A Biased Look at the New York Yankees, the Greatest Franchise in the History of Sports
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Shawn Chacon is now a Yankee. We’ll see how this will work out. While it’s hardly a blockbuster, there’s no doubt the Yankees need arms. They also signed Alan Embree and dumped Buddy Groom on the Diamondbacks for the all important player to be named later and some cash.
On Friday, a three run second and a lack of run support did Mike Mussina in. He pitched eight innings and gave up only eight hits and those three runs. Tino Martinez drove in the only run of the game on a solo homer as the Yanks only managed seven hits.
Things turned around for the Yankees late in the game on Saturday. Once again they were on the Fox Game of the Week and they put on a show for the national audience. With the score 7-5, Francisco Rodriguez walked four batters then gave up a two run base hit to Hideki Matsui to finish the game off in walk off fashion.
They’d need extra frames to top the Angels this afternoon. Both teams scored a run in the tenth to make things interesting, but Tony Womack drove home the winning run in the bottom of the eleventh. Jason Giambi hit his 300th career homer.
The question is, where are we at now. The Red Sox are riding five straight wins so we lost a game to them. And to make matters worse, the Tigers basically lied down for the A’s. So we’re 2 1/2 games back of the Red Sox and 1 1/2 games back of the A’s for the wildcard.
The Yankees travel to Cleveland for a three game series starting Tuesday. They have a day off to get their pen back in order.
I’ll take two out of three considering the one loss was against Johan Santana. I’ll have to look and see what kind of contract he has, because if he’s a free agent soon, he could be a Yankee.
Randy Johnson was dominating on Tuesday. Eight innings, two hits, no walks and eleven strikeouts. All they really needed was A-Rod’s homer in the second, but they put four runs on the board just in case. It was the best start of the season for the Unit, so hopefully this is a precursor of things to come.
Yesterday’s game was nice because I actually got to see them play on TV. I no longer live in the New York area, so I don’t always get to see them like I did when I had the Yes network. Unfortunately, they didn’t win for me. Johan Santana held the Yanks scoreless through seven innings, and by then the Twins had gotten to the Yanks bullpen. Al Leiter held the Twins in check, but he threw 115 pitches in only five innings, so despite only giving up a single run through five, he had to yield to the pen.
Gary Sheffield and Robinson Cano accounted for most of the Yankees offense this afternoon. Sheffield homered and drove in four runs while Cano went three for five with two runs and two RBIs. Aaron Small improved to 2-0, so hopefully the Yanks found someone to fill in the fourth/fifth starter slot for the time being.
Anaheim is on deck. This time it’s at our house so we should have a better showing.
I had some interesting dialogue with some Tigers fans over at Tigerblog. I think I definitely got the best of them. It’s a very cool site with some neat features. It’s interesting catching a snippet on Lou Gehrig here and there when the 1935 Tigers squared off against the Yankees.
After ten straight season in which the Yankees finished no better then third in the American League, the Bronx Bombers finally captured their first pennant in 1921. Miller Huggins had led the team to two consecutive third place finishes, but with the emergence of Babe Ruth as the best hitter in baseball, the Yanks were finally able to get over the top.
George Herman Ruth set a new standard for power hitters as he set a new single season homerun record. His 59 homers eclipsed his previous record set the season before (54 homers). The only thing that prevented him from capturing the triple crown were incredible hitting seasons by Tiger teammates Harry Heilmann (.394) and Ty Cobb (.389).
The pitching staff was led by Carl Mays. His 27 wins led the American League and the Yankees led the league in ERA (3.82) and strikeouts (481).
The team set a team record for wins in a season with 98. Their previous mark of 95 was set the year before, and prior to that they had only won 90 or more twice.
In their first World Series, the Yankees faced the New York Giants. Both teams shared the Polo Grounds as their home stadium, so the World Series never left New York.
(All Game Recaps were created thanks to the the play by play information at Retrosheet)
Game 1 Highlights
Yankees 3, Giants 0 Yankees Lead Series 1-0
Carl Mays threw a gem to lead the Yankees to a 3-0 victory in their best of nine series. Four of the five Giants’ hits that Mays gave up were off the bat of Frankie Frisch. Mays was tagged for only one extra base hit as he dominated the Giant’s lineup.
