NEW YORK, N.Y., November 5, 2004 — OK. Let’s get something out there right from the start. I come not really to praise the Red Sox but, as the Bard would have it, to “bury them.” But first there are quite a few great things they accomplished this season that need to be recognized. They are the first team in baseball history (and in the history of any major sport that is currently viable) to recover from an 0-3 deficit to win a best of seven series. Continue reading
Category Archives: Grandstand View
Double Drat!
NEW YORK, N.Y., October 16, 2005 — Darn. What a Gyp! It’s almost six days now, the Almighty seems to have recovered, seeing as the sun has returned to New York, and so I’m thinking it’s about time I do the same. I’d like to say the turn in the weather has shaken me out of my lethargy and alerted me to how lucky this Yankee fan’s life has been, but that would be giving me credit for a maturity I possess in extremely short supply. Continue reading
The Possible Dream
Bronx, N.Y., October 9, 2005 — It was 7:56 pm on an unexpectedly pleasant Bronx evening when Yankee righty Shawn Chacon delivered his first pitch to Angels third baseman Chone Figgins, but by the time his lazy fly ball settled into hometeam centerfielder Bubba Crosby’s glove, the clock had moved to 57 minutes after the hour. Perhaps the between-minutes first pitch put both offenses out of phase, or maybe it was just the great pitching, but what ensued was 192 (or 193) minutes of the most tense baseball the House That Ruth Built has seen in 2005. Continue reading
How Sweet It Is!
NEW YORK, N.Y., October 1, 2005 — Perhaps equating the trials and tribulations of a poor bus driver from Brooklyn from 50 years ago with the 2005 Yankees season is a bit of a stretch, but it doesn’t feel overly melodramatic to this Yankee fan. It’s been ugly since the 11-19 start. The team laid out big bucks for pitching that rarely excelled (or even showed up), they were swept in three straight in Kansas City, and were routinely mishandled by the dysfunctional but growing-in-talent group in Tampa Bay. After the Bronx team came to an ignominious and unprecedented end in 2004, all I can say after Saturday’s AL East Championship (and playoff appearance) clincher in Fenway Park is, “How Sweet It Is!” Continue reading
No Discouraging Words
Bronx, N.Y., September 25, 2005 — Overruling the old-time American music classic (and the Kansas State Song), 55,000 screaming fans attending the home finale tilt between the Yankees and the Blue Jays Sunday afternoon could have told you there was nary a “discouraging word” even though “the sky [was] cloudy all day.” The teams engaged in what was a taut, tight, and crisply played game for most of the afternoon. The first four frames lasted barely an hour and it took not 80 pitches to retire the first 24 of 26 batters. At 71 degrees with 46 percent humidity and light breezes, nobody missed the sun all that much. Continue reading
Let the Good Times Roll
Bronx, N.Y., September 23, 2005 — You don’t go on a streak like the Yankees have of late without doing many things right. Since enjoying their last off day of the regular season September 12, they have won 10 of 11, accepting contributions from virtually every member of their roster to keep the winning going. They took the field against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first of three Friday night having won four straight, and finally in first place by a full game. Continue reading
A ‘Grounded’ Performance
NEW YORK, N.Y., September 19, 2005 — Sure, it was another beautiful night in the Bronx, as the Yanks hosted the Orioles to start a seven-game homestand Monday, the last regular-season stand of the year. Yes, the Bombers have been hanging in tight in both the AL East and Wild Card races, and the just-concluded 5-1 road trip moved their record to a level over .500 closer to what they and their fans have become accustomed. And sure, the usual 50,000-plus flocked to Yankee Stadium to welcome them back, and to hopefully root them on to the 2005 postseason. Continue reading
In Arms’ Way
Bronx, N.Y., September 11, 2005 — The Yankees and Red Sox spent the first two games of this crucial September series in the Bronx apparently trying to make the point that neither team is set up to coast in October. David Wells made mistakes in the zone Friday night and his fieldmates made four errors behind him in an 8-4 Yankee win. Then the Yankees followed three ineffective frames by August pickup Shawn Chacon by throwing away the game in a six-run fourth inning Saturday afternoon. Continue reading
Small Ball, Big Game
Bronx, N.Y., September 9, 2005 — Just when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays had us shaking our heads wondering if this Yankee team can bring this season to a successful conclusion, the Bombers go out and hammer a top opponent in a big game. They did it behind the pitching of a journeyman starter who did not get a chance until such luminaries as Darrel May and Tim Redding had taken bows, and thanks to the offense of a catcher who has struggled mightily most of this year. Continue reading
The Yanks Show Heart
Bronx, N.Y., September 5, 2005 — It was a 7:08 first pitch Wednesday night, and a 7:10 first “Boo!”, as Jaret Wright started a nightmare of an inning by walking Julio Lugo on five pitches. Three pitches later, Carl Crawford had bunted for a hit, Wright had thrown the ball down the right field line, and both Lugo and Crawford had scored on Jorge Cantu’s first-pitch single to right. Tack on four more throws, and you get a popup, a Jonny Gomes triple off the right field wall with Gary Sheffield injured, and a sac fly for a 4-0 deficit. But hey, the weather was great. Continue reading