Yankees' Unit comes up big

[BuckFoston]

It felt like October in April last night at the Stadium. The temperatures were in the 30s, fighter jets flew overhead following the national anthem and a perpetual buzz lingered over the park before a pitch was even thrown. Despite the date, it seemed just like Game 7 of the ALCS.

Just like it, that is, except for the result.

Where the Yankees failed last fall, they flourished yesterday. Randy Johnson gave them the start they spent all winter searching for and the bats that were silent six months ago finally erupted, as the Bombers crushed the rival Red Sox in their season-opener, 9-2. It surely wasn't vengeance for the Yankees, but it was a start.

"It's the first game we've won since Game 3," Joe Torre said. "It was a long winter waiting to get on the field again."

The Big Unit, who came to the Bronx in a long-anticipated offseason trade with Arizona, allowed one run and five hits over six innings, walking two and striking out six.

After coveting him for years, George Steinbrenner saw Johnson as he had imagined him: intimidating, overpowering and viciously clever, mixing his hard slider with his harder fastball and keeping the Sox hitters limp.

"He was great," The Boss said as he left the Stadium and Johnson, who said repeatedly that he was going to downplay his first start in the days leading up to the game, admitted afterward that it felt different than his previous 12 Opening Day outings. The highlight, he said, was receiving a loud ovation as he walked from the dugout to the bullpen to warm up before the game.

"It was nice to get a feeling of what it's going to be like here," Johnson said. "I'm pretty happy that today's over and that it worked out the way it did."

The Stadium radar guns had Johnson reaching speeds of 97 mph in the first inning, indicating that he wasn't feeling restricted by the sleeves he wore under his pinstripes. He allowed his only run in the second inning, when David Ortiz doubled and Jay Payton drove him in with single, but was otherwise in control, working out of a first-and-third jam in his final frame by getting Payton to ground out.

Johnson's debut was just one of many new beginnings, however, not the least of which was the start of the Red Sox's reign as World Series champions - the first time that has happened since Opening Day, 1919.

David Wells was also starting anew, and got roundly booed in his first outing for the Sox after deriding Boston while playing for the Bombers from 1997-98 and 2002-03. He has reveled in life with the carefree Red Sox and was sporting a full beard last night - something that's prohibited in the Yankee clubhouse.

Unfortunately for the Sox, Wells wasn't nearly as successful as Johnson, getting tagged for four runs and 10 hits over 4-1/3 innings. He also hit Jason Giambi twice.

Giambi certainly won't complain about the free passes, though he didn't need much help in making an auspicious debut of his own; he went 1-for-2 in his first game since an offseason report in the San Francisco Chronicle said he admitted to using steroids during grand jury testimony in the BALCO case.

While fans on the road may rip him, Giambi was warmly embraced at home, getting a half-standing ovation as he walked to the plate for his first at-bat, followed by a full salute after the first baseman ripped a single to right. He was replaced by Tino Martinez, who drew a thundering ovation when he was announced in the top of the seventh.

Boston struck first with its run in the second, but the Yanks swiftly erased the deficit, tying the game at 1 in the bottom half when Hideki Matsui singled, went to third on Giambi's hit and scored on Bernie Williams' sac fly to left.

Matsui had saved Johnson a two-run homer when he reached over the left-field fence to pull in Kevin Millar's fly in the top of the second.

"They don't play much basketball in Japan, so I didn't know if he could jump that high," Derek Jeter said.

Matsui finished the night 3-for-5, including a two-run homer in the eighth off Matt Mantei to cap the onslaught. Jeter was 2-for-5 with two runs scored, Alex Rodriguez was 2-for-6 and drove in a run and newcomer Tony Womack was 3-for-5.

Afterward, everyone stressed that this was only the first scene in a drama that has been played out to its limit each of the past two seasons. There is much, much more to come.

"Don't jump off yet, boys and girls," Millar said. "We'll be back on Tuesday." http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/ba...p-253821c.html

[RockSports17]

Ha Ha. Yanks will beat them on Tuesday too. Yanks played well, and very happy about that.

[Killah Sith]

The Yankees looked great last night. I love the Yankee/Red Sox rivalry. This should be another great battle all season.