The Yankees jumped out to an early lead. Lead off hitter Elmer Miller singled and was moved to second on a bunt. Then Babe Ruth made good use of his only hit by driving in Miller with a single to center.
The Yankees wouldn’t score again until the fifth inning. Third baseman Mike McNally led off the inning with a double and was moved over to third with a bunt. He then stole home to put the Yankees in front 2-0.
They’d put an insurance run on the board in the sixth when Irish Meusel drove in a run on a ground out.
Game 2 Highlights
Yankees 3, Giants 0 Yankees Lead Series 2-0
Things were looking extremely good for the Yankees as they took a 2-0 lead over the Giants. Once again, the Yankee’s starter completely shut down the Giants. Waite Hoyt threw a two hit shutout and he struck out five. Frankie Frisch seemed to be the only Giant who was able to solve the Yankee’s pitchers as he had one of the two hits.
The Yankees scored their first run in the fourth. Second baseman Aaron Ward scored an unearned run when Hoyt grounded into a double play. They wouldn’t score again until the bottom of the eighth. Babe Ruth scored on a groundout by Wally Pipp and Bob Meusell (Irish’s brother) scored when he stole home.
Game 3 Highlights
Giants 13, Yankees 5 Yankees Lead Series 2-1
The Giants’ bats finally came alive as they blew out the Yankees in grand fashion. The Yankees actually took a 4-0 lead in the top of the third, only to see it disappear when the Giants scored four runs, their first of the World Series, in the bottom half of the inning. Babe Ruth drove in two of the runs in the third with a single.
The two teams would go scoreless in the next 3 1/2 innings when the flood gates opened. In the bottom of the seventh, the Giants scored eight runs on eight hits to put the game away. Both teams would score another run, but after the big inning, the game was over. Reliever Jack Quinn took the loss and all four Yankees pitchers were tagged for at least one run.
Game 4 Highlights
Giants 4, Yankees 2 Series Tied 2-2
The Giants tied up the series 2-2 in what was the most exciting game of the series so far. For the fourth straight time, the Yankees got on the board first. In the bottom of the fifth, Wally Pipp scored on a triple by catcher Wally Schang.
Neither team would score again until the Giants put three runs on the board in the top of the eighth. They’d add an extra run in the ninth to put the game away. Babe Ruth ended up hitting his first homer of the series (and the first homer by either team) in the bottom of the ninth. Unfortunately it was with nobody on and it wasn’t enough.
Carl Mays took the loss and things weren’t looking good for the Yankees. They had lost two in a row and the Giants had finally gotten to their ace.
Game 5 Highlights
Yankees 3, Giants 1 Yankees Lead Series 3-2
For the first time in this series, the Giants got on the board first. Waite Hoyt gave up an unearned run in the first inning, but he was extremely effective after that. He pitched a shutout the rest of the way and improved to 2-0 without giving up an earned run in either of the two complete games.
The Yankees finally got a man across and tied the game up in the third. Elmer Miller drove in Mike McNally with a sac. fly. An inning later, they’d put two runs on the board to take the lead for good. Babe Ruth led off with a single and scored on Bob Meusel’s double. Meusel then scored on Aaron Ward’s sac. fly.
The win put the Yankees up 3-2 but they suffered a major loss as Babe Ruth was injured. The only thing I could find on this was at Baseball Almanac, which said he had arm and knee ailments.
Game 6 Highlights
Giants 8, Yankees 3 Series Tied 3-3
The Yankees once again blew the lead and they let the Giants tie the series back up. They jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning only to see the Giants tie the game back up in second
inning with three of their own. They scored two more in the bottom of the second to take the lead once again, but the Giants scored four in the fourth to take the lead for good.
Yankees starter Harry Harper couldn’t make it through the second inning. Chick Fewster scored twice and drove in two with a homerun and Aaron Ward had two RBIs.
Game 7 Highlights
Giants 3, Yankees 2 Giants Lead Series 4-3
For the first time the New York Giants took the lead in the series at they topped the Yankees 2-1. Carl Mays struck out seven and only gave up six hits, but an unearned run in the seventh cost the Yankees the ball game and quite possibly the chance at winning their first World Series.
The Yankees had an early lead after scoring a run on an RBI single by Mike McNally but he’d be the only Yankee to cross the plate. Despite outhitting the Giants, they were now down four games to three.
