I’m only kidding. But I’m wondering how many bad starts CC Sabathia would need to have before the papers started calling him a bust. I’m putting the over/under at 3 bad starts.
A few thoughts on yesterday’s opener for the Yanks…
First off, my prediction of the Yankees going 162-0 has unfortunately fallen by the wayside. The ’72 Dolphins reign supreme for another year.
I think the thing I’m most excited about after yesterday’s game is the versatility Brett Gardner is going to bring to bottom of the Yankees lineup. Our friends over at Rivera’s Cutter have been high on Gardner for a while, and I really hadn’t known much about him before this spring. But his speed at the bottom of the order is clearly a major weapon that is going to allow the Yankees to manufacture more with Jeter and Damon at the top of the order. I’m not entirely sold on Jeter batting lead off yet, but he’s a safe bet. If Gardner impresses for an extended period of time, I’d guess there will be some chatter about him moving to lead off. For now, I really like the lineup.
After 2 at-bats. I was ready to write off Matsui. He didn’t look like the same Matsui. There was a lot of writing in the offseason that made me wonder if writers were discussing Hideki Matsui or Hideki Irabu, and I was shocked. I had never thought of Matsui as a weak link, nor did I consider him to be another overpaid Yankee. But he looked weak yesterday in his first 2 at-bats, and I impulsively was ready to admit defeat. Then he took Chris Ray 410 feet into right center. Shows what I know. Hopefully Matsui will be a steady DH until he’s healthy enough to play the field again.
The most surprising part of yesterday– the booing of Teixera. What the hell? I get it, the Orioles were part of the bidding war and lost out. I get it, the Yankees pay big bucks to get high profile players. Is this really news? You’d think Teixera had slaughtered the first born of every family in Baltimore or something by the reaction he got (Happy Passover everyone).
The most disappointing part of yesterday– yeah, it was Sabathia. I had really hoped he would just crush his first start so that most of the pressure would dissipate around his monster contract. He was clearly nervous, and two wild pitches early on showed it. It makes him human. I’m not worried though. He’s going to be worth everyone penny. I’m more disappointed that the pressure got to him, not that he couldn’t get a W in his first start.
This lineup is going to be pretty scary though when you put A-Rod back in at clean-up. It did feel a little weak without him in there, going from Tex to Matsui. But Posada looked good, Cano looked good, and Swisher looked solid in his pinch hit appearance. There really aren’t any weak links, and I really like the depth they’ll have on a daily basis so that guys aren’t being overused. Even though the batters individually might not be as dangerous as previous lineups (i.e. maybe Abreu is more dangerous than Nady, and Sheffield more dangerous than Cano) I feel like this lineup has a rhythm to it. It flows more, complements itself more, if that makes any sense. The pitching is going to be there. The Yanks won’t give up 10 runs often this season. They’ve got innings-eaters and a solid bullpen that won’t be overused.
161-1 ain’t bad….
Lastly, let’s rank the great Yankee busts of the past 15 years. Here’s my list.
1.) Carl Pavano
2.) Hideki Irabu
3.) Randy Johnson
4.) Kenny Loften
5.) Kevin Brown
I know there’s worse, but I’m blanking. Bring back Danny Tartabull and Ruben Sierra!
