26rings

Emotions were running high in the Bronx today, for a variety of reasons. Before the game, the team honored Cory Lidle and Hank Bauer, and welcomed back Bobby Mercer, who is fighting cancer. It's been 25 years since the Yanks lost an opening day game in the Bronx, and today that streak was extended at least one more year. The Bombers started off their season on the right foot today, beating the Devil Rays 9-5. Bernie Williams called Joe Torre and wished him well a few hours before the start of the game, and he got his wish. Pavano was named the starter, and showed some encouraging signs on the mound today. You may not realize it was a successful outing if you simply read the box score, but Pavano didn't allow an earned run until the 5th inning, when he struggled and was eventually pulled. Jeter came through in the clutch, with a bases loaded single. But the most interesting story of the day has to be A-Rod. It's a given at this point, that the Alex is going to play under a microscope for the entire season. Every swing, every word and every ground ball to third will be thoroughly analyzed for at least the next 161 games. He started the game with a dropped foul ball in the top of the first. The batter, Ty Wigginton, eventually grounded out, so there was no damage done. He then came up to bat in the bottom of the first, with one out and two on and struck out. The entire season was exactly one inning old, and it looked like A-Rod was taking the first step out of the Bronx. However, if he is going to eventually go away, this was not to be the beginning of the end for him. Today he would show that he is more than just a power hitter, and also has the ability to manufacture runs. By the 7th inning, Alex was 0 for 3, but he would lead off the inning with a single. He followed that with a steal and a Jason Giambi single would drive him in and prove to be the eventual winning run. But he was not done. His two-run homer in the bottom of the 8th put the period at the end of the sentence, and the game would end 9-5. Mariano would come in for the 9th inning and strike out all three batters he faced. Vintage Mo. The only bad news was that Damon left the game with calf cramps, but he believes he may be back in the lineup by Wednesday, when Pettitte pitches his first game in pinstripes since the 2003 World Series. The icing on the cake for the day: Boston went down to the Royals and Shilling took the loss.