Kuzul

Looks like summer has come early for Mark Teixeira this year.  After two abysmal starts to the past two seasons, Teixeira is starting off 2011 very strong.  The Yankees first basemen, hitting his fourth home run of the season in just his fifth game, looks very comfortable up at the plate and is doing a lot better than he usually does in the month of April.

April has always a terrible month for Teixeira throughout his entire career.  In his first two seasons with the Yankees, Teixeira put up a .200 average in 2009 and a .136 in 2010.  He also had only three home runs throughout the entire month in 2009 and only two in 2010. 

This year, however, is very different.  Teixeira is hitting much better; with a .364 average, he already has more home runs in five games this season than he did in his previous two Aprils with the Yankees. 

This is a very promising sign for an already powerful Yankee lineup.  With Teixeira producing in April, something that he has not done since he has been with the Yankees, it will give the Yankees even more offensive production than they expected.

Teixeira’s production in April will be extremely beneficial to the Yankees in the beginning of the season.  Since the AL East looks like it is going to be a fight until September once again, the Yankees need to start off strong in order to have any chance of winning the division this season.  If Teixeira continues to produce like this, they will have a much easier time winning games in April.

If Teixeira continues to produce this way, he will not only help the team, but he will also see an increase in his own statistics.  Teixeira is only a lifetime .286 average hitter, and this is mainly due to the horrendous months of April that always come around at the start of every season for him. 

Getting a better start in April will allow Teixeira’s overall average for the season to climb and may also increase his season totals of RBI and home runs.  Mark Teixeira’s production this season is a key element in the Yankees success this season, and so far through five games, Teixeira has proven that he can, in fact, hit well in April.

If this type of production out of Teixeira continues, and the rest of the team plays the way that they are capable of playing, 2011 can be a very good year for the New York Yankees.

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After 18 years in the major leagues, all-times saves leader Trevor Hoffman has decided to retire from baseball with 601 saves.  Long-time New York Yankee closer Mariano Rivera is 2nd all-time with 559 saves.  With Hoffman retiring and Rivera re-signing with the Yankees for two more years, is it possible that “The Sandman” will be able to surpass Hoffman and be the all-time saves leader?

To beat Hoffman, Rivera would have to rack up 43 saves over the course of the next two years (assuming he does not re-sign after his new contract). Many people think Rivera has lost his magic, and he will not be able to surpass Hoffman.

Although Rivera dropped 11 saves from the 2009 season to the 2010 season, he still ended up having 33 saves in 2010.  At that rate, he would have more than enough saves after two years to not only surpass Hoffman, but to set a new standard for anyone who has enough saves to even think of breaking it.

Rivera’s devastating cutter has baffled hitters for over 15 years now, and no one has been able to figure it out.  Even though people say he has lost his touch, at the age of 41 he still racked up 33 saves last season with the same pitch he’s been pitching since he came up with the Yankees in ’95.

Even though Rivera does not have as many regular season saves as Hoffman, Rivera’s postseason numbers are infinitely superior. Rivera has five World Series rings to Hoffman’s zero, and many of the Yankees victories in the World Series have come courtesy of No. 42. 

Another statistic that catches ones eye is the difference in ERA; Rivera has a ridiculous 0.71 to Hoffman’s 3.46.  Rivera’s 42 postseason saves don’t show up on the all-time list, but his dominance when it comes to winning a big game really shows why some consider him better than Hoffman, whose pitching in October has much to be desired.

He will not surpass him this upcoming season, but I think that before the last time Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” echoes through a dark, Bronx night, Mariano Rivera will be the new all-time saves leader in Major League Baseball.

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