Your 2010 New York Yankees

The 2010 Yanks have gotten off to a great start. As of today's victory (and sweep) of the Texas Rangers, NY is 9-3. Best start since 2003 (in which we started out 18-3 before losing our 4th game, so we have awhile to go). I tasted every game thus far, either on YES, on 880, or in person. Here are my keys to start of the season:

1) PITCHING

Here's the line on our starting pitchers:

C. Sabathia - 2-0, 2.84
A. Burnett - 2-0, 2.37
A. Pettitte - 2-0, 1.35
J. Vasquez - 0-2, 9.82
P. Hughes - 1-0, 3.60

Now, obviously Javier Vasquez is a sore spot, but everyone else has been stellar. CC, a notorious slow starter, has come in at the same pace as when he finished last season. AJ is in sync with Jorge and Pettitte doesn't seem to be slowing down at all given his age. Here's the line on another pitcher who does not seem to be showing his age in the least bit:

M. Rivera - 5 saves, 0.00 ERA

2) BRETT GARDNER

A very pleasant surprise Gardner has been. He's batting .333 (4th) with an OBP of .444 (2nd on team, out of the starters). He's leading the team with 7 stolen bases. He just gets on base. Yesterday against the Rangers, he had 3 infield hits. He can develop into such a valuable asset because when you have a guy with speed like that, game plans change and so do the mindsets of the infielders. With Gardner up, potential easy out grounders turn into potentially rushed throws.

3) NOT-TOP 4

Here's the line on the first 4 Yankee batters.

1. Jeter - .380

2. Johnson - .158

3. Teixiera - .114

4. Rodriguez - .295

Obviously Jeter has been awesome, A-Rod has been OK, but Johnson and Teixiera have been horrid. And yet, we have still been winning. What that means is that the 2nd half of the order has been coming through big time. Cano, Posada, Granderson. A sign of a truly great team is the response of the 2nd tier players when the 1st tier is struggling. So far this season, the response has been solid.

4) KIM JONES

She's just so damn hot!