LIVE BLOG: New York Yankees vs. Chicago White Sox

Check back in at 7:05 as River & Sunset live blogs the opening of the Yankees' six-game homestand.

7:05 - Coming to you live from beautiful Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, for River & Sunset's first live blog of 2010! Why am I live blogging on a Friday night? Well, I turned 30 last week, so I imagine this is what you do when other people are out having fun.

7:08 - The scorching hot Andy Pettitte is on the mound tonight opposite Freddy Garcia in the...wait, Freddy Garcia? I thought this guy retired six years ago.

7:09 - First pitch is a strike, and Michael Kay has a little bounce to his step tonight. You ever wonder what kind of sex life Kay has? Ummm, me neither.

7:11 - Pettitte 13-2 in his last 15 decisions dating back to last September. Who needs HGH? You don't...right Andy? Right???

7:14 - Chicago has two pop-ups behind second and two singles to show for it so far. You know what that means: DFA Robinson Cano immediately.

7:17 - Ever have a guy screw you so egregiously in fantasy that you hate him for the rest of his career? That's Paul Konerko for me. In 2003, I believe he batted -.234.

7:19 - Paul Konerko is taunting me now. A three-run homer—with some help from a douchebag interfering fan—and the Yankees are down 3-0. I'LL GET YOU KONERKO, IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!!!

7:20 - Carlos Quentin rips one up the gap and the Sox are hitting Pettitte. I'm starting to think this live blog thing was a bad idea. Time for a beer.

7:25 - Derek Jeter steps to the plate to a typically warm ovation. Other than Donnie Baseball, no Yankee in my lifetime has been more adored. That said, Minka Kelly > Kim Mattingly.

7:28 - Sharp single to left for Jeter. You know, the captain's not really a good leadoff man in the conventional sense. If anything, it feels like he's less patient in his first at-bat. That said, he's a hitting machine, so it all works out.

7:30 - Kay states the obvious: If Nick Johnson doesn't start hitting, he's not going to be in that cushy No. 2 hole for too much longer. I'll take it one step further...Johnson's going to be on the bench if he doesn't start swinging the bat.

7:31 - That's now 21 strikeouts for Johnson. He's been an abomination. Speaking of which, LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, MARK TEIXEIRA!!!!

7:33 - If you believe "baseball talk", this will be Teixeira's final crappy game of the season. Tomorrow is May 1, and naturally that means his struggles will automatically end. I find it funny that baseball people I respect actually believe this.

7:35 - A-Rod breaks an 0-for-19 slide with an RBI single to left. 3-1, White Sox.

7:38 - Robinson Cano cannot be stopped. The 2010 AL MVP rips a single through the right side for another RBI. Yankees cut it to 3-2 against The Artist Formerly Known As Freddy Garcia.

7:43 - Kim Jones looking typically frisky in her first stand-up on the night. Really enjoying the necklace/blouse ensemble.

7:46 - Getty just moved this amazing Posada shot. The picture captured the daily moment the catcher has when he realizes he locked down Laura Posada.

7:49 - Long sacrifice fly to right and it's 4-2, White Sox. Pettitte doesn't have it tonight. It will be interesting to see if he can fight through it for five or six innings.

7:55 - Kay partnered up with Al Leiter tonight. Leiter has a habit of getting tongue-tied, but on balance is a solid color guy. David Cone, who the organization deemed too negative last season, was let go in the offseason. No announcer should be let go for calling it like it is, but such are the drawbacks of your team owning the network its games are on. On the plus side, you can watch all the CenterStage your heart can handle!

8:01 - Random aside: I heard from a Guy Who Knows Things that the Red Sox are going to DFA Big Papi on Monday. I'm skeptical, but could you blame them?

8:05 - Kay to Leiter: "You look like Beetlejuice and I look like Kevin Mench. What do you want me to do?" Good times.

8:18 - Here's a question for you: How does Steve Schirripa of Sopranos fame afford front row Legends seats behind home plate? I've had this discussion with several people and we all agree there's no way he made enough money in the seven seasons of the show for such a lavish expense. When I see Lorne Michaels in those seats? Fine. Bruce Springsteen? Sure. But Bobby "Bacala"?

8:23 - Meanwhile, Garcia has retired 10 straight Yankees after a porous start. It's like it's 2001 all over again! Somebody start cranking some Creed! Will youuuu take meeee hiiiiiiiiiigherrrr!!!

8:27 - Funny moment in the booth as Leiter essentially admits he has no idea whether or not he's the host of YES network's Emmy-winning Yankees On Deck. (He is.)

8:36 - I don't know about you guys, but nothing on television today has me more on the edge of my seat than that W.B. Mason commercial with the "To Be Continued..." cliffhanger.

