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Nick Swisher, Raul Ibanez, Russell Martin and Eric Chavez left to sign elsewhere.
NPR: Alex Rodriguez Calls Return 'A Great Challenge'
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Postseason star Raul Ibanez left, as did starting catcher Russell Martin, popular right fielder Nick Swisher and valuable Eric Chavez.
WSJ: Ailing Yankees creak toward opening day
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But backup Eric Chavez, who will inherit the starting role for the moment, suffered the same injury in the same situation in 2004.
WSJ: New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez Breaks Hand
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So are Russell Martin, Raul Ibanez, Eric Chavez and Rafael Soriano.
WSJ: Yankees hope aged team is team for the ages
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Three innings later, in the eighth, Teixeira and Eric Chavez hit back-to-back home runs to put the Yankees ahead, and they held on to the lead which catcher Chris Stewart said was a direct result of Girardi's tirade.
WSJ: Girardi Outburst Spurs Yankees to Victory
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New York hit a team-record 245 homers last year but Nick Swisher, Raul Ibanez, Russell Martin and Eric Chavez left as free agents, and Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson will start the season on the disabled list.
WSJ: Gardner has 3-run triple in Yankees' loss
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What began with the eyebrow-raising departure of catcher Russell Martin for Pittsburgh continued with Eric Chavez' jump to the Arizona Diamondbacks, then the news that second-tier Yankee targets Jeff Keppinger and Nate Schierholtz had quickly signed elsewhere.
WSJ: Swisher, Ibanez Are Latest Yankees to Flee
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Normally, it would be easy to dismiss all this as an early-season fluke, but there is a pattern here: trading for Nick Swisher in late 2008, trading for Kerry Wood in mid-2010, signing Russell Martin and Freddy Garcia before 2011, signing Raul Ibanez and re-signing Eric Chavez in early 2012, trading for Ichiro Suzuki in mid-2012.
WSJ: Yankees Become Savvy Shoppers