Game 7 Wrap-Up: NYY 11 CLE 6

(All the high fives to this guy.  Courtesy of the AP)

After failing to put up more than 4 runs in each of their first 5 games, the Yankees broke out late against Detroit on Sunday, putting a 7-spot on the scoreboard when all was said and done.  If there was a game where that needed to continue, it was yesterday's game in which Hiroki Kuroda was returning to the mound to make his regularly-scheduled start despite still feeling some numbness in his injured middle finger.  Kuroda was able to get through 5+ innings, while the offense continued to trend in the right direction.

Game Notes:

- No time was wasted in getting to Cleveland starter Ubaldo Jimenez.  With 2 on and 1 out in the top of the 1st, Travis Hafner crushed a 3-run HR to center field and the Yanks led 3-0.

- It was a good thing too because Kuroda struggled in the bottom half.  He gave the 3 runs back on 3 singles, 2 walks, and 2 sac flies, and he certainly looked as though he was having trouble with his injured finger and his command.

- Hafner recaptured the lead in the top of the 3rd with an RBI single to score Robinson Cano, who doubled to lead off the inning.  That was the end of the fireworks for Hafner, but Cano was just getting started.

- After another run on a Brett Gardner ribbie single in the 4th, Cano led off the top of the 5th with a HR to left-center field.  That all but ended Jimenez's day, and probably struck fear into the hearts of opposing pitchers everywhere.

- Cano wasn't done, stroking another solo shot to right in the 6th.  3 more runs tacked on in the 7th gave the Yankee offense 5 straight innings with at least 1 run and an 11-3 lead.

- Kuroda was much sharper in his last couple innings, finding the feel for his sinker and splitter and holding the Indians scoreless until he departed with 1 out in the 6th.

- Shawn Kelley came on and gave up 3 runs in the 8th, which didn't affect the outcome but wasn't encouraging.  Joba followed him up with a scoreless, albeit BB-filled 9th inning.

A Shift In Approach Against Cano

(Courtesy of the AP)

One of the biggest takeaways from Opening Day was the over-exaggerated defensive shift that John Farrell employed against Robinson Cano and the associated "pound him away" pitching strategy that accompanied it.  Both strategic moves were effective, as Cano managed just a measly single up the middle in the series, and I for one was interested to see what Detroit would do against him in the second series of the season.  Cano had a tough finish to his 2012 season, especially against left-handers, and in a league that's becoming increasingly copy cat-ish as more and more variations of statistical analysis become available, perhaps the Fraud Sawx had laid the groundwork for how to handle the one big bat in the current Yankee lineup.

Should Kuroda Be Starting Today If He Isn't 100%?

(Ouch, bro.  Courtesy of Corey Sipkin/Daily News)

It seems like a reasonable question to ask given this comment from Hiroki Kuroda to George King of The NY Post yesterday about his bruised middle finger:

"I would be lying if I said it wasn't bothering me.  At the same time I have to deal with it.''

That statement pretty much answers the, "... if he isn't 100%" part of the question and answers it with a clear answer of "no, he isn't 100%." Which brings me back to the first part of the question.  It's the second turn through the rotation in the seventh game of the season, and Kuroda is being sent out to start with an injury to his pitching hand that caused him to have trouble gripping the ball, locating his pitches, and resulted in his removal from the game last Wednesday.  He's basically admitted that the injury has not fully healed and that he doesn't know how it's going to affect him today.  Does that make anybody else as nervous as it makes me?

I know Kuroda made it through his Friday bullpen without any major issues, and he's got Adam Warren handcuffed to him again, which is probably why Joe and Cash feel comfortable letting him start.  I'd just feel a lot better about skipping Kuroda for a trip and starting Warren if that gives his finger enough time to fully heal.

Game 6 Wrap-Up: NYY 7 DET 0

(Courtesy of the AP)

Small sample size or not, getting swept by the Tigers to finish off a 1-5 start to the season would have been bad news for the Yankees.  They hadn't pitched well coming into yesterday's game, they hadn't hit much better, and to lose again with CC Sabathia on the mound would definitely get the panic meter started.  Fortunately it didn't come to that, as CC was much better than he was on Opening Day and in a very ace-like performance (for all those who still want to argue that he's not) outdueled Justin Verlander to get his team a much-needed win.

