August 14, 2012, Bronx, N.Y. – The Yankees assured themselves of no worse than a split of their four-gamer hosting the Texas Rangers Tuesday with a 3-0 win, but you would have had to forgive Hiroki Kuroda if he doubted the runs would come, given his 1-0 loss to Felix Hernandez and the Mariners in Yankee Stadium nine days ago. The crafty righthander had a mesmerizing slider all night, and teased 44,000-plus with a no-hit bid for much of the game, but early on he missed a few too many times with his fastball, while his teammates were doing everything but scoring against Texas ace Matt Harrison. Continue reading →

August 13, 2012, Bronx, N.Y. – It would have been easy to hype the first of four games between the two-time AL Champion Texas Rangers and the most successful franchise in the game in Yankee Stadium Monday night, but the record took care of that. Texas had the best record in the league by half a game to start, and the Yanks had the same lead at the end. Continue reading →

August 3, 2012, Bronx, N.Y. – Granting that the Seattle Mariners will not be found on any encyclopedia page discussing a “juggernaut,” you still had to be impressed with the statement game CC Sabathia threw in a 6-3 victory in the Bronx Friday night. Perhaps the best way to put into perspective the walk and home run in the ninth inning that made the score seem competitive is to reveal that the hefty southpaw hadn’t once to that point gone to a three-ball count, that the long ball was just the third hit, and that he had faced just two over the minimum 24 batters through eight innings. Continue reading →

July 27, 2012, Bronx, N.Y. – There was lots of buzz in Yankee Stadium on Friday night, more than you would expect with the first-place Yankees facing a last-place club. But although the Red Sox have had a bad season, the two teams still share one of the best rivalries in sports, and incomprehensibly, this was their first 2012 visit to the Bronx (16 weeks into a 26-week season)! But remembering that the schedulers have had the Yanks play 20 April home games in frigid, wet New York (2011), and somehow could not manage to have a team closing an 86-year-old ballpark, the House That Ruth Built, to do so at home (2008), we’re no longer surprised to see this kind of thing. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 17, 2012 – I had to scratch my head a bit once Blue Jays southpaw Brett Cecil delivered his first pitch in Yankee Stadium Tuesday night. Posted as “Changeup, 83 mph,” it has always intrigued me when a pitcher starts his night’s work with a change. By definition, the pitch is supposed to fool batters by being a “change” from what they would expect. But if your first pitch is a change, it’s a change from what? Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 16, 2012 – It was good to see on Monday night that the powers that be at Yankee Stadium, while of course being mindful of a series starter against the division rival Toronto Blue Jays, were also looking back two years to, excluding Game 6 of the 2009 World Series, my favorite game in the new Yankee Stadium. The July 16, 2010, tilt against the visiting Tampa Rays was the first home game in the Bronx after not only having lost George Steinbrenner on July 13, but also the “Voice of God,” Bob Sheppard, three days before that. It was a very emotional night, the Yanks played a thrilling come-from-behind game, and Nick Swisher provided big moments, including a game-tying homer in the eighth and the winning base hit in the bottom of the ninth. Continue reading →

July 13, 2012, Bronx, N.Y. – Ironically, the Anaheim Angels, who helped open Yankee Stadium 2012 for business by losing on Friday the 13th in April, began the season’s second half in the Bronx, again on Friday the 13th. Hiroki Kuroda, this night’s starter, pitched and beat the Angels 5-0 that April Friday, but the five runs the visitors scored this time around weren’t quite enough. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 1, 2012 – A good, though much too hot, time was had by all in the Bronx Sunday afternoon, as the Yankees celebrated their annual Old Timers Game. Trainer Gene Monahan was among a small group of first timers to the ceremony that included righthander Tanyon Sturtze, lefty Sterling Hitchcock, and catcher Matt Nokes, as 47 veteran ex-players and five widows were feted by a lively though fried crowd that showered all the love they could upon them. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 30, 2012 – It would be ridiculous to describe a team finishing the month of June with a four-game lead over their division as “struggling,” but coming off losing two starters to the DL, a pen-blown lead, and a blowout loss started by their newest replacement candidate, Hiroki Kuroda of the Yankees was facing a key date with the White Sox and ace righty Jake Peavy Saturday afternoon. And what a day to be on the “hot seat,” one of the hottest days in the 2012 New York summer. Continue reading →