Bronx, N.Y., April 30, 2011 – Blame it on the quite vocal Toronto fans several rows behind me, but I had this game all wrong, at least for a while. Listening to them heckle ex-Jays hurler A.J. Burnett once Rajah Davis “tripled” leading off and scored, I witnessed the stalwart pinstriped vet respond to undeserved adversity. What I saw was a Yankee right-hander totally on his game, and looking even better when stacked up against the work of hot shot prospect Kyle Drabeck, who got the start for the visitors. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 28, 2011 – The Yankees fell 5-3 to the visiting Toronto Blue Jays Friday night, largely due to an unfortunate confluence of events: Freddy Garcia took the mound for his first start this season without his pinpoint control, David Robertson had a rare tough outing in relief where he couldn’t throw where he wanted no matter the target, and the Yankee offense showed what happens all too often when they fall behind even if they put runners in scoring position. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 28, 2011 – The Yankees surprised many in their fanbase Thursday night, first by getting a game in after a day of driving rain, then by evaporating a four-day slump, and four-inning no-hitter, in an offensive explosion in the fifth inning. The six-run frame was not just cathartic for the team and its fans. Not only did it merit a Yankee history mention with a team four-batter cycle; it may have fixed a couple of starting outfielders as well. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 27, 2011 – Bartolo Colon made his first pinstriped start in the Bronx Wednesday night, and his work electrified a crowd craving success off the disappointment of two dispiriting losses. Pounding mid-nineties heat from pitch one, the rotund vet dominated a White Sox team that has pitched the Yanks tough for three straight games. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 26 – Well, the White Sox brought their nonwinning and nonhitting ways to the Bronx two days ago, to doubly unfortunate effect on the home team. The Yankees have managed seven hits through two games, scoring finally in Tuesday night’s game because two of the hits were home runs. And the gut-wrenching part of this second straight loss is, that should have been enough. Continue reading →

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 →