8:43 - Okay, I'd like someone to explain to me how Brett Gardner does not steal 70 bases this year. Kudos to Brian Cashman for giving this guy his shot this year. He gives the team a whole other dimension it simply did not have with Johnny Damon.

8:44 - God Bless Derek Jeter. The captain unloads on a hanging Garcia curve ball for a two-run homer. Tie game. Nick Johnson will now quell the momentum with failure.

8:48 - Wow, Johnson works a good walk. Prediction: Tex goes yard here.

8:49 - Just missed it.

8:52 - Kay goes on a rant against...digital photography? Hey Mike, why don't you sit out a couple plays.

8:58 - This game is a perfect example why Pettitte is a Hall of Famer. The guy has C- stuff tonight, but here he is, willing himself through six innings and counting. They talk about how Jeter never gives away an at-bat, well Pettitte never gives away a start. Javy Vazquez take note.

9:01 - By the way, I got dibs on the bullpen coach job when Mike Harkey steps down. All he has to do is answer the phone, relay the pitching coach's requests, and every so often say stuff like, "Shoot knees kid." I can do this.

9:05 - Swisher flies out and we head to seventh tied at 4. Random aside: How many homers do you think Jeter could hit in a season if made a conscious decision to pull the ball? I say he's a 30-homer guy. That said, I like this version better, if only because John Sterling can say "Jeterian swing" over and over and over.

9:07 - Al Aceves in for Pettitte to start the seventh. Like Kay, I'm surprised by the move. I suppose Girardi had a feeling a tiring Pettitte without his best stuff was vulnerable. We'll see if it was the right move, Ace hasn't been great this year.

9:10 - Is there a more boring team in the American League than the White Sox? They are completely forgettable. Even their World Series team was forgettable. Screw these guys. I'm getting another beer.

9:15 - Girardi gets away with one, as Aceves lucks out on a screaming liner right at A-Rod to end the inning. Two feet to Rodriguez's right and it may be 6-4.

9:20 - Curtis Granderson in very quietly free fallin' (out into nothin'). He's three for his last 34. Not to be a jerk, but what has he done since that season-opening Red Sox series?

9:22 - I think it's time for Frankie Cervelli to lose the giant helmet. It's so dorktastic. Head injury head schminjury!!!

9:29 - I said it once, I'll say it again: God Bless Derek Jeter. The captain triples down the right-field line, scoring two to give the Yankees their first lead, 6-4. EL CAPITAN!!!!

9:31 - Georgie Posada comes out on the on-deck circle looking to provide the death blow. Ozzie goes to the 'pen. I go to the fridge for another beer. I love baseball.

9:39 - Jeter stranded at third, but the Yanks are in the driver's seat with Marte heading in from the 'pen. Meanwhile, I received a text from my Uncle Stu, a long-suffering Detroit Tigers fan, who reports that Austin Jackson went 5-for-5 tonight. Take note, Grandy.

9:45 - Marte gets an out and now Joba is coming in from the 'pen. Back to Jeter for a second...this guy is unbelievable. He's at four homers, 18 RBIs right now. He's the best shortstop in baseball...and he turns 36 in less than two months! Like Mariano, every Yankees fan needs to appreciate that we're watching a legend in action.

9:49 - Joba hitting 95 MPH on the gun. I don't have to tell you this is a good thing. Here's a thought: Is it possible that in the end the Yankees actually handled the Joba situation the right way? We now know he's not a guy with the disposition for a starter—he got nearly five months to prove it last year and it didn't take. Now he's returned to the back of the bullpen, the heir apparent to Rivera, where he seems infinitely more comfortable. They may have taken a roundabout way of doing it, but I think the Yankees got it right.

10:00 - Enter the G.O.A.T.

10:02 - I can't imagine I'd go to the plate with any confidence whatsoever against Mariano. I'd be out before I stepped in the box. I'm sure it's that way for a lot of people that actually face him. He's an intimidator, only he lets his pitching do all the work. No fist-pumping, no eye bulging, no screaming. He's basically the anti-Papelbon.

10:06 - Rivera K's Alexi Ramirez to tie Roger Clemens for 10th on the Yankees' all-time strikeout list. One to go.

10:08 - Gordon Beckham is little more than cannon fodder, as Rivera strikes him out on a 3-2 pitch to close out a 6-4 Yankees win. That's 7-for-7 for Mo and a 15-7 April for the Yankees. One month in and you get the feeling this may be a very special team.

Thanks for reading everybody. Back to the fridge I go...

Dan Hanzus writes the Yankees blog River & Sunset and can be reached via e-mail at dhanzus@gmail.com. Follow Dan on Twitter at danhanzus.