Should the Yankees play Brennan Boesch at First Base?

Some brief Yankee fan ranting: what an offensive outburst last night! Holy Cow! As the late Phil Rizzuto would say...Great to see Gardner and Cano get hot: they gotta carry the offense, even if Youk, Wells, Pronk and even Cervelli do some damage through April. Frankly, anything they get out of Cervelli is bonus, as far as I'm concerned. Nunez is holding the fort down offensively and more importantly, defensively at short, but Ichiro needs to step his game up. If not, I'm playing the man this article is about: Brennan Boesch.

Lyle Overbay had a nice game last night, but he's not the 2005/2006 Lyle Overbay. So, should the Yankees play Brennan Boesch at first until Tex is back? Short answer: yes and leave this article. If you're interested in moving on, please proceed.

This whole issue piqued my curiosity (and I'm sure Yankees fans as a whole) a few weeks ago when rumors of Boesch taking fielding practice surfaced, but one tweet from Daily News writer Mark Feinsand reignited this debate:

"Looks like Joe Girardi and Mick Kelleher are working with Brennan Boesch at first base right now."

Let's backtrack slightly. We know Brennan Boesch as an outfielder, mostly in right, but a corner outfielder by trade. Boesch did play some first base in high school and college, so it's not completely foreign to him, but at the professional level, not part of his m.o. But, the Yankees didn't make Boesch take ground balls or sign him to sit on the bench: he's still too young and talented to not play him. Lyle Overbay has had a nice career and surely financially set his family, but this isn't the same guy who led the league in doubles in 04.

Stat-Lines for both players since Boesch's rookie year:

• Boesch AVG 162 Games since 2010: .259/18 HR/74 RBI (factor in correction to mechanics and minor league track record, Boesch is closest to his 2011 season)
• Overbay AVG 162 Games since 2010: 241/16 HR/65 RBI (mostly inflated by 2010, last full season as a starter).

As you can see, Boesch is more productive at the plate, and considering his bad 2012 led to his release, a return to his 2011 form would be more productive for the Yankees, as he is only 27 and has many good years over the 36 year old Overbay.

Thoughts? Follow me on Twitter @jmflorio