The Yankees Just wrapped up one of the most encouraging season openers that I could have dreamed for. If your asking yourself why, well then let me explain.
Over the past few years , I think you could make the case that Torre was the kind of manager that just sat back and waited for the "3 run homer" . This mentality wasn't entirely his fault. The Yankees Brass decided that they would like to go with " The Allstar Team " rather than a really good baseball team. I think you could make Giambi the poster boy for this movement.
Torre got so used to the big boppers winning games for him , his managerial abilities and tactics took a back seat then eventually began to deteriorate. This kind of outlook could work in the regular season. But in the Post season , it just doesn't make the cut.
As we enter the "new" Joe era, changes have already begun to take place. It all started with spring training. Where players ( even the veterans ) took place in hardcore workout regimes and actually did break a sweat. Girardi implemented the small ball style of play which is very beneficial in one run games ( Playoff games ).
Usually when these kind of reports take place , its all a bunch of bull crap. Once the season starts players revert back to their old ways and the whole spring training shpeel is up.
But this year even though its only 3 games in , all arrows are pointing that they actually mean business.
In game one , In a solid pitching match up between (unbelievably underrated Wang vs the heralded Doc Haliday) proved to be as good as advertised. Wang kept the ball low, and the only mistakes he made were low in the zone, which is a great sign. The yanks struck early and wasted no time to get on the board.
With the combination of a solid start from Wang and great relief from a back end of a bullpen that can go up against just about anybody and on plus of that we get timeley hitting from the Fielding star of the game Melky, with a shot that barley cleared the fence . That was the recipe for a victory and will be a recipe for success throughout the season.
I was extremely giddy when the opener came to a close.
Game two, The moose was as loose as your gonna see him in his old age.
I'll take that kind of performance from the moose every start of the year. Bottom line is, Mussina is a pretty good 4Th or 5Th starter. If he gets the run support he eventually will get with the bombers he should win at least 10 games this season. And I'm fine with that. In the other dugout was a Blue Jays club finally watching the huge contract that they threw at Burnett pay off. I think Burnett will finally have the season that everybody is waiting for and he will actually stay on the field and make at least 30 starts. Burnett simply out pitched the Moose, simple as that.
Game three, was a text book Yankee win.
I don't know how Hughes was baffling hitters with an 89 mph fastball . Lets just hope that it will get faster because sooner or later in this league that will get hit. But other than that I have zero complaints. His breaking stuff was downright filthy and he got the strikeout when it was needed. Another encouraging sign was Billy Traber striking out a tough hitter in Overbay then Bruney shutting the door in the 7Th, this made Girardi's bullpen final cuts out spring look like all the right decisions . I know its extremely early, but its very important for this young team to have a good first month. Confidence is a big factor here. We can not under any circumstances have a start like we had last season and expect to over come it.
Girardi's mindset of small ball won us this series. This is a great sign for the Yankees and the right way to win one run games. I'm pretty sure the Yankees will improve upon last years bellow .500 record in one run games and Girardi is the sole reason.
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