C.C., No, No? No.

• C.C. Sabathia was dominant from the get-go, using a sharp mid-90s fastball (topping out at 96) with his regular complement of off speed to keep the Rays hitless for 7 2/3 innings. When Kelly Shoppach lined a single to left with two outs in the 8^th, it was the longest Sabathia had ever gone into a game before giving up a hit. His previous high was on April 7, 2002, when Sabathia kept the Tigers hitless for 7 innings. Randall Simon broke up that no-hitter attempt with a single leading off the 8^th inning.  
  

  C.C. Sabathia had full command as he flirted with a no-hitter in Tampa.

• Today’s performance was the fourth time in his career that Sabathia pitched at least 7 innings and gave up only one hit. One of those games was a CG shutout of the Pittsburg Pirates while C.C. was with the Brewers. The only base hit occurred on an infield single to the pitcher by Adam LaRoche. The play was very controversial at the time as many felt it should have been scored an error.
• The last Yankee to throw a no-hitter was David Cone, who actually tossed a perfect game at the Montreal Expos on July 18, 1999. The last Yankee lefty to throw a no-hitter was Jim Abbott, who kept the Cleveland Indians hitless on September 4, 1993.
• In support of Sabathia’s command performance, the Yankees also flashed some leather. Arod made two spectacular diving plays, one in the first off Evan Longoria and another to end the seventh against BJ Upton. Teixeira also ended an inning with a great play, laying out to snag Jason Bartlett’s liner at the end of the sixth.

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Game 5: Yankees vs. Rays

The Yankees look to rebound from their 9-3 loss in game one of the series, but will have to face another young Rays’ pitcher with electric stuff. After besting Andy Sonnanstine in the competition for the Rays’ 5^th starter role, Wade Davis makes his 2010 debut. Ironically, he begins this season the same way he ended the last one. On the last game of the 2009 season, Davis took the loss in a 10-2 Yankee win. He yielded 5 runs/3 earned in 5 innings, and gave up the first of Alex Rodriquez’ two HRs in his record setting 7 RBI sixth inning. Meanwhile, Sabathia will have his hands full with a middle of a Rays lineup that has had incredible success against him. Ben Zobrist, Evan Longoria and BJ Upton have combined for 5 HRs and 14 RBIs in only 41 plate appearances.

vs. Wade Davis	PA	BA	OBP	SLG	HR	RBI
Derek Jeter SS	3	0.667	0.667	0.667	0	0
Nick Johnson DH	0	0.000	0.000	0.000	0	0
Mark Teixeira 1B	3	0.000	0.333	0.000	0	0
Alex Rodriguez 3B	3	0.667	0.667	1.667	1	3
Robinson Cano 2B	2	0.000	0.000	0.000	0	0
Nick Swisher RF	3	0.000	0.333	0.000	0	0
Curtis Granderson CF	3	0.333	0.333	0.667	0	0
Brett Gardner LF	0	0.000	0.000	0.000	0	0
Francisco Cervelli C	0	0.000	0.000	0.000	0	0
Total	17	0.333	0.412	0.600	1	3
vs. CC Sabathia	PA	BA	OBP	SLG	HR	RBI
Jason Bartlett SS	42	0.314	0.405	0.457	1	3
Carl Crawford LF	38	0.263	0.263	0.395	0	2
Ben Zobrist 2B	16	0.462	0.533	0.923	1	4
Evan Longoria 3B	9	0.500	0.667	1.500	2	4
B.J. Upton CF	16	0.429	0.500	1.143	2	6
Willy Aybar 1B	8	0.250	0.250	0.625	1	3
Pat Burrell DH	12	0.100	0.250	0.200	0	1
Kelly Shoppach C	5	0.250	0.400	0.500	0	1
Gabe Kapler RF	25	0.250	0.400	0.450	1	2
Total	171	0.304	0.374	0.581	8	26

• The Yankees will play their first day game of the season, the longest the team has gone without playing under the sun at the start of a season.
• Alex Rodriguez remains tied with Mark McGwire for 8^th place on the All-Time HR list.
• Francisco Cervelli will make his 2010 season debut, leaving Ramiro Pena and Phil Hughes as the only two members of the 25-man roster to not see game action.
• The last time Carlos Pena faced CC Sabathia, his hand was broken by a pitch. Pena is not playing this afternoon.

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Gate 2 Gets a Reprise

One of the Gate 2 balconies that will be preserved.

The Daily News is reporting that the three balconies that adorned “Gate 2” of Yankee Stadium will be preserved and incorporated into the development of the new Heritage Park (h/t River Avenue Blues). The balconies dated back to the original construction of the Stadium

Groups like the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium and the Save the Yankee Gate 2 Committee had rallied to preserve more of the structure, but ultimately failed. Even though the balconies were just a small portion of the original Yankee Stadium, this reversal by the Parks Department is at least a moral victory.

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Birth of the Yankees

On April 10, 1913, the New York Highlanders played their first game with a new official team name: the Yankees. Often referred to as the Americans (to distinguish them from the Giants, New York’s National League team), and by extension the Yankees, the Highlanders had been the team’s official name since moving from Baltimore at the end of the 1902 season. However, with the team coming off an abysmal 50-102 season and facing declining attendance and rising costs, owners “Big Bill” Devery and Frank Ferrell figured some changes were in order. In addition to adopting Yankees as the team’s new moniker, Devery and Ferrell also moved the team out of Hilltop Park and into the Polo Grounds, home of the Giants.

A scene from outside Hilltop Park (1912), where the Yankees (then Highlanders) played from 1903 unitl that year.

The Yankees would wind up finishing the season at 57-94. Attendance did increase by over 100,000 fans (a nearly 50% rise), however, and the team had adopted a name that would rank among sports’ most widely recognized. Devery and Ferrell wound up selling the team two years later, so they never reaped the rewards of these changes. Little did they know that they had placed a name on so much future success.

The date, which was also the home opener for the Washington Senators, was also notable because it featured a ceremonial first pitch delivered by the newly elected President Woodrow Wilson. Wilson, who attended the game with his entire cabinet, threw out the first pitch to Senators’ star pitcher Walter Johnson, a tradition started three years earlier when Warren Harding did the very same. Walter Johnson then proceeded to shut down the Yankees as the Senators held on for a 2-1 victory. For a box score and game summary from the New York Times archive, click here (note the early use of the “Americans” nickname, which would remain common for sometime thereafter).

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