Monday, August 12, 2013
Bronx News Sports: Boos? What Boos?
Bronx News Sports: Boos? What Boos?: A-Rod Only Hears Home Run Cheers, Tunes Out Jeers for Everything Else By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 12- Humans are strange b...
Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Boos? What Boos?
Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Boos? What Boos?: A-Rod Only Hears Home Run Cheers, Tunes Out Jeers for Everything Else By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 12- Humans are strange b...
Boos? What Boos?
A-Rod Only Hears Home Run Cheers,
Tunes Out Jeers for Everything Else
By Howard Goldin
BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 12- Humans are strange beings. Most have very short memories and are only concerned with what one has done for them recently. The deeds of the past, both good and bad, are quite quickly forgotten. Most also overlook their own shortcomings but are quick to point out the weaknesses in others.
An example of the above is Alex Rodriguez on Sunday afternoon. In the second inning, as he approached the batter’s box for his first at bat and his name was announced on the public address system, a loud noise of mixed cheers and jeers were heard.
A-Rod lifted the second pitch thrown to him into the stands in leftfield. The home run was greeted with a thunderous ovation, many fans standing in tribute while applauding. The homer was his first of the 2013 campaign, the 648th of his career and accounted for his 1,951st RBI in the majors, giving him sole 5th place in major league history.
With two out in the top of the next inning, Rodriguez had difficulty picking up a ground ball and was issued an error. He was immediately jeered loudly, probably by many who cheered his home run.
In the bottom of the same inning, Rodriguez again received a mixed reaction as his name was announced. As the hard grounder he hit went into rightfield for a single, he was again cheered. The only similarity to all these responses from the fans is they are louder and more emotional than the reactions to any other player on the field.
Rodriguez explained his feelings to the reactions of the fans after the game, “You want to turn boos into cheers; you want to go out and make them proud. All you want is really a chance. I think New York always gives you that.”
In addition to the daily A-Rod story, a baseball game was played on Sunday at Yankee Stadium. The heat and humidity may have help carry baseballs into the stands as seven solo home runs were struck in the nine inning contest.
The first Detroit run came without the benefit of a homer. Starter Andy Pettitte gave up three singles and a base on balls in the first. It was the eighth consecutive start in which Pettitte yielded a run in the first frame.
The veteran gave up no further runs but his outing was cut short after 4.1 innings as he had thrown more than 100 pitches. Later, he commented, “It’s taxing on my body to throw that many pitches early in the game.”
The Yankees scored the next four runs. After A-Rod’s homer in the second, the Yanks gained another run on a sacrifice fly by Eduardo Nuñez.
Each of the remaining runs crossed the plate via a solo round tripper. With two out in the third, Robinson Cano blasted his 23rd homer of the year.
Alfonso Soriano led off the fourth with his 20th home of the season, three as a Yankee and 17 as a Cub. The long ball was the 2,000 major league hit for the veteran outfielder. He is the 16th active player to reach that milestone.
The Yanks kept the 4-1 advantage until catcher Brayan Peña led off the eighth with a home run to right.
The major’s premier closer, Mariano Rivera, entered the game in the ninth. Superstar Miguel Cabrera blasted a long ball to lead off the frame. The home run was his second off “Sandman” on the weekend, making him only the second player, with Edgar Martinez, to homer twice in a single season off Rivera.
After the game, Cabrera, a true professional, put his accomplishment in the perspective of winning, “I don’t know how to explain it. The only thing we can explain is that we lost the game. At the end of the game, the home runs mean nothing.”
Later in the ninth, Victor Martinez’s 10th homer of the season tied the game at 4. The homer gave Rivera a third straight blown save for the first time in his lengthy career. Rivera remarked, “At least it’s only the first time. I don’t pay attention to that stuff. I just try to go out there and do my job.”
With two out in the bottom of the ninth, Brett Gardner recorded his second walk-off hit of the weekend series as he homered to right.
The Yanks begin a four game series with the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night with Hiroki Kuroda (10-7) starting and Garrett Richards (3-4) on the mound for the Angels.
Tunes Out Jeers for Everything Else
By Howard Goldin
BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 12- Humans are strange beings. Most have very short memories and are only concerned with what one has done for them recently. The deeds of the past, both good and bad, are quite quickly forgotten. Most also overlook their own shortcomings but are quick to point out the weaknesses in others.
