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Tribute to Uncle Mike
In October of 1999 my parents took a two week vacation to Hawaii. During their vacation I spent a few days with my cousins Joe (although he’ll always be Joey to me) and Kelly, my Aunt Terry and my Uncle Mike. One night Joey and I were bored, and Uncle Mike took us out to see “For Love of the Game,” a baseball movie that has become one of my all-time favorites.
This past year my Uncle Mike suffered from myelodysplastic syndromes, commonly known as MDS – a form of leukemia. Sadly this past Sunday evening, my Uncle Mike passed away.
What I’ll always remember about my Uncle Mike was how caring he was; how willing he always was to make others around him happy. As kids, every time Joey and I would be in the backyard of my grandpa’s house playing baseball, wiffle ball, or tossing the football back-and-forth, my Uncle Mike would always come and join us. We used to have to get down on our hands and knees and beg the other adults to come and pitch the wiffle ball to us, or pass the football.
With Uncle Mike it was never like that. We never had to beg him. When we were younger, he would always take time and hang out with us, and that’s what made him such a special person.
In the summer before I started fourth grade, my Aunt Terry and Uncle Mike invited me on vacation, to Sesame Place in Pennsylvania. Joey and I had a blast, but the highlight of the trip came on the first night. We all went out to dinner to (if memory serves me correctly) TGI Friday’s. On the way, we passed a mini-golf course, and over dinner we thought it might be a cool idea to go mini-golfing after we ate.
By the time dinner was over, the golf course was closed. But Uncle Mike came up with a plan.
“I thought I saw a place across the street from the hotel called Caps City,” he said to us. “Maybe they have baseball caps there; maybe it’s got an arcade and batting cages or something.”
Thinking it couldn’t hurt, we took a ride there. But little did we know what Caps City really was.
“Aw man!” we heard Uncle Mike exclaim. “This isn’t an arcade, it’s a truck place!”
As it was, Caps City didn’t mean baseball caps, batting cages, or arcades. Just caps for pickup trucks.
For as long as I live, I will never forget that story – and it just proves what a great person my Uncle Mike was. He tried so hard to think of something fun for my cousin and I to do, and although it didn’t work out the way we wanted it to, it was still fun.
I last saw Uncle Mike a couple of months ago. He asked me how I was doing and how work was going, to which I responded, “Fine” and “It’s going well.” It was difficult to see such a wonderful person and someone that I love so sick. But my uncle had a huge heart, and he used it to fight his illness for as long as he could.
Uncle Mike, I wish you peace. You will never be forgotten. Now that I am an uncle to my nephew Ryan, I can only hope I live up to what a fun-loving and caring uncle you were. You’ve set the bar pretty high!
“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where o’ death, are your plagues? Where, o’ grave, is your destruction?” – Hosea 13:14
Something to hang our hats on
Tonight Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale dominated the Yankees, and for as crummy and as inconsistent as Phil Hughes has been this year, he didn’t pitch poorly. Hughes, allowing just two runs in a solid seven innings pitched, came up on the short end of the stick – as did the Yankees, losing 2-1 and getting swept in three games at the hands of the pale hose.
The best part of this trip to Chicago for the Yankees, aside from leaving: Derek Jeter, who homered in all three losing efforts. It marked the first time in the captain’s career he went deep in three straight games.
Thankfully for the Yankees, they will not play the White Sox again during the regular season. However if the two teams meet in October, Chicago can head into the series with a positive mindset, knowing they took five of seven games from New York this season.
If you saw my tweet from earlier tonight, the White Sox scare me.
But the Yankees can concern themselves with the postseason when the time comes, and for now worry about fending off the Tampa Bay Rays – who have pulled to within three games of the AL East lead. That once comfortable nine-game division gap has thinned and the Rays now have a chance to swipe the East from the Yanks.
Better pitching and series wins are what the Yankees need to put first and foremost in their minds down the stretch and into September.
For tonight, though, I’d like to make reference to something that not a lot of people really know about; perhaps it’s my way of dealing with the recent sweep and being at the mercy of the White Sox.
If you follow football, which is rapidly approaching, you know that the New York Giants won the Super Bowl in February, beating the New England Patriots, 21-17. Their last game before the Super Bowl, as most fans know, took place in San Francisco. The Giants beat the 49ers in the NFC Championship game on a game-winning field goal booted through the uprights by Lawrence Tynes.
What most people don’t know is that Kyle Williams – San Francisco’s punt returner who fumbled the ball, setting up the Giants’ game-winner – is the son of White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams.
That’s right. The White Sox GM’s son was the goat of the NFC Title game.
Chicago may have completed its little sweep of New York tonight, but if you ask me, the NFC Championship game is proof of why Chicago is called the “second city” and New York is number one – which they’ve proven 27 times in baseball and most recently in football.
It may not be much, but hey, it’s something to hang our hats on.
A Minor Sample
Coming off a night when Hiroki Kuroda spun an absolute gem for the Yankees, beating the Texas Rangers 3-0 with a complete game, two-hit shutout, the baseball world has learned former Bronx Bomber Melky Cabrera has been suspended 50 games for testing positive for testosterone.
Apparently it was never the “Melky Way.” It was the “Juicy Juice way.”
Cabrera had been leading the majors in the hits and runs offensive categories; he even captured the MVP Award of this year’s All-Star Game in Kansas City.
To my knowledge, this is the first time anything of this sort has occurred: a player wins the ASG MVP and later in the season gets suspended for violating the drug policy. It came as a little bit of a surprise to me, but I get the feeling the topic of whether or not PEDs affect a player’s performance will come up as a result of this recent finding.
