Tampa, FL, March 6 — Friday was the 110th anniversary of the day aspirin was patented, something C.C. Sabathia might have been interested in hearing once he witnessed the first inning his fielders handed him in his Yankee debut game vs. Detroit in George M. Steinbrenner Field. Ryan Raburn was overmatched on a four-pitch strike out and Placido Polano followed by lofting an opposite-field rainbow down the line in right. Continue reading
Category Archives: Spring Training
Barely a Peep
Tampa, FL, March 5 — Although they knew that Thursday’s game was off to a very bad start, Yankee fans didn’t realize that it was over after the ugly 24-minute top of the first. Making his first official 2009 start as the Yankees begin establishing their rotation this day, Joba Chamberlain could not harness any command of his powerful fastball, and missed the zone with 14 of his first 20 pitches. Continue reading
Seeing Red
Clearwater, FL, March 5 — As in life, so in baseball. There are myriad decisions to be made by a fan attending Spring Training, and this Yankee fan may have selected wisely Wednesday. We could have chosen to rise early and make the 90-minute-plus trip to Orlando to watch the Yankees/Braves. But there’s something about fleeing the frigid Northeast to fly to a peninsular state surrounded by shimmering water and bathed in dazzling sun, and then driving inland. Simply, we chose not to. Continue reading
Who’s on Short?
Tampa, FL, March 3 — There were quite a few startling differences between the two teams that assembled at George M. Steinbrenner Field to play a game Tuesday afernoon. But the most jarring thing is what the two had in common. Shortstop Derek Jeter. Continue reading
Both Sides Now
Bronx, N.Y., November 26, 2008 — My better half and I were not enthusiastic when the Yankees shifted their Spring Training facility from Fort Lauderdale to Tampa on Florida’s West Coast in March 1996. We both had been attending this rite of March with separate sets of friends for years even before we met, and neither one of us was eager to give up our room right on the beach, the alligator-tail appetizers, or the aging stadium, buried as it was in an industrial park off route 95. Continue reading
War of the ‘Suppose’s
Tampa, FL, March 5 — There was some good, but more bad, in the Yankees’ first loss Wednesday afternoon. The Yanks had their customary early thunder, but only after new Minnesota left fielder Delmon Young put them in a 1-0 hole with a second-inning home run on a 3-1 Ian Kennedy fast ball. Continue reading
Yankees Are Perfect, But Weather Is Not
Dunedin, FL, March 4 — Anyone who has heard the complaint some Spring Training venues have levelled at the Yankees in the past, that they do not send representative teams on the road, would have been silenced just looking at the starting 10 penciled in to play the Blue Jays in Dunedin Tuesday afternoon: Hughes on the mound, with Damon, Jeter, Abreu, Rodriguez, Giambi, Posada, Duncan, and Cabrera. If that wasn’t enough, the sight of Yogi Berra telling Billy Connors that they had seen a no-hitter as they walked out after the rain-interrupted game was called should have done the trick. Continue reading
Something Happenin’ Here
Kissimmee, FL, March 3 — The Yankees experienced their first significant drawback to 2008 Spring Training when Mike Mussina failed to record an out in the third inning of a 7-6 win over the Astros in Kissimmee. A less than glowing subplot involved some shaky play at first base, the most unsettled defensive position on the team. Continue reading
7 Great Innings, But a 7-7 Tie
Tampa, FL, March 2 — It was incumbent first baseman Jason Giambi’s turn to pole a three-run first-inning home run to give the Yanks an early lead on the Phillies on Sunday, this time in Legends, soon to be Steinbrenner, Field. The lefty power hitter did nothing to hurt his case playing first base in the field either, and he collected both the homer and an even more impressive line double to the gap in left against lefty pitching. Continue reading
Clear Winner at First in Clearwater
Clearwater, FL, March 1 — Yankee fans have a lot of change to adapt to in 2008. Hank and Hal Steinbrenner are replacing their aging father at the helm. Joe Girardi slips into the manager’s chair, vacated by Joe Torre after 12 years. And the team opted not to trade young pitching for an older experienced stud. Continue reading