Bronx, N.Y., April 7, 2011 – Early returns are in and, despite dire predictions about the Yankees and their rotation, they received their fifth quality start in six tries Thursday afternoon. The Yanks got by the visiting Minnesota Twins 4-3, plating exactly four runs for the third straight game, two of them 4-3 victories. A. J. Burnett went to 2-0 and the Bombers headed to Boston for their first 2011 road series having managed to win a game without hitting a home run. Continue reading
Please, Please Me
April 5, 2011, Bronx, N.Y. – I knew there was something I liked about the pitching matchup in the Bronx for another early-season frigid affair. The last time lefties CC Sabathia and Brian Duensing squared off in Yankee Stadium that I can recall was in the opening game of the 2009 ALDS. In that one the Twins broke out on top, scoring twice on several singles and a passed ball in the third, so when the Yanks blasted their way to a 3-0 lead after one and 4-0 in the second Tuesday night, I immediately (and foolishly) decided I preferred this contest. Continue reading
Under Lock and Key
Fans arriving at Monday's game saw what will be a common sight: a list of home games that will total 20 before May 1.
Out Pitch
April 3, 2011, Bronx, N.Y. – The 2011 Yankees made a lot of noise yet again Sunday afternoon, with four more home runs and seven runs scored. But an offseason bugaboo raised its ugly head, simply because they did not get a good start. Compounding matters, fifth-in-the-rotation candidate Bartolo Colon relieved a beleagured Phil Hughes and failed to stem the tide, dooming Yankee comeback efforts to failure. Continue reading
Often Upon a Season
Tossing aside talk of a cold and temperature, A.J. consistently pounded strikes in his first start of the 2011 season.
Pen Power
The only people happier than baseball fans are typographers, at least with these two classic clubs playing the game.
Bronx, N.Y., March 31, 2011 — Twenty-four hours removed from all but starting the 2011 season on the disabled list, Curtis Granderson flew into New York a day after his teammates and ended up having the best day of all in a 6-3 Opening Day victory over the Tigers in a damp and very chilly Yankee Stadium Thursday afternoon. Facing ex-Yankee southpaw Phil Coke leading off the seventh inning, Curtis broke a 3-3 tie with a no-doubt-about it blast to right field. Oh, and he made a few plays in the field too.
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RIP Augustus Owsley Stanley III
From Phil Lesh on the Furthur.net boards on the passing of Owsley “Bear” Stanley:
A Beautiful Mind
I received a text in the middle of last night that Bear Stanley has died in a car accident in Australia. Bear, for me, was a true kindred spirit; when we first met, it was as if I had met a long-lost brother from another lifetime. I am heartbroken and devastated at his passing.
He was a friend, a brother, an inspiration, and our patron at the very beginning of our creative lives. We owe him more than what can be counted or added up — his was a mind that refused to accept limits, and he reinforced in us that striving for the infinite, the refusal to accept the status quo, that has informed so much of our work.
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Good Signs All Around
Showing clear command of every pitch he threw, A.J. Burnett retired nine straight, mostly Philly starters, with one strike out, on 43 pitches.
Tampa and Sarasota, Fla., March 7, 2011 — “I saw them ALL,” gushed the young girl who climbed to our section to rejoin her parents in the redone Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida. A Yankee split squad was playing the Orioles Monday evening, and Sarasota, with apologies to the big stars in the Yankee outfield, was lucky enough to have the infield-dominated Bombers group make the hour-plus drive. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez lead this every-city popularity phenomenon, with Robbie Cano and Mark Teixeira bringing up the rear. Continue reading
I Dream of Hitting
Read it and weep. These are numbers only a hitting coach could love, although it did make for an entertaining game.
Kissimmee, Fla., March 6, 2011 — Following eight days of largely ineffective offense, I dreamed of hits Saturday night. Perhaps tonight I’ll dream of winning $1 million. The Yanks outlasted the Astros in Kissimmee 10-8 Sunday afternoon, outhitting the home club 21-17. A wind that was blowing out to all fields probably had a greater effect than any visions during my slumber, or at least that’s what most fans present were thinking, I’m sure. Continue reading
CC Gets an FF
After personally congratulating each member of the Jefferson High School State Champs pregame, David Wells paid a visit to the Nationals' dugout, speaking here to a few players including ex-Red Sox outfielder Jonathan Van Every.
Tampa, Fla., March 5, 2011 — After spending four days lamenting the lack of Yankee offense, on Saturday afternoon the team broke out for 10 hits and eight runs, with all of the latter bunched into a wild and fun home fourth inning, even if two Washington miscues got the rally ball rolling. Staff ace CC Sabathia failed to go three innings in his second start, and was tagged for five runs and six hits and a walk before handing the ball off to Joba Chamberlain. Continue reading