Bronx, N.Y., July 9, 2015; Yankees 6, A’s 2 — Having watched Joe Girardi pull two guys having more or less effective starts early over the last few days, it was easy to suspect that he’d be replacing starter Masahiro Tanaka with a reliever at any moment once the Yanks took a two-run lead after Thursday afternoon’s game vs the A’s went five. Pushed to 24 pitches in a two-run second, and over 90 once he pounded two-strike-out frames in the fourth and the sixth, the recently DL’d righty was ripe for the showers. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., Old Timers’ Day, June 20, 2015; Clippers 3, Bombers 2; Yankees 14, Tigers 3 — Always an emotional roller coaster for fans who attend, the Old Timers’ Day opening ceremony Saturday ended with such a shocking — uplifting and poignant, yes — but still shocking conclusion, that it was a more extreme experience than usual, if that’s possible. At the outset, Willie Randolph was so happy he was getting a plaque, as were six Yankee widows — Arlene Howard, Diana Munson, Jill Martin, Helen Hunter, and Kay Hunter, this year joined by Soot Zimmer — to be there at the end, that the unveiling of a plaque for Mel Stottlemyre, who as much as said he won’t be around for the next one in a Gehrig-like speech, shook the crowd to its core. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 18, 2015; Yankees 9, Marlins 4 — It was a tale of two games in the Bronx Thursday night, or maybe two events. In the game, which more or less came to an end in the eighth inning, Yankee fans were once again reminded that this is not 2014. Certainly, this offense is scarily disappointing for long stretches, with some innings seemingly guaranteed to bring no promise of a score, and others set up for success crashing and burning before our eyes. But the 2015 Yankee club is resilient, and it showed that in the middle innings of a 9-4 win over the Marlins. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 17, 2015; Yankees 2, Marlins 1 — Well, the Yankees dropped a 2-1 decision to the Marlins in Miami on Monday in the first of two, and beat them 2-1 under the same scenario, this time in the Bronx, tonight. It makes me very eager to see tomorrow night’s 11-run explosion. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 7, 2015; Yankees 6, Angels 2 — Seated just to the right of home plate in the Stadium grandstand, we’re located directly below the banner that represents the second-place team in the AL Western Division. With the incredible Astros start, it has invariably been the flaming red banner of the Angels all year. The first thing I noticed when I looked up today was that, not only had the Yanks’ five-game win streak improved their hold on first place in the East. The last two wins, it seems, have knocked Anaheim from that perch: The blue banner of the Texas Rangers has grabbed the spot. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 5, 2015; Yankees 8, Angels 7 — Or was it 27 hours? Fans who chose to stay for Friday night’s top of the ninth inning had no idea what they were signing up for. Using the long ball, the home-standing Yanks had built a comfortable lead, then had a nervous moment midgame, but followed that with some more offense to “seemingly” put this one away. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., Memorial Day, May 25, 2015; Yankees 14, Royals 1 — A huge weight was lifted from the Yankee organization, its players, and the fans on Monday, Memorial Day, when the team broke out of a dreadful slump by pounding the visiting KC Royals, 14-1. They had lost two of three to KC a week before on a 2-7 road trip, only to drop three straight at home to the lowly (recently, anyway) Texas Rangers upon their return. This last series had featured back-to-back third innings where they surrendered seven runs and 10 runs, respectively. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., May 7, 2015; Yankees 4, Orioles 3 — The fact that the Yankees outhit the visiting Baltimore Orioles 11-6 was an outlier — don’t be fooled; the teams played essentially the same game. The vaunted Yankee pen had to throw one more inning than the relievers from Baltimore, but both bullpens held the opposition scoreless. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 26, 2915; Yankees 6, Mets 4 — Well, the Yankees won the Battle of New York, part one, in 2015, the first home series in which they’ve beaten their crosstown rivals since 2012. But any Yankee fan hoping the team could derail the Mets fan brigade by doing so better rethink it. Down one run, then two, with four innings left, the Flushing-rooting visitors cheered lustily for a team whose offense through the game’s second half consisted of an infield single, a walk, two hit-by-pitches, and reaching on a swinging strike out/wild pitch. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 24, 2015; Yankees 6, Mets 1 — Despite the 30-degree wind chill Friday night, New York had a rare occasion to smile at the schedule makers at major league baseball. There has been a lot of drama over the years in The Bronx and Flushing, and all surrounding communities, since Dave Mlicki of the Mets blanked the Yankees 6-0 in the first regular season interleague game between the teams in 1997. Despite a Mets sweep in 2013 and continued success last year, frustrated Mets fans — with their team off to a fantastic start — were itching for an early fight in 2015, and they got it. Continue reading →