Bronx, N.Y., April 11, 2006 — Fans and non-fans in the New York area and the country over will be regaled with Derek’s Jeter’s many fine qualities, both on field and off, following his game-winning, seventh-inning, 3-run homer that carried the Yanks to a 9-7 victory over the Royals Tuesday afternoon. And well they should. Jeter came to the plate with victory in his grasp, but defeat potentially a mere four outs away as well. The Yankee captain started his second decade as starting shortstop in the Bronx pretty much the same way he played in the first. The Yankees set an American League record when they came from behind and won their ninth straight home opener in the game, and it is no coincidence that the confident but not cocky Jeter has been around for the whole ride. Continue reading →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

Bronx, N.Y., August 28, 2005 — The Yankees looked to be in one of those battles of attrition Sunday afternoon that happen once a week or so, in the case of this team often coinciding with the turn of Al Leiter in the rotation. Al was extended to 23 pitches to retire the Royals in the first after a David DeJesus leadoff single, and the ugly inning was still to come. Continue reading →