IT'S HERE!!!! .... IT'S HERE!!!!



The new phone book is here!!!



That’s right, opening day is finally here and it couldn’t be a nastier more bitter day here in the Bronx.  It’s chilly and raining and should continue to rain throughout the day, but hopefully not too hard.  Girardi believes the game will be played, as it will only be misting throughout the game. 

Most of the players are used to playing in 80 degree temperatures after spring training in Florida, and now it’s a shot of reality hitting them in the face.  Hopefully the cold air won’t affect CC’s performance today.  More often than not, inclement weather will affect the breaking and offspeed pitches.

The Yankees are 62-45-1 (.579) in 108 Opening Day games in their history.  The 2011 season marks their first season-opening game at home since 2008 and their third all-time season-opening game against the Tigers, against whom they are 1-2.

The Yankees have lost their previous two Opening Day games and if they happen to lose today, it would be 3 in a row.  The last time the Yankees lost 3 consecutive Opening Day games was  1997- 1999.  So on the upside of things, if they lose today, maybe they will have another season like the 1999 season.

This is the first time the Yankees have ever played an Opening Day in March in the Bronx.

If Jorge Posada hits a Home Run Today he will tie with Babe Ruth for the most by a Yankee on Opening Day with 5 all-time.

Yankees Lineup

Brett Gardner
Derek Jeter
Mark Texeira
Alex Rodriguez
Robinson Cano
Nick Swisher
Jorge Posada
Curtis Granderson
Russell Martin

Pitching - CC Sabathia (21-7 in 2010):  CC is taking the mound for the third consecutive opening day appearance.  The last player to do this was Roger Clemens from 2001-2003.

In CC's two previous opening day starts he is 0-1 with a 10.24 ERA.  Let's hope he does a little better today.

Tigers Lineup

Austin Jackson
Will Rhymes
Magglio Ordonez
Miguel Cabrera
Victor Martinez
Ryan Radburn
Jhonny Peralta
Brandon Inge
Alex Avila

Pitching- Justin Verlander (18-9 in 2010)

This is the Tigers only trip to Yankee Stadium this season.  The final Yankees series against the Tigers is May 2^nd through May 5^th in Detroit. 

The Tigers were 81-81 last season.  They were 4-4 against the Yankees and allowed 39 runs over the 8 games.  The first meeting was in May in Detroit where the Tigers took 3 out of 4 from the Yankees including May 13 when Verlander and CC faced off.  Verlander pitched a shutout against the Yankees that day.

The two teams did not meet up until August again, in Yankee stadium for another 4 game set.  This time the Yankees took 3 out of 4 from the Tigers.  Again, Verlander and CC faced off, but this time CC got the win in a 6-2 win.

Speaking of Verlander, I watched him pitch last Saturday against the Phillies down at the Tigers spring training complex in Lakeland, Florida.  Verlander looked totally dominant.  His fastball was hitting 96 mph and was consistently accurate.  He would offset the fastball with his changeup that would drop down to 74 mph.  I don’t know how any player can try and hit a ball that drops over 22 mph from one pitch to the next.  Verlander also threw a number of breaking pitches in the 84-89 mph range.  Bottom line is Verlander’s an ace in every sense of the word and deserves that 20 Million they pay him in Detroit.