Bronx, N.Y., April 6, 2007 — The trend of four-inning outings by their starters continued in the Yanks’ 6-4 loss to Baltimore in the Stadium Friday night, but at least they managed to play error-free for the first time since the season began earlier this week. Although it’s always a concern when Mike Mussina’s rest and mound schedule is affected by injury or rainout, his failed outing this time seemed more a result of the frigid conditions than any disruption in his routine. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., September 27, 2006 — There is no truth to the rumor that Bernie Williams gestured to right center field with a 2-1 count in Sunday’s ninth inning. And further, the double he subsequently stroked there did not start the game-winning rally 50,000-plus hoped to see. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., September 27, 2006 — Fourteen pitches into the Yankees/Orioles game on delightful Wednesday eve, the fans looked to be in for an old-fashioned treat: a well-pitched, tightly played game. Three Chien-Ming Wang pitches were enough to retire each of the first three Baltimore batters, with Wang splitting his first two of 11 ground-ball outs with one of his four strike outs.

Baltimore’s Kris Benson, meanwhile, struck out Johnny Damon, retired Derek Jeter on a first-pitch grounder to second, and quickly got ahead of Bobby Abreu. The only hint that things might not be what they seemed was that the new Yankee right fielder extended Benson to seven pitches before lining deep to the left field corner. There was a buzz of concern when Wang allowed a run on three straight two-out singles in the second, and truth be told it was not his best night, as 10 hits and four runs over six innings bears out. But the concern among this crowd was unwarranted, which can perhaps best be demonstrated by the fact that a scant two innings later the same fans were waving themselves silly until fatigue settled in.

Jason Giambi was Joe Torre’s newest reclamation project to test a wounded wing (wrist, actually) in the Bronx this night, and he passed his test with flying colors. Following a leadoff A-Rod walk in the home second, Jason battled through a typical at bat, working the count full and fouling a third and fourth strike, until Benson’s next fastball was low and not nearly inside enough. The Yankee DH slashed it several rows back and three feet to the fair side of the foul pole for a 2-1 Yankee lead. Robbie Cano delivered a third run with a sac fly following a Hideki Matsui single and a Jorge Posada double to the same right-field corner.

The Birds responded with two more hits and another run, but the Yanks shrugged it off. Abreu restored the two-run lead with a homer to right, and then the Bombers stroked four straight two-out hits, the last a Posada liner into the short porch in right. Bruce Chen relieved and got a third out, and the Yanks paused long enough for two Orioles to reach base in the fourth via Wang’s lone walk and a hit by pitch. Then the relentless Yankee offense was back; it would not be denied.

Johnny Damon’s home run to right began a parade of seven players in a row to reach safely. When Damon’s turn to bat came around yet again, Melky Cabrera took his place, still in the fourth inning. I can recall scoring spring training games where teams batting around had more than one guy hit in the same position in one inning; this may have been a first for me in games that count.

But it gets better, and in the midst of it all, I was afraid someone would pinch me and melt the dream away. On the out of town scoreboard, home field advantage contestant Detroit fell behind 3-0 to Toronto, who in turn threatened to drive the rival Red Sox back to third place. Boston was down early in Fenway to Tampa, and in later returns the Rays poured it on. Favored to reach the World Series from the NL are the crosstown Mets, and they had their wounded ace Pedro Martinez going in a big start. While the 8-2 Yankee lead was mushrooming to 13-2, Pedro was driven from the Atlanta mound down 7-0 in the third.

Minnesota, another potential rival for best record, slipped behind K.C. as the scores rolled on, and two National League teams putting on spirited late challenges for the postseason, Houston and Philadelphia, rebounded from ugly-number scores to drive Pittsburgh and Washington, respectively, into extra innings.

As the ecstatic Yankee fans grew weary of the wave, Wang posted a scoreless fifth around two hits, then gave up two more runs on three straight safeties in the sixth. Chien-Ming would leave after that frame, and Robinson Cano restored the 11-run margin with a bomb over the Modell’s sign on the right field upper deck facade. Wang was good, not great, and several of the hits were bloops or ground balls that found a hole. He threw 58 of 90 pitches for strikes, finding the zone on the first toss 18 of 30 times. He used a preponderance of 94- and 95-mph sinking fastballs to get ground balls, and mixed in the occasional slider about 10 mph slower, and even a few changes of pace as slow as 80 mph.

Hideki Matsui had a quiet night in left, and lifted his batting average past .300 on 2-for-3 hitting. Gary Sheffield handled eight throws at first, made a good play knocking a Brian Roberts bouncer down the lline and retired two Birds unassisted, though be briefly bobbled Jay Gibbons’ third inning grounder on his way to the bag. More encouraging still were Shef’s at bats. After lifting a weak fly to center, he doubled, then singled to left, both on patented Shef hard liners. And before the fourth-inning one-base hit, he blasted one of the hard foul home runs that have become his trademark in Yankee Stadium.

