New manager + Old formula = A good opener for Yanks

Joe Girardi’s 1st game as Yankees manager was a great success. It was as if Joe Torre never left.

Wang was good for 7 innings. Once again, I would have sent him out for the 8th. But Joba and Mariano are lockdown in the 8th and 9th, so why mess with success? I don’t see why Yankee fans are so down on Wang. Is he a great pitcher? No, not in today’s baseball. But 19 wins a season is nothing to shake a stick at. Last time I looked, his 38 wins are the most in the majors the last two seasons. You’d like to see him strike more people out. Teams like the Indians are patient-they’ll wait him out and force Wang to get his pitches up in the zone. Instead of ground balls, you get pounded. If Dave Eiland can teach him to be a little more aggressive, Wang will be even better, especially in the postseason.

Memo to Girardi: Keep Melky Cabrera in center field EVERY night. Like Jeter and A-Rod, you’ll just have to play him 150 plus games. I shudder at anybody else in center. Melky may not be Andruw Jones or Torii Hunter-but he can get to balls no one else on the team can. Melky’s homer was a welcome sight too.

WATCH VIDEO OF YANKEES OPENING DAY AFTER THE JUMP...

All in all-very Torre-esque. Good pitching, defense, timely hitting, taking advantage of mistakes, (the Jays should have been out of the inning on Matsui’s grounder. Toronto’s not good enough to give teams extra outs) and a long ball-and all is well-at least for the moment-in the Bronx.