Monday, July 09, 2007
The Bronx is Burning Episode 1 Review
The first episode is the 8-episode series begins with the 1977 game against the Boston Red Sox in which Reggie Jackson (Daniel Sunjata) appears to not hustle for a pop fly ball to right field Billy Martin (John Turturro) is obviously displeased with his performance and benches Jackson only to have a fight nearly break out. George Steinbrenner (Oliver Platt) is watching the incident on TV and demands Martin to be fired.
Cut back to 1975.
A friendly phone call chat between Steinbrenner and Martin brings Martin to his first managerial position with the Yankees, leads them to the 1976 pennant only to be swept by the Cincinnati Reds and Martin is ejected from the game for throwing something on the field.
Martin is later seen in the clubhouse weeping after the loss and his ejection when Steinbrenner comes in to throw more fuel on the fire.
This is where we see the vintage Steinbrenner owners talked about.
Into the beginning parts of the show we see Martin and his wife having an argument about their personal life that later plays the ultimate ending of Martin.
Steinbrenner in typical superstar-needy fashion signs Reggie Jackson for three million dollars, and quickly we see his ego and his wanting for more money.
During the 1977 spring training, we see how the other players interact with each other both on and of the field and the emergence of the leadership of Thurman Munson and the continued growth of Jackson's ego.
The ego plays a big role in the first season as a magazine columnist is tasked to interview Jackson and one of the main viewpoints is his ego, and as much as he denies the fact his ego is not as large as he thinks, every act disproves it.
What he does, and especially what he says, referring him in third person "Reggie Jackson puts people in the seats" and "I'll have New York eating out of the palm of my hands" and some of the quotes Jackson states.
The other main conflict in this series are the altercations between Steinbrenner and Martin with the first one being an argument over Martin not riding on the team bus during spring training and eventually leads to his way of managing versus the way Steinbrenner wants him to manage. Eventually, Martin is fired and replaced by Yogi Berra.
Next week we see Jackson's quotes being taken out of context in the interview, Steinbrenner pressing for a World Title, and the players begin to resent Jackson.
Episode 2 - ESPN
10pm EST
Tuesday, July 17
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Labels: history, review, The Bronx is Burning, TV, Yankees


