Afternoon Baseball

To lead off, I guess my question about LeBron, if not all the Cavs, from November is answered. 32-11-11. The greatest postseason debut ever. A win, most importantly. And from a 21-year-old.
Even better, he had 13-4-3 in the first quarter. No nerves, apparently, and he set the tone for the entire game.
Small note on the maturity of James -- he said, "This went as well as I could have ever expected." Proper use of "well" and a better placement of "ever" than most. Grammar is verboten in NBA circles, so it's nice to note some decent usage of the English language.

On a more local (or "my teams") note, the Rangers got killed by the Devils. But hey, the last time they were in the playoffs, Esa Tikkanen was still playing.

And the Giants signed LaVar Arrington, the man who was supposed to dominate the NFL. He's been very, very good, of course. But I'm a little worried, although it's not like he's going to actually play all seven years of the contract. On the other hand, he can't help but be an improvement, and anything that hurts the Redskins is good for the Giants.

But to the main event, the Yankees. Winning at home on Saturday (Sat. home games are not a bright spot -- winning records only twice, I believe, in the Joe Torre era) and behind a Shawn Chacon gem. Also exposed, once again, was the myth that the O's have good young pitching. Daniel Cabrera can't throw strikes unless he's throwing them for big hits. Bedard might be 4-0, but it's still April.
Batting Johnny Damon leadoff is having one unexpected effect -- Derek Jeter is an RBI machine. 15 driven in in 16 games, and for once, hitting No. 2 isn't dampening his power stroke -- 5 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers. Plus, he's walking a lot, with 13 walks. If he's ever going to repeat 1999, this is the year.