In 1937, the Yankees lost another season opener to the Senators, 3-2.
In 1938, the Yankees lost their season opener to the Boston Red Sox -- not yet "The Scum" -- 3-2.
In 1947, the Yankees lost their season opener to the Philadelphia Athletics, 6-1.
In 1953, the Yankees lost another season opener to the A's, 5-0.
In 1961, the Yankees lost their season opener to the Minnesota Twins, 6-0.
In 1978, the Yankees lost their season opener to the Texas Rangers, 2-1.
In 1998, the Yankees not only lost their season opener to the Whatever They Were Calling Themselves That Year Angels of Anaheim, 4-1, but lost 4 of their 1st 5 games.
In 1999, the Yankees lost the season opener to the A's again, this time in Oakland, 5-3.
And in 2009, the Yankees lost the 1st 2 games of the season to the Baltimore Orioles, 10-5 and 7-5.
Each time, the Yankees won the World Series anyway.
In other words, the Yankees have won the World Series despite losing their 1rst game of the season more times than any other team except the St. Louis Cardinals have won the World Series, period. (11-10)
Somebody told me, borrowing the phrase of Rick Pitino, "1998 isn't walking through that door."
Yeah, but in 1998, we thought 1961 wasn't walking through that door.
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Anyway, it's something hopeful to think about, and we need something hopeful to think about, after losing 8-2 to The Scum in the season opener at Yankee Stadium II.
CC Sabathia really only had 1 bad inning. Unfortunately, it was the 2nd, in which he allowed 4 runs, putting the Yankees in a hole that a full Yankee lineup could have dug out of, presuming the bullpen (and by "the bullpen" I mean "Boone Fucking Logan") didn't blow it.
But Jon Lester did have it, and held the Yankees to 2 runs on 5 hits over the 1st 5 innings. Five Sox relievers held the Yankees scoreless, while 5 Yankee relievers were not quite their equal. David Phelps allowed a run, and while Logan, Shawn Kelley and Cody Eppley were okay, Joba Chamberlain pitched an awful 8th inning.
The Yankees' runs came in the 4th inning. Perhaps appropriately, ex-Scummer Kevin Youkilis led off with a double, and the also-much-maligned Vernon Wells drew a walk. After Ben Francisco (who?) popped up, Ichiro Suzuki singled to load the bases. (Youk didn't score, because, as Yogi Berra would say, even when he could run, he couldn't run.) Jayson Nix struck out, but Francisco Cervelli singled home Youk and Wells.
WP: Lester (1-0). LP: Sabathia (0-1). Attendance: 49,514, a sellout.
The Yankees had won their last 11 times when the 1st game of the season was also the home opener. They hadn't lost a 1st game of the season at home since 1982.
Following the traditional day off after Opening Day, the Yanks and Sox play again on Wednesday night, at 7:00. Hiroki Kuroda starts against Clay Buchholz.
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