Yanks Take First Game of Series Against BoSox

The Good

Masahiro Tanaka gave us 7.1 innings of two-run ball, while Ellsbury had a triple, a double, scored two runs, and had two RBI. Beltran had a home run, and Betances didn't have a meltdown.

The Bad

We all make mistakes in life. You more than me, but even I make mistakes once in a while, and I was wrong about the Jacoby Ellsbury signing. He has been spectacular. He's gritty, uses his speed on the bases and not just the outfield (I'm looking at you Gardner), and he gives us everything he has on every play. Yes, he gets hurt a lot, but it's clear to me at this point that he get's hurt because he's going full speed on every play and sometimes runs into outfield walls, known for their sneakiness. Imagine Beltran was as fast as Ellsbury. We probably lose him in that Tampa Bay series. Hopefully, with age, Ellsbury learns that on certain plays giving 99 percent rather than 100 can be the difference between ending up on the DL or having more chances to make spectacular plays.

The Ugly

Anyone who reads this blog knows that Robinson Cano's tendency to not run hard on automatic outs never bothered me. Soriano watching every ball he hits in the air does. Yesterday he hit a ball off the wall that he watched instead of running right away. He ended up on second—in scoring postion&mdashbut he should have been at third. That's starting to become a recurring theme and I can't stand it. I really don't care if Major Leaguers don't want to run hard to first on plays that are outs unless Eduardo Nunez is throwing to first (too soon?). I do mind if they do it on balls that are not outs ever percent of the time.

Million Dollar Baby

Actually, $2 baby, but still. Beltran hit another home run last night, producing another $2 for the children.

Brett Gardner 1hr = $2
Alfonso Soriano 4hr = $8
Kelly Johnson 3hr = $6
Carlos Beltran 5hr = $10
Dean Anna 1hr = $2
Brian McCann 3hr = $6
Yangervis Solarte 1hr = $2

Total 18hr = $36