Bronx, N.Y., September 15, 2002 — It was almost another one of those lost weekends in the Bronx, just when it was the thing you would have least expected. After establishing our claim to the East title against Boston, beating Detroit and wiping out Baltimore in a four-gamer, it seemed our march to the postseason — and to the American League’s best record — was almost assured. The starters went a week’s worth of innings without walking anyone, the pen successfully closed 10 of 10 without Mo, and the offense was doing a pendulum swing back and forth from overwhelming to just enough. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., September 12, 2002 — It was easy to be distracted in the Stadium Thursday night. The uncharacteristic winds that blew through on 9/11 were gone, but many of the American flags and much of the “God Bless America” fire remained. Fans were slow to arrive, so that even though the 33,000 who eventually showed made for a respectable crowd, we viewed the early innings in a vast spread of empty seats. A possible confrontation between the Yankees and an umpiring crew that has not been friendly, and who tossed two the night before, never came about, as a new crew arrived to officiate the fourth of four against the Orioles. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., September 10, 2002 — It is not the best time for this at work, but I just couldn’t help myself. I didn’t go out of my way looking for trouble either. I really did have tickets to the rained-out June 6 game against the Orioles that was to be played as the first game of today’s twin bill; I had tickets for the night game too. I was intrigued when I saw the two together on the rejiggered Yankee schedule. I don’t know when I last attended a double dip, but I would not pass up the opportunity Tuesday. I would have been there without the Paul O’Neill bobble head. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., September 8, 2002 — Another gorgeous day in the Bronx, and another nail-biter vs. a club with nothing to lose, the Detroit Tigers, who seem to be auditioning players at almost every position. And auditioning ballplayer no. one was the guy on the pitcher’s mound, Andy Van Hekken. A tall lanky lefty who became the first American League pitcher in 27 years to throw a shutout in his debut (he did it last week against the Indians), he only surrendered one earned run on six hits and a walk. He was decidedly a fly ball pitcher, as he didn’t get his second ground ball out until Coomer bounced to short in the fourth. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., September 7, 2002 — You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again. A Stitch in Time Saves Nine. Neither a Borrower Nor a Lender Be. None of these sayings is specifically attributed to the Pilgrims who helped colonize these United States. But each of these aphorisms could be applied to the philosophy and the Way of Life of these brave and hearty souls, who celebrated our first Thanksgiving. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., September 4, 2002 — It was going to be different this year. The Red Sox weren’t only going to put a scare into the Yanks this time. Ever since they inhaled that heady and almost unprecedented five-games-up air early in the year, the demons of yesteryear were banished, and the Yankees were going down. As intoxicated with the sound of a hit record (certainly a hit in Boston, and in much of the country too) as the late George Harrison was on this day in 1970 when he released the song that shares this column’s title, Red Sox players, fans and new ownership and management were as fooled as Harrison was. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., September 3, 2002 — We live in a different world, here in 2002. As the first anniversary of the most extreme act of terrorism we can all hope to ever withstand approaches, we are all struggling for a whole new way of communicating, an entirely different set of effective metaphors. And the world of spectator sports, a bigger part of our lives than any of us want to acknowledge, is not immune to the problem. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., September 2, 2002 — “…and Carry a Big Stick.” Teddy Roosevelt uttered those words in public for the first time 101 years ago today, and I focused on them during all those times during today’s interminable game, rain delay and game again that Boston fans cheered, “Let’s Go, Red Sox.” Sure, they won today, and in the process extracted a bit of revenge for the way Mussina has treated them in their home park, though I really felt Mike’s undoing was more the work of home plate ump Mike Winters than the bats of the Red Sox. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 30, 2002 — Well, they’re playing baseball, though the way the Yanks ended up being threatened at 8-6 after leading this one 8-0 had some Yankee fans wondering if that was such a good thing. Apparently shellshocked, the fan celebrations seem subdued, and some fans are reacting as if there was a work stoppage. That is understandable with all the debate over months and months while this thing dragged on, and with the negative way the players were portrayed by the owners and in the media. But few seem to be reveling in the undeniable: We are now guaranteed to enjoy at least 13 consecutive years of major league baseball uninterrupted by a labor-related stoppage. In a sport whose glorious history is cited as often for the fans’ enjoyment as winning seasons for their favorite teams, how many of us realize that that is a claim that most of our fathers can’t make? Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 28, 2002 — Who could have scripted this one any better? OK. Perhaps a “cleaner” win would have had the Yanks scratching a run in the first on Robin’s hard single, rather than the two-base Hillenbrand error, Jeter bunt base hit and Giambi double-play grounder. Perhaps Mike’s outing could be considered even more dominating if the Red Sox had come out like the team that blew the world away in May, rather than the Keystone Kops who booted three balls in the first two innings. Continue reading →