And we're live from my apartment! Damn this feels better than being in the office, even if the weather conditions aren't great and even if I can't drink because I have somewhere I have to be at 4:30. It does look like we're going to get this thing in today, though, and that's a good thing. If I would have taken PTO just to come home and watch the BBTN crew jabber on about how good the Fraud Sawx are and how many "questions" the Yankees have about their bullpen for 4 hours, I would be pissed.
Joe is going with his "Vs. righty" version of the everyday lineup today:
1) Brett Gardner- LF
2) Derek Jeter- SS
3) Mark Teixeira- 1B
4) Alex Rodriguez- 3B
5) Robinson Cano- 2B
6) Nick Swisher- RF
7) Jorge Posada- DH
8) Curtis Granderson- CF
9) Russell Martin- C
And he's got Carsten Charles Sabathia on the mound, who should be good for 110-115 pitches today, if needed. I don't see any way Joe lets his pitch count get that high on his first outing of the year, especially with the bullpen depth he has. Personally, I'd be shocked if CC reached 100 today. But now it's time to sit back, enjoy the game, and pray that it doesn't rain or go into extra innings so I'm forced to miss the finish.
11:56AM- Not Haley's best performance on the National Anthem. Hopefully that's not a bad omen for the Yanks.
11:58AM- John Kruk thinks Jeter will hit .300 this year. Hopefully that's not a bad omen for Jeter.
12:02PM- Looks like we've got Sean McDonough, Rick Sutcliffe, and Aaron F*cking Boone as our announcer trio today. That's more than acceptable.
12:04PM- Kurkjian says Cabrera is the most popular guy in the Tigers' clubhouse. Not surprising. He probably has all the best booze and most killer beer bongs and pong tables.
P.S.- Kurkjian is a fucking worm. Get off the Yankee Stadium grass and so steal some jocks from Boston's locker room, you douche. And I didn't even need any beer in me to say that.
12:06PM- The MLB "Inside Brian Wilson's Beard" commercial was strangely entertaining.
12:09PM- I completely forgot that Detroit signed Victor Martinez in the offseason. Who is that worse for, me or Martinez?
12:14PM- After throwing 7 pitches and getting a strikeout of the first batter of the season, Sutcliffe has declared that CC is "well on his way to another great year." Take that for it's worth.
12:15PM- Great diving catch by C-Grand in center to rob a base hit. Gotta wonder how the oblique felt on that.
12:16PM- 1-2-3 for CC in the top of the 1st. Fastball looked to have good zip to it.
12:25PM- Verlander's fastball looks equally good, if not better, than CC's in his first inning of work. But he walks Teix to bring up The Horse for his first AB of the year.
12:28PM- Verlander pitches A-Rod carefully away with his offspeed stuff and it costs him with another walk. He's also up to 23 pitches already as Cano steps in with 2 on, 2 out...
12:34PM- ... And he goes down swinging on a 3-2 fastball. Verlander's stuff looks good, but his command isn't perfect right now and the Yankee hitters are seeing everything. Teix, A-Rod, and Cano were right on every pitch Verlander threw them. Nobody was fooled by anything. That's a good sign for them for this game and moving forward as an indicator of where they're at in terms of their swing and batting eye early in the season.
12:38PM- Leadoff single for Cabrera followed up by a line drive base hit off of Jeter at short and the Tigers are in business in the top of the 2nd. That's it! Jeter is washed up!!
12:46PM- After loading the bases with no outs, CC manages to limit the damage to just 1 run on a sac fly by Jhonny Peralta. His stuff looks good, but the command was a little spotty in the 2nd. That long rest in this weather probably didn't do him any favors.
12:53PM- 1-2-3 for Verlander in the 2nd, despite a solid at-bat from C-Grand, who looked good fighting back from an 0-2 hole to force a full count. 1-0 Tigers through 2.
12:57PM- Something looks wrong with CC's parachute pants. He's tugging at the damn things so much I feel like I'm watching David Wells on the mound. Somebody get the guy a tailor!
12:59PM- After that informative report from Kurkjian about Will Rhymes' tiny stature, I think it's safe to say we found the next generation's David Eckstein. Rhymes needs to work on his intangibles, though, if he's going to fill Eckstein's kid-sized shoes.
1:04PM- Nice first at-bat as a Yankee for Russell Martin, who lines a sharp single to left to lead off the bottom of the 3rd. And he didn't hurt himself running to first! Nice!
1:08PM- Sutcliffe thinks Gardner should be the full-time leadoff hitter. Can't really argue with his logic. As they discuss that issue, Jeter draws a 1-out walk and the Yanks have runners on with the heart of the order coming up.
1:10PM- And Martin shows his speed and gall by taking 3rd base. Inge was out of position, never would have gotten to the bag to make the tag in time, and Martin saw it and took advantage of it. Heads up play.
1:11PM- BOOM!!! Teix follows it up with his first Teix Message of the year, a no-doubter into right field and its 3-1 Yanks.
