Friday, August 22, 2014
Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Where's this guy been for Yanks?
Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Where's this guy been for Yanks?: Where's this guy been for Yanks? Brandon McCarthy Throws a Four Hit, Complete Game Shutout of Houston By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW ...
Where's this guy been for Yanks?
Where's this guy been for Yanks?
Brandon McCarthy Throws a Four Hit, Complete Game Shutout of Houston
By Howard Goldin
BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 22- The Thursday matinee contest at Yankee Stadium was reminiscent of Yankee games of the past. A very large crowd of 41,767 fans attended a fast moving game of two hours and seven minutes in which the Yankee starter pitched a complete game shutout of the visiting team. Both pitchers hurled complete games, which is another similarity to the past.
Time of games is a factor in the popularity of the sport. Thursday’s game was the shortest Yankee nine inning home game since June 18, 1996.
In reality, the Yankees are nine games behind the American League East leading Baltimore Orioles and behind three teams for the second Wild Card position. The Yankee victory on Thursday broke a four home game losing streak and was only the team’s third win in its most recent ten games.
The recent reality has not made the players on the Yankees nor many of their fans ready to throw in the towel for the 2014 season. Chase Headley, a Yankee since July 22, has faith in his current team, “We know we can play a lot better than we have. I like our chances every time we go out there. I expect to win.”
Brandon McCarthy’s outstanding start on Thursday is the latest example of his complete turnaround in success since late June. McCarthy, as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks, won one game of his first 16 starts. In his last 10 games, the 31 year old has compiled a 7-2 mark.
McCarthy’s control of his pitches has historically been excellent. He is third in the majors in walks per nine innings in the last four seasons. In the last 10 starts, he walked nine batters while fanning 64.
McCarthy, in 6.1 innings in each of his most recent losses, gave up seven hits and two earned runs. The defeats could more factually be attributed to the lack of Yankee hitting rather than defects in McCarthy’s pitching as the Yankees were shut out in both of those games in August.
In seven of his nine innings of pitching, the California native retired all three batters he faced. He gave up two hits in the fourth and two hits in the seventh. Runners were on second and third in both innings, yet McCarthy got out of each jam. Girardi praised the starter for his ability to extricate himself from difficult situations, “He [McCarthy] has the ability to make pitches when you need it.”
The complete game was McCarthy’s ninth in 147 major league starts. The shutout was his fourth in the majors.
He admitted tiredness before the conclusion, “I started to get tired, wobbly through the fifth.” McCarthy gave a great deal of credit to his catcher, Francisco Cervelli, for encouraging him to continue until the game ended by yelling at him.
The catcher praised McCarthy’s pitching and tried to minimize his own efforts as catcher, “He [McCarthy] did an amazing job. He was very consistent. I didn’t want to give up any runs, so I tried to give him a little push. I was just trying to make him believe he was that good today.”
The only runs scored in the game, three, came in the bottom of the second. Mark Teixeira led off with a single. Martin Prado followed with a double. Both scored on a run batted in double by the next batter, Chase Headley. Headley scored the final run on a sacrifice fly by Ichiro Suzuki.
Girardi commented upon the batting in that inning, “We had some really good at bats in the second. It was nice to get him that early lead and just let him work.”
Brandon McCarthy Throws a Four Hit, Complete Game Shutout of Houston
By Howard Goldin
BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 22- The Thursday matinee contest at Yankee Stadium was reminiscent of Yankee games of the past. A very large crowd of 41,767 fans attended a fast moving game of two hours and seven minutes in which the Yankee starter pitched a complete game shutout of the visiting team. Both pitchers hurled complete games, which is another similarity to the past.
Time of games is a factor in the popularity of the sport. Thursday’s game was the shortest Yankee nine inning home game since June 18, 1996.
In reality, the Yankees are nine games behind the American League East leading Baltimore Orioles and behind three teams for the second Wild Card position. The Yankee victory on Thursday broke a four home game losing streak and was only the team’s third win in its most recent ten games.
