Bronx News Sports: Marathon Men

Bronx News Sports: Marathon Men: Marathon Men Rays Halt Yanks, 3-2, in 13 Inning Thriller By Howard  Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 29- The final of the three-ga...

Marathon Men

Marathon Men

Rays Halt Yanks, 3-2, in 13 Inning Thriller

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 29- The final of the three-game series with the Rays and the Yankee homestand was a pitchers’ duel that intensified as the relief stff of each club entered the contest. 

Yankee starter Michael Pineda gave up three of the six hits and both runs that he allowed in only one inning, the third. After retiring the first two batters of the frame, Yankee killer James Loney, who entered the game with a .350 batting average against the Yanks and an amazing .419 in the new Yankee Stadium, beat out an infield hit. 

Logan Forsythe followed with a single and both were driven in by a triple off the bat of Kevin Kiermaier.

The two Yankee runs off Tampa starter Drew Smylycame on solo home runs, one by Chase Headley in the fifth and the other by Chris Young in the sixth. Neither starting pitcher was involved in the decision. 

The pen men of both squads performed outstandingly. The first three Rays relievers collectively retired the first 11 Yankee batters they faced until Brad Boxberger walked John Ryan Murphy and Stephen Drew with two out in the 10th. The Yankees did not hit safely off areliever until Jacoby Ellsbury led off the 11th with a single. 

The first five Yankee relief pitchers, Jason Wilson, David Carpenter, Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Chris Martin, collectively retired the first 14 batters that came to bat against them until Martin walked Asdrubel Cabrera in the 11th. 

Betances and Miller extended their streak of scoreless innings pitched. Betances has not allowed an earned run in 12.1 innings. The New York City native has retired the last 25 batters he faced, 14 by strikeout. He has fanned of his last 12 batting opponents. Miller extended his scoreless streak to 10.1 frames, yielding only three hits. 

The quick moving game finally ended after 3 hours and 58 minutes. The game winning run was scored by the Rays off the Yankees sixth reliever of the game, Cahsen Shreve. It came quietly by a walk to Steven Souza, Jr, an intentional pass to Evan Longoria and a Loney single to shallow right field that second sacker Drew could not reach. 

Drew commented, “It was a tough today. I did the best I could to reach it.” The young, losing hurler remarked, “It wasn’t so much pressure. I just wanted to do as well as them [pother relief puitchers].”

The pitching was in command as 16 Yankees and 13 Rays fanned during the contest.

#Yankees #TampaBay #EvanLongoria #Bronxnews

Bronx News Sports: Concern about Tanaka will cause Yankees To Step up...

Bronx News Sports: Concern about Tanaka will cause Yankees To Step up...: Concern about Tanaka will cause Yankees To Step up By Rich Mancuso BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 29- Of course there is a concern abou...

Concern about Tanaka will cause Yankees To Step up

Concern about Tanaka will cause Yankees To Step up

By Rich Mancuso

BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 29- Of course there is a concern about Masahiro Tanaka and how long it will take to get the right-hander back in the New York Yankees pitching rotation. The bad news became official in the fifth inning up in the press box when GM Brian Cashman addressed the media.  

Slight tendinitis in the right wrist have put the Yankees $175 million investment on the 15-day disabled list. So the immediate concern was this latest setback to Tanaka would ultimately mean that Tommy John Surgery is not far behind, and that this has been caused by more strain to the right elbow that shut him down last season.

Cashman would only say that it will be a month before he takes the mound again. That is the Yankees hope though the immediate concern is that there is more damage to the elbow. An MRI earlier in the day, according the Yankees medical report, detected the tendinitis, a mild strain in the forearm and no further injury to the elbow.

Tanaka said through an interpreter by the Yankees clubhouse, “I feel I will come back strong.” And the Yankees hope that is the case, though one longtime American League scout was quick to say that this latest injury has all indications leading to more issues with the elbow and it would not be a surprise if Tanaka does not pitch again this season.

The Yankees certainly hope that is not the situation. And if it is, even with relatively good starting pitching the past week, the Manager Joe Girardi said, “People have to step up.” Chase Whitley the right-hander made his season debut Tuesday night and he stepped up allowing 1-run in five innings in the Yankees 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

It was to be one start for Whitley who was called up to give the starters extra rest with the demanding April schedule. Now Whitley will stay in the rotation and be one of the pitchers to step up. 

