Series Turns into Pitching Duel

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Yanks Prevail over Mets, 4-2; Long Ball is Decisive

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, June 10- As in Game 1 of the Subway Series, a combination of good pitching and home runs accounted for a Yankees victory over the Mets.

In seven innings, Mets starter Dillon Gee gave up only five hits. Three of the hits came off the bats of three of the first four batters Gee faced, Derek Jeter singled to center, breaking a 0 for 18 hitless streak. The Mets killer began the game with a .377 batting average against the Amazins. A balk moved Jeter to second. He scored on single by Alex Rodriguez with one out. The hit was Jeter’s 328^th, the run his 186^th in interleague play and the run batted in was the 189^th for Rodriguez in interleague play. Both raised the numbers as major league leaders in gams between teams of the opposite league.

The next hit off Gee was a two-run homer by Mark Teixeira with two out in the sixth. It was sufficient to give the Yanks enough runs to achieve victory.

The final Yankees run came again via the home run route as Curtis Granderson led-off the eighth with a homer off reliever Bobby Parnell. The long ball ended a string of 18 at bats without a hit for the Yankees centerfielder.

Phil Hughes, the Yankees starter, hurled a very similar game to Gee. In 6.1 innings, Hughes threw 108 pitches, 71 for strikes. Gee threw 70 strikes in 108 pitches.

The only two runs Hughes surrendered came on solo home runs. Mets shortstop Omar Quintanilla hit a four bagger on a 1-1 pitch with one out in the third. David Wright led off the sixth with his eighth homer of the year. Hughes has yielded at least one home run in each of his 12 starts in 2012.

Mets skipper Terry Collins alluded to the relative ease of hitting home runs in Yankee Stadium and the superior power of the Yankees batters in his post-game remarks, “Singles don’t win games in this park. They [Yankees] showed exactly what it was, you can’t make mistakes here. You have to keep the ball in the ballpark.”

Yankees relievers, Boone Logan, Cory Wade, Clay Rapada and Rafael Soriano combined to keep the Mets scoreless in 2.2 innings. Soriano earned his ninth save in nine attempts.

After the contest, Yankees manager Joe Girardi praised his relief corps, “These guys have really stepped up for us. If your pitchers do their job, you really have a good chance to win. Seventh, eighth and ninth were mapped out for us, now it isn’t.”

Yankees starters have won seven of the last nine games and have an ERA of below 2.00 in June. Girardi explained, “When you get consistency out of all five starters, you can get a streak going.”

Mets superstar David Wright concurred, “They [Yankees] have that kind of pitching that gives them a good chance to win.”

The final game of the Subway Series to be played will feature Andy Pettitte (3-2) against Jonathon Niese (4-2).

New Woodlawn Van Service

Riverdale Report

By Robert Press

BRONX, NEW YORK, June 10- In 2010 when the MTA cut back service on the BX34 bus the residents of Woodlawn were the ones who had no weekend bus service. 

Christine Sheridan (President of the Woodlawn Taxpayers Association) with other residents of Woodlawn, asked State Senator Jeff Klein if he could do anything to restore the BX34 weekend service. Unable to restore the weekend BX 34 service Senator Klein did the next best thing by working with New York City TLC Commissioner David Yassky to provide a licensed van service from the Dorcel Edenwald Bus Service for the lost weekend BX34 bus service. Carl Gromes (owner of the van service) said that his company came about when the MTA cut out the old BX14 bus route, and his company has flourished since then. He added that he is happy to service the Woodlawn community in a similar situation. The van service will only be in effect on weekends from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and cost $2.00. Schedules of the new weekend van service will be posted in local Woodlawn businesses.

Saturday was the date of the Mable Hill Clean Up put together by Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez and Community Board #8's Environmental and Sanitation Committee. Tony Edwards of Councilman Rodriguez's office (who coordinated the clean up) told us “The Marble Hill area just needs a little clean up.” Dozens of people showed up to form several teams of people that were provided with brooms, rakes, shovels gloves, and trash bags to make the Marble Hill area a little cleaner. This is done all through out the community board area at different times we were told, as in May the Parks Committee did a similar clean up in one of the community boards parks by the Jerome Park Reservoir.

