Mike Celizic

It’s a good thing for the Yankees that you don’t draw broad conclusions from one game, because if you did, the conclusion would be expressed in two words: they stink.

You name it, the Yankees either didn’t do it or did it badly. CC Sabathia got hammered, the defense was sloppy, the big hitters failed in the clutch, there was a base-running error, the bullpen melted down, and the Yankees lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 10-5.

Everything can get better on Wednesday, when New York plays its second game of the brand-new season. That’s the beauty of the game: tomorrow is always another day. But with this team, there isn’t going to be a lot of patience or a lot of tomorrows.

And the first person whose backside is going to be on the line is the manager, Joe Girardi. This team, built at the Yankees’ customary obscene expense, is build to win now. And in the Yankee worldview, “now” doesn’t apply just to full seasons. It applies to every game.

Last year, Girardi’s leash was long enough to stretch around the planet. This year, if the Yankees don’t get hot right now, it may not stretch to July.

The Yankees tried patience last year. Hank “Son of George” Steinbrenner generously declared that the team and new manager Girardi were not required to win the World Series or even the AL East. It was to be a year to rebuild and to break in three kid pitchers who would be the backbone of a new dynasty. Their reward was a third-place finish and their first October on the sidelines since 1993.

By the end of the year, Hank was channeling his cantankerous father and the rebuilding program was in the dumpster. With a brand-new stadium — the most expensive baseball park ever built — ready to open and $2,600 seats to fill, it was back to buying championships. And with pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett and first baseman Mark Teixeira added to the roster at great cost, it’s back to Yankee basics — only winning counts.

Slideshow   Opening Day Take a look at photos from the 2009 season's first day of baseball action. more photos

This is why Game 1 of the 2009 season had to have an unpleasant effect on the digestion for Yankee fans. It wasn’t just a loss. It was a bad loss, a loss in which the new ace of the rotation, Sabathia, threw nearly 100 pitches in just 4.1 innings, gave up six runs, eight hits and five walks, and didn’t strike out a single Oriole.

The offense rallied to cut the Baltimore lead to 6-5, but when Derek Jeter, who had three hits in the game, had a chance to tie it, he failed. And then when expensive free-agent acquisition Mark Teixeira had a chance to put the team ahead, he, too, failed.

After that, it was the bullpen’s turn to fail, and it did so with gusto, surrendering four eighth-inning runs to make it a 10-5 game and sent the fans at Camden Yards home happy.

You wouldn’t expect to find panic in the clubhouse after one loss with 161 left to play, and you didn’t. Girardi was calm. The players were calm. It’s a powerful team and they just need to play Yankee baseball.

This is all good, but the fact remains that the Yankees didn’t just lose. They played a bad baseball game. That’s not supposed to happen on Opening Day.

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It started with Sabathia, who pitched as if the strike zone was a new concept to him. The top three hitters in the Orioles’ lineup, Brian Roberts, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis, were a combined 8-for-11 with seven runs and four RBIs. They didn’t just hit Sabathia, they owned him.

What had to be mystifying to Yankee fans was watching Sabathia’s pitch count mount into mid-season levels without getting any relief. Even when it was obvious Sabathia had nothing left (How could he? He had nothing to begin with.), Girardi left him in the game as his pitch count climbed to 96.

Too much may be made of pitch counts in today’s game. But when your ace pitcher is struggling in the season’s first game and it’s so cold he has to hold a heating pad to his stomach — Sabathia’s favorite organ — between innings, it seems senseless to let him throw that many pitches. Sabathia is not in mid-season form. Why give him a mid-season pitch count? It just seems a risky thing to do in a game that the Yankees were already out of.

But it’s early; just one game and one questionable pitching decision by the manager. If the Yankees win on Wednesday and keep winning, it will all be forgotten. If they don’t, by the time the team opens their new park, there will be calls in the tabloids for Congressional investigations.

Last year was a free one for Girardi and the Yanks. This year isn’t. It’s just one game and one loss, but the pressure is already on.

BASEBALL'S OPENING DAY Quick look at the day's action Slideshow: Top images from Opening Day Orioles 10, Yankees 5: Sabathia roughed up in New York debut Mariners 6, Twins 1: Griffey homers in 1st game as Mariner since '99 Angels 3, Athletics 0: Saunders dominates on mound for Los Angeles Dodgers 4, Padres 1: Kuroda outduels Peavy to earn victory Blue Jays 12, Tigers 5: Lind has home run, 6 RBIs for Toronto Mets 2, Reds 1: K-Rod makes his debut, saving win for Santana Cubs 4, Astros 2: Soriano's leadoff home runs sparks Chicago Rangers 9, Indians 1: Texas pounds AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee Pirates 6, Cardinals 4: Wilson's 3-run double in 9th rocks Motte Marlins 12, Nats 6: Bonifacio hits inside-the-park homer D-backs 9, Rockies 8: Lopez, Clark each homer twice in win Rays at Red Sox, ppd.: Rain washes out season opener Royals at White Sox, ppd.: Fear of snow causes cancelation Celizic on Yankees: Girardi's leash just got shorter Circling the Bases blog: News and analysis from Opening Day Video: Bush, Biden throw out pitches in Texas, Baltimore

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