A New York Yankees Diary – Day Fifteen – September 25th, 2024

The Yankees went in to the game with their lead cut to five games and playing the team who were five games behind them- the Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore were coming off a convincing win. They had Zach Eflin starting. Prior to this game he was 9 wins, 7 losses with a 3.53 ERA. The Yankees had Marcus Stroman on the mound. He went into the game with a 10-8 record and a 4.04 ERA. Recently, Stroman had been dropped from the Yankees starting rotation and made his last appearance on the 17th as a closer against Seattle in Seattle. He was indeed on long rest.

Orioles went into this one clear favourites.

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A New York Yankees Diary – Day Fourteen – September 24th, 2024

Back to attending the games in person…

And so back in the Bronx, and just or more significantly, the Yankees were to face the Baltimore Orioles.

Prior to this game, the Yankees were 6 games clear in the American League East. There were six games to play which meant that if Baltimore won all their remaining games and the Yankees lost theirs… Well, you can do the math. If Baltimore swept the Yankees here, the two teams would be a few steps closer to an unlikely one game playoff to see who would rule the division. Both teams are going to be in the post-season, now it is a battle for home advantage in the playoffs, and to see who would play who – plus the little things like a division title and how many games the Yankees would have in the wins column at the end of the season. They couldn’t make 100, but 98 was not a bad target.

The starting pitchers on the mound would be Dean Kremer for the Orioles and Clarke Schmidt for the New York team. Kremer had appeared in 24 games and taken 7 wins. Schmidt, who had struggled with injuries this season, had ony 13 starts (he had missed the whole of June, July and August) , and taken 5 wins although he had a higher win percentage than Kremer. From compraing just the pitchers’ records this one could go either way.

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A New York Yankees Diary – Day Ten to Thirteen – September 20th to 23rd, 2024

So, having finished a successful series in Seattle, the Yankees moved on their road trip to Oakland to face the Athletics.

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A New York Yankees Diary – Day Six to Nine – September 16th to 19th, 2024

With nobody willing to sponsor me to travel on the roadtrip, I get to follow the Yankees’ away games from sunny New York. I exchange Yankee Stadium for Ground Central Coffee Company on 45th street where I report on the series against the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics.

And so to Seattle in my mind…

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A New York Yankees Diary – Day Five – September 15th, 2024

A sunny Sunday Autumn afternoon in New York. My favourite version of the song “Autumn in New York” is by Carolyn Leonhart, who is one of Donald Fagen‘s “Danettes“. Great song, great singer, and this promises to be a great game. Final game of four against the great rivals, Boston Red Sox with the New York Yankees needing to win to take the series and Boston able to achieve a tie if they can take a win. so, why it’s not quite all to play for, it is enough to keep it interesting. Let’s have a shilling on the side.

Pitching for the Yankees is Carlos Rodon. For Boston it is Kutter Crawford.

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A New York Yankees Diary – Day Four – September 14th, 2024

So, the New York Yankees started the game with a 2-0 lead over the Boston Red Sox in this Bronx series. In recent days, they had edged the games, with extra innings and a remarkable comeback playing their part on different days. These Yankees were not going to lie down.

Game 3 then with Brayan Bello on the mound for Boston, and Yankees ace, Gerrit Cole heightening his teams chances of moving towards a sweep in the series.

… but then there have been many twists in this tale.

And there is room for more.

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A New York Yankees Diary – Day Two – September 12th, 2024

Well, Kansas City have left town, but Boston have arrived. The Red Sox bring with them a strong rivalry which means the Yankees’ fans both love having them here and hate them at the same time. Fun as long as nobody takes it too far, and makes it ugly.

Nestor Cortes is starting pitcher today. It is not too long since he was undeservedly demoted to the bullpen, but a strong performance in long relief means that he is back in the starting rotation, with Marcus Stroman now working out of the bullpen.

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A New York Yankees Diary – Day One – September 11th, 2024

Last time in New York, I was following Steely Dan on tour as they accompanied the Eagles on their “Long Goodbye” – that was the Eagles goodbye, not the Dan’s (but who can tell). This time I’m once more working on a commission to watch baseball and report on the New York Yankees. Tough life.

Having flown into JFK on the 9th, I took a “jetlag” day on the 10th, and reported to the Stadium on the 11th. Significant date. 23rd anniversary of that horrible day. The Yankees placed their memorials. Police officers sang the National Anthem and God Bless America.

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The New York Yankees in August – Part One – The Batters (2024)

The New York Yankees are not the team they were in the first months of the season, but they have improved from the form that they were showing in June and July.

In August, they went 14-12. They managed to return to 1st position in the American League – and opened up a 1 1/2 game lead over the Baltimore Orioles. It could be better, but not what’s not to like right?

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The New York Yankees in July – Part One – The Batters (2024)

So, the Yankees June slump has come and gone. And the July trading deadline has come and gone too.

Sadly, things don’t break down into nice monthly intervals in the real world or in the sports world.

So, between the beginning of the month and the 9th of this seventh month, the Yankees won 1 and lost 6. Between then and the 26th, the Bronx Bombers went 5-7. Finally, it did appear that they had turned the corner in the last 5 days of July with a 5-0 sprint to end the month.

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