“Right now he’s on our rotation,” said Girardi. And without Tanaka, who was scheduled to make his next start Wednesday afternoon, the Yankees have sole possession of first place in the AL east and improved to 4-1 on the six-game home stand. They are also playing good baseball, 10-2 since April 17th,   

Tanaka made four starts, thus far, and has compiled a 3-3 mark with an ERA of 3.22 Whitley joins CC Sabathia, Michael Pineda, and Adam Warren in the rotation. By mid June the Yankees expect Ivan Nova to return and fully recovered from Tommy John surgery. And Chris Capuano out with a right quad strain is expected back by the first or second week of May, 

Cashman explained, “Every year you have to deal with adversity. That’s part of a baseball season.” The Yankees will now deal with that and hope Whitley, who was 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA at Triple-A Scranton Wilkes Barre, can continue to one of the arms in the rotation to step it up.

Said Whitley after his first win: “I am not trying to look ahead to anything else. Just pitch when and where they tell me to pitch.” And with no specific timetable as to when or if Tanaka will return, Whitley will now have a set spot in the rotation and fill the void.

In the meantime, Girardi said this latest setback to Tanaka is different from last year. In a way it was because it happened later in the season and that was the elbow that caused much of the concern. The Yankees then were still fighting for a playoff position and now, with April coming to an end, they sit in first place.

But this is April, and as we all know there is plenty more baseball to be played even if the Yankees have won 10 of their last 12 games. 

THE GAME:  The bullpen once again did their job allowing an earned run in 4.01 innings and since April 22 they are 3-0 with four saves, a 0.77 ERA. With Dellin Betences and Andrew Miller not available for the save, Girardi went to Chris Martin who tossed a scoreless ninth inning and notched his first career save.

Prior to Martin, Esmil Rogers threw 2.2 innings of scoreless ball and a hit. A strikeout and ground ball out accounted for two outs and got the Yankees out of a potential jam in the eighth inning.  

“It was a little nerve racking the first pitch but I settled down there,” said Martin, the 28-year old right-hander. “ I feel like everyone is helping this team win. This is a team effort. Hope I can be pitching well and all of us contribute….” 

Brian McCann continued to pace the Yankees with two doubles and drove in three runs. “I feel good, been feeling good all season long,” said McCann. “Hits are starting to fall and I’m finding the barrel.”

Comment Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com  Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso  Twitter @Ring786

#MasahiroTanaka #Yankees #Bronxnews

Bronx News Sports: Ain’t That a Pitch!

Bronx News Sports: Ain’t That a Pitch!: Ain’t That a Pitch! Masahiro Tanaka to go on Disabled List By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 29- During the fifth innin...

Ain’t That a Pitch!

Ain’t That a Pitch!

Masahiro Tanaka to go on Disabled List

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 29- During the fifth inning, the media members at Yankee Stadium were addressed by General Manager Brian Cashman. The GM informed the media that right-hander Masahiro Tanaka will be placed on the 15-day DL. 

He explained that Tanaka arrived at the ballpark at about 2 p.m. and complained that his wrist was bothering him. An MRI was immediately taken that was negative. It was determined that he has slight tendonitis in his right wrist. 

To check on his elbow, a second MRI was taken that was also negative. It was realized that there was a very mild strain in his forearm.

To be careful it was decided to place Tanaka on the disabled list. He will be immediately shut down for 7-10 days. Cashman said the organization was taking a “safe, conservative route.” His elbow appears fine, but it will probably “be a month till he gets back to the rotation” according to Cashman. 

Tanaka was scheduled to pitch on the following day, Wednesday afternoon. He has made four starts, thus far, and has compiled a 3-3 mark with an ERA of 3.22.

Cashman explained, “Every year you have to deal with adversity. That’s part of a baseball season.” 

#MasahiroTanaka #Yankees #Bronxnews

Bronx News Sports: Yanks Win Again

Bronx News Sports: Yanks Win Again: Yanks Win Again ,  4-1 over Tampa By Howard  Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 28- On Monday night, history repeated itself in a numbe...

