A Perfect Day of Baseball

The Yanks' Opening Day win vs. Tampa Bay may be a script that they will follow to another A.L. East title this year, and perhaps a World Series title: Stay close until the bullpen can shut down the opposition and then rally to win.

The bullpen combined for 4.2 innings of shutout ball with 5 Ks and no walks to stifle the young Devil Ray hitters while the Yanks caught and passed the Jays on the shoulders of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi.

There is nothing like the pomp and circumstances of Opening Day at Yankee Stadium to get you ready for the baseball season. It was wonderful to see Cory Lidle's widow, Melanie, and son Christopher throw out the first ball and then Bobby Murcer in the YES booth and looking spry…Murcer told everyone: "I feel terrific. I really do. My strength is pretty much all the way back right now."

That's great Bobby; we are all rooting for you!

Jason Giambi, a high school buddy of Cory Lidle, escorted Melanie and Christopher Lidle to the mound and back in front of a cheering crowd.  "That was probably one of the toughest things I've ever had to do in my life, no doubt about it," Giambi said. "I've known him for a long time [and] seen his son grow up. It was a big day for us, especially when you have that kind of beginning for a player like Cory."

It was certainly a day of rebirth.
And a lot of that hope-as far as the Yanks of 2007 are concerned-comes from the bullpen. Most impressive in his opening stint with the Yanks was Luis Vizcaino, one of the multitude of bodies the Yanks' received in return for the grouchy Randy Johnson.

Vizcaino may be that extra dependable arm that the Yanks need to bridge the gap to Mariano (and didn't Mo look good with 3 Ks in the 9th?). Luis' 5 pitch 7th inning was poetic in its efficiency. Vizcaino has a commanding presence on the mound, he stars into the plate with the glare of a latter day Bob Gibson, and it's thrilling to watch him work.

In the past three years, Vizcaino has become and increasingly effective reliever. The Yanks are his 4th team in four years; he spent 2004 with Milwaukee, 2005 with the White Sox and last year with Arizona. Each of those years he pitched to an ERA better than league average, with 3.75, 3.73 and 3.58 respectively. Last year his K/9 was 9.92 in 65.1 innings, and lefties hit .153 against him…these are all promising numbers for a guy who will join Scott Proctor and Kyle Farnsworth in the late innings.

Also of Opening Day note was the acceptable performance of one Carl Pavano, last seen on the Yankee stadium mound some 647 days ago. Pavano was victimized by shoddy defensive work, but he kept the game close and he has something to build on now. Like it or not, Yankee fans need Pavano to keep these games close until the bullpen can shut things down…today it worked.

(This interesting tidbit from the Elias Sports Bureau: King Carl was the first Yankee to start on Opening Day after not pitching in the previous season since Hippo Vaughn in 1910.)

Jason Giambi was also in mid-season form with 3 RBI…the only thing missing from his repertoire was 3 walks. If Jason can get used to the DH slot this season, a role that he was hesitant to play in the past, he may remain healthier throughout the season and post even more impressive numbers. Batting behind A-Rod will certainly help him…and speaking of A-Rod…. 2-for-5 with two RBIs, a long HR that put the game away, two runs scored and a stolen base… plus he's on my fantasy team…yoozah.

A perfect day of baseball extended beyond the Yankee game when the Red Sox, and Curt Schilling, lost to those wild spenders, the Kansas City Royals. Schilling was not sharp.

Thanks to a Steve Lombardi at his fine blog, waswatching.com, I learned that Curt broke an impressive string today. Steve tells us:

"Loyal reader/research king Trent McCotter reports that Schilling has pitched at least five innings in 147 starts in a row. Not only is that the longest streak by any pitcher in the last 50 seasons, just two other starters even got to 100 -- David Cone (145) and Bob Gibson (112). Next-longest current streak: 91, by Johan Santana."

That really is a remarkable statistic for Schilling, especially since he is a blimp-butt. But fortunately for Yankee fans, Schilling lasted just 4 innings in his opening start, and his streak is now over.

My perfect day of baseball extended beyond the Red Sox loss as I enjoyed the Twins-Orioles and then the Angles-Rangers.

A quadruple header. 12 hours + of real baseball. Perfect.