Bronx, N.Y., August 23, 2011 – The oft-injured A’s righty Brandon McCarthy put on such a mesmerising clinic on throwing strikes in the A’s 6-5 win in Yankee Stadium Monday night that for all intents and purposes it appeared the Yankee offense took the first seven innings off. Of course they did not. In fact, as my scorecard incredulously tells me, McCarthy had just one solitary one-two-three inning through seven-plus (although a base hit, double play grounder also got him through the home fourth facing just three batters as well). Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 13, 2011 – Just when Yankee fans were thinking it was safe to put aside the offense and devote all their attention to the starting rotation, a familiar figure rode into town Saturday and stole the show, driving in six runs in a 9-2 win. The all but gone Jorge Posada took his turn in the lineup as the DH, striding twice to the plate with the bases loaded. All he did was drill a two-run single to give the Yanks the lead in the second on a 1-0 pitch, then lift a grand slam to right to make the game a 7-0 laugher three innings later. He had a single in the fourth as well, but the “underperforming” DH failed to plate a run with that one. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 12, 2011 – With all the building drama in Yankee land about the makeup of the rotation going forward, and A-Rod rehabbing in Florida, Yankee fans in general ignored what to one visitor was a momentous night in Yankee Stadium Friday night. While nigh on 50,000 had their best day of 2011 when Derek Jeter put his 3,000-hit magic show on about five weeks ago, one athlete in the building decidedly did not. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 11, 2011 – The Yanks outhit the visiting Angels in the rubber match of their three-gamer on a glorious Bronx afternoon Wednesday, 10-9, but it had very little to do with the outcome. Each team began their scoring with a two-run home run; each team concluded it with an additional multi-run drive. Five of the nine Angels who stroked hits scored, two more than was the case with the Yankees. Still, the Bombers’ offensive math prevailed in the 6-5 win. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 10, 2011 – The baseball headache hovering over the Bronx from Tuesday night’s loss dissipated in a hurry Wednesday. The skies over the ballpark were largely clear except for a smattering of purple clouds and a waxing moon, both looking like they had been painted by fifth graders – with evident style – and stuck up there with velcro. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 9, 2011 – The biggest upset in the Bronx on Tuesday night was that the Angels and Yanks started on time, played nine full innings, andd got no rain. But that was far from the thing(s) that caused the most upset. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 31, 2011 – Well, OK, I suppose we Yankee fans were being silly and presumptuous, expecting massive scoring breakouts after the thunderous double header sweep over the Orioles on Saturday. But on the other hand, who could blame us? After all, the unprecedented 12-run first-inning outburst Saturday night may have featured 10 hits, but even it started with a strike out of Captain Derek Jeter. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 30, 2011 – Ivan Nova’s called-strike, first-pitch fastball to Nolan Reimold to start the second inning of the nightcap half of the Orioles/Yankees day/night doubelheader in the Bronx on Saturday whispered over the outside corner at 8:08 p.m. This is significant because the young righty had started the first inning against shortstop J.J. Hardy in the same way – with a first-pitch fastball called strike – 61 minutes earlier. The 12-run explosion that all but decided game two of the double dip wasn’t only significant because it was the most run-productive opening inning in Yankee history. It also took one hour and one minute to complete. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 26, 2011 – The first game of the Yankees’ second century of 2011 games will be a hard one to top for in-the-ballpark excitement, and that holds true even though the game was twice interrupted by rain, one day after the 100th game was delayed by wet conditions for two hours. The Yankees’ home run tandem of Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira opened and closed the scoring in a 4-1 Yankee win with blasts that carried just far enough to count, and CC Sabathia flirted with history. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 25, 2011 – Another day, another big-time performance by a veteran Yankee pitcher. Monday night it was Freddy Garcia, following Bartolo Colon’s seven-inning, two-run stint by going two outs further and allowing one more run, although Freddy held the Mariners to just three hits and one run through six. Each hurler allowed but one walk, and Garcia bested Bart’s four strike outs by one. Continue reading →