Showing posts with label World Series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Series. Show all posts

July 19, 2012

Going, going, GONE! – Brett Gardner

All of this too-much-home-run talk has had Yankees fans hoping for a speedy recovery for Brett Gardner. But that possibility looks bleak now.

Gardner will undergo arthroscopic surgery in the next week, "most likely" ending his season, the Yankees announced today.

Shucks.

So much for the return of speed to the lineup. So much for giving old (but productive) outfielders like Andruw Jones and Raul Ibanez some rest. So much for shiny rings in October. ... Because hitting home runs doesn't work in the playoffs. Right? The pitching is just too good.

Well, behind every claim in sports there are numbers to back it up – or disprove it. The Post's Ken Davidoff looked at some of those numbers for this claim, and you might be surprised by his findings.

November 4, 2010

This day in Yankee history: WS Champions

This news should brighten your day. One year ago today, Hideki Matsui’s six RBIs helped the Yankees beat the Phillies 7-3 to clinch their 27th World Series title.

It was a wonderful night. What was your reaction? I was speechless. I didn’t get up from my couch for 10 minutes after Robinson Cano threw out Shane Victorino at first base.

If you are having trouble reliving the moment, check out some of my favorite celebratory posts from last year:

Those links should keep you busy for a while.

April 14, 2010

Pictures of Yankees 2009 World Series rings

Rings1

Rings2

Rings3

Pics via MLB’s HitPix stream.

Also, Yankees fan blog WasWatching pointed me to a very cool site on World Series rings. Head over to the site for a picture of each ring since 1922.

March 27, 2010

TMZ was wrong about the rings

The Yankees will receive their rings at the home opener on April 13 — not the day after — according to a team source.

TMZ: Yankees getting World Series rings on April 14

TMZ is reporting the Yankees will receive their World Series rings on April 14 when they play the Angels.

Maybe this day was chosen to make it more convenient for Hideki Matsui. More likely, the Yankees are doing it to rub it in the faces of one of their biggest rivals.

April 14 is a 1 p.m. game — the team’s second home game of the season. If you want to go, $9 tickets are still available as of this morning.
yanks-ring.jpg
Information on the design was unavailable, but TMZ reminded fans their ring in 2000 included 22 major diamonds.

March 22, 2010

Poll Results: Hitting was key to last season’s success

poll results16Fans voted hitting as the most important aspect of the Yankees’ success last season.

The Yankees led the majors in runs, homers, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Certainly their offense played a major role, but I think the postseason pitching was more of a factor than people realize.

The three-man rotation worked very well, and the bullpen had five quality pitchers (Mariano Rivera, Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, David Robertson and Damaso Marte).

March 14, 2010

2009 World Series DVD Review

Shout Factory New York Yankees 2009 World Series DVD - MLB.com ShopMy dad and I finally found a night to watch the 2009 World Series DVD. In one sentence: It was a well-produced, exciting recap of the World Series that reminds you how much you’ll miss Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon and Melky Cabrera this year.

Recapping the season highlights: The DVD’s quick review of the regular season’s most memorable moments encouraged me to look at some of my old posts just for other exciting clips of the season. That’s the main reason why I bought the DVD, just so the year will stick in my brain forever. What a year to start this blog!

Included:
- A new taste to the clubhouse with A.J. Burnett and Nick Swisher
- The three walk-off win series against the Twins
- Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera major milestones
- Beating the Red Sox (a little more of that would have been nice!)
- Most comeback wins in the baseball, 51
- Yankees hit 244 homers in the season to lead the AL and set a franchise record
- Phillies hit 224 homers in the season to lead the NL

Didn’t include:
- Nick Swisher’s April, especially his inning on the mound
- Alex Rodriguez’s walk-off homer against Boston
- The crashing and burning of Chien-Ming Wang
- Love for Alfredo Aceves (he went 10-1)
- Robinson Cano (I don’t think they used his name once in the entire DVD! I guess hitting .320 is meaningless)
- Brett Gardner’s inside-the-parker (a truly inspiring story)
- Perhaps most importantly, the steroid controversy around A-Rod in the beginning of spring

Recapping the postseason: The majority of the DVD is the review of the World Series, so, along with the season, the ALDS and ALCS were zipped through. So they highlighted A-Rod’s turnaround.