Yanks Win Again

Yanks Win Again,

 4-1 over Tampa

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 28- On Monday night, history repeated itself in a number of aspects as the Yankees defeated Tampa, 4-1, to gain their ninth victory in the last 11 games. 

On April 17, Adam Warren and Nathan Karns were the starting pitchers. Karns hurled five innings and warren pitched four. Neither was involved in the decision.

On Monday, 10 days later, both pitchers were again given the starting assignments. Karns pitched 4.2 frames and Warren threw 5.2, but again neither was involved in the decision. Although both retained their identical 1-1 records, Warren was quite pleased by his improvement, “I feel like tonight was the first in which all four pitches were working.”

As on April 17, the Yankees won the game, with the win going to a reliever, Jason Wilson.

The Yankee offense also followed its previous patterns. When the Yanks are the first to score, their record is 9-1, but when their opponent reaches the scoreboard first their mark is 3-7. On Monday, the Yanks scored in the bottom of the fifth on a bases loaded walk to Brett Gardner. The Rays did not score until the next inning titie the score at 1.

Brian McCann’s one out solo home run in the sixth was the 16th homer of the Yankees in the team’s 20thcontest. The Yanks 27th four bagger of the season tied the O’s for the American League lead. Two extra base hits in the same frame, doubles by Carlos Beltran and Stephen drew accounted for their third run. 

The relief corps of the Yankees continued its excellent performances. Four relievers held the Rays scoreless for 3.1 innings, lowering the relief ERA to 1.70.  They lead the majors with 78 strikeouts. Dellin Betances, who pitched the eighth, has not surrendered an earned run in 11.1 innings this season, praised his mates in the bullpen, “We have a great group of guys out there. We all believe in each other. We try to match each other.”

Andrew Miller, the closer, notched his eighth save in eight opportunities to keep the American League lead. His eighth save in the club’s first 20 games is a new Yankee mark which broke the previous mark of seven held by Mariano Rivera. Miller gave credit to his teammates for the win, “It’s a team effort.” 

Chase Whitley will start the second game of the three game series on Tuesday night, his first major league appearance of 2015.

#Yankees #TampaBay #Bronxnews

Bronx News Sports: Family sees Fordham sweep

Bronx News Sports: Family sees Fordham sweep: Family sees Fordham sweep Photos by Gary Quintal Fordham softball swept a doubleheader against an Atlantic 10 opponent for th...

Family sees Fordham sweep

Family sees Fordham sweep

Photos by Gary Quintal

Fordham softball swept a doubleheader against an Atlantic 10 opponent for the second weekend in a row, winning the first 9-0 and taking the second 11-3. Fordham honored its Seniors with a ceremony between games, where the Seniors were accompanied on the field by family members.  

#Fordham #Rams #Softball #Bronxnews

Bronx News Sports: Yanks Win Battle But Mets Could Win the War

Bronx News Sports: Yanks Win Battle But Mets Could Win the War: Yanks Win Battle But Mets Could Win the War More to Come in September for Subway Series By Rich Mancuso BRONX, NEW YORK,...

Yanks Win Battle But Mets Could Win the War

Yanks Win Battle But Mets Could Win the War

More to Come in September for Subway Series

By Rich Mancuso

BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 27- At the end of the evening Sunday the New York Mets left the Bronx with the best record in baseball and still a first place team. The Yankees took two out of three games from them in this first of two interleague series between the two teams with a 6-4 win.

So until they meet again in September at Citi Field, three more games in the Mets home ballpark, we may have more of a clear picture where either team will be in October. Because it is April, they say the games mean nothing. But losing games this month can come back to haunt a team that is in the thick of a pennant race in September.

The Mets feel they will be there in September, as do the Yankees. Fans for both teams also have those hopes for playing baseball in October. With that in mind, and with the anticipation and drama of these three games now in the books, there are no answers as to where they will be during that tough stretch of games in September.

it is simple: April is almost over and the Mets have accomplished something they have not done since their championship year of 1986 and left the Bronx with a 14-5 record, the second best for the franchise to start the season, and Monday night play three at Miami before heading home Thursday for four games with the Washington Nationals.