Game Notes:

- The bottom of the order got the offense started in the top of the 2nd.  Francisco Cervelli, continuing to tighten his grip on the starting job, hit a 1-out RBI double and then came home on Jayson Nix's, yes that Jayson Nix's, 2-run HR to make it 3-0 Yanks.

- Sabathia was noticeably better than he was last Monday, both in terms of velocity, which was slight up, and command.  He still wasn't in top form, but it was a step in the right direction.

- Through 5 innings, the Tigers had put at least one baserunner on in each inning.  But CC always worked around it, throwing a lot of good sliders and changeups, and never allowed a runner past second base.

- To his credit, Verlander regrouped and held the Yankees scoreless from the 3rd inning through his exit with 1 out in the top of the 8th.  The bullpen took over from there and it all went south for Detroit, once again at the hands of the bottom of the order.

- After a Vernon Wells double put runners on second and third, Ichiro hit a sac fly to score 1 run and Cervelli came up with another big RBI hit to extend the lead to 5-0.  Kevin Youkilis singled in 2 more in the top of the 9th to put the finishing touches on the game.

- D-Rob and Mo haven't gotten a lot of work early, and it showed as each had to work their way around a pair of hits in the 8th in 9th innings.  In typical D-Rob and Mo form, however, they ended each inning with a K.

Game 5 Wrap-Up: DET 8 NYY 4

(Courtesy of the AP)

The first time through the starting rotation hasn't exactly gone the way the Yankees planned or hoped for this season.  CC Sabathia looked very ordinary on Opening Day, Hiroki Kuroda wasn't sharp before leaving with injury, and Ivan Nova looked very similar to what he was last season when he was the worst pitcher on the staff.  Andy Pettitte was the lone beacon of light, and yesterday Phil Hughes returned from his bulging disk to take his spot in the rotation and look to join Andy on the positive side of the pitching ledger.

Game Notes:

-It didn't take long for the offense to get going, with a Vernon Wells solo HR in the top of the 2nd tying the game at 1.  The Yanks got 2 more XBH in the inning, but thanks to Brennan Boesch getting thrown out at the plate they only had the 1 run to show for it.

- Hughes had the same problem that Nova did before him.  His stuff was there, but his command in the zone was iffy at best.  He didn't walk a batter through 4 innings, but did give up 5 hits.

- It call came apart for Hughes in the bottom of the 5th, when he had already thrown 75 pitches.  He gave up a leadoff single to Austin Jackson, a double to Torii Hunter, and a single to Miguel Cabrera to make it 3-1 Detroit and he was done.

- Another great scoring opportunity came in the top of the 6th.  Max Scherzer and his replacement Al Albuquerque walked 4 batters, and a couple big RBI singles by Hafner and Overbay made it a 5-4 game

- .For a second straight day, however, the Yankee bullpen was a huge letdown.  Boone Logan, David Phelps, and Joba Chamberlain combined to allow 4 more runs on 9 hits and 3 walks in 4 IP.

Also for a second straight day, the offense went down quietly in the late innings.  They put a few more runners on base than Friday, but still came up scoreless in the final 3 innings.

Status Not Looking Good For Jeter

Derek Jeter said he was going to be ready to start this season.  Both he and the Yankees did everything in their power to try to make that happen.  When his ankle started to act up earlier in spring camp, both he and the team passed it off as a blip on the radar.  Now, on the day he was supposed to be eligible to come off the DL and return to the lineup, Jeter finds himself no closer to coming back than he was when he first went on the DL.

There hasn't been much progress in Jeter's latest attempt to come back, as evidenced by this latest report from Bryan Hoch today.  What Jeter is doing now is the same thing he was doing two months ago when he first really started to get back to baseball activities, and this second go-round with these incredibly watered-down activities is happening at a slower pace than two months ago.  Jeter still isn't taking batting practice, he still isn't taking real fielding practice, and he still can't run the bases.  Those are the three fundamental activities for any baseball player at any position, and the plain fact of the matter is that there's no timetable for when he's going to start doing them again.  I've heard early May thrown around as the new possible return date, but even that looks like a stretch presently.

