Bronx, N.Y., April 25, 2011 – I can’t help but wonder what column I would be writing now if the Yanks had done nothing more than returned from a short road trip and “entertained” their fans with a flat offense that barely threatened to score Monday night. Philip Humber, whose biggest notoriety in the sport preceding this one may have been that he was one of several unremarkable chips the Mets sent to Minnesota several years ago for Johan Santana, dominated Yankee bats with an assortment of effective pitches, and he did not allow a hit until Alex Rodriguez singled following a one-out Mark Teixeira walk in the seventh. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 17, 2011 – After a Sunday night game that was several times lit by lightning strikes, experienced at least two episodes of driving rain, had a dazzling full moon often obliterated from view by heavy cloud cover, and ended up at 50 degrees, the predominant thought exiting after the game was, “Not only was it a great game, what a nice night too.” The weather bar has been set pretty low in one atrocious April. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 16, 2011 – If there’s such a thing as a “mudder” among baseball pitchers, veteran righty Freddy Garcia may have earned the title. Garcia gave the Yankees six superb innings in his first start of the season in Yankee Stadium Saturday afternoon in as unpleasant a day for a baseball game as you are likely to find. New York weather has been making the Yankees – and their fans – pay for their April-heavy schedule for two-plus weeks. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 15, 2011 – The Yanks dropped a 5-3 decision to the Texas Rangers Friday night in yet another icebox experience that had 40-000-plus thinking, “Nineteen April home games in the Bronx, really?” The Yanks doubled the Rangers’ four hits, and blasted the only home run of the night, but the top six in the Yankee order each bounced into double plays, negating almost all rally opportunities. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 14, 2011 – Start No. 3 of Phil Hughes’s 2011 season Thursday night was more of the same, while game 2 vs. the hot Orioles was not. Both were disturbing developments. A mixture of 90 mph fastballs with regular cutters and a few curves got Phil eight outs against the struggling Baltimore bats until the sky started falling, and Jake Arrieta showed that Chris Tillman’s Wednesday start was just a bad outing, and the early promise the young O’s rotation has shown is for real. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 13, 2011 – The Yankee offense gave starter A.J. Burnett a huge gift Wednesday night, and if nothing else, the Yankee right-hander deserves a lot of credit for taking full advantage of the largesse. The Yankee bats jumped on Baltimore starter Chris Tillman for a 3-0 lead after one, and 6-0 two innings in, and A.J.’s game settled into automatic pilot. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 7, 2011 – Early returns are in and, despite dire predictions about the Yankees and their rotation, they received their fifth quality start in six tries Thursday afternoon. The Yanks got by the visiting Minnesota Twins 4-3, plating exactly four runs for the third straight game, two of them 4-3 victories. A. J. Burnett went to 2-0 and the Bombers headed to Boston for their first 2011 road series having managed to win a game without hitting a home run. Continue reading →

April 5, 2011, Bronx, N.Y. – I knew there was something I liked about the pitching matchup in the Bronx for another early-season frigid affair. The last time lefties CC Sabathia and Brian Duensing squared off in Yankee Stadium that I can recall was in the opening game of the 2009 ALDS. In that one the Twins broke out on top, scoring twice on several singles and a passed ball in the third, so when the Yanks blasted their way to a 3-0 lead after one and 4-0 in the second Tuesday night, I immediately (and foolishly) decided I preferred this contest. Continue reading →

April 4, 2011, Bronx, N.Y. – The record is now 3-1 for the Yankees. They’ve won three of four games, yes, but perhaps more important in 2011 with the focus on the rotation, three of four starters have given the team a quality chance to win. Teamed with yet another show of power, it was enough to garner win No. 3 of the season. Continue reading →

April 3, 2011, Bronx, N.Y. – The 2011 Yankees made a lot of noise yet again Sunday afternoon, with four more home runs and seven runs scored. But an offseason bugaboo raised its ugly head, simply because they did not get a good start. Compounding matters, fifth-in-the-rotation candidate Bartolo Colon relieved a beleagured Phil Hughes and failed to stem the tide, dooming Yankee comeback efforts to failure. Continue reading →