To me, he’s only hit like that in one other stretch as a Yankee. That would be April 2007. Obviously that was a little longer of a stretch, but during both spans you got the same feeling whenever he stepped up to the plate. I remember that month vividly.

Recapping the World Series: How sweet it was. One thing that stood out to me was the decision-making by Joe Girardi in Game 3. To name a few of the series-altering decisions: Swisher having a huge game after resting Game 2, keeping Damaso Marte in to face Ryan Howard, and Matsui’s pinch-hit homer.

I liked how the DVD included interviews from the Yankees and the Phillies players/managers. It was nice to get the other perspective, especially after Jimmy Rollins opened his big mouth before the series began.

Best quote: “I was born ready” – Mo, when asked about his preparation for the series.

2nd best quote: “the most influential player that ever stepped into that stadium” – Pedro, before starting Game 2 at Yankee Stadium.

Highlights:
- Cliff Lee was unhittable in Game 1
- Matsui slugs homer off Pedro in Game 2 (foreshadowing) after Mark Teixeira’s low-lined homer to tie it
- Mo got a six-out save to tie series
- Everything went right for Girardi in Game 3
- Blanton bombed in Game 4
- A-Rod kept his cool after being hit three times in two games
- Utley had three homers off Sabathia in the series
- Damon’s double-steal in Game 4 is turning point
- Arkansas boys Burnett and Lee in Game 5 (I didn’t know that!)
- Utley ties Reggie Jackson’s five homers in World Series
- Game 6 Pedro, Pettitte (a lot of history between the two)
- Matsui 2-run homer, 2-run single, 2-run double, tying Bobby Richardson’s record

Annoying: The players always said something along the lines of, “got a good pitch to hit and put the barrel of the bat on the ball” when asked about a big hit. That got a little old, but what can you do?

Cool: The DVD used interesting facts as transitions throughout the season. At the end, it listed a bunch of cool facts. One of which has sparked the “Is Pettitte a Hall of Famer” debate. I’ll touch on the topic before the season begins.

Shh. I’m secretly taking this back to school with me. Until my dad reads this post, that is.

January 21, 2010

Want to see the championship trophy?

World Series Trophy 2009 Photo from NY Post

You can, if you’re willing to travel to Fordham University this weekend. Via Yankees.com:

The championship hardware from the Yankees' 27th title run will be on display for fans to view and take photographs with from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET.

I’d be there if I didn’t have so many obligations at school. If you’ve never seen any of the championship trophies in person, I’d say its worth checking out.

When I was very young, maybe eight years old, I got a tour of the Yankees clubhouse through a family-friend connection with Brian Cashman. I saw the trophy and my family and I got to talk to Cashman in his office. I was too young to document/remember much…

But the highlight of the visit by far was Cashman handing me an autographed baseball of Derek Jeter. I got Cashman to sign another ball too. I’ll post pictures next time I’m home from school.

January 19, 2010

Yankees Wall of 2009 World Series Champs

This makes me so happy. Thanks to my roommate Andrew McDermott and my dad for the two awesome framed pictures!

The one on the left is an array of pictures of the 15 walk-off wins in 2009 highlighted by a pied Nick Swisher with A.J. Burnett in the background.

The one in the right is the front-and-back cover of the New York Post from Nov. 5, headlined “27th HEAVEN” and has the team celebrating in the infield.

Oh, and I got that “27-time World Series champions” pennant at the parade.

January 2, 2010

lenNY’s Yankees Top 5 Posts of 2009

I was looking at my most visited pages of 2009 and was pretty surprised with the top 5. So here they are, thanks to you followers:

1. Video: Blue Jays & Yankees fight between Posada and Carlson

The bench-clearing brawl took place on Sept. 16. Unfortunately, the video was taken down by MLB Advanced Media. Jorge Posada and Jesse Carlson were the only two ejected.

2. Yes, a Yankees Snuggie exists 
yankees snuggie I still get a few hits a day to this post, and tons more around Christmas time. Apparently, the snuggie shown in the picture is sold out and all they have now is the 2009 World Series Champions one. Oh well.

3. Hideki Matsui World Series MVP!
matsui mvp

It always helps to be linked from a foreign country that worships Hideki Matsui. The Yankees and my blog will lose a lot of the foreign market with Matsui signing with the Angels.

4. Roy Halladay rumors to Yankees are serious
This post came on July 7, so a few weeks before the trade deadline. Once Ken Rosenthal said he was available and Jon Heyman noted the Yankees and Phillies as early frontrunners, it was time to post. However, Roy Halladay wasn’t traded until the Winter Meetings, and he went to the Phillies.

