Yankees vs. A's Series Preview

Yankees vs. A's

@ New Yankee Stadium
(3 games)

It was an interesting opening series at the New Yankee Stadium as the Yankees split four games with the Cleveland Indians. Homers flew out of the bulidng at a record pace, and the Yankees got blown out twice, 10-2 on opening day, and 22-4 on Saturday. In the games the Yankees won they showed great comeback ability and several Yankees came through with some very clutch hits. No matter how it happened I'll take the split. It could have been a lot worse. The Yankees are currently 7-6 and sit by themselves in second place in the AL East behind the red hot Toronto Blue Jays.

Oakland comes into town for the first time this year and they bring with them an old friend, number 25, Jason Giambi, number 25. They also bring with them a much improved offense from than last year's team. Besides Giambi, they've added Matt Holiday, Orlando Cabrera, and Nomar Garciaparra. There pitching remains a bit of a question mark, but Billy Beane always mamanges to find some good pitchers even if we've never heard of them. The A's lost two out of three to the Blue Jays this weekend and are currently 5-7 on the young season.

Last season the Yankees won the season series 5-1.

Matchups

Game 1: Today @ 7:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES/ESPN, WCBS 880
Andy Pettitte LHP (1-0, 2.51 ERA) vs. Dana Eveland LHP (0-0, 6.75 ERA)

Game 2: Tomorrow @ 7:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: MY9, WCBS 880
CC Sabathia LHP (1-1, 3.57 ERA) vs. Brett Anderson LHP (0-2, 4.85 ERA

Game 3: Wednesday @ 1:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WCBS 880
Joba Chamberlain RHP (0-0, 5.06 ERA) vs. Josh Outman LHP (0-0, 6.48 ERA)

Players to Watch

YANKEES: Nick Swisher - It was inevitable, Swisher was not going to hit .500 the entire year. He has fallen into his first slump as a Yankee and because of it he's this series' player to watch. I'm very interested to see how new Yankees handle slumps, and you should be too.

In the last week his average has gone from .458 to .333, and he's 1 for his last 12 with six strikeouts. He did pick up a double in his final at-bat yesterday so that might be a good sign.

He's also playing against his former team the Oakland A's, a team he has not had much success against. In eight games he's hitting just .154/.313/.269 with a homer and one RBI.

Swisher vs. Eveland: 0-for-2
Swisher vs. Anderson: NR
Swisher vs. Outman: NR

ATHLETICS: Jason Giambi - The Giambino returns to the Bronx for the first time since signing with the A's. Before we get into stats and things, here's what Giambi said yesterday about returning to the Bronx: “I spent seven years with them, and I made a lot of great friends there. The town was great, and the fans were unbelievable, so it’ll be fun to go back.”

He has gotten off to a slow start this season hitting just .227/.333/.295 with no homers and 6 RBI.

Prior to signing with the Yankees after the 2001 season Giambi hit .262/.384/.449 with 6 HR and 30 RBI in 60 games against the Yanks. And in 476 career games at the old stadium he hit .267/.413/.499 with 95 HR and 309 RBI.

Giambi vs. Pettitte: .280/.296/.400 (7-for-25) 3 2B, 2 RBI
Giambi vs. Sabathia: .182/.333/.182 (2-for-11) 4 RBI
Giambi vs. Chamberlain: NR

Injury Report

YANKEES:
- Alex Rodriguez, 3B: 15-day DL with a torn labrum in right hip. He is down in Tampa rehabbing at the Yankees' minor-league complex in Tampa. He's expected back in mid May.
- Xavier Nady, RF: Hurt his elbow and may be headed for season-ending surgery. The Yankees are still unsure the extent of Nady's injury.

ATHLETICS:
- Joey Devine, RP: 60-day DL with a sprained right elbow.
- Justin Duchscherer, SP: 15-day DL as he recovers from right elbow surgery.
- Ben Copeland, CF: 15-day DL with a sprained left shoulder.
- Nomar Garciaparra, SS: Day-to-day with a calf injury.
- Eric Chavez, 3B: Day-to-day with a shoulder injury.