Posted by Steve Kenul at 10:18 PM

Thursday, May 24, 2007
Roger Clemens - 300th Win / 4,000 K's
July 13, 2003
Yankees vs CardinalsINNING 1
Cardinals battingRoger Clemens pitchingMiguel Cairo batting: Ball, strike looking, foul,
strike out swinging (3,997)J.D. Drew batting: Strike looking, ball, strike swinging, ball, foul,
strike out swinging (3,998)Albert Pujols: Strike swinging, strike looking, ball, ball,
strike out swinging (3,999)Yankees batting
Jason Simontacchi pitchingAlfonso Soriano batting: foul, ball, strike looking, foul out to third
Derek Jeter batting: strike looking, ball, strike swinging,
single to leftJason Giambi batting: strike looking, ball, ball, foul, fly out to center
Jorge Posada batting: ball, ball,
double of wall in right, Jeter scoresRobin Ventura batting: strike swinging, foul, ball, ball, strike out swinging
INNING 2
Cardinals batting
Clemens pitchingJim Edmonds batting: ball,
HOME RUN LEFT FIELD, Edmonds scoresScott Rolen batting: foul, foul, ball, ball, foul,
double off left field wallEdgar Renteria batting: strike looking, foul, ball, ball, ball,
STRIKE OUT SWINGING (4,000 CAREER STRIKE OUTS)Tino Martinez batting: strike looking, strike swinging, strike out swinging
Mike Matheny batting: strike swinging, foul, ball, ball, strike out swinging
Yankees batting
Simontacchi pitchingHideki Matsui batting: strike looking, ball, strike looking,
HOME RUN RIGHT FIELD, Matsui scoresRuben Sierra batting: strike looking, ball, fly out to center
Raul Mondesi batting: ball, ball, strike looking, ground out short -> first
Juan Rivera batting: foul, strike swinging, ball, ball, ball,
ball fourSoriano batting: strike looking, ball, strike swinging, ball, fielder's choice third -> second
INNING 3Cardinals batting
Clemens pitchingKerry Robinson batting: strike looking, ball, strike looking, foul, foul, ground out catcher -> first
Cairo batting: base hit to leftDrew batting: ball, ball, strike looking, strike swinging, strike out looking
Pujols batting: ball, ball, ball,
ball fourEdmonds batting: strike swinging, fly out to left
Yankees batting
Simontacchi pitchingJeter batting: ball, strike swinging, ball, fly out to right
Giambi batting: strike looking, strike looking, ball, ball, ground out to first -> pitcher
Posada batting: strike looking, strike looking, strike out looking
INNING 4
Cardinals batting
Clemens pitchingRolen batting: base hit to leftRenteria batting: foul,
base hit to left, Rolen to thirdMartinez batting: sac fly to left, Rolen scores, Renteria to secondMatheny batting: strike looking, ball, foul, strike out swinging
Robinson batting: strike looking, ball, foul, ball, ground out second -> first
Yankees battingSimontacchi pitchingVentura batting: strike looking, strike looking, strike out looking
Matsui batting: strike looking, ball, ball, foul, ball, foul tip strike out
Sierra batting: strike looking, ball,
HOME RUN RIGHT FIELD, Sierra scoresMondesi batting: fly out to center
INNING 5
Cardinals batting
Clemens pitchingCairo batting: strike looking, ball, ball, foul, pop out to short
Drew batting: strike looking, strike swinging, ball, ball, ball,
ball fourPujols batting: ball, strike swinging,
base hit to left, Drew to secondEdmonds batting: ball, ball, strike looking, strike swinging, strike out swinging
Rolen batting: ball, ball, ball, strike looking, foul, strike out swinging
Yankees batting
Simontacchi pitchingRivera batting: double to right-centerSoriano batting: pop-bunt out to catcher
Jeter batting: ball, strike looking, foul, foul, ball, ball, fly out to right
Giambi batting: foul, ball, ball, foul, check swing strike out
INNING 6
Cardinals batting
Clemens pitchingRenteria batting: ball, strike looking, strike swinging, fly out to left
Martinez batting: strike looking, ground out second -> first
Matheny batting: strike looking, ball, fly out to right
Yankees battingSimontocchi pitchingPosada batting: strike looking, ball, ball, ball,
ball fourVentura batting: foul, strike swinging, fielder's choice short -> second, Posada out at second
Matsui batting: foul, ground into double play, second -> short -> first
INNING 7Cardinals batting
Clemens pitchingRobinson batting: fly out to center
Cairo batting: strike swinging, ball, foul, ball, fly out to center
Chris Hammond replaces ClemensDrew batting: bunt hit to thirdPujols batting: strike looking, ball, ball,
base hit to right, Drew to secondEdmonds batting: strike swinging, ball, ground out second -> first
Yankees batting
Simontacchi pitchingSierra batting: foul,
base hit to right-centerMondesi batting: strike looking,
HOME RUN TO LEFT, Sierra scores, Mondesi scoresRivera batting: base hit to rightEsteban Yan replaces SimontacchiSoriano batting: ball, fly out to center
Jeter batting: foul, ball, ball, strike looking, ball, ground out short -> first,
Rivera to secondGiambi batting: ball, ball, ball,
ball fourPosada batting: ball, strike swinging, ball, strike looking, ball, ground out second -> first
INNING 8
Cardinals batting
Antonio Osuna replaces HammondRolen batting: strike looking, ball, strike swinging, foul, line out to short
Renteria batting: fly out to right
Martinez batting: foul, strike swinging, ball, ball, ground out second -> first
Yankees battingSteve Kline replaces Yan pitchingSierra batting: ball, pop out to left-center
Mondesi batting: strike looking, ball, line out to third
Rivera batting: ball, force out short -> third
INNING 9Cardinals battingMariano Rivera replaces OsunaOrlando Palmeiro batting: strike looking, ball, ball, foul, strike out looking
Robinson batting: strike looking, ground out pitcher -> first
Cairo batting: strike looking, ground out to first
FINALYankees 5Cardinals 2ROGER CLEMENS BECOMES THE 21st PLAYER TO REACH 300 WINS-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Labels: Cardinals, history, milestone, Roger Clemens, Yankees



