So yesterday afternoon’s planned Opening Day didn’t go off quite as scheduled. Mother Nature decided to literally rain on the Yanks’ parade for a little while longer, and the Blue Jays and Yankees will try again tonight.
The keyword there is “try.” At around 5 p.m., it was still raining in the city, and the hourly forecast for the Bronx looks a little dicey. Forget the countdown clock; this non-stop rain is simply the Baseball Gods’ way of telling the Yankees that they should not be messing with baseball tradition with a new stadium.
For the Yankees, yesterday’s rain-out meant that the out-spoken Hank Steinbrenner will make tonight’s game. The Yanks’ Senior Vice President opted to stay in Tampa yesterday when he heard about the expected weather conditions in New York. Funny how that worked out for him.
The lineups are the same; the pitching match-ups are the same. Expect a lot of groundballs skating around on what will be a fairly damp infield. Can Chien-Ming Wang bring home the Yanks’ eleventh straight home opener victory? Will Joe Girardi win the first game managed by someone other than Joe Torre since 1995? We’ll find out, but no matter the answers, it’s time for baseball gain.
New York Yankees
Johnny Damon LF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Hideki Matsui LF
Melky Cabrera CF
Chien-Ming Wang RHP
Toronto Blue Jays
David Eckstein SS
Shannon Stewart LF
Alex Rios RF
Vernon Wells CF
Frank Thomas DH
Lyle Overbay 1B
Aaron Hill 2B
Marco Scutaro 3B
Gregg Zaun C
Roy Halladay RHP
Notes: As we did last year and on and off through Spring Training, use the comments to discuss anything under the sun. How’s Michael Kay doing? How do the Yanks look? Just chat about the game…Please consider donating to the Big Three K’s Craniosynostosis fundraiser we’re hosting this year to benefit the Jorge Posada Foundation. We’ve received pledges totaling $3.235 per Big Three strike out.