Yankees Sweep Orioles Amid Sterling Memorial

The Yankees were doing so well, looking like they might be launching a historic season, in spite of all their injuries.

And then, yesterday, we got word that John Sterling, Yankee broadcaster from 1989 to 2024, had passed away at the age of 87. To paraphrase the man himself: Ballgame over, life well lived over.

The Yankees played on, with the letters "JS" stitched in white on the backs of their caps. I suspect there will be a uniform sleeve mourning band or patch to come.

*

They began a weekend 4-game series with the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium II on Friday night. Will Warren, meant to plug one of the holes in the rotation caused by the long-term injuries to Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt, pitched very well again, going 6 1/3rd innings, allowing 2 runs, only 1 earned, on 3 hits and 1 walk, striking out 9.

His main support came in a 4-run 2nd inning that included home runs by José Caballero and Ben Rice. The Yankee bullpen allowed just 1 baserunner, a walk, and the Yankees began the series with a 7-2 win.

Ryan Weathers was also meant to be a hole-plugger. On Saturday afternoon, he only went 5 innings, because he had thrown 90 pitches. He allowed 3 runs, but only 1 earned, on 3 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5.

But Cody Bellinger had himself a very nice day. How nice was it? 4-for-4 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs. Trent Grisham also homered, and the Yanks beat the O's, 9-4.

On Sunday, in the last game that John Sterling would ever see, Max Fried had a rare struggling start, going just 5 1/3rd innings, throwing 107 pitches, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks, although he did strike out 9. The bullpen pitched shutout ball the rest of the way, allowing 3 hits and no walks. Fernando Cruz turned out to be the winning pitcher.

Rice hit another home run, his 12th of the season. Aaron Judge hit his 13th, to retake the American League lead. Returning from injury to make his 1st major league appearance of the season, highly-touted prospect Jasson Domínguez, "The Martian," went 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. With 7 runs in the bottom of the 8th, the Yankees pulled away, and won, 11-3.

The Yankees gave Sterling one last smile.

Last night, a pregame ceremony was held in his memory. Highlights of his calls were played on the big video board in center field. Two of his former broadcast partners, Michael Kay and Suzyn Waldman, walked onto the field, and each laid a bouquet of flowers on home plate.

Like Fried the day before, Cam Schlittler struggled, going 5 2/3rds innings, allowing only 1 run, but 7 hits and 3 walks. Fortunately, the bullpen threw shutout ball the rest of the way.

Judge went 2-for-4 with a walk and 4 RBIs, including a home run. It was the 382nd of his career. On the all-time list, this surpassed Albert Belle, and tied Frank Howard, Jim Rice and Ryan Howard (no relation to Frank). Next up on the all-time list: Larry Walker, with 383.

Yankees 12, Orioles 1. The Orioles did not hold a lead in any of the 36 innings of this series.

*

We are now 21 percent of the way into the season, 1/5th. The Yankees are 24-11, a pace for 111 wins, having won winning 13 of their last 15. They have done this without 3 projected starting pitchers, and also without Domínguez until Sunday.

They have also done this without their intended starting shortstop, Anthony Volpe. But Caballero has played so well, they Yankees decided to send Volpe to their Class AAA team in Scranton (actually, Moosic), Pennsylvania. They had to do either that, or promote him (meaning they would have to clear a roster spot), or waive him, or "designate him for assignment," or release him outright. They chose the path most likely to make him a contributing player in the future.

The Yankees have the best record in the American League. Only the Atlanta Braves, by half a game (1 more win and the same number of losses) have a better one in the National League. The Yankees lead the AL Eastern Division by a game and a half over the Tampa Bay Rays, 8 over the Toronto Blue Jays, 9 over the Orioles, and 10 over the despised Boston Red Sox.

Tonight, the Yankees start a home series with the Texas Rangers, from whom they took 2 out of 3 last week. Elmer Rodríguez makes his 2nd major league appearance and start, against Jacob deGrom. For his career, Rodríguez is 0-1, while the fragile deGrom is 98-66. Perhaps Rodríguez will end up with more career wins.

Come on you Pinstripes!

John Sterling, 1938-2026

Like George Steinbrenner, but not like George M. Cohan, who was actually born on a July 3, John Sterling was, to borrow Cohan's words, "a real live nephew of my Uncle Sam, born on the 4th of July."

Unlike Steinbrenner, on the day that John Sterling, under the name John Sloss, was born in Manhattan, July 4, 1938, the New York Yankees were in first place -- or, at least, tied for it, with the Cleveland Indians. They went on to win the World Series that season.

John grew up on the Upper East Side, and attended Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Boston University, and Columbia University in Manhattan, before leaving school to work at a small radio station in Wellsville, New York, in Alleghany County in the State's Southern Tier. Like many Jewish broadcasters, he changed his name to ward off anti-Semitism, becoming "John Sterling," choosing the name because it sounded like he could "shine."

In 1970, he moved to Baltimore, broadcasting for the NBA's Baltimore Bullets, who reached the NBA Finals in his 1st season with them. He also broadcast football games for Morgan State University, a historically black school in Baltimore.

He returned to New York, and hosted a sports-talk show on radio station WMCA, 570 on the AM dial. He broadcast basketball for the ABA's New York Nets, remaining with the for a while after they joined the NBA and then moved to New Jersey. He broadcast hockey for the NHL's New York Islanders and the WHA's New York Raiders, and football for the World Football League's New York Stars.

In 1981, he moved to Atlanta, hired by Turner Sports to broadcast for baseball's Braves and the NBA's Hawks. On July 4, 1985, the Braves played the Mets at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Braves owner Ted Turner scheduled a postgame 4th of July fireworks show. But the game was delayed by rain, and didn't start until 9:04 PM. And it went to extra innings. A lot of extra innings.

In the top of the 18th inning, the Mets took an 11-10 lead. The only pitchers the Braves had left were 3 starters and the current reliever, Rick Camp. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 18th, there was no player left to pinch-hit for Camp, except for the 3 starting pitchers. He came into that game 10-for-168 for his career -- a lifetime batting average of .060. 

Sterling turned to his broadcast partner, Ernie Johnson -- who pitched for the Braves in Milwaukee and was the father of basketball announcer Ernie Johnson Jr. -- and said, "I'll tell you, Ernie: If hits a home run to tie this game, this game will be certified as absolutely the nuttiest in the history of baseball."

I was 15 years old, and watched this game on WOR-Channel 9, but, because of Sterling's call, it's the TBS version that seems to have been preserved for posterity and shown on highlights. Here's what Sterling said:

And he hits it to deep left! Heep goes back! It is... GONE! Holy cow! Oh my goodness! I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Rick Camp! Rick Camp! I told you Ernie, if he hits it out... That certifies this game as the wildest, wackiest, most improbable game in history!

But the Mets took a 16-11 lead in the top of the 19th. In the bottom of the 19th, the Braves closed to 16-13, had 2 men on, and Camp came up again. This time, Met starter Ron Darling, who had come on as an emergency reliever, struck Camp out to end it.

In 1989, Sterling came back to New York, as the radio voice of the Yankees, on 770 WABC until 2001, on 880 WCBS from 2002 to 2013, and on WFAN from 2014 until his retirement in 2024. In 1989 and '90, his partner was former outfielder (including for the Yankees) Jay Johnstone. In 1991, it was Joe Angel, who became better known later as an announcer for the Baltimore Orioles.

In 1992, he teamed with Daily News baseball columnist Michael Kay. The pair split in 2002, when the YES Network was founded, and Kay became their lead announcer, although the pair still teamed up to do the introductions every Old-Timers Day. Kay was replaced as Sterling's partner by Charley Steiner, now better known as a Los Angeles Dodgers announcer. And in 2005, Steiner was replaced by WFAN announcer Suzyn Waldman.

