Series Turns into Pitching Duel

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Yanks Prevail over Mets, 4-2; Long Ball is Decisive

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, June 10- As in Game 1 of the Subway Series, a combination of good pitching and home runs accounted for a Yankees victory over the Mets.

In seven innings, Mets starter Dillon Gee gave up only five hits. Three of the hits came off the bats of three of the first four batters Gee faced, Derek Jeter singled to center, breaking a 0 for 18 hitless streak. The Mets killer began the game with a .377 batting average against the Amazins. A balk moved Jeter to second. He scored on single by Alex Rodriguez with one out. The hit was Jeter’s 328^th, the run his 186^th in interleague play and the run batted in was the 189^th for Rodriguez in interleague play. Both raised the numbers as major league leaders in gams between teams of the opposite league.

The next hit off Gee was a two-run homer by Mark Teixeira with two out in the sixth. It was sufficient to give the Yanks enough runs to achieve victory.

The final Yankees run came again via the home run route as Curtis Granderson led-off the eighth with a homer off reliever Bobby Parnell. The long ball ended a string of 18 at bats without a hit for the Yankees centerfielder.

Phil Hughes, the Yankees starter, hurled a very similar game to Gee. In 6.1 innings, Hughes threw 108 pitches, 71 for strikes. Gee threw 70 strikes in 108 pitches.

The only two runs Hughes surrendered came on solo home runs. Mets shortstop Omar Quintanilla hit a four bagger on a 1-1 pitch with one out in the third. David Wright led off the sixth with his eighth homer of the year. Hughes has yielded at least one home run in each of his 12 starts in 2012.

Mets skipper Terry Collins alluded to the relative ease of hitting home runs in Yankee Stadium and the superior power of the Yankees batters in his post-game remarks, “Singles don’t win games in this park. They [Yankees] showed exactly what it was, you can’t make mistakes here. You have to keep the ball in the ballpark.”

Yankees relievers, Boone Logan, Cory Wade, Clay Rapada and Rafael Soriano combined to keep the Mets scoreless in 2.2 innings. Soriano earned his ninth save in nine attempts.

After the contest, Yankees manager Joe Girardi praised his relief corps, “These guys have really stepped up for us. If your pitchers do their job, you really have a good chance to win. Seventh, eighth and ninth were mapped out for us, now it isn’t.”

Yankees starters have won seven of the last nine games and have an ERA of below 2.00 in June. Girardi explained, “When you get consistency out of all five starters, you can get a streak going.”

Mets superstar David Wright concurred, “They [Yankees] have that kind of pitching that gives them a good chance to win.”

The final game of the Subway Series to be played will feature Andy Pettitte (3-2) against Jonathon Niese (4-2).

Subway Series Turns into Batting Practice for Yanks

Bombers Derail Met Fans Dreams of No Hitter

(Photos by Gary Quintal)

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, June 9- Yankee Stadium was sold out for the opening game of the 2012 Subway Series. Many of the 48,566 in the stands came with the expectation of seeing Mets starter Johan Santana tie the 74-year-old mark of Johnny Vandermeer by pitching his second consecutive no-hitter. This did not happen, but the fans did get to see Yanks starter Hiroki Kuroda limit the Mets to one-hit in his seven innings on the mound.

Santana retired the first three batters he faced, but ran into trouble in the second. After walking Alex Rodriguez, who led off, Robinson Cano followed by hitting a two-run homer into the rightfield seats to put the Yankees on the scoreboard.

Santana retired the first two batters in the next inning, before the onslaught began. A-Rod singled to begin the rally. Cano again followed with a two-run homer. 

After the game, Cano spoke about hitting against Santana, “He’s a guy who throws a lot of strikes. That’s the kind to be aggressive against. You have to be lucky to be successful against a pitcher like that, one of the best in the game.” Cano has been more than lucky against Santana as he has hit successfully 10 times in 26 at bats.

The home run barrage did not end with Cano. The next two batters, Nick Swisher and Andruw Jones, hit homers to left. The three back-to-back- home runs were last accomplished by Yankees batters on August 28, 2011 in Baltimore. Interestingly, the feat was done by the same three batters in the same order.

Yankee manager Joe Girardi said of his team’s output, “He [Santana] got the ball up a little bit and our guys took advantage of it. They put some pretty good at bats on him.”

Santana had never given up four home runs in a single game. Mets manager Terry Collins again proved to be a stand-up leader by his remarks taking responsibility for Santana’s performance, “Because of that decision [giving Santana two extra days of rest since his last start], I’m responsible for how he pitched tonight. That’s what caused him to be rusty tonight. He doesn’t make those kinds of mistakes [keeping the ball up]. He just wasn’t sharp. We erred on the side of caution. It cost us the game tonight.”

