The Daily Dozen: April 8th, 2015 Edition

THE DAILY DOZEN - APRIL 8, 2015

Twelve Takeaways from Tonight's Game

1. Game 2 is in the books...and the Yankees FINALLY won a game!  Oh we fans that are so used to winning seasons and the Yankees not having to struggle for runs.  At least fans that didn't have to wait through the entire decade of the 1980s to get something for their fandom...

2. Michael Pineda is...well...Michael Pineda.  The guy is going to give you 6 strong innings each night out with an ERA under 3.00 and still struggle to get above .500.  His run support is abysmal.  What is that old adage?  With great starters you only need one or two runs to win...well, the Yankees definitely played that way for the first 6 innings.  For the record Pineda gave up 2 runs in 6 innings tonight.  Here's an interesting stat provided by Bryan Hoch via Twitter, #runsupport is right!

3. There were only 31,020 fans at the game.  You think maybe the Steinbrenners wished they had a retractable roof right about now?  44 degrees, cloudy, rainy, and a 17 mph wind in early April does not make a great game to watch in-house.  It was likely miserable for the players as well.  For the record, the 31,020 was 63.1% capacity.  I bet they still made a killing on those $10 beers though...

$10 for a beer...it better have gold flakes in it!

4. 2015 Prediction:  As goes Ellsbury, will go the Yankees.  Ellsbury was 2 for 2 tonight and on base all four times to the plate.  He also had his first steal of the season.  Not surprisingly the Yankees won.  Ells and Gardner will be the backbone of this team as they scrape and scrap for runs while defensively mitigating runs by the other teams with their stellar defense.

5. Small Sample Size...but Sucky Stats.  I know it's early in the season and there is plenty of time for the "Bronx Bombers" to show up, but here are the current lines (batting average / on-base % / slugging %) of some of the big bashers within the lineup:

 --- Carlos Beltran  .000 / .125 / .000
 --- Mark Teixeira  .167 / .375 / .333
 --- Brian McCann .143 / .250 / .143
 --- Alex Rodriguez .167 / .286 / .167

6. Which brings me to Chase Headley.  Where would the team have been without Chase last season?  And of course he drives in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 8th to steal the Blue Jays' thunder.  He went 2 for 4 tonight to bump his stat line to a neat .250 / .250 / .250...arrgh.  But hey, he seems to be clutch when it matters.

The Almighty Chase Headley Everybody
(say this in a Harey Carey voice and it's even better!)

7. R.A. Dickey.  Seriously...this guy was lights out tonight giving up only 1 run in 6 and 1/3 innings with 4 strikeouts.  His ERA sits at 1.42.  And he didn't win...Michael Pineda says hi!  Okay so he wasn't the R.A. Dickey that won the Cy Young Award in 2012 for the Mets, what with giving up 4 hits and 3 walks in those same 6 1/3, but I bet Yankees fans would take him into the fold in a heartbeat.  Interestingly, when Dickey won the CY, the person that won the AL award was David Price...and they were both from within 1/2 hour of each other in Middle Tennessee where I lived...true story!

8. Scrape, claw, crawl, bite if you have to.  The 2015 version of the New York Yankees will have to do just that to win games and they will have plenty of close games that will be decided by a stolen base, a great defensive play, or the lights-out bullpen.  Case in point.  The three runs scored in the 8th came off of a bloop double, a single by none other than Jacoby Ellsbury, a HBP of Brett Gardner, and intentional walk of Teixeira (that feared bat that he is, especially with a shift), a HBP of Brian McCann, and a single by Headley. The first run of the night came from Ellsbury's single, a stolen base, a groundout by Gardner, and a sac fly by McCann.  Yep! These aren't your father's Yankees!

9. Seriously...don't you be hurting Brett Gardner.  I pity the fool that ends Brett "The Hitman" Gardner's season by plunking him in the elbow.  I will hunt you down Loup!  Well, he did get the loss, so I guess that is good enough.

Gardner Gripping his Elbow in the 8th Inning

10. Dellin Betances.  I don't think I really have to say anything besides that...but I will...1 inning, 1 hit, 1 run, TWO WALKS??? NO STRIKEOUTS???  It took 32 pitches to get out of the inning; but he did and the Yankees bullpen held once again.

11.  Did anyone notice that Jose Bautista is 0-fer in 2015?  Bautista's line would fit right in with the Bronx Bombers with his .000 / .167 / .000.  If it wasn't for Encarnacion right behind him the Blue Jays would likely be 0-2 right now.

12.  Andrew Miller records his first save as a Yankee.  Congratulations Mr. Miller, only 652 more to become the Yankees All-Time Saves Leader!  I will make another prediction here...Miller will end up with 50 saves this season...just a hunch.

Jeter Not Trying to Acknowledge His Final Homestand

Retiring Yankees' Shortstop Derek Jeter is not trying to acknowledge that this week's homestand is the last of his career. 

Jeter, 40, hit hit first home run in the Bronx this season last night against the Blue Jays, a line-drive off knuckleballer R.A. Dickey that easily cleared the left field wall.

"I'm trying not to think about it being my last homestand," Jeter told the Journal News after yesterday's 3-2 victory. "We still have a week left. We're trying to win games. I'm going to go out there and play hard like I've always done my entire career."

After tonight, Jeter will have just six games left in NYC. Now for him, that fact is probably depressing, but to the rest of the team it's likely relieving, as the Yanks currently sit at just 78-74 this year despite their big offseason.

"Obviously this year, up until this point, hasn't turned out how I would like it to," Jeter admitted. "But you've got to keep fighting."

Yes you do Jeter. For the sake of our last memories of you, yes, you do.

Lind's Ninth Inning Error Helps Yankees Beat Blue Jays in Opener

Shane Greene threw 6 2/3 shutout innings and Adam Lind committed a fielding error with the go-ahead run at third in the ninth tonight as the Yankees beat the Blue Jays in walk-off fashion, 3-2, beginning this homestand nicely. 

For most of this one, as expected, the Yanks struggled pretty mightily against Toronto starter R.A. Dickey (6 IP, 2 ER), not reaching second through the knuckleballer's first 4 2/3 frames while recording just a couple of singles.

Still, after Chase Headley, who hit the ball that Lind misplayed, worked a walk and Stephen Drew doubled him home with two outs in the bottom of the fifth New York had a quick 1-0 lead, something Greene really ran with during his dominant performance.

Indeed, the rookie right-hander looked great again in this contest, surrendering just three hits and two walks while striking out six in a nearly-perfect outing.

Add on to those numbers a nice solo home run by Derek Jeter in the sixth and an easy W seemed certain going into the top of the eighth, an at-bat in which the Jays would suddenly tie the score when Jose Bautista took Shawn Kelley deep for a two-run shot.