Like legendary Yankee announcers Mel Allen (1939-64) and Phil Rizzuto (1957-96), John Sterling was a "homer." He was not objective, supporting the Yankees throughout his 36-season tenure, longer than any Yankee announcer so far, except Rizzuto. And, like Mel and Phil, he made no apologies for it.

When something unusual happened on the field, he would turn to Waldman and say, "You know, Suzyn, you just can't predict baseball." In fact, baseball is among the more predictable sports.

For example, when a Yankee player hit a long drive, you had a 50-50 chance of correctly guessing that Sterling would guess wrong. Like Allen and Rizzuto, he tended to watch the ball, not the outfielder. In contrast, Red Barber, who broadcast for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939 to 1953, before coming to the Yankees and staying through 1966, told would-be announcers to watch the outfielder: If he looks like he thinks he can catch the ball, don't act like it's going to be a home run.

And so, Sterling would go into his home run call: "Swung on, and there it goes! Deep to left! That ball is high! It is far! It is... gone!" But, as so often happened, it would be, "It is high! It is far! It is... caught at the wall!" Or, "It is high! It is far! It is... off the wall!" One time, he said, "It is high! It is far! It is... a foul ball! Wow, Suzyn, that ball was gone!" No, it wasn't, it was foul!

Just as Allen tended to make up nicknames for Yankee players, Sterling would tailor home run calls around the hitter's name:

* Bernie Williams: "Bernie goes boom! Bern, baby, Bern!"

* Jorge Posada: "Jorgie juiced one!" (Instead of the seemingly obvious, "Hip, hip, Jorge!")

* Tino Martinez: "The Bam-tino!" (A play on one of Babe Ruth's nicknames, The Bambino.")

* Derek Jeter, after being named team Captain in 2003: "El Capitan!"

* Jason Giambi: "The Giambino!" (Same.)

* Alex Rodriguez: "It's an A-bomb for A-Rod!"

* Hideki Matsui, who was nicknamed Godzilla because he was from Japan: "It's a thrilla from Godzilla!"

* Robinson Canó: "Robbie Canó, doncha know!"

* Mark Teixeira: "Mark sends a Tex message! You're on the Mark, Teixeira!"

* Nick Swisher: "Positively Swish-a-licious!"

* Curtis Granderson: "The Grandy Man can!"

* Giancarlo Stanton: This one should have been obvious: "It's a Giac by Giancarlo!" Instead, he used “Giancarlo, non si può de stopparlo!” Sterling called a friend at the Berlitz Academy of Foreign Languages. Loosely translated from Italian, the call means, “You cannot be stopped!”

* Didi Gregorius: "Didi Gregorius makes Yankee fans euphorious!"

* Aaron Judge: "All rise! Here comes the judge!" (Reminding everyone of the "Here Come Da Judge" sketch on Laugh-In.)

* Gleyber Torres: "It's Gleyber Day! And like a good Gleyber, Torres is there!"

And two straight players hitting them "go back-to-back, and a-belly-to-belly!"

Let's be honest: Some of them were better than others.

On May 27, 1991, the Yankees were struggling, but came from behind to win a Memorial Day matinee against the hated Boston Red Sox, on a 3-run walkoff home run by Mel Hall. Sterling yelled, "Ballgame over! Yankees win! The Yankees win!"

He began using it after every game. By the time of the 1996 postseason run, the "The" had gotten stretched out: "The-uh-uh-uh-uh Yankees win!" The bigger the game, the longer the "The." At the end of a postseason series, he would mention it. "Ballgame over! World Series over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!"

Eventually, a recording of it would be played by the Yankees' scoreboard operator, followed by Frank Sinatra's version of "Theme from New York, New York." In 2007, someone with a camera phone got a closeup of Sterling saying it, pumping his fists, shaking in his chair, and posted it on YouTube, calling it "The Sterling Shake."

Sterling was typical of Yankee figures: People who loved the Yankees loved him, and loved his whole shtick; people who hated the Yankees thought he was dumb and annoying.

He was not dumb. And the only time when he was annoying was when he went into "It is high! It is far... " and it turned out not to be gone.

When the YES Network was founded in 2002, Sterling became the host and narrator for its Yankeeography series. He also hosted the Yankees Classics series, including many games that he had broadcast himself. He won 16 Sports Emmy Awards, including 2 for Yankeeography.

He lived with his wife, Jennifer, in Teaneck, Bergen County, not far from the George Washington Bridge and The Stadium, until they divorced. They had 4 children. He then moved into The Avalon at Edgewater, overlooking the Hudson River, with a view of The Stadium. He lost that apartment in a fire in 2015, but found a new apartment in Edgewater.

His 1st game with the Yankees was on April 4, 1989, a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Twins at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. On October 19, 2019, he broadcast Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, a 6-4 loss to the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston. It was the game where Jose Altuve hit a Pennant-winning home run, and then yelled at his teammates not to rip his shirt open. In between, over 31 seasons and 5,060 games, John Sterling broadcast every Yankee game.

This included every single game in the careers of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera; the 3,000th hits of Jeter and Alex Rodriguez; A-Rod's 400th, 500th and 600th career home runs; Rivera's record-breaking 602nd save; the perfect games of David Wells, David Cone and Domingo Germán, and the no-hitters of Jim Abbott, Dwight Gooden and Corey Kluber; the Opening Series in Japan in 2004; the London Series in 2019; the last game at the old Yankee Stadium in 2008; the 1st game at the new Yankee Stadium in 2009; the AL Wild Card Game in 2015, '17, '18 and '21; the AL Wild Card Series in 2020; the AL Division Series in 1995, '96, '97, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07, '09, '10, '11, '12, '17, '18, '19, '20 and '22; the AL Championship Series in 1996, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '03, '04, '09, '10, '12, '17, '19 and '22; and the World Series in 1996, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '03 and '09.

But advancing age and heart trouble were taking their toll. He missed games in the COVID-shortened season of 2020. He was making more mistakes. On June 10, 2023, while broadcasting a game against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, he was hit in the head by a foul ball off the bat of Justin Turner. He stayed in the game.

On April 14, 2024, he called the Yankees' 8-7 loss to the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field in Cleveland. It was his 5,651st game for the Yankees, counting the postseason. The next day, arriving back in New York, he announced his retirement, effective immediately. It appears he left on his own terms. He said:

I am a very blessed human being. I have been able to do what I wanted, broadcasting for 64 years. As a little boy growing up in New York as a Yankees fan, I was able to broadcast the Yankees for 36 years. It's all to my benefit, and I leave very, very happy.

The Yankees won the Pennant in 2024, and he was invited back to broadcast an inning of the World Series, which the Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

John Sterling died today, May 4, 2026, at Englewood Hospital in Englewood, Bergen County, New Jersey, from longstanding heart trouble. He was 87 years old, 2 months short of his 88th birthday.

And the New York Yankees are in first place. Cliché Alert: He would have wanted it that way.

He is... gone. But he will never leave us.

UPDATE: That night, before the game, a pregame ceremony was held. Highlights of John's calls were played on the big screen behind center field, and Michael Kay and Suzyn Waldman walked out together and laid bouquets of flowers on home plate.

Reason for Cautious Optimism

Another week, another reason for cautious optimism for the 2024 Yankees.

They continued a roadtrip with a 12-4 record, and took on the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. Luis Gil allowed 3 runs in 5 innings. He struck out 6, but walked 7. The Yankees only got 4 hits, and lost, 3-1.

The next night, Carlos Rodón only got through 4 innings, and reliever Luke Weaver put the Yankees further behind. Alex Verdugo got 2 hits, but the rest of the team, combined, only got 4. They stranded a runner on 3rd in the top of the 9th, and lost, 5-4.

