Compared to the weekend the city’s other baseball franchise just wrapped up, the past three days have been downright boring for the Yankees. Oh, they won three games all right, but they did it without a whole lot of drama. Not that anyone’s complaining, of course, but there were no twenty-inning games in the Bronx this weekend. Heck, one of them lasted only six.
The Yanks trailed for just two half-innings in a sweep of the Rangers, a team that will supposedly contend for the AL West title. The big three starters each earned a victory, and each improved to 2–0 on the season. Alex Rodriguez finally hit a home run, and so did Mark Teixeira. (Teixeira even boosted his batting average over .100. Hooray!) For the first time since 1926, the Yankees have won their first four series. And for good measure, the Red Sox are reeling, losers of four straight. (Three of those losses are at the hands of Tampa, however, who are tied with the Yankees atop the East at 9–3.)
How well did this weekend go? Derek Jeter missed yesterday’s game with a cold, and his replacement, Ramiro Pena, got the day’s big hit, a two-run single in the third that gave the Yanks a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. They all won’t be this easy, and we don’t just say that because Javier Vazquez will take the ball tomorrow night when they begin a West Coast trip in Oakland. Good things are happening in the Bronx, and they’re happening a whole lot earlier than they did last year.