Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Grand Disaster

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Grand Disaster: Grand Disaster Mets once again made Yankee Stadium their home By Rich Mancuso BRONX, NEW YORK, MAY 14- The Mets bid a farewell to Yankee...

Grand Disaster

Grand Disaster

Mets once again made Yankee Stadium their home

By Rich Mancuso

BRONX, NEW YORK, MAY 14- The Mets bid a farewell to Yankee Stadium this season. And perhaps they would want to play in the Bronx more after another two-game series sweep over the Yankees. That’s four straight wins in the Bronx dating back to last season and now six straight over their cross-town rivals.

In all probability, the two teams won’t meet again in October, but for some reason, Yankee Stadium has a way of making a hitter look better. What looked like a dismal offense the past two weeks has become a distant memory and after their 12-7 win Tuesday night, you wonder if Manager Terry Collins would prefer the next two games to be played in the Bronx and not at Citi Field.

“A lot has to do with the ballpark,” commented Collins. “Guys get a descent pitch they know they can drive. For sure we have swung the bats better here.” His team scored a season high 12-runs Tuesday night and in the two games hit six home runs.

They don’t get that type of offense at Citi Field where the dimensions are different. Curtis Granderson knows. He spent enough time at Yankee Stadium, and hit 64 home runs when he wore pinstripes at the new Yankee Stadium. Add two more with long balls in the first two games of this home-and-home series.

But, Citi Field is different. Granderson can’t hit the home run to right, or over the fence in any of the other power alleys. Though the more viable explanation about Granderson is, he is not the same hitter that once was.

And 21- runs in two games for the Mets, well that was a rarity until they came to the Bronx. A lot may be attributed to the decimated Yankees pitching rotation that has manager Joe Girardi doing some patch work with three front line starters on the disabled list.

“We have to stay in rotation,” said Girardi. “These are the people we have.” Vidal Nuno got roughed up in 3 1/3 innings and it was not pretty. The night before, Hideki Kuroda allowed four runs in six innings. When the series shifts to Citi Field Wednesday night, the 5-0, Masahiro Tanaka gives some hope for the Yankees to get a win.

Oh, then there is the Thursday night series finale. The Yankees will have Chase Whitley on the mound making his major league debut. 

There are concerns for the Yankees, but the Mets want to take this momentum to Citi Field. The Mets believe this is psychological and the same production coming in the Bronx can continue in their home ballpark.

“When you play here you know you can score,” said Granderson who hit his fifth home run with two on that put the Mets in front 4-0 in the first inning. “Now we have to take that to our place.”

But, Granderson and the Mets have been trying to figure it out for the first six weeks of this season. They have been trying to figure a solution to the power outage at the plate since their new ballpark opened five years ago and they know Citi Field is not Yankee Stadium.

One media member in the Mets clubhouse commented, “The architects got it wrong” when it came to the construction of Citi Field. Of course they did, because Citi Field is not a hitter’s park, though opposing hitters have never seemed to complain when they bang out hits and the home runs, again maybe attributed to a psychological issue with the Mets over the years.

Whatever it is, this Mets team comes home Wednesday evening with a psychological advantage over the Yankees. Quickly, the mighty Yankees are not as invincible as they once were.  

Comment Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com  Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso  www.newyorksportsexaminer.com  

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Grandy Man Breaks Yank Fans Hearts

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Grandy Man Breaks Yank Fans Hearts: Grandy Man Breaks Yank Fans Hearts Mets Score First Blood in Subway Series  By Rich Mancuso BRONX, NEW YORK, MAY 13- Last time we saw thes...

Grandy Man Breaks Yank Fans Hearts

Grandy Man Breaks Yank Fans Hearts

Mets Score First Blood in Subway Series 

By Rich Mancuso

BRONX, NEW YORK, MAY 13- Last time we saw these two teams playing each other, the Yankees lost a heart breaker to the Mets at Citi Field. It was mid-May, Mariano Rivera blew the save and the Mets swept the four-game home-and-home series with a walk-off win. It is the Subway Series and that is enough said.