The Yankees now had a 3-game losing streak. It was time to step up, show some character, and let the fans know that this was a different team from the one of the last few years.

At first, it didn't look like it would happen. Marcus Stroman allowed 2 runs in the 2nd inning. They were down 4-1 after 7 innings, and it was the kind of moment when a fan wondered if the season was now going down the drain.

But in the 8th, Juan Soto hit a home run. Giancarlo Stanton led off the 9th with a tremendous home run, to make it 4-3. Gleyber Torres singled, and Verdugo doubled.

Oswaldo Cabrera grounded out, and the runners couldn't advance. But Jose Trevino singled Torres home, and the game was tied. Anthony Volpe popped up, but Soto drew a walk, and Aaron Judge singled Verdugo and Trevino home. 

Clay Holmes pitched a scoreless bottom of the 9th, and the Yankees salvaged the last game of the series, 6-4. Victor González, who got the last out in the 8th, was the winning pitcher.

*

They came home to face the Tampa Bay Rays. Clarke Schmidt allowed just 1 run over 5 1/3rd innings, but the Yankees were still down 1-0 going to the bottom of the 7th. It was another moment to find your inner Yankee.

They found it -- with help. Two errors, a single by Volpe, and a home run by Soto meant 5 runs. Ian Hamilton allowed 2 runs in the 8th, but Holmes got out of a jam in the 9th, and the Yankees won, 5-3.

The Saturday game followed an on-field ceremony honoring broadcaster John Sterling, retiring after 36 years with the team.

It was a pitchers' duel. Nestor Cortés pitched 7 innings of shutout ball, but the Yankees only got 4 hits all game. It went to extra innings scoreless, and a combination of the ghost runner and Caleb Ferguson's shakiness gave the Rays a 2-0 win in 10 innings. 

Yesterday, Gil pitched into the 6th inning, allowing 1 run, unearned, on 2 hits, although he walked 3. He struck out 9.

The Yankees got an RBI single from Anthony Rizzo in the 1st inning, followed in the 5th by 3 straight walks by Stanton, Rizzo and Torres -- and think of the lack of control it takes to walk all of those in a row -- and 3 straight RBI singles by Verdugo, Trevino and Cabrera.

Weaver was fine in relief of Gil, but Dennis Santana allowed 3 runs in the 8th. In the 9th, González got the 1st 2 outs, but walked Randy Arozarena, putting the tying run on base.

Harold Ramirez was sent up to pinch-hit. He's a right-handed hitter with a good record against lefthanded pitchers, like González. It was beginning to look like one of those games, especially after he hit a line drive up the middle that González couldn't field.

But González, showing excellent awareness, got to the ball, and wisely tossed it underhanded to 1st base. Although Ramirez slid, the ball got into Rizzo's glove first. Ballgame over. Yankees 5, Rays 4.

Someone online said that last year's Yankees would have lost that game. I'll take it further than that: Last year's Yankees would have e lost all 6 of these games.

*

Nevertheless, the Yankees finished the week at 15-7, in 1st place in the American League Eastern Division, half a game ahead of the Baltimore Orioles.

This has been done without Gerrit Cole, DJ LeMahieu or Jonathan Loáisiga. It's been done with Aaron Judge batting .183, Torres batting .200, Stanton batting .227, Rizzo batting .235, and catchers Trevino and Austin Wells batting a combined .171.

And it's been done with a few good relievers, but, as yet, no single closer.

Today, the Yankees start a 4-game series against the Oakland Athletics. Rodón starts against former Yankee JP Sears. It's an afternoon game, because tonight is the start of the Jewish holiday of Passover.

In all likelihood, it will be the last visit of the A's to Yankee Stadium as an Oakland team. Their current plan is to leave the Oakland Coliseum after this season, play 3 seasons in Sacramento, and then move to a retractable-roof stadium in Las Vegas for 2028.

Yankees Get Comeback Win vs. Orioles

The Yankees came home, and began a 4-game series with the Baltimore Orioles. Aaron Hicks made his return to Yankee Stadium, and got the hell booed out of him.

John Sterling, the longtime Yankee broadcaster celebrating his 85th birthday on this 4th of July, might have said to his WCBS radio partner Suzyn Waldman, "You know, Suzyn, you just can't predict baseball." Well, the easy thing to predict would have been that Hicks would have a big day, maybe even get the game-winning hit for the Orioles. But no, he only went 1-for-4, raising his batting average to a whopping .229.

On the other hand, Domingo Germán was far from perfect in his 1st start since his perfect game. He allowed 3 runs, 1 of them unearned, and didn't get out of the 5th inning. Fortunately, the Yankee bullpen got the job done the rest of the way: Nick Ramirez finished the 5th and got through the 6th, Ian Hamilton in the 7th, Tommy Kahnle in the 8th, and Clay Holmes in the 9th.

Anthony Volpe and Kyle Higashioka hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the 5th, to close the Yankees within 3-2. Volpe scored the tying run on a wild pitch in the 7th. And in the 8th, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo singled, and Harrison Bader hit a home run.

Yankees 6, Orioles 3. WP: Kahnle (1-0). SV: Holmes (10). LP: Yennier Canó (1-1, and no relation to Robinson).

The series continues this afternoon, with a 4th of July matinee. Clarke Schmidt starts against Kyle Gibson. Celebrate safely, everyone: Be careful on the grill, don't drink too much, and leave the fireworks to the professionals.

Jersey Boy Beats Yanks for Sox

Coming into last night's series opener with the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, the 2023 Yankees were 32-8 when scoring at least 4 runs.

At the little green pinball machine in the Back Bay, 4 runs are rarely enough. They certainly weren't last night.

Domingo Germán started for the Bronx outfit, and to say that he had nothing would be overkind. He allowed 7 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks -- in just 2 innings. One of those hits was a home run by Justin Turner. After Germán left the game in the 3rd, Turner hit a 2nd homer off Matt Krook. First, last weekend, Turner hits Yankee broadcaster John Sterling in the head with a foul ball back to the press box, now this.

A bit less sloppy than Germán, but ending up as the winning pitcher, was Joe Jacques. Born in Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, New Jersey, he is a graduate of Red Bank Regional High School and Manhattan College, which means he could have grown up as a Yankee Fan. But against these Yankees, he got his 1st major league win.

To paraphrase the old nursery rhyme: "Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques, gagnez-vous? Gagnez-vous?" (Brother James, do you win? Unfortunately for us, the answer is, "Oui.") 

Pretty much the only highlight for the Yankees was a home run by Josh Donaldson in the 8th inning. By then, however, the game was long out of hand. Red Sox 15, Yankees 5. WP: Joe Jacques (1-0). No save. LP: Germán (4-4).

The series continues tonight, a 7:15 start, on Fox. Clarke Schmidt starts against Bryan Bello.

Schmidt Happens, Yankees Lose to Orioles

Yankee radio broadcaster John Sterling likes to turn to his partner, Suzyn Waldman, and say to her, "You know, Suzyn, you just can't predict baseball."

That's a crock. Under Brian Cashman, the Yankees are so predictable. For example, when I heard that the starting pitcher for yesterday afternoon's game was going to be Clarke Schmidt, who's not a good relief pitcher, and messed up his chances of starter last Saturday, I knew the Yankees were going to lose the game.

Well, they did put up a good fight in yesterday's game, against the Baltimore Orioles, who were playing their home opener at Camden Yards. The thing is, though, when you score 6 runs, you should win.

