Well, Saturday was a little warmer than Opening Day. I headed to Alliance Bank Stadium to take in a ball game between two 0-2 teams. It was certainly a very good game for the home team. The Chiefs shut out the Yankees 4-0 thanks to a great outing by Yunesky Maya, who went 6 innings and gave up 4 hits. (4K, 0BB) Seth Bynum hit a home run in the fourth and the Chiefs had 3 stolen bases.
You want to know about Bryce Harper? He went 1-2, hitting a single to right field in the first. He hit into a FC in the 4th and struck out in the sixth. Want to know how the Yankees pitched him? I was curious, too:
Third inning (Banuelos pitching): 76 mph breaking ball for a strike, 71 mph breaking ball for a strike, 93 mph fastball for a ball, 85 mph breaking ball in the dirt, 92 mph fastball inside (Harper thought it was a ball and started to first), 85 mph pitch for a ball.
Sixth inning (Michael O'Connor pitching): 78 mph changeup low for a called strike. 87 mph fastball swung at and missed for a strike. 79 mph changeup swung at and missed for strike three. I was excited to see O'Connor pitch because he's my age...one of the few remaining players about whom I can say that. Well, for the rest of his life, he can tell his kids and grandkids he struck Bryce Harper out on three pitches.
Well, I was afraid the Yankees might not want to sign because of how the game went. Banuelos is a good pitcher. In one sequence, he went from 92 to 72. He's going to miss a lot of bats. But Banuelos went right to the bus in a bad mood. Understandable.
A bunch of the guys signed before the game, including Russo and Dickerson. After the game was okay, too, considering there were more folks than usual. Scott Aldred, former Tiger and pitching coach for the Yankees signed a couple, but went right to the car that pulled up for him. Apparently, this is more than he usually signs. He did seem a little...ornery and dismissive. Perhaps it was just a bad day for him.
Cervelli signed for a lot of folks. I loved watching him warm up with Aldred, too. My Cervelli is a little smudged because I gave a card to a nice teenager who was there with his mother. He ended up offering me the Cervelli because it was smudged and I gave him a couple cards in return. (The bright spot? I know 100% that the autograph is genuine because I was there.) One of the many reasons I try to be a pleasant person and to encourage such attitudes in others.
I came away with the following:
2011 Kevin Whelan Bowman 94 IP Auto 4/7/2012 Yankees
2010 Kevin Russo 1494/2010 Topps Update Gold US-149 IP Auto 4/7/2012 Yankees
2008 Steve Pearce Topps 127 IP Auto 4/7/2012 Pirates
2011 Brandon Laird Bowman 26 IP Auto 4/7/2012 Yankees
2011 Brandon Laird Topps Pro Debut 138 IP Auto 4/7/2012 Yankees
2008 Chris Dickerson Topps Heritage 667 IP Auto 4/7/2012 Reds
2009 Francisco Cervelli Upper Deck Goudey 131 IP Auto 4/7/2012 - somewhat smudged Yankees
You want to know about Bryce Harper? He went 1-2, hitting a single to right field in the first. He hit into a FC in the 4th and struck out in the sixth. Want to know how the Yankees pitched him? I was curious, too:
Third inning (Banuelos pitching): 76 mph breaking ball for a strike, 71 mph breaking ball for a strike, 93 mph fastball for a ball, 85 mph breaking ball in the dirt, 92 mph fastball inside (Harper thought it was a ball and started to first), 85 mph pitch for a ball.
Sixth inning (Michael O'Connor pitching): 78 mph changeup low for a called strike. 87 mph fastball swung at and missed for a strike. 79 mph changeup swung at and missed for strike three. I was excited to see O'Connor pitch because he's my age...one of the few remaining players about whom I can say that. Well, for the rest of his life, he can tell his kids and grandkids he struck Bryce Harper out on three pitches.
Well, I was afraid the Yankees might not want to sign because of how the game went. Banuelos is a good pitcher. In one sequence, he went from 92 to 72. He's going to miss a lot of bats. But Banuelos went right to the bus in a bad mood. Understandable.
A bunch of the guys signed before the game, including Russo and Dickerson. After the game was okay, too, considering there were more folks than usual. Scott Aldred, former Tiger and pitching coach for the Yankees signed a couple, but went right to the car that pulled up for him. Apparently, this is more than he usually signs. He did seem a little...ornery and dismissive. Perhaps it was just a bad day for him.
Cervelli signed for a lot of folks. I loved watching him warm up with Aldred, too. My Cervelli is a little smudged because I gave a card to a nice teenager who was there with his mother. He ended up offering me the Cervelli because it was smudged and I gave him a couple cards in return. (The bright spot? I know 100% that the autograph is genuine because I was there.) One of the many reasons I try to be a pleasant person and to encourage such attitudes in others.
I came away with the following:
2011 Kevin Whelan Bowman 94 IP Auto 4/7/2012 Yankees
2010 Kevin Russo 1494/2010 Topps Update Gold US-149 IP Auto 4/7/2012 Yankees
2008 Steve Pearce Topps 127 IP Auto 4/7/2012 Pirates
2011 Brandon Laird Bowman 26 IP Auto 4/7/2012 Yankees
2011 Brandon Laird Topps Pro Debut 138 IP Auto 4/7/2012 Yankees
2008 Chris Dickerson Topps Heritage 667 IP Auto 4/7/2012 Reds
2009 Francisco Cervelli Upper Deck Goudey 131 IP Auto 4/7/2012 - somewhat smudged Yankees
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