Notes from Game 1

 I am still not a fan of him and I still think that he has more value on the bench than in the lineup. But he played a good game last night. Would have rather had him on the bench last night to PR for NJ instead Winn.

A loss is a loss and we should never accept it. CC looked good but Joe stayed with him too long. As for the rest, we’ll see how things go. Right now, I feel lousy.

To me the Yanks lost that game, the red sox didnt win it, Again the middle relief let us down,when you put 7 runs up that needs to be a win, that being said I think we have a strong line up. I also think the red sox line up will fade as the season goes on.

Man, looked at the box but didn’t see an official time. Had to go over the play-by-play for that one as I was sawing logs well before the finish.

We all have known for years that Jorge can’t catch, I also think he’s even worse at calling pitches, sure did look good with the stick though. Seems like a tough call for Joe and most of the bloggers, but I’d give up his bat and wonderful baserunning skills for any .200 hitter who can catch and call a good game. Yanks are gonna score. with or without him, but they are gonna give up a lot of runs without an adequate backstop.

Don’t think we learned anything new, we already knew that Jorge can’t catch but still hasn’t lost the swing, Park is the last middle reliever on this team and hopefully won’t be called on too often, Jete just gets more hits (Tied Appling for 48th all-time), NJ got on twice, Gardner’s assets do not include power or throwing arm, and Grandy is a talented young player who’s more of all-or-nothing, he needs to learn how to hit/ drive in runners from third, etc. Didn’t see but I can only assume from the box and the # of pitches that Jaba was less than stellar.

WTF Joe? Did Robertson overdo it by throwing 6 pitches? WTF Joe? Chan Ho???? WTF? We all know Ho’s the last middle reliever on this roster and he’s only in NY ‘cuz the Yanks are worried that Melancon won’t get the consistent work in that role. I’m all for keeping your bullpen rested, but 6 pitches? Even 1 more out from Robertson, 1 from Marte, 4 from Jaba and you get to Mo. This loss is squarely on Girardi. Yanks are likely to win despite poor management, but up 5-1 it’s also time to pull Jorge ASAP. That’ll require a third catcher on the bench, Montero of course as he can handle that role and the Marcus Thames role. Who says he needs to be at AAA “learning” to catch? Why don’t they just work on his catching before games when all the 35-something Yanks are doing their water aerobics? He’s 20, I don’t think practicing baseball will tire him out??? Girardi scoreboard…he’s one full game behind where he should be.

It’s only one game and only one loss, BUT, here is my take and some early grading on a few.
Grade “F”. CC blows a 4 run lead but he will be fine. I get tired of hearing though, he’s a late starter. That’s BS. That’s what spring training is for. To get ready.

Grade “F-” . Bullpen. They are really scary.

Grade “F”. Cano. A great player with all the talent in the world but the same lazyass as always. Last night he hit a line drive over the rightfielder’s head, off the wall, and was “held” to a single. Why? Because he watched the ball and started trotting to first base instead of hustling. Any kind of a bobble, misplay, whatever, and he had an easy double.. Even the announcers were all over him for about 10 minutes. He did that all last year. Why does he do it? Because Girardi let’s him get away with it. He is the ONLY Yankee that doesn’t hustle. I’m sick of his attitude.

Grade “F”. Posada. He is a defensive liability and showed it last night and why he will cost the Yankees wins this year. He let in the game winning run because he simply couldn’t catch a chest high fast ball. No excuses. Offensively, grade “A”. He should be a permanent DH and they never should have let Molina go.

Grade “F”. Girardi. How many relievers did he use last night, 4, 5, 6? I lost count. Last year Joba was on a pitch count. Now it looks like every reliever is on a pitch count. And, he either can’t, or has no interest, in making Cano hustle.

IMO, everyone else was pretty much right on and I think Granderson had a good opener. First time in pinstripes, season opener, in NY, good job. And Chan ho Park? He doesn’t even look like a Yankee.
These are just 1st game comments and really no big deal. Just some simple observations. However, what I do see as problems are Girardi, the chip on Cano’s shoulder, and I’ll take a wait and see attitude with the bullpen. Trust me. I love the Yankees and have been a fan for over 50 years and always will be. I’ll tell you this. Some of you probably never saw Billy Martin but he NEVER would have put up with Cano’s bullsh-t. He even took Reggie Jackson out of right field in the middle of an inning for not hustling on the prior play! That’s a little over the top but it’s true.