It didn't, because, to coin a phrase, Schmidt happens. He started, because Cashman has assembled a Yankee starting rotation that would be the best in baseball if fully healthy, but never will be fully healthy. Schmidt gave up 2 runs in the 2nd inning, 2 more in the 3rd, and didn't get out of the 4th.

And yet, in the top of the 4th, Franchy Cordero hit his 1st Yankee home run, and we closed to within 4-3. In the 6th, we scored 3 runs, the key hit being a 2-run double by Oswaldo Cabrera, and led, 5-4.

Now, we needed some good work by the bullpen to hold the Birds off. We didn't get it. Ian Hamilton allowed a run in the 6th, and both Ron Marinaccio and Jimmy Cordero allowed a run in the 7th. The Yankees trailed, 7-5.

They did make a run at it. They started the 8th with a Giancarlo Stanton double, and singles by Gleyber Torres and Cabrera, to make it 7-6. But a pitching change meant 3 straight outs. After 2 strikeouts to start the 9th, Aaron Judge drew a walk, stole 2nd, and advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch. But there would be no fulfillment of the cliché about walks "killing" anybody: Anthony Rizzo got under a pitch, and flew out to left.

Orioles 7, Yankees 6. WP: Cionel Pérez (1-0). SV: Félix Bautista (3). LP: Marinaccio (0-1), though this loss is on Cashman first and Schmidt 2nd.

After the game, manager Aaron Boone said of Schmidt, "Stuff is fine. He has the pitches, and he has all the weapons. Can he get to that next level to be that starter, that front-line starter? That’s what it's gonna take. That's all there is to it."

Pardon my French, but DeFuque? Schmidt can't pitch! His "stuff" is not fine! He has no pitches! He has no weapons! In his case, "that next level" is mere major league competence! He shouldn't even be on the Yankee roster.

The Yankees have started the season 4-3. Not good enough, under any circumstances. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays have started the season 7-0.

The series continues tonight. Jhony Brito, who did a pretty good job of filling a hole in the rotation this past Sunday, starts against Cole Irvin.

Yanks Get Enough to Beat Mets, But Mikemen Are Out

The Yankees' loss to the Mets at Citi Field in the previous game was unacceptable. This time, they had to get enough runs to beat The Other Team. And they had to get good pitching, too.

They got it. After 3 straight bad starts, followed by a stint on the Injured List, Domingo German started, and was very stingy with the Flushing boys. He went 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and no walks, striking out 6. The only run he allowed was a solo home run by Jeff McNeil in the bottom of the 1st.

By the time McNeil struck, the Yankees had already done so. DJ LeMahieu led off the game with a double, and Aaron Judge followed with another to send him home. Met starter Jason Vargas got the next 2 batters out, but Gleyber Torres singled Judge home to make it 2-0.

McNeil's homer made it 2-1, but with 1 out in the top of the 6th, Didi Gregorius and Gio Urshela hit back-to-back home runs to make it 4-1. As in the 1st, a LeMahieu double and a Torres single led to a run in the 7th.

It's funny: They say Yankee Stadium II is too easy to hit home runs in, and Citi Field too hard. But they never talk about how the Yankees have no trouble hitting in Citi Field. They did in the previous game, but not in this one.

After German, the Yankees put in their "opener" team, with Chad Green pitching a scoreless 7th and 8th, and Nestor Cortes Jr. pitching a perfect 9th.

Yankees 5, Mets 1. WP: German (10-2). No save. LP: Vargas (3-4).

As for the Yankees' competitors in the American League Eastern Division: The Tampa Bay Rays allowed 6 runs in the 9th inning, bottling it to the Baltimore Orioles, 9-6; while the Boston Red Sox lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-3. This leaves the Yankees 6 1/2 games in front of the Rays, 11 ahead of the Sox. In the all-important loss column, 8 and 12, respectively.

In fact, the Yankees are currently tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for fewest losses in the major leagues, although the Dodgers have won 3 more, as the Yankees have 3 games in hand. But if the current MLB standings hold to the end of the season, the Yankees would have home-field advantage against any team in the postseason, except the Dodgers -- who lost a Game 7 of the World Series at home 2 years ago, and also lost a clinching Game 5 at home last year.

*

The Yankees go down to Tampa Bay to play the last 4 games before the All-Star Break. Tomorrow's game won't be a traditional 4th of July doubleheader, or even a matinee, unless you consider a 5:10 PM start to be a "day game." Then again, this is Florida we're talking about: Down there, 5:10 PM is dinner time.

Broadcaster John Sterling, who turns 81 tomorrow, will not be making the trip. He says he feels "a little under the weather." Personally, I think it's just an excuse to not have to go to Florida and see any baseball played in that stupid dome. After all, he didn't want to miss the MLB London Series against the Sox, or this Citi Series against the Mets. The days off surrounding the London Series, and the All-Star Break, mean he will miss fewer games than he ordinarily would.

His streak ends at 5,060 games. The last time he missed a game was in 1989, his 1st season with the Yankees, having taken 2 games off after the death of his sister.

His former radio partner, the voice of the YES Network since its inception in 2002, is also taking time off to recuperate. Michael Kay announced he's going to have surgery to repair a damaged vocal chord, and will be out for a month.

Ryan Ruocco, who has already filled in for Kay on YES, will be filling in for Sterling on WFAN, alongside Suzyn Waldman. YES has enough guys lined up who can fill in for Kay.

This is Sterling's 31st season as a Yankee broadcaster. Only Phil Rizzuto, 40, has done it longer. Kay has done it for 28 years, with only those 2 and Mel Allen (30) having done it longer.

So, get well, John and Michael, and Happy 4th of July to everyone else.

July 25, 1993: Fandom Reborn

July 25, 1993, 25 years ago: An era ended, in a way, and a new one began. And most baseball fans don't know, and probably wouldn't care. But it was a big day for me.

I had been a Yankee Fan since 1977, at age 7. I wasn't old enough to remember Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio or Mickey Mantle. I was a little too young to remember the pre-renovation original Yankee Stadium, and slightly too young to remember Chris Chambliss hitting a home run to win the 1976 American League Pennant.

But I do remember the Yankees winning the World Series in 1977 and 1978, and the Pennant in 1981. I remember Reggie Jackson's 3 home runs (well, 2 of them, as my parents made me go to bed, as it was a school night), the 14-game comeback against the Boston Red Sox, Bucky Dent's home run, Thurman Munson's blast against the Kansas City Royals in the Playoffs and his death in a plane crash the next year, Ron Guidry's strikeouts, Graig Nettles' miraculous plays at 3rd base, Goose Gossage dominating in relief, Dave Righetti's 4th of July no-hitter in 1983, Dave Winfield's tomahawks into left field, and Don Mattingly's big hits.

But I also remember the near-misses of the 1980s, team owner George Steinbrenner's managerial musical chairs, the triumphs and tragedies of Billy Martin, the collapse at the end of the 1980s, and George's "temporary lifetime" banishment in 1990.

The rebuilding of the Yankees under general manager Gene Michael was underway. By 1993, the Mets were a mess both competitively and behaviorally, and the Yankees were ready to contend again. The Mets have not been definitively the best baseball team in New York ever since, not even during the 2015 season, when they won the National League Pennant and the Yankees lost in the AL Wild Card Game.

Buck Showalter was the manager. Mattingly was already the last holdover from the Eighties. Now, there were dependable veterans like Wade Boggs, Jimmy Key and Paul O'Neill, and rising players like Bernie Williams. More trades would be made, and more prospects would develop.

But you could sense that something good was happening. We didn't yet know if, say, 1996 would be a new 1976, or a false dawn that would collapse by 1999 as it did in 1989. But things were looking good, and the Yankees spent the Summer of '93 battling the defending World Champion Toronto Blue Jays for the lead in the AL Eastern Division.

