YGY Series Preview Show: Astros-Yankees (4/29-5/1)

For the first time since 1995, the New York Yankees were able to sweep the Toronto Blue Jays at home in a 4-game series. The Yankees have defied expectations through the first month of the season, with a 15-9 record. The one thing that was impressive about the series with Toronto was that they won every game by two runs or fewer and have hit timely home runs from Travis Hafner, Robinson Cano, and Lyle Overbay that remind fans of last year’s power hitting bunch. The team did take some hits over the weekend with Kevin Youkilis getting another MRI on his back and the trips to the disabled list for Francisco Cervelli and Ivan Nova. However, the next man up mindset is still in the clubhouse for Joe Girardi and company as they finish up the month of April and begin the month of May with the Houston Astros (7-18)

The Houston Astros are a team that strikes out more than anybody in baseball. Look for Pettitte, Kuroda, and Phelps to continue the trend this week (Photo Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports)

The Astros are finishing up their first month as a member of the AL West and it has not been very pretty. They have lost four straight games, have the most strikeouts of any team in the Major Leagues, and are coming off being swept in a three game series against the Boston Red Sox. New manager Bo Porter is trying to make a team win that has a lower payroll than Alex Rodriguez‘s annual salary.

They are re-building with the sabermetric mindset as opposed to the Miami Marlins’ rebuilding via firesale. They do have a talented middle infield with second baseman Jose Altuve and shortstop Marwin Gonzalez. Also, they have power with Rick Ankiel and Chris Carer, who have five home runs each. Houston’s pitching leaves a lot to be desired, but keep an eye on Lucas Harrell tonight. He is seen by Astros’ fans to be a frontline starter in the future and will go up against former Astro Andy Pettitte in this series.

On this episode of the Yanks Go Yard show, presented by BaldVinny.com, I was joined by a special co-host in Yanks Go Yard writer Hunter Farman. We discussed the Yankees’ surprising start as well as some questions about the team going forward in Youk, Cervelli, and the first start of 2013 for David Phelps coming up Wednesday. Also, we were joined by Andy Pondillo from ClimbingTalsHill.com to talk about the Astros and learn more about their young players.

CLICK HERE FOR THE ASTROS-YANKEES SERIES PREVIEW SHOW!!!