5. Video: Yankees-Marlins fans fight in the stands (With Update)

Another fight! Man, I’m going to have to post all the baseball fights next year. I think this video was far more entertaining than the Posada-Carlson brawl.

November 26, 2009

A lot to be thankful for

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I’m sure every Yankees blogger out there has a lot to be thankful this year! Winning the World Series in the first and last year’s of the decade is a nice way to leave a mark.

Three things I’m thankful for…

  1. My Yankees winning it all!
  2. My dedicated followers and readers!
  3. And, the people who got me started on this blog! (you know who you are)

November 20, 2009

What 12,000 pictures can do

If you like the sound of a piano, and you like the Yankees, you’ll enjoy this.

Just found this sweet time-lapse of Game 6 by Robert Caplin. Go figure, it was on a blog named after me.

November 11, 2009

A great video to bookmark

Highlights of Yankees game 6 and ticker-tape parade

Yankees fans: If you are feeling sad, or it is a rainy day, all you have to do is watch this two minute clip.

A free video to relive the final game of the World Series and the parade. Genius.

November 10, 2009

Photos of homeless adventure at World Series parade (part 2)

Continued…

It's everywhere!
Then we got on CBS.

Matsui on the big screen (he was the first player to come out).

A-Rod.

Burnett.

Kay.

Swisher (guy to the right of the woman in red hair underneath the cloud).

CC and Tex.

Pettitte (guy behind woman's cell phone).

Jeter.

Trophy!

That's all for pics. We didn't get good shots of the guys I didn't include, but I will still remember them through the other pictures.

It was a really awesome experience (even though I am still recovering from the sleep I lost), and I am not mad at my sister for leaving her apartment that night.

Photos of homeless adventure at World Series parade (part 1)

Now that you know what happened on this night, I will show you the visual proof.
walking
One of my roommates on the left, and me on the right. He was prepared with two warm jackets, I brought one thin Yankees fleece.
streets
Apparently, New York really is the city that never sleeps. This is at 2 a.m. on a Thursday night.
city hall
This is a wide shot of City Hall at 2:30 a.m., just in case you’ve never seen it. They were setting up all night. From where this picture was taken, there was a group of around 10 die-hard fans who were trying to reserve a spot for the parade. We were told they were going to be kicked out to across the street, so we headed to Broadway.

city hall close A close-up of the podium… 27! Then we went to Dunkin Donuts…
dermme pankey
We weren’t with it, I’d say. Trivia began shortly, but then we all got cold because DD wasn’t heated.
bank   This is the first bank we stayed at.  My roommate is literally drawing a picture of himself, and I’m thinking about god knows what. Also, it kind of stunk that we were wearing the same hat, so I made a change.
modells
Open at 5 a.m. We got there at 4:58.
modells gear
The right is a thermal hoodie (extremely comfortable and warm), and the left is the official World Series champions hat. After going to Modell’s, we took our places for the parade (five hours before it began).
crowd crowd3
These two pics were snapped a couple hours before the parade started. Notice the toilet paper flying around in the first one.
street banner

It was everywhere.

November 7, 2009

World Series parade: My homeless adventure of New York City

You may have been wondering why I did not post at all two days  after the Yankees won the World Series. Some of you learned I was at the World Series parade in N.Y.C. through twitter, but others were left in the dark.

Anyway, my two buddies and I arrived at Grand Central at 1:30 in the morning. Rather than staying at my sister’s lovely apartment less than a mile away from City Hall, we pulled an all-nighter. Here’s how it went down.

Getting to my sister’s apartment

After we made our spur-of-the-moment decision to take a train down to New York, I texted and called my sister to make arrangements. However, she never responded and never picked up. I figured she was in a meeting.

By the time we got to her apartment, I had texted her three times and called her eight times. We buzzed in several times in attempt to wake her up, but still, no response. So we began our homeless adventure.

Staying warm
Our first order of business was finding warmth. We had no other place to stay because my other sister and parents were too far away and asleep. So we went into the closest 24/7 convenience store we could find. It was a diamond in the rough. A fully-heated store with a bathroom. We nested there for about a half hour, but later regretted that decision to leave so fast.