The fans were close to seeing a no-hitter by Kuroda. The 37 -year-old veteran hurler from Japan did not yield a hit until two were out in the sixth when shortstop Omar Quintanilla doubled to right center. Girardi opined, “He had great command of his slider and curveball, His fastball was effective.

Kurida left the game after seven innings, having retired 20 of 23 batters, Jeter made an error in the fourth and Lucas Duda walked in the seventh. Of Kuroda’s stint on the mound, Collins remarked, “That’s the best I’ve ever seen him pitch.”

The Subway Series continues on Saturday night at 7:15 pm, weather permitting, with Phil Hughes (5-5) facing Dillon Gee (4-3).

Supersized Soda Smack?

Candidate Says Soda is Like Heroin

By Michael Horowitz

BRONX, NEW YORK, June 8- City Council candidate Andy King said, this week, that sugared sodas and beverages have become like heroin in black and Latino communities.

For this reason, King, a long-time organizer of hospital and health-care workers, said he strongly supports restrictions on the sale of soda in restaurants, delis, and movie theaters throughout the city.

“Sugared soda is making people in our communities very sick,” King stressed, in a telephone interview. “Those who say Mayor Bloomberg is a nanny for supporting restrictions on the sale of soda should come with me when I talk to teenagers and young adults who are suffering from diabetes and other ailments that are caused by the soda we drink and the junk food we eat because it is readily available in our delis.”

King added, “No one needs to drink a 32-ounce sugared beverage. If people don't know how bad it is for them, they need to be educated. In the meantime, we need to take strong and aggressive steps to prevent the onset of early diabetes and high blood pressure in our communities.”

The Council candidate noted, “We need to insist that stores in our neighborhoods carry more fresh fruits and vegetables, and we need to insist that our delis carry them. With our eating and drinking habits the way they are now, many people, including many of those living in communities of color, are killing themselves.”

Under the circumstances, King insisted, it is just as reasonable to ban sales of large soda beverages as it is to ban the sale of heroin in many communities.

King emphasized, “We shouldn't be eating so much stuff that is eating away at our esophagus's. Under the circumstances, people in our city need help from city officials in terms of making healthy choices in what they eat and drink. Those who say Mayor Bloomberg is a nanny for suggesting that we need restrictions on the sale of soda really don't fully comprehend what's happening in our communities.”

Yanks Don't Get the Job Done

A-Rod Drops the Ball, CC Comes up Short as Yanks Fail to Sweep Rays

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, June 8- The Yanks failed to sweep a three-game series with Tampa and go into first place in the American League East as they lost to the Rays, 7-3 on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium in a lengthy and rain delayed contest.

Baseball purists happily anticipated the seventh meeting of mound aces, CC Sabathia and David Price. Although neither pitched at his best, each did not pitch badly.

Price tied James Shields on the Tampa starting staff by earning his eighth win of the 2012 season. His lack of control in the second, two walks and a wild pitch led to the only run he surrendered. He limited the Yankees to three isolated singles in the five innings he pitched.

The key opportunity the Yankees had to score several runs came in the final inning Price hurled. Chris Stewart singled to lead-off the inning. Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira each walked. With one out, Alex Rodriguez came to the plate. Many in the stands were hoping A-Rod would tie the game at 5 by blasting his 23^rd grand slam homer. The blow, if hit, would have tied the major league mark of Lou Gehrig. The 11 pitch at bat ended with A-Rod striking out. Robinson Cano ended the contest by grounding out to second.

After throwing 109 pitches, Price was removed from the game at the conclusion of the fifth inning. Yankees skipper Joe Girardi credited Price with a game well pitched, “He threw well. I thought Price pitched pretty good. (sic) We had some opportunities, but we couldn’t get much off him. That’s the bottom line.”

The workhorse of the Yankees rotation, CC Sabathia, hurled 121 pitches in seven innings. All the seven hits and five runs he surrendered came in three frames, the second, third and fourth. Teo of the runs in the third were unearned, coming off a throwing error by third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

Sabathia, the ultimate team player, said of the error, “It’s just part of the game.” He took responsibility for the runs by blaming “just not hitting the location.”

The Yankee ace improved as the game continued. He said, “The last three innings, I felt pretty good.” His feelings were reflected in his work as he retired 11 of the final 12 batters he faced, six by strikeout.

