Tampa, Fla., February 26, 2018; Yankees 4, Phillies 3 — Another glorious Florida baseball day Monday found us doing our second doubleheader, starting with a two-hour drive South to see the Tampa Rays host the Toronto Blue Jays, just a baseball game pitting two AL East rivals. Our seats were tremendous, fifth row behind home plate, where our Yankee gear stood out, and where the sun and the intense heat rendered us bereft of any New York chill; we babbled inanities, and watched both the game and the peculiar dance of the fanbases. Continue reading
Author Archives: Dan McCourt
Baseball Burlesque
Clearwater, Fla., February 25, 2018; Yankees 8, Phillies 3 — The home-standing Phillies almost escaped a no-outs, men-on-second-and-third situation leading off their Sunday game hosting the Yankees — almost — but an Aaron Hicks soft popup to the third base bag eluded a sun-blinded Maikel Franco and fell in as Hicks reached first. The strike outs on either side of the Yankee DH’s fluke single should have ended the threat, but given an extra life, the visitors broke through on Danny Espinosa’s bases-loaded double. It gave the Yankees their second consecutive three-run Spring inning, each of which pretty much won them a game. Continue reading
Doubling Our Pleasure
Bradenton, Fla., February 24, 2018; Yankees 4, Pirates 1 — What better way to spend the second day of Spring Training than by attending two ballgames? Having traveled to Bradenton, Fla., to see the Yanks visit the Pirates at LECOM Park (known as McKechnie Field for decades before a recent makeover), we decided to make a day of it by slipping over to nearby Sarasota, where the Orioles were hosting the Twins. What started as a hot, sunny day in the mid-eighties morphed into a perfect summer-like evening under a mostly clear sky, with each game clocking in at roughly three hours. Continue reading
The W-Files
Tampa, Fla., February 23, 2018; Yankees 3, Tigers 1 — It may have been Chinese New Year last week, but for millions and millions of fans in the U.S. and around the world, the year began today, February 23. The Yankees hosted the Tigers in Tampa, cruising to a 3-1 win in a contest where the pitching dominated, as the clubs split 12 hits between them. It was hot and steamy, and if you’re thinking that’s a bad thing, you don’t live in the North where it gets cold. Continue reading
The Four Baseman of the Bronx
Bronx, N.Y., October 18, 2017; Yankees 5, Houston 0 — Although I’m of a mind to talk about all the young bats in the rejuvenated Yankee lineup, I would be remiss were I not to give credit where it is due: The uncontested star of this evening’s 5-0 win over visiting Houston in Game 5 of the ALCS was the superb Masahiro Tanaka, who used nine ground ball outs and eight strike outs to stifle the Astros offense through seven dominant frames. Continue reading
38 and 37
Bronx, N.Y., October 17, 2017; Yankees 6, Houston 4 — Righthanders Lance McCullers and Sonny Gray matched five-inning one-hitters in Game 4 of the ALCS in Yankee Stadium Wednesday evening, setting up a game much like the two 1-run contests the Astros had won in Houston to start the series. When, in the top of the sixth, a rare play that has been much in the pinstripers’ favor the last few years — a catcher’s interference by Yankee backstop Austin Romine on Josh Reddick — set the ‘stros up for a big inning, first baseman Yuli Gurriel delivered a three-run double off reliever David Robertson. At 3-0 down, then 4-0 after an unearned run in the seventh, one had the feeling that had this taken place in Houston, the Yankees would be down three games to one. Continue reading
Gray Power
Bronx, N.Y., October 16, 2017; Yankees 8, Houston 1 — That the Yankees plated two runs in the fourth inning Monday night on their third infield single of the game and a wild pitch might lead you to believe that their offensive malaise remained in place, but not once you consider that those tallies were sandwiched between two 3-run home runs. CC Sabathia went six strong for the win, and the home team cashed in an 8-1 victory, and now trail the Astros in the seven-game ALCS, two games to one. Continue reading
Believe It
Bronx, N.Y., October 8, 2017; Yankees 1, Cleveland 0 — It was a hopeful, nervous, but mostly disgruntled fanbase that showed up at Yankee Stadium for Game 3 of the ALDS Sunday night. With their team down 2-0 in games and on the cusp of elimination,, virtually to a person the crowd believed that the Yankee players had earned a split their manager had deprived them of in Cleveland, and there were mixed emotions all around. Continue reading
Whistle a Happy Tune
Bronx, N.Y., October 1, 2017; Toronto 2, Yankees 1 — The Yankees dropped a game that didn’t really matter Sunday afternoon while, in the silliest way possible, won one too. With their Wild Card position already settled, they lost 2-1 to the visiting Blue Jays, even though four pinstriped hurlers allowed but two hits. On the other hand, for those of us trying to find things that mattered about the 2017 season’s final day, consider this: With all 15 games starting at roughly the same time, the one in the Bronx was over first. Continue reading
Bang a Gong
Bronx, N.Y., September 30, 2017; Yankees 2, Toronto 1 — In a season expected to be a stepping stone to future success, this 2017 Yankee team surprised friend and foe alike, copping their 91st victory in a 2-1 win over visiting Toronto Saturday afternoon, with one game to go. That’s a seven-game improvement over the 2016 team’s win total of 84, the same number second Wild Card Minnesota had when today’s action began. Baseball being baseball, however, that’s no guarantee the Bombers will best the Twins in the WC game Tuesday night, a do-or-die affair that will fray the nerves of every fan. Continue reading