Bronx, N.Y., August 7, 2003 — I’m sure I don’t need to go into any length trying to describe to Yankee fans how depressing it felt to witness the ninth inning of Wednesday’s 5-4 loss to the Rangers from the Upper Deck in the Bronx. Enthusiasts prone to wager a buck or two on the ponies will tell you that a race in which your horse gets blown out right from the gate is painless, but the experience of being nipped just once in the stretch, or at the wire, is a whole night worth of pain. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 5, 2003 — Although it would be overstating the case to say that the Yanks prevailed over the Rangers in the Bronx solely because of another dominating Roger Clemens performance, it’s not really far off. True, Roger didn’t answer the bell for the eighth inning, while in his last game he went the distance, and threw a shutout. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 31, 2003 — Well, Cashman and the braintrust win the argument, at least for one day. The discussions among Yankee fans in the big city Thursday were consumed by the late moves, where the Yanks traded a prospect pitcher they had to this point refused to part with for a third baseman, a young veteran who will at best match the guy preceding him with the glove, and who, it must be admitted, should give them some more offense, even if just a little bit. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 28, 2003 — The coverage was everywhere to see if you checked the right section of the newspapers on Sunday. Here it was the 50th anniversary of the armistice that “temporarily” ended the hostilities that became known as the Korean Conflict, and there was collective dismay and frustration that that hard-fought border was still, after all these years, yet to be founded and established in international treaty. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 24, 2003 — It’s always hard to take a clear view at a homestand without seeing it all through the prism of the last game. In this case, the last contest was a stinker and, although Sterling Hitchcock may finally have pitched himself off the team with a very good outing, it would be difficult to find much more positive that came from it. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 29, 2003 — Nobody honors a fallen icon like Bob Sheppard, and he brought Yankee Stadium to a standstill at 7:57 tonight, as he informed us of the passing of actress Katharine Hepburn, with the loudspeaker intoning Ave Maria and the scoreboard carrying her name and lifespan, 1907-2003. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 27, 2003 — Well, it was business as usual in the Bronx tonight, but it was different too. David Wells and Jae Weong Seo have arguably had the best years for the Yankees and Mets respectively, so we expected a pitchers’ duel, but the score stood at 5-3 Yankees, after two. Both pitchers gave up five hits in the first two frames, and between them they surrendered 21 on the night in less than 12 innings. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 15, 2003 — Mike Mussina used a simple strategy in besting the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday. He threw his best stuff, right from the very beginning, and went after the St. Louis hitters, whom we all had to fear were about to break out with a string of line drives. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 10, 2003 — You had to admire the numbers, and much more, the quality of the pitching, as Mike Mussina dispatched the Houston Astros through the first four innings Tuesday night. Notching the 12 outs while pitching to one man over the minimum, and throwing just 52 pitches, the 17 balls meant that he was throwing two strikes for every ball. He threw first-pitch strikes to eight of the first 11. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., May 27, 2003 — I was a mess thinking about Tuesday evening’s upcoming Yankee/Red Sox tilt in the Bronx Monday night after having spent some seven hours in the rain-soaked Borough earlier that day, witnessing the unfortunate outcome of Roger Clemens’s first attempt at his 300th win. Continue reading →