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And why not? The Yankees hit. They mash. They have players who are paid insane salaries and put up incredible numbers, a lineup that -- when everyone is healthy -- is unparalleled in its depth.

So why, then, has it become so important this spring that the littlest Yankee is working on the littlest hitting skill? Why, then, are the Yankees so interested in Brett Gardner honing his bunting?

"It's a weapon we want him to have," Joe Girardi said. "Any way he can get on base is good. He has a knack of getting on base and then scoring, because it doesn't take too many hits for him to score from first."

In Gardner's ideal world, this season will be his first as an everyday player. He only recorded 284 plate appearances in 2009 but had a .345 on-base percentage and stole 26 bases in 31 attempts. He was, by far, the speediest Yankee and only Texas's Ian Kinsler has a better success rate on steals over the past two seasons (Gardner is 39-for-45, or 86.7 % during that time period).

In other words, the Yankees want Gardner to run. Bunting was something that he practiced frequently earlier in his career, but -- as he began working his way up the minor league system -- it became secondary to the work Gardner put into his full swing.

Now he's trying to change that.

"When you're successful, it gets your confidence up to do it again and do it right," Gardner said earlier this week.

"I'll just keep doing it, working on my mechanics. The main thing is just timing."

Timing comes with repetition, and so Gardner spent time this week working with Girardi and bench coach Rob Thomson in the cage, practicing the fundamentals. The key, he says, is often staying in the batter's box long enough to be sure that solid contact is made on the bunt. Leave too early in hopes of getting an extra step closer to first base and the bunt can be shanked, resulting in a foul ball or a popup.

Last Sunday in Fort Myers against the Twins, Gardner led off the third inning with a drag bunt that rolled partway between the first-base line and the mound. The Twins pitcher fell off the mound to field the ball and his hurried throw pulled the first baseman off the bag, allowing Gardner to reach safely.

Afterward, Gardner said he was pleased the bunt worked but was still self-critical; the ball should have been bunted a little harder, he said, so that it got past the pitcher and into the no-man's land between the pitcher, first baseman and second baseman. That's the ideal.

"It was an OK bunt," Gardner said.

On Wednesday, he did better, dropping down a perfect bunt against the Tigers in Lakeland that rolled up the third-base line and stopped dead a few inches inside the chalk.

"That was a nice one," Girardi said. "I like seeing that."

Gardner may or may not end up winning that everyday job he craves; the Yankees have other outfielders like veteran Randy Winn in camp, and Gardner knows there are no guarantees even if he does earn the spot out of Spring Training. Last year, he was named the starter (over Melky Cabrera) only to struggle in April, have injury troubles and end up in an unofficial platoon.

This year, he hopes, will be different. The Yankees aren't yet sure whether Gardner will be best in center field or left, and they aren't even sure if Gardner will be a regular part of their lineup. What they are sure about, however, is that if he is part of that lineup, then they want him to bring the legs.

There are plenty of sluggers between Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano. Derek Jeter has sneaky power, while Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson are 20-plus home run guys, too.

Gardner can be the change-up. They want him on base. They want him running. They want him to put the ball on the ground and start sprinting.

It may be the littlest guy doing the littlest thing, but to the Yankees it's a whole lot bigger.