The Yankees won their home opener last night, but the countdown has already started:
It was the first day of the end of its life, the final opener at Yankee Stadium, where the countdown to demolition has begun. After five innings Tuesday night, George Steinbrenner, whose fortune is financing most of the construction across 161st Street, pulled a lever in his office, and the scoreboard digits flipped to 80.
That is how many regular-season games remain at the ballpark that has housed 26 championship teams. Joe Girardi wants to guide the next one, and the early returns are encouraging.
Thirty hours after the season was supposed to start, Chien-Ming Wang fired a called strike on a dry, 64-degree night. The promise of summer was there on a crisp spring evening, when the Yankees edged the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-2, before 55,112 fans. The Yankees have won their home opener 11 years in a row.
The game ball found Girardi at the end, when it felt like old times for the new skipper and former catcher. Mariano Rivera earned his 444th career save and his first for a manager other than Joe Torre. He gave Girardi the prize.
“Special,” Girardi said. “It kind of reminded me of when I actually used to catch Mo. What a great feeling it was when the door opened and he came in, and I had that same feeling tonight.”
Alex Rodriguez doubled home a run in the first inning and singled to start the go-ahead rally in the seventh. Melky Cabrera dazzled on defense and lifted a home run down the right-field line, another gift from the old ballpark. Wang, Joba Chamberlain and Rivera stymied Toronto.
“You get seven from Wang and one from Joba and Mariano,” catcher Jorge Posada said. “That’s what we need to do all year.”
Yep.
