Yankees SOS!

Yankees SOS!

Ellsbury Can’t Save Yanks

Yankees Home Woes Continue; Lose Fourth Straight

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 5- The Yankees continue to falter at their home ballpark. The 7-4 loss to Oakland on Wednesday night was their fourth straight defeat at home. They have lost 12 of their last 16 games in the Bronx. The combination of poor hitting, especially in the clutch, and lack of dependability from the relief corps has resulted in many recent defeats.

A base on balls to Ichiro Suzuki and three consecutive hits, a single by Brett Gardner, an infield single by Derek Jeter, and a three-run homer by Jacoby Ellsbury provided the Yanks with a four-run inning and a 4-0 lead at the end of three innings.

Unfortunately for the home team, the third was the only inning in which the Yankees scored. During their final five frames, the Yankees only managed two singles. To make matters worse for them, the Athletics scored seven unanswered runs to achieve a victory.

The versatility of Oakland is shown by the variety of ways their runs on Wednesday were driven in. Three were scored on solo home runs. Cuban native Yoenis Cespedes blasted his 11^th of the season in the fourth and his 12^th two innings later. Third sacker Josh Donaldson lifted his 16^th into the stands in the seventh. 

Three other runs did not need base hits to move an Oakland runner across the plate. Sacrifice flies by Jed Lowrie in the third, Alberto Callaspo in the sixth and Kyle Blanks in the ninth were as meaningful as the four baggers. 

Another strange manner of scoring occurred in the ninth as Brandon Moss was hit by a pitch of Wade LeBlanc in his first game as a Yankee. 

Yankee starter Vidal Nuño gave up two runs in 4.2 innings, but the relievers gave up five in 4.1. Matt Daley gave up two, Leblanc surrendered two, and in his major league debut, Jose Ramirez yielded a home run to Donaldson in the seventh, which earned him the loss. 

Yankee skipper Joe Girardi said, “It’s a product of not having your bullpen set up the way you want it.” 

The passing of Don Zimmer was of far more importance than the loss of a single ballgame. The feisty, colorful, knowledgeable and fun loving individual was a fixture in MLB for 66 years. He was remembered with much emotion by those who knew him well for his time as a Yankee coach. 

After the game, Girardi recalled, “I was with him in 10 of my first 11 years. Wherever he went, I went. He was a close friend. I’m going to miss him. Our relationship was always close. He gave me my first opportunity. It’s going to be really strange not to see him.”

Another scene of the evening at Yankee Stadium that had greater meaning than the final score was the thoughtful treatment received by 12-year-old Matthew Miller of Queens and his family by CC Sabathia. Miller was severely injured and his 7 year-old brother Chris killed in a house fire at the start of 2014. Sabathia tried to provide some happy memories for the family who came as his guests for on-the-field activities.

Morrisania News: Dancing in the Street

Morrisania News: Dancing in the Street: Bronxites Celebrate at # PuertoRicanDayParade Did we catch you at the parade Click here to find out

Dancing in the Street

Bronxites Celebrate at

#PuertoRicanDayParade

Did we catch you at the parade

Click here to find out

Morrisania News: Yankee Bullpen Loses

Morrisania News: Yankee Bullpen Loses: We Miss Mo! Bullpen Continues to Cost Yanks a Win as Pitchers Sputter from Loss of Mariano Rivera By Rich Mancuso BRONX,...

Yankee Bullpen Loses

We Miss Mo!

Bullpen Continues to Cost Yanks a Win

as Pitchers Sputter from Loss of Mariano Rivera

By Rich Mancuso

BRONX, NEW YORK, MAY 4- Close games are costing the New York Yankees this season and no longer having the reliable Mariano Rivera could be a reason. The Yankees were prepared for the inevitable day when closing a game would not be routine when Rivera retired. In two of the last three games they realized more how much Rivera meant.

The bullpen implosion led to the Yankees third straight loss, 5-2, on a long Tuesday night in the Bronx in a game that was delayed over an hour by rain. And there are two more games with Oakland to close the home stand before another long road trip.

It was the Twins on Sunday when the Yankees pen imploded. Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, in the Oakland Athletics 10^th inning, there was another implosion. Oakland scored three-runs off Adam Warren, and what was left of the 41,677 in attendance realized again the Yankees without Rivera are very beatable.

The Yankees are no longer a power threat and lacking a run producing lineup, so much different when Rivera was closing another win. Close games in the late innings are not a guaranteed win, evident by the extra inning loss and the second home run of the night by Brandon Moss, in the 10^th off Warren that broke a 2-2 tie.

