The vagabond Yankees' franchise opens in its seventh ballpark

Before the season began, the Yankees lost their best player for at least a month, maybe more. Then they started the season with a nine-game road trip. On that trip they got a series of pretty terrible pitching performances, and now they look to have lost their starting rightfielder for the season. Against that backdrop, being a game over .500 and ahead of both the Red Sox and Rays in the standings seems like a minor miracle.

And now they're home at last, with their first ever official game in New Yankee Stadium set for 1:05 PM. And it's a humdinger: Cliff Lee vs. C.C. Sabathia. The Big Toe of CTB, Aaron Gleeman, will be live-bloggng the affair this afternoon, so those of you stuck in the office today don't have to miss a thing. Just remember to keep your TPS Reports open in another window in case the boss walks by.

Odds favor the Yankees today, as they are 4-2 in new stadium openings since the inception of the franchise, with losses in their first games at Hilltop Park in 1903 and the Polo Grounds in 1913, and wins in their debuts in Oriole Park (as the original Baltimore Orioles) in 1901, The House that Ruth built in 1923, in Shea stadium, which was their home during the 1974-75 remodel, and in renovated Yankee Stadium -- which truly was a different park than the original model -- in 1976.

And if the Bombers lose today, at least they still have something to look forward to: old friend Carl Pavano is set to start against them on Sunday. Which should be an absolute treat for Yankees' fans.