The Cincinnati Reds rallied against the Yankees’ ace in the seventh inning, turning a pair of solo home runs and three straight walks into a 5-2 victory Sunday that sent New York to its fifth loss in six games.

“I felt like I let the team down. These guys are scratching and clawing and it’s a great offense, but it’s tough when you surrender the lead,” Sabathia said.

Cincinnati had been blanked on two singles and trailed 2-0 before Ryan Ludwick homered on Sabathia’s first pitch of the seventh. An out later, Ryan Hanigan tied it when he crushed an 0-2 pitch deep to left-center for his first homer of the season.

Zack Cozart followed with a one-hop single off Sabathia (5-2). And with two outs, the big lefty suddenly lost the plate, walking Drew Stubbs, Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips on a full count to force home the go-ahead run.

That bout of wildness marked only the third time in Sabathia’s 12-season career that he had walked three batters in a row, STATS LLC said.

“It’s frustrating not being able to make a pitch, three walks in a row. Part of it is not making pitches, overthrowing, walking a guy when you have two strikes when it’s probably the time to back off, collect myself and make a good pitch,” he said.

It was Bat Day at the ballpark, plus New York let kids of season-ticket holders run the bases after the game, a rare promotion at Yankee Stadium.

The real Yankees didn’t make it home too often against Johnny Cueto and the Cincinnati relievers. New York has scored only 15 runs during its skid.

Cueto (5-1) gave up a two-run homer to Raul Ibanez in the sixth. The Yankees had plenty of traffic against him, but didn’t do more damage.

Reds manager Dusty Baker employed Sean Marshall and Logan Ondrusek to get through the eighth. The Reds held on when Alex Rodriguez’s bid for a go-ahead, two-run homer seemed to get held up and was caught on the warning track.

“There were some balls that were hit pretty good that were caught,” Ibanez said. “Alex hit that ball really good right into the wind. I thought it was gone. We all thought it was gone.”

Aroldis Chapman closed it out as Cincinnati took two of three at Yankee Stadium, right after splitting a pair at Citi Field against the Mets.

Chapman, the closer for at least a day, worked a hitless ninth for his first save of the season and the second of his major league career. The hard-throwing lefty has not allowed an earned run in 22 1-3 innings this season, striking out 39.

Ludwick hit a two-out, two-run double off the glove of diving left fielder Dewayne Wise in the ninth. Ludwick had missed the past two games with a bruised left elbow after being plunked by Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey.

Ibanez, who had faced Cueto more than any other Yankees hitter from his days in the NL, broke open a scoreless game by pulling a two-run homer into the second deck. Ibanez connected for his ninth home run on an afternoon when Yankees manager Joe Girardi gave him a “half day,” moving him from the outfield to the DH slot.

New York hitters had been in a 5-for-57 rut with runners in scoring position when Ibanez homered one out after Robinson Cano’s leadoff double.

Sabathia didn’t allow a hit until Todd Frazier grounded a single in the fifth.

Cueto gave up one single in each of the first five innings. Yet only once did the Yankees get a runner past first base in that span — after a pair of four-pitch walks, Rodriguez flied out on the first pitch to end the third.

“The bottom line is we still didn’t score a lot of runs. That seems to be what we’re struggling with right now,” Girardi said.

NOTES: Yankees SS Derek Jeter was hit on the wrist by Jay Bruce’s hard grounder in the ninth. Girardi said Jeter will be OK for Monday night’s game vs. Kansas City. … Sabathia walked five, his most since April 2010. … Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira didn’t start in the series as he tries to shake his persistent cough. He pinch hit in the ninth and reached on an error. Girardi said he hopes Teixeira can play Monday night. … Yankees OF Brett Gardner (strained right elbow) isn’t expected to pick up a bat until Thursday. … Yankees RHP Hiroki Kuroda (3-5) starts at home Monday night vs. Royals RHP Felipe Paulino (1-1).

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/05/20/sports/baseball/ap-bbo-yankees.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Cueto (5-1) gave up a two-run homer to Raul Ibanez in the sixth. The Yankees had plenty of traffic against him, but couldn’t score more.

Reds manager Dusty Baker mixed and matched his bullpen the rest of the way, using Sean Marshall and Logan Ondrusek to get through the eighth. Chapman, the closer for at least a day, worked a hitless ninth for his first save of the season and the second of his major league career.

The hard-throwing lefty has not allowed an earned run in 22 1-3 innings this season, striking out 39.

