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| Mark Teixeira has hit a bunch of "Tex Messages" out of the Ball Park this season, and looks to continue as the Yankees face off against the Red Sox. |
After two series against the Tigers and Twins, and a series going on now vs their long time rivals, the Red Sox, the New York Yankees have looked once again, like one of the best teams in the league. The offense has been great, the pitching (for the most part) has been solid, and with the Red Sox at a 1-6 record, who could be upset? The Yankees are 4-3 this season and look to add on another win today when Ivan Nova (1-0) takes the mound against Clay Buchholz (0-1).
One reason the Yankees have found success earlier in the season, is because Mark Teixeira, a star who is known for late starts, has been the hottest player in the league so far. Teixeira already has four homeruns and 10 RBI's in just seven games. He leads the whole MLB in both categories.
Teixeira isn't the only Yankee who has been hot so far this season. Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada both have three home runs, and are in the top five, along with Teixeira in the AL. A-Rod also has a great batting average at .304.
Two newcomers to the Bronx, Russell Martin and Andruw Jones have also been solid. Jones is batting .400 in a couple of pinch hit situations and even has a home run. Russell, who has been catching with Posada at DH, has a healthy .292 batting average and has also knocked out a home run.
And to finish out the rest of the lineup, Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson, Derek Jeter, Brett Gardner, and last years star Robinson Cano have all been solid too. Out of these players, Granderson is the only one who has a batting average under .200, but also knocked in a run in the opening game to give the Yankees the lead.
Now for the Yankees pitching.
The Yankees rotation and bullpen have had some tweaks to them since last year. The first, and most notable of the moves, was Yankee great, Andy Pettitte retiring. The Yankees did bring in, Rafael Soriano, a great closer who previously pitched for the Rays and Braves, and will now set up Mariano Rivera. The Yankees also signed Bartolo Colon, a previous Cy Young Winner, to pitch in the bullpen.
CC Sabathia has been great this season. Although he has not recorded a win due to blown set up opportunities by Soriano and Boone Logan, Sabathia has an incredible 1.38 ERA.
AJ Burnett has rebounded from an off year and is 2-0 this season, giving the Yankees two out of their four wins so far. Burnett also has 11 strikeouts which is second, to CC's 13.
Phil Hughes may be last year's AJ Burnett. Hughes was expected to come out this season and be an ace for the Yankees. The Bombers wanted Hughes to potentially be the #2 guys behind Sabathia. So far this season, Hughes is 0-1 in two starts, and has a 16.50 ERA.
Coming into the season, I wasn't big on Ivan Nova, but he has really changed my mind. Nova is 1-0 and gave up only three runs in his first start this season. Nova will take the mound today and look to give the Yankees a win over the Red Sox.
The bullpen for the Yankees, are the only part of the team not doing well. The only reliever who has been great this season, is long time Yankees closer, Mariano Rivera. Rivera has a 0.00 ERA and has saved all four of the Yankees wins. Joba Chamberlain also hasn't been too bad, and i think the Yankees might even add him into the rotation mid year.
As for Rafael Soriano, Boone Logan, and Luis Ayala, they all need to step up. Each of them have blown games so far and have terrible ERA's. Boone Logan has been the worst out of the three though. Logan hasn't blown one, but TWO games this season. If he wants to see himself wearing pinstripes by the end of the season, he must step up.
The Yankees have looked great so far this season. Their offense is in the top five, and their pitching for the most part has been solid. Hopefully, they can keep it up and win the division, even with 75% of baseball analyst picking the Red Sox to win the division and the World Series. Go Bombers!
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