Anyhow, for this specific blog topic, I figured I would try something different ; something a little more original, as opposed to ranting about the Yankees’ last two victories over Texas. As I’ve written about these past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity this summer to cover a Minor League Baseball team, the Hudson Valley Renegades, several times.
Instead of writing a typical opinionated piece, I figured I would share my latest Renegades article, which just so happened to be a win last Thursday over the Vermont Lake Monsters, a MiLB team affiliated with the Oakland Athletics.
Enjoy the story and be sure to comment on how you like the article!
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Renegades Slug Lake Monsters in Extras
By: A.J. Martelli
The Hudson Valley Renegades celebrated Irish night on Thursday at Dutchess Stadium. Therefore it was only fitting designated hitter Justin O’Conner came up with the game-winning hit in the 10th inning, a bases-loaded infield single bringing home Charlie Epperson, to give the Renegades a thrilling 5-4 win over the Vermont Lake Monsters, completing Hudson Valley’s second consecutive sweep.
O’Conner embraced the challenge, remaining calm in the pressure-laden situation.
“I just wanted to do a job,” he said of the big at-bat that sank the Lake Monsters. “I got down in the count 1-2 and just wanted to put the ball in play. I’ve just been trying to relax in every at-bat and I did the job.”
Renegades Manager Jared Sandberg was left almost in disbelief following the extra inning victory.
“Wow,” he said. “It’s a lot fun, the way we’re winning. It seems somebody different is stepping up every single time, whether it’s a pitcher, a base-running play, a defensive play, or an offensive play. Every night it’s somebody different and it’s fun.”
The Renegades had to fight for the win, as they trailed 4-3 in the bottom of eighth. But after O’Conner crushed a booming, one out double into the right field corner, he took third on a passed ball and came home on a wild pitch, capitalizing on a few Lake Monster mistakes to tie it up.
Vermont had taken the lead in the seventh, knocking around Hudson Valley reliever Kris Carlson to take the lead. The Lake Monsters were down 3-1 heading into the frame, but sent eight batters to the plate and put up three runs.
The Lake Monsters plated their first run in the top of the sixth, but Hudson Valley had an answer in the bottom half of the inning, taking the lead with three runs. An RBI single off the bat of first baseman Michael Williams and a two-run single from shortstop Leonardo Reginatto accounted for the Renegades’ offensive strike in the sixth.
Sandberg knew his resilient team wasn’t going to lose without putting up a battle.
“There’s no real panic,” he said. “There’s no give-up, and there’s a ton of fight in this team.”
Jeff Ames, one of six Renegades who have been selected to the New York-Penn League All-Star team, toed the rubber and gave a solid performance. Ames tossed 4.2 innings and allowed no runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out four, lowering his season earned run average to 1.68.
“Jeff Ames came out and gave us five zeros on the board,” Sandberg said of his starting pitcher. “He did a nice job battling through his outing.”
Reliever Ryan Garton, who pitched a scoreless 10th inning, notched the win, improving to 3-0 on the year. Rob Finneran also contributed with 2.1 scoreless innings, relieving Carlson and preventing further damage in the seventh. Lefty Jose Molina came on in relief of Ames, and threw in 1.1 innings and allowed Vermont’s first run in the sixth.
With yet another tenacious win under his team’s collective belt, Sandberg is becoming more and more impressed with his squad every time they take the field.
“What can you say about the Renegades?” he said. “It’s a special group, they really feed off each other, and I hope everyone who comes out to the Dutch to see us is having as much fun as we’re having on the field.”
Following the sweep of Vermont, the Renegades (35-19) dropped three straight to the Lowell Spinners, entering the All-Star break in first place – one game ahead of the second place Brooklyn Cyclones in the NY-Penn League McNamara division.
Yes Indeed
Last night the Yankees continued their recent string of inconsistency, losing 7-2 to the Detroit Tigers in the opening game of their four-game series at Comerica Park. Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano accounted for the only two runs the Yanks plated on the night, mustering the lone RBIs. Last night’s game may have been more appropriately titled, “The Justin Verlander Show.”
Verlander was a virtuoso, shutting down the Yankees with a brilliant 14-strikeout performance over eight innings of work. Ivan Nova on the other hand kept his winless streak alive, falling to 10-6. He only tossed 5.1 innings and let up seven earned runs on 11 hits on the way to the loss. Nova hasn’t won a game in five consecutive starts.
The boys from the Bronx didn’t do much better tonight, dropping a 6-5 decision to the Tigers, a ninth inning rally falling just short. Russell Martin clubbed an RBI double to plate Eric Chavez after Ichiro singled to bring in Raul Ibanez, but they couldn’t get that tying run – or potential winning run - across the dish.
In the seventh Ichiro doubled to bring home Nick Swisher, and Chavez smashed an opposite-field two-run homer in the fourth to highlight the Yankees’ night on offense.
Like Nova, starter Phil Hughes struggled. He was pounded for eight hits and allowed four earned runs in the 4.1 innings he pitched. In the fourth he all but lost command, throwing 42 pitches, laboring through the frame. Hughes now falls to 11-9 and his ERA – which was 3.96 heading into tonight’s action - is back up to 4.10.
The Yanks have now gone 9-13 since July 15; a losing record, although New York still sits atop the AL East standings at 63-46, four and a half games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles.
While the Bombers were getting bombed these past couple of nights in the Motor City, I enjoyed yet another little accolade. Well, something to blog about, anyway.
The YES Network has recently been featuring the “YES Network Games” during its broadcasts; a mini in-game contest in which viewers can tweet in questions to the announcers. If they pick your question, they will show it on TV (along with your Twitter handle) and the announcers have a half-inning to come up with an answer.
