Yankees Start 2017 Season Off On the Wrong Foot

After so much success in Spring Training, the Yankees start the season pretty miserably with a loss to a division rival.

The good news is the Yankees didn’t lose 7-3 on Opening Day at Yankee Stadium. The bad news is the Yankees just plain lost 7-3 on Opening Day. Not the way you want to start the brand new season.

Masahiro Tanaka was lit up giving up all seven runs on only eight hits, two of those runs being homers. He only threw two innings and was considerably the low point of the game. There were some positives, however. Both Starlin Castro and Chase Headley went 3-for-4 scoring at least one run apiece.

Another positive would be the bullpen being able to come in and not give up any more runs. Especially with Tanaka being taken out on such short notice.

Many Yankees fans have expressed concern over the question marks in the starting rotation and for a good reason. However, it’s been mostly about the bottom two spots in this rotation, not Tanaka.

The Yankees look to regroup in the 2nd game of the season. Nothing would be sweeter, or backward, than Sabathia putting up a dominant performance on Tuesday

Your ace always starts Opening Day, no questions asked. But with that comes the expectation of your ace playing his best ball to start off the season. Unfortunately, that’s not quite how today went for Tanaka. Perhaps it’s Opening Day nerves, or it’s just a bad outing.

Either way, Tanaka needs to put this loss behind him. You never want to pitch this poorly in general, but on Opening Day it’s a bit worse. The important thing is he never pitch like this again or at least not quite this bad.

Giving up seven runs in only two innings when you’re expected to go the distance is flat-out bad. It makes it even more embarrassing that Tanaka’s start is the worst in Yankees’ Opening Day history. Not quite the history you want to make, considering you’re the #1 guy.

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Yankees And Tanaka Look To Bounce Back

Tanaka needs to regain focus and not harp on this loss, but it still stings. I expect him to pitch better in his next start and hope this is the worst it gets for him. Barring injury, we should expect him to put on better performances like we know he can.

He’s still an ace, regardless of how bad his pitching was it’s one loss at the very beginning of a long season. Better now than the latter parts of the season.

On a more aesthetic note, another low point is how bad Tropicana Field looks. I’ve heard others voice similar opinions and I wholeheartedly agree. It looks pretty dilapidated on the TV, and I assume even worse in person.

The 2017 Yankees and AL East Predictions (Part 2)

The Yankees have a bright future and I look forward to seeing their young talent develop. But the future is now for the Red Sox.

When the Yankees come back to Florida towards the end of May, I expect to be in attendance. I will be able to get an authentic experience of what Tropicana Field is actually like in person. Hopefully, the cowbells will not be in attendance.

The Yankees look to regroup in the 2nd game of the season. Nothing would be sweeter, or backward, than Sabathia putting up a dominant performance on Tuesday. And for the offense to get back to work starting with the likes of Sanchez, Bird, and Holliday. The most important thing is to play how they did in Spring Training, despite facing their opponents’ set rosters.