Cincinnati had been blanked on two singles before Ludwick homered on Sabathia’s first pitch of the seventh. An out later, Ryan Hanigan tied it when he crushed an 0-2 pitch deep to left-center for his first homer of the season.

Zack Cozart followed with a one-hop single off Sabathia (5-2). And with two outs, the big lefty suddenly lost the plate, walking Drew Stubbs, Joey Votto and then Brandon Phillips on a full count to force home the go-ahead run.

That bout of wildness marked only the third time in Sabathia’s 12-season career that he had walked three batters in a row, STATS LLC said.

Ludwick hit a two-out, two-run double off the glove of diving left fielder Dewayne Wise in the ninth. Ludwick had missed the past two games with a bruised left elbow after being plunked by Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey.

Ibanez, who had faced Cueto more than any other Yankees hitter from his days in the NL, broke open a scoreless game by pulling a two-run homer into the second deck. Ibanez connected for his ninth home run on an afternoon when manager Joe Girardi gave him a “half day,” moving him from the outfield to the DH slot.

New York hitters had been in a 5-for-57 rut with runners in scoring position when Ibanez homered one out after Robinson Cano’s leadoff double.

It was Bat Day at Yankee Stadium — for the fans, not the hitters in the early going. Through the middle innings, the Cueto-Sabathia duel was as good as advertised.

Sabathia didn’t allow a hit until Todd Frazier grounded a single in the fifth. Chris Heisey popped up and stranded two runners that inning, and Phillips grounded into a double play with two on and no outs in the sixth.

Cueto gave up exactly one single in each of the first five innings. Yet only once did the Yankees get a runner past first base in that span — after a pair of four-pitch walks, Alex Rodriguez flied out on the first pitch to end the third.

NOTES: Sabathia walked five, his most since April 2010. … Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira didn’t start any game in the series as he tries to shake his bronchitis. He pinch hit in the ninth and reached on an error. … Yankees OF Brett Gardner (strained right elbow) isn’t expected to pick up a bat until Thursday. … Reds INF Wilson Valdez turned 34. … RHP Mike Leake (0-5) starts for the Reds at home Monday night vs. Atlanta LHP Mike Minor (2-3). … Yankees RHP Hiroki Kuroda (3-5) starts at home Monday night vs. Kansas City RHP Felipe Paulino (1-1).

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/05/20/sports/baseball/ap-bbo-reds-yankees.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

A New York City high school baseball team has been left with no home field, which has been under construction for more than four years, WABC-TV reports.

The sod planted last fall at the baseball fields in Harris Park, home field for the Bronx High School of Science baseball team, still isn’t ready, according to the parks department.

‘Some of my seniors have . . . never played a home game.”

- Coach Mike McGrath

“Some of my seniors have been here four years, never played a home game,” coach Mike McGrath told Eyewitness News.

So, the team is forced to practice on a nearby soccer field – but only when there is no softball game being played – or in the school gym.  

Every one of the team’s games has the players traveling to their rival’s field.

“We have to go a mile and a half away, sometime 2, 3 miles away to play home games where fields are not in good condition,” senior Nick Reade told the station.

By contrast, the station reports that it took less than three years to build the new Yankee Stadium.

Still, the team is hopeful they will be able to take the field for next week’s playoffs.

Click for more from WABC-TV

Article source: http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/05/20/never-safe-at-home-for-high-school-baseball-team-with-no-field/

History of baseball emphasizing 19th century origins of the game. Includes photos and information on the history of the game, field, equipment, rules, leagues, players and legacy. Links to baseball history sources amd vintage baseball teams of today.
Baseball History: 19th Century Baseball

Yankees fans may hate me for this, but deep down they know that it is true.  What was once before, no longer is.  The Yankee Stadium of today is literally a completely new and different stadium.  

When the Yankees players make the walk from their clubhouse to the dugout they are not taking the same tunnel that The Babe, The Iron Horse, Joltin’ Joe, The Mick, Yogi and all of the other Yankee greats took.  

When the visiting teams walk the tunnel they are no longer following in the steps of Ted Williams, Hank Greenberg, Jimmie Foxx, Ty Cobb and others.

Yankee stadium is no longer “The House That Ruth Built” or the stadium that housed 27 World Series Championship teams.

The mystic lore from the history of Yankee Stadium that once surrounded every person that entered is now a piece of history itself.  Even the monuments beyond the outfield wall seem to be hidden.  

When watching a game at the “Old” Yankee Stadium on TV you always noticed the monuments in monument park—they just stuck out and everyone knew what they were.