To say there is panic or that the Yankees are in deep trouble, it is still early with a third of the season complete. However, if close games are continually lost by the bullpen implosion, as has been the case as of late, then there is reason to panic.

“They are not going to be perfect they have been a big part of wins this year and not going to always be perfect,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi commented. The reference was to the reliable Dellin Betances who has been unstoppable, but finally had an implosion

The closer, David Robertson pitched a perfect ninth but gave away the lead Sunday. Betances had not walked a batter in his previous 10 appearances but, with two outs in the eighth inning Albert Callaspo got one. Pinch hitter Stephen Vogt followed and on a full count hit a tying double into the right center field gap.  

And, as good as Betances has been, you can’t pitch like that to the A’s who happen to have the best run producing offense in baseball.

"I felt good,” Betances explained in a quiet Yankees clubhouse. “I just think the two-out walk hurt. I had him in my head and I just did not put him away I think from there  I just fell behind on Vogt and just threw him a good pitch to hit. I think Callaspo, that at-bat was more frustrating."

Frustrating is the word Girardi used as his Yankees at 29-28, are in danger of falling to the .500 mark if they lose the second game of the three-game series tonight. It is not only the pen, but an anemic offense that showed some hope with a solo home run from Mark Teixeira in the sixth, his team leading 10^th that gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead off A’s starter Scott Kazmir.

Teixeira got clearance to start after missing the last two games with a sore right wrist. He has driven in 21 runs in his last 25 games, but when the wrist that is still heeling from surgery becomes bothersome, Teixeira, who appears to be the lone home run threat in this lineup, will have to sit down.

But it is the bullpen implosion that has the Yankees concerned. And without that late Hall of Fame closer no longer around, the Yankees have realized how different the late innings have become.

Comment Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com   Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso  www.Newyorksportsexaminer.com

Morrisania News: Jennifer Lopez

Morrisania News: Jennifer Lopez: JLo Launches Family Health Center at Monte BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 2- Jennifer and Lynda Lopez, co-founders of the Lopez Family Fou...

Jennifer Lopez

JLo Launches Family Health Center at Monte

BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 2- Jennifer and Lynda Lopez, co-founders of the Lopez Family Foundation, and Montefiore Health System launched the Center for a Healthy Childhood at Montefiore’s Community Health Fair. 

The new initiative between the Lopez Family Foundation and Montefiore aims to promote healthy living through community health programming, positive messages to raise children's self-image and a healthy environment so every woman, child and family can achieve their full potential. During the surprise visit, the Lopez Family Foundation made a $250,000 donation to Montefiore. The fair, a concept brought to Montefiore by Jennifer and Lynda, was held on Montefiore’s Moses Campus.

“We are proud to partner with Jennifer, Lynda and the entire Lopez Family Foundation to make a positive impact on the lives and futures of families in the Bronx,” said Steven M. Safyer, M.D., president and CEO, Montefiore. “Montefiore’s work with the Lopez Family Foundation will begin by improving vital education, understanding and access to healthy eating and exercise. It is only through partnerships like this that we can ensure every child has a healthy and nurturing childhood to achieve their full potential. ”

Jennifer, Lynda and many of their friends and family attended the Community Health Fair to participate in activities, including a Zumba class featuring participants in B’N Fit, a program affiliated with the Center for a Healthy Childhood that helps teenagers maintain or lose weight. They also assisted in a healthy cooking demonstration, making smoothies for those at the fair.

“We can do so much to make the Bronx, our hometown, a healthier place. We can exercise together and we can eat well together. The Center for a Healthy Childhood will help make our vision a reality on every block,” said Jennifer Lopez. “It feels good to come home and talk to moms and kids about making healthy lifestyle decisions – they can make changes now that will set them on a path for a long, happy life.”

The Center builds upon Montefiore’s comprehensive community health programs and the long-standing commitment of Jennifer and Lynda to improving the health and well-being of women and children.

“We love having the opportunity to offer resources that mothers, children and families in the Bronx need for better access to healthcare, health information and health education,” said Lynda Lopez. “The Lopez Family Foundation is passionate about the health and well-being of mothers and children, and we're excited the Center for a Healthy Childhood will go deep into the community to provide needed support – whether it’s to educate about childhood nutrition, physical activity, emotional and intellectual engagement on health, or healthy pregnancies and motherhood."  

The Center will serve Montefiore patients and their families, as well as the tens of thousands of children and families in the Bronx and beyond reached through partnerships with the New York City Department of Education, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and other health and social service providers.

For more information about the Center and its affiliated programs, visit chc.montefiore.org.