I said way back in November that I didn't think Jeter was going to be able to make it back in time for Opening Day, and my preference was that he and the team didn't attempt to rush his comeback to make that happen.  They did, it didn't work, and now we don't know when he's going to be back on the field.  Normally I like to puff out my chest and sing my own praises on one of the rare occasions when I'm right.  In this instance, however, I really don't want to.

Game 4 Wrap-Up: DET 8 NYY 3

(Courtesy of the AP)

A good pitching day it was not for the Yankees yesterday.  Ivan Nova, making his first start of the year, didn't turn in the type of performance anybody was looking for to instill confidence that he had overcome last season's command problems.  And the bullpen continued to expose its soft underbelly with a less-than-effective job behind Nova.  The offense wasn't much help either, failing to score more than 4 runs for the 4th straight time.

Game Notes:

- There was trouble right out of the gate for Nova, who allowed a run and multiple baserunners in each of the first 2 innings, throwing 52 pitches in the process.  His fastball and slider had great life, evidenced by his 4 Ks, but he just couldn't locate them with any kind of consistency.

- The lineup had chances to score against a near-equally shaky Doug Fister, but didn't until the top of the 5th.  With runners on the corners and 1 out, Brett Gardner scored on a wild pitch and then Kevin Youkilis followed with a 2-run HR to make it a 3-2 Yankee lead.

- The lead wouldn't last long, though, as Nova and Boone Logan combined to give it right back with a 2-out HBP of Miguel Cabrera and a towering 3-run jack by Prince Fielder on a fastball up from Logan.

- There was a scary moment for Eduardo Nunez the inning before, who left the game after getting plunked in the upper body.  X-rays were negative and he's day-to-day.

- After going down 5-3, the offense never sniffed a comeback, going down in order in the final 4 innings against Detroit reliever Drew Smyly.

- As for their relief pitching, it wasn't very good.  Shawn Kelley gave up a monster HR of his own to Alex Avila in the bottom of the 6th, then another 2-run shot to Fielder in the 7th to put the finishing touches on Detroit's scoring.

Hughes To Be Activated Off The DL, Will Start Tomorrow

(Bringing out the old school Photoshop for this story)

How about a little good injury news to take us into the weekend?  With guys taking balls off various parts of their bodies every other game (phrasing), I think we could all use a little pick-me-up, right?

Well via Donnie Collins and Cash, we've got one.  Collins first reported that Phil Hughes had been scratched from his scheduled final rehab start for Triple-A SWB tomorrow while confirming that there was nothing physically wrong with him, and Cash put the pieces together for us by telling reporters that Hughes will indeed start in place of David Phelps tomorrow in the second game of the Yankees' weekend series against the Tigers.

Knowing the way the Yankees tend to take it easy on guys with injuries, and knowing Hughes' checked history with his back, this has to be a sign that he's 100% healthy.  I can't see them making this move if there was even a sliver of doubt about that.  Assuming Kuroda is still on schedule to make his next start, and he should be after throwing a bullpen with no reported problems earlier today, the Yanks have their projected starting rotation back together sooner than anticipated.  And I'll drink to that!

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 4/5/13

Well it didn't take very long to get my hands on the company Brewer tickets this year.  Got 'em for Sunday's game against the D-backs, which will give me a chance to see former Yankee Ian Kennedy in action.  I'm still a little salty about how quickly the team gave up on him and still wonder how his career path might have turned out had they kept him around.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, William Juliano of The Captain's Blog offered up his American League predictions for 2013, complete with W-L records for every team.  That's dedication, folks.

- On Tuesday, Mike Ashmore of Thunder Thoughts revealed the Double-A Trenton rotation for this season. On paper it looks like it could be sneaky good, but I was bummed to not see Jose Ramirez included.

- Staying with the Thunder, Josh Norris of Minor Matters had the details on all the upgrades to the Thunder's stadium this season, both on the field and in the clubhouse.

- Craig Edwards of Pinstriped Bible commented on the added importance and added risk the Yankees are taking with CC Sabathia in the new MLB world where teams lock up their best young pitchers to big deal.

- Chad Jennings of LoHud had the full player-by-player breakdown of the Yankees' record-setting 2013 payroll.  Still a little mind bottling to think that's how much they're paying players when you see the current lineup on the field.

