Bronx, N.Y., April 15, 2011 – The Yanks dropped a 5-3 decision to the Texas Rangers Friday night in yet another icebox experience that had 40-000-plus thinking, “Nineteen April home games in the Bronx, really?” The Yanks doubled the Rangers’ four hits, and blasted the only home run of the night, but the top six in the Yankee order each bounced into double plays, negating almost all rally opportunities.

Ivan Nova was unable to close yet another fifth inning, but it’s just not possible to judge a pitcher’s work in conditions as frigid as Friday’s were. That being said, Texas lefty Matt Harrison lasted eight innings in the cold, but every time he looked up to find runners on base, he was able to come up with the double-dip pill to resolve the situation.

Meanwhile the Rangers were making plenty of their four hits thanks to five walks, a wild pitch and one hit by pitch from Nova. Two of the walks and the hit by pitch scored, and another free pass and the wild pitch led to a score; without Nova’s zone struggles, the Yanks could easily have won this one 3-1. Ivan not only walked five, he failed to throw more strikes than balls in three innings, and ended his work at an alarmingly off kilter 45/40 strikes/balls ratio.

The mood was set early, as back-to-back singles by Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher to start the home first were immediately deflated by a Mark Teixeira strike out and Alex Rodriguez’s bouncing into a 5-4-3 twin killing. The Yanks were fortunate to wiggle out of a first-and-third, no-outs situation in the top of the second surrendering just one run, in an inning with a bizarre box score. The 4-6-3 twin killing on David Murphy got two quick outs in the only double pay turned by the home team, even if out No. 3 was scored 3-4-3 for one out where Yorvit Torrealba’s hot shot bounded to Robinson Cano off Teixeira’s body and Robinson threw to Tex to retire the Rangers catcher. On the other side of the ledger, however, one- or none-out Yankee singles and/or walks were removed from the base paths by double plays in the first, third, fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth innings.

Down just 2-1 entering the fifth, Nova missed with 12 of 20 pitches to record two walks, a fielder’s choice, a wild pitch and the hit by pitch. Matt Young’s single, the only hit, plated the frame’s third run and ended Ivan’s night. David Robertson, with two wild pitches of his own, and Boone Logan got it to the seventh still 5-1 when the Rangers offense went dormant. But as opposed to Thursday night’s encounter the Yanks couldn’t score around all the double play carnage until Curtis Granderson homered in the eighth and Rodriguez doubled and scored in the ninth. The Yanks made it interesting when an Eric Chavez single and Jorge Posada walk got Russell Martin to the plate as the potential winning run, but he flied to right on the first pitch to end the game.

If there was a bright spot aside from the continuing lasers off A-Rod’s bat and Granderson both hitting the ball hard and scoring twice, it was the inspired work out of the pen of Lance Pendleton, something of a journeyman who was first drafted in 2002, making his big-leagues debut. Lance, a fastball/slider righty, arrived in the Bronx this day when Phil Hughes was disabled, and he raised eyebrows right away. Showing no fear of the vaunted Texas lineup, he went to work quickly, striking out Elvis Andrus and Matt Young to start, and retired nine of nine through the ninth on just 39 throws. As opposed to Nova’s, his 26/13 strikes/balls ratio was perfectly balanced; he set down the visitors with four fly balls, two strike outs, two grounders and a popup; and threw seven of nine first-pitch strikes.

If it’s less than standup to blame Nova’s ineffectiveness on the cold when Harrison did fine in the same, it is valid to point to the continued shrunken crowds. Home teams win in this league not only because their players know the conditions and ballpark better; they also do so because huge, loud, hostile crowds make visiting players grasp both the bat and the ball harder; most underperform under all the derision and scrutiny. The schedule makers did the Yankees no favors when they made frigid April the monh they’ll host the most home games. By the time the warmer weather, and the real crowds, show in May, more than a quarter of the home schedule will have been played.

Rain is threatened for game 2 Saturday, with a high of 50 degrees, and Sunday, well, Sunday gets its start an hour further removed from sunset, another sub-50-degree game in Yankee Stadium. And two weeks in, the Yanks already have two rainouts to make up. Good thing this series wasn’t played in Texas, with highs of 75, 77 and 84 degrees expected – the horror of playing baseball in that type of weather. The Yanks will play in the Lone Star State later with temps approaching triple digits.

Maybe major league baseball will invite the schedulers to the rules committee meetings, and we can play with a square ball. Even the Rangers can’t turn double plays if the ball doesn’t role.

YANKEE BASEBALL!!!