Yankees bats explode on my trip to the Bronx
I'm an Ohioan that made the track up to NYC and brought my wife for her first ever trip. We received tickets for Friday and Saturday's game for our wedding present from my brother that had recently moved to Hoboken.
Last year, my wife and I were scheduled to come to Yankee Stadium for a three-game series against the Angels. Luckily for us, we had bought a house in Suburban Columbus and were forced to unload our tickets on eBay. I say fortunately because the Angels swept the set from our beloved Bombers.
This year was a much different outcome and I almost feel like it was fate that we weren't able to come last year. We saw two wins, and better yet, two offensive explosions by the Yankee bats. Saturday's game even saw Robinson Cano (our favorite player and the one we named our dog after) go 4-4 and collect three doubles. Before we showed up, Cano had been hitting .207. In the two games we witnessed, he's raised his batting average 25 points up to .232.
The Yankees combined for 29 hits and 25 runs in the two games we were there for. Yes, if you really think we're the reason why, I will gladly accept season tickets if you would like to purchase them for us and put us up in a New York City penthouse.
Back to my thoughts, is there any hitter in baseball as hot as Hideki Matsui? Just when I thought before the season began that he's at the tail's end of a good career, here he is seemingly getting a knock every time he comes up to the plate.
The last two games, Matsui, Cano, and Jason Giambi combined for 16 of those 29 hits. All three of those guys seem to be hitting their mid-season stride after slow starts, which means we should be seeing the Yankees climb the standings soon.
They're currently on a four-game winning streak and could cut the AL East lead to 5.5 games if Oakland is able take game two of their series with the Red Sawx. (Update, the Sawx were one-hit and lost 3-zip.)
To be honest, right now the Yankees are swinging the bats as well as they have in recent memory. They're spraying the field and stringing hits together; something that went scarce the last couple of Torre years. I must admit I may be a little biased towards Joe Giardi because I got fed up with Torre's "sit-back-and-wait-for-a-homer" attitude he converted to after they signed Giambi and A-Rod.
But I really think if the Yankees are able to get anything remotely close to what they displayed the last couple of days, production wise, they'll be right there in the end vying for another AL Pennant. Then again, I might be scoreboard watching for the wrong team right now, as it seems Tampa Bay is playing as well as anyone in the AL right now, just a half-game back of the East-leading Sawx.
We'll see how long the Rays last as well as how long it takes until the Yankees get near the top again. I have faith in our Pin-stripers.
Side note: The lady next to me on Friday said she was Bob Sheppard's neighbor and said she was told he was hoping to be back for the All-Star game. Certainly Good News! After all, his replacement mis-pronounced two Mariners names while I was listening closely on Friday.
Another side note: Apologies to the guy in the row in front of me who insisted I give the foul ball to "the nearest kid" who conventiently was identifying his son. Wait, nevermind, I'm not sorry. I got a foul ball in the last year of Yankee Stadium on my wife's first trip to New York City. The ball was on the seat next to you, if you really wanted the ball for your son, you should have got off your lazy ass and reached four feet for it. I spent over 100 bucks before Saturday's game on collectibles for my "Yankees Den", but the one I got today was the best one, and it was free. I ain't giving that one away, not for anyone or their little kid. Hell, I never was handed a ball from a stranger when I was little, why should I change my stance on this?
Another Another side note: What's with the God-awful drawings they put up on the scoreboard late in the games. They are meant to be pictures drawn of the players' faces, but instead look more like their asses. Friday night's pic of Robinson Cano more resembled the swelled head of Ken Griffey Jr. on the softball episode of the Simpsons. Today, Johnny Damons picture looked like Al Pacino, while Bobby Abrea's actually looked like Damon. Oh, and Derek Jeter's face looked more like a tan Joba Chamberlain. Whoever drew those pictures should be shot and all their shading tools broken in half before they can butcher another player again. Why the stadium would show those pics is beyond me; perhaps the entertainment it provided to the people in the stands because all the fans around me couldn't stop laughing. Shame on you Bronx High School Art Institute or whatever you're called.
