Our weekly look at one item tying together each of the Red Sox' opponents in the AL East surveys the Yankees, who offered up an early example of what might make them extremely hard to beat late in games.
If the Yankees' rotation does indeed struggle at the back end, or just as a whole, they at least have a safety net. Not that manager Joe Girardi wants to burn through his bullpen each and every day, but as long as guys are rested out there, he has some reliable arms in what could become the best unit in the division.
Thursday's 6-3 Opening Day win over Detroit at Yankee Stadium provided a quick glimpse of New York's ability to win battles in the late innings. A marquee matchup of CC Sabathia against Justin Verlander resulted in a 3-3 tie after six frames.
After Joba Chamberlain tossed a scoreless seventh, it took the Tigers' bullpen three pitches to give the Yanks a lead it would never lose when Curtis Granderson struck a solo shot off former Yankee Phil Coke. That was all New York needed, although it managed to tack on two more against a sloppy Detroit team.
Overall, the trio of Chamberlain, Rafael Soriano and Mariano Rivera retired all nine men they faced, each guy striking out one man in their inning of work. Detroit's three relievers allowed three runs on two hits and a walk in just two frames.
One of the Yankees' strengths last season was their bullpen. It's only one game, but extremely early indications are that it will be superb in 2011.