The recent reality has not made the players on the Yankees nor many of their fans ready to throw in the towel for the 2014 season. Chase Headley, a Yankee since July 22, has faith in his current team, “We know we can play a lot better than we have. I like our chances every time we go out there. I expect to win.”
Brandon McCarthy’s outstanding start on Thursday is the latest example of his complete turnaround in success since late June. McCarthy, as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks, won one game of his first 16 starts. In his last 10 games, the 31 year old has compiled a 7-2 mark.
McCarthy’s control of his pitches has historically been excellent. He is third in the majors in walks per nine innings in the last four seasons. In the last 10 starts, he walked nine batters while fanning 64.
McCarthy, in 6.1 innings in each of his most recent losses, gave up seven hits and two earned runs. The defeats could more factually be attributed to the lack of Yankee hitting rather than defects in McCarthy’s pitching as the Yankees were shut out in both of those games in August.
In seven of his nine innings of pitching, the California native retired all three batters he faced. He gave up two hits in the fourth and two hits in the seventh. Runners were on second and third in both innings, yet McCarthy got out of each jam. Girardi praised the starter for his ability to extricate himself from difficult situations, “He [McCarthy] has the ability to make pitches when you need it.”
The complete game was McCarthy’s ninth in 147 major league starts. The shutout was his fourth in the majors.
He admitted tiredness before the conclusion, “I started to get tired, wobbly through the fifth.” McCarthy gave a great deal of credit to his catcher, Francisco Cervelli, for encouraging him to continue until the game ended by yelling at him.
The catcher praised McCarthy’s pitching and tried to minimize his own efforts as catcher, “He [McCarthy] did an amazing job. He was very consistent. I didn’t want to give up any runs, so I tried to give him a little push. I was just trying to make him believe he was that good today.”
The only runs scored in the game, three, came in the bottom of the second. Mark Teixeira led off with a single. Martin Prado followed with a double. Both scored on a run batted in double by the next batter, Chase Headley. Headley scored the final run on a sacrifice fly by Ichiro Suzuki.
Girardi commented upon the batting in that inning, “We had some really good at bats in the second. It was nice to get him that early lead and just let him work.”
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Schmuck shoots from the hip
By Dan Gesslein
BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 21- Police are trying to find the gunman who opened fire from inside an apartment building stairwell.
Investigators released surveillance video of the reckless shooting which occurred at 6:30 p.m. on August 19. The suspect is seen on tape running to the open side door at 575 Castle Hill Avenue and letting off at least three shots. He is then seen running up the stairs in the building. No one was injured.
The suspect is described as a Hispanic male between the ages of 20 and 25. He is six feet to six foot two with a slim build. He was last seen wearing a black t-shirt, camouflage shorts, and white sneakers.
Anyone with information is urged to call CRIMESTOPPERS (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 strictly confidential.
Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Umps brighten day for kids
Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Umps brighten day for kids: Major League Baseball umpires visited patients at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore. They gave out Build-A-Bear toys and outfits, includ...
Umps brighten day for kids
Major League Baseball umpires visited patients at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore. They gave out Build-A-Bear toys and outfits, including bear-sized Yankees™ and Mets™ uniforms.
Prince Cruz, 7, enjoyed his visit from MLB umpires at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore on Wednesday, August 20.
Isabelle Ortiz, 2, was thrilled to receive a monkey Build-A-Bear during the MLB umpires visit.
MLB Umpires, UMPS CARE Charities, and The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore staff prepare to hand out bears to the kids at CHAM.
Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Time's Running Out for Yankees
Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Time's Running Out for Yankees: Time's Running Out for Yanks Brass dumbfounded by the way Yankees are playing By Rich Mancuso BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 21- It was Jo...