If you travel by car on Broadway north by West 242nd Street you will see something new at the corner if you are planning to make a left turn from Broadway. While you were able to make a left turn from Broadway to West 242nd Street at any time the light was green, there is now a red turning arrow to prevent a left turn while southbound traffic goes through the intersection. Traffic backed up at this intersection due to the Westchester buses that were parked in the bus stop waiting for their scheduled time to start so the # 9 city bus had to double park often to let passengers off at the bus stop. This left only one lane of traffic to flow north on Broadway which was the turning lane. Now that cars have to wait for the green turning arrow this intersection has become gridlocked at times. Now that summer is here we wonder just how bad the gridlock will get with all the park goers that use Broadway.

Don't forget to visit my blog at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com for other items that may not make it into this column, more on items may be in this column, or photos of the events. If you have any comments about this column or would like to have an event listed or covered in this column or on my blog, you can e-mail us 100percentbronxnews@gmail.com or call 718-644-4199 Mr. Robert Press.

Subway Series Turns into Batting Practice for Yanks

Bombers Derail Met Fans Dreams of No Hitter

(Photos by Gary Quintal)

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, June 9- Yankee Stadium was sold out for the opening game of the 2012 Subway Series. Many of the 48,566 in the stands came with the expectation of seeing Mets starter Johan Santana tie the 74-year-old mark of Johnny Vandermeer by pitching his second consecutive no-hitter. This did not happen, but the fans did get to see Yanks starter Hiroki Kuroda limit the Mets to one-hit in his seven innings on the mound.

Santana retired the first three batters he faced, but ran into trouble in the second. After walking Alex Rodriguez, who led off, Robinson Cano followed by hitting a two-run homer into the rightfield seats to put the Yankees on the scoreboard.

Santana retired the first two batters in the next inning, before the onslaught began. A-Rod singled to begin the rally. Cano again followed with a two-run homer. 

After the game, Cano spoke about hitting against Santana, “He’s a guy who throws a lot of strikes. That’s the kind to be aggressive against. You have to be lucky to be successful against a pitcher like that, one of the best in the game.” Cano has been more than lucky against Santana as he has hit successfully 10 times in 26 at bats.

The home run barrage did not end with Cano. The next two batters, Nick Swisher and Andruw Jones, hit homers to left. The three back-to-back- home runs were last accomplished by Yankees batters on August 28, 2011 in Baltimore. Interestingly, the feat was done by the same three batters in the same order.

Yankee manager Joe Girardi said of his team’s output, “He [Santana] got the ball up a little bit and our guys took advantage of it. They put some pretty good at bats on him.”

Santana had never given up four home runs in a single game. Mets manager Terry Collins again proved to be a stand-up leader by his remarks taking responsibility for Santana’s performance, “Because of that decision [giving Santana two extra days of rest since his last start], I’m responsible for how he pitched tonight. That’s what caused him to be rusty tonight. He doesn’t make those kinds of mistakes [keeping the ball up]. He just wasn’t sharp. We erred on the side of caution. It cost us the game tonight.”

The fans were close to seeing a no-hitter by Kuroda. The 37 -year-old veteran hurler from Japan did not yield a hit until two were out in the sixth when shortstop Omar Quintanilla doubled to right center. Girardi opined, “He had great command of his slider and curveball, His fastball was effective.

Kurida left the game after seven innings, having retired 20 of 23 batters, Jeter made an error in the fourth and Lucas Duda walked in the seventh. Of Kuroda’s stint on the mound, Collins remarked, “That’s the best I’ve ever seen him pitch.”

The Subway Series continues on Saturday night at 7:15 pm, weather permitting, with Phil Hughes (5-5) facing Dillon Gee (4-3).

Supersized Soda Smack?