Game 8 Highlights
Giants 1, Yankees 0 Giants Win Series 5-3
The Yankees lost the game and their first World Series in yet another pitching duel. Waite Hoyt struck out seven and held the Giants to six hits, but a two out error in the first gave the Giants an unearned run and enough to win the game.
Babe Ruth made his first appearance since getting hurt in game five in a dramatic ninth inning pinch hitting attempt. Unfortunately, he grounded out to first base, and Yankees went away quietly.
In an odd quirk, Waite Hoyt threw three complete games and didn’t give up a single earned run. Unfortunately he gave up two unearned runs and one of those cost him game eight.
With the last two games being decided by one run, I’m pretty confident that this series would have gone in a completely different direction had George Herman Ruth been in the lineup. Unfortunately the Yanks would have to wait another year to have a chance to capture their first World Series Crown.
I hate going out west. It’s just different out there. And the Yankees didn’t fair too well on the final leg of their road trip. They dropped the first three to the Angels, only to salvage the last game behind a strong outing by Mike Mussina.
We were actually outhit yesterday, but of course it’s all about putting men across the plate. Hideki Matsui’s big two run shot was the big difference, but Tino Martinez helped out the cause by driving in two runs himself.
Kevin Brown’s performance on Saturday was less then stellar. He gave up seven runs and he couldn’t even make it out of the fourth inning. And now we have the whole K-Rod vs. A-Rod thing going on. Derek Jeter had a solid game (four for four with his twelth homer) and Jason Giambi went yard.
On Friday, the whole “Al Leiter returns” thing doesn’t seem as big of a deal. While he did make it through six innings, he had six runs that he gave up to go along with it. Ten hits, two walks, and only two strikeouts. Seems like his performance last Sunday might have been the high point of his season.
Thursday’s series opener had to be the most disappointing loss of the series. Randy Johnson gave them six good innings, and as soon as he yields to the pen, the game gets out of hand. A four run seventh behind a grand slam by last year’s MVP, Vlad Guerrero put the game away. Oh yeah, and that K-Rod guy.
So, at the end of it all, where do we stand??? Still not too bad. Fortunately the Twins hit a soft patch and lost three of five to the Tigers. The Athletics are back in the mix, but Yanks only trail both teams by a half game (in the win column, so we can make that up easy enough). We’re one and a half back of the Red Sox and two games ahead of the struggling Orioles.
The trading deadline is this weekend. Haven’t heard much about the rumors, but I really hope Cashman is on the phone. A.J. Burnett going to Baltimore won’t help us out too much, so it’d be nice if we could reel someone in. Maybe Jason Johnson, who’s been okay in Detroit. Maybe we can get Aaron Harang from the Reds. I’m not looking for a superstar. Just an arm so we’re not getting shelled every fourth and fifth game.
Well, the Yanks moved into sole possession of first place yesterday when they topped the Rangers. It appears that top ranking was short lived because the Yankees lost a pitching dual yesterday. With the Red Sox win, we’re back in second place.
Mike Mussina saw a pretty good outing go to waste. He threw six shutout innings only to see Wayne Franklin give up a two run homer to Hank Blalock. Two runs normally isn’t a big deal, but in this one it made the difference.
Yesterday’s game was in sharp contrast to the runfest on Monday. The Yankees brought this one home 11-10 despite giving up leads of 6-3 and 9-5 earlier in the game. The game winner was a two run single by Ruben Sierra.
Aaron Small, another cast off from another team, will make his Yankees debut against Joaquin Benoit. Small has a career batting average against of .306 in 218 innings so I’m not too optimistic about this rubber game.
No, your glasses aren’t out of focus. That is the Al Leiter. The last time Al Leiter wore the Yankees pinstripes, the Yankees finished below .500 (1989). Fortunately for him, he was shipped to the Blue Jays for Jesse Barfield, because the following year the Yankees lost 95. 95 losses was the most losses by Yankees team since 1912.
And it looks like the Marlins loss is our gain. Despite sporting a 52/60 strikeout to walk ratio for the Marlins, Al Leiter was a hero of sorts yesterday. He threw 6 1/3 very quality innings, giving up only three hits and one run. He struck out a season high eight batters.
The win put the Yanks a mere half game back of the Red Sox. They’re up 6-3 against the Rangers tonight, so they’ll be putting the heat on the Red Sox who are tied 1-1 in the sixth against the Devil Rays. Kevin Brown has a;ready givien up three runs tonight, as he’s making his first start since coming off of the DL.
