Bronx, N.Y., June 6, 2002 — What follows is a tale of one of my many favorite days at the Ballpark, one I’ll share with you in the absence of the scheduled Yankee game tonight. First however, even though I believe I have a true tale to tell regarding this tale’s title, I in no way mean to belittle the very serious discussions on both sides about that practice. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 5, 2002 — It’s critical if you’re going to score games, count pitches, record first-pitch strikes, differentiate between called, struck (foul) and swinging strikes, and try to notice little numerical anomalies that pop up during the games, that you learn not to be obsessed about it. They’re just numbers. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 4, 2002 — Sometimes you get the bear. Sometimes the bear gets you. A not so witty cliche for the transitory nature of good and bad fortune. But it became painfully obvious both that I’ve been looking at the baseball world through Yankees-tinted glasses, and the rest of the world sees what it wants to see. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 3, 2002 — And I wouldn’t characterize the Cathedral in the South Bronx as a place without joy either, but 114 years to the day since “Casey at the Bat” was first published, the mighty were vanquished tonight in the Bronx, and I tip my hat to Sidney Ponson (no matter how trying it is to be hat-tipping two consecutive days to the opposing team’s starting pitcher). Continue reading →

“They say it’s alright
Say it’s alright
It’s alright, have a good time
Cause it’s alright, whoa it’s alright”

Bronx, N.Y., June 2, 2002 — Curtis Mayfield would have been 60 years old today, and his anthem to keeping on and looking up was a fine song to think of and hum during a beautiful, if disappointing (and eerie, but more on that later) day in the Bronx. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 1, 2002 — “It was 100 years ago today…” Well, actually, 35 years ago today the Beatles released “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” but for us (Yankee fans), we’ve had “the boys to play” for a century now. Though during that time we’ve had some of the most recognizable stars in spectator sports history highlight our unprecedented success, we’ve never been averse to getting “a little help from [our] friends,” from the little guys at the end of the bench. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., May 31, 2002 — I didn’t take meteorology in school, so I can’t back that up with any textbook facts. And neither weather conditions nor that part of the country have been the subject of much of my reading, so no casual research can be cited to back up my theory. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., May 29, 2002 — “Someone might be gainin’ on ya.” It’s a famous quote from a baseball legend, and it may be truer in this American League baseball season than it has since the day Satchel Paige first uttered it. The Red Sox and their fans had to be feeling pretty good about themselves again tonight, as they won their second consecutive come-from-behind road victory in Toronto. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., May 27, 2002 — Mike Thurman has gotten all kinds of respect. (Mark Thurman gets it too. Mark Thurman, the Canadian children’s author, that is.) But Mike, the former starter for Montreal? Thinking that a 10-11 record with barely AAA quality Montreal would get him a job, Mike put himself on the line. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., May 26, 2002 — One-hit wonder group Animotion didn’t begin to get to the bottom of that condition with their 1982 smash hit. And it will go some way to explaining how obsessed and potentially deluded I can get when you hear that I had decided I had a plausible scenario for how tonight’s game would play out once I had read the morning papers. Continue reading →