Yankee Blogosphere Linkapalooza For The Week That Was (March 12-18)

Another week, another batch of success for the Bombers this week.  Home openers were played, rings were passed out, old friends returned home, pitchers pitched well (except Vazquez), and leads were taken in the division.  All of this while the Red Sox new commitment to pitching and defense worked to the tune of 4 consecutive losses.  With the season fully in gear now, most sites have shifted their focus more to game-by-game coverage, but there were still some good nuggets outside of the daily grind out there.

- 6 Pound 8 Ounce Baby Joba has some lessons learned from the first 2 weeks of the season.

- Rob from Bronx Basebally Daily dishes a dose of reality about Javy Vazquez to fans.  I agree with Rob's point that you can't expect Cy Young-caliber performances from Vazquez every night, but I also still say that and 0-2 record with an ERA of almost 10 and no confidence in your fastball isn't exactly quality 4th starter material either.

- Joe Pawlikowski from River Ave. Blues comments on the Yanks' hot start this season and how it compares to slow starts from the recent past.  As Joe states, the hot start means little in terms of predicting long-term success over a 6-month season, but it's still something you like to see as a fan, especially given the questions that came with the off-season moves.

- Steve S. from The Yankee U discusses Brett Gardner's added value that doesn't show up in the box score.  As a staunch Gardner supporter, I'm picking up what Steve is putting down here.  Get Gardy more at-bats!!

- Steve at TYU also has a great personal piece on his first Yankee memory.  I think for me, the first significant memory would be watching Game 6 of the 1996 World Series.  I had watched the series since it started, but as nothing more than a casual fan and 11-year-old kid.  By the time Game 6 came around, something inside me made me realize how important a game it was and I remember sitting down and watching that game from start to finish and feeling nervous about the outcome right until Charlie Hayes secured the catch in foul ground to clinch the win.  I would have to point to that moment as the beginning of my career as a "serious" Yankee fan and it was nice to read Steve's article and think back to that night.

- With each game being analyzed inside, outside, and backwards by the major blogs in the 'sphere, it's once again worth linking to LoHud,  Fack Youk, and River Ave. Blues, the best of the best when it comes to game coverage.

That's it for this week's batch.  A mini-palooza I'll admit, but still a good one.  Now it's back to the couch to check out the NBA Playoffs and see if I can manage to stay hooked to a full game before switching over to "American Gangster" or some FX reruns.