I know, I know. The Yanks were playing a college team, but it's still nice to start off with a victory.
Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes combined for five innings of one-hit ball, Alex Rodriguez drove in three runs and Jorge Posada smacked a double and a triple as the Yankees downed the University of South Florida
11-4 in Tampa.
The only blemish on the afternoon was the performance of
Kei Igawa. The lefty's line was a real eye-sore: 1 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 hit batsman, 1 WP, 1 HR. Eric Baumann accounted for all of the Bulls runs with a grand slam in the sixth inning off Igawa.
It's
way too early to make a big deal about any player's performance, but Igawa's outing doesn't leave me with a warm and fuzzy feeling. His comments afterward also did little to allay my concern.
"I'm not too worried at this point," Igawa said through an interpreter. "It
is the first game. I'm able to realize what I need to work on. That is a
positive, moving forward."
I guess. Igawa added that overall his control felt "pretty good."
Moving forward.
Obviously, the talk of the game (if anyone is talking about an exhibition game played against a college team) should be the performance of the Yankees Big Three. Chamberlain started the game and pitched two perfect innings including two strikeouts. Kennedy followed with two innings of one-hit ball and also fanned two. Hughes capped it with a perfect fifth inning and also recored two whiffs. The three-pronged pinstripe attack issued zero walks. Hopefully, it's a sign of things to come.
The Bombers will play the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater on Saturday. Chien-Ming Wang is slated to start for the Yanks. Wang is scheduled to go two innings, followed by Darrell Rasner, Chris Britton, Jonathan Albaladejo, Heath Phillips, Dan Giese
and Ross Ohlendorf.
A bit of sad news from Yankee camp. Former Bomber and current Yankee broadcaster Bobby Murcer will undergo a biopsy Monday to see if the brain cancer he's been fighting for over a year has returned. An MRI performed on Tuesday showed a spot on Murcer's brain. It could be scar tissue from the radiation he received or another cancerous tumor. We're pulling for you, Bobby.
And finally, Hank Steinbrenner is at it again. Boy George hasn't been afraid to speak his mind since he became the voice of the Yankees and did nothing to dispel that on Friday. Here's what Hank had to say about the rival Red Sox in the upcoming issue of The New York Times Sports Magazine Play:
"Red Sox Nation? What a bunch of [expletive] that is. That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans. Go anywhere in America and you won't see Red Sox hats and jackets, you'll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We're going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order."
Amen, brother.
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