A-Rod counts the ring, Hideki gets hailed, and other Opening Day thoughts

You see this, Red Sox fans? This is how you welcome back your playoff hero who went off to a rival team - the way the Yankees, and their fans, welcomed back Hideki Matsui to the Bronx yesterday.

I thought the hugs, cheers, and accolades for Matsui were terrific yesterday, and a highlight of Tuesday's home opener. (Yahoo Sports has a nice slide show of pix from the event, and MLB has video if you want to see it.) It was great to see Matsui treated that way. His old teammates were happy to see him (and Derek Jeter even played a joke on him with a fake ring!)

And Matsui arguably got the biggest cheers of the day from the fans, even though he's wearing a different-colored uniform now. Yes, I realize that the Angels aren't the Yankee rivals the way the Red Sox are, althought they have been a thorn in the Yankees' side for the last decade. But the way some Boston fans couldn't give Johnny Damon one measly at-bat to cheer him still rankles. So there!

Here are some other things I loved about the Opening Ceremony:

* Jerry Hairston Jr. taking a red-eye flight from the West Coast just to be a part of the day. He seems like a great guy - and boy, did he look happy to be there!

* The cheers for trainer Gene Monahan, who is battling cancer.

* The introductions being done in reverse uniform number.

* And the look on A-Rod's face when he finally got his ring (and the look on the face when he showed the ring off to the media after the game.)


I also liked what he said afterwards about his new jewelry:
"I heard a lot of guys talking about how they're not going to wear it because they're too cool," Rodriguez said on Tuesday. "I'm going to wear it -- and wear it every day. If they let me wear it to third today, I would have tried to do that."

It I were A-Rod, not only would I wear the ring all the time, but I'd have it made to fit the middle finger, just for emphasis.Yes, I'm mean that way!

Anyhow, as for the game itself, it looked like Andy Pettitte's great pitching, and the Yankees' hitting, would give Mariano the day off. But then David Robertson gave up a grand slam to ex-Yankee Bobby Abreu, and Mo had to go into the game!

Fortunately, the Yankees won, and all is right in the Bronx - at least for now.

What do you think? Leave us a comment!

Squawker Jon does it again - he jinxes the perfect game

Want to know why Andy Pettitte didn't pitch a perfect game or no-hitter last night? Forget about Jerry Hairston Jr.'s error. It really was Squawker Jon's fault, with an assist from me.

I shouldn't have picked up the phone when Jon called to chat during the seventh inning of last night's Yankees-Orioles game. After all, I have caller ID, and I should know about Jon's jinxing skills by now. But I got lured in, anyway.(Let me get all A.J. Burnett here and wail, "Why did I do that?")

Anyhow, we were talking about the perfect game, and what kind of grief Alex Rodriguez would get for not playing in the perfecto if it actually happened. (See how unclutch A-Rod is? They only pitched a perfect game without him. Jeter is teh clutch, etc. etc.) It wasn't going to be a pleasant night for Alex if it had happened.

Then, Jerry Hairston Jr. muffled the play and cost Andy the perfect game. He looked mortified. And after that, Nick Markakis' clean hit also happened to be close to Hairston. Poor Jerry. I think it's ridiculous to blame him, though, as some in the media are doing. The odds were against Pettitte anyway, especially given that it's been three years or so since he's even pitched a complete game.

Besides, if there is anybody to blame, it should be Jon the Jinx!

What do you think? Leave us a comment!

Jonny Gomes must really hate the Yankees

Jerry Hairston Jr. seems to have been a good pickup so far for the Yankees, but one of his former Cincinnati teammates wondered why he's on the Bombers in the first place.

Remember Jonny Gomes? He's on the Reds now, but he is best known by Yankee fans for his time with the Tampa Bay Rays - specifically, starting his brawl with Shelley Duncan in spring training last year.

Well, Gomes must still hold a grudge about the Bombers, because when Hairston got traded to the Yankees, Gomes asked him this:

"How come you didn’t invoke your no-trade contract"?

Yeah, I guess it was a tough choice for Hairston - stay with the last-place Reds, or go to the Yankees. Good grief.

What do you think? Leave us a comment!

Why Victor Martinez and Kei Igawa are on my mind

I read on MLB.com (hat tip to Baseball Think Factory) about Victor Martinez' sad reaction to being traded from Cleveland to Boston:

Victor Martinez sat in front of his locker one last time in the Indians' clubhouse Friday afternoon, with his 4-year-old son, Victor Jose, in his lap.

Martinez sobbed as he explained to his son that he had just been traded to the Red Sox.

Poor guy! Bud Selig should rescind the trade. It's for the children, of course!

Isn't it amazing, though, how Theo Epstein is able to get an All-Star catcher with essentially some change he found in his couch? If the Yanks had tried to get Martinez, they would have probably had to give up Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes!

Which brings me to my next point - I can't fault Brian Cashman for not getting an impact pitcher before the trading deadline. The Yanks always seem to get robbed in these things.

Jerry Hairston is a decent pickup, but I don't get why the Yanks sent down Shelley Duncan instead of getting rid of Cody Ransom. What, does Cody have pictures of Joe Girardi eating fast food or something to keep him on the roster?

But make no mistake, the Yankees need another starter. Sergio Mitre was painful to watch last night.

Is Kei Igawa going to get his chance? If Kei Igawa is the answer, I don't want to know the question!

What do you think? Leave us a comment!