Picking Up Where They Left Off, Yankees Win On A Walkoff

It's a little after 8:30pm and I'm finally getting the chance to watch today's spring training opener. I was able to hear two 1/2 innings of the game on the radio. Oddly enough, the 2 parts I heard were the two innings in which the Yankees scored their runs.

I'm not a huge Michael Kay fan but I'll admit that it was nice to hear him utter 2 certain phrases, "The YES Network presents New York Yankees baseball," and, "Lineups, first pitch, baseball, next on YES." And with that, the 2010 season is officially upon us. The march to #28 has begun.

Am I the only one who thinks Joe Girardi changing his uniform number to 28 is a little silly? Am I also the only one who has a little trouble taking him seriously when he gives an interview and you can see his braces? Look at me go. I haven't even seen the first pitch of the season yet and I've already cracked on Girardi. It should be a fun year. I do like Girardi for the most part. I do think he makes some stupid moves and when he does it's really aggravating because they're beyond dumb. But for the most part, I have his back. There's one thing I'm hoping to see from Girardi this year. I'm hoping he stops using his little book to aid him in making decisions. Go with your gut more Joe.

First pitch strike from Chad Gaudin. Nice start. The rest of the game, however, was pretty boring. I fast-forwarded through most of it. The pitchers pretty much dominated the hitters. The Pirates got a hit to leadoff the first and then were shut down for 6 full innings. Nice outings from Gaudin, Mitre, and Aceves. I don't put much stock in spring training stats, especially for pitchers, as they don't always pitch as they would in games. But it was definitely nice to see 6 innings of shutout ball from those 3. Jonathan Albaladejo on the other hand? Yikes. Not a good start for him. Have fun in Scranton.

Nice stroke by Nick Johnson on his RBI double in the 6th. I'm glad he didn't get hurt.

What? No pie? Either way, a walkoff is still a walkoff, with or without the pie. I'll take it.

And there we have it folks. The 1st game is in the books. Baseball is officially back. Next stop: Opening Day. A little less than 32 days to go. April 4th can't get here fast enough.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie