Baseball Historians

Did you ever see the movie, “Catch Me if You Can”? It stars Leo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks and is directed by Steven Spielberg. For all intents and purposes it’s a highly enjoyable flick. There’s a line in it, however, that I feel c…

Mike Mussina pitched a good game today against the Cincinnati Reds, making a couple mistakes.  But it was those mistakes that were his demise.  He gave up a home run in the 2nd inning, and a costly 2-run double in the 5th inning.  Those three runs were all the Reds needed today as their pitcher Edinson Volquez [...]

Once again Chien-Ming Wang took the mound on the road for the Yankees and dominated the opponent, leaving the game after pitching 5 innings of shut-out baseball.  The difference in this start was that he left due to injury.  As he was running the bases in this interleague game with the National League’s Houston Astros, he [...]

Darrell Rasner took the mound in Oakland today in front of many family and friends.  Coming from this lovely California climate (mid to low 70’s again today), he did his best to fight back the nerves and pitch to impress his hometown fans.  However, just like most homecomings in sports, it was a bust.  He [...]

Chien-Ming Wang took the mound today in beautiful California, needing a win to start the clubs ascend toward the leaders in the American League East.  The team gave him a 2 Run lead by the time he took the mound to start the game, and that was all he would need.
Wang went 7.1 innings, scattering [...]

The Yankees entered this game with a comfortable 2-1 lead in this series with the Kansas City Royals, but could not come up with the win today, ultimately splitting the series, 2-2.  The way the Yankees have been hovering around .500 all year, it should not be that much of a surprise.  It would have [...]

These are those types of games that you hate to lose.  The close ones that could have gone either way.  The key to winning these types of games is to give your pitcher just enough run support to get the job done.  That did not happen today, as the Yankee bats were silenced by a [...]

It was an error in the 1st inning that helped add 2 Runs to the total of 4 that Mike Mussina gave up today, in his otherwise great performance.  He went 6 innings, giving up 6 Hits, 4 Runs (2 Earned), Striking Out slightly  below his average with 4, and only Walking 1.  Not a [...]

These are the games that Yankee fans like to see more then most others.  Andy Pettitte pitched a wonderful game today, going 6.2 innings, allowing 8 Hits, which yielded the O’s only 2 Runs.  He struck out 3, and only walked one batter.  Things were apparently getting a little hairy there in the 7th inning [...]

There was no lack of offense in this one, with both teams scoring numbers of runs in bunches.  This of course works great for the fans and the scoreboard, but the pitchers’ ERA tends to take some hits.  Their numbers climb a little bit after a slug-fest like we had today.  Plenty of souvenirs were [...]

The winning streak ended at five, as the Yankees lose the first of three to the Orioles, in Baltimore.  The bullpen let the team down today, as they were responsible for 5 of the 6 Runs scored today, and Darrell Rasner started and went 6 innings for the club.  Just shut down today by the [...]

Fifty games into the season, and we are even at .500, with a 25-25 record, and on a tear in the East, winning their fifth straight game.  They won this late, and in dramatic fashion, beating the Seattle Mariners in three straight, and sweeping the series.  They looked like they might be in trouble through most [...]

For the second day in a row, the Yankees have put a spot on the board against these Seattle Mariners (yesterday being 13 runs).  What a nice little rally the ball club finds itself in.  It’s surprising what good can come out of a good beating.  The club looks energized, and the bats seem to [...]

Shelley Duncan started the scoring for the Yankees in the 3rd inning, going yard off of the tough Mariners’  Bedard.  This is a Mariners team that just got swept by the lowly Detroit Tigers, and have many battle scars to show for this last road trip.  That was just the beginning of the scoring, as [...]

Rivera took the mound in the 9th inning, and it was still any one’s game.  Tied at 1 run a piece, and looking like extra innings.  Rivera did what he does best.  Perfect 9th inning.  The Yankees, behind a nice piece of hitting from Cano, sealed the fate of the Orioles, and the series, with [...]

