Destiny’s Crooks?

Looking more like a Destiny’s Child tribute band than a burglary crew, police are asking for the public’s help in trying to catch a trio of young thieves who burglarized a Soundview school. Surveillance video caught the images of the crew as they burglarized the Monroe Academy for Business and Law at 1300 Boynton Avenue on August 13. Cops say the group entered the school through a window and made off with laptops, cameras, a phone and a keyboard. The thieves also smashed several computer screens. 

Anyone with information should call CRIMESTOPPERS at (800) 577-TIPS. 

The public can also submit their tips by logging onto Crime Stoppers' website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to CRIMES (274637), then enter TIP577.

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Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Mr. 4,000

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Mr. 4,000: Ichiro Suzuki Becomes the 4,000 Hit Man By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 22- Ichiro Suzuki reached a baseball milestone that ha...

Mr. 4,000

Ichiro Suzuki Becomes the 4,000 Hit Man

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 22- Ichiro Suzuki reached a baseball milestone that has been accomplished by only two men in baseball history, Pete Rose and Ty Cobb.

Suzuki’s single to left field in the first inning of Wednesday night’s encounter between the Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays was his 4,000th hit in professional baseball.
As was done more than a half-century ago when Roger Maris hit his 61st home run in a single season, some baseball observers will try to demean the outstanding and rare accomplishment by saying 1,278 of the 4,000 hits were achieved in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and should not be added to his Major League Baseball (MLB) totals.

Suzuki’s ability and his achievements on the baseball field in Japan and the United States should earn him enshrinement in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown as soon as he is eligible.

Although Ichiro will not be 40 until October, his long baseball journey started as a young boy under the strict direction of his father. His decision to pursue professional baseball as his calling began before he reached his teenage years. He excelled in Little League baseball and on his high school team.

His statistics, thus far, in each nation and collectively in both are superlative and show his superiority as a player regardless of the competition.

His batting average as a member of the Orix Blue Wave for nine seasons was .355. From his first full season, 1994, through his last year in Japanese pro ball, 2000, Ichiro, in all seven seasons, was a NPB All-Star, a Pacific League (PL) batting champion, a winner of the Best Nine Award, and a Golden Glove recipient. He was also the PL MVP in the first three of those magnificentseasons.

Neither the cultural change nor the level of the play in the major leagues prevented the first position player from Japan from excelling in MLB as he had in Japan. In his first year with the Seattle Mariners (2001), he was elected Rookie-of-the-Year and MVP of the American League.

In each of his first 10 seasons in MLB, Ichiro was a Gold Glove winner and a member of the A.L. All-Star Team.

His extreme versatility on the baseball field has been displayed by watching him every day and by the numerous and varied awards he earned, batting champion, stolen base leader, Silver Slugger Award winner and, of course, 17 consecutive years, in both nations, of the Gold(en) Glove as recognition of his defensive superiority as an outfielder.

Ichiro in a post-game press conference expressed the importance to him of being an all-around expert ballplayer, “As an amateur, I thought you had to be good in everything to be a professional. Then I found out that wasn’t true. I’ve always taken pride in all the things that happen in baseball. I work very hard. I want to be able to do all the things at a high level.”

Not only has Ichiro excelled in Japan and the United States, but he led the National Team from Japan to the Gold Medal in the first two sessions of the World Baseball Classic (WBC), 2006 and 2009.

After Ichiro reached first base on Wednesday, all the Yankees players left their dugout and came onto the field to congratulate their great teammate on his rare accomplishment. The fans in the stands rose to cheer him. His countryman, Munenori Kawasaki, the Toronto third baseman was also applauding while standing at his infield position.

Ichiro, who always conducts himself as a serious professional, was more impressed by the supportive reaction of others than his own achievement, “I thought this number was just special to me. I wasn’t expecting what happened today, so much joy and happiness from them [teammates and fans]. I was really overwhelmed. The game was stopped for me. I was so happy and overjoyed with how they supported me. When I look back on this, what makes it important is that my teammates came out.”
Now that he has 2,722 hits in the majors, Ichiro was asked if his goal was to reach 3,000 hits. His response exhibits his professional mindset, “I can’t have that as a goal. What happens today determines what happens tomorrow.”

