Pinstripe Press
By Robin Vinci at April 12, 2024 | 9:30 am | Print
At 3-4 you would think there isn’t much to praise the Yankees for this week. But, I call a win against Justin Verlander huge.
In the last few years the Yankees have been unable to hit Verlander. During the playoffs he dominated. For me, a victory over him was a giant step. Maybe, we need guys like Vernon Wells and Jayson Nix in the playoffs. Our all-star starters look intimidated by Verlander.
It was also a very nice win for CC Sabathia. His opener was lousy, but he was impressive Sunday even though he only struck out four over seven innings. Only one runner got past first base in his start. His fast ball was around 91 mph, but his change-up was sharp.
Disappointing was Boone Logan. I’ve always thought left handed specialists were a waste of a pitcher. Logan faced Prince Fielder twice in that situation and gave up a three run homer on his very first pitch to him and a single the second time he faced him.
Kevin Youkilis is leading in team batting. He has looked good. I expect an excellent year for him. Francisco Cervelli leads the team in RBI’s. I don’t know how long that will last, but I never expected that.
I would really like to see Brett Gardner get on a roll. He has no stolen bases and is struggling at the plate. Ichiro Suzuki is not hitting either. These two are a huge part of the game plan. If they get rolling things could change fast.
Wells has shown some power and has played a nice left field. I think the Yankees will be alright with him until Curtis Granderson returns. I bet after that he will get a lot of bats at DH. I like him much better then Travis Hafner. And I also like Nix more than Eduardo Nunez.
Robinson Cano was hot against Cleveland. He is our big man and needs to step up big in the next 30 days. Yes. I think things are looking up!
Update: There is no status change on Derek Jeter, Granderson or Teixeira. At this rate all three will be back sometime in late May.
