New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays Series Preview
April 9, 2010 · Bronx Baseball Daily · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Fresh off taking the opening series against the Red Sox, the Yankees (2-1) will face the Tampa Bay Rays (2-1) in the Bronx Bombers’ home opener.
Besides being the ring ceremony for last year’s champs, the main storyline of this game is the return of Javier Vazquez.
Many fans remember his terrible second half in 2004 and thought he simply was not meant to play in New York. When the Yankees traded for him in the offseason, many fans did not like the trade because they did not believe that he had the mystical power of “being able to play in New York.”
Well tonight, fans should be able to get a sense of whether 2010 Javier Vazquez will repeat his disappointing 2004 New York campaign, or if he will be his usual 200 innings per-year, 4.00 ERA self.
Both teams are riding into the season with high expectations and have started off well, winning their respective opening series. The onus will be on the Rays, who took two one-run wins from the Orioles but missed out on the chance to sweep, losing 5-4 on Thursday.
The Rays have a lot of hype this season. Their prospects are as mind-blowingly good as ever, and if young guns David Price and Jeff Niemann can pitch well, they will be a very dangerous team.
The Yankees will continue to rely on their lineup to provide enough run support to win games and hope that their starters can go deep into the night and prevent the bullpen from shouldering a heavy load. The Yankees bullpen raised some eyebrows in the first game of the year against the Red Sox, but Chan Ho Park and Joba Chamberlain both pitched well during the rest of the series.
Vazquez will face off against Price tonight, with CC Sabathia—filling in for Phil Hughes, who will make his first appearance April 15 against the Angels—and Wade Davis dueling on Saturday, and A.J. Burnett and James Shields wrapping up the series Sunday.
CC will try to regain his form against the 24-year-old Davis, who is making his first start of the season. I can’t say I envy Davis because CC will be looking to prove that his lackluster start in Boston was just a bump in the road.
Look for the Yankees to take two of three in this series. The Rays have the edge in the opener because Price is a stud who has proven to be cool under pressure, whereas Vazquez might be on edge.
The Yankees will be the favorites for the remaining two games. CC is an ace on one of the best staffs in baseball; it would be very surprising if Davis can keep up. Finally, the Yankees have the edge in Sunday’s contest as well with Burnett coming home where he’s infinitely more comfortable than Fenway Park—who wouldn’t be?—and Shields giving up three runs in six innings on nine hits to the Orioles.
Showcasing two powerful offenses that have been very productive so far, as well as some of the best pitching in the league, this should be a fun series to watch.
Yankees Keys to the Series
* Limit Evan Longoria at the plate.
* Starters go seven strong.
* Robinson Cano continues his hot start.
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