Most pre-season analyses indicated that the Yankees would probably be a somewhat mediocre team this season and that a lot would have to go right (e.g., no injuries to key players) for them to make the playoffs. However, the team that was fielded on opening day looked much worse than mediocre. Tanaka's problems have been well documented, but where was the offense? They could only muster three hits, and if Gardner hadn't homered they would have been shut out. Ellsbury, Headley, Drew, Texeira, Gregorious, and Beltran all went hitless. After last season's poor offensive performance, it's beginning to look like this year might even be worse. Maybe it's time to start rooting for the Mets. The "Sultan of Swat," the "Iron Horse,' and the Yankee Clipper" are not happy.
Could someone please help me? I read in Tyler Kepner's column today that A-Rod has a "built-in fire alarm" in his "corner locker." Does anyone know why he has this? Is he worried that some teammate will give him a hotfoot? I have written to Mr. Kepner for enlightenment but so far have not heard back. Perhaps someone with "inside" Yankee knowledge could help me. Thanks!
It's a corner locker, Mac, and it just happens to be where the fire alarm is located. The alarm is fairly high and built into the wood in the side paneling of the locker.
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Thanks. I was hoping it was something peculiar to A-Rod's situation, like the Yankees wanting to protect their most "valuable" property.
A-Rod has all that great natural talent, the year off may not hinder him from having a good comeback year. And the other teams haven't seen Dellin Betances yet. Just get a lead after 7 innings and bring Betances in from the bullpen. That sounds like a winning strategy.
Tanaka is just another example of The Yankees wasting money. He will not prove to be the product we thought we bought. I knew that before the ink was dry.
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I think he was exactly the product "we" thought we bought, but got injured. Until that point he was arguably the best pitcher in the American League.
What is the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Once again the Yankees have no credible pitching at all but somehow think think they're going to win games? How? By scoring lots of runs. Well that aint gonna happen. I'll stick to watching premier league soccer. More exciting than watching this collection of mediocre has beens.
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Last year was goodbye Jeter year. This year is welcome back A-rod year. What will next year be? Hopefully, farewell Brian Cashman year. Or maybe the young Steinbrenners will change Yankee uniforms to horizontal stripes.
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This whole mess is Steinbrenner's legacy.
If Cashman cannot learn, the franchise will collapse.
If Cashman cannot learn, the franchise will collapse.
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Well, at least Russell Martin can now say he got one clutch hit in Yankee Stadium in his lifetime.
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Yankees lose 6-1, Red Sox win 8-0. 161 more like that, and it will be a perfect season.
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And if you won it all bean town , it would give you how many world championships ? Please.
9 overall, 2 in the last 3 years, 3 in the last 9 years. Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Casey Stengel, and all the saints in Bankees heaven won't help you win any more World Series.
Please.
Please.
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As much as Yankee$ fans worry over Tanaka, this was the as yet intact lineup producing 3 hits and 7 baserunners.
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Hey come on! First game of 162 people. Tanaka will do OK, maybe 15 wins, the new kid Didi will hit enough, but true theiy will finish 3rd in the AL East behind Baltimore and Boston who have more talent at bat, in the filed and on the mound. A-Rod, well he can hit good enough for .300 and go 32 HR at DH but cannot carry the whole load. Let's play two!
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I didn't see the game, but Jeter's replacement tried to steal third when they were down by 5 or 6 runs? What? And with two outs? What was Gerardi doing with this guy in spring training, drinking mai tais? Learn the basics--Steinbrenner would have sent him to the minors before he even got back to the dugout. Ooo-boy!
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This is what the Yankees are. The rotation is not major league quality and they don't own a bat. If they can win by catching and throwing they have a chance. Don't bet on it. This is baseball at its boring worst.
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Tanaka is a young man. I hope that the Yanks & Tanaka are not gambling with his future by trotting him out there with a bad elbow ligament. They can be repaired and he can have that marvelous career he dpseemed destined for, but they need to avoid damaging his arm badly. His is so talented; I hope for the best.
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I have a feeling that MLB's infatuation with Japanese pitchers was a short lived thing, It's pretty obvious they can't take the grind of a major league season. I would say the over and under for when Tanaka gets Tommy John is Memorial day.
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Forget the rest of MLB. Just hope that the Yankees' infatuation with Japanese pitchers is short-lived. The fact that they pitch on a week's rest in Japan makes it very difficult for their pitchers to cope with the Major Leagues' 162-game grind. Let the other 29 non-Yankee teams struggle with them, so Yankee fans can laugh.
