Bronx, N.Y., April 13, 2014 — I don’t know how the ESPN TV Sunday night game between the visiting Red Sox and the Yankees in the Stadium played out on screen, but it was among the most captivating contests I’ve witnessed, and the pleasant temps under a Full Moon (with a hint of relatively oh-so-close planet Mars nearby) set the scene beautifully. Having seen No. 3 starter Ivan Nova implode earlier in the week against Baltimore, Yankee fans were apprehensive. But “Super-Nova” thankfully made an appearance in a key AL East game, if there can be such a thing on April 13. Continue reading
The NoMo Virus
April 9, 2014, Bronx, N.Y. — Yankee Stadium got its long-anticipated look at Masahiro Tanaka Wednesday evening and, despite an early bump in the road, the show was worth the ticket price, and more. Baltimore’s Jonathan Schoop turned on a 1-0 pitch with two on in the second inning, scoring three runs early against Masahiro, just as the Jays did in Toronto last week. Continue reading
Misreading the Tea Leaves
April 8, 2014, Bronx, N.Y. — It’s a good thing the Yanks picked their second home game, and not their opener, to play a really bad game, as they dropped a 14-5 stinker to Buck Showalter’s Orioles Tuesday afternoon. It was also lucky that the weather, merely neither cold nor unpleasant early, provided the crowd of 35,000 the kind of [somewhat] sunny baseball day we’ve been missing for more than six months. Continue reading
Oh Captain! My Captain!
April 7, 2014, Bronx, N.Y. — The Yankees beat the Orioles 4-2 in their home opener in frigid Yankee Stadium Monday afternoon, and after starring in the pregame, Derek Jeter played a key role in the win in this, his final year. He delivered the only Yankee extra base hit, a double down the left field that struck the wall inches below the top; had a key putout on a fifth-inning pickoff; and delivered the game’s first run with a sharp one-hopper back to the box. Continue reading
Baseball 101 — A Code of Conduct for Fans of All Ages
With Opening Day less than a month away, consider this a public service announcement…
Remember back when years were so unique and special that each one’s designation began with a “1”? Baseball, the finest spectator game on Earth, was played in venues where proximity to the action on the field was more important than vending opportunities, both edible and wearable; where polite enthusiasts — with true though harsh realities of place in mind — were not only engrossed with the wonder of the play before them, but realized that fellow fans were just as rapt, and that each had the right to continue this enjoyment without interruption. Continue reading
Winning Streak Whitleyed Down
Tampa, Fla., March 4, 2014 — Coming off four straight wins, David Phelps was handed the ball to start the prime time game against the visiting Orioles Tuesday night, and he succeeded, with mixed results. He almost made it through three innings and allowed one run, but his outing could have been titled “Surviving Adversity.” Continue reading
Nova, Super AND Grounded
Tampa, Fla., March 3, 2014 — Early Spring Training “disappointment” is a pretty specific condition, one the speaker should be able to defend. Six days of rain, much less cold rain, well, we’d all cut that vacationer a break. Losses – ugly losses – in every game attended? Well, the team is here to get ready, not to win meaningless games, but still, most would cut the person whining about that a little slack. Continue reading
Eight, the Hard Way
March 2, 2014, Dunedin, Fla. — Lefthander Vidal Nuno was on the mound as the Bombers took their modest two-game winning streak to Dunedin to play the Blue Jays Sunday afternoon, a carbon copy of Saturday, but just a few degrees warmer. And Nuno was pretty much what Yankee fans remembered from 2013: not a lot of straight pitches, lots of strikes, doesn’t throw too hard. Continue reading
Pitching Is Catching
Tampa, Fla., March 1, 2014 — Everything went off as advertised at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Saturday. The place was packed with Yankee fans, Phillie fans, fans of all stripes. The weather delivered a perfect day, dazzling sunshine with temps in the mid-70s. And the Big Three of the Yankee rotation stifled the visiting batters for six frames. Continue reading
Hooters Home Run
Lakewood, Fla., February 28, 2014 — Thirteen hours after leaving our hotel Friday, we returned having witnessed a very entertaining Yankees 7-4 over the Tigers and a true yawner at Champions Field in Disney, where visiting Houston posted a 7-5 win over the Braves. I’m embarrassed to say it was quite cool at the night game to anyone living in the Midwest or Northeast, and will tread lightly (with those poor souls in mind) describing the brilliantly prefect conditions at game 1 in Lakewood. Suffice it to say that it was sunny and 45 degrees warmer than in New York, 53 digits over the reading in Detroit, when reigning Cy Young winner Max Scherzer threw ball one to Jacoby Ellsbury. Continue reading