Bronx, N.Y., April 24, 2006 — In the long run, you’d have to say that Randy Johnson’s neatly performed 7-1 domination of [most of] the Orioles Sunday was the big story, but that was just one highlight of a surprisingly pleasant afternoon in the Bronx. Rain-delayed for 39 minutes and begun under the bleakest of skies, it ended 3:32 later under dazzling sun. The Unit went at his business like a conductor whose train got a late start leaving the station and who meant to do something about it. Continue reading
Author Archives: Dan McCourt
Three Times TWO
Bronx, N.Y., April 21, 2006 — An attempt to pick the Yanks’ unlucky number via a quick glance at Friday night’s line score would probably come up with three, as that is the amount of runs the Orioles posted each time they managed to send runners across the plate. The visitors prevailed 6-5 in a tight game on a cold night in front of 50,000-plus in Yankee Stadium. Continue reading
Mr Applegate in the Bronx?
Bronx, N.Y., April 13, 2006 — The Yanks piled it on with a five-run eighth inning Thursday afternoon, sweeping the Kansas City Royals out of town 9-3 in a game that had a split personality. The Yankees were very good, and hot right out of the box. Staff ace Randy Johnson threw early strikes, and retired the Royals quickly in the top of the first, coaxing two ugly third swings around a popup to short. Continue reading
Angel in the Infield
Bronx, N.Y., April 11, 2006 — Fans and non-fans in the New York area and the country over will be regaled with Derek’s Jeter’s many fine qualities, both on field and off, following his game-winning, seventh-inning, 3-run homer that carried the Yanks to a 9-7 victory over the Royals Tuesday afternoon. And well they should. Jeter came to the plate with victory in his grasp, but defeat potentially a mere four outs away as well. The Yankee captain started his second decade as starting shortstop in the Bronx pretty much the same way he played in the first. The Yankees set an American League record when they came from behind and won their ninth straight home opener in the game, and it is no coincidence that the confident but not cocky Jeter has been around for the whole ride. Continue reading
Hope-ning Day
Bronx, N.Y., April 8, 2006 — I will be attending my 23rd consecutive home opener on Tuesday, with the weatherman predicting a good, not great, day for baseball. Attending April ballgames is always a bit of a crapshoot. We sat through six innings of snow in 1996, and earned free tickets to Doc Gooden’s May no-hitter for our trouble. They played nine that day, with Andy Pettitte besting Kansas City’s Chris Haney. Three years later the 12-3 drubbing of the Tigers in a downpour was mercifully called after seven frames. Continue reading
Chacon Shackles Twins
Tampa, FL., March 7 — Ten years ago, Brad Radke pitched one of his better games against the Yankees in the Bronx on a cool summer evening, with soutpaw Jimmy Key providing the mound opposition. Radke calmly retired the first 20 Yankee batters until Paul O’Neill smacked an opposite-field double down the left field line with two down in the seventh, and Tino Martinez hooked a 320-foot line drive around the right field foul pole. The Yanks completed their 2-0 victory, and the paying customers found themselves in the unaccustomed position of being outside the ballpark shortly after 9:00 pm. Continue reading
Who’s on Second?
Tampa, FL., March 6 — Well, the morning broke upon another gorgeous day in Tampa Monday, with the Yanks hosting the Blue Jays after having gotten off the losing train in Dunedin the day before. But although Yankee fans may think they’re not prey to the frailities and fears inherent to fans of lesser teams, they sometimes need something to fret about. The Bombers had reached two pretty good pitchers in Ted Lilly and B.J. Ryan for eight line drive hits in three frames Sunday, but it seemed something was missing. The lack of power hitting was a lingering concern. Andy Phillips’s singleton opposite-field shot on Thursday was still the only Yankee home run after four games. Continue reading
A By-the-Book Win
Dunedin, FL., March 5 — The first thing I noticed once the Yanks finished their pregame bp before Sunday’s game in Dunedin was that Joe Torre was carrying a small binder in his left hand as he watched his team assemble in the dugout. And it’s no wonder. Joe is seeing more players than ever this spring as he manages his WBC-depleted team through these early games, and it seems each and every one of them is taking advantage of the opportunity to show their stuff on baseball’s biggest stage. Melky Cabarera and Kevin Thompson continued to carry much of the offense, Mitch Jones made a diving grab in right to blunt the Jays’ biggest threat, and 19-year-old Philip Hughes made his debut against major league hitters. Continue reading
Johnson Allows Two Big Hits; Yanks Get Just One
Tampa, FL., March 4 — To view Saturday’s 4-1 Yankee loss to the Reds in Legends Field through any other prism than the one entitled “Spring Training” would be to paint a fan into a corner where proclamations best saved for August would have to come into play. The Yanks are 0-3, and with four of nine starters elsewhere and two nursing minor nicks, the name of the game is to work the pitchers and let the kids carry the scoring load. Randy Johnson was reached for a two-run home run and run-scoring double in three innings this day, and a misfiring Yankee offense never recovered.
Howard Hammers Game Yanks
Clearwater, FL., March 3 — The 11-10 barnburner of a ballgame the Yanks lost to the Phillies in their spring home opener in Clearwater Friday afternoon had something of everything except for good, crisp play. This may not explain why it was very entertaining but it rarely got boring. At three hours, 20 minutes it eclipsed the running time of Thursday afternoon’s loss by the better part of an hour. The game exploded early on the Yanks, and the man who detonated the charges was Phils first baseman Ryan Howard.