New York Yankees’ journey in the 2011 MLB season – Part 3
Until March 3, the New York Yankees spring training was not at their best level and they were moving to take on old rivals Boston Red Sox at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, on March 4.
Joe Girardi was concerned about the poor performance of his batters, but the crucial decision was to select two pitchers to place behind CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes and Allan James Burnett. Russell Martin debuted as catcher and was entering for the first time
in a Major League game since he injured his hip in August 2010. Martin caught five smooth innings including three by ace Bartolo Colon.
Colon and Manny Banuelos held the game scoreless in the first five innings, but Pedro Feliciano gave away two hits and one run in the sixth inning to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead. The Yankees tied it at 1-all in the bottom of the sixth, but the Red Sox took
away the game with three more runs in the top of the seventh inning.
The Yankees bat could not improve their hitting and the game ended in favour of the Red Sox with a score of 5-3. Girardi however was satisfied with Colon but he was pleased with 19-year-old Manny.
"From what I've seen Manny has poise," Girardi said these words after the game. "You usually don't see nearly 20-year-olds this far along."
Girardi was aware of the problems that have been created by consistent defeats, so he employed his best pitcher CC Sabathia to square off against the Washington Nationals. The move did not work against the expectations of Girardi as Sabathia gave away five
expensive runs in just over two innings. It sent the Yankees under grave pressure, but the batting squad awakened in need.
Brett Gardner, Nick Swisher, Jesus Montero and Curtis Granderson each contributed to post eight runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and took a lead. However, another shaky performance from the pitching depth cost the Yankees two runs in the top of the
seventh and one run in the top of the eighth inning. Nationals cemented their 10-8 win and increased the problems for the Yankees.
Until then the Yankees display was inconsistent and they had won only two of their first eight games. However, they got another chance to take on the Houston Astros on March 6 and the club managed to win their third outing.
Alex Rodriguez, who was struggling to gain his impetus back, shined with his first spring training home-run and the Yankees outslugged the Astros 10-8 on a windy Sunday. Cameron Diaz was sitting in the stands to cheer up Rodriguez, who refused to consider
spring training any competition.
"Throw stats out the window at spring training, but overall I feel pretty good," Rodriguez said.
It was the complete display of the Yankees’ batting line-up. The club made 21 hits, which included two hits each by Derek Jeter, Eric Nunez, Russell Martin, Adam Jones, Robinson Cano, John Parraz and Justin Maxwell. Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi was looking
for the same kind of batting brilliance.
He added only six words. "Not on a day like today."
After this outing the New York Yankees performance still remained below average and for fans it was the biggest concern as the regular season is fast approaching. Girardi, however was confident of the comeback.
Continued in Part 4
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