On July 17, I was with the youth group at the Aldersgate United Methodist Church in my hometown of East Brunswick, New Jersey. Given our location, some of us were Yankee Fans, a few of us were Met fans, and a couple of us rooted for the Philadelphia Phillies, who were in the other direction, but not much further away than New York was. (The church was 49 miles from Yankee Stadium, 50 miles from Shea Stadium, and 63 miles from Veterans Stadium. The ballparks have changed, the distances have not.)

We spent the night of July 17-18 at a church in Fredericksburg, Virginia. We had lunch on the 18th in Dunn, North Carolina, just off Interstate 95. At Triangle Waffle, I had the best hamburger I'd ever had to that point. It was so good, I ordered a second for the road.

We arrived at Kingstree, South Carolina, with the Carolinas caught in the middle of a terrible heat wave and drought, while the Midwest, especially Iowa and Illinois, had some of the worst flooding in American history. It was a stark contrast. The State, South Carolina's largest paper, based in the State capital of Columbia, had a cartoon showing the State flag, with the traditional Palmetto tree replaced by a cactus.

At night, inside my sleeping bag (we were about 7 to a room), I would fiddle with the radio dial on my Walkman, and picked up the New York radio stations and their baseball broadcasts. I got broadcasts from as far west as St. Louis and New Orleans. (Then as now, New Orleans had a Triple-A team, but I didn't get their game, only a news station.) I still have that Walkman, although it no longer works. And it's my fault: I left it unused so long, the batteries leaked, and ruined the interior.

In the morning, with the Internet still just a rumor to me (we were still using the phrase "the information superhighway"), I would get newspapers. I saw the color photo of the press box fire at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium on the front page of the Charleston, South Carolina-based Post and Courier. Color pictures in newspapers was still a big deal, and the Atlanta Braves were the closest Major League Baseball team to the house where we were staying, but it was still over 300 miles to the west, with Baltimore (and Washington, then without an MLB team) over 450 miles to the northeast.

The fire was put out, no one was hurt, the regularly-scheduled game was played, and, with newly-acquired Fred McGriff hitting a home run, they beat the St. Louis Cardinals.

We spent 5 days fixing up a house, and at the end, were treated to a Carolina chicken dinner. Too spicy for me. On Saturday, the 24th, we headed for the shore and the boardwalk -- not the Jersey Shore, but Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Not only was I not impressed, but it was about as rednecky a place as you could get and still have a beach.

We spent the night at a church in Raleigh, North Carolina. According to the pictures on the wall in the foyer, one of the church leaders was named Michael Jordan. Sure, it's a fairly common name, but we were in North Carolina -- and the news of the Michael Jordan's father having disappeared was in the news. He hadn't yet been found, and we didn't yet know that he'd been murdered.

And so, that Sunday, July 25, 1993, we went up first Interstate 85, then I-95, heading north, back home. And we went back and forth, listening to whatever radio broadcast of baseball we could pick up. The Yankees were then on WABC, AM 770, but we couldn't yet reach them in Virginia.

Nor could we pick up the Mets on WFAN, 660; and it didn't matter, anyway, because they were playing the Dodgers in Los Angeles, and were a 4:05 PM Eastern Time start. Same with the Phillies, at AM 1210, then with the call letters WOGL, as they were playing the Giants in San Francisco. But the Baltimore Orioles, at WBAL, 1090 (a.k.a. "Radio 11"), were loud and clear. There was, of course, no Washington Nationals yet.

Jon Miller, now with the Giants, was then the voice of the Orioles, and he has the perfect voice for baseball on the radio. And he told us that the Yankees were already losing 8-0 to the California Angels in the 2nd inning. Melido Pérez had already been knocked out of the box. Forget it, it was over.

How over was it? According to Baseball-Reference.com, at that point, the Angels had a 97 percent chance of winning the game.

Among the scoring was a home run by Charles "Chili" Davis. This guy always hit the Yankees well. I was so glad the Yankees acquired him in 1998, not for anything he could do for them, but for the fact that he would no longer be doing anything to them. He did, however, help the Yankees win the World Series in 1998 and 1999 -- but in 1993, we had no idea of what was ahead for the Bronx Bombers.

Mike Stanley, then the Yankee catcher, led off the bottom of the 2nd with a home run, but it was still only 8-1. Nobody expected any comeback.

Anyway, we went back to the Orioles at 1090. They were in Minneapolis, and ended up losing to the Minnesota Twins 5-2.

Other American League scores that day: Boston Red Sox 8, Oakland Athletics 1 at Fenway; Cleveland Indians 11, Seattle Mariners 9 at Municipal Stadium; Detroit Tigers 3, Kansas City Royals 0 at Tiger Stadium; Milwaukee Brewers 7, Chicago White Sox 3 on the South Side; Toronto Blue Jays 9, Texas Rangers 7 in Arlington.

In the National League: Florida Marlins 7, Cincinnati Reds 3 at Joe Robbie Stadium; Braves 13, Pittsburgh Pirates 1 at Three Rivers; Chicago Cubs 3, Houston Astros 1 in 11 innings at the Astrodome; Cardinals 5, Colorado Rockes 4 in 11 innings in Denver; and Montreal Expos 5, San Diego Padres 4 in 10 innings at Jack Murphy Stadium.

We got stuck in traffic on the Virginia side of the Potomac, found our way around the Capital Beltway, and headed back up I-95 toward Baltimore. But by the time we reached Camden Yards, vacant as the O's were on the road, Miller was giving the out-of-town scoreboard, and informed us that the Yankees had come back, and it was 8-7 Angels in the 7th inning.

Now, WABC was coming in. And the Yankees got the 1st 2 men on in the bottom of the 8th. But they couldn't get those men home, and still trailed 8-7 after 8.

By now, the Mets' game in L.A. had begun. But there was only 1 Met fan in that van, 1 Phillie fan, and about 10 Yankee Fans. We were sticking with the Pinstripes.

Bottom of the 9th. Steve Frey pitching for the Halos. Danny Tartabull led off, and drew a walk. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Stanley came up, and hit what we later learned (on the TV news) was a perfect double-play grounder to short, but Gary DiSarcina let it go between his legs, Bill Buckner-style. For the 2nd straight inning, the Yankees had 1st and 2nd on, and nobody out.

Cliché Alert: "He runs well for a catcher." Well, nobody ever used that cliché on Stanley, so Showalter sent in a pinch-runner: Hensley Meulens, once a tremendous prospect known as "Bam-Bam" for his power, but, by this point, a massive disappointment.

Bernie Williams was at the plate. Angel catcher Ron Tingley couldn't handle a Frey pitch, and it was a passed ball. Now, the tying and winning runs were in scoring position. In spite of the fact that nobody was out, Angel manager Robert "Buck" Rodgers ordered Bernie intentionally walked, to load the bases and set up a force play at home.

The batter was Paul O'Neill. He hit a fly ball to left, deep enough to score Tartabull with the tying run.

Up came the shortstop. Number 2. No, not Derek Jeter. We had barely heard any whispers about him, as he was in only his 2nd, 1st full, season of pro ball. This was Mike Gallego, a part of the Oakland Athletics' quasi-dynasty of 1988-92, and a decent player, but hardly what Jeter would become. He flew out to center. Meulens, who hadn't advanced to 3rd on O'Neill's fly, did so now. The winning run was on 3rd, but there were 2 outs.

Somewhere between the Baltimore Beltway and the Delaware State Line, we were going nuts in that van.

The batter was Pat Kelly. A good 2nd baseman, and an okay hitter. Nothing special. Except for this moment. He faced 1 pitch, and hit a sharp line drive to left field. Meulens scored. Yankees 9, Angels 8. John Habyan was the winning pitcher, in relief. Attendance: 50,429.

