Results tagged ‘ Curt Schilling ’

So Close Yet So Far Away…again…

A wasted Phil Hughes performance…

From the movie, Hangover

Hughes did his part. Unfortunately, no one else did. Pitching into the 6^th inning with only one run allowed, Hughes saw a potential victory evaporate in the hands of relievers Boone Logan and David Robertson.

Thanks, in part, to a throwing error by Jorge Posada in the 8^th, and a subsequent hit by Cesar Izturis, the Baltimore Orioles had the insurance run they would need to hold off a late rally by the Yankees.

A fielder’s choice groundout by Alex Rodriguez in the 9^th inning ended the game after two runs had scored in the inning to bring the Yanks within one run, 5-4. The blazing hot Robinson Cano was left standing in the on-deck circle.

Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post

This was a very disappointing performance by the Yankees, who have been very uninspired of late in losing four of the last five games. Not even a Monday trip to Washington to meet President Barack Obama helped motivate the squad.

Obama Yankees Baseball

After a terrific start, the Yankees are now 12-7, 2 ½ games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. The Boston Red Sox have won two straight to pull within 3 games of the Yankees and into third place.

Clay Buchholz

Boston Globe

In typical Curt Schilling fashion, controversial remarks were abound as he indicated Yankees pitcher Javier Vazquez was not an American League guy. Manager Joe Girardi defended Vazquez. “Guys are asked to analyze situations, and so they make their analysis. We still believe Javy’s going to be successful, and he’s going to pitch at a very high level for us.” I hope Joe’s right, but I have to admit I had the same reservations when I first heard the Yankees had re-acquired Vazquez. His greatest successes have come in Montreal and Atlanta, both National League cities. I am still hopeful Javy will succeed in the Bronx but the concerns and fears will remain until he proves me wrong…

The Yankees are bringing pitcher Javier Vazquez back to the Bronx...

Bazemore/AP

Hats off to San Francisco pitcher Jonathan Sanchez for outdueling the great Roy Halladay in the Giants’ 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies last night.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

Posted on April 27, 2010 at 11:26 pm
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Filed in: Dailies
Tags: Alex Rodriquez, Barack Obama, Boone Logan, Clay Buchholz, Curt Schilling, David Robertson, Giants, Jonathan Sanchez, Orioles, Phil Hughes, Phillies, Red Sox, Robinson Cano, Roy Halladay, Yankees

My Thanks to Julia’s Boston 2nd Graders!…

Here’s a very special note of thanks to Julia‘s second grade class. They were working on Acrostic Poems today, and included one for me:

Yankees

A-Rod

New York

K-Count

Excellent

Enormous Crowds

Super

I am very touched by the generosity of Julia’s students to include me in their thoughts despite being their teacher’s antagonist. I owe them a great big…

THE COWBOY RIDES AWAY

Curt Schilling was definitely an acquired taste. He was a player you loved or you hated…nothing in between. I will make no bones that I fell into the latter category, but I respect his accomplishments.

“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”

–Winston Churchill

It was easier for me when Curt pitched for Philadelphia. I recognized him as a quality pitcher, but he was never a threat since the Yankees were not locked in any competitive battles with the Phillies. The Yankees were still a few years away from their championship run when Curt won the 1993 World Series with the Phillies. But all that changed when Curt was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In 2001, Curt went 22-6 for the D-Backs and was 4-0 with a 1.12 ERA in the play-offs. He was co-MVP with Randy Johnson in Arizona’s 7-game World Series victory over the Yankees. I attended Games 2 and 6 in Phoenix, neither of which were enjoyable experiences for me. I disliked Curt and the Diamondbacks prior to that World Series, but the belligerent Arizona fans ensured a lifetime of disdain.

So, you can imagine how excited I was when Curt was traded to Boston in 2003.

Naturally, Curt played a pivotal role in the Red Sox dramatic comeback from a three games-to-none deficit in the 2004 American League Championship Series. Thus endeth the Curse of the Bambino.

I am not sorry to see him go, but I will tip my hat to a champion competitor…

X MARKS THE SPOT

Manager Joe Girardi has said that if the season started today, Xavier Nady would be the Yankees starting right fielder (replacing Bobby Abreu). But even Nady recognizes that both he and Nick Swisher will see plenty of playing time.