TAMPA, FL., March 6 — That was the question in Yankeeland a month ago, and we got the answer weeks ago. But the trade and the paperwork were one thing. The play on the field is another. The book on the left side of the 2004 Yankee infield is far from written, even if there were a few positive paragraphs inscribed in the Foreword Saturday in Legends Field.
Tag Archives: tampa
The Sultans of Swing
Tampa, FL., March 5 — It changed on Kevin Millwood’s 20th pitch. Not that it was a bad day before then. The weather was a gorgeous, hot-and-sunny kind of afternoon New York area Yankee fans have been dreaming about through a long, cold, brutal winter. Continue reading
No Longer ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’
TAMPA, Fla., March 8 — Robin Trower, turning 58 on March 9, played guitar for Procul Harum on the rock anthem alluded to in this column’s title, and I thought of the song, and our pallid expressions upon our arrival in Florida, as we left our last game today. Glistening from the sweat and the sun, and basking in the glory of an end-of-week victory that rescued us from a losing trip, Sue and I braved a traffic jam caused by a concert ushering Spring Break into Clearwater, and made for the Tiki Bar. The soft sand, a mild Gulf breeze, and high but dark clouds shepherded the sun through our last spring 2003 Florida sunset as gulls swooped overhead and a lizard huddled in the corner.
Old Friends
Tampa, Fla., March 7 — For years, Sue and I have been playing a game called, “Find the Hidden Yankee” as teams with shifting rosters visit Yankee Stadium. Sometimes seeing an “old friend” is a cause for joy, as when it’s a player we’ve lost track of, like Andy Fox or Andy Stankiewicz. On other occasions it is filled with dread, as facing David Cone with the Sox in 2001, and seeing Ramiro Mendoza in Beantown, or Mike Stanton and Cone (once again) in Flushing will be this season, both on the road and in the Bronx.
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The Butler Did It
Tampa, Fla., March 6 — I couldn’t resist the Murder Mystery title, and truthfully, no one was murdered (maybe no one even died), but we have a bona fide mystery on our hands. Putting on my Columbo, Sam Spade, Agatha Christie hat, let’s take a look.
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Silver Linings
TAMPA, Fla., March 5 — You might think it would be difficult to find any good moments in a 12-2 loss that was both ugly and over early, but my first response is to share the game time temperature: 83 degrees under gloriously sunny skies. In fact, although I was fine after a couple of innings and the ice cream cup, the heat initially drove me from my seat (20 minutes before game time). But before I continue with a Top 12 Great Things about being a Yankee fan in Tampa today, perhaps I should describe how things got so lopsided.
‘Yankee Fans? Right This Way…’
Tampa, Fla., March 4, 2003 — One thing you learn early when coming to Spring Training, the Yankee organization is like an army: They march better on their stomachs. There are a number of restaurants in this area that have baseball connections — the tasty but decidedly mainstream fare at Pete & Shorty’s (think White Castle hamburgers with a liquor license). The first whose hospitality we’ve enjoyed is the original Pete & Shorty’s in Clearwater, where George and Boomer lunched last year before agreeing that Mr. Wells and the Bronx belonged together, and David rejoined the rotation. There is another branch on Dale Mabry in Tampa, right down the street from Legends Field (which we’ve visited also). Continue reading
Another Day for This Dog?
Tampa, Fla., March 3 — Baseball can be so many things to different people. To some it’s nothing more than a reason to peruse the morning sports pages over a cup of coffee. Some, on the other hand, live and die with each and every pitch. To others it provides a connection to warmer days whether they’re living in a frigid part of the planet, in the cold of winter, or in a little “dark night of the soul” of their own. It can bring a smile to those whose accustomed window to the world is a frown; or it can become an excuse for exhaustive research and study for some who barely passed their classes in school (or who didn’t).
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The Ministry of Silly Walks
Tampa, Fla., March 10 — It’s our last day here, and my reverie unavoidably latched onto the week that has been, and to the tasks that await me up north. Perhaps my mind drifted that way due to the display of emotion I was witnessing in center field before the Yankees/Red Sox tilt, as warming-up Red Sox players like ex-Yankees Michael Coleman and Rey Sanchez, along with Manny Ramirez, shook hands and even embraced with Yanks Ruben Rivera, Erick Almonte, Juan Rivera and (eventually) Derek Jeter. (Nomar, to his credit, had cut his stretches short and was signing autographs.) Then the mood was broken by a unique sight as the ageless Rickey Henderson showed off his new warmup routine, pogo-sticking his way across the outfield as he would lift his right knee very high and sort of hop, dragging along his left. Both el duque and John Cleese would have been jealous.
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Hip, Hip, Jorge!
TAMPA, Fla., March 9 — I’m sure George will have trouble taking this, the second loss to Tampa Bay in three days, and this one before a packed Legends Field crowd on what I’ve decided was one of Tampa’s 10 most beautiful days of the year. We’ve scored two runs on seven hits in two days and in the process made the likes of Sean Lowe, Josh Fogg, Tanyon Sturtze and former Mets prospect Paul Wilson look like Cy Young candidates.