Time's Running Out for Yankees
Time's Running Out for Yanks
Brass dumbfounded by the way Yankees are playing
By Rich Mancuso
BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 21- It was Joe Girardi bobble head night at Yankee Stadium Wednesday night and the manager got booed when he lifted starter Michael Pineda in the sixth inning. The anguish for the Yankees continued and the displeasure from their fans were heard more when the Houston Astros scored four runs in the seventh inning.
And when any team takes a lead against the Yankees, the lowly Astros or a front runner, there is a good chance they will not score and make the comeback. Such was the case again as the Astros go for a three-game series sweep Thursday afternoon after their 5-2 win in the Bronx.
Now, it is more than panic time for the Yankees who are going backwards instead of forward and seeing their playoff chances dwindle each day. They will try and prevent a sweep of the series in a stretch of seven games this week, also with the Chicago White Sox that could have helped their wild card chances.
But the Yankees wild card chances are fading each day, losing seven of their last nine games. And unless there is a winning streak on the horizon, this could get worse before they arrive in Detroit next week to play the Tigers, a team that leads the Yankees by five games for that second wild card.
Girardi said, after this latest disappointing loss, “We got to score more than two runs. We’re just not getting it done. The bottom line is, we can’t worry about who is in front of us. We need to play better. If we don’t play better we won’t get there.”
Truth is, the reality is starting to set in. The Yankees are not looking like a playoff team, nor have they resembled one with 37 games remaining. In their last nine games they are batting .135 with runners in scoring position, going 1-for-9 Tuesday night, and 1-for-8 Wednesday in trying to get runners to score with men on base.
Again, it has become a mission in futility. And at this juncture of the season, with every game having significant meaning, trying to figure out why and why not is not going to produce an answer. You hear, this is baseball and there is still some time to get it going, those words coming in a very quiet Yankees post-game clubhouse.
Girardi is now baffled. He can’t recall a time, either in his playing or managerial career when a team with such prominent names struggled to this magnitude. The scouts who sit up in the press box offer the same opinion, though with a perspective that perhaps the Yankees, overall as a team are pressing.
It has gone so backwards, enough to a point that Girardi was answering questions to a member of the media in the post game about possibly shifting positions in the lineup. Batting, maybe Jeter at cleanup and moving Jacoby Ellsbury to the third spot, and the manager quickly knocked that down.
He is the manager. And apparently a lineup he has, with experience and numbers to prove, should be and is expected to be producing at a better rate. That continues to not happen for any number of reasons that have the baseball experts perplexed. Either the roster on the field is playing below expectations, or these veteran hitters are past their prime and in their final years. The seventh inning continued to support a dilemma that the Yankees can’t seem to figure for themselves.
This time after Pineda left the game, which prompted fans to boo, the bullpen imploded again as it did the night before. The results was working from behind again and failing to get the big comeback hit.
David Huff and Esmil Rogers combined to give up four runs in relief of Pineda that gave away a one-run lead.
After Pineda walked a batter to start the seventh, Huff got an out and gave up a hit. Rogers gave up five straight singles and the Yankees were behind 5-2.
A highlight of the night was Brett Gardner making a grab of a foul ball as he fell into the stands making a catch over the cement barrier down the left field foul in the ninth inning. He also tried to ignite something with a single to center with two outs in the Yankees ninth. If anything, he has proved to be the MVP of this team. Jeter followed and worked a walk off Jose Veras.
So the tying runs were on for Ellsbury who came to bat after with two singles and two stolen bases on the night. Of course, the futility continued with a fly ball to right and another loss for the Yankees in this stretch of games that should have been in the win column.
Before that, against starter Scott Feldman, whom the Yankees made into a Cy Young Award look alike, Mark Teixeira struck out the first of two times and Brian McCann popped out to end a rally. Gardner ended an inning with runners on second and third, and in the seventh in was Ellsbury again striking out with runners on second and third.
Bottom line, the Yankees need to play better but time is not on their side as they continue to go backwards.