If their answer is correct, they get a point, and my guess is, whichever YES announcer has the most points at the end of the season wins. During the day yesterday I tweeted in my question:
Lo and behold, during the bottom of the sixth inning of last night’s game, my name and question appeared on the YES Network. I thought for a second I had Michael Kay stumped. He seemed a little unsure of himself.
But he came up with the correct answer, Jaret Wright, as did Meredith Marakovits and John Flaherty. I immediately attempted to tweet Kay back, trying to tell him to tell Flaherty that I met him in 2009. Flaherty actually came to my college (Mercy) and I met him and wrote an article about him for the student newspaper.
He must not have seen it though, because I didn’t hear back from him.
However, I did hear from a number of people who saw my name on TV. In fact, two of my friends, Mike and Sean – who coincidently enough are also local sports reporters – each texted me and told me that they saw my name on YES. Mike’s text was pretty cool:
“I see you made it on YES. You are the man. It was Jaret Wright. Funny that was your question. I was just thinking about that disaster of a series in the beginning of tonight’s game. I at least went to Game One of that series before things went downhill. Take care, A.J.”
Sean’s text was just as nice:
“Just saw your name on the YES broadcast. Remember me when you’re famous, broski. LOL.”
I simply replied, “I hope I’m famous someday, Sean. I hope.”
This now marks the fourth time YES has used my name. On June 8 they used my tweet on their “Extra Innings” show after the Yankees squadoosh’d the Mets 9-1, and they’ve used my Facebook comments in 2009 and 2010. My good friend Virginia over at “Eat, Sleep, and Breathe Yankees” wrote on my Facebook wall,
“Seriously, YES should just hire you already.”
That comment sparked a little Twitter hashtag rally – namely among my close friends Brian and Jenn, and my cousin Joe – called, @YESNetwork #HireAJMartelli
I would absolutely love to work for YES; in a way it’d be like a dream. With a lot of support, encouragement, and perhaps some good luck, maybe some day that dream will come true.
Makin’ Moves
Despite going 2-5 on their recent road trip which included a sweep at the hands of the suddenly “Moneyball” Oakland Athletics team, the Yankees still possess the best record in baseball at 59-39 and continue to sit atop the AL East, looking eight games down at the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays, and 10 1/2 games down at the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox.
A number of things have happened in Yankees Universe and the baseball world in general these past couple of days. Therefore in the spirit of old-fashioned blogging, I figured I would give some thoughts, opine on some topics, and even throw in a story or two – just for old time’s sake.
Ichiro Joins the Yankees
Before Monday’s series opener vs. the Mariners huge news broke via the Twitter wire: the Yankees had acquired Ichiro Suzuki from the Mariners in exchange for minor league pitchers D.J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar.
Just like that, Ichiro is a Yankee.
The news came as a shock to most Yankee fans, as well as me, seeing as how Ichiro spent his entire MLB career with the Mariners. Not only that, but the move was on no one’s radar; nobody saw it coming. It was obviously a trade General Manager Brian Cashman kept under wraps until it became official.
The first notion that entered everyone’s mind was the jersey number. Throughout his career Ichiro has always worn number 51, a number that has meant a lot to the Yankees – being that Bernie Williams wore it for 16 years in pinstripes.
To everyone’s relief, Ichiro chose to take 31, respecting Williams and the jersey number. Unfortunately Dave Winfield didn’t seem to take too kindly to Ichiro taking 31.
Right on, Dave.
In his first three games as a Yankee, Ichiro has collected three hits and has stolen a base. He hit eighth in the batting order in his first two games, and led off yesterday, showing his versatility in the lineup. Plug him in anywhere and he can still hit.
This was a good move for the Yankees. With Brett Gardner’s season over and Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones signed to be designated hitters and fourth outfielders, the trade makes sense. The Mariners organization is becoming tailor-made for young players and the veteran Ichiro, 38, didn’t feel he fit in with them – hence why he requested the trade.
Hats off to the Mariners not only granting his wish, but commenting on how he deserves to a chance to win a title before his career ends. It’s obvious Seattle isn’t going anywhere this season while the Yankees, now with Ichiro’s help, could potentially go very far.
After the final out was made in yesterday’s 5-2 win over the M’s, Ichiro waved goodbye from right field to the Mariners faithful. The fans seemed heartbroken at the thought of their golden boy for so many years leaving town.
The sight of it all made me sad. I couldn’t help but remember the way I felt when Joe Torre managed his last game in October, 2007. When someone has meant so much to a franchise, I know first-hand that it’s extremely difficult to see them leave.
Alex Rodriguez out 6-8 Weeks
On Tuesday night in Seattle, Alex Rodriguez was beaned on the left hand during an at-bat in the eighth inning – the third HBP in the game (Ichiro and Derek Jeter had previously been plunked). Rodriguez fell to the dirt in agonizing pain and left the game.
Afterward it became known that A-Rod has a broken hand and will miss 6-8 weeks; the Yanks are hoping to have him back by the middle of September.
Losing A-Rod is a blow, but perhaps it’s better the Yankees lost him now as opposed to a time when they really needed him. For example, if this injury occurred in 2005 or 2007 when Rodriguez put the team on his back and carried it, the Yanks would be in serious trouble.
Thank God we live in the year 2012.
Because now there are several players who are capable of coming up in big spots to bring the runs home, like Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, and Robinson Cano, among others. Not to mention in ’05 and ’07 the Yanks were constantly battling for first place, locked in a dogfight with the Red Sox for the division.
Obviously that’s not the case this year.
Although taking Rodriguez’s bat out of the lineup basically takes an offensive threat and a presence out of the Yankees’ arsenal, there’s more than enough power to compensate for it. As far as defense is concerned, Ramiro Pena was called up to fill A-Rod’s roster spot and will obviously see time at third base along with Eric Chavez and yesterday’s hero, Jayson Nix.
