Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Quest for 3000

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Quest for 3000: Quest for 3000 A-Rod milestone awaits another night By Rich Mancuso BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 19- Like ...

Quest for 3000

Quest for 3000

A-Rod milestone awaits another night

By Rich Mancuso

BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 19- Like it or not, depending on your feeling about Alex Rodriguez and his year-long suspension from baseball due to using performance enhancing drugs, but career hit number 3,000 is near and it will probably come Friday night in the Bronx.

A milestone for A-Rod that very few have achieved and you have to dig deep into the Yankees media notes to get the vital statistics. That’s another matter for another day because the Yankees will have to acknowledge the hit when it comes.

But Thursday night, with A-Rod at the plate in the eighth inning, and one hit shy of making history, the Yankee Stadium crowd anticipated the moment. They, as they have always done this season, stood and cheered Rodriguez as the cameras were ready to take photos and videos as he stepped to the plate.

Except they were disappointed, as were the media in the press box because Marlins’ reliever Sam Dyson did not cooperate by issuing four inside pitches for a ball. When Rodriguez went to first base the fans continued to show their displeasure at Dyson for not making them witness baseball history because A-Rod awaits another night to become the 29th player to get 3,000 career hits.

Dyson, if you can believe it, said it was more important to get the out, that it was more of an incentive to get A-Rod out. He claimed to not hear the fans and could care less about history. Perhaps that can be believed but the Marlins at that juncture were trailing by six runs and Dyson gave up four, all earned.

“I don't even know how to describe it," Rodriguez said about the cheers and fan support. "It feels good. Every time moments like that happen, I can just take a moment to reflect that a year ago today. Their support has actually helped me play a lot better."

The year ago was reference again to his suspension, and to many skeptics another milestone to them does not belong in the record books.

But, in all due respect to Alex Rodriguez, he has gone with the plan and been the team player. There has been no wrong statements, and his answers to the media have been about appreciation and not about himself. Reaching this milestone does not have an impact that Derek Jeter received when he hit the 3,000 plateau, then again there is no comparison when  it comes to A-Rod and Jeter.

Rodriguez had an impact in the Yankees 9-4 win over the Marlins getting two hits that made that eighth inning at bat one for drama. That first hit drove in a run that got him closer to the milestone and added to his record career RBI total.

Manager Joe Girardi was also hoping the hit would come. “Was hoping to get it out of the way,” he said. “He will get another opportunity tomorrow. Think the crowd wanted to see it. I an understand. Dyson was trying to get him out.”

But those fans, many who won’t be in the Bronx Friday night, wanted to see a hit and not a walk. This was not one night they cheered for A-Rod as they have been in his corner all season.  And Girardi, when asked, once again became the philosopher regarding the fans and how they have supported Rodriguez, who is having a comeback type first half of the season.

“Fans just want to see the players do well,” he said. “I think it's the society we live in. Most people will pull for your own team, no matter what the situation is and people want to see people come back. Giving people second chances. Most people in this room have made mistakes. One thing about Alex you see him get better everyday and he loves the game. The guys in that room respect him,” referring to the support A-Rod has received from his teammates.

Girardi added, “People are appreciative of what he has done for our club this year and how he’s helped us with winning.”

It also helps that the Yankees won again, that CC Sabathia threw the ball well and did not get the decision despite pitching six innings on three hits, and not issuing a walk for the fifth time this season. Carlos Beltran finally heard some cheers and put the Yankees ahead with a two-run homer in the seventh.

But the night was all about Alex Rodriguez and his quest to 3,000 hits. He surpassed the quest of having the fans in his corner, and it can only get better when he gets the milestone hit in the Bronx and continues to help the Yankees get wins.   

Comment Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com  Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso  Twitter@Ring786

#Yankees #ARod #3000 hits #Bronxnews

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CAUGHT ON TAPE: Wolf pack Beats Man for iPhone in Diallo's Nabe

Wolf pack Beats Man for iPhone in Diallo's Nabe

BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 18- In the neighborhood where Amadou Diallo's death spurred protests against the police, a man was brutally beaten by a gang for his iPhone.