I thought I could hear Phil Rizzuto yell, "Holy cow!" from 150 miles away. The game was on WPIX-Channel 11, and, as I learned while watching the 11:00 edition of WABC-Channel 7's Eyewitness News, he did yell it.

There is an urban legend that says that this was the 1st time that John Sterling, on the radio, used the words, "Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeee Yankees win!" But I never heard him drag the "the" out until Bernie's walkoff home run in Game 1 of the 1996 AL Championship Series against Baltimore. He did use "Yankees win! The Yankees win!" as early as the Jim Leyritz Game, Game 2 of the 1995 AL Division Series against Seattle.

But in that van on that warm Sunday afternoon on the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway in Cecil County, northeastern Maryland, we were bouncing around that van like a pinball machine. Until the 1 Met fan asked us if we could now switch to the Mets broadcast.

So we did. By the time we got back to the church in East Brunswick, the Mets were on their way to wrapping up a 4-0 win over the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. So, for the day, New York 2, Los Angeles 0. Fine with me. Like the O's, the Phils lost 5-2, to the Giants.

I was a little older than most of the kids on the trip: 23, as opposed to these 14-to-18-year-old high schoolers and recent graduates. It was the 1st time that I felt like an adult baseball fan.

That week, between the newspapers and the radio, it felt like my fandom, for both the sport and for my individual team, had been reborn.

And the next few years would both test and reward my fandom.

I can't say I loved every minute of it. But I loved a lot of those minutes!

Clint Makes My Day, But This Changes Nothing

Actor-director Clint Eastwood is famous for, among other things, his line from the 1983 Dirty Harry film Sudden Impact: "Go ahead, make my day."

Yesterday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, Clint Frazier made our day against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Luis Severino started for the Yankees, and went 7 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks, striking out 10. The fact that he stood to be the losing pitcher when he left is not his fault: In the top of the 1st inning, with Eric Thames on 2nd and 2 out, home plate umpire Mike Estabrook ruled that Travis Shaw was hit with a pitch.

Joe Girardi went out to argue it, to no avail. The instant replay showed that Shaw was not hit. The next batter was Domingo Santana, and he hit a home run to make it, very unfairly, 3-0 Brewers.

The Yankees took 2 runs back in the bottom of the 7th, one on a triple by Frazier. Dellin Betances calmed our fears about him a little, pitching a perfect 8th. Girardi actually went against the book (or his binder), and brought his closer in to pitch the 9th in spite of trailing. It worked, as Aroldis Chapman struck out the side.

Didi Gregorius led off the bottom of the 9th with a walk. Cliche Alert: Walks can kill you. Fortunately, this time, it worked in the Yankees' favor. Chase Headley struck out, but Jacob Ellsbury drew another walk.

Frazier came to the plate, and showed why his nickname is Red Thunder: The redhead drilled a pitch 423 feet into the bullpen, right in front of the Jersey Mike's sign.

Sending a message to this Jersey Mike, perhaps? To let me know that trading Andrew Miller to Cleveland for him last year was the right thing to do? If so, he's premature at best: One walkoff win doesn't cancel out a couple of dozen games lost because Miller wasn't available. So, in the long term, this changes nothing.

And broadcaster John Sterling did his best to ruin it with his home run call: "Oh, that Fraziah, he'll amaze ya!"

Nevertheless, it is a win, and I gladly take it: Yankees 5, Brewers 3. WP: Chapman (2-0). No save. LP: Corey Knebel (0-2).

And the Boston Red Sox lost, so the Yankees close to within 3 1/2 games of 1st place, only 2 in the loss column.

The series, and the official 1st half of the regular season, concludes tomorrow night. Masahiro Tanaka starts for New York, and Jimmy Nelson for Milwaukee.

Then it's the All-Star Break, and the Yankees resume on Friday night, in Boston, against The Scum.

Gardner Gives Yanks 1st Walkoff Win of 2016

First walkoff win of the season for the Yankees. Ranger Scum eliminated from Playoffs. Arsenal disgusted me.

Shut up, Meat Loaf: I wanted three out of three.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon in New York, the kind of day that just demands a baseball game at Yankee Stadium. Well, we had to settle for Yankee Stadium II, instead of the real thing. (You maniacs, you tore it down! Damn you all to Hell!)

But it looked like it was going to be one of those days for the 2012-present Yankees. Over the 1st 8 2/3rd innings, we got just 2 runs on 6 hits.

Ah, but until sundown yesterday, it was Passover. "Why is this night different from all the others?" Well, for one reason, Joe Girardi actually let a Yankee starter who was pitching well for 6 innings also pitch the 7th. Masahiro Tanaka went 7 full, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and only 1 walk. A nice performance.

But after 7 full, he'd thrown 97 pitches, and you know Girardi. Actually, he handled this one just right: Dellin Betances pitched a perfect 8th, and Andrew Miller a scoreless 9th. If I smack Girardi when he blows it with the pitching situation, I have to credit him when he gets the pitching situation right.

If we were going to lose this game, it was going to be because we weren't hitting. Alex Rodriguez: 0-for-4, lowering his batting average to .132. Didi Gregorius: 0-for-4, although at .264 going into today's game, I can't be upset with him. Chase Headley: 0-for-3, .159. Carlos Beltran, who turns 39 today, 0-for-3, although he did draw a walk, and his BA of .279 is hardly bad. Mark Teixeira is only batting .218, but he did get a hit yesterday.

The hero of the game was Brett Gardner. He went 3-for-5, including singling home Brian McCann in the 7th. The other Yankee run came on a wild pitch in the 1st, so even though we got a run, nobody got a run batted in.

With 2 outs and nobody on base in the bottom of the 9th, and extra innings and a likely Girardi bullpen screwup looming, Gardner came up to bat against Erasmo Ramirez. He cracked a drive deep to right field. Home run.

Cue John Sterling: "Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!"

Yankees 3, Rays 2. WP: Miller (1-0). No save. LP: Ramirez (4-1). It was the 1st walkoff win of the season. It took us long enough: 16 games.

The Yankees have now taken the series from the Rays, and go for the sweep this afternoon. Michael Pineda starts against Drew Smyly.

Come on you Pinstripes!

Triple Your Pleasure, Triple Your Fun

The Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays last night, in the opener of a 4-game series at the White Elephant. That's the important thing.

That a triple play was turned, and that Yangervis Solarte hit his 1st major league home run, are nice bonuses, but hardly necessary.

It doesn't matter how the game is won, as long as it is -- within the rules of the game, of course. After all, we don't want to be so desperate for victory that we'll cheat like that lot up I-95.

*

The joke is that CC Sabathia pitches better when he's fat than when he seems to have lost weight. Well, he must've eaten some Cuban-style sandwiches down in Tampa, because he was pitching like the CC of 2007-09 -- 2007 in Cleveland, 2008 in Milwaukee, and 2009 in The Bronx. He went 7 innings, allowed 2 runs, only 1 earned, on 7 hits and 2 walks, with 6 strikeouts.

Let the Big Dog eat!

And the Yankees broke out the lumber. In addition to Solarte opening his account (as they would say if he were a soccer player scoring his first goal for the club), Alfonso Soriano hit his 4th home run of the season, and Brian McCann, an injury concern going in, hit his 3rd.

Sadly, John Sterling muffed the call. Instead of saying, "Yangervis provides service!" Or "He's Solar-te powered!" he went with "Never nervous, Yangervis!"

"Never Nervous" was a nickname bestowed upon basketball center Pervis Ellison, the freshman who led the University of Louisville to the National Championship in 1986. But injuries plagued his pro career, and Danny Ainge nicknamed him "Out of Service Pervis." (The native of Savannah, Georgia is now 47, and coaches basketball in South Jersey.)

