June 26, 2005 [LINK]

Interleague sweeps weekend

An inordinate number of consecutive victories were recorded in interleague matchups this weekend. The Red Sox swept the Phillies, the Rockies swept the Royals, the Marlins swept the Devil Rays, the Angels swept the Dodgers, the Athletics swept the Giants, and the Braves swept the Orioles, knocking them out of first place in the AL East in the process. Andruw Jones now leads the majors in home runs, at 24, eight of which have come in the last ten days! Known primarily for his fielding prowess and casual "basket catches" à la Willie Mays, he is having a career year batting-wise, and recently hit the first home run ever to land in the left field upper (second) deck at Turner Field.

The Nationals were trying for a sweep against the visiting Blue Jays in this afternoon's game, but this time their bullpen could not contain the enemy batters in the late innings. So, the Blue Jays won 9-5, the first home loss by the Nats since June 1. President Bush and Condoleeza Rice were at the game on Friday evening, to everyone's surprise. The superb starter Esteban Loaiza finally got his third win. Only two regular pitchers in the majors have fewer wins and a lower ERA than he does (3.63): Brian Moehler (Marlins) and Victor Santos (Brewers). While the Nationals were out of town on their recent road trip, eleven of the players' cars that were parked in a "secured" area next to RFK Stadium were broken into, and one was stolen. Ouch. D.C. chief of police Ramsey has pledged to track down the culprits, but his car was stolen as well. As humorist Dave Barry used to say, "I am not making this up."

The Mets (last place in the NL East) lead the Yankees 4-3 after seven innings, and are on the verge of sweeping the Bronx Bombers in Yankee Stadium. What a revolting development that would be. [UPDATE: Thanks to a clutch two-run single by Jason Giambi in the bottom of the ninth, the Yanks came from behind to win 5-4, avoiding being swept.]

Yankee Stadium feedback

Alex ? let me know that the Yankees have used land on both sides of the 1976 left field fence for their bullpen since 1988, making me wonder if Mariano gets a private bullpen. He also reminded me to include a dark batter's background in the center field bleachers. Peter Piroso informs me that there were no temporary bleachers in right field for Giants football game. (He used to go to those games and therefore has first-hand knowledge.) I was going by a photograph on another Web site that was apparently doctored. Diagram revisions pending; all such feedback is appreciated and acknowledged if it's significant enough to mention, but their are practical limits to the extent of detail I represent.