Dunedin, Fla., February 25, 2020; Yankees 4, Toronto 1 — Spring Training fans in the Tampa area awoke to overcast skies, but warm temps, Tuesday. As the sun intermittently broke through the cloud cover, we took the warmth as a good sign for Yankee baseball. And we were right to do so. Continue reading
Author Archives: Dan McCourt
Ninth Innings Count
Tampa, Fla., February 24, 2020; Yankees 3, Pittsburgh 3 — We caught more than six hours of baseball Monday, and both games had their final outcomes decided at the very end. No shortcuts would have worked. The Orioles fell 8-7 to the homestanding Phillies in Clearwater despite a furious comeback from 7-1 down after six. And in Tampa, the Yankees failed to notch their first win of the Spring when the Pirates scratched together the tying run in the top of the ninth. Continue reading
A Fine Mess
Port Charlotte, Fla., February 23, 2020; Tampa Bay 9, Yankees 7 — Well, we “suffered” through another Yankee Spring Training loss on Sunday, 9-7, visiting the Rays in Port Charlotte. The work of 36 position players and 19 pitchers resulted in three hours and seven minutes of baseball action, with the visitors unfortunately ending on the losing side. Continue reading
Fun in the Sun
Tampa, Fla., February 22, 2020; Toronto 2, Yankees 1 — Under blue skies; a bright, sometimes blinding, sun; and temps warm enough in the low 60s, the Yankees opened their 25th season of Spring Training in Tampa Saturday afternoon with a 2-1 loss to the visiting Blue Jays. Following entertainment from a local high school marching band, the introduction of Yankee royalty who were present (Tino Martinez, Willie Randolph, and Ron Guidry, to name a few), fine renditions of the National Anthems of both Canada and the United States, and a flyover from a military helicopter from a nearby base, nominal fifth starter J.A. Happ got the game started by pouring in a strike to Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette at 1:06 pm. Continue reading
Knockout Punches
Bronx, N.Y., September 1, 2019: Yankees 5, Oakland 4 — Fans waiting for the Yankees to bring the hammer down on the visiting A’s after the miserable way the Bombers were treated in Oakland last week needed two things to succeed: infinite patience, and faith in their big bats. The Yanks came from behind late on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons, under clear and cool skies in the Bronx. Continue reading
As Time Goes By
Bronx, N.Y., July 20, 2019; Yankees 11, Colorado 5 — Although the 11-5 Yankee victory over Colorado in steamy Yankee Stadium Sunday afternoon could be called a blowout, despite the Rockies’ spirited five-run rally in the sixth, the biggest reason the home team took this one was that they stuck to fundamentals. They cleared no fences with their 14 hits, and were charged with no errors. And for five innings, Masahiro Tanaka was as good as could be. Continue reading
Yabba Dabba Doo!
Bronx, N.Y., July 14, 2019; Yankees 4, Toronto 2 — Restoring a little order to their season, the Yankees not only took a three-gamer from Toronto with a 4-2 win Sunday afternoon, they finally hit their first home run of the season’s second half, via Mike Tauchman’s towering blast to right in the home seventh inning. Continuing a solid sophomore season piloting the pinstripers, Aaron Boone gets credit for his choice of Tauchman to play left. Through the first six innings, Mike had gone down swinging and popped a stunningly inept bunt to third baseman Vlad Guerrero, Jr. But his long ball late in this game provided a huge insurance run. Continue reading
Win On, Win Off
Bronx, N.Y., June 26, 2019; Yankees 8, Toronto 7 — Two things were revealed during a gorgeous afternoon in Yankee Stadium Wednesday. First, the hawk is apparently not a fan of day games, or maybe just not of the sun. And second, the Yankees can score runs with base hits, along with bashes, even if DJ LeMahieu is not the guy at the plate. Continue reading
The Defense Ponies Up
Bronx, N.Y., June 22, 2019; Yankees 7, Houston 5 — How many days will Yankee fans refrain from booing Giancarlo Stanton following his four-rbi performance Saturday night against Houston in their 7-5 win? It was a contest in which he also played a stellar left field. Admittedly, he had plenty of help from his teammates on both sides of the ball. As a matter of fact, in a season where defense has not been this team’s strength, their collective play in the field may have been their finest showing of the year. Continue reading
Pentribution
Bronx, N.Y., June 21, 2019; Yankees 4, Houston 1 — The best news, after four straight days of squeezing games in around far too many raindrops, was that New York area weather made a dramatic reversal midday Friday, and the 41,000 that showed for Friday’s game were treated to an exciting game of baseball in an evening perfect for it. No [enforceable] law says the summer solstice is required to deliver a gorgeous day, but we got one nonetheless. Continue reading