“Today usually would be an anxious day for me as a player, but here I feel pretty relaxed,” said new manager Aaron Boone yesterday. “I’m sure I’ll toss and turn a little bit tonight and I’ll be a little bit anxious (on Opening Day), just making sure all of the T’s are crossed and the I’s are dotted and all that. But I feel like we’re prepared. I feel like we had a good spring. I feel like our staff is prepared. I feel like our players are prepared. And that’s a good feeling to have. Now we get to roll it out there and see how good we are.”
Giancarlo Stanton is a Yankee. Brandon Drury and Neil Walker are Yankees. David Robertson, Sonny Gray, and Tommy Kahnle will be Yankees all season. And, of course, homegrown All-Stars like Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, and Luis Severino are all still Yankees. Their transition from exciting youngsters to championship caliber core is complete. Now they just need the championship, and the first step in that journey is today.
Not-so-fun fact: The Yankees have lost their last six Opening Days, and eight of their last nine. They have the longest active Opening Day losing streak. That’s no fun. The Yankees haven’t won on Opening Day since CC Sabathia outdueled Justin Verlander in 2011. They haven’t won an Opening Day on the road since way back in 2006, when they beat the Athletics in Oakland. Been a while!
Of course, what happened from 2012-17 has no bearing on today, so that Opening Day losing streak is nothing more than an annoying talking point. Hopefully the Yankees can put an end to it today. Time to move on to bigger and better things. Here are the first lineups of the new season:
New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. DH Giancarlo Stanton
4. C Gary Sanchez
5. CF Aaron Hicks
6. SS Didi Gregorius
7. 3B Brandon Drury
8. 2B Neil Walker
9. 1B Tyler Austin
RHP Luis Severino
Toronto Blue Jays
1. 2B Devon Travis
2. 3B Josh Donaldson
3. 1B Justin Smoak
4. LF Curtis Granderson
5. DH Kendrys Morales
6. RF Randal Grichuk
7. C Russell Martin
8. CF Kevin Pillar
9. SS Aledmys Diaz
LHP J.A. Happ
The internet tells me it is cool, cloudy, and rainy in Toronto today. Definitely not baseball weather. Safe to assume the Rogers Centre roof will be closed this afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 3:37pm ET, though the Blue Jays are retiring the late Roy Halladay’s number during a pregame ceremony, which might run long. You can watch today’s game on YES. Enjoy the first of 162.
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