An example of the above is Alex Rodriguez on Sunday afternoon. In the second inning, as he approached the batter’s box for his first at bat and his name was announced on the public address system, a loud noise of mixed cheers and jeers were heard.
A-Rod lifted the second pitch thrown to him into the stands in leftfield. The home run was greeted with a thunderous ovation, many fans standing in tribute while applauding. The homer was his first of the 2013 campaign, the 648th of his career and accounted for his 1,951st RBI in the majors, giving him sole 5th place in major league history.
With two out in the top of the next inning, Rodriguez had difficulty picking up a ground ball and was issued an error. He was immediately jeered loudly, probably by many who cheered his home run.
In the bottom of the same inning, Rodriguez again received a mixed reaction as his name was announced. As the hard grounder he hit went into rightfield for a single, he was again cheered. The only similarity to all these responses from the fans is they are louder and more emotional than the reactions to any other player on the field.
Rodriguez explained his feelings to the reactions of the fans after the game, “You want to turn boos into cheers; you want to go out and make them proud. All you want is really a chance. I think New York always gives you that.”
In addition to the daily A-Rod story, a baseball game was played on Sunday at Yankee Stadium. The heat and humidity may have help carry baseballs into the stands as seven solo home runs were struck in the nine inning contest.
The first Detroit run came without the benefit of a homer. Starter Andy Pettitte gave up three singles and a base on balls in the first. It was the eighth consecutive start in which Pettitte yielded a run in the first frame.
The veteran gave up no further runs but his outing was cut short after 4.1 innings as he had thrown more than 100 pitches. Later, he commented, “It’s taxing on my body to throw that many pitches early in the game.”
The Yankees scored the next four runs. After A-Rod’s homer in the second, the Yanks gained another run on a sacrifice fly by Eduardo Nuñez.
Each of the remaining runs crossed the plate via a solo round tripper. With two out in the third, Robinson Cano blasted his 23rd homer of the year.
Alfonso Soriano led off the fourth with his 20th home of the season, three as a Yankee and 17 as a Cub. The long ball was the 2,000 major league hit for the veteran outfielder. He is the 16th active player to reach that milestone.
The Yanks kept the 4-1 advantage until catcher Brayan Peña led off the eighth with a home run to right.
The major’s premier closer, Mariano Rivera, entered the game in the ninth. Superstar Miguel Cabrera blasted a long ball to lead off the frame. The home run was his second off “Sandman” on the weekend, making him only the second player, with Edgar Martinez, to homer twice in a single season off Rivera.
After the game, Cabrera, a true professional, put his accomplishment in the perspective of winning, “I don’t know how to explain it. The only thing we can explain is that we lost the game. At the end of the game, the home runs mean nothing.”
Later in the ninth, Victor Martinez’s 10th homer of the season tied the game at 4. The homer gave Rivera a third straight blown save for the first time in his lengthy career. Rivera remarked, “At least it’s only the first time. I don’t pay attention to that stuff. I just try to go out there and do my job.”
With two out in the bottom of the ninth, Brett Gardner recorded his second walk-off hit of the weekend series as he homered to right.
The Yanks begin a four game series with the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night with Hiroki Kuroda (10-7) starting and Garrett Richards (3-4) on the mound for the Angels.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
A-Rod a No Show
Boos continue, but this time it's Hughes
Yankee Win Streak Ends at One Game
By Howard Goldin
BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 11- The excitement of the return of Alex Rodriguez to Yankee Stadium for the first time since October drew a sell-out of 46,545 on Friday night. Love him or hate him, the desire to see A-Rod on the field at Yankee Stadium attracted only the fourth sell-out of the 2013 season.
The fourth walk-off win of the year on Friday brought hope to Yankees fans, who again packed the house with 45,728 on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in the Bronx. To their disappointment, the Yankees did not win and Rodriguez did not play.
The result of the top of the first inning brought an unsettling feeling to many of the oft-disappointed Yankee rooters. The presence of Phil Hughes on the mound did not add a feeling of confidence to the fans present.
A former minor league phenom in the Yankees organization, Austin Jackson, led off Saturday’s game with a triple to center. The next batter, Torii Hunter, drove the speedy Jackson across the plate with a sacrifice fly to center.
Not surprising to anyone in the stadium Miguel Cabrera hit a solo home run to left on a 0-1 pitch in the third. The player most fans, regardless of team, consider the best player in the majors today hit his 35th round tripper and his 109th RBI. Cabrera’s skipper, Jim Leyland, a 50-year veteran in baseball, commented upon his superlative player, “It’s hard to believe, really, what we’re seeing, to be honest.”
