Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

I have to admit being surprised when the onetime Indians star caught on with another ballclub. He'd shown little of his old abilities the first two months of the season with the Phillies before being released June 1st. Of course, that wouldn't stop another club from making an inexpensive gamble -- especially one in a pennant race seeking another bat. That team was Tampa Bay. Last night, in his second game for the Rays, Sizemore broke up a bid for a perfect game by the Indians' Cody Anderson with an 8th inning home run. A little reminder -- against the team where he began his big league career -- that there might be a little something left in the tank. These images are from the Phillies/Mets game at Citi Field on April 14th.

You never like to hear about one of the game's brightest stars being hurt. But that was the word Saturday: Marlins sluggeer Giancarlo Stanton, leading the majors with 27 home runs, had broken the hamate bone in his left hand. That injury, requiring surgery, will sideline him six weeks. Not only does it cost Stanton a quarter of the season, but deprives him of a chance to start in the All Star Game. That's a shame -- baseball needs more chances to showcase its rising stars, one of whom will at best be able to wave at the fans in Cincinnati on the sidelines. These images of Stanton homering against the Mets are from May 30th, 2015 at Citi Field. It's an injury power hitters -- those with powerful, often violent swings -- are especially vulnerable to: Jose Canseco, Ken Griffey Junior, Jim Thome and Troy Tulowitzki are among its victims.

Midway through his second full season as Phillies manager, Ryne Sandberg pulled the plug himself. With his team having the worst record in the majors, and rumors of Andy McPhail coming into take over the organization, the Hall of Fame second baseman stepped aside. Phillies fans, who'll always think of Sandberg as "the one who got away" -- thanks to an ill-fated trade sending him and Larry Bowa to the Cubs for Ivan DeJesus -- hoped that Sandberg's winning spirit would rub off on his rebuilding club. It didn't happen. Things actually got worse, with the Phils winning barely a third of their games. Just days ago, veteran Chase Utley's harsh criticism of pitching coach Bob McClure, and by inference, Sandberg, could have been the last straw. Of course, neither Dallas Green, or Connie Mack could have done much with the roster Sandberg was handed. And even with a pair of surprising wins this week at Yankee Stadium, the malaise, the sloppiness, and often, the lis...

Jose Altuve was -- as expected -- the offensive sparkplug last night in the Astros 4 - 0 win over the Yankees at Minute Maid. Despite being slowed by a hamstring injury, the 2014 American League batting champ, led the way with three hits and three runs scored. And on the mound, Dallas Kuechel closed down the Yankees offense. He threw a complete game shutout, striking out 12 while allowing just six hits. Let's get back to Altuve, the biggest little guy in baseball. 5-feet-6 (hey, I claim that, too) with 7 feet of determination, he's the signature player on the AL West leaders. Gritty and gutty, and almost always with a dirty uniform, this is the kind of player you keep your eye (and lens) on. Kinda reminds you of Houston's 2nd baseman from 50 years ago... the Hall of Famer Joe Morgan. Yet, as of Monday, Jose still trails the Royals Omar Infante (hitting .236 with an on-base percentage under .250) in the voting among American League 2nd basemen -- but he's been c...

Ivan Nova returned to the Yankee Stadium mound yesterday for the first time in 14 months -- and it was nothing less than a success! These photos track his day from the pre-game bullpen session to that long walk back toward the dugout... with who-knows-what kind of thoughts spinning in his head. Nova was in command -- holding the team that had scorched the Yankees for 22 runs over the previous two nights to just three hits and two walks over 6-2/3 innings. He was even able to cool off the red-hot Maikel Franco (below), who drove in 10 runs in the Phils' pair of wins.   Nova's day ended in the top of the 7th with a visit and some encouragement from bench coach Rob Thomson (Joe Girardi had been tossed out earlier for arguing balls and strikes) and a standing ovation from the crowd of 45,000. Recovery from Tommy John surgery can be tricky -- just look at the ups and downs Matt Harvey has endured this year -- but if Nova is ready to return to form and join Michael Pin...

To say Maikel Franco has dominated the Yankees the last couple of nights would be an understatement. He's put on a performance worth of long-time tormenters such as Manny Ramirez, Miguel Cabrera and maybe even Ted Williams. In his first visit ever to Yankee Stadium, he's crushed six hits — four for extra bases (three of them home runs) — in eight at-bats. And he's sparkled on defense. Glad I caught him when the Phils visited the Mets over Memorial Day weekend. He's not only delivering big time -- but doing it at crunch time. Last night, he smoked a tie-breaking RBI double off Dellin Betances that put the Phillies ahead to stay as the beat up on the Yanks for the second night in a row. Oh, and one more for you:  Franco is the first Phillie ever to drive in five run in back-to-back games. Mike Schmidt never did that, nor did fellow Philadelphia legends Ryan Howard, Chuck Klein or Del Ennis. That's how hot Franco is at the moment. I first saw him a couple of yea...

