Bronx, N.Y., June 29, 2003 — Nobody honors a fallen icon like Bob Sheppard, and he brought Yankee Stadium to a standstill at 7:57 tonight, as he informed us of the passing of actress Katharine Hepburn, with the loudspeaker intoning Ave Maria and the scoreboard carrying her name and lifespan, 1907-2003. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 27, 2003 — Well, it was business as usual in the Bronx tonight, but it was different too. David Wells and Jae Weong Seo have arguably had the best years for the Yankees and Mets respectively, so we expected a pitchers’ duel, but the score stood at 5-3 Yankees, after two. Both pitchers gave up five hits in the first two frames, and between them they surrendered 21 on the night in less than 12 innings. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 15, 2003 — Mike Mussina used a simple strategy in besting the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday. He threw his best stuff, right from the very beginning, and went after the St. Louis hitters, whom we all had to fear were about to break out with a string of line drives. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 10, 2003 — You had to admire the numbers, and much more, the quality of the pitching, as Mike Mussina dispatched the Houston Astros through the first four innings Tuesday night. Notching the 12 outs while pitching to one man over the minimum, and throwing just 52 pitches, the 17 balls meant that he was throwing two strikes for every ball. He threw first-pitch strikes to eight of the first 11. Continue reading →