A-Rod's On Fire

Could this really be the A-Rod everyone has been waiting for? It's early but this guy is red hot right now. Another day, another HR, another step towards gaining Yankee fans respect.

Chew on these numbers for a bit.

.360 AVG
5 HR
13 RBI
9 Runs

With another HR tonight he became the first Yankee in history to homer five times in his first six games.

Carl Pavano- It's been two long years but for at least tonight he earned his paycheck. Pavano was impressive and economical. For the first time all season the Yankees got a quality start out of a pitcher and it gave the bullpen some much needed rest. Pavano went 7 innings, allowed 6 hits, 2 runs, no walks and 2 strikeouts. Brian Bruney and Kyle Farnsworth each pitched a scoreless inning in the game.

No cold no errors- I'm not making any excuses for the horrendous defense last week but tonight was the best all around game the team has played to date. There was a extra jump in their step and they looked more loose and relaxed. Perhaps escaping the cold air of the Bronx had something to do with that.

Offense- So far has not been a problem. The lack of a quality start in pitching was the reason the Yanks dropped 3 of 4 to the Devil Rays and Orioles. The offense tonight was led by of course A-Rod, Jorge Posada who hit a two-run double, Derek Jeter who had three hits and scored two runs, Johnny Damon who had two hits in his first start in a week due to a calf strain and Bobby Abreu who added a rbi single.

Yankees 8 Twins 2

How To Kill A Bullpen Fast

Pavano 4 1/3 IP
Pettitte 4 IP
Mussina 4 IP
Igawa 5 IP

If this is any indication how the rest of the season will go the Yankees are in big trouble. At this rate Scott Proctor will make 110 appearances before the season is over. (Yes, I'm being a little sarcastic with that number but you get the point) Darrell Rasner gets the start today. Hopefully he can give us a solid 7 innings of work.

A-Rod Saves The Day

Yes folks Alex Rodriguez saved the day in a thrilling 10-7 win over the Orioles yesterday at the Stadium. In the first inning he blasted a 2-run HR to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead and in the bottom of the 9th with the bases loaded, two outs and two strikes on him A-Rod took Orioles closer Chris Ray into the black in dead center field for the win.

It was the end of what was a forgettable debut by Kei Igawa. So far through the first week of the season the Yankees starting rotation has been nothing to write home about. Yesterday was no different.

Igawa started to hear the boo's after facing only his 12th batter of the game. Not once did he set the O's down in order and he allowed seven runs on eight hits, walked three, hit a batter and gave up two HR's.

The Yankees bullpen the last two games has pitched a total of 10 inning but has only allowed two hits and one walk but that isn't going to last for long if the starters can't go deep into games.

Igawa's fastball only topped out at 89-91mph which in the AL East is going to be big time trouble as the season goes on. His fastball ironically was the only pitch he was able to control.

"He just looked like he was trying to overthrow to me," Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo said. "He was rushing his delivery."

Notes

Hideki Matsui strained his left hamstring running out a second-inning grounder and left in the fourth. Torre said he probably wouldn't play until Friday in Oakland. Johnny Damon still recovering from a strained right calf, pinch hit in the eighth and struck out, then went to center.

The comeback yesterday avoided the Yankees a three game losing streak. The rubber game is this afternoon.

Yankees 10 Orioles 7

Sloppy

Errors didn't cost the Yankees on Opening Day but they cost them last night in a 7-6 loss to the Devil Rays. How ugly was it? Three errors, three wild pitches and a passed ball. The Yankees in two games have committed six errors, three of them by Captain Derek Jeter.

"We played sloppy. We've got to tighten it up a little bit," Jeter said. "You're not going to win too many games like that."

The winning run was scored on one of those wild pitches.

A-Rod had a chance in the 8th inning with the bases loaded and a chance to be the hero--he popped out against reliever Brian Stokes and as usual a chorus of boo's serenaded throughout the Stadium.

Andy Pettitte made his much anticipated Yankee re-debut on what was a bitterly cold night in the Bronx. The line--four runs, two of them earned, six hits in four plus innings.

"It was definitely not what you wanted to get out of your first outing being back," Pettitte said. "Extremely disappointing."

I don't have much to add to this game since I saw very little of it but in a nutshell two games in the defense has been horrendous. Not a cause for concern yet but something to really keep a eye on.

The Yankees start a three game set with the Orioles tonight in New York.

Devils Rays 7 Yankees 6

Rain Rain Go Away

The Andy Pettitte return to the Bronx will have to wait for another day. Rain is coming down hard in the NY area and is expected to continue throughout the day. Today's game against the Devil Rays has been canceled.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Tampa Bay Devils Rays-New York Yankees game scheduled for Wednesday afternoon was postponed because of rain.

No makeup date was immediately available.

A Bronx Favorite Comes Home

He's back! Andy Pettitte returns to the Bronx tomorrow for his second stint with the Yankees and this blogger can't wait.

I've always had a soft spot for Pettitte and I was one of the disgruntled Yankees fans when he left for Houston after the 2003 World Series.

It will be Pettitte's first start in a Yankee uniform since that Game 6 against the Marlins and it should be a electric atmosphere in the Stadium as one of the most beloved Yankees comes back home to finish his career in the place it all started.

"The fans are going to let him know how much they missed him and we miss him," manager Joe Torre told the team's official Web site. "When they look at Andy Pettitte, they associate him with the championships that we've had here in recent years."

Pettitte was 149-78 with a 3.94 ERA during his first nine seasons with the Yankees, and 13-8 with a 4.05 ERA in 30 postseason starts over that span.

(Above photo courtesy of Nomaas.org)

Opening Day Victory

A new season means a new start and today was a pretty damn good one aside from a few sloppy plays in the field leading to three Yankee errors and one bad inning pitched by Carl Pavano.

I have to be honest, he pitched better than I expected. And I really wasn't expecting much. After all how much faith can you have in a guy that hasn't played a game since 2005?

For a few innings Pavano looked very good, keeping his pitches down and working out of mini jams. The sixth inning he seemed to fall apart although he wasn't helped by sloppy defensive play in the field. But it's baby steps with this guy and today was step one.

Derek Jeter, A-Rod and Josh Phelps made today's miscues but luckily it didn't cost the Yankees in the end.

A-Rod must love negative attention because it didn't take long before some came his way. In the top of the first he misjudged a pop up in foul territory allowing the ball to sail over his head and later that same inning struck out with two runners on.

However he did deliver a crushing HR in the 8th to put the Yankees up 9-5 and the game out of reach. I know--the HR came when the Yanks were already winning 7-5 so it was typical stat padding by him. At 7-5 I can't say I thought the game was in the bag so in my opinion it was a big HR at the time.

Jason Giambi also had a big day driving in runs in the 1st and 7th innings. Jeter also helped the Yankees cause with a single up the middle to drive in two and tie the game at 5.

Another positive note was the bullpen. Joe Torre wheeled out his new look pen and they did the job and did it good at least on this day. Yes, it's only Tampa Bay but getting off on the right foot is key and the bullpen did just that.

Brian Bruney, Sean Henn, Luis Vizcaino, Kyle Farnsworth and of course Mariano Rivera kept the Rays off the scoreboard and the Yankees a chance to comeback and win the game. Rivera as usual was the most impressive as he struck out the side in the 9th and looked like he's already in midseason form.

Yankees 9 Devil Rays 5