- On Wednesday, Mike Eder of IIATMS/TYA examined the schedule to show how the Yankees may not get hurt too much by having a weak right-handed hitting team early.

- Curtis Clark of Bronx Baseball Daily predicted good things for Kevin Youkilis in 2013, and had plenty of reasons to support the prediction.

- El duque of It Is High... made some counter-arguments to the widespread belief that Robinson Cano dumping Scott Boras automatically means he's going to re-sign with the Yankees.

- On Thursday, Mike Axisa of RAB commented on the early struggles of the top of the lineup, the struggles that surely impacted Joe's decision to move everybody else up on Thursday night.

- Bryan Van Dusen of The Greedy Pinstripes used some statistical analysis, both current and historical, to point out how stupid all the hand wringing was over the first two games.

- Hunter Farman of Yanks Go Yard mused on the increasingly negative atmosphere that exists in the new Yankee Stadium.

- SG of RLYW compared the current lineups with the projected lineups if everybody was healthy to see just how much offense the Yankees are missing right now.

- On Friday, fishjam25 of Yankees Fans Unite questioned Bahhston's logic in shifting against Robbie Cano.  When you look at the spray charts and Cano's career numbers going the other way, it's a fair question to ask.

- Egon Spengler of NoMaas presented their first new series recap of the season.  These will come in handy if you're ever out of town and need to catch up on what you missed.

Today's Friday Jam is "When The Levee Breaks" by Zeppelin.  This is always our go-to first jukebox song when my buddies from work and I go out drinking. Seven minutes gives you plenty of time to pick out the rest of your selections without having to rush, and this is easily one of the 3-5 best Zeppeling songs.  Remember, kids, even in something as trivial as bar music, strategy is the key.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

BREAKING NEWS: Eduardo Nunez Leaves Game After HBP In The Chest

I'd say April Fool's, but that would be neither timely nor funny.

Eduardo Nunez was just taken out of the game after apparently being hit by a pitch from Doug Fister in the chest.  Pretty much every beat writer with a Twitter account said he looked like he was in a tremendous amount of pain and he needed help getting off the field.  Jayson Nix was brought in to pinch run and now we get to wait around again for more injury updates.  Tough break for Nunez, who had gotten off to a pretty good start this season.  More on this story as it becomes available.

** UPDATE 2:35 PM- Via Bryan Hoch, Nunez's injury is being called a bruised right bicep.  X-rays were negative.  That's really good news considering the amount of pain he appeared to be in, so I would imagine this will be called a 'day-to-day' injury. **

On Early-Season Lineup Tinkering

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

When the lineup for last night's game was released, there were probably a few eyebrows that went up.  After just two games, one against a right-handed pitcher, Joe decided to change things up a bit and shuffle the deck against Ryan Dempster.  Gone were Ichiro or Eduardo Nunez from the 2-spot in the lineup, and instead Joe moved the middle of the batting order up a spot to hit Robinson Cano 2nd, Kevin Youkilis 3rd, Travis Hafner 4th, and Vernon Wells 5th.  With such an incredibly small sample size to evaluate and base lineup decisions on, a move like this in the third game of the regular season could have come across as one of desperation.  Considering the circumstances surrounding the roster right now, and the severely depleted amount of above-average hitters in the lineup, I actually thought it was pretty smart and a great example of playing the hand you're dealt.

Game 3 Wrap-Up: NYY 4 BOS 2

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Andy Pettitte has always had a reputation as being a stopper, a pitcher you could count on to turn in a good performance when your team needed a win.  The season was only two games old heading into last night, but the Yankees certainly could have used a win to get some positive vibes going into the weekend series against  Detroit and in typical Andy fashion, the old lefty gave them the good start they needed.

Game Notes:

- Pettitte got into a little trouble in the top of the 1st, putting 2 runners on base with singles and then throwing a wild pitch that he didn't cover the plate on.  Francisco Cervelli made a great play to retrieve the ball and tag Shane Victorino out at the plate, though, and no harm was done.

- With 2 outs in the bottom of the 2nd, the Yanks took the lead, their first since Game 5 of last year's ALDS, on Lyle Overbay's 2-run bloop single to left.  Credit Eduardo Nunez for his ground-rule double the AB before to put RISP.