There’s also speculation the Yankees might go after Chase Headley, the Padres’ third baseman, before the trade deadline on Tuesday. Headley, 28, is hitting .267 this year with 12 homers and 51 RBIs.
A-Rod looked devastated after the game; he was clearly not just in physical pain from the HBP and the fracture, but emotional pain as well. It was apparent the news of him missing more time due to another injury impacted his psyche and left him in disbelief, as evidenced by his words when he met with the press.
“It’s difficult; tough break,” he said, masked in a shell-shocked expression. “I never thought ‘fracture’ but it was. Tough blow. Tough blow.”
Rivalry Renewed
The Boston Red Sox will visit Yankee Stadium for the first time this season tomorrow night, as the Bombers and BoSox get set for a three-game weekend series. The last time these teams met, the Yankees took three of four from the Sox in Beantown.
The Red Sox are coming off a losing series to the Texas Rangers while the Yanks (as it’s known) just took two of three from the Mariners. Aaron Cook (2-3, 3.50) will start for Boston tomorrow night while the Yanks will counter with Phil Hughes (9-8, 4.09 ERA).
Saturday afternoon in a match-up of aces, CC Sabathia (10-3, 3.30 ERA) will toe the rubber, facing off with Jon Lester (5-8, 5.46 ERA). Finally on Sunday night, 10-game winner Hiroki Kuroda will gun for win number 11 – while Boston has not yet listed a starter for the finale.
MLB posed an excellent question a couple days ago:
Has the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry lost its luster?
Right now, I think it’s almost dormant. With Bobby Valentine shooting off his big mouth about Derek Jeter over the off-season, I thought for sure the rivalry would be ignited and something would happen this year; perhaps the boiling of some bad blood.
So far, however, nothing. But I suppose it’s not necessary when the Red Sox are AL East cellar dwellers and not pushing for first place at all. If Boston was in the pennant race, there might be more of a competitive element thrown into the mix.
Yet, it is clear that the days of A-Rod and Jason Varitek duking it out are long gone; Curt Schilling wanting to “make 55,000 people from New York shut up” is surely passé. It could take awhile – maybe even a number of years – before the Yankees and Red Sox go back to where they were in 2003, 2004, and even 2005.
Then again, you never know. It only takes one bean ball to start a fire.
Some Encouragement from Sandberg
As promised, I’ll throw in a little story to close this one.
The last time I blogged, I wrote about my experience covering the Hudson Valley Renegades, as most readers probably know by now, the same team I interned for. I wound up covering them again last Friday after I saw “The Dark Knight Rises” (go see that movie if you haven’t yet done so).
Escaping damage in the ninth inning and with some eighth inning heroics, the Renegades beat the Aberdeen Ironbirds 3-2 – the Ironbirds being a farm team of the Baltimore Orioles, for the record.
After the game I went from the press box to the clubhouse and interviewed Jared Sandberg, the Renegades’ skipper, former Tampa Bay Devil Ray, and nephew of Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg.
Tampa Bay Rays’ 2011 first round draft pick Taylor Guerrieri once again started, and Sandberg actually noticed that I had been there for Guerrieri’s previous start.
“You were here the last time Taylor pitched (against Mahoning Valley) weren’t you?” he asked me after the interview.
“Yes,” I answered.
Jokingly he looked at me and asked, “Oh, so you only cover the games Taylor pitches?”
I let out a chuckle and said, “Well, we’re a newsweekly with so many coverage areas, so there are a lot of games and only so many we can get to every week.”
Sandberg answered, “Oh, I understand. I was just kidding. Which paper are you with again?”
The Examiner,” I replied.
“Oh, I saw that article from last week!” he exclaimed. Frightened, I had no idea what he was going to say next.
“That was really well-written and very nicely done; nice spread – and the pictures came out great, too.”
I thanked him and told my editor about it. He was happy Sandberg saw it and basically said, “Now the pressure’s on us. He might expect great articles from now on.”
Honestly though, I am having a great time covering this team. They are performing extremely well, and are in first place in their division in the New York-Penn League, ahead of the likes of the Brooklyn Cyclones and Staten Island Yankees.
I’m looking forward to covering more of their games and I’m anxious to see how they are going to finish. When I interned for them in 2010, they ended at 39-36, missing the playoffs. At 24-13 right now, it looks as if they will indeed eclipse their 2010 record and go who knows where.
Hopefully to a League title.
A Minor Assignment
Yesterday afternoon was almost awesome for the Yankees, in their series finale vs. the Los Angeles Angels. But what’s that old saying? “Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.”
With the tying run on second base, the potential winning run on first base, and two outs in the ninth, Alex Rodriguez had a chance to channel his inner 2007 and walk off the Yankee Stadium field a hero. Instead he came up short, popping the ball up behind first base; the cowhide falling into waiting glove of Albert Pujols for a 10-8 loss.
Nonetheless, the Yankees still own the best record in baseball at 54-34, and remain in first place in the AL East, a cool eight games ahead of the second place Baltimore Orioles.
While the Yankees were taking two games out of three from the Angels this weekend, I had the opportunity to cover the same minor league team I interned for in 2010, the Hudson Valley Renegades, who are connected to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Since the high school sports scene is obviously voided for summer vacation, my editor thought it might be fun for me to cover some Renegades games, just to give me some work and a chance to cover some professional baseball.
Saturday evening I made my way to up Dutchess Stadium, much like I did every game day two years ago, to cover the Renegades’ game vs. the Mahoning Valley Scrappers – a minor league team affiliated with the Cleveland Indians.
