Dunedin, FL., March 5 — The first thing I noticed once the Yanks finished their pregame bp before Sunday’s game in Dunedin was that Joe Torre was carrying a small binder in his left hand as he watched his team assemble in the dugout. And it’s no wonder. Joe is seeing more players than ever this spring as he manages his WBC-depleted team through these early games, and it seems each and every one of them is taking advantage of the opportunity to show their stuff on baseball’s biggest stage. Melky Cabarera and Kevin Thompson continued to carry much of the offense, Mitch Jones made a diving grab in right to blunt the Jays’ biggest threat, and 19-year-old Philip Hughes made his debut against major league hitters. Continue reading
Johnson Allows Two Big Hits; Yanks Get Just One
Tampa, FL., March 4 — To view Saturday’s 4-1 Yankee loss to the Reds in Legends Field through any other prism than the one entitled “Spring Training” would be to paint a fan into a corner where proclamations best saved for August would have to come into play. The Yanks are 0-3, and with four of nine starters elsewhere and two nursing minor nicks, the name of the game is to work the pitchers and let the kids carry the scoring load. Randy Johnson was reached for a two-run home run and run-scoring double in three innings this day, and a misfiring Yankee offense never recovered.
Howard Hammers Game Yanks
Clearwater, FL., March 3 — The 11-10 barnburner of a ballgame the Yanks lost to the Phillies in their spring home opener in Clearwater Friday afternoon had something of everything except for good, crisp play. This may not explain why it was very entertaining but it rarely got boring. At three hours, 20 minutes it eclipsed the running time of Thursday afternoon’s loss by the better part of an hour. The game exploded early on the Yanks, and the man who detonated the charges was Phils first baseman Ryan Howard.
All’s Well That…Starts Well?
Tampa, FL., March 2 — Yankee fans didn’t have to wait long for early answers to some of the questions confronting the team as it christened its 10th year of Spring Training at beautiful Legends Field in Tampa Bay under dazzling sunshine and 75-degree temps Thursday afternoon. Would newly signed center fielder and leadoff man Johnny Damon adapt to playing for the “Evil Empire”? How would the man he is replacing, long-time star Bernie Williams, handle spot duty DH’ing and fielding the corner positions after so many years playing center field in Pinstripes?
1913
NEW YORK, N.Y., November 5, 2004 — OK. Let’s get something out there right from the start. I come not really to praise the Red Sox but, as the Bard would have it, to “bury them.” But first there are quite a few great things they accomplished this season that need to be recognized. They are the first team in baseball history (and in the history of any major sport that is currently viable) to recover from an 0-3 deficit to win a best of seven series. Continue reading
Double Drat!
NEW YORK, N.Y., October 16, 2005 — Darn. What a Gyp! It’s almost six days now, the Almighty seems to have recovered, seeing as the sun has returned to New York, and so I’m thinking it’s about time I do the same. I’d like to say the turn in the weather has shaken me out of my lethargy and alerted me to how lucky this Yankee fan’s life has been, but that would be giving me credit for a maturity I possess in extremely short supply. Continue reading
The Possible Dream
Bronx, N.Y., October 9, 2005 — It was 7:56 pm on an unexpectedly pleasant Bronx evening when Yankee righty Shawn Chacon delivered his first pitch to Angels third baseman Chone Figgins, but by the time his lazy fly ball settled into hometeam centerfielder Bubba Crosby’s glove, the clock had moved to 57 minutes after the hour. Perhaps the between-minutes first pitch put both offenses out of phase, or maybe it was just the great pitching, but what ensued was 192 (or 193) minutes of the most tense baseball the House That Ruth Built has seen in 2005. Continue reading
How Sweet It Is!
NEW YORK, N.Y., October 1, 2005 — Perhaps equating the trials and tribulations of a poor bus driver from Brooklyn from 50 years ago with the 2005 Yankees season is a bit of a stretch, but it doesn’t feel overly melodramatic to this Yankee fan. It’s been ugly since the 11-19 start. The team laid out big bucks for pitching that rarely excelled (or even showed up), they were swept in three straight in Kansas City, and were routinely mishandled by the dysfunctional but growing-in-talent group in Tampa Bay. After the Bronx team came to an ignominious and unprecedented end in 2004, all I can say after Saturday’s AL East Championship (and playoff appearance) clincher in Fenway Park is, “How Sweet It Is!” Continue reading
No Discouraging Words
Bronx, N.Y., September 25, 2005 — Overruling the old-time American music classic (and the Kansas State Song), 55,000 screaming fans attending the home finale tilt between the Yankees and the Blue Jays Sunday afternoon could have told you there was nary a “discouraging word” even though “the sky [was] cloudy all day.” The teams engaged in what was a taut, tight, and crisply played game for most of the afternoon. The first four frames lasted barely an hour and it took not 80 pitches to retire the first 24 of 26 batters. At 71 degrees with 46 percent humidity and light breezes, nobody missed the sun all that much. Continue reading
Let the Good Times Roll
Bronx, N.Y., September 23, 2005 — You don’t go on a streak like the Yankees have of late without doing many things right. Since enjoying their last off day of the regular season September 12, they have won 10 of 11, accepting contributions from virtually every member of their roster to keep the winning going. They took the field against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first of three Friday night having won four straight, and finally in first place by a full game. Continue reading