Yankees end the first month of the season with a 9-14 record, are in last place, and trail the division leading Red Sox by 6.5 games. And? They’ve done this before! The three seasons before this one they have gotten off to some of the most disgusting starts ever and always seem to bounce back. Everyone has them dead and buried then July comes around and look at that, the Yankees are kicking ass. It’s the fact that they have won 9 games that has impressed me. Consider the following:
- Injuries: Chien-Ming Wang, Hideki Matsui, Mike Mussina, Carl Pavano, and Jeff Karstens all found themselves on the disabled list within the first couple of weeks of the season. Four of those guys are starting pitchers. One of them is the ace of the staff. And those are just the guys who made it to the DL. Other injuries include Johnny Damon’s calves and back, Derek Jeter’s foot and calf, Andy Pettitte’s back, and Jorge Posada’s thumb. Those are important people!
- Rivera not having it. Mariano Rivera left spring training as perfect as could be. The season started and it was all gone. He blew his first two save opportunities and lost important games as well as making matters worse in other games he pitched. Rivera has started off seasons poorly before, but never like this. The reason for it? No one knows. It doesn’t appear to be physical and mentally he’s the strongest guy on the team. Some times this shit just happens.
- Slumps. Jason Giambi started the season ice cold, but has turned it around. However, Bobby Abreu is gotten even colder than Giambi was if that’s even possible. What makes this so bad? Abreu bats in front of Alex Rodriguez and Giambi bats behind him. When your best hitter doesn’t have the backup he needs, it does two things. Makes that great hitter look more amazing, but it also costs the team important runs. Several games have been lost because those two slumps.
- Timing: This is actually a much more solid team than meets the eye. The defense is great, the hitting is awesome, and the bullpen has dominated. A lot of the losses have come simply because of poor timing. A player commits an error that leads to the winning run. A batter hits into a double play with the bases loaded to end the inning. A reliever gives up a home run and the lead late in the game. Each loss it has been a different guy fucking up at just the right moment. The next game he goes out there and has no problem. That’s the way he should play it. Unfortunately, someone else just happens to make one mistaken that leads to a loss. It sucks, but it’s also how the game goes.
Is there light at the end of the tunnel. Well those injured players have been returning, Mariano got his first save the other day, and there are 139 games left to play. I have seen the Yankees turn things around as the season progresses. Now some experts and fans have been saying that this time they will have to do so against a much different and a very good Red Sox team. I have only one reply to that: no such thing as a guaranteed lead. 6.5 game lead with 139 games left doesn’t mean a fucking thing. Bring on the season. If they fail, they fail. But let’s at least try.
