The LoHud Yankees Blog

It was just like old times at Yankee Stadium this afternoon. Andy Pettitte pitched six shutout innings, Derek Jeter went deep, Jorge Posada doubled twice, Mariano Rivera got the save and Hideki Matsui was back in town as the Yankees won their home opener 7-5.

That’s an Associated Press shot of Jeter’s third-inning homer.

YANKEES
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Johnson DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Nick Swisher RF
Brett Gardner LF

LHP Andy Pettitte (0-0, 1.50)
Career vs. Angels

ANGELS
Erick Aybar SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Torii Hunter CF
Hideki Matsui DH
Kendry Morales 1B
Juan Rivera RF
Howie Kendrick 2B
Jeff Mathis C
Brandon Wood 3B

RHP Ervin Santana (0-1, 6.00)
Career vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 1:05 p.m./YES Network

WEATHER: The temperature might get into the upper 50s by the middle of the game, but right now it’s about 52 and feels a little lower because of the wind. It’s cloudy, but so far there’s been no sign of rain.

UMPIRES: HP Hunter Wendelstedt, 1B Dan Bellino, 2B Jerry Layne, 3B Mike Winters

ALL ABOUT THE RINGS: The pregame ceremony begins at 12:30, with baseline introductions at 12:44. Anthem at 12:56, Bernie Williams’ ceremonial first pitch at 1:01 and Andy Pettitte’s first pitch at 1:08.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Yankees are 70-36-1 in their home openers and have won 11 of the past 12. They lost last year’s home opener to end an 11-year winning streak.

SELECT COMPANY: Bernie Williams is the ninth former Yankee to throw out a first pitch at a home opener joining Joe DiMaggio (nine times), Yogi Berra (seven times), Whitey Ford (three times), Mickey Mantle (once), Reggie Jackson (once), Phil Rizzuto (once), Bob Shawkey (once) and Mel Stottlemyre (once).

UPDATE, 12:42 p.m.: Hal Steinbrenner just addressed the media.

“Derek and Joe just came up to the suite and gave George his ring,” Steinbrenner said. “He’s the only one wearing one right now.”

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UPDATE, 12:43 p.m.: Andy Pettitte is the first player to get his ring. He got it and went back to the dugout to get ready for the game. Jerry Hairston Jr. was second.

UPDATE, 12:45 p.m.: By the way, the first member of the staff to get his ring — after Girardi — was Gene Monahan, who’s here for the ceremony.

UPDATE, 12:47 p.m.: Huge ovation for Mariano Rivera. After Pettitte, the Yankees have been working backwards through the uniform numbers, from Alfredo Aceves down. That should mean Derek Jeter will be the last to get his ring.

UPDATE, 12:50 p.m.: Jeter just got his ring. Still no mention of Matsui.

UPDATE, 12:51 p.m.: Oh wow. Matsui goes last. Really amazing moment. I can’t believe how loud this place got when Matsui walked onto the field. The Yankees just swarmed him in the infield. Very, very cool.

UPDATE, 1:07 p.m.: Here comes Bernie after a terrific Anthem. The Yankees really do it right when it comes to moments like this.

UPDATE, 1:30 p.m.: Welcome back Nick Johnson!

UPDATE, 1:35 p.m.: Here’s the AP shot of Matsui on the field for the ring ceremony.

UPDATE, 1:46 p.m.: Marc Carig just turned to me and said, “Is it just me, or is Cano hitting everything hard this year?” It’s not just him. The Yankees second baseman has looked terrific since spring training.

UPDATE, 1:57 p.m.: I didn’t think Gardner went on that pitch, but what do I know?

UPDATE, 2:09 p.m.: You just knew Jeter would hit a homer today. You just knew it.

UPDATE, 2:17 p.m.: Awful news from the Angels beat. Apparently a man jumped off their team hotel his morning, and a few players witnessed it.

UPDATE, 2:20 p.m.: The news I’m sure you’ve really been waiting for: The 4 train won the season’s first subway race.

UPDATE, 2:33 p.m.: Spikes to the catcher. Line drive off the pitcher. It’s a rough game, boys.

UPDATE, 2:37 p.m.: Here’s the AP shot of Jeter’s homer.

UPDATE, 3:05 p.m.: Alfredo Aceves is getting loose for the Yankees. Obviously you’d rather see Pettitte get out of this inning on his own.

UPDATE, 3:11 p.m.: Great job by Pettitte. By the way, the Yankees just announced that today’s crowd of 49,293 is larger than any regular season crowd last year.