Today’s monument park seems to be hidden.  It is barely noticeable from television and it seems that because of that, broadcasters talk less about it.

Yes, Yankees fans your stadium has lost its lore and unfortunately for you it doesn’t seem to be getting it back anytime soon.  

Your captain Derek Jeter is getting old and will be gone before long, and there doesn’t seem to be anyone ready to step up and begin their own Yankee legacy.  No one that the team hasn’t tried by purchasing them, anyway.

Your captain has a great legacy but unfortunately for you and the sake of stadium lore, his legacy was built and will remain in the Yankee Stadium of old.

Article source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1189413-mlb-why-yankee-stadium-has-lost-its-mystic-lore

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Article source: http://www.rgj.com/usatoday/article/55082200?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CSports%7Cp

And despite losing for the fourth time in their past five games, they discovered they have the same record (21-19) after 40 games that they had last season, when they finished with the best record in the American League.

So if fans are nervous about the murky direction of the 2012 Yankees, the players say they are not.

“I think we’re almost exactly where we were record-wise as we were last year at this point,” Nick Swisher said. “People are jumping off bridges and stuff. In here, we feel calm.”

Swisher said there was no lack of confidence in the offense, despite the recent difficulties. When asked to specify what the overall mood of the team was, he shrugged and fell to his best breezy vernacular.

“Chill,” he said. “Calm. Smooth.”

But things have not gone so smoothly in recent games. The Yankees have had trouble getting on a winning streak, and their inability to accumulate hits with runners in scoring position has plagued them as much as anything over that time.

The Yankees came into the game with only three hits in their previous 48 at-bats with runners in scoring position. So going 2 for 7 in those situations Saturday was a vast improvement. And both hits came in the two-run ninth.

“Maybe what we were able to do in the ninth will turn things around a little bit,” Manager Joe Girardi said.

Trouble was, the Yankees needed at least three runs, not two.

After being overwhelmed in the eighth in their first encounter with the hard-throwing Cuban left-hander Aroldis Chapman, who was throwing 99 miles per hour, the Yankees faced closer Sean Marshall in the ninth, trailing, 6-3. It was a far more favorable match up.

Raul Ibanez doubled to right-center and scored on Swisher’s single to center. Swisher’s hit ended an 0-for-22 sequence with runners in scoring position going back four games. Russell Martin struck out looking, but Andruw Jones singled, and the Yankees had runners at first and third. Jayson Nix slapped a single through the left side of the infield to score Swisher, and for the first time in seven games, the Yankees had more than one hit in a game with runners in scoring position.

Reds Manager Dusty Baker replaced Marshall with Jose Arredondo with runners at first and second with one out, trying to protect a 6-5 lead. He got Derek Jeter to hit into a fielder’s choice for an important out. Jeter hustled down the line to avoid a double play, but Curtis Granderson hit a dribbler down the first-base line to end the game.

Granderson went 0 for 4, as did Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez.

Rodriguez is batting.278, but his power numbers are down. He has 5 homers and 15 runs batted in, 10 fewer than Ibanez. His last home run came on May 6, and since that day he has only one run batted in.

He said he felt fine physically, and had been working diligently with the hitting instructor Kevin Long. He pledged better results, and also expressed more urgency than anyone else has recently.

“My numbers are going to be there at the end of the day, there’s no question,” Rodriguez said. “The thing is we’ve got to put it to work right away because our team needs victories. Our fans, our coaches and players expect a lot from me, and I’ll be there.”

Another somewhat alarming trend was seen in a second straight disappointing start by Ivan Nova, who struck out a career-high 12 but allowed five runs in his second consecutive game, including a tiebreaking three-run homer by Joey Votto in the fifth.

“I don’t care about the strikeouts,” Nova said. “I’m not pitching good right now. I’m making a lot of mistakes.”

INSIDE PITCH

Mark Teixeira, his voice raspy and his demeanor subdued Saturday, said he was reaching his final options in his battle to shake an infuriating cough, which is simply rest. Joe Girardi gave Teixeira his second game off in a row Saturday, and may rest him again Sunday in the hope that this will be the answer after several medications have failed. If rest does not work, Teixeira said he would have only one last option. “Adapt,” he said, meaning to just play through it. The cough has been diagnosed as a symptom of severe congestion in his bronchial passageways. Teixeira has had numerous tests and nothing more serious has been detected, he said. He has been assured by doctors that it will eventually disappear.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/sports/baseball/in-yankees-loss-nova-strikes-out-12-but-allows-5-runs.html

Ken Davidoff
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Blog: Baseball Insider

Enjoying this weekend’s sneak preview of interleague play? Let’s go over what to expect when this picks up in June:

1. The Yankees, as members of the American League East, play the National League East. Well, except that they’re playing the NL Central’s Reds right now. And they’re playing the Mets and Braves six games each. Which means they won’t play the Phillies or Marlins at all.

