Tampa, FL., March 27 — The first sight greeting fans arriving at Legends Field on Sunday at a certain time (roughly 11:30) was that of “new” (even though his age matches the number 41 on his back) ace Randy Johnson getting in some throwing under the watchful eyes of Mel Stottlemyre and Billy Connors. Ninety minutes later, it was “old” Yankee southpaw Andy Pettitte warming up down third in the visiting bullpen. Minutes later he was greeted by raucous applause and cheering as he took the mound with a 2-0 lead. If there is anything Yankee fans love more than members of the current 25, it’s ex-Yankees with a successful resume in the Bronx. Continue reading
Category Archives: Spring Training
Cruel to Be Kind
Clearwater, FL., March 25 — My first major league game of 2005, and it goes an extra inning and has a balk call too. And with the Yanks ready to trot out a totally revamped rotation, this one featured newbie (to Pinstripes) Carl Pavano vs. Jon Lieber, who made a mark in the Bronx last year before signing with the Phils.
It Happens Every Spring
Dunedin, FL., March 10 — With the double loss Wednesday, the Yankees’ 2004 Spring Training losing streak reached four games, and the record slipped to 3-5. Their pitching has allowed victorious opponents 13, eight, and 10 runs in the losses, and even seven tallies in one of the three victories.
Twenty-Five Pitches
TAMPA, FL., March 9 — One of the things you learn quickly when scoring games and counting pitches is that numbers can play tricks on you. You come across patterns that are very telling, but you notice others that are the baseball equivalent of farmers finding vegetables shaped, they swear, like famous people.
A Three-Hour Tour
Tampa, FL., March 8 — Perhaps it was the two walks sandwiched around a Doug Mientkiewicz single in the five-run sixth that sent me off thinking about the fun and adventure one can find on the water in the Tampa Bay area, but I really think I was still avidly rooting for a Yankee comeback from an 8-1 deficit to the Twins. The home-standing Bombers had been coming up just short all day, falling to a bounce here, and a carom there, and things were ripe for the kind of dramatic turnaround these Spring games are famous for.
Who’s on Third?
TAMPA, FL., March 6 — That was the question in Yankeeland a month ago, and we got the answer weeks ago. But the trade and the paperwork were one thing. The play on the field is another. The book on the left side of the 2004 Yankee infield is far from written, even if there were a few positive paragraphs inscribed in the Foreword Saturday in Legends Field.
The Sultans of Swing
Tampa, FL., March 5 — It changed on Kevin Millwood’s 20th pitch. Not that it was a bad day before then. The weather was a gorgeous, hot-and-sunny kind of afternoon New York area Yankee fans have been dreaming about through a long, cold, brutal winter. Continue reading
The Rites of Spring
Clearwater, FL., March 4 — One of baseball’s undeniable charms is its simplicity, an aspect that has lent itself to some great writing. It is not a pursuit that lends itself to long tortured, multi-claused sentences, but rather short bursts of descriptive prose. The words writers use to describe the action of the game, the tools employed, and the results on the field of play all lend themselves to straight, to-the-point reportage.
No Longer ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’
TAMPA, Fla., March 8 — Robin Trower, turning 58 on March 9, played guitar for Procul Harum on the rock anthem alluded to in this column’s title, and I thought of the song, and our pallid expressions upon our arrival in Florida, as we left our last game today. Glistening from the sweat and the sun, and basking in the glory of an end-of-week victory that rescued us from a losing trip, Sue and I braved a traffic jam caused by a concert ushering Spring Break into Clearwater, and made for the Tiki Bar. The soft sand, a mild Gulf breeze, and high but dark clouds shepherded the sun through our last spring 2003 Florida sunset as gulls swooped overhead and a lizard huddled in the corner.
Old Friends
Tampa, Fla., March 7 — For years, Sue and I have been playing a game called, “Find the Hidden Yankee” as teams with shifting rosters visit Yankee Stadium. Sometimes seeing an “old friend” is a cause for joy, as when it’s a player we’ve lost track of, like Andy Fox or Andy Stankiewicz. On other occasions it is filled with dread, as facing David Cone with the Sox in 2001, and seeing Ramiro Mendoza in Beantown, or Mike Stanton and Cone (once again) in Flushing will be this season, both on the road and in the Bronx.
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