1:14PM- Worth noting that Teix's homer came right after the Martin stolen base. As much as Inge wasn't expecting Martin to do that, Verlander wasn't either and it clearly rattled his focus on the batter.
1:18PM- CC tries to be careful with Cabrera at 0-2 in his 2nd at-bat and he ends up walking him. Hard to say if Cabrera is more dangerous as a sober hitter at the plate or a drunk driver in his car. I'd call it a toss-up.
1:23PM- Come on, Rick! If the Tigers are actually expecting Brad Penny to make a rebound this year pitching in the AL then they are delusional. Brad Penny sucks, no matter what kind of shape he's in.
1:26PM- CC gives one back with an awful slider over the plate to Inge with 2 strikes. The big fella has looked solid, but not spectacular with any of his pitches today. About what you'd expect for a first start of the regular season in 40-degree misty weather. He Ks Avila to get out of it, though. He does have 6 strikeouts through 4 innings, so...
1:34PM- Verlander does a good job of working the lefties away and sits Swish, Jorge, and C-Grand down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 4th. Still 3-2 Yanks.
1:43PM- The Tigers piece another run together with a hit by Jackson, a sac bunt by Rhymes, an error by Cano, and a sac fly by Cabrera to tie the game at 3. Cano is 0-2 with 2 Ks and his error on the bunt was just brutal, dropping an easy toss by Teix. Come on, Robbie! You're killing my 'MVP candidate' prediction!
1:52PM- Verlander is starting to find it now over the last 2 innings, and he's retired 8 straight after giving up the Teixeira home run. Time for CC to put a 1-2-3 right back at him.
1:59PM- Another bad 2-strike pitch by CC and an equally bad play in the outfield by Gardner and C-Grand loafing after the ball leads to a 2-out baserunner for Detroit. That was just an all-around clusterfuck.
2:07PM- Verlander was cruising before grooving a 3-1 pitch over the heart of the plate that A-Rod would have had a homer on were it not for the wind today. He absolutely crushed that ball. Joba warming in the 'pen for the Yanks. That could be all for CC today.
2:14PM- Swish gets punched out by Dale Scott on an AWFUL strike 3 call. That wasn't even close. 2 on, 2 out for Hip-Hip...
2:18PM- And down he goes on a 3-2 change right down the middle. Verlander gets out of it, and he'll be done after this inning as well. 3-3 game through 6.
2:24PM- Final line on CC today: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 3 R, 2 ER, 7 K. He wasn't terrific and he wasn't awful. Each of his pitches looked good at certain times, but he didn't have the consistent command to locate them where he wanted/needed to at all times. All in all, you have to say it was a good first outing of the season.
2:27PM- Joba goes 1-2-3 in the 7th. Time for the Yankees to do some damage against the Tiger bullpen.
2:32PM- After missing with 2 fastballs, Coke had to groove one on 2-0 and C-Grand made him pay with a bomb to right. THE GRANDY MAN CAN!! 4-3 Yanks.
2:46PM- Huge run for the Yanks on the Jeter sac fly. Martin continues to show his worth scoring on that play. The hit by Jeter wasn't that deep. No way Posada (or Montero for that matter) scores there.
2:48PM- Don't know what was better about that 3rd strike that Sourpuss Soriano just threw than the pitch before it, but Dale Scott still punched out Cabrera. Big first out in the 8th for the Yankees. So far, the bullpen is doing exactly what you want it to do.
2:52PM- You can't ask for a better debut than that from Soriano. His stuff looked sharp, he attacked hitters, and went 1-2-3. Now the Sandman cometh...
2:57PM- Lotta respect being paid to The Horse by the Tiger staff today. He hasn't been given many pitches to hit, and the ones he has he has been right on.
2:58PM- Why are so many people leaving the game already??? If you're going to suck it up in the crummy weather and go to The Stadium, you HAVE to stay for the whole thing on Opening Day. Not to mention the fact that it's only a 2-run game. And they're missing the opportunity to see the G.O.A.T. pitch. I don't care how many Yankee games you've been to, you never turn down a chance to see Mo live. To quote Mad Dog Russo, that's a bad job in a big spot by the Yankee fans there.
3:04PM- RBI bloop single by Swish and that should be more than enough cushion for Mo. 6-3 Yanks in the 8th.
3:06PM- Say your prayers, little one. Don't forget, my son. To include everyooooooooone-AHH!!...
3:11PM- Another great play in center for C-Grand! Dude looks fantastic out there! If Gold Gloves were handed out today, there's your winner in CF.
3:13PM- Exit light, enter night. Mo does what he does and the Yankees win 6-3. There were good things all around today for the Bombers: solid starting pitching, a shutdown performance by the bullpen, patience at the plate, timely hitting, smart baserunning, and excellent defense. There are certainly worse ways to start the season.
I'll be back tomorrow morning for Opening Day Thoughts & Afterthoughts, but for now, Frankie, take it away!
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