Then, Sterling made it even worse. Perhaps not knowing that Domenico Modugno's 1958 worldwide smash "Volare" has been appropriated for songs about soccer players, he sang, "Solarte, whoa-oh! Solarte, whoa-oh-oh-oh!"

Johnny Sterling, he's a dork!
Worst broadcaster in New York!
Da-dah, da-dah! Da-dah, da-dah!

At any rate, the most talked-about play of the evening came in the bottom of the 2nd. Evan Longoria led off with a double to center. Then Wil Myers worked CC for a walk. So, 1st and 2nd, nobody out. The Yankees were leading 4-0, but CC has already had a couple of starts blighted by the dreaded onebadinningitis, and there was concern that this might be another. One bad inning can ruin your whole day.

The batter was Sean Rodriguez. He hit a line shot to Solarte, who ran over to tag 3rd base for a force play. One out. Solarte threw to Brian Roberts, who stepped on 2nd for another force. Two out. Roberts then threw to Scott Sizemore, covering 1st. Three out. Triple play.

The final was Yankees 10, Rays 2. WP: Sabathia (2-2). No save, although Dellin Betances pitched 2 scoreless innings in relief of CC. LP: Rays ace David Price (2-1).

Oh yeah, the Rays got over 28,000 fans last night. I'm guessing the 20,000 were rooting for the Yankees, and the 8,000 were rooting for the Rays.

The series continues tonight, with Hiroki Kuroda pitching against former Baltimore ace Erik Bedard. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM.

7:10? Which means the game will end around quarter after 10? No wonder nobody goes to Rays' games: For all those retirees, it's past their bedtime!

Yankees Honor Mariano, Then Dishonor His Generation of Yankees

I'm still trying to catch up. From September 23:

On occasions like Old-Timers' Day or the retirement of a uniform number, the current players owe it to the former players to put up a good fight. Not necessarily to win, but to at least look like they're trying to win.

Yesterday was Mariano Rivera Day, the 1st "day" for a player at the new Yankee Stadium. The Yankees honored Mariano with the retirement of his uniform number 42, and the presentation of a few gifts. (Implicit in this is the eventual dedication of a Plaque in his honor at Monument Park, but they can't cast the Plaque until his career truly is over, and they have final statistics that they can put on it.)

On hand were many representatives of the 1996-2003 Yankee Dynasty: Joe Torre, Bernie Williams, Paul O'Neill, Jorge Posada, Tino Martinez, David Cone, John Wetteland, Jeff Nelson, Hideki Matsui. And, of course, the still-active Derek Jeter and yesterday's starting pitcher, the also-retiring Andy Pettitte.

Also on hand were members of the family of Jackie Robinson, for whom Number 42 was retired throughout baseball, with the provision that players then wearing it could continue to do so for the rest of their careers. And, 16 years later, Mariano is the last one. A Plaque was unveiled in Monument Park honoring Jackie, making him the 1st player who never played for the Yankees to be honored there.

(Jackie is, of course, a part of the history of the old Yankee Stadium, having played World Series games there for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, '49, '52, '53, '55 and '56 -- most notably stealing home plate in Game 1 in '55.)

The opposing San Francisco Giants also presented Mo with a gift. Their pitching coach is Dave Righetti, who had been the Yankees' all-time saves leader until Mo surpassed him. "Rags" never won a Series with the Yankees (though he was a part of the 1981 Pennant as a rookie starter), but he's helped the Giants win 2 of the last 3 World Series. (They won't make the Playoffs this time.)
With all that talent on hand, you'd think the Yankees would have at least put up an effort.

*

Certainly, Pettitte did. He had a perfect game going until the 5th inning, before walking a batter, who was subsequently erased in a double play.

And then, on WCBS -- the Yankees have announced they'll be on WFAN next season -- John Sterling said the N-word.

No, not that N-word. Not the one that Jackie Robinson faced time and time again in his struggle first to integrate baseball, then to make it fully integrated, and later to make it more fair for those who integrated it. Sterling said, "Andy Pettitte has pitched a no-hitter through 5 innings."

It's one of "the unwritten rules of baseball" that you do not say the word "no-hitter" while one is in progress, because it will jinx the pitcher.  You can say, "He hasn't allowed any hits." Or, "He is pitching hitless baseball." Or, "No (member of the opposing team) has gotten a hit yet." Anything, so long as the word "no-hitter" is not used.

Author John Thorn, who's written a bunch of books about baseball and is now MLB's Official Historian, once wrote, "Strangely, the words 'perfect game' can be spoken without similar effect."

But Sterling said, "no-hitter."

I've heard broadcasters use the word plenty of times. When Andy Hawkins had one going for the Yankees against the Chicago White Sox in 1990, Phil Rizzuto used the word on WPIX-Channel 11 many times. Hawkins kept the no-hitter, but he walked a few batters, and errors by Mike Blowers at 3rd base, Jim Leyritz in left field (he was a rookie and had never played the position before) and Jesse Barfield (normally a great fielder but he lost the ball in the Comiskey Park sun) led to 4 ChiSox runs.

Hawkins pitched 8 innings -- with the home team winning, a bottom of the 9th was not necessary -- and allowed no hits, but lost, 4-0. A candidate for the title of "the strangest game I've ever seen," right up there with that 4th of July marathon the Mets played in Atlanta in 1985.

At least 5 times, on YES, Michael Kay has used the word "no-hitter" and jinxed a game. Usually, when something like that happens, it doesn't matter: The pitcher gives up a hit, and still wins. Sometimes, with help from the bullpen. But it usually only costs the pitcher's team the no-hitter, not the game.

This time, Sterling said, "Andy Pettitte has pitched a no-hitter through 5 innings." Naturally, in the 6th, Andy allowed a hit, and then a run.

That wouldn't have been a big deal, except it was only 1-0 Yankees at that point. Mark Reynolds, who drove the Yankees so crazy last year for the Baltimore Orioles and has been a good pickup this year, hit a home run.

Andy pitched into the 8th, but allowed the runner that would decide the game. Joe Girardi pulled him, and, to a standing ovation, left the mound at Yankee Stadium (either one) as an active pitcher for the last time. (Assuming he doesn't get injured, he has one more start this season, it's on the road, and he will not be pitching in the Playoffs. No current Yankee will.)

David Robertson couldn't prevent the run from scoring, and Girardi had to bring Mo in for a 5-out save. Bringing him in for more than a 3-out save is always a risk, as he has been damn near unhittable for 3 outs since 1997, but for more than that, he's had his troubles.

(It's why, when people call him "the greatest relief pitcher ever," you have to consider the guys in the pre-Dennis Eckersley days who pitched the last 2, 3, even 4 innings of games, including Yankee stars Joe Page, Luis Arroyo, Sparky Lyle and Goose Gossage.)

Mo got the 5 outs without making it any worse. But the Yankees didn't get the job done with the bats. Until Reynolds led off the 3rd with his homer, the Yankees had no baserunners. Ichiro Suzuki drew a 2-out walk that inning, but got caught stealing. Robinson Cano singled with 1 out in the 4th, but was stranded. Brendan Ryan doubled with 2 out in the 5th, but was stranded. With 2 out in the 6th, Cano singled and Alfonso Soriano walked, but Curtis Granderson struck out.

Eduardo Nunez led off the 7th with a single. Reynolds struck out. Ryan singled, but a reliever came in and struck out Vernon Wells and Ichiro.

Alex Rodriguez led off the 8th with a single, and Cano doubled pinch-runner Zoilo Almonte to 3rd. But Soriano grounded to 3rd, and Almonte was thrown out at home, leaving runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out. Granderson struck out again. Nunez singled, but Cano tried to score and was thrown out at home. And the Yankees went out meekly, 1-2-3, in the bottom of the 9th.