That’s seven with division opponents and before the series with the Yankees, they compiled and tied a club record 11-game winning streak by going 13-3 against the Nationals, Philadelphia and the Marlins of Miami.

Along the way the Mets realize they will have a few bumps on the road. They did Sunday night committing  a season-high four errors that prevented them from taking two of three games from the Yankees.

"In a game like this, you can't make those mistakes," their manager Terry Collins said. "Just a bad night for us. For the most part they’ve played pretty well.”

But they did not play well  Sunday night and it was a game that did not resemble their sparkling play in the month of April. Eric Campbell forgot how many outs there were on the base paths and got doubled up. The middle infield at short and second, Daniel Murphy and Wilmer Flores, each committed an error and are tied with the team lead with four.

Murphy botched a double play groundball in the fifth inning and Wilmer Flores at shortstop was charged with a throwing error to first that prevented the Mets from doubling up Alex Rodriguez. That got some attention despite Murphy going 2-for-3 and tying a career high with two doubles.

“We got this ugly one out of the way,” Michael Cuddyer said. “We’re going to go to Miami and play better.”

Cuddyer got a ball in left that got to second base late and that enabled  Chris Young to cross the plate in a four- run second Yankees second inning that increased their lead to 5-2.    

So there is every indication, and with five months and a long season ahead, that the Mets will be where they want to be in September. Playing the Yankees then will have more significance than these last three games in the Bronx.

“Mistakes are a part of the game,” Flores said. And for the most part, Flores has been handling the position well at shortstop, Collins made reference that Flores had two bad games in the first week.

Said the manager, “Until tonight, he hadn’t had an error since.”

But September is a month the Yankees want to make sure is significant to them. They feel they will be a part of the mix and return to the postseason after a two year absence. These games with their cross town rivals was just as important to them as it was to their fans.

And those three games in September with the Mets will be more important and have implications for the Yankees if they play like they have been, going 8-2 since April 17 after starting the season at 3-6. This series did not mean they have taken the town away from the Mets as much as Yankees fans would like to believe.

“We won the series and that gets you to October,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. Winning series has been a trend for his team that came off a 7-3 road trip before this first Subway Series in the Bronx. And if they continue to do that, then come September when they meet the Mets again, those games will be significant.  

  

However, again, that is a long time off. The Yankees have been hitting and overall getting the pitching, in particular out of the bullpen where they shutout the Mets after the fifth inning and did not give up a hit in 4-⅔ innings.

And with Alex Rodriguez hitting a solo home run in the first inning off Jonathon Niese, number 659 of his career, and one shy of tying Willie Mays, the Yankees are feeling more confident about their lineup. A-Rod has been an early season surprise and faces a possible battle of an incentive clause in the contract that the Yankees have said they will not pay him when he surpasses Mays, and if he passes the other all-time home run leaders.

One of those milestones will happen way before September. Perhaps the Mays’ milestone comes this week when the Yankees host Tampa Bay for three in the Bronx. All that matters now is that the Yankees have something to play for when they meet the Mets again in September.

The Mets feel they will be there. Hey, losing two out of three to the Yankees in the Bronx does not have the implications of three games in September. But when the time arrives, and if these two teams are playing for something then, an Alex Rodriguez milestone won’t matter if his 40-year old body is still producing runs, something more important. 

That is runs for the Yankees in September. And for the Mets, with this promising pitching that was showcased these last three games, they can only hope that they play errorless baseball that will get them to September.

Comment Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com  Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso  Twitter@Ring786

#SubwaySeries #Yankees #Mets #ARod #Bronxnews

Bronx News Sports: CC Near the End?

Bronx News Sports: CC Near the End?: CC'ya Yanks! Is C.C. Sabathia’s Career Nearing its End? Tweet By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, ...

CC Near the End?

CC'ya Yanks!

Is C.C. Sabathia’s Career Nearing its End?

Tweet

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 26- C.C. Sabathia, now playing in his 15th major league season, has been one of the most effective hurlers during his career. In his first 14 years, 2001-2014, he was first in wins (208) and strikeouts (2,437) and second in complete games (37) and innings pitched (2,821.1).