You know I love to catch minor league ball -- especially when one of the most impressive talents belongs to a team I follow. Yankee fans have read a lot about Aaron Judge since spring training. The 6'7 righty swinging power hitter was off to a strong start with Double-A Trenton, smacking a dozen homers while batting .284 in just over two months of action. I wanted to get a good look at him -- especially since my last visit to the Thunder, he had the day off. Last Wednesday, I caught him against the Reading Fightin' Phils at Arm and Hammer Park, Glad we were in the fourth row. It gave me a chance to capture several good images. The timing was good since word's out that Judge has been promoted to the Yanks' Triple-A team in Scranton. Now he's just one step from the majors. The onetime Cal State Fresno star is 23, and physically imposing. Tall but graceful, he looks like a ballplayer with a very promising future. Aceing Triple-A should be his final test.

No ballclub does a better job at honoring its history and heroes than the Yankees. And Saturday was a prime example of the passion and poignancy represented by Old Timers Day. With years ending in "5" not connected to any championships, this year's theme was the salute to longtime 2nd baseman and coach Willie Randolph, who received a plaque in Monument Park. It was a lovely ceremony for one of baseball's alltime nice guys, a Brooklyn product who mentioned in his speech how he'd gone to his first game with the "Con Ed Kids," a program sponsored by the big New York electric company that during the 1960s gave free tickets to Yankee games to kids whose families couldn't afford them. The honor for Willie was announced months ago and it began the ceremony with exactly the kind of warm feelings one would expect for a local kid who starred for a decade on his hometown team. But the Yankees didn't stop there. Mel Stottlemyre had been an outstanding ...

I got my first look at the Phillies top prospect J.P. Crawford Wednesday night when Reading visited Trenton in AA ball. The club's 1st round draft pick in 2013 is a good-looking hitter (who was batting over. 390 in the Florida State League before recently being promoted to Reading) and capable fielder. Balls seem to jump off his bat. And he's got family connections -- his older cousin Carl Crawford has starred for the Rays and Red Sox and now plays for the Dodgers,

R.A. Dickey came into his own as a major leaguer playing at Citi Field. A journeyman pitcher who never lived up to the expectations attached to being a 1st round draft choice of the Rangers, he reinvented himself mid-career as a knuckleballer, It all came together for Dickey in New York -- capped by his 2012 season where he won 20 for the Mets and won the NL Cy Young Award. Sure, it was the classic "career year" conveniently taking place just before his contract ran out. Unwilling to gamble big money on an aging pitcher who didn't flourish until approaching his 40th birthday, Mets GM Sandy Alderson traded him to Toronto for top prospects Noah Syndergaard and Travis d'Arnaud. That deal certainly has gone in the Mets favor. Interleague play brought Dickey's current team into New York this week -- but his turn in the rotation didn't come until Thursday night. And Dickey was back in vintage form. Last night, Lucas Duda's home run was the only major blemis...

My first visit to Dodger Stadium was in 1991, but fortunately some leftovers of the club's 100th anniversary sweatshirt were still available. (Below) modeling the shirt - alongside CCNY (and baseball travel) pals Charles and Dennis.

Ruben Tejada of the Mets makes an awkward, off-balance throw but gets the out against the Blue Jays. Tejada, whose weak hitting and lack of attention to conditioning cost him the everyday shortstop's job, has been effective of late filling in for the injured David Wright at the hot corner.

A tip of the hat to Marlins righthander Tom Koehler who grabbed the headlines by out-pitching Masahiro Tanaka on Monday night. With the Marlins hosting the Yankees in the opener of a four-game, two-city interleague series, attention naturally was focused on Tanaka, the talented, expensive but fragile ace. But who had the better line? That's easy: Koehler. The Westchester County, NY product, who went to high school in New Rochelle and attended Stony Brook University on Long Island, kept the Yanks off-stride through the evening, holding them to a run and three hits. He was also aided by some terrific plays by his infield. Derek Dietrich's 7th inning homer off Tanaka -- who lost for just the second time this year -- was the difference in Miami's 2 - 1 victory, with the "W" credited to Koehler. (This image is from May 30th, when the Marlins visited the Mets at Citi Field.)