Cops are asking for the public's help in trying to catch the group of thugs who knocked a man to the ground and kicked and slashed him all for his iPhone 6. At around 7 p.m., the 19-year-old was walking in front 1579 Westchester Avenue when he was attacked. On man is seen walking up to the victim and clocking him in the face. Then three other men come running up and start punching and kicking the man. The victim was taken to Jacobi Medical Center.

The attack took place a mere three blocks away from where Amadou Diallo was shot to death by police officers who mistakenly thought the African immigrant had a gun. His death caused massive waves of protests against aggressive policing. 

Anyone with information is urged to CRIMESTOPPERS at (800)!577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are confidential. 

#NYPD #Diallo #iPhone #Bronxnews

Bike Groper Caught on Tape

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Tennis center opens

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Tennis center opens: Tennis Center Opens Field of Dreams  By Michael Horowitz BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 17- For benefactors Skip Hartman, Larry Leeds, and Tory...

Tennis center opens

Tennis Center Opens Field of Dreams 

By Michael Horowitz

BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 17- For benefactors Skip Hartman, Larry Leeds, and Tory Kiam, the opening of the $26.5-million Cary Leeds Center for Tennis and Learning was a dream-come-true following an effort that spanned more than a decade --- an effort to popularize tennis in minority communities in the south Bronx and other parts of the city.

For retired City Clerk Carlos Cuevas, former Mayor David Dinkins, and Lorraine Rohlsen-Alexander, vital senior citizens who have been trailblazers in the effort to bring tennis to black and Latino youngsters, the opening of the tennis center in the south Bronx represented a highlight achievement in careers of activism over the last four decades.

For Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., who helped to cut the ribbon signifying the opening of the tennis center, the facility served to reinforce the view that the south Bronx has bounced from the time, in the 1970s, when the burning of buildings symbolized the borough’s deterioration.

The opening of the tennis center, which will feature 20 courts, 10 of which will be enclosed, represents the best that can be achieved in partnerships between public and private donors.

The opening of the center was celebrated at a gala held at the center, a two-story facility that is located within Crotona Park, a 127-acre landscaping achievement that is located in the heart of the south Bronx.

The tennis center, which Hartman conceived and developed under the auspices of the New York Junior Tennis League (NYJTL), will serve an estimated 30,000 youngsters in the Bronx with free tennis instruction and a variety of after-school activities that will include help with homework and the opening of new vistas for youngsters served by the organization that tennis great Arthur Ashe and Hartman started in 1969.

The center is named in honor of Cory Leeds, a world-class tennis player whose life was cut short at the age of 45.

Cory’s father, Larry, a successful businessman who has made his money in the fashion industry, said that his involvement in the tennis center, which featured a personal monetary contributions and involvement in major fundraising efforts, was a way of creating something lasting and meaningful that will forever be associated with his son and the importance of tennis in his life.

Cuevas, a long-time activist with the NYJTL, stressed, “Even at this stage of my life, I play tennis two or three times a week. The new tennis center will introduce children to a lifelong sport that will influence their lives in more ways than they can imagine.”

Dinkins, who played a key role in the opening of the city’s major tennis center in Flushing, Queens, during the time he was the city’s mayor, “This new center is a splendid part of the New York Junior Tennis League. Thirty thousand kids live in walking distance from this wonderful new center. It is a tribute to what Skip Hartman and the NYJTL have accomplished.”

The former mayor added, “Some of the youngsters who are exposed to tennis through the Bronx center will go on to become world-class players, while others will get college scholarships. More importantly, tens of thousands of youngsters will become better people as a result of their exposure to what this new tennis center has to offer.”

Rohlsen-Alexander, who founded the Co-op City Tennis Club with her late husband, Milton, 40 years ago, stressed, “This new tennis center is impressive and awesome. It is a kick in the behind to uplift Crotona Park and the neighborhoods that surround it. It represents a culmination of efforts by many of us to bring tennis to youngsters in the inner city."

#Tennis #DavidDinkins #BoroughPresident #Bronxnews

 

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Bronx News (Bxnews.net): NYCFC : Victorious at Yankee Stadium

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): NYCFC : Victorious at Yankee Stadium: NYCFC : Victorious at Yankee Stadium By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 15-  NYCFC began its match with the Montreal impact on ...