His accomplishments during his first 13 seasons rank 

him as one of the greatest in history. He is one of three hurlers (Cy Young and Greg Maddox) to have a winning record and at least 180 innings pitched in 13 consecutive seasons. He is one of just four (Tom Seaver, Don Sutton and Eddie Plank) to have at least 11 wins in each of his first 13 seasons in the majors. He was the first pitcher since Maddox in 1999 to have won his 200th game by his 33rd birthday, July 21, 2013.

Did all that work have a deleterious effect upon his pitching? He has only won eight games since July of 2013. In the 2014 season, Sabathia’s record was 3-4 and his ERA was high 5.28. His final start of the season was on May 10th and he was on the disabled list for the rest of the season.

The veteran hurler lost his fourth decision in his fourth game of 2015 on Saturday. He left the game after two batters in the sixth frame. The first Kevin Plawecki, in his fourth game in the majors, led-off the inning with a home run. The final batter he faced, Juan Lagares, singled for his third hit of the game. Lagares finished the contest with four hits to tie his career high. Sabathia departed the game after yielding seven earned runs and nine hits in 5+ innings.

In three of the four starts, the lefty gave up at least four earned runs. The decision on Saturday was the sixth straight decision the starter lost. His winless streak extended to seven games, the longest in his career.

Although the following games were not part of this streak, the 34 year-old was 0-3 with an 8.10 ERA in three games during Spring Training in 2015.

Not every observer of these recent outings comes to the same conclusion. Yankee skipper Joe Girardi feels Saturday’s contest was an aberration, “He [Sabathia] threw pretty well this year. I think in three of them he threw the ball well. In this one, he struggled for whatever reason. We’ll get back to work and get him right.”

Whether or not Sabathia improves in his forthcoming starts this year will soon be seen.

#SubwaySeries #CCSabathia #Yankees #Mets #Bronxnews

Bronx News Sports: Yanks Derail Mets Express

Bronx News Sports: Yanks Derail Mets Express: Yanks Derail Mets Express  Mets Played second Fiddle to the Yankees on this night By Rich Mancuso BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 25-  On...

Yanks Derail Mets Express

Yanks Derail Mets Express 

Mets Played second Fiddle to the Yankees on this night

Tweet

By Rich Mancuso

BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 25- On this Friday night the Yankees sent a message to New York that they are not going away as the supreme baseball team in town.  

The Subway Series came early this year with  three games in the Bronx, in late April. Though the cross-town rival Mets owned the best record in baseball coming in, the Yankees also had a share of first place in their division.

And by all standards this was an anticipated start of six games between the two teams. The Mets off to this good start and their 11-game winning streak. The Yankees who are supposed to be on the decline returned home off a successful 7-3 ro

ad trip. Both teams playing good baseball, and the Mets with the best overall record in baseball made this an intriguing first three games of this annual interleague baseball rivalry.

They said the past few years that this series had no more steam. The Mets struggling and rebuilding were still a few steps behind the Yankees for baseball supremacy in the big city. The Yankees and their failures the past few years gave the Mets and their fans some momentum to take over that supremacy, 

But the Yankees, true to what they always do, would not allow the Mets to take over the town and not in their backyard. It was the Yankees dominating early and taking the first game 6-1. Their six runs in the first three innings quickly took away any buzz that was building with the fans before the game.

Mark Teixeira, an early candidate for player of the year hit two two-run home runs. The first inning and third inning shots went to right field, and his 7th home run and 17th run batted in did more than set the tone. It took out all the steam and momentum the Mets had built during their winning streak, and perfect 10-0 opening season homestand that concluded Thursday afternoon,

“It’s disappointing because we were on a nice roll,” Mets manager Terry Collins said, “and I know the Yankees have been playing very well, but we're surprised when Jake doesn't have his good stuff, and tonight he didn't have it."

Collins was referring to his starting pitcher, Jacob deGrom. The right-hander tied a career high, giving up the two home runs to Teixeira and one to Jacoby Ellsbury, and he also had his 18.1 inning scoreless streak come to an end.

