Yankees (Pavano) VS Devil Rays (Kazmir), Game 1

Game 1: New York Yankees VS Tampa Bay Devil Rays

The Starter: Carl Pavano ended the day with 4 and 1/3rd IP, 5 runs allowed (4 of which were earned, as well as 6 hits and 2 walks. Face value, not so good, but there are extenuating circumstances. The defense behind Pavano was god awful, to the tune of three errors. It's ironic, but the error that gets the most focus was the only one that didn't have any real effect on the game. A-Rod overran a foul popup in the first inning, but Pavano got a groundout two pitches later. The second error, Jeter's poor throw that Phelps couldn't come up with, not only resulted in an unearned run, but forced Pavano to throw another 10 pitches or so. In the 5th inning, Pavano started falling apart, but even didn't have to be as bad as it turned out to be. Phelps threw a ball into center field after Crawford got stuck between 1st and 2nd base. Couple that with poor throws by Posada on attempted steals for the most part, and poor throws to home plate on theoretical plays at the plate, and Pavano got absolutely nothing to work with behind him. Also, it bears keeping in mind this is his first major league game in almost 2 years. I was more concerned with his early performance prior to the game than later on (when he would undoubtedly be tiring), and he looked good early on. It's something to build on. It wasn't a great start and he doesn't come up with a win, but it's something to work on.

The Bullpen: Very good. I liked what I saw. Bruney allowed one of Pavano's runners to score, but only gave up the one hit. Vizcaino needed 5 pitches to get through the 7th inning and earn himself a win. Kyle Farnsworth looked just fine, allowing one single but nothing else. Mariano Rivera made his three hitters look silly, striking out the side. If anyone ever earned an extension, it's him. I'm just saying.

The Offense: Pretty much what we've come to expect from this team. They worked Kazmir out of the game after 5 innings, they scored a bunch of runs using both small ball and the home run. Giambi got himself 3 RBIs, Jeter had a big bases loaded game tying hit. It's also unfortunate that everyone is going to remember that stupid dropped pop up and strikeout in the first inning, because Alex did exactly what the haters claim he can't do. With the score tied, he got a rocket hit through the shortstop, stole second, scored the go ahead run on Giambi's single, and then hit a big 2 run home run in the 8th inning. I know people have already started saying it's just stat padding because the Yanks already had a 2 run lead with Mariano on the mound, but you know what, as much confidence as I have in Mariano, I'll take those 2 runs anyday. You never know when some bloop hits will lead to a run or two.

Also, thumbs up to the 9 hole guys. After all the "Blah blah blah, this turns the Yankees into an automatic out National League team" garbage, the 9 hole guys were 1 for 1 with 2 walks and a sacrifice bunt. Naturally that's not going to continue forever. Mientkiewicz really isn't all that great of a hitter, but if he can simply hit better than his 2004 and 2005 seasons, he should be good enough, especially with Phelps spotting him against lefties. Could the Yankees improve there, probably, but is it absolutely necessary? No, I don't think so. But then again, a big injury could change that, and I'll wait and see what happens when Nieves has to give Posada a day off.

The Defense: Awful. Bad bad bad. No real great plays of note and 3 errors on the day. On the bright side, they're not going to make 3 errors every game. Isn't it nice that the Yankees actually won the game where they played awful defense? Still, Phelps didn't look good (not a huge problem, since he's only really there against lefties, unless he sets the world on fire with his hitting while Mientkiewicz does nothing), and Jeter threw a couple in the dirt. A-Rod's popup isn't nearly as big a deal as some make it out to be. It didn't lead to a run, it wasn't exactly an easy play since he had to run down the line pretty far, and he's never been good with popups anyway. The Yanks looked bad in the field, but hopefully it'll improve some.

Player of the Game: I would go with Giambi. Sure, Jeter had the big game tying hit, but Jason singled in two runs right off the bat to give the Yankees the initial lead of the game, and then broke the 5-5 tie again later on. And not that I make a big deal of it, but Giambi and Phelps were the only starters not to leave anyone on base.

Overall Thoughts: Except for the awful defense, it was a good game. The bullpen looked good, there are reasons to think positively about Pavano's start, and the offense did its thing. The defense was bad (I'm not sure if I've painted a clear enough picture of just how bad they looked defensively today...) but these days happen. The Yanks aren't an amazing defensive team by any stretch, but they're good enough that this isn't going to happen consistently.

Wednesday Pettitte faces off against Jae Seo. The bottom line is if the D-Rays were going to take a game, Game 1 was the time to do it. They didn't. Obviously anything can happen in this game, but the Yankees really shouldn't have much of a problem in Games 2 and 3.