i-Yankees

WHITE PLAINS It was New York Yankees central in White Plains. The typical weekend dance music in the Mamaroneck Avenue bars was replaced by the voices of Joe Buck and John Smoltz calling game seven of the Yankees Championship Game. Jerseys and t-shirts of present team stars and franchise greats matched with navy blue Yankee caps made the bars look... like the Bleacher Creatures of Yankee Stadium. Theres no energy like playoff baseball in New York, Brazen Fox owner Neal Alpuche said. People have been rooting hard. Its a young team thats overachieving, and they love it. In the fifth inning with the Yankees down 1-0, the Astros third baseman made a strong throw to home plate to gun down what wouldve been the tying run. The next inning, the Astros scored extended the lead to two with a home run. But it didnt quiet the spectators. A group of friends Chris Esposito, Rob Caporole and Nick Shaw sat in the corner of Brazen Fox next to a large-screen TV. They come to Brazen Fox every weekend. Its never this packed this early here. People were fired up, Caporole around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday. This team has to opportunity to go to the World Series, so were going to come out here supporting them. Even with the Yankees trailing, there was no chance of them leaving. Theres always a chance of this team coming back, Esposito said. By the time Tyler Webb, a 6-foot-6 left-hander, blew a fastball past Anthony Chavez for the final out with a festive crowd of 6,711 rising to its feet, the Staten Island Yankees had plenty of reason to celebrate. Their 2-1 victory over the Brooklyn Cyclones had a little bit of everything on Opening Night in the New York-Penn League, from Amanda Lee Alicea, the reigning Miss Staten Island, singing the national anthem, to shorter food lines and overall good vibes at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark in St. George. That last inning two outs two strikes everyone getting on their feet you have to get some goosebumps, said Staten Island manager Justin Pope. Thats nice. Thats baseball right there. Heck, one ...Read More