Giants 2, Yankees 1. This is not the right way to honor Mariano. Indeed, it was as if an entire generation of Yankees had seen everything they worked for planted firmly in the past, with the present a mess and the future a mist.

*

So here is where Major League Baseball stands, with 1 week remaining in the regular season:

* The Boston Red Sox have clinched the American League East. The Oakland Athletics have clinched the AL West. The Detroit Tigers have a Magic Number of 2 to clinch the AL Central.

* If the current Wild Card standings hold, the Tampa Bay Rays will get the 1st AL berth, and the Cleveland Indians the 2nd. The Texas Rangers are a game and a half back, the Kansas City Royals 3 1/2, the Yankees 4, and the Baltimore Orioles 4 1/2.

* The Yankees' elimination number is 3: Any combination of Yankee losses and Cleveland wins adding up to 3, and the Yankees don't make the Playoffs, for only the 2nd time in the last 19 seasons. And since the Indians have 3 home games against the Chicago White Sox followed by 3 road games against the Minnesota Twins, who have already lost 94 and 90 games, respectively, and the Yankees still have to play 3 home games against the Rays before closing with 3 games at the Houston Astros (whose 105 losses are easily the most in the majors), it seems incredibly unlikely that the Yankees can make it. Even if the Indians do take a nosedive, the Rangers would also have to lose a good chunk of their last 7 games to give the Yankees a shot, and they're playing the hopeless Astros. So Yogi Berra can safely call Girardi and say, "It's over."

* The Atlanta Braves have clinched the National League East. The Los Angeles Dodgers have clinched the NL West. The St. Louis Cardinals have a Magic Number of 5 to clinch the NL Central, but the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates are both only 2 games back, so that race is hardly decided.

* The Reds and Pirates, in addition to still having a shot to overtake the Cardinals for the NL Central, currently hold the 2 NL Wild Card slots. The Washington Nationals are 5 games behind them, and are almost certainly out of it.

Oh well, my fellow Yankee Fans. We didn’t give it a good shot, and we lose Mariano and Andy, and we have the unresolved A-Rod situation, and rumors are running rampant that Jeter will only play one more year, due to his contract situation. And CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda really tailed off. And we don't know if Ivan Nova can keep up his comeback. And we don't really have a 5th starter. And Robertson hasn't exactly looked like a worthy successor to Mariano the last couple of years. And, at least for the moment, we still have Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Boone Logan stinking up the bullpen.

And Joe Girardi refuses to throw out his binder, and with George Steinbrenner dead, it doesn’t look like he's about to be fired. And Kevin Long is still the hitting instructor. And Brian Cashman is still the general manager. And the hated Red Sox won the Division.

Not good.

Oh well, you've still got the New York Football Giants to root for, right?

Not really: As legendary WCBS-Channel 2 sportscaster Warner Wolf would say, "If you had the Giants and 37 points, you lost! Come on, give me a break!"

Suzyn Waldman CAN Predict Baseball -- In This Case, It Wasn't a Good Thing

During every Yankee radio broadcast, with New York station WCBS 880 as the flagship station, sometimes more than once, play-by-play announcer John Sterling will turn to color commentator Suzyn Waldman, and say, "You know, Suzyn, you just can't predict baseball."

It's not true: There are enough tendencies in baseball that decent guesses as to what will happen are very possible. What John means is that baseball is a game full of surprises, which is definitely true.

In the bottom of the 2nd inning of last night's game with the Oakland Athletics (or "Philadelphia Athletic B.C.," as they'd still be known if baseball followed the example of English soccer), Brandon Moss hit a home run off Phil Hughes. That made it 2-0 A's. The A's stretched it to 3-0 in the 5th, knocking Hughes out, before the Yankees got a run back in the 6th (on a Mark Teixeira sacrifice fly) and another in the 7th (on a Jayson Nix single) to make it 3-2.  

Joba Chamberlain began the bottom of the 8th by pitching to Moss. He had nothing on his pitches: He got the 1st 2 pitches over for strikes, but couldn't find the plate after that. He kept throwing high fastballs, and either they were called balls or Moss fouled them off. The count went full, 3-and-2.  I thought, "Uh-oh, either he's gonna walk a bunch of batters, or he'll get the ball down only enough to allow somebody to turn on a high fastball."

Now, I'm not saying I predicted what would happen, because, let's face it, I gave equal possibility to a different outcome, albeit one also deleterious. (In case any Met fans are reading this: "Deleterious" means "not good.")

But Suzyn did predict it: She suggested that if Joba didn't get his pitches lower, Moss might hit another home run.

Joba put one just a little lower, low enough to swing at, and Moss drilled it to dead center field. It hit the wall of the Oakland Coliseum's Mount Davis football bleachers and bounced back onto the field. As Sterling pointed out, the ground rules make that a home run. Moss' 2nd of the game.

And instead of that annoying catchphrase (one of several that he has), John said of Suzyn, "And my partner was prophetic!"

Apparently, she can predict baseball!

At that point, I snapped off the radio. Because I know how Joba Chamberlain's mind works. He's a front-runner: When things are going well, he's a great pitcher.  But at the slightest hint of adversity, he falls apart.

After I turned the radio off, he got a popup and a flyout, but also allowed 2 singles, turning 4-2 A's into 5-2 A's. Joe Girardi consulted his binders full of strategies, and brought in Preston Claliborne, and he walked the next batter, before striking out the next to end the damage.

But it was too late: In the 9th, Travis Hafner struck out, Vernon Wells popped up, Kevin Youkilis walked, Ichiro Suzuki singled, bringing up the tying run, but Nix grounded out to end it.

WP: Dan Straily (4-2). SV: Grant Balfour (17). LP: Hughes (3-5).

The series concludes this afternoon, a 3:30 start our time. Hiroki Kuorda starts for us, Jarrod Parker for them.

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Elsewhere, in connection with the Yankees, Facebook recommended that I "Like" Boone Logan.

In the immortal words of Maya Wilkes (played by Golden Brooks on Girlfriends)...

OH, HELL, NO!

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Boston vs. Chicago is a rare Finals matchup. In spite of all the teams from those cities, they've only met in a sport's final twice before: 1918 World Series, Red Sox over Cubs; and 1985-86 Super Bowl, Da Bears over Patriots. In the NBA, it hasn't even been possible since 1980, when the Bulls were moved from the Midwest Division in the Western Conference to the Central Division in the Eastern Conference. It is still possible in the World Series, the Super Bowl, and, as we've now seen, the Stanley Cup Finals.

Between them, the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks have reached the Stanley Cup Finals 28 times - but this is the 1st time they have done so against each other. They reached the Finals in back-to-back seasons in 1938-39 (Hawks first), 1943-44 (Bruins first), 1971-72 (Hawks), 1972-73 (Bruins), 1973-74 (Hawks), and 2010-11 (Hawks), and came pretty close to facing each other in 1990, but it's never happened until now.

They made for lost time: Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals went to 3 overtimes, before Andrew Shaw won it for the Hawks at 12:08 of the 3rd OT. It was the 4th-longest game in Finals history. One Hawks fan said on Twitter that, not having had this matchup before, hockey fans have been ripped off for the last 80 years.

The Bruins had led 3-1, but, remembering they're from Boston, they choked. Three-one, and you fucked it up!

There is still one "Original Six" matchup that has never happened in the Finals: The Hawks and the New York Rangers. Like Hawks-Bruins, it has happened in earlier rounds.

The one that's happened the most often? The Detroit Red Wings have played the Toronto Maple Leafs 6 times, although not at all since 1964.