The above two Tigers contributed to the four-run fifth inning. Jackson led off the parade of hits with his ninth homer of his season shortened by one month on the disabled list. A single by Hunter terminated Hughes’s outing.
The offensive onslaught continued against reliever Preston Claiborne. Cabrera’s third hit of the game was a single. With two out, Victor Martinez doubled in a run and Don Kelly followed with a two-run single.
Hughes left the game after surrendering four runs in 4.1 innings. He walked off the field to the sound of resounding jeers. The two homers he yielded raised his yearly total to 22 in 22 starts. Another reason for the removal at that moment was the next batter he was to face was Cabrera, who had a .560 batting average against Hughes (14 for 25). He had also hit successfully off the righty in his last seven at bats.
After the game, the starter admitted, “It was never like I was really comfortable out there. I was always working out of tough situations. That’s what led to the high pitch count.” Hughes threw 99 pitches in 4.1 innings.
The offensive assault continued against reliever Preston Claiborne. Cabrera’s third hit of the game was a single. With two out, Victor Martinez doubled in one run and was followed by a single by Don Kelly that drove in the third and fourth tallies of the inning.
The final three Detroit runs came on a three-run homer by Torii Hunter in the sixth off Joba Chamberlain.
Detroit starter Anibal Sanchez retired the first nine batters he faced. He gave up only two hits in the fourth and two in the fifth during his seven inning stint. This was the eighth of his 20 starts in which he has yielded four hits or less and the 11th in which he has fanned at least eight.
The veteran hurler Justin Verlander aptly summed up his team’s strength, “I think that this is the team that we want to be. Right now, I think we’re pitching well, we’re hitting well and we’re playing good defense.” It’s not surprising the Tigers are currently 23 games above .500.
The Yankee offense was named Lyle Overbay. He knocked in all three Yankees tallies. He hit a two-run homer in the fifth and the final run with a single in the ninth.
The finale of the three game set on Sunday afternoon will have Andy Pettitte (7-9) and Justin Verlander (12-8) in the starting roles.
Yankee Win Streak Ends at One Game
By Howard Goldin
BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 11- The excitement of the return of Alex Rodriguez to Yankee Stadium for the first time since October drew a sell-out of 46,545 on Friday night. Love him or hate him, the desire to see A-Rod on the field at Yankee Stadium attracted only the fourth sell-out of the 2013 season.
The fourth walk-off win of the year on Friday brought hope to Yankees fans, who again packed the house with 45,728 on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in the Bronx. To their disappointment, the Yankees did not win and Rodriguez did not play.
The result of the top of the first inning brought an unsettling feeling to many of the oft-disappointed Yankee rooters. The presence of Phil Hughes on the mound did not add a feeling of confidence to the fans present.
A former minor league phenom in the Yankees organization, Austin Jackson, led off Saturday’s game with a triple to center. The next batter, Torii Hunter, drove the speedy Jackson across the plate with a sacrifice fly to center.
Not surprising to anyone in the stadium Miguel Cabrera hit a solo home run to left on a 0-1 pitch in the third. The player most fans, regardless of team, consider the best player in the majors today hit his 35th round tripper and his 109th RBI. Cabrera’s skipper, Jim Leyland, a 50-year veteran in baseball, commented upon his superlative player, “It’s hard to believe, really, what we’re seeing, to be honest.”
The above two Tigers contributed to the four-run fifth inning. Jackson led off the parade of hits with his ninth homer of his season shortened by one month on the disabled list. A single by Hunter terminated Hughes’s outing.
The offensive onslaught continued against reliever Preston Claiborne. Cabrera’s third hit of the game was a single. With two out, Victor Martinez doubled in a run and Don Kelly followed with a two-run single.
Hughes left the game after surrendering four runs in 4.1 innings. He walked off the field to the sound of resounding jeers. The two homers he yielded raised his yearly total to 22 in 22 starts. Another reason for the removal at that moment was the next batter he was to face was Cabrera, who had a .560 batting average against Hughes (14 for 25). He had also hit successfully off the righty in his last seven at bats.
After the game, the starter admitted, “It was never like I was really comfortable out there. I was always working out of tough situations. That’s what led to the high pitch count.” Hughes threw 99 pitches in 4.1 innings.
