The tears from Babe Ruth in heaven flowed on Yankees stadium as he lamented over the last opener at the house he built. Therefore the game was called and the Yankees will play the Blue Jays tomorrow.
If the anticipation wasn't bad enough, now we have to wait another day. Hang in there!
Listening on the radio for play-by-play,
I hear, "Welcome to Opening Day".
Despite cold temperatures for today's game,
A sellout crowd has came.
I turn my attention to the bullpen.
The starting pitcher is number 10.
Managers present line-ups
Pitcher throws warm up.
Umpire yells, "Play Ball!"
Fielders heed the call.
Innings one, two and three,
No score too be.
Inning five,
Visitors come alive
Back-to-back singles down the line.
Sacrifice fly - position nine.
No one at fault,
But one run results.
Inning eight,
Still not too late.
The home team takes their swings.
A base hit and stolen base, leadoff would bring.
Will this one get a hit?
No, second base smothers it.
Fly ball and a play at the plate.
A perfect throw ends the eighth.
I review the pitcher's stats,
As the visitors come to bat.
Four straight balls and a walk,
Pitching coach comes out too talk.
A new pitcher trots to the mound.
Three feared sluggers shut down.
Bottom of the ninth,
Climax at its height.
An error on a bad hop.
Line drive over shortstop.
Fans express belief,
Even with the closer now in relief.
Double off the fence.
The crowd is in suspense.
Rounding third, anxiously awaiting the final word.
This is what I heard.
"Here comes the winning run",
Safe! and "That's a winner" 2-1.
Spectators approve with a deafening roar,
Seconds later, fireworks would soar.
Baseball and America's pastime is my reason,
I think I'll go to another game this season.
by Don Angel
Here it is, the final opening line up at the house that Ruth built. It may not be Murderers Row but it is none the less impressive.
1. Johnny Damon LF
2. Derek Jeter SS
3. Bobby Abreu RF
4. Alex Rodriguez 3B
5. Jason Giambi 1B
6. Robinson Cano 2B
7. Jorge Posada C
8. Hideki Matsui DH
9. Melky Cabrera CF
Chien-Ming Wang P
Let's go Yankees!
Andy Pettitte pitched pain free 1 hit ball through six innings as the lefty is on track to start Saturday night against the Rays. He threw 77 pitches in the outing and said, "I feel great; everything felt good today. I got a lot
of work in and was able to work on some stuff down the stretch." When asked if he would be ready on April 5th he said, "I'm all set. Did I have to get to 77 pitches today
because I'm a little 
short [and] behind everybody? Yeah, but I'm ready
for my start." He should be able to get close to 100 pitches in his first start.
Ian Kennedy also had a final tune up today and is set to pitch on Friday. Kennedy threw 76 pitches in five innings and ended up only giving up 4 earned runs all Spring. I look for Kennedy to win as many as 14 or 15 games this season.
Derek Jeter is fine after bruising his pinky finger. Jeter said it would take more than that for him to miss the game. He is fine, no worries here.
Finally, for all of you worried about Morgan Ensberg wearing Paul O'Neill's number 21, you can rest easy tonight. Out of respect for Paul, Ensberg will wear the number 11.
Are you excited yet? Opening day is tomorrow. I can't wait! If anyone is going and takes some pictures, would you email them to me and I will put them on the blog.
A fluke ground ball bounced erratically and bruised the right pinky finger of All Star shortstop Derek Jeter. The injury did not keep Jeter from playing although he was removed at the end of the inning. a asked about the finger Jeter said "Yes Sir" to a reporter that asked if it was ok.
In the visitors' clubhouse afterward, Jeter had the pinky finger wrapped up to the knuckle.
Jeter did not want to comment after that. The Yankees captain should be fine and be ready to go on Monday for the final opening day at Yankees stadium.
Andy Pettitte will start the season on the disabled list but no need to panic. The veteran southpaw will make his first start on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays if all goes well in his minor league start tomorrow.
Stay tuned to MyTeamRivals.com's The Bronx Daily for breaking news and updates.
Phil Hughes threw 5 innings giving up 3 hits and 2 runs (1 earned) with a walk and 4 strikeouts as he looked the part of a young ace as the Yankees finished up Spring Training on a high note defeating the Florida Marlins 4-2. The Yankees ended the Spring at 14-12-2 and look ready to win another American League East title.
Traber, Rivera, Farnsworth, Bruney, Chamberlain, and Ohlendorf combined to pitch 4 shut out innings and showed that pitching would be good from start to finish for the Bombers this year. The bullpen will be stronger than it has been in years past and Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera will make the most fearsome back end of a bullpen in baseball.
Jason Giambi went 2-3 and is hitting .413 this Spring. Giambi feels better than he has felt since his second year with the Yankees and is poised for a huge season. At 37, if he can stay healthy there is no reason he will not hit 35 home runs and solidify the line up.
When asked about his health Jason said, "My body feels great. I'm excited about the way I'm swinging the bat. Everything has been going well. I learned a lot about the problem that I had so I cleaned that up. My legs feel great."
With the rest of the line up and the exciting young pitching, a healthy productive Giambi could lead the team to 100 wins. Go Yankees!
Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" played as Legends Field became George M Steinbrenner Stadium. Steinbrenner, with his wife who threw out the first pitch, his sons, daughter, and son in law enjoyed the ceremony as the man synonymous with Yankees baseball was honored in Tampa, Florida.
The 77 year old boss has turned control over to his sons Hank and Hal as rumors of his declining health have surfaced. George looked great today though as he was paraded around the stadium waving to the crowd. It was an honor well deserved!
Hideki Matsui did not want to lose a bet he had with Bobby Abreu and Derek Jeter about who would marry first. Matsui decided he was going to win and got married on Wednesday at a chapel in New York. He kept the relationship away from the media including the Japanese media that tails him around.
When asked about the secrecy he said, "Basically, the only people I told about this were the immediate family. I think that helped."
Manager Joe Girardi added his advise when gambling saying,
"Sometimes you should have all the information before you make a bet."
Jeter was given a one year handicap to find a wife and not pay. His response? "He won. I got one year? No chance. I'll give him the money today. That's pretty good, though. He's sneaky. I should have known he was up to something."
The lesson learned, never bet on getting married unless you are ready to take a quick plunge!
Derek Jeter hit a home run but the suddenly quiet Yankees bats managed only 5 hits as they lost to the Pirates 5-2. Kei Igawa looked poor again giving up 5 hits 4 runs and 3 walks in 3.1 innings. Let's hope we do not see him for long in Yankees pinstripes. 
The teams lackluster performances of late may be the boredom that comes during the last week of Spring Training. The team just needs to be able to turn it on Monday when they face the Blue Jays.
The big news now is the controversy surrounding opening day at Yankees stadium and Reggie Jackson. Fans wonder why Yogi Berra or Whitey Ford are not doing it. The other news is that Bob Sheppard, reportedly in his late 90's, will not be there working the PA microphone. Where do you stand on Reggie and the first pitch?
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