Candidate Says Soda is Like Heroin

By Michael Horowitz

BRONX, NEW YORK, June 8- City Council candidate Andy King said, this week, that sugared sodas and beverages have become like heroin in black and Latino communities.

For this reason, King, a long-time organizer of hospital and health-care workers, said he strongly supports restrictions on the sale of soda in restaurants, delis, and movie theaters throughout the city.

“Sugared soda is making people in our communities very sick,” King stressed, in a telephone interview. “Those who say Mayor Bloomberg is a nanny for supporting restrictions on the sale of soda should come with me when I talk to teenagers and young adults who are suffering from diabetes and other ailments that are caused by the soda we drink and the junk food we eat because it is readily available in our delis.”

King added, “No one needs to drink a 32-ounce sugared beverage. If people don't know how bad it is for them, they need to be educated. In the meantime, we need to take strong and aggressive steps to prevent the onset of early diabetes and high blood pressure in our communities.”

The Council candidate noted, “We need to insist that stores in our neighborhoods carry more fresh fruits and vegetables, and we need to insist that our delis carry them. With our eating and drinking habits the way they are now, many people, including many of those living in communities of color, are killing themselves.”

Under the circumstances, King insisted, it is just as reasonable to ban sales of large soda beverages as it is to ban the sale of heroin in many communities.

King emphasized, “We shouldn't be eating so much stuff that is eating away at our esophagus's. Under the circumstances, people in our city need help from city officials in terms of making healthy choices in what they eat and drink. Those who say Mayor Bloomberg is a nanny for suggesting that we need restrictions on the sale of soda really don't fully comprehend what's happening in our communities.”

Yanks Don’t Get the Job Done

A-Rod Drops the Ball, CC Comes up Short as Yanks Fail to Sweep Rays

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, June 8- The Yanks failed to sweep a three-game series with Tampa and go into first place in the American League East as they lost to the Rays, 7-3 on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium in a lengthy and rain delayed contest.

Baseball purists happily anticipated the seventh meeting of mound aces, CC Sabathia and David Price. Although neither pitched at his best, each did not pitch badly.

Price tied James Shields on the Tampa starting staff by earning his eighth win of the 2012 season. His lack of control in the second, two walks and a wild pitch led to the only run he surrendered. He limited the Yankees to three isolated singles in the five innings he pitched.

The key opportunity the Yankees had to score several runs came in the final inning Price hurled. Chris Stewart singled to lead-off the inning. Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira each walked. With one out, Alex Rodriguez came to the plate. Many in the stands were hoping A-Rod would tie the game at 5 by blasting his 23^rd grand slam homer. The blow, if hit, would have tied the major league mark of Lou Gehrig. The 11 pitch at bat ended with A-Rod striking out. Robinson Cano ended the contest by grounding out to second.

After throwing 109 pitches, Price was removed from the game at the conclusion of the fifth inning. Yankees skipper Joe Girardi credited Price with a game well pitched, “He threw well. I thought Price pitched pretty good. (sic) We had some opportunities, but we couldn’t get much off him. That’s the bottom line.”

The workhorse of the Yankees rotation, CC Sabathia, hurled 121 pitches in seven innings. All the seven hits and five runs he surrendered came in three frames, the second, third and fourth. Teo of the runs in the third were unearned, coming off a throwing error by third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

Sabathia, the ultimate team player, said of the error, “It’s just part of the game.” He took responsibility for the runs by blaming “just not hitting the location.”

The Yankee ace improved as the game continued. He said, “The last three innings, I felt pretty good.” His feelings were reflected in his work as he retired 11 of the final 12 batters he faced, six by strikeout.

Sabathia fanned 12 batters. The game was only his third career loss in a game in which he struck out 10 or more batters.

The first installment of the annual Subway Series will begin on Friday night. The Mets will be traveling across town to visit Yankee Stadium. Johan Santana (3-2) will attempt to tie the mark of Johnny Vandemeer by pitching his second consecutive no-hitter. Hiroki Kuroda (4-6) will take the mound for the Yankees.