“I was throwing the ball nice in the bullpen,” deGrom (2-2) explained, “and when I went in the game I don’t know if it was a little adrenaline or something but I was leaving the ball a little up.” But these are the games that will tell if the Mets are a resilient bunch and that can only be answered the next game,

That next game comes Saturday afternoon in the Bronx. And the Mets have their ace, Matt Harvey on the mound to try and get back on the winning track. Both teams will still have first place in their respective divisions and bragging rights to the city won’t be determined after the finale Sunday evening.

it will be “Harvy Day” in the Bronx Saturday but there will be three more games between them in mid September and those games could have implications across town at Citi Field in Queens, By then, if both teams are fighting for postseason spots, three crucial games in this interleague rivalry will be more significant than the ones played this weekend in the Bronx.

So for this night the Yankees got bragging rights. Michael Pineda has developed into the pitcher the Yankees expected.. He had the fastball and changeup, and the Mets could do nothing. They knew it was going to be a rough night in the Bronx from the beginning when Pineda struck out the first two he faced as Curtis Granderson and Juan Lagares set the tone for Pineda.

Pineda allowed five hits and a run in 7/2-3 innings. “He matured,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. On this night, not the best for baseball with a game time temperature of 47 degrees, Pineda had control and the Mets could do nothing. And deGrom will continue to mature and learn from the mistakes of throwing the wrong pitch to an opposing Yankee in the Bronx, 

For the moment the Yankees have not surrendered bragging rights to the Mets. They are still the team to surpass as kings of baseball in town event if the records read the 13-4 Mets and the 10-7 Yankees.  

NOTES:  Right-hander Hansel Robles of the Mets made his Major League debut and retired three of his four batters. He stranded the bases loaded in the seventh and the first hitter he faced was fellow Dominican Alex Rodriguez.

Through an interpreter, the 24-year old Robles said “I am really happy about it,” about his debut. And about facing fellow Dominican Rodriguez, Robles said, “it was interesting and I really happy facing a player like Alex Rodriguez” 

Mets also snapped a four-game winning streak at Yankee Stadium….. Ellsbury had his first home run of the season….  

Comment Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com  Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso  Twitter @Ring786

#SubwaySeries #Yankees #Mets #Bronxnews

Bronx News Sports: Bye Bye Bernie

Bronx News Sports: Bye Bye Bernie: Bye Bye Bernie Williams Officially Retires from Baseball By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 25- Eight years and seven months...

Bye Bye Bernie

Bye Bye Bernie

Williams Officially Retires from Baseball

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 25- Eight years and seven months after he played his final major league game, Bernie Williams signed his official retirement papers. 

At a press conference on April 24 at Yankee Stadium, Williams explained the delay, "I didn't think it was so important at the time. It was a process mentally wrestling with [breaking away from baseball] the first two-three years. It was a grieving process like losing your best friend."

Williams played all 16 years (1991-2006) of his career in the majors with the Yankees. He was the first of the Yankee greats since 1990 who was developed in the minor league system of the Yankee. The Puerto Rican native later became one of the most popular and productive players on the team in the past quarter-century.

The Yankees qualified for the post-season playoffs in each of the final 12 years of Williams’ career. In four of the years (1996, 1998-2000) the Yankees were World Series champions. Not surprisingly to those who recognize the importance of Williams to the organization, those were some of his best seasons. He was chosen as an American League All-Star for each season between 1997-2001; he won the Gold Glove for his fielding excellence in each year between 1997-2000; his .339 batting average won him the American League batting title in 1998. 

Despite his importance to the success of the organization in the past 25 years, he was never named as part of the celebrated group of Yankee greats called the Core Four. Williams commented, “I was part of a team that had a great run. We were all part of that run. I’m very proud to have been part of that team.”

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman referred to Williams with high praise, “Bernie is part of the Fab Five. He is one of the building blocks and foundation of the success [in the 1990’s and 2000’s].”

The statistics compiled by the legendary center fielder rank him as one of the all-time greats in the history of the iconic Yankees. He ended his career with a lifetime .297 batting avaerage. e ranks third in doubles, fifth in hits, sixth in games, sixth in runs and seventh in runs batted in. His post-season numbers are even more impressive. He still leads all Yankees in home runs (22) and runs batted in (80). He is second in runs scored, hits and doubles.

One month after Friday’s retirement ceremony, (May 24), Williams’ #51 will join 17 other uniform numbers that will never be worn by a Yankee player again. He will be the 19th Yankee (Berra and Dickey both had #8 retired by the club) to have his number retired.On that date there will also be a plaque in his honor added to the 30 plaques in the crowded Monument Park at Yankee Stadium.

