Tampa, Fla., March 7, 2016; Houston 1, Yankees 0 — Back in the days when the world stage was dominated by just two global powers; one of them, Russia, or the USSR, loved to show off its military prowess and armament on one day: May Day. If there was one thing a Yankee fan could be happy about on Monday afternoon following the team’s loss to Houston, it was the display of power arms, so many on one day. Continue reading
Author Archives: Dan McCourt
March Miscues
Clearwater, Fla., March 6, 2016; Phillies 6, Yankees 5 — There are plenty of reasons to not get invested in team success or failure in Spring Training games, but by far, the unbearable, unending, utterly disastrous inning is the No. 1 culprit. Continue reading
Young Yankee Thunder
Tampa, Fla., March 5, 2016; Yankees 6, Red Sox 4 — For all of 2 minutes or so, it appeared the Yanks might be hard pressed to beat the visiting Red Sox Saturday. Mookie Betts raced to third after drilling free agent righthander Tyler Cloyd’s third pitch, then scored when Brock Holt singled sharply to right. Continue reading
Armed and Dangerous
Lakeland, Fla., March 4, 2016; Tigers 3, Yankees 0 — “Five Yankee Pitchers Collaborate on a 2-Hitter” would be a nice headline for a piece covering the Yankee/Tigers tilt in Lakeland, but it avoids the painful truth. When Miguel Cabrera crushed a 3-1 Vinnie Pestano fastball in the bottom of the third, it was the lone scoring drive of the game, a 3-run home run to center field. Continue reading
Where Do We Go From Here
Tampa, Fla., March 2, 2016; Yankees 10, Tigers 9 — What are the chances that the first ever Yankee Classic from a Spring Training game to appear on YES television took place today? Hey, I get it. I’ve been attending Spring Training on each Florida coast for 3 decades now. For the teams, it’s applying practiced skills in game situations, and evaluating different levels of talent. While observing talented pros playing the game we love in warm environs after a cold, bland winter totally describes the fan experience. Continue reading
An Old-Fashioned Ballgame
September 27, 2015, Bronx, N.Y.; Yankees 6, White Sox 1 — I thoroughly enjoyed myself at the 6-1 Yankee win over the Stadium Sunday afternoon, the last home day game of the regular season, probably the last of the year 2015. It wasn’t just because my team won another must game, which they did. Or that rookie Luis Severino continued to impress with yet another dominant start, though he certainly did effectively control the Chicago lineup, shutting them out over six innings, allowing just five hits and a walk. Continue reading
Old Friends
August 24, 2015, Bronx, N.Y.; Yankees 1, Astros 0 — If you attended the Monday night Yankee game hosting the Astros hoping to see signs of a resurgent offense, you had a tense, unsatisfying night, at least until the final moment when Brett Gardner scored the game’s lone run. But if a classic pitcher’s duel is more your cup of tea, you were in for a scintillating experience, and one tremendous ballgame. Continue reading
The Pinderic Ode
August 22, 2015, Bronx, N.Y.; Yankees 6, Indians 2 — On Saturday afternoon, the Yankees presented an early explosion of runs to a host of fans largely there to celebrate Jorge Posada Day on one of the nicest days in any year. With ceremonies starting about 12:20, the half hour began with Jorge and members of his family unveiling his retired number 20 and plaque in Monument Park, then continued as Jorge’s team members and Yankee officials gathered in the infield to give tribute. Continue reading
It’s a Bird …
Bronx, N.Y., August 19, 2015; Yankees 4, Twins 3 — Before Wednesday afternoon, the last 4-3 win I saw on a pair of two-run home runs from the same guy took place 46 years ago, but aside from the home city of the winning club and that description of the offense, the two had very little in common, except that each was a big “late”-season win in a unique season. The Yankees continued to surprise Wednesday afternoon, as first baseman Greg Bird, one of the family jewels they refused to part with in a trade, supplied the power the team has been receiving from veteran hitters all year. Continue reading
One Small Step
Bronx, N.Y., August 5, 2015; Red Sox 2, Yankees 1 —Yankee fans learned the painful lesson yet again Wednesday night that when the team is facing a knuckleballer pitcher, all bets are off. Thirty-year-old journeyman Steven Wright dominated what had been red-hot Yankee bats for eight innings, and walked off with a 2-1 victory for his trouble. I like to think I’ve matured a bit about losses to the Red Sox, but why did he have to do so well when my new kid was making his debut? Continue reading