In case the huge structure in center field does not identify the location for you, these kids are playing on a field that four years ago was the field at the old Yankee Stadium, on the south side of 161st in the Bronx. That’s River Road and the elevated 4 Train beyond center field and in front of the mammoth Bronx County Courthouse.
Author Archives: Dan McCourt
Getting Smarter
Bronx, N.Y., April 19, 2012 – There couldn’t have been more than a handful of fans among the 40,000-plus attending Thursday night’s Yankee game who weren’t muttering some version of a similar mantra either to themselves or to their companions: “Phil Hughes is running out of chances. If he has a shot, the first thing he needs is a clean, low-pitch first inning.” Continue reading
Carsten Charles, and Chris
Bronx, N.Y., April 17, 2012 – There’s almost 1,500 innings per team per regular season in major league baseball, a nice round number easily eclipsed when a team has mutiple games go extra innings. There’s always six outs, in most cases turned in by a variety of methods: strikes outs, both swinging and called; ground outs; fly balls; maybe a runner tagged out on the basepaths. There may be hits; there may be runs; great plays and ugly errors. But every team plays a few games that feature crazy short segments: moments when personalities intrude on the game, when things that don’t appear on every scorecard congregate in one section of a contest. Continue reading
Yankee Bats Go Idle
Bronx, N.Y., April 16, 2012 – After winning a home series against a contending Anaheim team the Yanks were certainly not looking past Minnesota, lightly regarded both because they struggled through a horrible 2012 season, and because they have a dreadful history playing in the Bronx. But their fans may have been. Continue reading
Not a Work of Art
Bronx, N.Y., April 15, 2012 – The Yanks took the rubber game of their three-gamer with Anaheim in Yankee Stadium Sunday night, but for a contest the Bombers led 8-1 after three, and eventually prevailed in by an 11-5 score, it was closer and less comfortable a victory than you might imagine. The good that you can say about the start from Ivan Nova, reportedly suffering from flu symptoms, is that he is 2-0 on the young season, that he pounced for eight strike outs in six innings, that he didn’t walk any batters until late, and that he allowed just four earned runs. The worst was that he allowed seven deep shots to or over walls while in there. Continue reading
Phil Phalls Phlat
Bronx, N.Y., April 14, 2012 – In a repeat Yankee fans did not need to see again, Phil Hughes failed to provide a mediocre, much less quality, start as the Yanks fell to the visiting Anaheim Angels 7-1 in Yankee Stadium Saturday afternoon. Struggling to record 10 outs on 85 pitches, Hughes allowed six runs on eight hits and two walks in that time, and the Yanks and Angels evened their series at a game apiece. Continue reading
A Veteran Victory
This picture says it all: Opening Day in the Bronx, and a pure blue sunny sky.
2012 Yankees Yearly, Yeah!
The team that brought you the Yankees Annual (and before that Bombers Broadside) now brings you the newly revamped YANKEES YEARLY! With all the features that fans of the world’s greatest baseball team have come to love and crave every new season, including our Top Prospects List, Team Roster Preview, interviews with current players, former players, and up-and-coming prospects, analyses of the lineup and team strengths, and great historical articles.
The 2012 edition features:
* Robinson Cano on Hitting, interviewed by David Laurila
* Top Prospects, by Howard Megdal
* Jim Bouton on the 50th anniversary of 1962, interviewed by Chip Greene
* Dan McCourt’s wire-to-wire coverage of that exciting 1962 season
* Curtis Granderson’s grand 2011: stacking up against the great NYY center fielders of the past, by Dave Golebiewski
* 2011 Year in Review by Keith DeCandido
* E.J. Fagan profiles hot new pitcher Michael Pineda and number one draft pick Dante Bichette Jr. — and much more!
Eight Games a Week
Classic Mariano motion, classic Mariano result, in a scoreless fifth inning.
I won’t take a lot of time discussing the latter tilt; many with YES coverage will have seen it, and for others, well, there really isn’t much to say. The pitching news continues to be very good, with the caveat that no pitcher on either side in this contest was much challenged by the hitters. Nine pitchers posted 23 strikes outs among them, 13 thrown by the visitors. Home plate ump Marty Foster was a factor; 12 Ks were of the swinging variety, but Foster called the last strike on the other 11. The two teams split just eight hits evenly, with Jacoby Ellsbury’s first-inning double being the only one for extra bases. The Yanks received the only walk, and both sides had a pitcher called for a balk. The game was decided on errors: Zoilo Almonte’s shoestring attempt on Pedro Ciriaco’s ninth-inning single, and David Adams’s bad relay throw on the same play. Continue reading
Double-Barreled Baseball
Hiroki Kuroda threw eight first-pitch strikes to 12 batters, and struck out two in three scoreless innings.