Yankees Take First Game of Season

The New York Yankees and Melky Cabrera opened up the 2008 season in grand fashion last night, defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2. Cabrera, batting in the ninth spot connected with a sixth inning pitch and put it over the right field wall to give the Yankees the lead. 2 innings earlier, Cabrera demonstrated his speed and tenacity, robbing Lyle Overbay of a sure double, leaping against the centerfield wall to make the spectacular catch. One batter later, Cabrera was forced to race to his right as he threw his glove at the ball and made a tumbling snag.

Chien-Ming Wang came in and did exactly what the Yankees needed him to do, which was go out there and give us 6-7 solid innings. He only surrendered two runs, but did not figure in the decision. Joba Chamberlain came out and fired up the crowd, striking out Frank Thomas to end the 8th, and in the 9th Mariano Rivera came in to slam the door and pick up his first save of the season. Joe Girardi couldn't have been more pleased with his team's effort in the season opener.

"You look forward to this day from the time I signed as manager," he said. "You do all of the preparation up until Spring Training, and all of the preparation during Spring Training, and what all of the coaches did. I saw it pay off tonight.

"I saw a guy scoring from first tonight and running very easily, and I saw guys hitting triples. It's an unbelievable feeling when you actually get to play for real, because that's what you work for."

What we saw was great pitching, opportunistic hitting, and great baserunning, which will lead to great things for this 2008 version of the Yankees.

GAME TWO
Tonight the Yankees face the Blue Jays in the second game of the series at Yankee Stadium. Struggling Veteran Mike Mussina will step in for the injured Andy Pettite, who has been pushed back to Saturday. Mussina is hoping to get the season started off on a good note, as he struggled a bit last year. He is a very important member of the Yankees' rotation and will need to get his share of wins for the ball club.