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"The Yankees’ quiet bats might be easily explained by the cool April weather..."
Try again. It was 60+ degrees at game time.
Try again. It was 60+ degrees at game time.
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It's only game 1 of 162 games - let's not get our knickers all in a twist. Sure, chances are they won't make the postseason but c'mon guys, take it easy.
Raise your hands if you thought the Yankees were going to make the postseason & A-Rod will not be involved in some controversy. No hands, I thought so!
Raise your hands if you thought the Yankees were going to make the postseason & A-Rod will not be involved in some controversy. No hands, I thought so!
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Actually, the hit Alex was credited with was, as "The Hawk" Ken Harrelson would say, "a can of corn," that Pompey, the Jays rookie center fielder misplayed. Once the Jays starting laying of Tanaka's splitter, he wasn't going to beat them with his not so fast, fastball. He's in for a tough year.
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Are you serious? Gregorius tried to steal third with two outs, not to mention the game on the line? I don't think Jeter got caught stealing third with zero or two outs in 19 years. I know it's not fair to make comparisons but I'm a little puzzled by the way the media has positioned this kid as the future Yankee shortstop. He's a stop-gap solution, at best, who will likely be platooned whenever Ryan is healthy. I suspect that the Yankees will probably trot out a bushel of shortstops over the next few years, similar to the instability that existed between third and second for about 20 years before Jeter got there.
Game on the line? Trying to steal 3rd in that situation (with a power hitter at bat) was an inexplicable, bonehead play - but they were down 5 runs with 2 out in the bottom of the 8th. And BTW, the guy at the plate when he was thrown out went 0fer today.
Fearless prediction: Tanaka will have three or four more bad outings and then he'll be off for surgery. Why bother to pretend that anyone who pitches the way he does can manage to do so with the arm he was born with?
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The NY Times is such a balanced paper, EXCEPT when it comes to Mets and that other NY team.
Come on NY Times, THE METS WON TODAY! Get off the tired team from the Bronx and PayRod and talk about the up and coming NY Team!
Come on NY Times, THE METS WON TODAY! Get off the tired team from the Bronx and PayRod and talk about the up and coming NY Team!
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These are NYC teams. Every one has a beat writer, and so every game gets covered in an article. How do you not know that?
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Gotta walk the walk first.
We'll check back with the Mets at the all star break.
We'll check back with the Mets at the all star break.
One more Tommy-John-in-waiting?
No elbow concern abating?
The opening fray
Brought concern to stay,
This uncertainty we're hating.
No elbow concern abating?
The opening fray
Brought concern to stay,
This uncertainty we're hating.
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Hey Lary,
It's quite remarkable how you can-impromptu-write poem for any subject!
That's a true gift indeed.
Keep it going
It's quite remarkable how you can-impromptu-write poem for any subject!
That's a true gift indeed.
Keep it going
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As usual, Larry does it better than anybody.
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Mets win, Red Sox win, Yankees lose. WFAN will be a good listen tonight.
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It's going to be a long season. The Yankees showed their last-place form today.
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gonna be a long season
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The fans are smart. They know that the Yankees will need Rodriguez if they want to avoid what used to be called the second division. The only race the Yankees will be in is for the cellar.
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Speaking as a Barry Bonds fan and a Giants ticket holder, let me sat that it is a disgrace to the Yankees have the Lance Armstrong of baseball return to the team. We here in the Bay Area would NEVER do that!
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Maybe Bonds and A-Rod will go to Cooperstown together!
Well Mr. Isaac, it's called a contract. Don't think the Yankees had too much of a choice here. Do you actually believe the SF Giants would not have honored a contract with Mr. Bonds had they been in a similar situation? Oh, by the way, your Giants awarded Melky Cabrera a WS ring even though he was suspended for using PED's.
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Apparently Yankees fans will root for anything. If the team wasn't saddled with that insane contract does anyone think this bum would still be in baseball? Can't wait til he shows up in Seattle.