As a prelude to the cheers he will hear on May 24, Williams was roundly cheered after throwing the ceremonial first pitch before the game. 

Williams, who has finally come to terms with his retirement from baseball, told the reporters he was a full-time student at the Manhattan School of Music majoring in Jazz Performing. 

#BernieWilliams #Retire #Yankees #Bronxnews

Bronx News Sports: Softball

Bronx News Sports: Softball: Rams Sweep St. Joes By Gary Quintal  BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 20- With Atlantic 10 conference play entering its final two weeks, ...

Softball

Rams Sweep St. Joes

By Gary Quintal 

BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 20- With Atlantic 10 conference play entering its final two weeks, fourth place Fordham hosted fifth place Saint Joseph's University at Bahoshy Field this weekend.  

The Fordham Rams swept Saint Joseph's in impressive fashion, not only winning all three games, but shutting Saint Joe's out of the entire series, taking the Saturday double header 8-0 twice and finishing Sunday with a 4-0 victory.   

The victories place Fordham into third place in the Atlantic 10 with an 11-5 conference record (25-17 overall), while Saint Joe's falls to seventh place with a record of  21-15 (6-8 conference).  

Fordham returns to the Bronx next weekend to start their final home-stand of the season against A-10 opponent George Washington. 

#Fordham #Softball #SaintJosephsUniversity #Bronxnews

Bronx News Sports: Portland Timbers Edge NYCFC on Late Goal

Bronx News Sports: Portland Timbers Edge NYCFC on Late Goal: Portland Timbers Edge NYCFC on Late Goal By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 20- On Sunday night, NYCFC hosted its second g...

Portland Timbers Edge NYCFC on Late Goal

Portland Timbers Edge NYCFC on Late Goal

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 20- On Sunday night, NYCFC hosted its second game at Yankee Stadium within four days as the Portland Timbers travelled nearly 3,000 miles for the first of five road matches in a six week period. Portland and NYC were meeting for the first time, but the Timbers played in New York City 40 years ago. On July 16, 1975, Portland defeated the NY Cosmos, 2‐1, in a NASL game at Randall’s Island. The legendary Pele scored the lone goal for the Cosmos.

NYC was short‐handed (pun intended) as Spanish international star and New York City native Jason Hernandez among others were out with injuries suffered in their previous match, Villa with a hamstring strain and Hernandez with a calf strain.

In addition to the above two starters, Mix Diskerud, who missed the previous match due to playing with the USMNT against Mexico, injured his ankle earlier on Sunday. NYC coach Jason Kreis commented, “We’re really unlucky; five players were unable to play today; that’s a lot.” 

Mix downplayed the importance of the injuries as a factor in the loss, “They [substitute players] came and did a great job.” He felt their gaining game experience is beneficial to the club because “we’re going to need them.” Goalie Josh Saunders agreed, “We have a lot of quality players. We can absorb those losses.”

The match was scoreless until the 79th minute when Dairon Asprilla scored the only goal of the game. It was the first MLS goal for the rookie from Colombia, who signed with Portland in December. The Timbers since 2013 have shown remarkable ability to bounce back after suffering a loss. This was their eighth win after losing. In that period they have three draws and have only lost two straight twice.

Despite it being the fifth consecutive NYCFC match without a win and their third straight game being deprived of points by a late goal, the NYC coach and players spoke very positively of their club’s play. Kreis remarked, “I’m actually very encouraged by our performances in the last two matches. Morale was especially high and that’s encouraging...Right now, the results aren’t going the way we like, but the performances are. We need to look at the positives and build on that.”

Each of the players, who spoke with the media after the contest, spoke similarly. Veteran goalie Josh Saunders, a native of Oregon, who spent several seasons with the Timbers, said, “I think we can walk out of here with our heads held high. I thought our defense played well. They [Timbers] had limited chances. If we keep doing good things, good things are going to happen.” The facts bore out the points he made. NYC had 21 shots on goal while Portland had only 12. The other stats such as number of passes, passing accuracy, duels won and possession of the ball were close, but not connected to a losing contest.

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