TAMPA, Fla. — The old standbys were in place for the Yankees’ exhibition opener at Steinbrenner Field: a high school marching band, bunting hanging from the front of the suites and a near-capacity crowd.
But there was something else hanging in the air on this sun-soaked Friday afternoon: expectations.
“The expectation level is through the roof,” said Mario Ranieri Jr., a lifelong Yankees fan who attended the game with his father, Mario Sr., and his son, Anthony. “Everybody’s got us winning the World Series and the Super Bowl.”
Perhaps that’s possible — the Yankees after all recently acquired the rights to Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson — but Friday was more about the anticipation after last season’s rousing playoff run, which ended one game short of the World Series, and the off-season acquisition of the slugger Giancarlo Stanton.