We then walked close to a mile to reach City Hall, the culminating site of the parade. It was nice to see a few other die-hard Yankees fans loafing around in the middle of the night. We chatted with a group that stood sat right against the gates of City Hall with the best angle at the podium. We didn’t stay with them because we expected them to be kicked across the street by the police. But they did point us in the direction of a Dunkin Donuts.

Dunkin Donuts

We stayed in DD until around four, drinking hot cocoa, eating stale donuts and playing baseball trivia. “Name the eight states with at least two baseball teams.” (Thanks, Eddie.) We left when we realized it was freezing inside compared to the 24/7 convenience store. We needed a new nest, so we went exploring.

The banks
One of my friends saw a Wachovia, and it was his bank so we went inside the small ATM room to get money. We stayed their for an hour or so reading a free newspaper from DD. At 4:55 in the morning, I thought, “Won’t Modell’s open soon?” I asked my other friend with an iPhone to look it up, and I was right. So we bolted to Modell’s to pick up some Yankees gear. I bought a World Series champions hat and a navy blue thermal “Property of Yankees Baseball.”

We left and detoured past Ground Zero for my friend who had never seen it, and then proceeded to find more shelter and warmth, my other friend’s bank, Bank of America. At around 5:30, we found our standing room, on the corner of Murray St. and Broadway, right across from City Hall. We stood in the same spot for over seven hours, not including my brief trip to Starbucks for a small breakfast.

Post-parade
After the parade, I lost one of my friend’s in the mass of people, and it was nearly impossible to communicate due to everyone’s use of cell phones. Finally, my lost friend’s call got through to me, and soon found him a couple blocks away from where we were.

Instead of meeting up with the rest of my family for a small lunch, we bolted out of the city, finding a subway in Chinatown and then catching a 1:34 train, barely, back to New Haven. We waited a half hour for the shuttle home to Quinnipiac, and then waited 15 minutes for the driver to make an unnecessary cell phone call. The three of us were freezing and tired, and happy to be home when we arrived at school.

------
The adventure with photos post is on the way.

November 5, 2009

World Series Photo Slideshow

Because of this slideshow, my blog’s right sidebar was down for two days. I wisely realized the photobucket slideshow was too wide and pushed my right sidebar to the bottom of my blog.

There will be no more photobucket slideshows posted directly to this site, but I can offer you the link to them, like so.

Yankees capture #27 for #27

Twenty-seven times the Yankees have won a World Series. It was Joe Girardi who chose to carry the burden of that number on his back for his first two seasons as the skip. Now, he won’t have a burden to carry, but a decision to change numbers awaiting.

The Yankees beat the Phillies 7-3 last night, propelled by Hideki Matsui’s six runs batted in, the World Series MVP.

Quick ‘Cap:
Matsui gave the Yankees an early lead on a two-run homer in the second inning, and then drove in two more on a single in the third. But he wasn’t done yet. After Mark Teixeira drove home Derek Jeter in the fifth, Matsui smacked a two-run double to make it 7-1.

The Phillies finally got to Andy Pettitte in the sixth with two runs, forcing him out of the game. Joba Chamberlain, Damaso Marte, and who else, but Mariano Rivera closed out the game, the series, and the season as John Sterling would say. Full box score here.

Thoughts:
In 1923, the Yankees won their first World Series in their brand new stadium. Last night, the Yankees won their last World Series in their brand new stadium. Absolutely amazing.

I cannot say enough about Hideki Matsui. Six RBIs in five innings is unreal. I was almost even more surprised with Marte’s ability to strike out Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. With Mo, there wasn’t too much surprise.

Line of the Night:
Matsui: 3-for-4, HR, 6 RBI, 2B, R. Meet your MVP, world.

Up Next:
The offseason!

Don’t worry. This blog isn’t shutting down until next April or anything. I’ll be continuing my Yankees blogging all winter and into next year. This is my final recap of the year, and I would like to thank all of my friends and followers for supporting me along the way. None of this would be possible without you, and for that, I am extremely thankful.

And on that note, GO YANKEES!

Yankees.com screenshot

Something tells me I’m going to want this pic. (click to enlarge)

Hideki Matsui World Series MVP!

Hats off to this man. GODZILLA! What a guy. Congratulations to Hideki Matsui and all of his fans in Japan. He was an excellent addition to the Yankees for the past six seasons, and I’m glad he’s finally got a ring to show for it. With, or without him next year, I wish Matsui all the best.

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