Bronx, N.Y., April 8, 2004 — It’s a given that Opening Day in the Bronx will be a wonderful day. Upwards of 55,000 baseball-addicted folks finally get a fix that they’ve been denied for six months. There are pregame and in-game moments checking out the various changes in a place we can fool ourselves into believing never changes, looking at a structure that my niece’s oldest boy swears is, “the biggest place in the world!” There are priceless moments watching our beloved stars reacquaint themselves with the park, some viewing it in Pinstripes for the first time, as they prepare for the game that is to come. There are pageantry and music and stars of yesteryear in abundance.

What there won’t usually is not, in New York in the first week of April, is a warm sun and generally pleasant weather. One of my crew’s prized possessions is a Newsday photo of Tier Box 603 (right behind home plate and in the Upper Deck) from the opener from 366 days ago (April 8 last year too, as it turns out) where we and and our fellow fans are so bundled from the cold that a caption detailing the action in the Winter Olympics Giant Slalom would not be disbelieved. And in 1996, the Yankees were so appreciative that so many fans sat through an all-day snowstorm during the first home game that each fan bearing a ticket could claim a comparable freebie to an upcoming contest.

So when I tell you that the stands were dominated by people in tee shirts for today’s first seven innings, at least in those parts kissed by the gentle spring sun, you know that this was a wonderful day, even before the game that was played is even mentioned.

But let’s mention it anyway, because it was a great game, even if the Yankee offense proved to be more lucky than good. The word “lucky” does not come into play when discussing the performance of young starter Javier Vazquez, however, as he was simply brilliant, from start to almost finish. From the 1:19 first-pitch strike to second sacker Willie Harris, to the fly ball, strike out, and foul pop in 12 quick pitches, the fans slowly became convinced that the young righty would pitch as advertised, that pitching in the Baseball Cathedral in the South Bronx would not shake this kid.

Vazquez had pitched in the Bronx once before, falling to David Cone as a member of the Montreal Expos when the Yankee veteran electrified the July 1999 Yogi Berra Day Crowd with a 6-0 victory in his Perfect Game. And despite that day’s lengthy pregame festivities and a brief rain delay, Vazquez came out of the chute well back then too. Despite hitting Chuck Knoblauch with his second pitch, he retired the Bombers on nine tosses that day more than four years ago. But, returning to the mound quickly as Cone mowed down his teammates, he imploded in the second inning, allowing five tallies in a 37-pitch eternity that included two walks, two doubles, a hit by pitch and a Ricky Ledee home run.

So there was a bit of trepidation as Frank Thomas led off the second today with a single to left and Joe Crede’s two-out hotshot ate Jeter up at short for a tough error and runners at the corners. Young centerfielder Rowand flied deep to right to end the threat, so even though Javy registerd his fourth K against Sandy Alomar leading off the third, the one-out walk to leadoff man Harris left the crowd a bit uncomfortable, despite the early 2-0 Yankee lead.

The manner of that two-run first-inning rally against Scott Schoenweiss said a lot more about his difficulty settling in than of Yankee offensive prowess. After Jeter led off by flying to right, centerfielder (again, Hurrah!) Bernie Williams worked the count full and singled up the middle off second baseman Harris’s glove. Alex Rodriguez worked the count full too, then walked, and southpaw Schoenweiss threw four straight off the plate to lefthanded slugger Giambi. Aggressive batter Gary Sheffield swung viciously at the 2-0 pitch and dribbled it 30 feet toward third into no-man’s land. Rodriguez beat Schoenweiss’s forcing attempt at home and the Yanks had a lead. Posada’s next-pitch liner to deep right was the only well-hit ball of the 27-pitch inning, but the Yanks had a 2-0 lead. Matsui followed with a bouncer the other way right down the left field line, but Chisox third baseman Joe Crede came up with the first of three sparkling plays on the day, stopping the ball with a full-body dive and scrambling to his feet to peg the Yankee leftfielder out.

Schoenweiss fell victim to his own wildness yet again in the second, walking the bases loaded after Jeter’s two-out hard single over short, but although Giambi drilled a line drive on the first pitch after the free passes to Williams and Rodriguez, it was right at Magglio Ordonez in right field. Vazquez, meanwhile, survived a one-out walk to Harris in the third, but not the one to Frank Thomas with one down in the fourth. The burly White Sox DH moved to second on Carlos Lee’s roller in front of the plate, though Posada made a fine play nipping Lee at first, despite a throw slightly into the runner. First baseman Paul Konerko halved the Yankee lead with a liner into the left-field corner, though Matsui made a great play stopping the ball short of the wall and pegging a one-hopper to the second-base bag to hold Konerko at first.

Vazquez had surrendered his second hit (though Jeter’s miscue was arguably a third), two walks, and a run through four once Crede bounced to A-Rod, but things were a bit dicey simply because Schoenweiss, on the ropes after 52 pitches through two, made a fine comeback and was pitching well. He plowed through the Yanks’ order in the third, fourth, and fifth on a mere 32 pitches, the only blemish being Wilson’s single up the middle, although he was caught stealing once the Chicago lefty picked him off. Scott was helped by Harris’s grab and throw of Jeter’s bouncer up the middle in the fourth and Crede’s lunge for A-Rod’s base-hit bid into the shortstop hole in the fifth, and when Sheffield bounced harmlessly to short on the first pitch of the sixth, the Yankee offense had given up the ghost just as it had on Tuesday in Tampa.

