Bronx, N.Y., June 4, 2004 — Fans of the Yankees from the last few seasons have been looking forward to Friday night’s game vs. the Texas Rangers all season, and they know why. There is the fact that ex-Manager Buck Showalter is at the Texas helm, but so was he last year. And lefthander Kenny Rogers, who as a Yankee was routinely hammered early and often in the 1996 playoffs, was starting. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 3, 2004 — It took young Javier Vazquez 27 pitches to negotiate a very tough fourth inning in the Bronx Thursday afternoon. That team from Baltimore may struggle with their pitching all year, but they are packed with guys who know how to have professional at bats. They may have come up with only five hits on the day, but very few plate appearances did not end up being battles themselves. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 1, 2004 — It’s been the talk of the Bronx and the whole Yankee world, the way team Captain Derek Jeter has been struggling at the plate this year, with fans who count themselves among the most faithful calling for at least a temporary shift down in the order. But the Yankee shortstop has been bouncing back strongly for more than a week, and Tuesday night in the Bronx it was largely behind his bat that the Yanks got their homestand off on the right foot. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., May 16, 2004 — I felt like a school kid hoping for snow when my eyes opened Sunday morning, except that Junior would be pleading for precipitation, while I was hoping for exactly the opposite. And on this day in the Bronx, I hit the motherlode! After a sweltering week of 80-degree highs, long wet spells, and booming thunderstorms, the Saturday evening weatherman had hedged his bets, calling for “partly cloudy with periods of showers.” The Yankee Stadium sky proved him oh so wrong. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., May 14, 2004 — Sometimes you go to a ballgame, and get to see a dominating pitching performance overcome a similar effort by the opposing hurler, or perhaps just a struggling offense. Sometimes your pitchers can’t get anyone out, but the lineup puts together dynamic and fruitful rallies, and you go home a winner because your guys simply outscored the visiting nine. Certainly most games feature a combination of small things performed well, where you pitch a little bit, the offense succeeds often enough, and your team survives because of a concentrated group effort. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., May 2, 2004 — Emerging from the Stadium tunnel to make my way down the steps to my seat on Sunday, I felt like Dorothy leaving her house after the twister: I walked out from the ballpark’s dark depths on a day that threatened all-day rain, and looked out to behold a beautiful Bronx afternoon dominated with blues and greens one finds on the sunniest of days in the Baseball Cathedral, under a vast expanse of blue sky dotted by but a few dark clouds. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 29, 2004 — If Tuesday night was a game only a baseball player’s mother could love, the gem played in the Bronx Thursday night was a superb example of the baseball playing art and sport, and one that riveted the attention of a pretty big crowd in the House That Ruth Built. Played on a gorgeous night in temps that cooled from the announced 71-degree start time, even the high-tech auxiliary scoreboards with the hard-to-track out of town scores added to the beauty of a spring evening that soothed the soul as it excited the emotions and stimulated the mind. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 27, 2004 — In light of recent Yankee history, I suppose “the Rise and Fall and Rise” might be a more appropriate title for a Yankee victory only a fan in desperate need could love. But I like to think that this was the kind of game that proves baseball is such a great sport. The Yanks haven’t produced many hits this year. Tuesday night they stroked 10. We’ve been joking that new third base coach Luis Sojo has been the loneliest man in the Bronx. But this night he waved 10 men in Pinstripes by. I’ll take it. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 25, 2004 — I have two words for a brave and game (and assuredly exhausted) Javier Vazquez this evening. Javy, you are on team that has lots of great hitters, with a lineup that will drive many of your opponents to the showers long before you give up the mound. And Javier, you are a fabulous and talented pitcher who has many glory days ahead in New York. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 11, 2004 — Fans began staring at the skies long before Mike Mussina’s 1:08 pm first pitch today in Yankee Stadium. Although by the manner of their dress it was obvious that it was the weather that was their concern, it wasn’t a bad place to be looking for the game highlights either. Mussina, roughed up in two 2004 losing starts by the supposedly light-hitting Tampa Devil Rays, was facing a bunch of bangers from the south side of Chicago, and Mike had a score to settle. Continue reading →