Posted by Steve Kenul at 8:00 PM

Friday, May 18, 2007
61,808 Honor Lou Gehrig
The Baltimore News-Post
Sports
Wednesday Evening, July 5, 1939
'Iron Man' Is Overcome By Emotion
by Sid Feder
NEW YORK, July 5-(A. P.)
The husky figure climbed slowly up the old wooden stairs back of the Yankees' dugout, shoulders bent, right leg limping and throat torn by sobs.
This was Lou Gehrig leaving the most dramatic moment of his life. Back of him, 61,808 fans piled on Yankee Stadium's tiered sides, cheered till the rafter shook, and out on the field a big, round-faced, flat-nosed fellow stood as tears rolled down his face.
He was Babe Ruth the one-and-only, who had just voiced for everyone who knows three strikes are out their feeling about Lou.
"C'MON KID"
He had gone over, put one of those big arms around Gehrig's shoulders and patted Lu once or twice, trying to get him stifle the emotion which had broken him up right out there on the bal field.
"C'mon, Kid," the Babe whispered through his tears. "C'mon Kid, buck up now. We're all with you."
That was what everyone had been trying to say to Gehrig for an hour during all that ceremony which marked "Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day" at the Stadium yesterday. The fans had been trying to; so had his teammates-those of the current Yanks and those of the '27 World Champions-and so had the baseball writers. But there was no one who could-or should-have said it like the Bam.
OLD-TIMERS GATHER
All around them were players of the current club and those of the past generation of world beaters. They had gathered, these old-timers, from the four corners of the country to do honor of old Lou, the iron horse, who has been put back in the roundhouse by a little germ. "beanballs" couldn't do it, nor broken bones, nor illness through the 14 years during which he chalked up sports' most amazing endurance record of 2,130 straight games in action. But this little "bug," a form of infantile paralysis, may have put a "period" on the hoss' playing career for keeps.
So the club, thanks to President Ed Barrow, put on the show for Lou yesterday before the biggest crowd of the year. And old timers unanimously agreed there has never been such a heartfelt scene on the diamond.
For Lou, a sentimental sort of fellow anyway, it was too much. Even before before the speechmaking and presentation of the gifts on the field, he was overcome in the clubhouse.
"There hasn't been a day since I came up that I wasn't anxious to get in uniform an dout on the field," he said. "But today I wish I was anywhere but in this situation."
VOICE BREAKS
Afterwards, on the field, he stood surrounded by gifts from the club, his teammates, the baseball writers, the Old Timers' Association of Denver, the Stadium employees and the New York Giants, and said a few words into the loudspeaker system. Several times his voice broke and a sob escaped as he announced, "Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth."
He waved an arm at the old teammates, fellows like Ruth and Tony Lazerri and Herb Pennock, Earl Combs, Wally Shang, Benny Bengough, Bob Shawkey, Bob Meusal, Mark Koenig, Joe Dugan, George Pipgras, and the rest.
"Just look," he went on, "wouldn't you consider it a privilege to associate yourself with such fine looking men as are standing on this ball field. Or with men like Col. Jacob Ruppert (late president of the club) or Miller Huggins (manager who died in the 20s)."
Then he stumbled, his eyes blinded by tears, back to the clubhouse. There, still the same shy retiring Gehrig, he turned to a friend and asked. "Did by speech sound silly. Did it?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Labels: Flashback Fridays, history, Lou Gehrig, The Baltimore News-Post



Posted by Steve Kenul at 6:22 PM

Thursday, May 17, 2007
Friday Flashback Preview
We here at BronxBloggers are going to introduce a new feature called Flashback Friday.
We have come across a compilation of old newspaper clipping from baseball dating back to the 1800s.
Every Friday we will post a historic clipping from teh archives and it will be posted word by word with all grammatical and spelling mistakes.
Of course we will give the proper credits to the respective newspapers in which these clipping wil lbe taken from.
We are also partnered with My Opinion of Baseball and will introduce the same feature there as well. But instead of Yankees clippings, I will have clippings from all teams.
The first clipping we will present is entitled:
"61,808 Honor Lou Gehrig"
Stay tuned tomorrow
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Labels: archives, Flashback Fridays, history



Posted by Steve Kenul at 9:26 PM

Thursday, March 15, 2007
1996 Yankees
The Yankees dynasty was born in 1996 with an upset of the then defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves. The Yankees did not have the team they currently have, and baseball was different 11 years ago.
Listed below are events from around the news in 1996, my, has times changed since then...
Yankees Events:The Yankees' only star player was first baseman Wade Boggs, and he was a singles hitter.
Derek Jeter wins the Rookie of the Year award.
Dwight Gooden throws a 2-0 no-hitter against the Seattle Mariners and faces sluggers Edgar Martinez, Ken Griffey Jr., and Alex Rodriguez in the ninth inning.
The Yankees ace was Jimmy Key.
Don Mattingly was still playing baseball.
Mariano Rivera was the set-up pitcher.
Joe Torre manages the Yankees for the first time, wins a World Series (first in his professional career as both manager and player), and wins the Manager of the Year Award.
Baseball Events:Roger Clemens was still with the Red Sox.
The Milwaukee Brewers were an American League team.
Albert Pujols was in middle school.
Ken Griffey Jr. was the "one" to break Roger Maris' record of 61 home runs.
Sammy Sosa had never hit over 40 home runs in a season.
Steroids was not an issue, instead it was the recovery of the strike of 1994.
Baseball cards did not feature jerseys or bat pieces for another two years.
Not a single baseball stadium was named after a corporation.
The Diamondbacks and Devil Rays were not in existence and the Rockies and Marlins were only two years old. The Detroit Tigers were in the Al East; they lost 109 games.
World Events:The Unabomber is arrested.
TWA flight 800 blows up off the coast of Long Island.
A Scottish sheep named Dolly is successfully cloned.
The 1996 Summer Olympics are interrupted by the Centennial Park bombing.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana get divorced.
President Bill Clinton wins a second term in office.
Tupac is shot dead.
Technological Events:No one had a flat screen, or plasma TV, as they were not invented yet.
CD's have yet to replace the 3.5" floppy disks.
Dial-up was the most used Internet connection.
Miscellaneous Events:Braveheart wins Best Picture
First class stamp was $0.32.
Major League Soccer has their inaugural season.
Nintendo 65 is launched.
The average price of gas was $1.28/gallon unleaded regular.
New Coke was changed to Classic Coke.
The only reality TV show was
Cops
The author of this blog had just started puberty.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Labels: 1996, baseball, history, technology, World Series, Yankees



Posted by Steve Kenul at 10:13 PM
