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Bronx, N.Y., June 29, 2007 — There he was, situated behind home plate just as I remembered him, exchanging lineups before the Friday night game pitting the Yankees and the visiting Oakland A’s. And Bob Geren was wearing no. 53 still, just as he had backing up catching luminaries such as Don Slaught and Matt Nokes for the Yankees from 1988-1991. Continue reading A Former Number 53 Returns

Bronx, N.Y., June 17, 2007 — The Mets fan seated next to me Friday was delighted, a few shaky innings aside, that he had come to the Bronx to see his team play on a night when “the good Ollie Perez” pitched. And seeing how this Yankee team has been attacking anything but stellar pitching of late, one had to begrudgingly ackowledge his point. Perez dominated. But although it has become increasingly clear that anytime a Yankee fan comes to see Chien-Ming Wang throw, he’ll be good, a new question is coming to the fore: “How did he do it?” Continue reading Striking a Balance

Bronx, N.Y., June 12, 2007 — Had Arizona second baseman Orlando Hudson handled Johnny Damon’s leadoff first-inning grounder cleanly Tuesday night, it’s likely Brandon Webb and Chien-Ming Wang would have held their respective clubs to one run each over seven crisp frames. Considered in tandem with Justin Verlander’s no-hitter in Detroit, it was as if hurlers were paying their respects to John Lee Richmond’s Perfect Game on June 12, 1880, the first 27-up, 27-down game in professional baseball history. Continue reading Towering Inferno

Bronx, N.Y., June 8, 2007 — The 76-degree temp posted at the start of the Friday night game between the Yanks and the visiting Pirates in Yankee Stadium seemed about right, but a cool breeze obscured the effects of the rising humidity, at least at the game’s start. Three tense hours later, there wasn’t a dry forehead in the packed house. It was due, I suspect, to both the tight game and the still, steamy evening. Continue reading Nowhere to Hide