The offensive assault continued against reliever Preston Claiborne. Cabrera’s third hit of the game was a single. With two out, Victor Martinez doubled in one run and was followed by a single by Don Kelly that drove in the third and fourth tallies of the inning.
The final three Detroit runs came on a three-run homer by Torii Hunter in the sixth off Joba Chamberlain.
Detroit starter Anibal Sanchez retired the first nine batters he faced. He gave up only two hits in the fourth and two in the fifth during his seven inning stint. This was the eighth of his 20 starts in which he has yielded four hits or less and the 11th in which he has fanned at least eight.
The veteran hurler Justin Verlander aptly summed up his team’s strength, “I think that this is the team that we want to be. Right now, I think we’re pitching well, we’re hitting well and we’re playing good defense.” It’s not surprising the Tigers are currently 23 games above .500.
The Yankee offense was named Lyle Overbay. He knocked in all three Yankees tallies. He hit a two-run homer in the fifth and the final run with a single in the ninth.
The finale of the three game set on Sunday afternoon will have Andy Pettitte (7-9) and Justin Verlander (12-8) in the starting roles.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Bronx News Sports: Fans to A-Rod: You're a Bum
Bronx News Sports: Fans to A-Rod: You're a Bum: 'He is a disgrace to the game of baseball' - player says By Rich Mancuso BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 10- Fans at Yankee Stadium Frid...
Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Fans to A-Rod: You're a Bum
Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Fans to A-Rod: You're a Bum: 'He is a disgrace to the game of baseball' - player says By Rich Mancuso BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 10- Fans at Yankee Stadium Frid...
Fans to A-Rod: You're a Bum
'He is a disgrace to the game of baseball' - player says
By Rich Mancuso
BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 10- Fans at Yankee Stadium Friday night waited 52-minutes because of a rain delay before they could let Alex Rodriguez know how they felt. He was introduced as a part of the starting lineup. The reaction appeared to be mixed. Then the famed row call from the “Bleacher Creatures” was heard.
A-Rod heard his name, and the reaction was also mixed, though at one point it sounded like he was getting booed out of the building. A-Rod gave his wave to the creatures in the right field bleacher area.
It was the second part of the Alex Rodriguez Hollywood script that finally landed back in the Bronx. It ended with a successful Yankees win in 10-innings that made them feel a little better about themselves.
Some will say all of the attention Alex Rodriguez is receiving overshadows the problems his team is confronting. The Yankees, with 50-games left on the schedule, are as far away from playing October baseball as the Rodriguez decision on his appeal that is pending with Major League Baseball.
Also, don’t believe that the entire membership of the Major League Baseball Player’s Association is in the corner of Alex Rodriguez. A prominent player with the Tigers said before the game, when asked if A-Rod was a fraud, “That’s being nice. He is a disgrace to the game of baseball.”
He added that that the sentiment of membership has to be tolerant with this sensitive issue. There does though, need to be a line drawn. “Take the suspension and go," he commented.
A-Rod, the 211-game suspension abusing, baseball’s anti doping policies continuedHollywood script. Nobody does it better, another reason why the Yankees had only their fourth sell-out this season. Perhaps the model athlete, Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, spoiled the script with a two-out- ninth inning two-run home run off the great Mariano Rivera.
However, A-Rod was not around to see it. His night was over after going 0-for-4, striking out three times.
“It’s probably 50-50 tonight and maybe more cheers,” said the manager Joe Girardi about the crowd reaction in this latest script revolving around a ballplayer that knows how to write a perfect script for himself, that being Alex Rodriguez.
"It’ something he has to put out his mind,” added Girardi. “He’s had to deal with stuff before.” Indeed, A-Rod has dealt with this before, and like the legendary Frank Sinatra said, “I did it my way.”
That way, spring training, Tampa Florida in 2009. A-Rod said he would not disappoint fans and the game of baseball again. The script would continue with an MVP type performance of a post season, a fraud because it was done once again using performance enhancing drugs. All the evidence without a jury makes it look that way.
And with an Alex Rodriguez Hollywood script, that would be the first case scenario.
The start of a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers, a team coming in with a 12-game winning streak was also put on the side because of more A-Rod theatre. The Yankees came back to the Bronx Friday night having lost four straight, at 57-56, and one game over .500.
Yes, Alex Rodriguez was more important as the Yankees try to find something to get back in the pennant race mix. The Yankees crowd saw the return of Curtis Granderson. He has not made much of an impact since returning from the disabled list last Friday night in San Diego.