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Alex was greeted enthusiastically. That's how much the New York fans know baseball or sports at all. It seems over and over again how they cheer the bad guys. This is an unethical city where only the poor, or the working class acts according to the truth. He cheated not once, not twice, but three times, and I'm not considering 2007 when he went crazy with the bat and no one questioned him then, and as to The New York Times? It brought Alex's troubles with drugs to the fans, but I remember a New York Times article ,back in 2005 or 2006 where they mentioned that He, Alex, wasn't alone, that there were 103 other players that had cheated the system. The New York Times never published the names of those players. They protected them, I haven't forgotten, and some of those players are soon to become candidates for the Hall of Fame. Who ever wrote that article then will keep his mouth shut when the time comes for some of those players to be inducted into the hall of fame. And The New York Times will honor their Silence.
The New York times made a lot of noise then, just like the lion in The Wizard of Oz, and then walked away with the tail between its legs. shame on you, New York Times.
The New York times made a lot of noise then, just like the lion in The Wizard of Oz, and then walked away with the tail between its legs. shame on you, New York Times.
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Nice indictment of a City of 9 million people based on the reception of 50K people at a baseball game. I don't really see rooting for ARod as a character flaw, but as a expression of the passion the city has for its sports teams, which I don't expect someone from Florida to understand. ARod's a complete screw up, but as long as he's wearing pinstripes, I hope he hits a home run every time he steps to the plate. I don't expect other fans to cheer for him. I know I wouldn't if he was on another team. But don't condemn an entire City for putting the interests of a beloved team ahead of one individual.
But, again, i wouldn't expect the rest of the country to understand that sort of passion.
And can you get on point with your condemnation of NYC? I thought we were a bunch of liberal do-gooder who are destroying the country. I'm shocked to find out were also unethical in the way we root for our sports teams.
But, again, i wouldn't expect the rest of the country to understand that sort of passion.
And can you get on point with your condemnation of NYC? I thought we were a bunch of liberal do-gooder who are destroying the country. I'm shocked to find out were also unethical in the way we root for our sports teams.
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@Wilfred Alvelo: Hey watch what you say about NYC! First off, a lot of us here root for the Mets, not the Yanks. Secondly, we're not living in the state that gave America President Dubya, let alone such other working-class heroes as brother Jeb, Marco Rubio or your current governor.
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No, Mattingly, I think you've misunderstood WA's argument! Apparently all of the poor and working class people are OK; it is only the city overall that is unethical. As a middle-class New Yorker, let me apologize right now to the upstanding people of Florida for my inherent lack of morals.
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I don't care how many hits or homers - to this Yankee fan A-Rod is still a liar, a cheater and a bum. Should have been banned for life.
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a-rod? oh, I thought you were talking about Cashman !
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I don't have any expectations for Cashman. Has any one check on his record lately. Back in 96 and 97 he had nothing to do with the team. Since then three world series championships in 17 years. Is that a good legacy. If I were him I would be the first to resign. He should learn from Boston and San Francisco. You don't need super mega stars to get to the post season. When is he going to learn that. Any man in the street, any common man, knows better. It is time the Yankees look ahead and turn the page on this guy.
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First of all, learn how to count: it's four championships since 1997. That's 24% of the championships over that span (1998-2014) even though the Yankees are only 3% of the teams in MLB (1 out of 30). Not too shabby!
Second, are you saying that he should learn from teams that have won fewer championships? Because Boston and San Fran have each won only three.
Second, are you saying that he should learn from teams that have won fewer championships? Because Boston and San Fran have each won only three.
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@Gert: Or, you could just say one championship this millennium (or century, more kindly), while SF and Boston have three apiece and St. Loo has two.
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"Greeted Enthusiastically"
Oh yeah...really...by who?
What exactly are they "greeting" him for?
For the championships he won for the Yanks?
Or for the shame and disgrace he brought not only upon himself, but on the whole Yankees org?
Greeted Enthusiastically....
Spare me ,please!
Oh yeah...really...by who?
What exactly are they "greeting" him for?
For the championships he won for the Yanks?
Or for the shame and disgrace he brought not only upon himself, but on the whole Yankees org?
Greeted Enthusiastically....
Spare me ,please!
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I'm beginning to think that at least part of Jeter's decision to retire had to do with not being any part of the team that allowed #13 back
The fans who "greeted him enthusiastically" would undoubtedly clap for OJ if he returned
- a lifelong Yankee fan who will not return to the Stadium until #13 is gone
The fans who "greeted him enthusiastically" would undoubtedly clap for OJ if he returned
- a lifelong Yankee fan who will not return to the Stadium until #13 is gone
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He got the most cheers out of anyone on the team by far.
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let's move on America and enjoy baseball again!
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