COMMENT RICH MANCUSO: RING 786@aol.com Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso www.newyorksportsexaminer.com
Brass dumbfounded by the way Yankees are playing
By Rich Mancuso
BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 21- It was Joe Girardi bobble head night at Yankee Stadium Wednesday night and the manager got booed when he lifted starter Michael Pineda in the sixth inning. The anguish for the Yankees continued and the displeasure from their fans were heard more when the Houston Astros scored four runs in the seventh inning.
And when any team takes a lead against the Yankees, the lowly Astros or a front runner, there is a good chance they will not score and make the comeback. Such was the case again as the Astros go for a three-game series sweep Thursday afternoon after their 5-2 win in the Bronx.
Now, it is more than panic time for the Yankees who are going backwards instead of forward and seeing their playoff chances dwindle each day. They will try and prevent a sweep of the series in a stretch of seven games this week, also with the Chicago White Sox that could have helped their wild card chances.
But the Yankees wild card chances are fading each day, losing seven of their last nine games. And unless there is a winning streak on the horizon, this could get worse before they arrive in Detroit next week to play the Tigers, a team that leads the Yankees by five games for that second wild card.
Girardi said, after this latest disappointing loss, “We got to score more than two runs. We’re just not getting it done. The bottom line is, we can’t worry about who is in front of us. We need to play better. If we don’t play better we won’t get there.”
Truth is, the reality is starting to set in. The Yankees are not looking like a playoff team, nor have they resembled one with 37 games remaining. In their last nine games they are batting .135 with runners in scoring position, going 1-for-9 Tuesday night, and 1-for-8 Wednesday in trying to get runners to score with men on base.
Again, it has become a mission in futility. And at this juncture of the season, with every game having significant meaning, trying to figure out why and why not is not going to produce an answer. You hear, this is baseball and there is still some time to get it going, those words coming in a very quiet Yankees post-game clubhouse.
Girardi is now baffled. He can’t recall a time, either in his playing or managerial career when a team with such prominent names struggled to this magnitude. The scouts who sit up in the press box offer the same opinion, though with a perspective that perhaps the Yankees, overall as a team are pressing.
It has gone so backwards, enough to a point that Girardi was answering questions to a member of the media in the post game about possibly shifting positions in the lineup. Batting, maybe Jeter at cleanup and moving Jacoby Ellsbury to the third spot, and the manager quickly knocked that down.
He is the manager. And apparently a lineup he has, with experience and numbers to prove, should be and is expected to be producing at a better rate. That continues to not happen for any number of reasons that have the baseball experts perplexed. Either the roster on the field is playing below expectations, or these veteran hitters are past their prime and in their final years. The seventh inning continued to support a dilemma that the Yankees can’t seem to figure for themselves.
This time after Pineda left the game, which prompted fans to boo, the bullpen imploded again as it did the night before. The results was working from behind again and failing to get the big comeback hit.
David Huff and Esmil Rogers combined to give up four runs in relief of Pineda that gave away a one-run lead.
After Pineda walked a batter to start the seventh, Huff got an out and gave up a hit. Rogers gave up five straight singles and the Yankees were behind 5-2.
A highlight of the night was Brett Gardner making a grab of a foul ball as he fell into the stands making a catch over the cement barrier down the left field foul in the ninth inning. He also tried to ignite something with a single to center with two outs in the Yankees ninth. If anything, he has proved to be the MVP of this team. Jeter followed and worked a walk off Jose Veras.
So the tying runs were on for Ellsbury who came to bat after with two singles and two stolen bases on the night. Of course, the futility continued with a fly ball to right and another loss for the Yankees in this stretch of games that should have been in the win column.
Before that, against starter Scott Feldman, whom the Yankees made into a Cy Young Award look alike, Mark Teixeira struck out the first of two times and Brian McCann popped out to end a rally. Gardner ended an inning with runners on second and third, and in the seventh in was Ellsbury again striking out with runners on second and third.
Bottom line, the Yankees need to play better but time is not on their side as they continue to go backwards.
COMMENT RICH MANCUSO: RING 786@aol.com Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso www.newyorksportsexaminer.com
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