UPDATE, 3:14 p.m.: Check swings have not been kind to Gardner this afternoon.

UPDATE, 3:30 p.m.: Here’s Chan Ho Park. And if you haven’t seen Park’s YouTube video, it is absolutely must-see material.

UPDATE, 3:43 p.m.: That was Posada’s 345th double, moving him past Mickey Mantle for seventh place on the Yankees all-time doubles list.

UPDATE, 3:50 p.m.: Randy Winn is in right. Is there a more experienced defensive replacement in baseball? Winn was an everyday player for 12 years. Now he’s Nick Swisher’s caddy.

UPDATE, 4:24 p.m.: Two infield singles, a hard-hit ball to the track and a grand slam off Dave Robertson. Some bad luck and some bad pitches. Here comes Mo.

Jerry Hairston signed with the Padres during the offseason and so he assumed he’d just get his World Series ring mailed to him. Turns out, some fortunate scheduling (and a willingness to pass on some sleep) allowed him to be here at the Stadium to get it in person.

As the Yankees took batting practice earlier today, Hairston chatted with some of his former teammates, many of whom were surprised to see him since they just assumed Hairston would be playing with his new team. The Padres had a day game yesterday, though, and an off-day today, so Hairston hopped the red-eye flight last night (paying his own way) and got into New York at 6 in the morning. After a quick nap, Hairston came to the Stadium and will get his ring before heading back to the airport for the long flight back to California. Needless to say, he’s tired but he’s far from complaining.

“It’s worth it,” he said.

Take a listen to Hairston’s interview with a group of reporters below. Pretty cool to hear how excited he is about getting the ring.

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When Derek Jeter sat down to address the media this morning, the usual batch of audio recorders were lining the table in front of him.

“I’m going to turn them all off,” he said.

That’s the Yankees captain on opening day, playful and relaxed in a familiar place and a familiar situation.

“It feels like the season doesn’t get started until we play the home opener,” he said.

It’s a little bit chilly in the Bronx, much colder than it was in Boston or Tampa Bay, but Jeter said “you don’t feel it” on Opening Day. This was the first time he’d seen the old stadium torn down. “When we left, the old stadium was there,” he said.

As for the pregame ceremonies, Jeter’s done it before, but it will be the first time he’s gotten a ring on the day of the home opener. Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford will take part in the ring ceremony.

“We get spoiled here,” Jeter said. “We have all of the Yankees legends coming in and out of our clubhouse almost on a regular basis.”

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The AP hasn’t moved a picture of Jeter’s press conference, but there is a shot of him turning a double play in Tampa, so we’ll go with that.

We have the audio from Joe Girardi’s pregame media session, but first this little tidbit.

Jerry Hairston Jr. is here. The Padres have an off day, so Hairston flew to New York to get his ring. He’s been shaking a lot of hands and saying a lot of hellos.

As for Girardi, nothing has changed since yesterday, so there wasn’t much to talk about. At one point, there was complete silence in the press conference room.

Most of his discussion was about Hideki Matsui.

• Girardi said he has “matchup ideas” for Hideki Matsui, but it also “depends on where we’re at” in the game.

• “If you don’t execute your pitch, Hideki Matsui is going to hurt you,” Girardi said. “We know that.”

• Girardi said today’s ring ceremony will be “the culmination of all the emotions we had last year.”

• On Pettitte: “We’ve been pretty consistent on how many pitches we let guys go this time of the year, and Andy’s never really been a guy that we’ve really pushed to 120 recently. I’d love to get seven innings from him.”

I cheated a little bit and took that AP shot from yesterday’s press conference.

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UPDATE, 10:49 a.m.: Here’s the Angels lineup.

Erick Aybar SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Torii Hunter CF
Hideki Matsui DH
Kendry Morales 1B
Juan Rivera RF
Howie Kendrick 2B
Jeff Mathis C
Brandon Wood 3B

RHP Ervin Santana

By the way, the Angels roster lists Kendrick’s first name as Howard. Is that a new thing? Is he going by Howard now?

No surprises in today’s lineup. It’s the same as the season opener, with Andy Pettitte on the mound.

There is a 20 percent chance of rain this afternoon. The sky is cloudy, but not menacing, and the wind is actually blowing in — not out — from center field.

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Johnson DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Nick Swisher RF
Brett Gardner LF

LHP Andy Pettitte

The Yankees are finally back home and some already have ideas about what they’re going to do with their World Series rings. Josh Thomson has the story from yesterday’s workout.

