Calm Down Yankees Fans; It Was Just One Game

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Everyone looks forward to Opening Day in baseball; a time when hopes are high across the majors and everyone has a new, fresh start and a positive mindset.

Of course, once that first pitch is thrown it is all business, and it goes without saying that the New York Yankees and their fans would have liked a better start to their 2015 campaign on Monday.

Playing in front of a sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium, the Bombers fell to the Toronto Blue Jays 6-1 in their opener. Masahiro Tanaka, the team’s undisputed ace who happened to suffer a partial tear in his ulnar collateral ligament last year, got shelled in the third inning. He would not make it to the fifth.

The Yankees struggled offensively as well, managing just three hits and one run, a Brett Gardner homer, off of Drew Hutchison and the Toronto bullpen. Chase Headley made a throwing error that opened the floodgates in the third and Didi Gregorius made a costly base running blunder in the eighth, getting gunned down trying to steal third base with two on and two out.

It was not the day manager Joe Girardi and the Yankees were hoping for, and it certainly did not help that the crosstown rival Mets were able get to Max Scherzer and pull off a win in Washington.

However, what Yankees fans need to remember is that Opening Day is just one game out of 162. There is no need to overreact to one loss.

Not that there should be reason for concern in the first place, but a source confirmed to Double G Sports that Tanaka and his elbow felt fine after the game yesterday. He was just off. It happens. When it does, and it will again, there is no need for media outlets like the New York Post to run stories about how Tanaka is no longer the same pitcher.

The guy had a bad day. Move on.

Headley meanwhile is one of the best defensive third baseman in the game. Monday’s error is one of the few he will make all season. The fact that he made his first on Opening Day right as Tanaka imploded is just a matter of poor timing. Gregorius on the hand was just trying to do too much. He is a young player, only 25, and is still learning.

Was it a bad loss filled with some disappointment? Yes, it was, but it was only Opening Day. Fans need to keep in mind that this team has plenty to offer. If healthy, the Yankees will have the best rotation in the American League East accompanying one of the better defenses and bullpens. With run prevention at an all-time high, New York needs just a slight uptick in offensive production from 2014.

With the division wide open this season, the Yankees could be in for a fun year, a competitive one at least.

Fans just need to let the rough start go.

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