- He's not known for his power, but Brett Gardner muscled a leadoff HR over the wall in right in the bottom of the 3rd to make it 3-0.

- A 3-run lead isn't insurmountable, but Pettitte made it stand up with some great work.  He gave up hits here and there, but always seemed in control and mixed his pitches beautifully to keep Bahhston off the board through 6.

- They finally struck in the top of the 7th on a Jackie Bradley, Jr. RBI double to make it 3-1.  Pettitte then turned around and worked a quick scoreless 8th to ensure no further damage.

- He also got picked up by another atypical power hitter in the bottom half of the 7th when Cervelli hit a bomb to left to re-extend the lead to 3 runs.

- Mo came on for the first time since the end of last April and locked down the win.  It didn't come without a run scored, but fuck it.  A win's a win.

2013 AB4AR MiL Season Preview: Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

While Double-A has a much sexier collection of prospects, the newly named Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are more than holding their own when it comes to quantity of prospect talent on their roster this season.  After being the bare bones level for most of 2012, SWB boasts a well-rounded collection of guys who could be breaking into the show sometime in the next year or so.  In fact, with the problems injuries and payroll crunches are taking on the Major League team this season, we could see a few guys from here in the Yankees' dugout in the near future.

WEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLL...

(Courtesy of MLB)

Real talk, I bet The Big Show would be a better option as a righty DH than Ben Francisco.

P.S.- Good to see the Yankees still had one of Cecil Fielder's old jerseys laying around in the locker room to give to Show.

2013 AB4AR MiL Season Preview: Double-A Trenton

If there's one MiL team to pay the most attention to this season, it's hands down the Double-A Trenton Thunder.  And it's not just because they have a badass name and logo, which they do.  This year's season-opening edition of the Thunder will be stacked with high-end prospect talent, both in the field and on the pitching mound.  There will be no less than eight top 20-30 organizational prospects on the roster to start this season, and that's not even counting the rehabbing Jose Ramirez, who will get some time in Extended ST to let a couple of small nagging injuries heal before joining the rotation.  Check out the rest of this All-Star collection after the jump.

Game 2 Wrap-Up: BOS 7 NYY 4

(Never a good sign.  Courtesy of the AP)

With a day to let the initial excitement and eventual disappointment of Opening Day settle down, the Yankees returned to the diamond last night for the second game of their season-opening series against Fraud Sawx Nation.  They had Hiroki Kuroda on the mound making his 2013 debut, the "better" version of their starting lineup on the field, and hit-or-miss right-hander Clay Buchholz as the opposing pitcher.  If there was anything that could have made the situation better to get a W, it would have involved a batting tee.  Unfortunately, that situation fell apart pretty quickly.

Game Notes:

- The weather wasn't kind (low-30s wind chill, 25 MPH winds), and Kuroda never looked comfortable with his grip or slider command.  He gave up a run on 3 hits in the top of the 1st, and then had to leave the game with 1 out in the 2nd after taking a line drive off his pitching hand and following up with 2 HBPs and a walk to force in another run.

- Cody Eppley relieved Kuroda, and got out of the 2nd with a well-timed double play ball, but Joe elected to go back to Eppley instead of Adam Warren to start the 3rd and Eppley put 4 more runs on the board before Joe finally pulled the plug.

- Down 6-0 early, the Yanks got on the board via a solo HR by Travis Hafner in the bottom of the 4th.  Good to know they still have a few healthy guys who can hit bombs.

- After that, Buchholz settled down and worked through the next 3 frames scoreless, including wiggling out of a 2-on, 1-out jam in the 7th.

- Nobody was expecting him to do much more than take one for the team, but Warren was actually very good in his 5.1 innings of work.  He allowed just 1 more run, got the game to the 9th without using up any major 'pen guys, and threw both his fastball and his changeup very well.

- Vernon Wells was the big offensive star of the night for New York, racking up 3 hits in 4 ABs.  His last one was a 3-run homer off former Yank Alfredo Aceves in the bottom of the 8th.  It was enough to make the game look respectable, but in the end the Yanks still came up short.