With one-out and a runner on, in the ninth inning of a 9-7 game, Monday night at Yankee Stadium, Brian McCann ended the game with a double play. Lucas Duda got the sharp ball at first base and made the diving stop. The ensuing over-shift got the Ball to David Wright near the left side.

The throw went back to Duda. And the Mets got the first draw in this Subway Series of 2014, the first of two in the Bronx, and two more Wednesday and Thursday night at Citi Field in Flushing. For Mets fans, they feel dominant because their team has won the last five games dating back to that rare blunder by Rivera  

But, there is no more Mariano to save the Yankees. And this is the last time Derek Jeter will be a part of this inter-league series, that is, unless these two teams meet in October. And with the Mets still rebuilding and with many holes to fill, and the Yankees, at a mediocre stage, chances are after Thursday night, Jeter plays his last game against the Mets.

There are those who say, this cross-town series has lost something and it is questioned about four-games on the schedule at a juncture in the season when the Yankees and Mets are still trying to find themselves. The series once the headline is now lost to playoff basketball and hockey that are part of the New York City landscape this May.

But, 46,517 fans at Yankee Stadium will tell you: This series is still meaningful and for baseball supremacy in the Big Apple.

“It was good to come back and get the victory,” said Curtis Granderson. “It’s cool not too many get to do this from the other side,” he said. 

The struggling Granderson, with a .194 average, loved to hit the home run at Yankee Stadium when he played in pinstripes. He became one of five more players this season who have played on both parts of town.

Granderson used Yankee Stadium to his advantage again driving the ball to right off Hiroki Kuroada in the sixth inning. The two-run shot was the first Granderson has hit in his career off a 3-0 count and tied the game 4-4. Just like Brett Gardner who hit a grand slam home run in the second inning that gave the Yankees an early 4-1 advantage.

The Mets would hit four home runs, so Yankee Stadium is definitely a place to get the home run ball going again. Travis d’Arnaud had a solo shot off Kuroda in the third, Eric Young Jr. got the Mets closer in the seventh with a home run to right, his first, and Chris Young also hit a two-run blast to left in the eighth that ended the scoring.   

That power displayed by his team prompted manager Terry Collins to say about the different dimensions of Citi Field to Yankee Stadium “Part of being here. The Chris Young ball is not high enough to get out of our place, I don’t think. This atmosphere creates intensity and it creates focus.”

As things always go in this series, the Granderson return to the Bronx drew some attention. Of course, a contingent of Mets fans from the group “The 7-Line” in a left field second deck gave their loud approval after his home run. It started a buzz again for this Sunway Series in the Bronx.

“Weird coming out the other side…. Especially for this series,” commented Granderson who got his share of boos from the Yankees fans. Recall, Granderson, when signed by the Mets in December said, “True New Yorkers are Mets fans.”

Truth is, the Yankees have owned New York. Mets fans know that and this was just another of the many storylines in this first game. The Mets probably won’t have the town back until they win another championship and the Yankees show a decline.   

Ruben Tejada has been trying to prove he is the player at shortstop for the Mets. His play at shortstop in the third inning, on a ball hit to his right sent him to the dirt. His throw was strong and good enough to Get Alfonso Soriano. “Got the ball to the right, it was a long throw to first,” said Tejada who has played in these games that are intense.

“Part of the game the play, not the series,” he said emphasizing more that he wants that job at shortstop. Collins could insert Tejada back in the spot Tuesday night. The rookie, Wilmer Flores is feeling better but after a play like that, Tejada may be more experienced to handle the Yankees in the Bronx.   

So what else happened Monday night in the Bronx?  Both bullpens could not hold the lead, though the Mets unveiled their potential new closer. Jenrry Mejia spoke to Collins earlier in the day and went with the plan. He came out of the pen and recorded 1.1 scoreless innings, his first relief outing since September of 2012 against the Pirates.

“In this ballpark the game is never over,” said David Wright who made good contact and almost added to the Mets home run parade. “There’s no lead that is safe here.”

