Bronx, N.Y., August 6, 2010 — “Kiss of Death,” I guess you could call it. But it was so hard to resist, just such a cool stat. The Yankee Stadium Scoreboard has been coming out with them repeatedly, like when they informed us in the bottom of the first when Derek Jeter singled past short that he had tied Babe Ruth for career base hits. No possible harm in that, I guess, unless he happens to never get a hit again (perish the thought — literally not possible). But even given that improbable scenario, how could we not celebrate yet another Captain milestone? Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 4, 2010 — It was a big day in the Bronx, as the Alex Rodriguez 600 home run watch came to a dramatic end, and the Yankees snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-1 win over the Blue Jays. The Bombers rode A-Rod’s big blast to a tie both for the best record in baseball and first place in the AL East, with the latter being clearly the more coveted and difficult prize to attain. Probably more weird than the fact that the 600th home run came three years to the day after Alex’s 500th, the Yankees managed to finally win a game in which they took a lead with a two-run home run in the first inning, after failing to do so the last two days. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 2, 2010 — August 2 is a poignant day in Yankee history, but sadly, it a bumbling day too. Returning from their road trip at 4-3, the Yanks spent much of Monday evening commemorating the tragic passing of Thurman Munson 31 years ago. They had a lesser team, perhaps, then, but they responded to tragedy by playing well. No such luck this night. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 25, 2010 — For the third time in a just-concluded nine-game homestand in which the Yanks came out victorious six times, their win in Sunday’s game by a lopsided score was anything but a blowout until the latter innings. In a twist, a majority of the almost 48,000 in attendance attracted to the Bronx on a steamy afternoon in hopes of seeing Alex Rodriguez’s 600th career home run witnessed the game’s essence: a 5-3 Yankee win before the rains came. I’ll leave it to others to judge if the three quarters or so who didn’t wait out the 2.5-hour rain delay are lesser fans than those who stayed, or just less determined to witness baseball history. But this was a tougher and closer game than the 12-6 final over Kansas City would leave you to believe. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 22, 2010 — Six days ago, CC Sabathia got his first 2010 post-All Star start in Yankee Stadium, and he took the mound after an emotional ceremony honoring two fallen Yankee heroes. Thursday it was CC again, and yet another icon was lost, as the Stadium honored The Major, ex-Yankee player and Manager Ralph Houk, who passed away the day before at age 90. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 20, 2010 — Fans hearing that the Yankees and Angels evenly split 30 hits between them in a 10-6 Bombers victory might think they know what kind of game this was, and go looking for who knocked in all the runs. But this game had some strange twists, and frustrating moments and, before it was over another one of those “you don’t see that everyday” moments as well, one sure to bring a smile. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 18, 2010 — It wasn’t hard to get psyched about the rubber game of the three-game home series vs. the Rays in Yankee Stadium Sunday. It was a gorgeous day, particularly for those who could escape the unrelenting rays of a hot sun in heat-waved New York. And the matchup was classic: the home-standing wily veteran Andy Pettitte vs. upstart gunslinger David Price from out of town. Think Alan Ladd against quintessential bad guy Jack Palance in Shane, or any number of hotshot youngsters vs. Marshall Dillon in the long-running TV classic series Gunsmoke. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 17, 2010 — Day Two of the most emotional Yankee weekend in years unfolded under a hot sun in a largely cloudless sky Saturday afternoon. And following up on the right notes the team hit the night before, the Old Timers Day tribute to the 60th anniversary of the 1950 Championship team went off without a hitch, although the day was punctuated with mentions of the team’s recently fallen stars. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 16, 2010 — Yankee fans were comforted in the first 15 minutes of the Friday night festivities that the team would get the scene and the sounds right as the organization prepares to play the season’s second half minus two of its icons. Cheered by the sights of Derek Jeter’s brief pregame speech, Mariano Rivera’s poignant presentation of flowers to home plate, and the images of the patches that honor long-time public address announcer Bob Sheppard and owner George Steinbrenner, they were also treated to a cathartic and poignant rendering of Taps, a stirring National Anthem, and the graceful gesture by Paul Oldin that no announcer would be calling out player names the first game after Mr. Sheppard’s passing. The Bleacher Creatures even went along by skipping the traditional Yankee roll call. But what wasn’t nearly as clear was, could the team shake off the All Star lull and all the emotional distractions and get the baseball right as well? Continue reading →