On a day that Jeter should have sat out, and give the left hand that took the Cabrera fast ball a break, he knew the team was struggling and wanted more than anything to help bring them out of their slump.  So possibly on the shoulders of a hurt #2, Derek Jeter, the Yankees rose [...]

Good News/Bad News first?  Which do you prefer first?  Well there is big news on every front.  Let’s just get this out of the way, the Yankees fall hard today and only score 2 runs, to the Orioles 12.  So they lose another game by a large deficit, coming off the 2-11 romping they took [...]

Today is a day of rest for the club, as they get ready to host the Baltimore Orioles in Yankee Stadium for a three game mid week series going from Tuesday to Thursday.  They need the day to try to get some of these veterans healthy and back on the field.  I am not making [...]

Chien-Ming Wang was cruising right along for the first 3 innings, but it was a horrible 35-pitch, 4-run, 4th inning, that began the decent for the ace of the pitching staff today.  He was tagged frequently and often from that point on, giving up a solo-homer in the 6th inning to Church.  And then another rough [...]

Andy Pettitte continued his losing streak at Yankee Stadium, today, after falling to the New York Mets.  He remains winless this season at The House That Ruth Built.  He went 6 pretty good innings, fanning 7, and being charged with 3 earned runs. 
Farnsworth relieved a spent Pettitte in the 7th inning, and proceeded to put [...]

This 3 game subway series with the New York Mets will start tomorrow (weather permitting), as this one has been delayed due to rain.  We will join the regularly scheduled game tomorrow, as this one has not yet been re-scheduled.  When that happens I will pass that along to you, the faithful observers of my column.

Ian Kennedy was chipped away at all game, and eventually gave up 5 earned runs, in 5 innings of work, on 5 hits.  He gave up two home runs; a solo shot in the 1st inning to Iwamura, and a 2-run home run to Riggans in the 4th inning.  He spent most of the game [...]

Is it just me, or has pitching taken over in Major League Baseball?  Averages are down, offensive numbers seem to be down, teams relying on power and the long ball, are struggling to get past .500.  It is understood to be a pitching game, over there in the National League, but here in the American League [...]

It took 11 innings to decide this one, and the Tampa Bay Rays came out on top, 2-1.  Chien-Ming Wang pitched another great game for the club.  It is the bats that need a kick start.  Again today, the offense was silenced by the pitching staff of the Rays.  And wouldn’t you know it, Mariano [...]

The Yankees could not get anything going today, and provided no run support for Andy Pettitte, today, as he was looking to extend his seven game win streak, in as many starts.  He ran into a team, in the Tampa Bay Rays, that wanted it pretty badly. 
Let’s not forget the bad blood that was started in [...]

The game was delayed due to rain, and a rescheduled date has not yet been determined.  Stay tuned for further information regarding this game.  As soon as I find out anything I will pass it along to you.

I will be the first to admit that I was more than worried after the home run was hit by Tiger’s very recent call up, Matt Joyce.  It just seemed to be an automatic out to me.  But after that Rasner settled right in and pitched an excellent game.  He ended up going 6 innings, [...]

They were down by 4 runs heading into the 9th inning, and found themselves with the tying run only 180 feet from home plate.  But, it was not meant to be, as the final out was recorded at Comerica Park in Detroit before that base runner could come home and send it into extra innings.
Kei Igawa had [...]

If there was a Cy Young being given out right now in the American League, you would be hard pressed to come up with another pitcher more deserving than Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians.  He pitched another outstanding game, and against possibly the hottest pitcher going, in Chien-Ming Wang for the Yankees.  Don’t misunderstand [...]

Another good pitching performance was snubbed today as the Yankees blow their lead to the Cleveland Indians in the late innings.  Andy Pettitte did everything that you could ask the starting pitcher to do: 1. keep the club in the game, and 2. give them a chance to win.  He did both of those things.  Andy pitched [...]