I'm an Ohioan that made the track up to NYC and brought my wife for her first ever trip. We received tickets for Friday and Saturday's game for our wedding present from my brother that had recently moved to Hoboken.
Last year, my wife and I were scheduled to come to Yankee Stadium for a three-game series against the Angels. Luckily for us, we had bought a house in Suburban Columbus and were forced to unload our tickets on eBay. I say fortunately because the Angels swept the set from our beloved Bombers.
This year was a much different outcome and I almost feel like it was fate that we weren't able to come last year. We saw two wins, and better yet, two offensive explosions by the Yankee bats. Saturday's game even saw Robinson Cano (our favorite player and the one we named our dog after) go 4-4 and collect three doubles. Before we showed up, Cano had been hitting .207. In the two games we witnessed, he's raised his batting average 25 points up to .232.
The Yankees combined for 29 hits and 25 runs in the two games we were there for. Yes, if you really think we're the reason why, I will gladly accept season tickets if you would like to purchase them for us and put us up in a New York City penthouse.
Back to my thoughts, is there any hitter in baseball as hot as Hideki Matsui? Just when I thought before the season began that he's at the tail's end of a good career, here he is seemingly getting a knock every time he comes up to the plate.
The last two games, Matsui, Cano, and Jason Giambi combined for 16 of those 29 hits. All three of those guys seem to be hitting their mid-season stride after slow starts, which means we should be seeing the Yankees climb the standings soon.
They're currently on a four-game winning streak and could cut the AL East lead to 5.5 games if Oakland is able take game two of their series with the Red Sawx. (Update, the Sawx were one-hit and lost 3-zip.)
To be honest, right now the Yankees are swinging the bats as well as they have in recent memory. They're spraying the field and stringing hits together; something that went scarce the last couple of Torre years. I must admit I may be a little biased towards Joe Giardi because I got fed up with Torre's "sit-back-and-wait-for-a-homer" attitude he converted to after they signed Giambi and A-Rod.
But I really think if the Yankees are able to get anything remotely close to what they displayed the last couple of days, production wise, they'll be right there in the end vying for another AL Pennant. Then again, I might be scoreboard watching for the wrong team right now, as it seems Tampa Bay is playing as well as anyone in the AL right now, just a half-game back of the East-leading Sawx.
We'll see how long the Rays last as well as how long it takes until the Yankees get near the top again. I have faith in our Pin-stripers.
Side note: The lady next to me on Friday said she was Bob Sheppard's neighbor and said she was told he was hoping to be back for the All-Star game. Certainly Good News! After all, his replacement mis-pronounced two Mariners names while I was listening closely on Friday.
Another side note: Apologies to the guy in the row in front of me who insisted I give the foul ball to "the nearest kid" who conventiently was identifying his son. Wait, nevermind, I'm not sorry. I got a foul ball in the last year of Yankee Stadium on my wife's first trip to New York City. The ball was on the seat next to you, if you really wanted the ball for your son, you should have got off your lazy ass and reached four feet for it. I spent over 100 bucks before Saturday's game on collectibles for my "Yankees Den", but the one I got today was the best one, and it was free. I ain't giving that one away, not for anyone or their little kid. Hell, I never was handed a ball from a stranger when I was little, why should I change my stance on this?
Another Another side note: What's with the God-awful drawings they put up on the scoreboard late in the games. They are meant to be pictures drawn of the players' faces, but instead look more like their asses. Friday night's pic of Robinson Cano more resembled the swelled head of Ken Griffey Jr. on the softball episode of the Simpsons. Today, Johnny Damons picture looked like Al Pacino, while Bobby Abrea's actually looked like Damon. Oh, and Derek Jeter's face looked more like a tan Joba Chamberlain. Whoever drew those pictures should be shot and all their shading tools broken in half before they can butcher another player again. Why the stadium would show those pics is beyond me; perhaps the entertainment it provided to the people in the stands because all the fans around me couldn't stop laughing. Shame on you Bronx High School Art Institute or whatever you're called.
