April 27, 2014, Bronx, N.Y. — I’m not a big fan of the Yankees hosting ESPN Sunday night games, particularly in too cold April in New York. Two weeks ago, the Yanks prevailed over the Red Sox in three hours and eight minutes, while we got 20 more minutes of baseball this Sunday night against the Angels. But I’ll have to grudgingly give up that complaint, because both were hugely gripping games, and both were 3-2 wins for the home team. Continue reading
Author Archives: Dan McCourt
Murphy, the Law Breaker
April 26, 2014, Bronx, N.Y. — Following a pitching and offensive breakdown the night before, the Yankees pulled off a taut 4-3 win over the visiting Angels Saturday afternoon on what will have to pass for a nice day, at least until something better comes along. The sun peeked out, the temps flirted with (not sure they ever reached, though) 60, and the rain held off most of the day. Continue reading
… by That Much!
Bronx, N.Y., April 13, 2014 — I don’t know how the ESPN TV Sunday night game between the visiting Red Sox and the Yankees in the Stadium played out on screen, but it was among the most captivating contests I’ve witnessed, and the pleasant temps under a Full Moon (with a hint of relatively oh-so-close planet Mars nearby) set the scene beautifully. Having seen No. 3 starter Ivan Nova implode earlier in the week against Baltimore, Yankee fans were apprehensive. But “Super-Nova” thankfully made an appearance in a key AL East game, if there can be such a thing on April 13. Continue reading
The NoMo Virus
April 9, 2014, Bronx, N.Y. — Yankee Stadium got its long-anticipated look at Masahiro Tanaka Wednesday evening and, despite an early bump in the road, the show was worth the ticket price, and more. Baltimore’s Jonathan Schoop turned on a 1-0 pitch with two on in the second inning, scoring three runs early against Masahiro, just as the Jays did in Toronto last week. Continue reading
Misreading the Tea Leaves
April 8, 2014, Bronx, N.Y. — It’s a good thing the Yanks picked their second home game, and not their opener, to play a really bad game, as they dropped a 14-5 stinker to Buck Showalter’s Orioles Tuesday afternoon. It was also lucky that the weather, merely neither cold nor unpleasant early, provided the crowd of 35,000 the kind of [somewhat] sunny baseball day we’ve been missing for more than six months. Continue reading
Oh Captain! My Captain!
April 7, 2014, Bronx, N.Y. — The Yankees beat the Orioles 4-2 in their home opener in frigid Yankee Stadium Monday afternoon, and after starring in the pregame, Derek Jeter played a key role in the win in this, his final year. He delivered the only Yankee extra base hit, a double down the left field that struck the wall inches below the top; had a key putout on a fifth-inning pickoff; and delivered the game’s first run with a sharp one-hopper back to the box. Continue reading
Baseball 101 — A Code of Conduct for Fans of All Ages
With Opening Day less than a month away, consider this a public service announcement…
Remember back when years were so unique and special that each one’s designation began with a “1”? Baseball, the finest spectator game on Earth, was played in venues where proximity to the action on the field was more important than vending opportunities, both edible and wearable; where polite enthusiasts — with true though harsh realities of place in mind — were not only engrossed with the wonder of the play before them, but realized that fellow fans were just as rapt, and that each had the right to continue this enjoyment without interruption. Continue reading
Winning Streak Whitleyed Down
Tampa, Fla., March 4, 2014 — Coming off four straight wins, David Phelps was handed the ball to start the prime time game against the visiting Orioles Tuesday night, and he succeeded, with mixed results. He almost made it through three innings and allowed one run, but his outing could have been titled “Surviving Adversity.” Continue reading
Nova, Super AND Grounded
Tampa, Fla., March 3, 2014 — Early Spring Training “disappointment” is a pretty specific condition, one the speaker should be able to defend. Six days of rain, much less cold rain, well, we’d all cut that vacationer a break. Losses – ugly losses – in every game attended? Well, the team is here to get ready, not to win meaningless games, but still, most would cut the person whining about that a little slack. Continue reading
Eight, the Hard Way
March 2, 2014, Dunedin, Fla. — Lefthander Vidal Nuno was on the mound as the Bombers took their modest two-game winning streak to Dunedin to play the Blue Jays Sunday afternoon, a carbon copy of Saturday, but just a few degrees warmer. And Nuno was pretty much what Yankee fans remembered from 2013: not a lot of straight pitches, lots of strikes, doesn’t throw too hard. Continue reading