The Week in Review 4-2 thru 4-9

The Yankees opened and closed their season opening West Coast trip with an offensive outburst. Unfortunately, everything in between didn’t go so well. Three of the biggest questions surrounding the team stood out like a sore thumb.

vs A's 1-2
Vs Angels 1-2


1. Starting Pitching
Randy Johnson and Mike Mussina combined for four quality starts in the Yankees six games. But Chien-Ming Wang and Shawn Chacon were both less than stellar. Johnson came out firing against the A’s and got plenty of run support in a 15-2 romp. His second start was a complete game loss in which he allowed 3 runs, but the Yankees offense was in sleep mode as the Bombers were anything but that, dropping a 3-2 decision.

The health of Mussina’s elbow is a great concern for Joe Torre and the team. Mussina blew a couple of leads in his first start against the Athletics, but left with a no-decision after allowing 3 runs in 7 innings. Against the Angels he was even better, allowing 1 run in 6 innings as the Yankees pasted the Angels 10-1. Most importantly, Moose is pitching pain-free.

2. Defense
The Yankees have gold glovers on the left side of the infield, but the right side is weaker and/or inexperienced. The Yankees are weak armed in left and center and immobile in right. Hideki Matsui has trouble going back on the ball and missed a catchable ball as the A’s won the second game of the season in their final at-bat, 5-4. The A’s got back into the game thanks to an error by Derek Jeter on a potential inning ending double play ball. The Angels, who like to run anyway, got an extra boost when weak throwing Kelly Stinnett started Saturday’s game against the Angels.

3. Bernie Williams
Another huge question mark surrounding the Yankees is just how much pop is left in Bernie Williams’s bat. Over the winter we were lead to believe that Bernie would be splitting playing time with Andy Phillips. As it turns out Joe Torre has no intention of playing Phillips other than as a defensive replacement for Jason Giambi. Bernie is a notoriously slow starter, but it is now magnified because of his age and the Yankees early season offensive slump. With Jason Giambi in the DH slot on Sunday and Bernie sitting out a second straight game, Torre chose to start utility man Miguel Cairo at 1st base instead of Phillips. While Cairo has done a very good job in his two stints with the team, there’s no point in not giving Phillips a chance, especially if Bernie continues to struggle. The Yankees need to save their trade chips for starting pitching. It would be a plus to find another bat from within the organization.


Who’s Hot - Pitching

Randy Johnson: 1-1, 2.40 ERA; 2 quality starts; 15 IP 11 Ks No BB
Mike Mussina: 1-0, 2.77 ERA; 2 quality starts.; 13 IP 10 Ks
Mike Myers: 3 scoreless appearances

Who’s Not

Chien-Ming Wang: 2.143 ratio; .333 opposition avg
Shawn Chacon: 7.71 ERA .381 opposition avg

Who’s Hot – Hitting

Hideki Matsui: .400 3 HR 7 RBI 1.244 OPS
Derek Jeter: .348 1 HR 4 RBI 1 SB 1.030 OPS 6 game hitting streak

Who’s Not

Bernie Williams: 4-18 .222 2 RBI
Jason Giambi: 3-18 .167 1 RBI