Not a bad start to the season last night. I only caught the first couple of innings before heading to bed, but what I saw, I liked. A-Rod's grand slam in the second was, for all intents and purposes, the end of the game, and the Yankees offensive display was ridiculous. But it drew attention away from what I thought was more interesting: Joe Torre's playing small ball! Granted, it wasn't the aggressive philosophy of Ozzie Guillen at work, but the results were productive, and hopefully indicative of a complementary approach to the big bats way of scoring runs.
Of particular note was the offensive showing by Robinson Cano. This kid's the real deal. He's hitting to the opposite field, and more importantly, he seems to have recovered from the Alfonso Soriano disease of swinging at everything that isn't a wild pitch.
In other news, Carl Pavano, the Yankees answer to Marcus Camby, is on the DL again, and the season hasn't even started! For a man who can't get out of bed in the morning without hurting himself, $10 million a year makes him a steal. I'm still not clear how an "awkward lunge to first base" bruises one's buttocks, especially if those buttocks belong to an elite athlete, but OK. I'm also not convinced that a bruised behind is really grounds for not playing. Wouldn't sitting on the bench be more painful than pitching a few innings?
The forecast for tonight's game is not looking good. Hopefully it won't be rained out.
Interesting observations regarding Cano. I agree wholeheartedly; He looks like the real deal, and I think it would be a mistake to try to sign Soriano over the Winter to play second base. Cano looks like the next Roberto Alomar, at the plate at least.
The most recent episode of the tragic saga that is Carl Pavano's career is truly absurb. "Deep butt bruise"... somehow I suspect that something else is going on here. Use your imagination.
Posted by: Michael Kozek | April 05, 2006 at 12:22 PM