BREAKING NEWS: Kuroda Leaves In 2nd Inning With Apparent Hand Injury

It wasn't a good start and it wasn't a long start for Hiroki Kuroda tonight, who just left the game with 1 out in the top of the 2nd after taking a line drive off the fingertips on his pitching hand.  He reached out with that bare hand on a leadoff line drive up the middle, and after throwing a few warm-up pitches to test the hand, hit 2 batters and walked another to force in a run.  More on this story as it becomes available.  Obviously this is not good news for the Yankees.

** UPDATE 7:29 PM- Via Dan Barbarisi, the Yanks are calling Kuroda's injury a "right middle finger contusion."  X-rays still to come... **

** UPDATE 10:16 PM- X-rays came back negative and Joe told the media after the game that it's just a bruised middle finger.  I bet Kuroda misses his next start, but probably no more than that.  Definitely better than a break. **

How Does Brennan Boesch Fit Into This Team?

(Boesch's only Yankee highlight to date.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

There was a brief period of time after his signing on April 15th where things were looking pretty sweet for Brennan Boesch.  He had hooked on with a team in desperate need of help in the outfield, signed a guaranteed Major League deal with that team, and because of the circumstances surrounding the rest of the outfield competition, looked to be a lock for a starting spot in that team's outfield for at least the first month of the regular season.

Then Boesch missed a few games with a strained rib cage, watched as the Yankees traded for Vernon Wells and signed Lyle Overbay, and ended up being one of the final players selected for the Opening Day roster, now in the 4th outfielder spot instead of the starting lineup.  He was on the bench to start Monday's home opener as Joe elected to go with right-handed hitters Wells and Ben Francisco against southpaw Jon Lester, and there he stayed for the entirety of the game.  When Boston went to the bullpen and brought in a right-hander in the bottom of the 6th inning, it was Travis Hafner and Overbay who got the calls to be the lefty pinch hitters over Boesch, and they were the only lefty pinch hitters Joe used in the game's final 4 innings despite Boston using three more right-handed pitchers.

2013 AB4AR MiL Season Preview: High-A Tampa

Continuing our quick run up the MiL preview ladder, we move to High-A Tampa, where many of last year's top prospects made at least a quick stop on their 2012 journeys through the system.  Some of them have already moved on to the next level, some have stayed to start the 2013 season here, and some are making the jump up from Charleston after spending a full year last year in Low-A.  One thing that's for certain with this team- everybody knows who the top two players are.

Breaking Prospect News: Ty Hensley Out 2-3 Months After Hip Surgery

Well ain't it just Prospect Day here at AB4AR?  Too bad this post isn't of the positive variety.

George King of The Post is reporting that 2012 1st round draft pick Ty Hensley will have surgery today to fix a bone impingement in his right hip and is expected to miss 2-3 months recovering and rehabbing.  There were reports that Hensley was dealing with a pulled abdominal muscle early in Spring Training and as Mark Newman so plainly put it, "it turned out this was the cause."

Hensley, a top 10 Yankee prospect in pretty much every list out there (including the AB4AR Top 30) caused a bit of a stir last year after word came out of an "abnormality" being discovered in his pitching shoulder during a physical, although that turned out to be a non-issue.  This latest injury news will surely add concern about Hensley's ability to stay healthy long-term, but with him likely being targeted for another short-season league anyway in 2013 it's not the biggest loss in the world.  Assuming he doesn't suffer any setbacks, we should still be able to see him on a mound this year.

2013 AB4AR MiL Season Preview: Low-A Charleston

While the Major League boys resume their regular season activity tonight in the Bronx, we're still a day away from the Minor League season kicking off.  I meant to cover these previews over the weekend, but obviously that didn't happen.  With no game action to review from last night, now seems like as good a time as any to preview the four big MiL affiliates.  We'll start off this morning with Low-A Charleston, which has seen most of last year's big talent contingent graduate but still boasts a respectable group of prospects.

Robbie Cano Dumps Scott Boras, Signs With Hova

It's the R-O-C, bitches!

Well not exactly.  Technically Robinson Cano signed with Roc Nation Sports, which is supported by CAA Sports.  And technically it will be CAA Sports agent Brodie Van Wagenen who will handle the duties of negotiating Cano's new contract and not Jay-Z.  But it's still pretty cool.

