Miguel Cairo is officially back in the Bronx. But our pal Steve Goldman warns that while Cairo had a nice season for the Bombers in 2004, he isn’t necessarily the best available cherce out there:

Cairo’s .292 average in 2004 was worth just two wins over replacement. That’s not much. Nor is it evidence that playing for the Yankees makes him better, or that he can “hack it in the Bronx.” Since he crashed with the Mets, is that proof that he can make it in the Bronx but Queens is too much for him? In fact, Queens represented nothing but a return to form. Batting average fluctuates — sometimes more hits fall in than others. Since hitting for average (or a semblance thereof) is all Cairo can do, he’s going to have swings to the negative extreme of his abilities (.245, Cardinals, 2003), the positive extreme (.292, Yankees, 2004), and back again (.251, Mets, 2005). I don’t know where Cairo’s average will land this year, but looking at his career as a whole, he’s far more likely to resemble the Mets version of himself.

Ah, fer the good old days of Chicken Stanley.