The Yankee Clipper: The Quest for 108 (and 28)

I didn't pick 108 just because it's a LOST number. I picked it because it would be the win total if the Yankees continue to win 2 out of every 3 games this season. 108-54. Now while I don't think the Yankees will win every series for the rest of the year (nor is every series 3 games) and while I don't put a lot of stock into games that occur before Memorial Day, it is big to take series in April against the Angels, Red Sox, and Rays who may be the top 3 teams besides the Yankees in the American League (definitely up for debate, but arguable). Wins now help out when the inevitable slumps happen later. By the aforementioned Memorial Day, the Yankees will have probably played every single contender in the American League--and some more than once. So while I don't put a lot of stock into early season success propelling a team to the playoffs, this is one case where early season failures could definitely keep the Yankees out. Good start so far. Now to the list on the week the Yankees got their rings (picture to the right from the Daily News article)

1. Stop booing Javy...for now. It's been two series since we've done a Yankee Clipper and in that time, we've seen only two losses, both by Javier Vazquez. During the last one (in Yankee Stadium), Vazquez was mercilessly booed. While I'm a big supporter of "you paid for your ticket, you can boo who you want" (I did it to A-Rod at times), I think this is quite unwarranted and, maybe a little classless. We just won a World Series, people. Vazquez has been back for only a few months. Vazquez's first stint in the Bronx featured him having a great first half and then getting injured. Instead of "pulling a Carl Pavano", he pitched through it. The results weren't pretty (and we can argue about whether he's just as guilty for pitching through the pain) and his part in the Game 7 collapse leaves a scar on a lot of us. But give the guy a break. Booing him this early into his 2nd Yankee go-around won't help the cause at all. I felt this with Jose Contreras, Jeff Weaver and some of the other fragile personalities who got booed in the Bronx--just cheer the heck out of the guy for a few months and see what that does. Especially if you're going to give a standing ovation to Hideki Matsui after he hits a home run. I appreciate what the guy did in Pinstripes, but I reserve my standing Os for those wearing Pinstripes--or at least those who spent more than 6 years here. Let's not confuse this guy for Don Mattingly.
2. I was never a fan of the move, but I think that Robinson Cano may fit fine into the 5th slot in the lineup. As Paul mentioned to me today, this is a turn around from my previous stance on Cano. There are some guys that can't hack it with runners on base and there are some that just seem like they can't hack it because of bad luck. I was worried that Cano fell into the latter category and his unusually low BAbip made me feel that maybe last year's failures were a fluke. I'm still not convinced, but with Jorge Posada the only other viable option, I'm OK with Robby. As Chad Jennings writes, he's been terrific in that spot. He's batting .395 with a 1.216 OPS. But here's my reason to be concerned: Robinson is not a patient hitter by any means. Although he's shown a slight uptick in pitches per PA (up to 3.43 this season), he has a grand total of one walk. There may be times where we'll miss Hideki Matsui or Jorge Posada in that spot when we need a grind-it-out RBI AB, but I think overall Cano may be fine. Though I want to reserve judgment until he's played a bit more
   
3. Speaking of Robinson, last night's tribute to Jackie Robinson was done really nicely by the Yankees. They had Jackie's widow, Rachel, at the game and they feature one of the highest concentrations of African Americans in the game on the Yankees team from CC Sabathia to Randy Winn to (half of) Derek Jeter to Curtis Granderson to Marcus Thames. And Randy Winn got the start last night, Marcus Thames added a few hits, Derek Jeter hit a home run and Granderson hit two triples. Robinson Cano (named after Jackie Robinson) was the star of the game with two home runs and the last remaining 42 in the game--Mariano Rivera, who is classy as always--closed it all out. Quite a fitting job done by the Yankees.
4. It's déjà vu all over again: Mark Teixeira is cold as a cucumber in April. I mean cold. He's had exactly ONE game he's gotten a hit the entire season. That's it. He got 3 hits in the Yankees 10-0 win against Tampa on 4/10 and other than that, he's put up zeros. But, as usual, he's shown a good eye at the plate, drawing 10 walks (3rd in the AL) and he's playing very good defense at first. But the dude's gotta learn how to get off to a faster start. Somehow. Meanwhile, we're all waiting for Tex.
5. Lastly, I'm really happy for Phil Hughes. He looked very good last night, earning his first win in his first start of the season. My preference of Joba over Hughes had less to do with disliking Hughes and more with the Joba situation. But Hughes came through with a great pitching performance (and Joba wasn't bad himself). Hopefully he keeps this up and ful-phils the "Phil Franchise" nickname given to him in the minors. Although the walks were high, he may have been squeezed a bit. If Hughes is good, the Yankees go to having one of the best rotations in baseball with 5 solid starters, as HardballTalk's Craig Calcaterra writes. It's just too bad that he won't be able to throw 200+ innings...

6-3 to start the season. Every hitter except for Gardner, A-Rod and Tex off to really hot starts. The pitching really showing good form for early on in a season. And a weekend series with Texas (and the first week MVP, Nelson Cruz) in the horizon. Three series, three wins. Let's keep it up, boys! The quest for 28 continues