ave any control of his change-up or curve ball, as evidence by the 81 MPH curve that ran in and hit Derek Jeter's hand in the first inning. Fortunately for Yankee fans, and anyone who might have Jeter as their fantasy league short stop, the ball struck the very knob of the bat, and didn't strike his hand flush. He stayed in the game and had a couple of more at-bats. But Timmy was clearly nervous, and said later that his heart was racing, and he couldn't feel his body, hence, a lot of pitches were "up in the zone." After watching Lincecum's two-innings of work Tuesday, I pose the question: "Opening Day assignments aside, has this guy ever pitched in a BIG game?" The Giants certainly haven't played a lot of meaningful games in recent years, and the all-star game IS a big game when it comes to performing on the big stage in front of all your peers. Lincecum allowed two hits, one earned run, zero walks, and one strike out on 35 pitches. After struggling through the first inning, he clearly settled down and went 1-2-3 in the second inning, including a nasty hook to freeze opposing pitcher Roy Halladay. Halladay, by the way, wasn't expecting to hit and had to borrow Evan Longoria's batting helmet (the "TB" team logo was peeled off so Tampa fans didn't get too excited about the possibility). Aside from some bad luck (Pujols error, broken bat single by Ichiro), Lincecum did all right for his first all-star effort after not being able to pitch in last year's "Mid-Summer Classic" at the old Yankee Stadium. It's important for him to have these experiences now to better prepare him for the big stage of play-off baseball. As for the game itself, a 4-3 A.L. victory, the few highlights for me: Stan Musial making a pre-game appearance along with other Cardinal legends: Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith, Bruce Sutter, Bob Gibson, and Red Schoendienst. All-Star MVP Carl Crawford's home run saving catch to rob Colorado's Brad Hawpe, and Detroit's Curtis Granderson's game-changing triple off the Padres' Heath Bell. The Giants are 49-and-39 at the break and get back to action Friday in Pittsburgh. Let's hope that Matt Cain (who wasn't able to pitch Tuesday) will make his next scheduled start Sunday against the Pirates.
Derek Jeter
15 July 2009
14 July 2008
It’s the All-Star Break once again, that mythical halfway point in the season (I say “mythical” because most teams have played 95-96 games, more than the 81 that’s the true midway mark). Traditionally, it’s time for the teams to take a breath, collect themselves and iron out any kinks in their batting stroke or the pitching rotation—several starters made relief appearances or threw out of turn in the past game or two, knowing that three or four days of rest was coming for all of them.
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4 July 2008
aches and players—reportedly, manager Joe Girardi spoke, followed by Johnny Damon and captain Derek Jeter. In a postgame news conference, Girardi repeatedly (and sometimes heatedly) refused to reveal what was said in the meeting, although the gist of the discussion was obvious: the can’t-lose Yankees have been losing.
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28 May 2008
Sorry for the Blog Pause--went out of town to the wedding of a friend of mine, but now I'm back and back strong, to conclude my review of the unsung heroes of the 1961 Yankees infield. We're finishing with that all-important position of shortstop, Tony Kubek, who was an anchor for that 1961 team, both in the field and at the plate. He's also one of the great woulda-coulda-shoulda players, someone that many argue would have been one of the greatest Yankee shortstops ever, had his career not been cut short by injury.
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21 May 2008
Boggs' career, and shaped the future of a spindly shorstop who'd committed 54 errors in the minors: Derek Jeter.
So when you watch the Yankee captain pick one from deep in the hole and make a
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17 May 2008
The Yankees have had many World Series champs, and many more All-Star players and all-time lineups. The 1927 Yankees pretty much set the bar for everyone else to follow, but there were some other memorable ones, too. The '36 Yanks, the first year of Joltin' Joe, and the last great one from Lou Gehrig, along with typically solid contributions by Bill Dickey, Tony Lazzeri and the usual cast of star Yankees.
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