After playing three against the Rangers, things don’t get much easier as they head out west to play four against the Angels.
The Yankees entered their series with the Red Sox down by 2 1/2 games. Now with them winning two of three, they’ve shaved that lead down to a game and a half.
In Thursday night’s game, the Yankees were down for most of the game, but an RBI double by Ruben Sierra tied the game up in the eighth. Then in the ninth, facing Curt Schilling, Alex Rodriguez went yard for the 24th time of the season to take this home.
Friday’s night game is something I’d rather not talk about and just reinforces the fact that the Yankees need another starting pitcher. Jaret Wright is on the 60 day DL and he’s not coming back anytime soon. The lastest rumor is that they’re interested in Rockies start Shawn Chacon.
This afternoon the Yankees played on the Fox Game of the Week and they didn’t waste much time putting this game away. A huge six run third inning was the difference with Alex Rodriguez’s 25th homer starting things off. John Flaherty had an RBI double and both Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter drove in runs with singles.
Randy Johnson was solid enough. He struck out ten in 6 1/3 before yielding to the pen. Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect ninth to earn his 22nd save.
Tomorrow’s game is huge. A win would put us a game back of the Red Sox. The Orioles actually have a chance to tie the Red Sox tonight as they’re on the west coast playing the Mariners.
Enough said. This is a big, big series to open up the second half of the season. If the Yanks win three of four, they’ll have shaved the Red Sox lead down to a mere half game.
It looks like they’ll have to come from behind in this one. They trail 5-4 in the top of the sixth. Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and Bernie Williams all have solo homers but Mike Mussina has been pretty erratic.
Hopefully we’ll be able to come from behind and finish this one off. It would be nice to do it against the Red Sox new closer, Curt Schilling.
The Indians were one of the hottest teams in June. Fortunately the Yankees caught them when they were cooling off as they took three of four in the weekend series. Randy Johnson was good at times (eight strikeouts) and bad at times (nine hits through six innings), but he walked away with his ninth win of the season. The Yankees put nine runs on the board, three of which scored on a Gary Sheffield homerun. Jason Giambi hit a two run homer, which was his tenth.
Yesterday’s game didn’t go as well. The Indians scored an insurance run in the top of the ninth that ended up being the difference. The Yankees scored a run in the ninth on a Ruben Sierra homer, but they couldn’t get that second run to tie the game up. Darrell May took the loss in his Yankees debut.
Heading into the break, the Yankees are two games behind the Twins for the wildcard, and they’re 2 1/2 back of the Red Sox for the AL East. Considering the way they started, that’s not too bad.
I’m new to the whole website thing, so I’m working on the color of the site. As you can tell, I’m part way there, which means the whole thing looks pretty odd at the moment. I’m also hoping to get my first Yankees World Series Retrospective done over the All Star break. If not, I’ll have it done by the end of the weekend.
Enjoy the All Star Game.
Six straight and eight wins in their last ten have pushed the Yankees into second place in the AL East. Anyone who thought the Yankees didn’t have much of a chance to win the division were mistaken as they now trail the Red Sox by 3 1/2 games.
Chien-Ming Wang won his first game since June 18 as he seven shutout innings. The start was the best one to date for the young right hander. His strikeout to walk ratio is still a little concerning (28/19) but he’s gotten his ERA down to 3.87.
Things got really touchy in the ninth as Mariano Rivera had to pitch out of a self-induced jam. The Indians did tag him for one run, but held on to walk away with his 19th save of the season.
Hitting stars included Derek Jeter (two for three with a run and an RBI) and Alex Rodriguez (two for three with an RBI and a stolen base).
The series continues this afternoon at 4 pm. Darrell May, who lost nineteen games for the Royals last season, makes his Yankee’s debut after being traded from the Padres for Paul Quantrill (we also received Tim Redding in the deal). The Indians are putting Scott Elarton on the mound.
Welcome to my new Yankees blog. I’ll be covering the best sports franchise on the planet and I hope you stop back as I won’t just be convering the future 2005 World Series Champions, but I’ll also be looking back at the other (and there are several) Yankee teams that have won the World Series.
If you love the Yankees, then you’ll get a kick out of this. If you dislike (or even hate) the Yankees, then you’ll love to hate this blog.
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