The old Yankee Stadium is in “ruins,” according to Joe Girardi, and some Yankees wonder how that will affect the wind tunnels at the new park. Josh’s notebook also has news on another opener for Andy Pettitte, Curtis Granderson’s thoughts on the short porch in right and a legal update on Joba Chamberlain’s mom.

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Big day at the park today so, if you’re going, get there early. Check back all day for full coverage of the home-opener.

Today’s workout at Yankee Stadium was optional, but the majority of players were here for one reason or another. I’d guess about half appeared to have actually worked out, while a few others came by dressed to the nines for tonight’s annual Homecoming Dinner.

Because I know you want to know, here are those seen in and around the clubhouse: C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Javier Vasquez, Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Mariano Rivera, Damaso Marte, David Robertson, Chan Ho park, Mark Teixiera, Curtis Granderson, Brett Gardner, Francisco Cervelli, Nick Johnson, Randy Winn, Ramiro Pena, Marcus Thames, Alfredo Aceves. That’s 19 players. Not bad for “optional.”

Here’s a few tidbits to share:

• As I wrote earlier, the 2009 World Series rings will be given to players in a pregame ceremony, beginning at 12:30 tomorrow. According to the club, pictures of the ring will not be released prior to the ceremony.
• Joe Girardi said he talked to Lonn Trost about the rings but had no input on the design. (To the right is the 2000 ring.)
• He hasn’t told him yet (secret’s out, Joba!), but Chamberlain will wear his ring tomorrow before giving it to his father, Harlan, who was scheduled to land today and is expected for tomorrow’s game. “Without the opportunities my dad gave me as a kid I’d have never had that chance to win,” Chamberlain said.
• Sabathia said he wouldn’t wear his ring and had a funny (and truthful) line when asked why not: “It’s kind of corny I guess. Who wears a World Series ring?”
• After a cushy schedule last week, Girardi may juggle the lineup a bit this week. The Yankees play six games in a row. He certainly didn’t commit to anything, but he expected the need to rest some of the starters considering it’s so early.
• Up on the chalkboard in the press box are the lineups from Game 6 of the World Series. I’m not sure if they were never erased or not. It doesn’t look like it.

You could tell by the urgency in his voice and the way he shifted in his chair and leaned into the mic that at 38 Andy Pettitte is still anxious for tomorrow. It will be his fourth Opening Day start in the Bronx. The first came in 1996 at 24, when he battled snow and the Royals to earn the first of three Opening Day wins.

In fact, Pettitte has been terrific, going 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA in Opening Days at the Bronx. He’s allowed just 13 hits and five walks and struck out 14 over 18 innings. For what it’s worth, the best hitter has been his catcher. Jorge Posada has batted .406 with four homers, six RBI, four doubles and eight runs scored in 10 Opening Days here.

Anyway, below is some audio of Pettitte. He touches on the following topics (in order):
• Getting the World Series rings and where his other four are stored
• That home opener in the snow
• Seeing and pitching against Hideki Matsui
• The ruins next door
• Receiving rings from Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra
• Whether or not he’ll participate in the ceremony (answer: he’s not sure)
• How the experience of so many special days as a Yankee have prepared him for big moments here

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For those who haven’t seen it recently trust me on this: the old stadium is almost gone. And what remains is absolutely striking.

I walked from the parking garage on River Ave. around the corner and onto the Babe Ruth Plaza along 161st Street earlier this afternoon. Immediately, I was hit with a bizarre, and somewhat sad sight. As you can see in this photo gallery, little remains of the structure that stood so proud for so long along the North-bound side of the Major Deegan. (Here’s another small gallery.) Joe Girardi and several of his players noted how blown away they were last night when the bus pulled up the Deegan and exited toward their new digs.

“I was actually shocked when we drove by on the bus last night,” Girardi said, adding: “It almost looked like ruins.”

Said Andy Pettitte, his voice a bit sad: “That was strange to see it gone.”

In addition to hearing him and his players kind of long for the old park, Girardi raised another interesting point. He wondered aloud whether the removal of such a huge building right across the street would have an impact on how the new stadium plays.

Obviously, much was made of the homer-happy park last spring. That apparently launching-pad effect appeared to be naturally mitigated during the course of the season. But will the rubble next door have a different impact — positive or negative — in the new stadium’s second season?

“Now that we’ve been here for a year I think we have a pretty good idea of how it’s going to play,” Girardi said. “But is that going to change because the ballpark next door is torn down? I’m not saying that. But I’m just wondering if it’s going to change now. I don’t know.”

UPDATE, 6:12 p.m.: Thanks to a reader for passing along the best photo gallery of the old stadium I’ve seen yet. Check it out here.