Apr 09 2009
WANG OFF HIS GAME, JETER OFF TO FAST START
I know, I know…the world is gonna end because the New York Yankees have started the season 0-2, with both pitchers getting hit around like single-A scrubs. Everyone take a deeeeep breath, and try to relax. It’s a marathon, not a sprint (as the old cliche goes), and we got 160 more of these to go. However, there is something that concerns me, and it’s about Wang’s inability to adjust. It seems over the last couple of years, when his sinker isn’t working well, he continues to force it and ends up getting clobbered because the ball stays up in the zone with not enough velocity. He’s gotta stop doing this, or it’s gonna be a long year for him. Burnett was trying to help him in spring-training, and specifically told him to change speeds and mix up his pitches, especially when the sinker isn’t on. Hope you learned your lesson Wanger.
On a brighter note, captain Jeter has started the 09′ season in fantastic form, including a 2-run homer yesterday and went 2-4. He looks very comfortable in that lead-off spot, so maybe that move by Girardi will pay off. As long as he holds his own at shortstop, he’ll be A-O.K. It was also nice to see Tex come through with a big hit in the 9th, and almost rallied the Bombers back from being down 6 runs. The final positive was that the bullpen did a pretty solid job after the 7 runs were surrendered.
Today Mr. Burnett takes the mound in his pinstripe-debut, and I truly feel like he will come through big. He doesn’t seem to be phased by the whole “being in the spotlight” thing, in fact I think he embraces it. Not to mention the fact that he’s 3-0 at Camden Yards, and pitches tremendously against the A.L. East. As we all know, A.J. has ace-stuff when he’s in a groove, and not many have better stuff in baseball. So let’s all sit back, relax, and enjoy the game today - keep your head up.