2. The Mets, as occupants of the NL East, will face the AL East. Well, besides the Red Sox. And, as you know, they play the Yankees six times.

Got that straight?

You know the drill by now: Baseball’s schedule is a train wreck, run more like a county fair than a professional sports league. It relies on favors rather than formulas, on sentiment over systems. And nowhere is that more apparent than in the interleague portion.

You could argue that, intellectually, baseball’s interleague schedule since 1998 — it was more fair in its 1997 rollout — has been more offensive than the steroids scandal. At least everyone got to play by the same rules when it came to drug-testing, or a lack thereof.

The good news for fans that care about schedule integrity is that the outlook should improve next year, when the Astros move from the NL Central to the AL West _ creating six divisions of five teams each. The Players Association pushed for this change, figuring that all of their constituents should have an equal chance at qualifying for the postseason, so logic dictates that the union will lobby for a more rational slate of games, too.

And on this front, the white whale is the “rivalry series,” none bigger than our very own Yankees-Mets.

“I like geographical rivalries,” commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday. “I think it’s great. … The fans like it. You always want to do the right thing. When your fans like something, you have to be responsive to that and sensitive to it.”

Eh. The fans like it fine in May and June. Then, if their team misses the playoffs by one game, they wonder whether the schedule burned them. Because the schedule is patently illogical and, therefore, unfair.

I’m not an NFL cheerleader (I wonder how the sport’s powers sleep at night, knowing what the players do to themselves physically), but by golly, they have the schedule down. The season ends, and you know instantly whom your team is playing next year. There’s nothing like what occurred in 2007, when the Rockies successfully lobbied to get a home Yankees series (instead of the Padres) because they wanted the revenue.

The two sides aren’t that far along in laying out next year’s schedule. The announcement of the 2013 All-Star Game at Citi Field delayed that process because budgetary concerns caused the Midsummer Classic to be switched from Tuesday, July 9 to Tuesday, July 16; the 2008 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium also took place a week later than normal. That has forced the teams and players to tear up some of which already had been discussed.

Future Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa, now working as an adviser for Major League Baseball, has been surveying teams, getting their input for what works.

Yes, interleague play will be occurring all of the time, by necessity. There still figures to be a cluster of exclusively interleague action, as will occur this season (with the exception of one NL contest) from June 8-24. That window likely will be shorter, though.

So what would work? I propose:

1) 72 intra-division games, 18 each against your four neighbors, maintaining the unbalanced schedule that owners love (lowers travel costs, intensifies rivalries).

2) 60 games against the other 10 teams in your league (six each).

3) 30 interleague games, with three each against 10 clubs. Every year, you hook up one division with two divisions in the other league. In a three-year cycle, you play each interleague team in two series.

This would allow the Yankees and Mets (and Cubs and White Sox, and Dodgers and Angels, etc.) to play each other a total of six games, with each team hosting a three-game series, over a three-year cycle.

Don’t bet on this becoming reality, though. There are too many important people who don’t want to eliminate the regular visits from their rivals, no matter the competitive impact. It might get pared down from six annual games to three, but no shot there ever will be a season with zero.

“You have to do what’s fair,” Selig said. “You have to have the right format and go from there. Frankly, the Yankees and Mets have never complained about it.”

Couldn’t agree more with the first two sentences there. Couldn’t care less about the last one.

If it would just sign off on the short-term hit, then baseball could benefit from a long-term gain: Its fans would know that each team, each season, enjoyed a fully fair chance to win the World Series.

kdavidoff@nypost.com

Article source: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/more_sports/scheduling_conflict_4HyTj8COfF9r08850pgriK?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=More%20Sports

The Ultimate Baseball Private Lessons for The Baseball Swing In Hitting for Both Average and Power. Mazzurco Baseball presents Baseball Swing Mastery.
Baseball Swing Mastery

Mommy Without Pounds teaches new moms how to lose the baby weight quickly and easily. Learn how to lose weight after giving birth, how to eat to promote weight loss, and how to look and feel like a Hot Mommy
Mommy Without Pounds – Post-pregnancy Weight Loss Kit