When the Nationals signed Max Scherzer  as a free agent last winter, they knew how talented he was (70 victories over the last four years) -- and that he'd never tossed a complete game. Some skeptics wondered if he was just excess on a staff that already featured Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmerman and Gio Gonzalez. In a year that Washington has underachieved -- and still finds itself trailing the Mets in the NL East -- Scherzer has quieted the critics, posting a sub-2 ERA while striking out more than 7 times as many batters as he's walked. And then came Sunday's game at Miller Park in Milwaukee. Max carried a perfect game into the 7th inning until Carlos Gomez' bloop single. So he "settled" for a one-hitter, with one walk and 16, yes, 16 strikeouts. He was in such a dominating groove that manager Matt Williams chose not to pull in the reins and allowed Scherzer to finish the first complete game of his career. I spell that kind of performance "A-C...

This Yankee farm system prospect will  make his major league debut Friday night. Mason Williams , who batted well over ,300 at both Trenton (AA), where I saw him in April, and then after being promoted to Scranton (AAA), will join the big leaguers in the Bronx. With Jacoby Ellsbury and Slade Heathcott both sidelined by injuries, Williams gets his opportunity to impress Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi. Home grown talent is the way to go -- and finally, it seems the Yanks have actually developed some young players with a chance to contribute.

My close friend and frequent traveling parter Dennis was at yesterday's Yankees/Nationals game. He'd mentioned he was going to be in great seats -- but I didn't know HOW great until he sent this photo. (That's Bryce Harper batting against the Yanks' Nate Eovaldi.) Dennis is not really a "camera guy," BTW. This image was taken with his wife Sue's iPad. That's impressive in its own right. Thanks, Dennis. What a perfect way to spend a day off.

Don't you love the way the colors blend together around sunset? In this case, the light standards fight in perfectly. This is from last July, with Trenton hosting Binghamton in the Eastern League.

Who could have expected the well-traveled lefty to have been this effective? Signed in the off-season -- and not costing the Yankees a draft pick since he was traded during his walk year -- the 6-foot-7  Miller has formed baseball's most effective (and most likely, tallest) bullpen tandem with righthander Dellin Betances. 17 saves in barely over a third of the season -- impressive and intimidating! There's an oft-repeating line about lefties taking more time to develop -- citing the slow starts such legends as Koufax, Spahn and Guidry had in their big league careers. It's about time I feature Andrew Miller -- so here he is, closing out Sunday's win over the Angels.

Less than 24 hours after riding American Pharoah to his Triple Crown-clinching victory at the Belmont, Victor Espinosa swapped his silks for pinstripes -- as he threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Sunday's Yankees/Angels game,. (Below) THIS is a high five: after belting the three-run homer that put the Yankees in command, Brett Gardner soars to share the joy of the moment with his teammates.

It's too easy to post an image of Matt Harvey, when he pitches well -- which is nearly every time he heads to the mound -- and the Mets win -- which doesn't always coincide with a Harvey start. And Thursday night's game in Arizona hinted at being one of "those": Mets hitters couldn't figure out Diamondbacks starter Robbie Ross, while Jarrod Saltalamacchia's 2nd inning home run off Harvey kept Arizona up 1-0 heading into the 6th inning. That's where New York's offense finally showed signs of life. Reliever Dominic Leone had replaced Ross. With two men on in, catcher Kevin Plawecki's booming 2-RBI double put the Mets ahead to stay. Ruben Tejada followed with a sacrifice fly for insurance. And even with Harvey giving up another solo homer -- this one to Paul Goldschmidt -- he made it through seven and left with the lead en route to his 6th victory, But the game-changing hit of the night... that one belongs to Plawecki, the often-struggling rook...

The past facing the present: demolition work proceeds on the original Yankee Stadium, with the current park facing us a block away.

Mets coach Kevin Long chats with backup catcher Johnny Monell. Terry Collins (back to us) is watching his team get ready for the May 14th afternoon game. (Above) autograph time with Kirk Nieuwenhuis for some young fans who came down to the field. (Below) a wide-angle shot shows the new blending with the old at the National League's oldest park.  (Above) Cubs starting pitcher Travis Wood. (Below) Clark is the Cubs mascot. Love this shot...We were five rows back, but felt almost as if we were in the game. Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo and Mets baserunner Curtis Granderson wait for the next pitch. (Below) Watching Wilmer Flores' 4th inning home run land in the left field bleachers. After rounding the bases, Flores gets a fist-bump from teammate Anthony Recker.