After last night, Mark Teixeira now has four home runs in the first 5 games of the 2011 season. In 2009, it took him until May 4th to hit his 4th and 5th homers, smashing two in a loss to the Red Sox. In 2010, it took him until May 8th, when he slugged three in one night at Boston, bringing his total to five. With the Yankees traveling to Fenway Park this weekend, I can't help but wonder if history will repeat itself.
Alex Rodriguez currently has 1,835 RBI's, tied with Rafael Palmeiro for 15th on the all time list. If A-Rod stays healthy all season, he has a shot at passing Stan "The Man" Musial to claim the number six spot his own. Along the way, he'll be passing some of the greatest players in baseball history: Ken Griffey Jr., Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Mel Ott, Willie Mays, Eddie Murray, Jimmie Foxx, and Ty Cobb.
A certain four-letter network says Rafael Soriano and Mariano Rivera need a nickname. A quick scroll through the comments showed one that I liked: Fire and Ice. Soriano pitches with passion, and Mo is cool, calm and collected on the mound, ice flowing through his veins. What can you guys come up with?
That same four-letter network recently made their 2011 World Series predictions. Thirty three of the forty five writers picked the Red Sox to win it all. However, after getting swept out of Arlington, the Red Sox opened ESPN's Power Rankings at number 7. None of the writers picked the Yankees to win the World Series, so its only fitting that the Yanks opened those rankings at number 1. Wagoners will wagon, folks.
On another note, there have been a lot of questions about Joe Girardi's decisions during last night's game. I'm not really sure what to make of this:
With that four-run lead, Joe Girardi said he never considered bringing in [David] Robertson, who had been warming up an inning earlier, to start the eighth. Doing so, Girardi suggested, would have trivialized Soriano's presence.
Trivialized Soriano's presence? I'm sorry, Joe, but I don't buy that. What about Soriano's "presence" would be "trivialized?" Soriano's role would not seem less important if he wasn't brought in to start the eighth. If anything, declining to bring him in to start the eighth says something about his role in that you're saving him for a more crucial situation.
And finally, Bleacher Report. Sigh. Are we seriously still talking about the relationship between Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez? Neither is a protagonist. Neither is an antagonist. They are teammates. Give it a rest.
Be sure to come back to Pinstripe Alley later in the morning for jscape's post on "Girardi's Binder."