Yankees vs. Red Sox- Series Recap

Game 1: An embarrassing debacle of a game for the Yankees. The Big Unit was useless again, A-Rod was his typical "un"-clutch, error-prone-in-a-tight-spot self, and who was out "playing" right field? Melky Cabrera (Shudders). Game 2: Quite the opposite of Tuesday night's game. The Yankees and Mike Mussina got off to a shaky start after the Moose surrendered a two-run homerun to- who else? - Big Papi in the first and a solo shot to Mike Lowell the next inning. With Curt Schilling on the mound, things were not looking up for the Yanks. However, Jason Giambi continued his homerun tear with a two-run shot after Bernie Williams drove in a run with a sac fly and the score was tied 3-3; suddenly, it was a whole new ballgame. Mussina bore down and ended up with another excellent outing going 6 2/3 innings and surrendering only the 3 early runs. Alex Rodriguez, whose two errors the night before had greatly upset George Steinbrenner, ended up hitting a solo homerun off Schilling to break the tie, and Jorge Posada hit a two-run homer later in the inning to provide all the run support Mussina and the bullpen needed. I was lucky enough to witness the game in person, and it was a typically exciting and atmospheric event like no other. Mike Mussina won his 230th career game and became the first American League pitcher to win 6 games, taking his record to 6-1 on the year with a 2.56 ERA, good for 3rd in the A.L.Game 3: The Yankees lose the game, lose the series, lose first place, and lose their left-fielder for the foreseeable future. Terrible, just terrible. Hideki Matsui will undergo surgery on his fractured wrist tomorrow morning after injuring himself in the first inning of the Yankees 5-3 loss to the Red Sox and effectively ending his consecutive game streak that dates back to his days with the Yomiuri Giants. Don't be shocked to see someone like Ken Griffey, Jr. sporting the pinstripes in left field sometime in the near future...

Lara*

So Much For The "Ace" Status...

The Big Unit has an ERA of 8.59 in his last two starts, yet his record stands at 2-0 during that period of time. Overall, Randy Johnson is 5-2 with a 5.02 ERA. That just goes to show the amount of run support Johnson has been given despite his less-than-stellar pitching performances.

But hey, a win's a win, right?

The New York Yankees remain tied for first place in the American League East with (who else?) the Boston Red Sox. Tonight's win brings the Bombers' season record to 15-11.

The true ace of the pitching staff thus far, Mike Mussina (4-1, 2.31), starts tomorrow night against Vicente Padilla and the hard-hitting Texas Rangers.

Tonight's Game- PATHETIC

New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

NYY: Randy Johnson (1-0, 2.40)

LAA: Ervin Santana (1-0, 1.59)

A Night of Wasted Opportunities

Yankees 2, Angels 3

So, the Yankees lost again, bringing the streak to four losses in a row. Johnson pitched well, allowing 3 runs in 8 innings and striking out 8; the biggest mistake of the night was the two-run triple given up to Adam Kennedy in the 5th. The Yankee offense was ridiculously unproductive again (4 for 30 with RISP over the past four games), consisting entirely of Derek Jeter's first inning solo homerun and Hideki Matsui's solo shot in the 9th off of Francisco Rodriguez. Ervin Santana did pitch well, but the Yankees' lack of production with runners on helped him out a great deal. Looks like the Angels continue to own the Yankees, and that Ameriquest Field will remain Derek Jeter's own personal "House of Horrors," at least for the time being.

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It doesn't get any easier tomorrow, when Mike Mussina takes on the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner and Angels' ace, Bartolo Colon.

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Is there a silver lining to this horrible start? Well, if you're really depressed about this already (which you shouldn't be, by the way- at least not yet!), keep in mind that the last time the Yankees started a season 1-4 (and opened on the West Coast), they ended the season with a record of 125-50. The year, of course, was 1998. This current Yankees team is very different, but it just goes to show that you can't predict a season based on only 5 games. The offense will turn around and wake-up eventually; let's just hope it's sooner rather than later, before the Yanks bury themselves too deeply.

Lara*

Yankees Win, The-e-e-e Yankees Win!

New York Yankees 15

Oakland Athletics 2

Win: Randy Johnson (1-0)

Loss: Barry Zito (0-1)

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Player(s) of the Game: Randy Johnson- 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 3 K

Hideki Matsui- 4 for 4, 3-Run Homerun, 4 RBI, 2 BB

Play of the Game: Alex Rodriguez's 12th Career Grand Slam (430th of Career, 1 HR shy of Thome and Ripken)

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Worth Mentioning:

*Alex Rodriguez is only the fourth Yankee to hit an Opening Day Grand Slam. He joins Russ Derry (1985), Bobby Murcer (1981), and Alfonso Soriano (2003)

* Both starting pitchers, Randy Johnson and Barry Zito, were the 2002 Cy Young Award winners in their respective leagues

* Randy Johnson started his 14th Opening Day and won the start for the 7th time in his career

* The 15 runs the Yankees scored ties for the most runs ever scored on the road on Opening Day

* Barry Zito's outing was the shortest of his career- He completed only 1 1/3 innings, giving up 7 ER

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Anyone else totally worried that the Yanks won't have nearly enough offense this season? If Opening Day is any indication of things to come, we're in for quite a ride.

Lara*