What could have been…

I realize it is a VERY small sample size, but what kind of Yankee fan would I be if I didn’t second guess the organization’s offseason moves? Here is what members of the 2009 Yankees did on Opening Day in debuts for their new teams:

Hideki Matsui: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI for the Angels in a 6-3 win over the Twinkies. Perhaps it was the right move letting the World Series MVP leave for a chance to play the outfield with the Halos, but I will miss hit postseason heroics (hopefully the Yanks won’t be on the other side of them this year) and business-like demeanor. You can never say enough about what he has done in pinstripes.

Johnny Damon: 2-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 R for the Tigers in an 8-4 triumph over the Royals. I want to wish him well, I really do. But I can never look past how he snubbed the Yanks for more money and then talked all sorts of trash on them during his first press conference in D-Town. Oh well, what can you do? All I’m going to say is good luck finding a deal next offseason with all the (MUCH younger) outfield free agents on the market.

Melky Cabrera: 0-for-5 with a walk and a run scored in Atlanta’s 16-5 thumping of the Cubbies. It takes a special kind of player to not produce during a 16-5 game, but I can’t stay mad at the Melk Man. He was a great player with the Yanks and another guy I hope goes on to have a great career hitting leadoff for the Bravos. Got Melk? Not anymore.

Phil Coke: 2 hits in 2/3 innings pitched in Detroit’s aforementioned 8-4 win over the Royals. He only threw 74 2/3 innings over two seasons with the Yanks, but I always liked Coke (me and Doc Gooden both). He was a good pitcher, but I never developed a serious attachment to him in his short time in pinstripes. Plus, he got lit the fuck up in his short appearance in the World Series last year. But when you grow your like he did you will not receive any sympathy from me.

Austin Jackson: 1-for-5 with an RBI, a run scored and two K’s for Detroit. Although he never actually had a big league at-bat with the Yankees, he was a highly coveted CF prospect. You could make the argument that Granderson (whom he was traded for) had a better debut with his new team (despite the loss). So I’ve got no snarky comment for this one, but it would have been nice to develop young talent and see him bloom in the minors as opposed to (possibly) running shit in D-Town now.

Also, I just want to remind everybody to tune in to MSG tonight at 10:30 EST to watch The Lineup and hear the panel crown the best second baseman in NY history. If you want to learn more about this show (airing every Tuesday at 10:30) check out their website.