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Jobu gathers his thoughts from opening day 2013.

I’m still not quite sure how I’ll be covering the Yankees this year. Last year we did the Yankees Series Review posts, but that got to be a little overwhelming, as I was writing like 3,000 or 4,000 words per week on just the Yankees. For now, I’m going to stick to reacting to things that are worth reacting to. We start with Opening Day 2013… Ugh.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to sit here and cry that the season is over. I save that for when I’m watching the game and IMing with my friends (there was plenty of that going on yesterday afternoon). Yesterday’s game was brutal. The Yankees didn’t hit, pitch or field particularly well, blew a big run scoring opportunity in the seventh and basically came out and displayed everything we as fans were worried about. When Francisco Cervelli is the only shining light in your offensive day, it can be a little disheartening. John Lester’s not an easy guy to hit though, so it’s not the end of the world. It was a little disconcerting when, at one point, I had literally no idea who the hell was batting. A quick check of the box score showed me that it was Ben Francisco, but the Yankees aren’t supposed to have strangers in the lineup.

 

The offensive star of the game, Francisco Cervelli... everybody. (Elsa/Getty Images)
The offensive star of the game, Francisco Cervelli… everybody. (Elsa/Getty Images)

CC Sabathia was very much not an ace yesterday. However, he’s never been one to pitch particularly well on opening day, so that wasn’t the most concerning thing in the world. His drop in velocity was a little irking though, as he sat around 89-91 mph with his fastball yesterday, which is a few ticks slower than opening day last year. Maybe if he had actually pitched in Spring Training, he’d be throwing harder? I dunno. I’m no expert. That being said, his change up and slider were working great. He was locating those pitches well and got tons of swings and misses on them. That’s something to be optimistic about, at least. Even if he never throws 94 or 95 mph again, you can pitch in the big leagues with a slower fastball.

Yesterday’s game certainly wasn’t pretty, but it wasn’t the end of the season either. There’s reason to believe things will look up. At least David Phelps pitched well. ah? Plus, it was April Fool’s Day. On Wednesday, the Yankees will get serious… right?

Boxscore – 4/01/13

Featured image courtesy of: Elsa/Getty Images

Martin Stezano

About Martin Stezano

Uruguayan born and American raised with a unique perspective on the domestic and international sports scenes. It will both tickle your funny bone and enlighten your mind. Love it or hate it...just read it.