Smash-n-Grab Sneaker Thieves Strike

Smash-n-Grab Sneaker Thieves Strike

By David Greene

BRONX, NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 4- A Norwood clothing store that only opened several weeks ago, suffered their first smash-and-grab robbery-- that was foiled by local cops.

Officers from the 52nd Precinct were called to the V.I.M. clothing store, located at 3083 Bainbridge Avenue at East 204 Street at 10:30 p.m. on August 19.

According to a neighborhood source, "A guy broke into V.I.M. and stole some expensive sneakers.”

The witness continued, "He broke the glass of the door and took seven pairs of sneakers," a fact confirmed by police as the perpetrator was foiled by officers who arrived to the scene within minutes of the initial call.

"The police brought them all back," the source maintained that the sneakers were recovered, but according to the NYPD, who used a K-9 unit on the ground and a helicopter in the air for more than an hour-- the suspect was not apprehended.

The source then asked, "Why would they put expensive sneakers right there in the window?”

The source then said of the unnamed suspect, "I saw him the other day just walking on the street.”

The NYPD has since released a wanted flyer with a poor photo of the suspect wanted in the case, several of those flyers have been posted on the front windows of V.I.M.

However, the manager of the store refused to discuss the incident or answer any questions.

Police believe the suspect is in his teens and either a white or Hispanic male as they continue to investigate the sneaker caper.

Anyone with information on the identity of the suspect is urged to call detectives at the 52 Precinct's robbery squad.  

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Yanks Fight for Playoff Life

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Yanks Fight for Playoff Life: Yanks Fight for Playoff Life Contributions of Yankees Battery, Hiroki Kuroda and Brian McCann, Produce 5-1 Win By Howard Goldin BRONX, ...

Yanks Fight for Playoff Life

Yanks Fight for Playoff Life
Contributions of Yankees Battery, Hiroki Kuroda and Brian McCann, Produce 5-1 Win

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 4- After losing the last three contests and four of the last five, the Yankees achieved a necessary win on Wednesday night in the second game of a three game set against the Boston Red Sox.

Every victory is crucial for the New Yorkers to prevent their elimination from qualifying for the 2014 playoffs. The importance of attaining as many wins as possible in the final month of the season was stated by the batting hero of Wednesday’s game, Brian McCann, “We have one month to turn it on and we plan to do that, win every game we can.”

Hiroki Kuroda, the most consistent of Yankees pitchers this season, went into the double figure win column (10) with his third consecutive positive decision.

The 39 year-old threw 95 pitches in seven complete innings. His control was sharp as he threw 73 strikes. In his 28 previous starts this year, he never threw more than 72 in each contest.

Kuroda dominated the Boston batters early in the game, retiring 12 of the first 13. The only run the Japanese native yielded occurred in the sixth frame.

With one out, he hit Jamie Weeks, the ninth batter in the Red Sox, lineup, with a pitch in the back of the knee. Rookie Brock Holt, the only player in the majors who has played every position in the field except pitcher and catcher, doubled Weeks home. Weeks did not appear seriously injured as he rounded the bases with full speed.

Kuroda only allowed four hits and on hit batter. He fanned eight, tied for his high this season, and did not issue a walk. This was only the fourth game in Kuroda’s major league career that he pitched seven innings while striking out eight and not walking a batter. It was the fifth straight game that he did not give up a homer

Yankee skipper Joe Girardi praised his performance, “I thought his sinker and his slider were his two best pitches. He kept it in the ballpark. He’s a real good pitcher.”

Kuroda described his game plan at this stage in the season, “From now on, every game counts. Whenever I get on the mound, I want to give my team a chance to win.”

Catcher Brian McCann was an important contributor behind the plate and at bat. As catcher, Girardi, a former catcher, remarked, “He has a very good idea of what the pitchers’ stuff is and how to use it to get hitters out.” Kuroda agreed with his manager’s opinion, “I’m really confident with him.”

McCann’s four hits in the game tied his career single game high for the 11th time. He knocked in the winning run with a two-run homer in the second. He led-off with a single in the fifth. He singled again in the following frame, and drove in the final Yankees run in the seventh with a single.

Chris Capuano, Yankees, and Brandon Workman, Red Sox, are scheduled to start the rubber game on Thursday night.

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Yanks Sux

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Yanks Sux: Time's Running Out for a Yanks Another loss makes the #Yankees task that more difficult By Rich Mancuso BRONX, NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER ...

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Hit-n-run driver eyed in Country Club road rager

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Hit-n-run driver eyed in Country Club road rager: Hit-n-run driver eyed in Country Club road rager By David Greene BRONX, NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 3- A 25-year-old man has surrendered in a hi...