Yankees manager Joe Girardi knows that he and his team is battling another injury hex. Three starters in the pitching rotation are injured, as are some position players. Mark Teixeira needed a night off and Soriano got banged up a bit Sunday in Milwaukee. Carlos Beltran left the game in what was described as an injured elbow that was sustained taking some swings in a cage in between bats, and ichiro Suzuki has a bad back.

That goes along with not knowing who will start Thursday night in the series finale at Citi Field because Girardi used Alfredo Aceves in relief. His pen is also taxed and Giardi said, “I was going to use Robertson (David) for a four-out save.”   

But it never came down to Robertson, who now inherits the closer role from Mariano Rivera in this Subway Series. Collins and the Mets may have the advantage because relief is on the way. The young arms, so highly touted, begin to arrive. Rafael Montero will get the start Wednesday night at Citi Field against the 5-0 Masahiro Tanaka.

And, with Mejia as the probable new closer, though Collins would not commit, the other young arm coming from Las Vegas, Jacob deGrom arrives Tuesday night that changes the complexion of a Mets bullpen that has been less than efficient. The days may be over for Kyle Farnsworth who survived because of that game ending double-play and for Jose Valverde.

 Just a part of the spotlight and intensity of a Subway series that is still interesting no matter when it is played. And as always, Jeter did his part with a three-hit game against the Mets.   

Comment Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com   Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso  www.newyorksportsexaminer.com

Photos by Ken Carozza

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Subway Series

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Subway Series: Subway series Playing for Both Sides By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, MAY 13- Inter league play, although in existence since 1...

Subway Series

Subway series

Playing for Both Sides

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, MAY 13- Inter league play, although in existence since 1997, in many cases still draws large crowds. The crosstown New York City rivalry between the Mets and Yanks drew a gathering of 46,517 at Yankee Stadium on Monday night for the first of four straight nights of contests between the two clubs.

There are 121 players who have spent time in the uniforms of both teams. Some of the large group are very much in the consciousness of baseball fans.

The most famous and most beloved of the 121 is Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra. The former catcher was at Yankee Stadium on Monday night watching the first game of the 2014 Subway Series and celebrating his 89th birthday. When the Hall of Famer was shown on the giant videoboard in centerfield, he was given a prolonged ovation by the fans of both teams. Not only did Berra play for both clubs, but he led each to a pennant as manager.

All five of the players, who this year increased the number who played for both teams, participated in Monday’s game. Several accomplished noticeable deeds in the game.

Curtis Granderson, now the rightfielder of the Mets, has been struggling at the plate in his first season in the National League. He began the game with an uncharacteristic batting average of .183, but has shown much improvement as of late.

His single in the first inning increased his recent streak of reaching base safely to 16 of his last 18 games. Remembering he was in Yankee Stadium, Grandy belted a two-run homer in the sixth that tied the contest at 4. He hit 115 home runs in the past four seasons while wearing the Yankee pinstripes.

Bartolo Colon, a Yankee in 2011, was negatively noticeable by his performance as the Mets starter. The hurler, who will be 41 on May 24, had two difficult innings, the second and sixth, during which he yielded seven runs.

Karl Farnsworth, a reliever for the Yanks in 2006-8, earned his third save as a Met. He yielded a hit and a walk but blanked the Yankees in the ninth.

Although never a Met, Alfonso Soriano has not allowed the pitchers in either major league to get the better of him at the plate. He has compiled a very rare and impressive batting record in the American and National League.

Soriano’s single in the second inning was his 1,000th hit in the American League. This feat made him only the seventh player in baseball history to record at least 1,000 hits in each major league. He is the only player who has recorded 1,000 hits, 500 runs, 500 runs batted in, 100 home runs and 100 stolen bases in each league.

His numbers will continue to increase as long as he plays. He doubled in the sixth, which moved him to 1,001 hits in the A.L. Since returning to the Yankees on July 26, 2013, (93 games), Soriano has blasted 22 home runs and driven in 64 runs.

Photo by Ken Carozza

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