Stabbing Victim Dies

Norwood Man Dies After Brutal Gun Hill Attack

(Photo by David Greene)

By David Greene

A Norwood man beaten and stabbed 15 times in a senseless E. Gun Hill Road attack has succumbed to his injuries after spending 13 days in a coma. The fatal stabbing is the latest in a series of recent attacks that has been captured on surveillance video.

Police say 20-year-old Jorge Arrango, of E. Gun Hill Road, was attacked by two men he had recently befriended. The men beat and stabbed Arrango on the corner of E. Gun Hill and Jerome Avenue, at 12:05 a.m., on Friday, May 18.

Sources say Arrango aggressively defended himself against the first attacker, when a second man plunges a knife into his chest. One of the suspects, apparently injured in the brawl, limped west across Jerome Avenue. Arrango staggered away on his own power, nearly getting hit by a taxi in the process.

It is believed Arrango was assisted by an unidentified female until police and EMS arrived.

Officers from the 52nd Precinct would follow a blood trail to 3464 Knox Place, where police would break down the third-floor apartment of Ramon Sanchez, 24, and Luis Davis, 28, who were arrested and charged with assault in the first degree.

Arrango was rushed to Jacobi Hospital in extremely critical condition and later transferred to NYU Medical Center where the young man was waiting on a kidney transplant, when doctor's declared him brain dead on May 30. The following day doctors would remove him from life-support.

The victim’s mother Jeanette Febles, 55, explained her new reality, "His brothers and sisters are all crying. They come and see me and they go out to the card shop and they go out to the alley," where a make-shift memorial continues to grow in honor of the well liked young man.

Febles says not hearing Arrango sing while listening to his iPod as he walked through the apartment or not seeing him drawing on his sketch pads are just the first things she is only just beginning to notice. "It's like, this is not happening to me, his brothers and sisters are all crying."

Arrango's relatives-- including six sisters and two brothers and members of the community, have created a make-shift memorial outside the building that keeps growing every day and have begun raising the $20,000 needed for the simple funeral- money that Febles says she just does nt have.

Febles, who is currently battling cancer, contested, "It's like too much money, I can't afford that... my sister and my friends are trying to see what they can do."

Ironically, Febles' next-door neighbor Joann Mickins may be the only one in the building who has an understanding to what Febles is now going through. Mickins' son Corey, 25, was shot dead several years ago during an altercation with members of the NYPD in East Harlem.

Corey said of Arrango, "He was a nice, sweet guy and never bothered anyone. It's a tragedy that he was killed this way."

A police source stated, "The victim had a dispute with the suspects. He was stabbed with a kitchen knife. They (the suspects) caught up with him at a restaurant at the corner of E. Gun Hill and Jerome Avenue... he was pursued by the two males and stabbed."

An additional charge of attempted murder has been tacked on to the growing criminal complaint against Sanchez and Davis. A spokesman at the Bronx District Attorney stated on June 4, that the case, "Is under investigation." so additional charges of murder and weapon possession could be added to reflect Arrango's death. 

Arrango's death is the first murder in the 52nd Precinct so far this year, compared with three murders for the first five-months of 2011. Murder in the 52nd Precinct has continued to drop since killings peaked in 1990, when 38 were reported for the year.

The precinct covers the neighborhoods of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights.  

Now This is How You Pitch

Now This is How You Pitch New York Yankees Dynasty Banner Flag

Pettitte Shows Youngsters How Things Get Done

(Photos by Gary Quintal)

The Yankees Old Man of the Mound Andy Pettitte schooled his younger teammates on how to be a dominating pitcher last night. The nearly 40-year-old struck out 10 Tampa Bay batters and allowed only two hits through 7 innings.

Andy’s dominance shut down the Rays as Yankee bats became hot. Russel Martin’s grand slam topped Yankee hitting leading to a 7-0 win over the Rays.