Nice Father’s Day win for the Yanks and nice Father’s Day display for his dad by Swisher. Go-ahead homers are always appreciated.
I missed the game. I was on a panel at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. I was talking about my favorite team but unable to watch them in action – the irony. The audience got a kick out of the story of my “divorce” from the Yanks that led to the She-Fan book. I hope all the aspiring authors in the crowd were motivated to write about subjects that stir their passions.
Anyhow, I just finished reading several recaps of the game. It sounds like CC was “off” until he settled down and did his usual workmanlike job of keeping the Yankees in it. Is it me or has he been struggling a little more this season? Maybe he should go back to eating this.
Of course, “struggling” is a relative term. I’d take a pitcher who goes seven innings any day.
Interesting that Gardner led off with a homer, but more exciting to me was the offensive comeback. And we won another series. Yay.
Great series! And great win tonight!!
After Soriano hit that 3 run homer, I thought it might become a lost series if CC didn’t shut them down the rest of the way. I had faith the offense would come through and they chipped away until the score was tied. The funniest part was A-Rod not scoring from second on Swisher’s single. And then not scoring on the wild pitch. And then finally scoring on the sac fly from Martin! What were you waiting for?! lol! I was hoping he had gotten that home run his last at bat. The announcers were talking about how he’d never hit a home run there and his previous at bat was a ho-hum single. It was a Yankee miracle that he had another chance for it.
Speaking of home runs, it was nice for Gardner to show off some of that ‘power’ on national TV. They put up the stats for his first at bat, and those 3 home runs just looked like they might not have belonged. And then he goes deep! And then Swish goes long to give us the lead for good! In the same stadium his father played in years ago! On Father’s Day! Nice!
But even better to show that they can do more than hit home runs, which was mystifying to the announcers since it had been an amazing three days since one. Granderson tripled, Gardner showcased his speed, A-Rod had a few hits including that double ‘lost’ in the ivy, Tex doubled… And how about Nuñez coming through with a great defensive play in the hole to end the inning and the Cubs’ scoring threat!
And a great job of ESPN in really showcasing Wrigley Field tonight. I’ve seen plenty of Wrigley on TV before, but all the different angles tonight just made it seem less of a stadium and more like a sandlot where the kids can come and play. And that’s the appeal of that place I guess. I would love to take in a full Yankees series there the next time they play there. Shame we couldn’t keep our old place, like the Cubbies and Red Sox have…
http://yankeecase.mlblogs.com/
(but hey, where were the blue baseball bats for today?!)
Yes, indeed. Good to win another series, regardless of vs. who and where…
I had my typical misgivings, stoked by Ol’ Don (my college buddy/Big Beisbol Fan)’s predictions. As a lifelong Milwaukee fan (which means Braves/Brewers, of course), he was lamenting how his Brew Crew had a bad series against Those Awful Cubs — Ol’ Don predicted a Yankee sweep. Me being far less confident of a fan, I warned him how they usually don’t do what you expect — but please, PLEEZ, can Your Brewers win at least ONE game in Bahston? It’s the ancestral home of the Braves, ya know…
Well, by the time I settled in to see the rest of last nite’s contest, it looked grim. Bad enuf to lose to an 0-5 pitcher Friday…and barely hang on Saturday…but now CC is down 4-1 on Sunday, after three?? And of course, I got my humble wish with “Los Cervezeros,” getting only one W in Bahston (that’s the Brewers, in Spanish — they actually wore a jersey like that last week — gratefully, Our Boyz will never have to wear a “Los Janquis” jersey…). But we digress. Good to see how the team figured out what to do in Wrigley. GREAT to see Gardy and Swish lead the way. How cool to note that it was an all-time record crowd total in Wrigley for the 3-game series…love ’em, or love to hate ’em, everyone wants to see OUR pinstripes…!