So although Vazquez was routinely retiring the White Sox with a dizzying array of sliders, fastballs, and curves, the game was tight and the crowd focussed. Many were surprised how aggressively the Yanks pursued Vazquez in the offseason once Andy Pettitte signed with Houston, spending Nick Johnson, Juan Rivera, and Randy Choate for the 27-year-old Expos righty, when they had filled the holes created by the departures of Clemens, Wells, and Mondesi with 39-year-old Brown, the incumbent 33-year-old Contreras, and Gary Sheffield, who will be 39 by the time his three-year deal runs its course.

April 8 is a day that twice figured largely in the legendary life of explorer Ponce de Leon. The man who allegedly discovered the Fountain of Youth was born this day in 1460, and is credited with finding Florida (at least from a European point of view) on that same day 73 years later. I think it’s fair to say that once Joe Torre made his rotation plans known after the team returned from Japan, fans were concerned with how the youngster would do on his return to the sport’s biggest stage, and on Opening Day no less. But two and a half hours after Javier’s first-pitch strike to Willie Harris, the votes are in from 55,290 paying souls, and the Yankee dip into the “Fountain” has earned a huge thumbs-up.

Jorge Posada followed Sheffield to the plate in the sixth inning and battled Schoenweiss to only his second three-ball count since the five he slogged through in the first two frames. Posada took strike one and two around the three offerings that missed, fouled one off, and then turned on an inside fastball that appeared to not be inside enough. The crowd rose in unison as Jorge’s blast landed in the netting above the retired numbers in deep left center, and the Scoreboard flashed “Downtown!” Sierra and Wilson singled after Matsui took a called third strike, but once Jeter flied out to center Schoenweiss walked off the field with his teammates after his 101st and last pitch of the day.

I have my own opinion on why the weather, which had been better than we had any right to expect all day, finally turned to a soft but steady rain in the seventh. Many things are new in the Stadium; many are as they were. The auxiliary scoreboards on the loge facades down the first and third base lines have gone high tech, flashing full-length moving pictures of public service announcements and of the American flag before the game and between innings, then reverting to digital scoring readouts while the game is in action. The out-of-town scoreboard is history, and scores are beamed intermittently, one at a time, beyond the line score in these two locations. Very high-tech, very cool, but unfortunately difficult to read from behind the plate.

The team flags are displayed beyond the famous Stadium facade beyond the outfield wall from left to right, first place to last, Al East to Central to West, as before, but they are new and the colors are vibrant and alive. The next-to the-last ad board on the Loge facade down both lines features Kyocera with a digital readout that I suspect will eventually display pitch speed (or pitch count?), though it appeared to malfunction today, starting the game with each displaying “0” then gradually advancing from “1” to “5” (though I actually did not see “2”; I could have missed it).

Spanning the new and the old was an organist replacing the legendary Eddie Layton. Sorry, his first name is Paul, but the last is something like “Colotti”? The West Point Band, and then Glee Club, were there as they had been. Berra, Rizzuto, and Ford threw out first pitches; four Navy Tomcats followed with a flyover (though Challenger the eagle was not there). They displayed the huge flag at the seventh-inning stretch, and crowd favorite Ronan Tynan gave his warm and plaintive rendition of God Bless America. It always moves me, and if pressed, I would say that it didn’t rain on today’s game. I think the Stadium cried.

Vaquez pitched eight, and the White Sox never again threatened. Perhaps embarrassed at the reverence shown Mariano Rivera in Japan, the usual glee and excitement displayed in the Stadium once the strains of Enter Sandman is played were particularly explosive this day. Jose Valentin stroked a leadoff single to right, but even though there was an error on Wilson trying to turn two after Rivera fired Ordonez’s soft hopper to second for the force, I’m delighted to tell those who still remember Arizona in 2001 that it had nothing to do with Mariano’s throw, which was straight and true. Mo popped Thomas up to Giambi and coaxed a grounder to Jeter from Lee and the ballgame was over.

Taking another look at Vazquez’s fine work, I would characterize the whole as superior to the many fine parts. The kid can throw hard, but rarely really needs to if today’s performance is any judge. This is no thrower; this guy can pitch. The White Sox were off balance all day. Mixing an assortment of inside sliders with the occasional fastball and darting low outside curves, he constantly had the batters in the hole on the strength of an amazing 24 of 29 first-pitch strikes, including 10 in a row spanning the fifth through eighth innings. He only got the Chisox to swing and miss four times, but threw 73 strikes and only 32 balls, and only 12 off the plate in those same last four frames.

Another April 8th birthday of note belongs to lyricist Fred Ebb, responsible for several hit Broadway musicals including the award-winning “Cabaret.” He wrote a great song for another hit musical, one that has been an even bigger smash in revival the last several years, and in a film, than it was first time through. Keeping in mind the city where today’s opponent plays, it is particularly fitting in describing Javy’s work to quote this lyric from the musical “Chicago”:

Give ’em the old razzle dazzle
Razzle dazzle ’em
Give ’em an act with lots of flash in it,
And the reaction will be passionate.

Give ’em the old razzle dazzle
Razzle dazzle ’em.
Give ’em a show that’s so splendiferous
Row after after row will grow vociferous.

Razzle dazzle ’em, and they’ll beg you for more.

Well, “rows” of fans on every level are ready for an encore, but I’m not so sure the White Sox are.

BTW,TYW

YANKEE BASEBALL!!!