Bronx, N.Y., September 16, 2009 — The skies threatened all night Wednesday in Yankee Stadium, something that could not be said for the home team. Once the Yanks grabbed a 2-0, first-inning lead on a Mark Teixeira double and Hideki Matsui’s single, the offense produced all of a single and a hit by pitch over the next five frames, as Toronto tied the game, then took a 4-2 lead. But the crowd was not fooled; they’ve seen this team come back before. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., September 8, 2009 — There was a pretty weary bunch of concession people and ushers manning their stations in Yankee Stadium Tuesday night. Coming off a lengthy day/night Labor Day doubleheader, to a man (and woman) they were hoping for a brisk contest. You got the feeling, then, that they were just as disappointed as the Yankee players and fans when Jason Bartlett tied the game 2-2 on a home run off Phil Hughes on the first pitch of the eighth inning. And, one assumes, they were just as happy as the team and the paying crowd when Nick Swisher sent us all home with his second home run of the night in the bottom of the ninth. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 28, 2009 — Despite a stellar though short career playing on baseball’s biggest stage, young Robbie Cano appeared to be on the way to another of “those” nights in a rainy Yankee Stadium. Possessed of a solid glove and stellar arm, the Bombers’ second sacker fields his position and turns the dp as well as anyone. He is possessed of a sweet, line-drive swing to all fields, and his .313 ba going in give him an offensive number unmatched by anyone in Pinstripes this side of mvp candidate Derek Jeter. But. There’s a new-fangled number on a 2009 boxscore, pretty far down the line. It comes after doubles, triples, home runs, times at bat, rbi’s. Right after two-out rbi’s. “Runners left in scoring position, 2 out.” After nine innings, three players had made this ignominious list: Chicago’s Alex Rios, 1, Yankee Nick Swisher 1. And Robbie Cano 4. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 20, 2009 — The Yankees kept their roll going Monday night with yet another victory in the Stadium, this one over the Orioles after having swept the Tigers over the weekend. It was the third straight (and perhaps last, for a while) beautiful day in the Bronx, and although they’ve had quality starts in all four games (and wins) since the All Star break, this made three playoff-quality outings by a starting pitcher in a row. CC Sabathia, Joba Chamberlain, and Andy Pettitte went exactly 21 innings among them, and in those frames they surrendered all of two runs. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 4, 2009 — The Yankees beat the Blue Jays 6-5 in 12 innings Saturday. It was another come-from-behind win for the Bombers, as they trailed Doc Halladay 5-3 until Johnny Damon tied the game in the seventh with a two-run poke into the short porch in right. The comeback wins and homers we’re used to; spending four-plus hours in the Stadium on a gorgeous afternoon with not even a passing threat of rain? That was new, and welcome. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 12, 2009 — The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, opened on June 12, 1939, exactly 100 years after some sources give as the day the first baseball game in America was played. In the Hall, you can learn that the first “perfect” game was pitched by John Lee Richmond of the Worcester Ruby Legs, again on June 12, in a game that took place in 1880. There was nothing perfect about the ballgame played between the Mets and Yankees in the Bronx 129 years later, Friday night, June 12, 2009. This three-hour, 47-minute battle’s only chance to make an all-time superlative list would be under the heading of “most excruciating game ever.” Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., May 17, 2009 — So how is the new Yankee Palace going to play as the season unfolds? Will balls continue to fly out in right center as the months grow warm, then hot, and the winds grow still? Will the team warm to the new Stadium and regularly win here, or lose too often, as had been the case before their recently begun homestand? Patterns emerge over time, and trends need to be verified through game after game. But at least for the time being Johnny Damon has snagged onto the second deck in right field as his preferred depository for his home runs. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., May 16, 2009 — Agonizing through an endless top of the eighth inning Saturday afternoon, I was thinking about one of the earliest games some kids play in their baseball-learning process. “Bombs away” is the way I and a string of nieces and nephews refer to the game that came to mind, a pastime that has the player(s) located near a convenient stream, river, pond, lake, or even bigger body of water. A partaker picks up a rock, stone, shell, stick, or some other object and tosses it in the water while yelling “Bombs away!” Artistes sometimes go for flourishes such as skipping stones, but really, the splash is the hoped-for (and almost always achieved) outcome. A big spash is a crowd pleaser, but bottom line, this game is about quantity, not quality. The more you can throw, resulting in more splashes, the better. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., May 1, 2009 — Friday night was not a gorgeous night. And despite a quick 4-0 Yankee lead in the first inning in Yankee stadium, it hardly featured a classic game. The four-run outburst was achieved on just two hits, with a huge assist from Anaheim (sorry, one city mention per team is my rule) righty Jered Weaver, who walked the first two batters he faced. A fielder’s choice, sac fly, single, and homer (Jorge Posada) followed, and the Yanks had a nice lead. Continue reading →