Thursday, March 27, 2008

Pirates-Yankees, top of first

Frank Sinatra's famous rendition of "New York, New York" washed over the stands as Yankees owner George M. Steinbrenner toured the field in a golf cart to a standing ovation after the renaming of Legends Field to honor the long-time Yankees owner.
Now, it's time for the Pirates to take their crack at left-hander Kei Igawa, the one-time 20-game winner in 2003 with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan's Central League.
Igawa is 1-0 this spring with a 3.38 ERA and four strikeouts in eight innings.
Well, he's already in trouble, giving up a leadoff single to right by Nyjer Morgan.
This is a roomy press box, but I have the misfortune of being directly behind the concrete beam that supports the structure, cutting off my view from the left side of the field.
There is a television up here, but it operates on a 7-to-10-second delay, forcing you to stay attuned to the field.
Yeah, it's a hard life covering spring training.
Jack Wilson grounds into a force that might have been a double play, had Wilson Betemit not been slow getting the ball from his glove.
The weather is picture-perfect: 71 degrees and a virtually cloudless sky.
Center fielder Nate McLouth, who is batting third today, just bounced a single over the head of first baseman Morgan Ensberg, with Wilson taking third. The speedy McLouth, who probably will bat leadoff during the regular season, is a key component of the Pirates' rebuilding plans.
These left-handers are getting to Igawa already. Adam LaRoche just doubled to left-center, and the Pirates are up 1-0.
Igawa's body language does not seem to scream out "confidence." Switch-hitter Ryan Doumit grounds to second, making it 2-0.
According to the Yankees' notes package, they have already exceeded 3.8 million tickets sold for 2008, well ahead of last year's pace.
In fact, the Yankees tied a major-league record last year when they surpassed the 4-million mark in home attendance for the third consecutive year.
Wanna know the first team to do it?

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