But the hitting stars were Giambi and Posada. Jason went 3-for-4, scored three times, and drove in four. Posada had two hard extra base hits right down the right field line, he scored once, and he drove in four as well. Mariano Rivera treated those still in attendance with a four-batter seventh-inning appearance, and the struggling Ron Villone and then T.J. Beam finished up, with Beam allowing a ninth-inning run after Bob Davidson surprised us all by calling a balk.

The Scoreboard people thrilled an already happy crowd by showing Bruce Springsteen and family ensconced in the Rudy Guiliani seats next to the Yankee dugout during an early pitching change, blasting a Bruce tune to make the point. Later, with many having left a long game early that the Yanks had well in hand, Cotton Eye Joey not only did his traditional eighth-inning dance, but he left the control room, and danced and doffed the big straw hat among the few remaining paying patrons adjacent to his usual happy stage.

September 27, 2006 is not the only time the Bombers have dominated an opponent in the House That Ruth Built. It’s actually the 75th anniversary of a 13-1 drubbing of the Philadelphia Athletics that finished the 1931 regular season. Lou Gehrig’s homer that day tied Babe Ruth for the season high at 46, and the two teammates amassed a possibly unmatchable 347 rbi’s between them that year. Twenty years ago this day in a 10-inning, 1-0 shutout, Detroit’s Jack Morris snapped Don Mattingly’s 24-game hit streak, a streak that fellow Captain Derek Jeter finally passed just a few weeks ago. As for the Orioles on this day, although I’m sure Karma played no role in their 16-5 destruction at the hands of the Yanks, this is the 10th anniversary of the day former Birds second baseman Robbie Alomar shocked the baseball world by spitting in an umpire’s face.

And this is also the 59th birthday of rocker Meatloaf, who is the only rock artist ever to feature the voice of the one and only Phil Rizzuto on a number-one hit. The song, I’m sure most know, was Paradise by the Dashboard Lights. Let me assure you that watching the Yanks’ offensive onslaught on a beautiful evening while all the good news came pouring in from out of town was a little bit of Paradise as well.

BTW,TYW

YANKEE BASEBALL!!!

Bronx, N.Y., September 26, 2006 — The Yankees took the field vs. the Baltimore Orioles on a pleasant Tuesday night in the Bronx with a slew of questions to answer before beginning the postseason in one week’s time. How would their veteran left fielder handle his first game action in four months with a glove slipped past his injured but recovered left wrist? Would the former right fielder progress in his crash course in playing first base, and how would the two returnees hit? Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., September 12, 2006 — All of the Bronx, much of New York, and selected groups of fans around the country held their collective breath during the fourth inning of Tuesday night’s Yankees/Devil Rays game. All eyes were on Rays rookie Delmon Young as he drifted back, back, back to the right field wall and finally hauled in Bobby Abreu’s grand-slam bid with no room to spare. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., September 3, 2006 — A cursory glance at the players assembled on the field during the Marine Corps band version of our National Anthem before Sunday’s Twins/Yankees tilt revealed a startling tableau. The Yankee defense and the umpires were near their positions, with rookie starter Darrell Rasner on the mound, Jorge Posada standing with plate ump Kerwin Danley at home, Jason Giambi manning first base, and the other three infielders bunched at shortstop. This left just the outfielders standing at attention in short right field, all four of them. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., September 1, 2006 — The news could have been bad, Alex Rodriguex planted firmly on the bench with the Yanks playing in New York. Was Nick Green out there for defense with three outs to go? Was Joe Torre shielding A-Rod from another night of Stadium booing? Yes, the Yankee manager removed Alex Friday night before the game was over, but there was nothing negative in this move. Rodriguez got to take a breather after a huge offensive night with the Yanks putting away the Minnesota Twins. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 31, 2006 — It would be easy to say of the Yankees’ 6-4 win over the Tigers in the Bronx Thursday afternoon that the game wasn’t as close as the final score. But although the visitors were outhit 14 -5, and generously handed the Yanks four free passes as well, they did trot three hitters out in the top of the ninth each representing the tying run. Detroit beat the Yanks in sudden and dramatic fashion Wednesday night on a ninth-inning long ball, and they not only hit a two-run blast in this game’s final frame, they scored all four of their runs on drives over the Yankee Stadium walls. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 30, 2006 — Even though the team returned to New York late Sunday, the longest Yankee road trip of the year didn’t “feel” over until the team finally played a game in Yankee Stadium, and they did that in spades on Wednesday. After an off day and a rainout the Yanks met the AL-leading Tigers in a pair of games chock full of playoff implications. And, as often is the case when the team with the best record meets the one looming largest in their rear view mirror, the results were a mixed bag for both squads. Continue reading →