The consummate professional intends to prepare to do his best every day. One who is fortunate to watch him once or on a regular basis is seeing one of the all-time best players who brings credit upon the sport.

Without A-Rod Drama Yanks Look Like They Have a Shot

Yankees keep rolling with win over Blue Jays

By Rich Mancuso

BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 22- There was no Alex Rodriguez drama at Yankee Stadium Wednesday night. He had the night off and requested a ceasefire with his attorney regarding impending lawsuits against the Yankees. Instead the attention was the 4,000 career hit for Ichiro Suzuki, and the Yankees ninth win in their last 11-games as they took the third of four games over Toronto 4-2.

Suddenly the Yankees are in the thick of the American League wild card race, and have inched closer to the Al east division leaders Boston and Tampa Bay. The win put New York four games away from the second wild card spot.

For the second time this season, the Yankees defeated 2012 NL CY Young Award winner R.A. Dickey, who won the award when he pitched for the cross-town NY Mets. Dickey tossed a complete game, 8.0 innings, gave up four runs, six hits and recorded nine strikeouts.

The big blow off Dickey was a two-run home run off the bat of Alfonso Soriano. With one on and two out, Soriano reached for a Dickey knuckleball that landed in the left field stands. It broke a 0-for-17 snap for Soriano and was the 29th long ball given up by Dickey.

The Yankees have now hit a home run 25 times in their last 22 games dating back to July 28th, this after being held homerless in nine straight games from July 19-27.

“Our club is focused on winning,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. His team has secured their fourth straight series win, with the finale of the four-game series with he Blue Jays Thursday afternoon.

“I lacked a good knuckleball and Soriano hit one,” said Dickey, 9-12, who threw his 11th career complete game and second this season. He dropped to 3-3 with a 3.44 ERA in 12 career games, six starts against New York.

Commented Soriano, “I just tried to swing one and finally got one to hit,” about hitting the tough knuckleball.

Dickey admitted that this has been a season of struggle, something he never expected coming off the Cy Young Award season. The Mets traded him in the off season to Toronto in a package that also sent catcher Josh Thole to the Blue Jays.

Thole hit his first home run of the season in the fourth inning, his first since last April 29th when the Mets played Colorado.

“Dickey was throwing great, four hits going into that last inning and really just that one big shot,” said Toronto manager John Gibbons about the home run ball Dickey surrendered to Soriano. It was the ninth home run for Soriano as a Yankee since coming over in a trade from the Chicago Cubs on July 26th.

The win was costly for the Yankees as Jayson Nix, starting at third for Rodriguez, was hit by a pitch in the second inning and was removed for a pinch runner. Nix underwent x-rays which revealed a fractured right hand. It was another serious blow for a team that has overcome the adversity of the injured this season.

Nix will be disabled and undetermined how long he will be inactive. It is his second time on the DL this season and 19th player in 24 stints for the Yankees to go down with an injury this season.

“Feel bad about Nix,” said Girardi. “In the absence of “Jeets” (Derek Jeter) and “Nuney” (Eduardo Nunez) going down, he’s a guy who makes good decisions and makes things right.”

As for Ichiro, it was a night of celebration. The 4,000th hit, combined 2,722 in the Major Leagues and 1,278 in Japan, was a single to left off Dickey in the first inning. Ichiro was congratulated by his Yankees teammates who came out of the dugout and greeted him by the first base line.

“They did not have to stop the game for me,” said the mild mannered Ichiro who had a separate press conference of about an hour with a contingent of media from Japan, downstairs in the Yankees press conference room area.

Dickey said about the historic hit to Ichiro, “You never want to be a guy to give up a milestone. That being said what an achievement. It could not have happened to a better player.”

“It’s special to him, to his family to his country,” said Girardi about the hit. And for the Yankees, more special because Ichiro has become a part of this resurgence and winning formula that has his Yankees aiming for a spot to play in October.

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