As first reported by Buster Olney this morning, Cano decided to ditch Boras in favor of becoming the first official client of Roc Nation Sports, a new sports management and marketing firm owned by Jay-Z.  This comes as a pretty big surprise, as it was only recently that Cano signed on with Boras in what we all believed was a shrewd business move designed to guarantee himself the biggest and best deal possible when he hit the free agent market after this season.  Now, like Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez before him, Cano has kicked Boras to the curb to apparently take a more active approach in managing his career.

At face value, this looks like a major win for the Yankees.  Van Wagenen and CAA Sports currently have multiple MLB clients like Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Braun, and the recently re-upped Buster Posey, who all signed big deals to stay with their current teams before hitting the open market.  Cano choosing this path should greatly increase the chances that he re-signs with the Yankees and could increase the chance that he re-signs for a deal that is friendlier to the Yankees' payroll plans than any open market bidding war headed up by Boras would have been.  But there is always the chance that those things don't happen and until the ink is signed on a new contract nothing is a guarantee.  Still, Cash and the Yankee ownership group has to be happy with this news.  Now somebody hit the music!

Was CC's Pitch Mix Yesterday A Sign Of Anything?

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

If there's one dominant talking point from yesterday's game, it's easily CC Sabathia's subpar performance.  I talked about it a lot during the live blog yesterday and earlier this morning over at IIATMS/TYA, and I'm going to talk about it again right now.

My concern with CC yesterday has nothing to do with his fastball velocity or command, both of which were suspect and both of which were worse than they were at the end of 2012 according to Texas Leaguers.  I've grown accustomed to CC's slow April starts and was fully expecting to see him be a little behind where he usually is because of his offseason elbow surgery, the subsequent delay in the start of his offseason throwing program, and the extra special care the Yankee coaching staff took to limit his ST workload and exposure to AL East competition.  If we're sitting here two months from now talking about CC throwing high-80s heat, then I'll be worried.

My area of interested is in CC's pitch selection yesterday, specifically the use of his slider and changeup.  He was throwing a lot more changeups yesterday than I remember seeing from him, especially with 2 strikes, and I can't help but wonder if that was a coincidence or another example of his elbow/workload being protected.

Some Positive Off-The-Field News

(Coming back soon?  Courtesy of the AP)

The on-field storylines weren't all that positive after yesterday's season opener, but at least the Yankees got some good news off the field on the injury front.  In case you missed any of that:

Game 1 Wrap-Up: BOS 8 NYY 2

(Courtesy of the AP)

It's difficult to find too many positive things to say about yesterday's Opening Day loss.  All the negative things about this team were on display offensively and CC Sabathia, in his first start back from offseason elbow surgery, wasn't particularly sharp against the righty-heavy Bahhston lineup.  That being said, it was just 1 game out of 162 and there's a long way to go before anybody starts freaking out.  If you were unable to join the fun during yesterday's live blog, here's what you missed.

Game Notes:

- CC was his typical early April self yesterday.  His fastball velocity wasn't much, his location was inconsistent, and he wasn't able to make the few pitches he needed to limit damage.  A liner that glanced off Jayson Nix's glove and a few well-placed singles into the holes at short and second led to 4 Fraud Sawck runs in the 2nd, and that was all they would need.

- The offense did their best to chip in, making Jon Lester work in his 5 innings.  They put a runner on base in each of the first 4 innings, but it wasn't until Francisco Cervelli hit a 2-run single with 2 outs in the 4th that they got on the board.

- Sabathia settled down a bit through the 3rd and 4th innings, then got into trouble again in the 5th after giving up a double and a couple walks (one intentional).  He worked out of it and his day was over after 5 IP, 4 ER, and 102 pitches.

- The best chance the offense had was in the 7th, when both Cervelli and Brett Gardner reached with leadoff walks.  They stayed where they were, though, as Bahhston pitching mowed down Eduardo Nunez, Robinson Cano, and Kevin Youkilis in order to end the threat.

- Tough day for the Yankee bullpen.  David Phelps gave up a run on a hit and 2 walks, and Joba Chamberlain unraveled after not getting a close strike call and allowed 3 more runs on 3 hits and 2 more walks to put the game out of reach in the top of the 9th.