Random Images

 

I got my first look at Anthony Volpe last Wednesday night... but only in the dugout. It was a pleasure chatting with and snapping several photos of the highly touted Yankees prospect. However, minutes after I took this shot, the skies opened up and the evening's game for his Somerset Patriots at Binghamton was rained out.

I came back for Sunday's series finale... where I saw Volpe in game action against Binghamton.
But the big story was the rehab start by Tylor Megill:
The Mets righthander looked dominant through most of his 55-pitch, 3-2/3 inning stint against the AA Yankees. His one mistake was hanging his "little slow slider" to Somerset catcher Josh Breaux, who launched it beyond the left field fence.

Speaking of the minors:
Brendan Rodgers authored the biggest game of his still young career Wednesday night at Coors Field. The Rockies 2nd baseman -- whom I first saw in 2018 playing for AA Hartford -- crushed three home runs, including the walk-off blast in the last of the 10th as Colorado outscored Miami 13-12. 


Joe Girardi's two-season-plus run as Phillies manager came to an end on Friday morning. Baseball's most disappointing team staggered to a 22-29 record (4-10 in one-run games), victimized by poor defense and a leaky bullpen. What those flaws weren't all Joe's fault, he takes the blame for a club with its biggest payroll ever, but with a double-digit-game gap behind the first place Mets. Things couldn't have gone better this first weekend under interim skipper Rob Thomson.
Bryce Harper's grand slam tied things in the bottom of the 8th. Even after closer Corey Knebel allowed a go-ahead run in the top of the 9th, Bryson Stott produced some magic of his own: a three-run walk-off homer to give the Phils a weekend sweep over the Angels.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rare Remnant of a Lost Ballpark

Image
When the subject of baseball in Brooklyn comes up, the discussion centers around Ebbets Field, the Flatbush venue most famously home to The Boys of Summer.  Those legendary 1940s and '50s teams that featured such historic and beloved players as Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella and Gil Hodges. Ebbets Field hosted its last major league game in 1957 and was torn down during the winter of 1960. But decades earlier, just before World War One, the Dodgers were based in the Park Slope area and played at Washington Park.  Once they moved out, the land was occupied by another stadium, which housed a different franchise.  The upstart Federal League, which played in the 1914 and '15 seasons, had a Brooklyn team called the TipTops.  Owned by a local baking magnate Robert Ward, whose company produced TipTop bread, the club took over the abandoned lot along 3rd Avenue and built a new brick and steel venue. The only no-hitter in the Federal League's two...
Read more

Will He Wear Zero in the Bronx?

Image
The Yankees bolstered their starting rotation with Thursday's signing of Marcus Stroman .  The Long Island native, who spent 2019 and '21 with the Mets before moving onto the Cubs, brings a 77-76 career record to the Bronx, along with a recent loyalty to uniform number (?) zero.  If he requests that, he'd become the third Yank to wear it, following the path of Adam Ottavino and Domingo German.  Of course, neither of their Yankee tenures ended all that well -- Ottavino struggled badly in 2020, before reviving his career with the Red Sox and Mets; German's alcohol and domestic violence issues sabotaged such Yankee highlights as last year's perfect game. Can a number truly be lucky? You can understand kids in little league or high school ball wanting to wear 2 in honor of Derek Jeter or 7 for Mickey Mantle.  But is there an heroic ballplayer associated with 0?  The closest I recall comes from pro football, where the Oakland Raiders Hall of Fame center Jim Otto wore...
Read more

Spring Training Flashbacks: Subway Series, Florida Style - 2016

Image
It's a return visit to the Mets' Florida home in Port St. Lucie, this time for a 2016 showdown with the Yankees. (Below), Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman chat during batting practice. Aaron Judge and Rob Refsnyder have their game faces on in the dugout... though neither would be in the starting lineup. (Above) A couple of Brooklyn natives that made their mark in New York baseball -- Lee Mazzilli and John Franco. (Below) Mets pitcher Josh Smoker makes friends by signing a few autographs. (Above) Mets reliever Jeurys Familia; (Below) 2nd baseman Neil Walker (Above) Curtis Granderson, one of the select few players to star for both the Yankees and Mets, getting ready for his third summer at Citi Field. (Below) Aaron Hicks came to the Yankees in a trade the previous November. 3rd baseman Chase Headley enjoying the Grapefruit League vibe, even against Mets ace Jacob deGrom. (Above) Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes watches where he hit one... so does Joe Girardi from the visitor's dugou...
Read more