Bronx, N.Y., July 8, 2008 — Despite having the superb Andy Pettitte on the mound Tuesday night for the first of two against the first-place Tampa Rays, it was hard not to be concerned watching southpaw Scott Kazmir’s dominance through two frames. Pettitte has been very good just when the team needed it most, or at least he was until Captain Derek Jeter’s uncharacteristic first-inning throwing error put him into a 2-0 hole last Thursday versus Boston. That game went downhill from there, Boston battered Darrell Rasner the next day, and it took two scintillating one-run victories to salvage the holiday weekend, and perhaps the Yankee season. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 6, 2008 — What is it about 5-4 Yankees/Red Sox games in Yankee Stadium in the current millennium? After catching some of the July 1, 2004 classic in which Captain Derek Jeter bloodied himself with a full-bodied dive into the lower boxes before the Yanks came from behind to win 5-4 in 13 on TV, we fretted, sweated, and feted a 10-inning win by that same score on Sunday night. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 1, 2008 — For the second straight day, the Yanks came up on the short end of a low-scoring, one-run game in the Bronx pitting two great offenses. The Yanks wasted good pitching in both losses, failed to make up ground against the Red Sox, and fell another game behind those “Devils,” the first-place Tampa Rays. Bottom line, 3-2 Tuesday was equally injurious and frustrating to 2-1 Monday. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 30, 2008 — The Yankee team that bested Flushing’s Johan Santana on four hits over six innings Saturday, then lost to Oliver Perez of the Mets Sunday while hitting safely just four times, was at it again Monday night in the Bronx. Santana began the season as the titular best arm in baseball, and lefty throwing Perez has feasted on the Bronx lineup before. But how are we to explain the offensive meltdown against Texas’ Scott Feldman? Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 22, 2008 — With the three-game series against Cincinnati already a defeat via the 6-0 loss Saturday afternoon following Friday’s 4-2 defeat, one got the impression that the Yankees were ready to leave New York and move on to Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon. I’m as excited as the next fan that the Bombers will be flying to the “Steel City” for the first time in 48 years, but not so much that I did not realize there was unfinished business in the Bronx. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 20, 2008 — The record will read that young Reds fireballer Edinson Volquez bested veteran Yankee hurler Mike Mussina 4-2 in the Bronx Friday night, which doesn’t tell the whole story, though in a way it does. Volquez was every bit as good as his press indicated, and he did hold the Yanks to two runs through seven frames, more than enough to win. And not only that. Reds rookie first baseman Joey Votto notched three hits, and homered for the first run of the game. And on the Yankee side of the ledger, the young’uns played well too. Melky Cabrera initiated the first Yankee rally with a single, and young Robbie Cano plated the second run with a one-base hit to center in the home seventh. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 19, 2008 — Considering the fact that Wednesday night cleared beautifully after the more than one hour rain delay, it actually had a few things in common with the tight, taut battle the Yanks and Padres played Thursday afternoon. Yankee pitching disposed of 15 batters via the strike out Thursday, and 14 the night before. Although the five ground-ball outs Wednesday night seemd an awfully low number, it dipped to just four the following afternoon. Finally, despite the fact that I had to double- and triple-check my math on this, the Wednesday night marathon actually clocked in at one minute shorter than this duel in the afternoon sun. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 18, 2008 — Hardscrabble New Yorkers looked down with disgust at the not-ready-for-baseball field Wednesday night. It was a reaction quite different from that of the many San Diegans present. Denizens of the city with such ideal weather were obviously disappointed to find the tarp still on the field as the time for first pitch approached, but not in as edgy a manner as the natives. It wasn’t raining at all leading up to 7 pm, but the Yanks knew what they were doing this time. My poncho came out of the bag at 7:02. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 8, 2008 — Well, the Yankees are back over .500 again following their 6-3 victory over Kansas City Sunday afternoon in steamy Yankee Stadium. Newly recalled long man Dan Geise got the win following Joba Chamberlain, who left with one down in the fifth on the losing side of a 3-2 score. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 6, 2008 — I’ll say this for Kyle Davies, he holds a grudge well. Of course, I have no idea if the young Kansas City righty holds grudges at all really. But until Friday night, he was probably more famous, in New York at least, for having been the pitching victim of Alex Rodriguez’s 500th home run in August 2007 than anything else. Although few sensed it at the time, that he coaxed a 6-4-3 double play grounder from Rodriguez in the first inning of Friday night’s Royals/Yankees game in the Bronx became a pivotal play. Continue reading →