It was a different feeling on the way to the ballpark, however, knowing I’d be sitting up in the press box rather than setting up for the game and handling all the oftentimes unpleasant tasks interns have to do. Like this…
When I walked into the Stadium, it felt surreal. Not having been there in two years and having so many memories – and all those memories coming back to me in that moment – was a little overwhelming. All of the players (including Robinson Cano’s cousin Burt Reynolds) and interns who were there in 2010 have moved on; it was so strange looking around and not seeing all the familiar faces.
Wearing my press pass, I made my way up to the breezeway, past the luxury boxes and into the press box, where a number of MiLB personnel and beat writers were.
A group of them were conversing about the recent draft, and speculating about which players were going to make an impact in the future. They also shared with each other some stories about traveling, going from city to city following their respective teams. It was a little intimidating for me, knowing these reporters are the real deal; not that I’m not the real deal, but they are writers that get to experience professional baseball on a daily basis.
I guess it was only natural to feel intimidated; me being just a fresh, relatively new high school sports reporter who was given an assignment – they being writers with years of experience in the business. I’ll admit I was nervous – nervous, but not scared. Believe it or not, a Tweet from one of my former co-workers at the Renegades put my mind at ease.
Thanks, Dan.
The other writers eventually left though, and took seats down the left field line in a designated area for press members. I elected to remain in the press box with another reporter, the official scorer, and the girl who runs the Renegades’ Twitter page. The group of us shared a lot of laughs and banter throughout the game.
Before the game started, I kind of soaked it in; took in the view.
The Renegades led off the bottom of the first with a home run from their center fielder Joey Rickard. They then took a 2-0 lead after two innings when their left fielder, DeShun Dixon, led off the bottom of the second with a home run.
Dixon would knock in a run on an RBI single in the third after an RBI single off the bat of Renegades’ shortstop Ryan Dunn (Yes, Ryan Dunn. I’m aware he shares the same name as Bam Margera’s late friend).
Leading 4-0 heading into the fourth, the Scrappers put up two runs on back-to-back RBI doubles off reliever Brandon Henderson. Renegades’ starter, 19-year-old Taylor Guerrieri – who was Tampa Bay’s top pick out of Columbia, S.C. a year ago – left the game after three innings, using up a lot of his pitches.
Following the back-to-back RBI doubles, the ‘Gades bent but didn’t break. They held the score until the seventh when second baseman Tommy Coyle blasted a two-run homer, the Renegades’ third round-tripper of the night.
Trailing 6-2, the Scrappers threatened in the ninth. Mahoning Valley loaded the bases with nobody out, but again, the Renegades refused to fold. Reliever Ryan Garton induced a 6-4-3 double play, which allowed a run to come home, before notching the last out.
Final score: Renegades 6, Scrappers 3
It marked the Renegades’ eighth win at home this year, and they are only a game out of first place in their division behind the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Mets’ farm team.
I left the press box and went to the clubhouse where I caught up with Jared Sandberg, the Renegades’ manager, ex-Devil Ray, and nephew of famed Chicago Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg. I had to ask him what makes his team so good when they’re playing at home.
“We get the last at-bats, we make it exciting, and we get the chance to put on a show for the home crowd,” he said.
“The crowd comes out and supports us every night, with 4,000-plus, and it’s fun to play in front of a big crowd. They get behind us and it’s good energy.”
I then questioned him about the home runs, seeing as how a power surge led to the win. He admitted the long ball raised his eyebrows.
“We haven’t hit many homers this year, so it was a little bit of a surprise,” he said.
“It was also good to see because guys aren’t trying to hit home runs and they’re hitting home runs. Any time Joey Rickard can lead off the game with a homer and give us that boost, that’s nice, and then DeShun Dixon hits a two-run homer with a flick of the bat. Then obviously Tommy Coyle’s late home run gave us some breathing room.”
With the top pick on the mound, and a decent job from the relief corps, I inquired about how well the Renegades’ pitching has been anchoring the team.
“The pitching is keeping our season going in the right direction,” Sandberg said.
“We can lean on the pitchers right now because they’re throwing strikes and competing extremely well. The team is playing relaxed but we’re going out there competing every night and that’s what a manager wants.”
Overall I was extremely satisfied with how it went. My editor thought I did a great job with the story, and I hope this is just serving as a warm-up; the start of what I pray is a long career covering pro baseball.
Perhaps I’ll be one of those beat writers in the press box, talking about the new draft picks and sharing stories about life on the road, covering pro baseball teams.
Maybe someday. Until then, I have this story: getting the chance to cover a pro baseball game for the first time.
Bottom line: I loved it.
Yankees Are Swinging, Red Sox Must Rise
This week Spiderman once again webbed his way onto the big screen and into our hearts. In just about two weeks’ time, Batman will yet again make everyone say “oooohhhh” and “aaaahhhh” when “The Dark Knight Rises” hits theaters.
While Spiderman and Batman will be squaring off against their sworn enemies – the Lizard and Bane, respectively – the Yankees will do battle this weekend against their primary foes, the Boston Red Sox. The Yanks will travel into enemy territory tomorrow and play four games (including a doubleheader on Saturday; making up a rainout from April 22) in three days.
The Yankees are standing about as tall as the caped crusader on top of a Gotham City skyscraper at press time; 49-32, in first place, five games ahead of the second place Baltimore Orioles in the AL East. The Red Sox on the other hand look more like a defeated Joker, at 42-40 in fourth place in the east.
Tomorrow night Hiroki Kuroda (8-7, 3.17 ERA) will put on his cape and cowl, to do battle with one of New York’s fiercest adversaries, Josh Beckett (4-7, 4.06 ERA). Kuroda has only faced the Red Sox once in his career – and it was a losing effort – but did not see many of Boston’s current hitters in that game.
