Pitchers and catchers report February 17, can we be far behind? We’re sticking to the greater Tampa Bay area, so we’re headed over to Dunedin on Sunday instead of taking the 2+ hour drive to see them play the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium in Ft. Myers. Continue reading
Winter Numbers
View From 420b
Bronx, N.Y., January 8, 2010 — I made my annual birthday celebration/trek to Yankee Stadium the other day. The reason I give myself (and anyone asking) for why I brave the chilly winds of the South Bronx in January each year is to pay off the coming year’s season ticket plan, but in reality it’s more a pilgrimage than a buiness trip. I actually bumped into Joe Torre on this trek two days into 1997, shaking his hand and thanking him for one of the best summers of my life just three months after a glorious downtown parade. I’ve been hooked into carrying out this trip ever since. Continue reading
Love the Tarrytown Music Hall
What a great way to start out the new year! Saw The Blind Boys of Alabama and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on January 7, and then Levon Helm on January 8. The Tarrytown Music Hall is booking some great acts.
Canyon Caps Sizzling Season
Andy Pettitte took his rightful place dominating the penultimate float, as befits the winner of more postseason games than anyone, and the clinchers in all three series.
Downtown Manhattan, N.Y., November 6, 2009 — The woman getting on the 6:34 (out of Rye) in New Rochelle was grateful that I slid over and let her have the outside seat of two, but I was glad for the company. “Oh my,” she said, “it seems we have a few young fans heading to the Parade.” Continue reading
Designated Hero
Bronx, N.Y., November 4, 2009 — You had to hand it to the sports prognosticators following the Yankees’ Game Six World Series victory Wednesday. To a man, they all knew it was about pitching, and how rested the pitchers starting for each team would be. The astounding thing is that so many knew that that was the key, but so few realized for which pitcher that would be the bigger problem Continue reading
Andy Pennant
Bronx, N.Y., October 25, 2009 — Fulfilling their role as overseers of what goes on in the Big City, the New York Times reported on Saturday that the concrete covering some of the ramps in new Yankee Stadium was crumbling. From what I saw following the Yankees’ 5-2, Game 6 ALCS-clinching victory over the Angels, they needn’t have worried. Fans were soaring out of the Stadium without their feet ever touching the ground. Continue reading
AJ, A-Rod, A-OK
Despite the fact that AJ pied Mark Teixeira a week ago, the entire Yankee hurling staff should chip in and buy Tex and his family all the pie they can eat. He saves runs every day at first base.
Bronx, N.Y., October 17, 2009 — You could look at Game 2 of the ALCS as two games. The first one was mostly dry, and Joe Saunders and AJ Burnett battled superbly to a seven-inning 2-2 tie. Then the Yankee bullpen beat the Anaheim pen 2-1 in a sloppier but still well pitched contest through six innings more. Continue reading
Bewitched in the Bronx
Bronx, N.Y., October 16, 2009 — The Yanks beat the Angels 4-1 in Game One of the ALCS Friday night in a game where the Halos contributed to their own demise with uncharcateristically sloppy play. But whatever was affecting the Angels had the Scoreboard operators off their game as well. The only ones who played their “A” game were the dominant Yankee starter CC Sabathia and the fellow members of his team. Continue reading
Possible Dream
Bronx, N.Y., October 9, 2009 — Milling around the new train station at Yankee Stadium Friday night following the Yanks’ improbable come-from-behind win, the big joke went something like: “Boring game, huh?” But move those delirious people back in time two hours, and nobody would have seen what was so funny. For the second straight postseason game the Yanks and their fans (hey, we buy the tickets) got their money’s worth when both CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett were signed on December 18, 2008. What we didn’t count on was the superb Nick Blackburn and the Twins setup relief.
Jeter Swings It
Bronx, N.Y., October 7, 2009 — It seemed pretty clear that the overwhelmingly underdog Twins had one not so bad chance playing Game One of the ALDS in Yankee Stadium Wednesday. Sure, they were whipped, having played must-win games for a month, won out to make up a deficit, and finally slipped past the Tigers just 20 hours before first pitch. Sure, they were set to play the 103-win Yankees in a ballpark in which the Bombers have quickly learned to dominate. And they would be facing 19-game winner CC Sabathia, and a hostile Yankee crowd almost 50,000 strong.