Hit-n-run driver eyed in Country Club road rager

Hit-n-run driver eyed in Country Club road rager

By David Greene

BRONX, NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 3- A 25-year-old man has surrendered in a hit-and-run in Port Morris that has left a 50 year-old woman fighting for her life.

Police say Alex Hernandez, 25, of Mott Haven, surrendered to detectives on August 27 for the hit-and-run that put Soundview resident Christina Aybar in the intensive care unit at Lincoln Hospital.

Friends of Aybar had told investigators that she had made a comment to the suspect on his driving, when he U-turned and aimed the vehicle at the group crossing East 138 Street and Bruckner Boulevard.

Aybar managed to push two male friends out of the way, when the vehicle struck her as she was on the sidewalk. The vehicle reportedly backed-up over the woman a second time before speeding away.

A day after the accident, police would release two photos of the vehicle that ran-down Aybar, taken from a surveillance camera in the area. The white 2000 Chevrolet Impala was found that same day by police in Mount Vernon.

Hernandez was initially charged with vehicular assault, failure to notify (of) an accident with injury and failure to report an accident.

The Bronx District Attorney would add the additional charges of attempted murder, assault, menacing and weapons possession and Hernandez was remanded to Rikers Island, unable to post the $200,000 bail.

Detectives have also charged Hernandez with a July, 2013 road-rage incident along Spencer Drive in Country Club, where he allegedly beat a man with a wooden cane-- before smashing the windows of the victims Honda Civic.

Yanks Sux

Time's Running Out for a Yanks
Another loss makes the #Yankees task that more difficult

By Rich Mancuso

BRONX, NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 3- It does not get better for the New York Yankees. Tuesday night the Boston Red Sox came to the Bronx and made things that more difficult for the Yankees post season chances with a 9-4 win. This was not the intensity of past Yankees-Red Sox games in the Bronx though the Yankees have more to play for than the defending world series champions.

From the looks of things, and the way things are going, everyday it becomes more realistic that the Yankees will miss the post season for the second consecutive year. They are running out of time with 26 games left to play and September will have to be magical.

A marvelous and historic run for the Yankees to keep playing baseball in October will take, maybe an 18-8 stretch from Wednesday night until the last game.

That would be historic, though baseball is a game of unpredictability and it is not impossible. But these are the Yankees, a team that has not been able to put together any type of long winning streak since April.

For a team that has struggled to drive in runs, a consistent pattern since April, the writing is on the wall. Once again they failed to score when they had to and it did not help to play catch up baseball because starter Shane Greene could not get past the second inning,

It becomes more difficult for the Yankees when their starting pitching fails, and those starts have accounted for keeping the Yankees in the race for a second wild card, but that is becoming a harder task as they trail Seattle and Detroit by five games,

Oh, another late season surge by the Cleveland Indians has them also five games from that wild card spot. In essence with time not on their side, the Yankees now have to battle three teams for that final playoff spot and that can change as Oakland is in the running with their divisional lead in the AL west gone by to the Angels, a team with the overall best record in baseball.

"These series are extremely important,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said, “This is not the way you want to start the homestand.” Pretty much the manager has been saying the same thing the past few weeks and hoped something would change,

Girardi tried to explain how hard it has been to score runs in the ballpark that has always played to a home field advantage. Except this season that has expanded away from the Bronx as the Yankees are next to last in runs, next to the Red Sox.

They did manage to get two home runs. Martin Prado got his fifth as a Yankee and Brian McCann hit a solo shot in the ninth inning, his 16th of the season that put the Yankees final run on the scoreboard.

McCann has been one of those disappointments, the off-season acqusition of a team with a $200 million dollar payroll that continues to not produce. Prado, in his 29th game has been the Yankees most productive hitter.

But, Prado left the game with a tight left hamstring and will be examined further Wednesday. Assuming Prado has to miss any amount of time, and that will further diminish any slim hopes for the Yankees to have a post season run.

“That’s not someone we want to lose,” said Girardi. He will see how Prado is. The manager also will determine if he wants to bat Brett Gardner third again in the lineup, as he did Tuesday night to try and get some type of offense going with time running out.

Gardner was ejected from the game in the sixth inning by home plate umpire Tim Timmons for arguing a called third strike. Perhaps that was a spark for the Yankees as they need everything they can get at this point. And sometimes one player can ignite the fire by showing how much the Yankees still feel they are in this wild card race,

It is referred to as not quitting, and the Yankees will keep saying that until they are officially eliminated from post season contention. But time is not on their side as they need more than Gardner or someone else getting ejected to ignite a fire.

The Yankees need to pitch and hit at the same time. And from their consistent pattern that may be an impossible task as this possible post season run may soon be coming to an end.

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