But, he was also overshadowed because this was the return of Alex Rodriguez to the Bronx, a ballplayer who can write a script as good as they come in Hollywood.
There were some signs in the crowd. “Welcome back A-Rod” and “We are behind you 100 Percent.” That is expected, because Alex Rodriguez is that type of ballplayer who gathers that attention, whether you love or hate him.
This entire Biogenesis fiasco of a scandal has become Alex Rodriguez drama, as it always is. It has not centered on the other 12- players that were suspended and did not appeal. The drama continued with his first time back in the Bronx since being benched last October in the ALCS that the Yankees lost to the Tigers.
And surly the drama will continue. Because this is a script Alex Rodriguez has created that belongs in Hollywood when his farce of a career is finally over.
Comment Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com/ Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso
By Rich Mancuso
BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 10- Fans at Yankee Stadium Friday night waited 52-minutes because of a rain delay before they could let Alex Rodriguez know how they felt. He was introduced as a part of the starting lineup. The reaction appeared to be mixed. Then the famed row call from the “Bleacher Creatures” was heard.
A-Rod heard his name, and the reaction was also mixed, though at one point it sounded like he was getting booed out of the building. A-Rod gave his wave to the creatures in the right field bleacher area.
It was the second part of the Alex Rodriguez Hollywood script that finally landed back in the Bronx. It ended with a successful Yankees win in 10-innings that made them feel a little better about themselves.
Some will say all of the attention Alex Rodriguez is receiving overshadows the problems his team is confronting. The Yankees, with 50-games left on the schedule, are as far away from playing October baseball as the Rodriguez decision on his appeal that is pending with Major League Baseball.
Also, don’t believe that the entire membership of the Major League Baseball Player’s Association is in the corner of Alex Rodriguez. A prominent player with the Tigers said before the game, when asked if A-Rod was a fraud, “That’s being nice. He is a disgrace to the game of baseball.”
He added that that the sentiment of membership has to be tolerant with this sensitive issue. There does though, need to be a line drawn. “Take the suspension and go," he commented.
A-Rod, the 211-game suspension abusing, baseball’s anti doping policies continuedHollywood script. Nobody does it better, another reason why the Yankees had only their fourth sell-out this season. Perhaps the model athlete, Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, spoiled the script with a two-out- ninth inning two-run home run off the great Mariano Rivera.
However, A-Rod was not around to see it. His night was over after going 0-for-4, striking out three times.
“It’s probably 50-50 tonight and maybe more cheers,” said the manager Joe Girardi about the crowd reaction in this latest script revolving around a ballplayer that knows how to write a perfect script for himself, that being Alex Rodriguez.
"It’ something he has to put out his mind,” added Girardi. “He’s had to deal with stuff before.” Indeed, A-Rod has dealt with this before, and like the legendary Frank Sinatra said, “I did it my way.”
That way, spring training, Tampa Florida in 2009. A-Rod said he would not disappoint fans and the game of baseball again. The script would continue with an MVP type performance of a post season, a fraud because it was done once again using performance enhancing drugs. All the evidence without a jury makes it look that way.
And with an Alex Rodriguez Hollywood script, that would be the first case scenario.
The start of a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers, a team coming in with a 12-game winning streak was also put on the side because of more A-Rod theatre. The Yankees came back to the Bronx Friday night having lost four straight, at 57-56, and one game over .500.
Yes, Alex Rodriguez was more important as the Yankees try to find something to get back in the pennant race mix. The Yankees crowd saw the return of Curtis Granderson. He has not made much of an impact since returning from the disabled list last Friday night in San Diego.
But, he was also overshadowed because this was the return of Alex Rodriguez to the Bronx, a ballplayer who can write a script as good as they come in Hollywood.
There were some signs in the crowd. “Welcome back A-Rod” and “We are behind you 100 Percent.” That is expected, because Alex Rodriguez is that type of ballplayer who gathers that attention, whether you love or hate him.
This entire Biogenesis fiasco of a scandal has become Alex Rodriguez drama, as it always is. It has not centered on the other 12- players that were suspended and did not appeal. The drama continued with his first time back in the Bronx since being benched last October in the ALCS that the Yankees lost to the Tigers.
And surly the drama will continue. Because this is a script Alex Rodriguez has created that belongs in Hollywood when his farce of a career is finally over.
Comment Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com/ Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso
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