Bronx, N.Y., July 5, 2009 — If in today’s fifth inning you had bet me (or pretty much anyone else in Yankee Stadium) that the game would be complete 16 minutes short of four hours, I’d be in your debt now. The Yanks were in the middle of their second straight three-run inning, and the clock was heading toward three hours then. Joba Chamberlain, who had struggled with the usual pitch-count issues in the first and the third, came totally apart in the top of the fourth, and what had been a rollicking 4-0 Yankee lead became an 8-4 deficit when Aaron Hill blasted a two-run homer to right, the ninth hit off Chamberlain. Continue reading
Author Archives: Dan McCourt
Benevolent Birthday Bounce
Bronx, N.Y., July 4, 2009 — The Yankees beat the Blue Jays 6-5 in 12 innings Saturday. It was another come-from-behind win for the Bombers, as they trailed Doc Halladay 5-3 until Johnny Damon tied the game in the seventh with a two-run poke into the short porch in right. The comeback wins and homers we’re used to; spending four-plus hours in the Stadium on a gorgeous afternoon with not even a passing threat of rain? That was new, and welcome. Continue reading
Pitching to Contact
Bronx, N.Y., July 2, 2009 — The Yankees’ seven-game winning streak came to a close Thursday night, as Seattle doubled them uo 8-4 in yet another rain-delayed game in Yankee Stadium. CC Sabathia suffered through one of his more difficult games as a Yankee, and assaults by the Mariners in the second and fourth innings proved too much for him and his team to overcome. Continue reading
First and Last
Bronx, N.Y., June 30, 2009 — On June 30, 1859, the Frenchman Charles Blondin became the first man to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope. One hundred and fifty years later to the day, the Yankees took a night-long walk on a tightrope that ultimately ended in an 8-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Continue reading
Nine the Hard Way
Bronx, N.Y., June 14, 2009 — Nine is a magical number in baseball, with nine players fielding positions on each team, nine innings of play. Three strikes make an out and three strike outs make an inning; three times three = nine. Three outs for nine innings makes 27. Three, nine, and 27 make a sort of trinity of baseball numbers. Continue reading
Hit ’em Where They Are
Bronx, N.Y., June 12, 2009 — The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, opened on June 12, 1939, exactly 100 years after some sources give as the day the first baseball game in America was played. In the Hall, you can learn that the first “perfect” game was pitched by John Lee Richmond of the Worcester Ruby Legs, again on June 12, in a game that took place in 1880. There was nothing perfect about the ballgame played between the Mets and Yankees in the Bronx 129 years later, Friday night, June 12, 2009. This three-hour, 47-minute battle’s only chance to make an all-time superlative list would be under the heading of “most excruciating game ever.” Continue reading
Victory Alfredo
Bronx, N.Y., June 7, 2009 — When a team comes from behind to win late in games, the first place you tend to look at is the offense. And the Yankees did have some terrific at bats during their three-run eighth-inning rally in Sunday’s 4-3 win. But the game ball this day, and the “W,” goes to their veteran relief. Continue reading
A Calamitous Carom
Bronx, N.Y., June 3, 2009 — The Yankees fell 4-2 to the Texas Rangers in Yankee Stadium Wednesday night, as the home team returned the honor of the American League’s best record that they had just wrested from Texas the night before. Young Scott Feldman outpitched veteran Andy Pettitte, but the second biggest upset to anyone in a rain-soaked Bronx an hour before first pitch is that they played at all. Continue reading
‘Close’ Fences Make Good Neighbors
Bronx, N.Y., May 22, 2009 — It didn’t take the Phillies long to come up with a first impression of the new Yankee Stadium. A.J. Burnett’s first-pitch fastball to Jimmy Rollins at 7:09 landed several rows back in the right field stands before the clock advanced to 7:10. True, the next pitch that hit Chase Utley didn’t seem nearly as neighborly, but once Phillie righty Brett Myers threw his second pitch behind Derek Jeter 10 or so minutes later and both benches were warned, the new place became downright civil yet again. Continue reading
First Base Steps Forward
Bronx, N.Y., May 18, 2009 — Ever since Donald Arthur Mattingly called it quits once his team finally reached the playoffs after years of meritorious service, first base may have supplanted center field as the position to fill on the Yankees. Both Tino Martinez and Jason Giambi initially struggled under that mantle’s weight until each secured a spot for themselves with early-season grand slam home runs. Mark Teixeira has battled through a tough stretch with this early as well, but he has broken the mold. It’s hard to point to one particular at bat, one defensive play, one individual game where Tex overcame his struggles. But make no mistake, he has arrived on the star stage. Continue reading