Yankees Show Offensive Firepower In First Series

If you like hits, runs, and home runs, you enjoyed the New York Yankees opening series against the Detroit Tigers. The Yankees won two of three, mostly due to their explosive bats.

Through the first three games, the Yankees have scored a total of 23 runs on 29 hits. Tigers pitching surely could use a rest after this series. The Minnesota Twins are up next for the Yankees and I am sure they have taken notice to the hot start by New York.

Nine home runs were hit by players in pinstripes through the first three games. First baseman Mark Teixeira is off to a hot start, with three home runs including two big three run bombs. This is a welcome sign for the Yankees who usually suffer through an early season slump by their important No. 3 hitter.  Teixeira currently holds a .333 average overall.

Jorge Posada belted two home runs in Sunday’s loss. Early reports are that Posada is still getting used to his new role as designated hitter. Used to being active the entire game, Posada is now looking for ways to occupy his time between at bats. It will take time, but a two homer game is a great step forward.

Nick Swisher, Alex Rodriguez, and Russell Martin are also off to terrific starts. Martin, the teams new starting catcher is batting .455 after recording five hits including double and a home run in his eleven at-bats. Rodriguez and Swisher are batting .400 and .364, respectively to start the season. A-Rod has one home run so far.

Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson have one home run a piece.

There is no doubt some of the hot starts will cool down eventually. This is however a great sign for a team that came into the year with question marks. The Yankees will need Teixeira and Rodriguez to continue putting up big time numbers and carry this deep lineup.

Pitching has been good and bad. CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett put decent starts together to start the year but Phil Hughes got roughed up in his first start of the season on Sunday. The back end of the bullpen has been solid with Joba Chamberlain, Rafael Soriano, and Mariano Rivera looking good. Long man Bartolo Colon was very up and down in his appearance Sunday. Luis Ayala also did not have a great showing in his two innings over the weekend.

It is to early in the season to get excited, or panic. A major league baseball season is a long road that will surely be full of it’s curves and pot holes. The beginning signs have mostly been positive, especially the way most of the lineup is swinging the bats.

If the first three games are any indication of things to come, the Yankees will be scoring runs in bunches this season. An average of over seven runs and nine hits per game is quite the offensive explosion.