Play Hicks, sit Gardner. When DiDi, Sanchez return, Yankee line-up with Hicks batting ninth is better than Yankee line-up with Gardner batting first.
We know what Gardner is -- .260 hitter who turns every at-bat, every (increasingly rare) time on base, into a nut-scratching odyssey that slows the game into a ponderous, passive sludge-crawl. He hates to swing the bat and he apparently hates to run, playing a hesitant, cautious, conservative style of baseball that has fans in the stands scrolling iPhones for a soccer game to relieve the tedium. Give gritty, gutty Gardner a new career role: 'Sparkplug' off the bench with his defense, running (maybe he'll be more aggressive) and pinch-hitter who will (give him credit for what he does best) make pitchers throw and work counts ad naseum.
Meanwhile,