However, two hitters Kuroda must look out for are Adrian Gonzalez and Cody Ross. Gonzalez is .261 lifetime off Kuroda with two homers and five RBIs. Ross is just as pesky, as he is .263 in his career with a homer and four RBIs against him.
Beckett has to watch out for Robinson Cano, who currently owns a .302 lifetime BA against him with two homers and 10 RBIs. Curtis Granderson has also punished Beckett in the past, hitting .241 with three home runs and four RBIs.
If they want to escape tomorrow night with a win, the Yanks have to step up. Despite his poor numbers on Cano and Granderson, last year Beckett puzzled the Yankees, going 4-0 with a 1.85 ERA against the Bronx Bombers.
Although it hasn’t been formally announced yet, Phil Hughes (9-6, 4.29 ERA) will throw on his cape and start one of Saturday’s games, coming off his spectacular winning performance on Sunday over the Chicago White Sox. Hughes will likely go head-to-head with Franklin Morales (1-1, 2.50 ERA).
Hughes is in a groove right now, but does not have good career numbers against Boston (2-5, 6.65 ERA). He must be on the lookout for David Ortiz, who yesterday clubbed his 400th career home run. Two of those 400 came off Hughes, and he’s knocked in seven runs off the 26-year-old righty – all while possessing a lifetime .471 batting average against him.
The Yankees haven’t seen much of Morales, but Russell Martin does have an RBI on him.
Freddy Garcia (2-2, 5.94 ERA), almost playing the role of Robin filling in for Batman – helping fill the rotation void for a hobbled Andy Pettitte and an injured CC Sabathia – is slated to start the other game of the doubleheader.
Last time Garcia toed the rubber in Boston, it wasn’t pretty. At least not to begin with.
The Red Sox put a hurting on him, lighting him up for five runs in just 1.2 innings pitched on April 21. With some super-duper heroics, the Yankee offense bailed him out though, rallying from a huge deficit to beat the Red Sox, 15-9.
Felix Doubront (8-4, 4.42 ERA) started Boston’s losing effort on April 21, and will probably face Garcia again. Doubront has to beware of Granderson: he homered off Doubront last time and drove in two.
Who knows? Maybe Garcia vs. Doubront II will be another roller coaster ride; one that would put butterflies in the stomach of the Incredible Hulk.
Finally on Sunday night Ivan Nova (9-3, 4.05 ERA) will suit up to take on lefty Jon Lester (5-5, 4.33 ERA). Nova will look to get back in the win column on the road, having suffered his first loss away from Yankee Stadium since June 3, 2011 on Tuesday at the Rays.
No Red Sox hitter has numbers against Nova that jump out, except Dustin Pedroia, who has a .600 BA vs. the 25-year-old righty and two RBIs. Lucky for Nova and the Yanks, Pedroia has been ruled out for this weekend’s series with a thumb injury.
Lester meanwhile needs to be careful with several Yankee hitters. Granderson, Derek Jeter, Andruw Jones, Nick Swisher, and Mark Teixeira have each homered off Lester in their respective careers. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jayson Nix in the lineup Sunday, as he sports a .333 average against Lester with two homers and five RBIs.
When facing the Yankees Lester must feel like Lex Luthor, trying to beat Superman. But his biggest form of kryptonite has to be the Yankee third baseman.
Alex Rodriguez has three homers lifetime off Boston’s southpaw, with six RBIs. A-Rod has a chance to add to that total and hurt the Red Sox ace even more to close out the series.
Like Spiderman, the Yankees are swinging. But the Red Sox need to be more like Batman – and rise – if they wish to keep their postseason hopes and dreams alive.
And this weekend could be their only chance.
If the Yankees were to unleash a Boston Massacre, and sweep these four games in three days, it would put the Red Sox in a position where they would need to do nothing but win after the All-Star break.
Clean Rocket Fuel
Perjury was the case that they gave him. And he’s innocent.
Innocent?
In May, 2007 I sat in a sports bar with my dad. Roger Clemens had just agreed to return to the New York Yankees days before, having spent three seasons with the Houston Astros, dipping in and out of retirement. I overheard another fan sitting at a nearby table, fawning over Clemens’s comeback.
“He is THE greatest pitcher of our era,” he said to his friend. “I’m so glad he’s back.”
Clemens went on to have a mediocre half-season for the Yanks, finishing 6-6 with a 4.18 ERA. He had to leave his only postseason start vs. Cleveland in the ALDS early with a groin injury.
Knowing Clemens’s history – admitting his career was over, only for him to rejoin his team halfway through the year – I never expected his start vs. the Indians in the ‘07 ALDS to be his last game. I got the feeling that Clemens, even at 45 years old, would somehow find his way back to the majors in 2008.
That is, until the can of worms was opened on Dec. 13, 2007; the possible secret to his longevity revealed.
Clemens was named in the infamous Mitchell Report, a 409-page document which deeply explored steroid usage in Major League Baseball. The Rocket’s name was mentioned 82 times. Upon the release of the report, and his name being linked with steroid usage, Clemens vehemently denied using performance-enhancing drugs, steroids, HGH, or any other illegal substance in order to gain an unfair advantage on the diamond.
The main whistleblower in the whole ordeal was Brian McNamee, a former personal strength coach of Clemens and his former teammate and friend, the recently hobbled Andy Pettitte. McNamee confessed that he personally injected Clemens with steroids, sparking a huge he said-she said case.
In a nutshell, McNamee claimed, “Yes, Roger took steroids. I know because I gave them to him.” Clemens contended, “No, I didn’t take them. Brian is lying.”
Determined to tell his side of the story, Clemens appeared on 60 Minutes in January of 2007 to plead his case. In the interview, he stated that McNamee only injected him with Lidocaine (a pain reliever) and B-12 (or Vitamin B).
