In between the Pinstripes #2

In between the Pinstripes_2: Spring Training isn’t worth a rip
Happy New Year to all the baseball fans out there, Opening Day means the dawning of a new season which brings along with it a bunch of ebbs and flows. The saying “Spring Training doesn’t mean anything” proved right yet again with the slow start to say the least out of the gate for the Yankees.

Masahiro Tanaka after having an incredible Spring Training where he only gave up one earned run, would yield 7 runs in 2.2 innings today in St. Pete against the Rays. Greg Bird, who hit .451 with 8 homers and 15 RBI’s this Spring went 0-4 with a walk. Gary Sanchez, who is the catalyst on this Yankee team, and after having a great start to his career with 20 homers in only 53 games last season, makes Yankee fans optimistic for his future. But, they will have to understand that Sanchez will have some struggles in the Majors, and starting 0-5 in 2017 is certainly a way to begin those struggles. It is a long season so I don’t think that will happen, just be realistic with your expectations. Sanchez was put in the number two hole in the lineup, which will give Sanchez more at-bats and more at-bats in bigger situations, and that is certainly what happened today. Late in the game today, Sanchez got two huge at-bats that were big spots in the game—which is what you want if you’re a Yankee fan, but just a bad day for the bombers overall.

  The Major League season is underway and for the Yankees and their fans this is a shot of reality. After leading the Majors in wins this Spring and having just a great month leading up to the start of 2017, cooled off against a really good pitcher in Chris Archer. Archer’s final line was 7 innings pitched, 7 hits, 5 strike outs, one walk, and 2 earned runs. Archer had easy middle innings when you’d like to make it tough especially on Opening Day.

This is a game you throw in the trash if you are Tanaka or just the Yankees in general, take the day off and regroup and try again on Tuesday. The one good thing that happened today, was Starlin Castro started at second base today. Castro had a good Opening Day, going 3-4 with a run scored. Castro is 2017’s first Focus Player of the Day.

Looking ahead to Tuesday, the Yanks get back to it with C.C. Sabathia on the mound as the second starter against Jake Odorizzi in St. Petersburg. I will be intrigued to see what Sabathia has left in the tank this season, and Tuesday hopefully will be a good start to a good season for the Yankees and Sabathia. It is game one of a long 162-game marathon, but there will be a small ounce of overreaction to what happened today, but hey—it’s good to have baseball back!
Sources:(mlb.com, espn.com)

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