Final Openng Day in old stadium no holiday, and no easy birthday gift for Wang

Happy Birthday, Chien-Ming Wang, and make a good wish before blowing out those candles, because this will not be an easy Opening Day start, and it won't be an easy debut for new Yankee manager Joe Girardi.

Yankee fans may come to the Stadium today full of emotion, what with the historic yard being given its final send-off and all that, and new skipper Girardi feuling the Yankees with a new, grittier attitude. But the Toronto Blue Jays may have something to say about how much joy the faithful take home with them later this afternoon. And in particular, Jays starter Roy Halladay may have an idea or two about how the Yankees will remember this final Opening Day at 161st and River.

Harry Leroy Halladay III, the 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner, will be making his sixth consecutive Opening Day start for the Jays. For his career, Halladay is 111-55 with a 3.63 ERA, including a 16-7, 3.71 ERA record in 2007, and he has enjoyed great success against the Yankees, posting a 10-4 record in 24 career starts, with a 2.99 ERA and a miserly 1.18 WHIP.

Yankee right-hander Wang is making his first-ever Opening Day start. Wang, who turns 28 today, was due for the honor last season but was injured and did not pitch for the Yankees until May 3. Despite a sparkling 19-7 record and 3.70 ERA in 2007, Wang's three starts against the Blue Jays were not memorable. He posted an 0-2 record with a 6.35 ERA.

Offensively, two Yankees will look to make a dent in Halladay's stat sheet.

Second baseman Robinson Cano will look to keep his hot spring going. Cano led the Yankees with a .452 spring average, and has hit .385 (5-for-13) in his career against Halladay, with two home runs.

And during his four seasons with New York, returning American League MVP Alex Rodriguez has feasted on opposing pitchers on Opening Day. A-Rod is a hot 8-for-20 (.400) with two home runs as an Opening Day starter for the Bombers.

Here is today's probable starting lineup and their career stats vs. Halladay:

J. Damon -- .328/.333/.306, 22-for-67, 1 HR, 8 BB, 10 SO
D. Jeter -- .258/.400/.418, 16-for-62, 3 2B, 7 BB, 18 SO
B. Abreu -- .167/.167/.250, 2-for-12, 5 SO
A. Rodriguez -- .277/.306/.362, 13-for-47, 4 2B, 2 BB, 10 SO
J. Giambi -- .315/.373/.481, 17-for-54, 3 HR, 5 BB, 12 SO
H. Matsui -- .206/.270/.324, 7-for-34, 1 HR, 3 BB, 3 SO
J. Posada -- .324/.457/.459, 12-for-37, 2 HR, 8 BB, 8 SO
R. Cano -- .385/.385/1.000, 5-for-13, 2 2B, 2 HR, 1 SO
M. Cabrera -- .267/.267/.267, 4-for-15, 2 SO