What particularly stood out to me in that interview was his response to Mike Wallace’s question about the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Wallace inquired about what Clemens’s chances of making the hall might be, given the steroid allegations.
“What makes you think I give a damn about the Hall of Fame?” Clemens answered, in clearly a frustrated tone.
That did it right there for me. That response alone wiped away a great deal of respect I once had for the Rocket. No player, no matter what, should ever speak that way about the Hall of Fame, because being a member of that exclusive club is an honor every player should “give a damn about.”
The saga continued in February of 2008 when Clemens stood before congress and claimed he never used PEDs, steroids, or HGH. Being that Clemens swore under oath he never used steroids, if it came out that he was lying, he could have faced jail time – such is the punishment for lying under oath, or in judicial terminology, perjury.
The host of congressmen were divided during the hearing. In fact, I recall watching the coverage of the hearing and it seemed half of the committee believed Clemens and the other half sided with McNamee.
Talk about giving new meaning to the phrase, “a house divided.”
Clemens was indicted in August 2010 and his trial began July 13 of last year. The case was declared a mistrial and as a result Clemens was retried.
This whole mess finally came to a head 11 days ago, Monday, June 18, when Clemens was found not guilty on six counts of lying to congress about using steroids, HGH, and performance-enhancing drugs.
Where was I when I learned of the Rocket’s innocence?
Of all places, Yankee Stadium. I guess that’s poetically just.
Perhaps in a way to celebrate his successful trial, Clemens attended a Boston Red Sox game recently. He sat in the Green Monster seats, protected by a group of security guards. Maybe it was the Rocket’s way of attempting to endear himself back into the hearts of his baseball fans in Boston, where he started his career and flourished.
But it was for naught. Clemens was booed by the Fenway Faithful.
Clemens, to me, will now forever be a mystery. Now I have a barrage of questions that I’m not sure will ever be answered.
Should the fans, now knowing he technically didn’t lie, forgive him and consider him one of the most elite pitchers in not only Yankee history, but baseball history?
Does the fact that he was found not guilty really prove he was innocent? Or in other words, did he get away with perjury?
If he really was telling the truth, is he the rightful “greatest pitcher of our era?”
Despite his asinine comments, is he worthy of the Hall of Fame now?
If he came back to Yankee Stadium and sat amongst the bleacher creatures, how would he be received by Yankee Universe in comparison to how Red Sox Nation reacted to his presence?
I don’t know. And I might never know, for sure.
Phil’s Fails: Is it Time to Say Goodbye to Hughes?
They say all good things eventually come to an end, and the Yankees’ 10-game winning streak came to an end on Tuesday night. The Atlanta Braves were able to sneak out a 4-3 win to stop the Bombers.
In the rubber game of the series yesterday afternoon, Phil Hughes took the mound, looking to steer the Yankees back into the win column. But, like the majority of his starts this season, Hughes cracked. He allowed six earned runs in the 4.1 innings he pitched, serving up a career-high four home runs to the Braves.
The Yanks went on to lose, 10-5.
Hughes has now given up 19 homers this season, and is 7-6 with an ERA of 4.94. Facing teams with records above .500, Hughes is 2-6, and in six of his 14 starts this year, he’s given up four or more earned runs.
Only one question needs to be asked right now: how many more anvils are the Yankees going to let this guy drop on them?
When he pitches, this is basically what we’re all forced to witness:
Before Hughes first debuted in April, 2007, he was dubbed the “Pocket Rocket” – being compared to a young Roger Clemens; a power righty with a sidesplitting fastball and dazzling breaking stuff. Hughes lived up to the nickname on May 1, 2007 – the night he spun a gem and nearly no-hit the Texas Rangers in Arlington.
A hamstring injury forced him out of the game and he lost his bid for the no-no at Texas. In a lot of ways that scenario has defined his career. Hughes has always been close to achieving greatness, but it seems to elude him.
Case in point: 2010.
For the first half of the season, Hughes was as dominant as a Cy Young candidate; blowing hitters away with his, dare I say, “Phil-thy” stuff. But after registering the loss for the American League in the All-Star Game, everything went downhill for him.
Hughes went on to lose two important games in the American League Championship Series to the Texas Rangers, and in 2011, was shut down with a fatigued arm. Which brings us to this year – and his inconsistency; his inability to defeat viable opponents.
Two of Hughes’s seven wins this season are legitimate victories. On June 3 he tossed a complete game against the Detroit Tigers on the road, allowing just one earned run on four hits. Being that Hughes pitched well against a team (that at the time was) near the top of the AL Central – and a lineup which holds Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder – it was a solid win.
On Friday Hughes faced off with the NL East’s best, the Washington Nationals. He threw up six innings, while only allowing one earned run. Hughes struck out nine and walked two on the way to another road victory. The win over the Nats marked the first game this season Hughes started in which he did not allow a home run.
The rest of Hughes’s wins this year have come against teams who the Yankees have no business losing to: the Mets (June 9), the Kansas City Royals (May 6 and May 22), and the Minnesota Twins (April 19).
As for his losses: (along with the Braves) the Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, and Rangers have each lit him up. The Los Angeles Angels have beaten him twice.
If you ask me, Hughes’s biggest problem is his mechanics.
Just from watching him pitch these last few seasons, I’ve noticed a little bit of a pattern. Hitters who face Hughes usually see a lot of his pitches, and more importantly foul a lot of his pitches off. His fastball a lot of the time has life on it, but never a whole lot of movement; it has no tailing action, it’s as straight as an arrow.
In baseball, hitters can absolutely feast on a flat fastball. And the same goes for off-speed pitching.
When Hughes’s opponents see his breaking ball enough times, they are eventually able to catch up to it. Quite a few of the home runs he’s allowed this year have come on breaking balls; he’s been hanging them up in the zone for the batters to crush.