Sabathia fanned 12 batters. The game was only his third career loss in a game in which he struck out 10 or more batters.

The first installment of the annual Subway Series will begin on Friday night. The Mets will be traveling across town to visit Yankee Stadium. Johan Santana (3-2) will attempt to tie the mark of Johnny Vandemeer by pitching his second consecutive no-hitter. Hiroki Kuroda (4-6) will take the mound for the Yankees.

Now This is How You Pitch

New York Yankees Dynasty Banner Flag

Pettitte Shows Youngsters How Things Get Done

(Photos by Gary Quintal)

The Yankees Old Man of the Mound Andy Pettitte schooled his younger teammates on how to be a dominating pitcher last night. The nearly 40-year-old struck out 10 Tampa Bay batters and allowed only two hits through 7 innings.

Andy’s dominance shut down the Rays as Yankee bats became hot. Russel Martin’s grand slam topped Yankee hitting leading to a 7-0 win over the Rays.

Pride on Display

Did we catch you at the 25th Annual Bronx Puerto Rican Day Parade? See our photos of the festivities. 

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New Bronx Family Feud?

100 PERCENT

By Robert Press

Martinez for The 78^th Assembly Seat

The Chairman of the Committee of 100 Democrats, State Committeeman from the 78^th A.D., and our good friend Mr. Ricardo “Ricky” Martinez has announced that he will be running for the 78^th Assembly Seat. This was found out by us at the Bronx Puerto Rican Day parade when current 78^th Assemblyman Jose Rivera snubbed his State Committeeman to photograph his daughter's opponent Mr. Mark Gjonaj in the 80^th Assembly race while Mr. Gjonaj was speaking to the crowd. 

We spoke to candidate Ricardo “Ricky” Martinez to find out exactly why he decided to run this year against a man who he called at one time his mentor. Mr. Martinez said that his friendship with Assemblyman Rivera goes back to when he used to go out with the assemblyman's daughter now Assemblywoman Rivera. Mr. Martinez said that while he and many others have been very loyal to the assemblyman that the assemblyman has not as proven by his actions, the latest being redistricting his son Councilman Joel Rivera into the 78^th Assembly District so Jose can pass the assembly seat down to his son when his son is out of a job in 2013. Candidate Martinez continued that the the 78^th A.D. is not a kingdom that gets passed down to the next generation.

Many people and political insiders have said that they thought Ricardo “Ricky” Martinez would run for the assembly seat in 2010, and have encouraged him to run this year. Now that word is getting out that he is running, Martinez said that his support is growing every day. Candidate Ricardo “Ricky” Martinez said that Assemblyman Rivera knew that he wanted to run in 2010, but that he was diagnosed with an early stage of cancer that he has survived and is now ready to run for the assembly seat. By the way Rivera, who we were told is 75, allegedly has health problems so it would be easy for him to say that he has to retire in midterm so his son could run in a special election. However if that were to happen we have been told that there is another person close to the current Democratic County Leader (that took control of the county leadership away from Rivera) who was redistricted out of the 78^th A.D., but has moved back into the new 78^th A.D. and could be waiting for such an opportunity.

Ricardo “Ricky” Martinez is running on a platform of “The Community and the People First.” Mr. Martinez, unlike the current assemblyman, is in favor of term limits for all elected positions. “If there are term limits for the President and the City Council, why are there no term limits for statewide offices.” Better education, more and better jobs, better housing, better transportation, are only a few of candidate Martinez's goals, and he said that some of those in office often think of themselves or their family first and Assemblyman Rivera is a perfect example of that.

Staying on the subject of Assembly races we have been told that incumbent 80^th State Committeewoman Diane Cerino will not be on the petition of the current assemblywoman but will be on the petition of Mark Gjonaj for the 80^th Assembly District. We now have three assembly races in the 78^th, 80^th, and the open 87th assembly districts that we will be watching. In two weeks we will get out our crystal ball to predict the winner in the 13^th Congressional race that is on Tuesday June 26th, which has now turned into a real battle. 

If he is reelected Congressman Rangel may need to take several weeks or even months to recuperate.

Lastly go to my blog at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com to see photos that I took of the Bronx Puerto Rican Day parade along with the details of how the parade went. It looked like a washout for a few minutes as the rain started to pour, but the sun quickly came back out after the brief shower. Thousands marched, and thousands more enjoyed those who marched with the cars and floats.

If you have any comments about this column or would like to have an event listed or covered in this column or on my blog you can e-mail us at 100percentbronxnews@gmail.com or call 718-644-4199 Mr. Robert Press.