YANKEES COUNTERPOINT: UPSIDES TO THE 0-2 START

While I, like my father, am disappointed in the Yankees 0-2 start – and to a Baltimore team which, despite its proud history, is widely picked to finish last in the competitive AL East this year – there are two significant upsides to the first two games that should not be overlooked.

First, as my father point out, the bullpen looks sharp.  Both Wang and Sabathia got shelled early.  But the bullpen came in and stopped the bleeding.  This is significant.  Despite their less than impressive starts, the fact remains that these starts were anomalies for Wang and Sabathia.  Both pitchers – assuming they don’t get injured, and if the past 3 seasons are any indication of how they will perform this year – will likely win 15 games this year, if not more, and carry the staff.  So, with that in mind, the Yankees’ pitching is really not as bad as the first two games would indicate.

Second, I was impressed with the way the Yanks continued to battle despite going down by 5-runs or more in both games.  They took a 6-1 deficit going into the top of the 6^th inning in the first game and narrowed it to 6-5 (and may ultimately have won the game if Johnny Damon had not been interfered with by that meddlesome fan in the bottom of the 8^th, which would have been an out instead of a two-run homer … revenge for Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS, I suppose).  And then last night, they were down 7-1 since the 4^th inning – 7-2 going into the 9^th – and scored 3 in the 9^th, and had the tying run at the plate when the game ended.  And they did all this without A-Rod. 

This type of battling is not the sign of a team that is floundering right out of the gate, but rather is a trademark of character and focus that is common to championship teams. 

So don’t be fooled by the 0-2 start.  With a deep starting rotation, a bullpen that is off to a good start, and a lineup that is showing character and resilience despite the absence of its best player, the 2009 Yankees look promising. 

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