It’s obvious an adjustment needs to be made in order for him to be successful. Yet, for a five-year veteran who was once compared to Roger Clemens, shouldn’t that adjustment have already been made?
The Yankees signed Hughes to a one-year deal on Jan. 16 this year worth $3.25 million. The way I see it, the team has two options. They can either let him finish out this year and let his season play out, or trade him before the end of July.
If the Yankees allow him to stay on board and his 2012 season pans out to a record barely above .500 combined with an elevated ERA, they don’t have to re-sign him – and I don’t they will. They’d probably rather let him walk away and hope Michael Pineda can fill what would be the void.
The Yankees also have the option of trading him this year. The 24-45 Chicago Cubs have said they are willing to hear offers for virtually anybody, and have a few starting pitchers that could potentially be successful in New York – Matt Garza and Ryan Dempster, to name a couple.
If the decision was up to me, I would put Hughes on the trading block; throw his name out there and see if a National League team might want to take a chance on him. The alternative of trading him as opposed to keeping him on the team might pay dividends. Why keep him aboard and risk him losing important playoff games, as he did in ’10?
His next start will come on Tuesday at home against the Cleveland Indians, a team currently above .500 at 36-32. Hughes last faced the Indians in 2011 – and lost.
At the end of the day, Hughes hasn’t exactly been the “Pocket Rocket.” At most he’s been an unreliable, inconsistent pitcher whose claim to fame (thus far) has been a good season as a reliever in 2009.
Thankfully for me – and most Yankee fans who are growing tired of watching him fail – his time in pinstripes could be coming to an end.
Catching Up with Eli Manning
Look out, baseball world. The Yankees have caught fire.
A power surge in the eighth inning of last night’s game led to a 6-4 win for the Yanks over the Atlanta Braves, the fifth consecutive win for the boys from the Bronx. The Yankees have now won 15 of their last 19 games and are in sole possession of first place in the American League East – a game ahead of both the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays.
Alex Rodriguez did his best Superman impression, saving the day for his team. The Bombers trailed 4-0 in the eighth, and with the bases chucked, Rodriguez delivered. He launched a game-tying grand slam, a screaming line drive off reliever Jonny Venters that took practically no time to leave the yard.
It marked A-Rod’s 10th homer of the season and his 23rd career trip to granny’s house, tying him with another Yankee, Lou Gehrig, on baseball’s all-time grand slams list.
One more homer with the bases loaded, and Rodriguez is the all-time leader.
Nick Swisher then finished the job with a two-run homer later in the frame, his ninth of the year, to put the Braves away for good.
While the Swisher and A-Rod came through in the clutch last night, this week I had the opportunity to meet and interview (along with a number of other reporters) another New York sports hero who always comes up big when it matters: two-time Super Bowl Champion and MVP Eli Manning.
For the sixth straight year Manning hosted the Guiding Eyes for the Blind Golf Classic in Mount Kisco, N.Y. The Giants’ quarterback was asked by Pat Browne, a blind golf champion and friend of the Manning family from New Orleans, to attend the event six years ago. He happily accepted and each year since, he’s come back.
When I got the call from my editor to cover Manning’s appearance at the golf outing on Monday, I was absolutely ecstatic. Obviously I followed the Giants during the regular season this past year, and certainly enjoyed their Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots on Feb. 5.
I arrived to the Mount Kisco Country Club where the tournament was held and there were a lot of other media outlets present – both local and national. The Journal News, Patch, News 12, the New York Daily News, and even ESPN were all on hand.
Manning arrived and met with the press in what’s called a “media scrum,” or an informal press conference in which journalists/reporters gather around an interview subject and ask questions. On the High School sports scene, media scrums aren’t very common, so it felt extremely good to be a part of one among a group of fellow press members.
That’s me…well, the back of my head, on the right, next to the cameraman.
One reporter asked him about the recent arrest of teammate David Diehl, who was charged with a DWI earlier this week. Not knowing a lot about the situation, Manning had no comment.
After he fielded some questions, the reigning Super Bowl MVP then stood on the practice green for a demonstration. He sank a putt blindfolded, getting the feel for what blind golfers like Browne experience when they are putting.
He felt attempting to golf without sight was more difficult than throwing a game-winning touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of a football game.
“I don’t think I could play football blindfolded,” Manning said of the demo. “It’s a totally different game and I had no idea how long I was going to hit that putt.”
I then got a chance to ask him how excited he was, being that not only was he at a good event for charity, but after the golf classic he was heading to mini-camp with the Giants.
“It’s always been the day before mini-camp starts, so it’s an exciting week,” Manning answered me.
“The tournament is fun and it seems that it’s just grown and grown each year, and Guiding Eyes has grown – it’s moved on to helping kids with autism, so I’m just happy that it affects so many different people and helps peoples’ lives.”
Since no one had mentioned anything about it up until the end, I just had to go there…
“I heard Denver got a new quarterback during the off-season, and I heard he’s pretty good. If the Giants happen to play the Broncos in the future, what are you going to be thinking about?” I asked.
Manning kind of shot me that all-too-familiar “awww shucks” expression; he darted his eyes and smirked, right after I mentioned the Broncos.
“I’ll be thinking, how are we going to get some points on the board against that guy?”
Manning, myself, and the scrum of reporters let out a good-spirited laugh.
Overall, it was a great experience; one I hope to experience again with other big-ticket athletes. Manning was a great interview subject and it was a little bit of a challenge for me to keep my cool; maintain my excitement level (even as a reporter) being such a huge fan of his and the Giants.
Because at the end of the day, that’s what I am: a fan.
A.J. Martelli
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