night, you saw Johnny Damon taking a pie in the face after hitting a walk-off home run for the Tigers.

Maybe you also saw the weak-armed Damon throw out Hideki Matsui at the plate (and blinked your eyes twice to make sure you weren't seeing things).

In the Yankees game, you saw Curtis Granderson strain his groin running the bases. Probably made you wince.

Maybe you even scanned the stats page Sunday morning and saw Nick Johnson's .136 batting average. Probably made you angry.

For those who think the Yankees messed up by casting aside Damon and Matsui and acquiring Granderson and Johnson, Saturday was a day for you to puff your chest. Tell the friends, wake the neighbors: Cashman shoulda never done it!

Only, there's one part of the equation you might want to consider. The Brett Gardner part.

The minute Damon signed with the Tigers, Gardner became at least a platoon leftfielder. The second Granderson pulled up and hobbled into third base, Gardner became the centerfielder until Granderson heals. That could be a month or more.

Sunday, Gardner went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk and two RBIs in the Yankees' 12-3 win over the White Sox. He drove in the Yankees' first run against brand-name lefthander Mark Buehrle with a second-inning single. He hit his first home run in 168 at-bats in the fourth, a solo shot to right for the Yankees' second run.

"That's my one for the year," Gardner said. "I'm done."

Gardner is batting .342 with 11 stolen bases in 12 attempts. He is hitting .409 in 22 at-bats vs. lefties. He is a superb defensive outfielder. He is 26 years old.

"It's good to see," manager Joe Girardi said.

Teams always talk about getting cheaper, younger and more athletic, and fans generally agree with that sentiment. No one ever calls for their team to get more expensive, older and really brittle, which is what the Yankees feared they could become with Matsui and Damon on this year's roster.

Well, Gardner is cheaper, younger and more athletic. Part of the Yankees' thinking with their offseason moves was seeing whether Gardner could be an everyday player.

"I've said all along that I thought he was an everyday player from the first time I saw him," Girardi said. "I love what he brings to the table."

One month and two days do not a season make, but the early evidence on Gardner is promising. His speed at the bottom of the order adds a valuable dimension. His defense in Yankee Stadium's large leftfield is a huge upgrade over Damon, who slipped mightily in the outfield in 2009.

Gardner said he still speaks to Damon and saw the walk-off home run on TV. He noted that it was Damon's first of the season, and joked, "I'm going to text him and tell him he better pick it up."

The Yankees will get reacquainted with Damon in person starting next Monday when they visit Comerica Park. They've already seen Matsui twice, including the emotional scene when he received his World Series ring at the Yankees' home opener.

General manager Brian Cashman was coldly unsentimental in letting Damon and Matsui go. If you believe the Yankees will make the postseason again this year - and at this point it's hard to imagine them not making it - the wisdom of Cashman's decisions will not become truly clear until October.

Will Damon lead a Motown revival in the postseason? Will Matsui follow up his World Series MVP with another boffo playoff performance for the Angels? If so, and the Yankees falter, it won't matter to the second-guessers in our midst if Gardner had a breakout regular season.

But this is May, not October. For now, Damon and Matsui look pretty good where they are. And Gardner looks pretty good where he is.