DETROIT -- Yankees manager Joe Girardi is willing to listen to suggestions about how to jumpstart the Yankees' sluggish offense.
But don't expect him to make any drastic changes to the team's everyday lineup. According to Girardi, there's not much more he can do.
"It's one thing if you have one or two guys struggling and you shake the lineup up," Girardi said. "But when you have five or six, there's not a lot of shaking you can do."
When asked if Girardi has considered any "unconventional" changes to the team's lineup, he was quick to dismiss a reporter's suggestion.
"Who do you want me to lead off?" Girardi said. "You guys have these questions, but do you want me to lead [Mark Teixeira] off? You want me to lead [Alex Rodriguez] off? You want me to lead [Carlos Beltran] off?
"I mean, [Jacoby Ellsbury] has done a pretty good job, hasn't he?"
Ellsbury, who has hit in the leadoff spot in 41 games this season, has been arguably the team's best hitter this season, batting .280 with a .344 on-base percentage entering Thursday's makeup game in Detroit. But with the exception of Ellsbury, and Beltran, the rest of the Yankees' offense has been unable to produce on a consistent basis.
When it was suggested to bat Ellsbury second in the lineup, Girardi scoffed at the idea.
"Move Ellsbury to second? And put Carlos in front of him, so when they both get on first and second, [Ellsbury] can't run?" Girardi asked rhetorically.
New York entered play Thursday having totaled just 19 runs and hitting a dismal .176 over its prior eight games. The Yankees ranked last in the league in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS.
"Everyone has all of these ideas, and I'm listening," Girardi said. "But when you have six guys in your lineup struggling - maybe I can ask if we can just hit one, two and three."