And now it’s down to the Queen City, home of Hudepohl Beer and the best bratwurst I ever ate outside of Milwaukee itself. Unfortunately, this is a much tougher team. Could set some more attendance records at the Reds’ “new” ballpark; who knows? It’s a lot nicer than Riverfront was, trust me (I’ve been to both). Winning THIS series would be…nice…
Swishalicious is right! What a great, fun game! Nice to see those runs add up in a variety of ways. A-Rod’s double-in-the-ivy was a curious happening but at that point it didn’t matter – we were already running away with it. I went to bed happy that Jane got her ten runs.
I wanna thank you and your team for the assist in beating the sCrUBS, Jane. Grazie!
I thought tonight was a good team effort…. lots of people contributing. I thought the same about CC also, but he’s always been a 2nd half pitcher so I’m not TOO concerned yet.
As Yankee Fan Billy Crystal would say, Nick Swisher found his smile.
I had to read the last part of your comment twice, YankeeCase, where you wrote: “ESPN did a great job.” I haven’t heard many Yankee fans say they do a great job about anything! But I’m glad their cameras gave everybody a complete picture of Wrigley and its quirks. As for keeping our old Stadium like the Red Sox and Cubs have kept theirs, maybe I’m not as much of a sentimentalist as some, but I love the new Stadium. The Yankees were never going to have a cozy little ballpark like the others. It was meant to be grand and state of the art, and it is. Anyhow, I enjoyed reading your wrap-up of the game. I do hope whatever’s going on mechanically with CC in those early innings (he does seem to have early trouble rather than late) can be corrected.
Yes, great to see so many turn out for the series at Wrigley, Dave. But then the Yankees draw wherever they go, especially if they haven’t been to a city in years. They’re rock stars! I remember the excitement when I was following the team in ’07. In every city there was such hubbub when they came to town – more people hanging around the hotels, more people at the ballpark, more security everywhere. It’s kind of amazing.
Yay, I got my ten runs, Audrey! I kept checking the score and it was 4-1 Cubs for what seemed like a long time. Then I checked again and we had ten! I was very happy.
You’re very welcome, Jeff. I knew you’d be pleased. Now would you like us to beat up on the Reds?
It does sound like it was a good team effort, Rachel, which is so important. I was thinking the same thing – that CC is a second half pitcher – and he does settle down and give us innings. I’m just not feeling the dominance for the most part and it does concern me a bit.
HAHA, so you’re channeling Billy, Uncle Mike?
This might be favorite blog title ever!! haha!
Nick Swisher is quickly climbing to the top of my “most likable Yankees” list. In some ways, he reminds me of Damon. If there had to be someone traded from the Red Sox, I was glad to have it be him. He always appeared to be happy, truly enjoying playing the game every day. Nick is the same way–as they commented during the broadcast last night, he brings a certain levity to the team. That smile and behavior are infectious–you can’t help but like him. And he wears my favorite number–was the one I always wore on my school sports teams growing up. Good to see runs scored so many ways and by so many individuals. Just wish Jorge could’ve come up with one too, but they showed how much they love him with the ovation each time he came up to pinch hit. All in all, a great series.
Glad you like it, Jazzmine. I say it around the house all the time. LOL.
He does have that happy-go-lucky personality that Damon had, Jane. Very loose and fun. I’m sure Jorge isn’t thrilled to be sitting during Interleague, but hopefully he’ll get a big opportunity as a pinch hitter in this series.
I also usually am not a fan of ESPN, but I was pleasantly surprised on Sunday night. They had a little Yankees love fest towards the end of the game which was very appreciated :) And I’m with you on the new stadium…. I was very sad during the old one’s last year and I still look to the wrong side when I get out of the train at the beginning of each year, but I love the new stadium a lot. They did a great job with it (Thanks George!)
I’m always sad when something ends, Rachel – especially something with the history and tradition that the old Stadium had. But I’ll always have my memories, so I wasn’t as devastated as some by the tearing down of the actual structure. To me it was just a building. The tradition lives on in the new place, which is like paradise for a Yankee fan.