This Week In Yankees Baseball: The Absolute Biggest Takeaway From Week One

Well hello there everybody! Welcome to This Week In Yankees Baseball. The Boys from The Bronx have unwrapped a brand new season in quest of their 28th World Series Championship!

The surprising consensus of Yankees fans attending the final spring training games against the Marlins last weekend was loud and clear-the best days of  Mark Teixeira were over. Tex was too old, too injury prone, and only out there because Greg Bird couldn’t be.

Well, Teixeira sure put that nonsense to rest in a hurry. He swatted two home runs this week to go with seven RBI. That included a big three run shot on Thursday against the Astros, leading the Yankees to the 8-5 win. Teixeira keeps getting written off, but keeps bouncing back.

First there were those who doubted he could come back from his injury and return to his usual form. Then Bird gave a glimpse of what the future holds when he filled in late last season.

But with the Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro getting used to each other, Teixeira’s magical glove is more important than ever. And if his early-season power surge is an indication of what the Yankees can expect in 2016, the urgency for Bird’s return is not as critical.

Of course, there were other good signs this week. Carlos Beltran also socked a pair of home runs. Masahiro Tanaka allowed two earned runs in 5.2 innings. CC Sabathia posted a solid outing, allowing three earned runs in six. Brian McCann had two homers in support of his .467 batting average.

Perhaps the biggest surprises other than Teixeira came from Castro and Gregorius. Castro batted .450 and Gregorius .333. We could be looking at the starting middle infield in the all star game.

When the dust cleared, the Yankees found themselves 3-2, a game and a half behind the Orioles. But they were also a game and a half ahead of the Blue Jays, even with all of Toronto’s high expectations. And Nick Swisher reportedly was headed back to the Yankees organization. So be sure to follow Yanks Go Yard for the latest on those developments.