New York
Yankees’ Andrew Velazquez unexpected rise ‘something special’
Whether this week actually counted as his first Yankees-Red Sox games in person, even Andrew Velazquez didn’t sound sure.
“Those tickets were probably too expensive for me,” the Bronx native said late Wednesday night.
Well, here at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees’ fourth-string shortstop rewarded those who paid a hefty admission fee.
This improbable pinstriped season took another nail-biting turn, with the Yankees prevailing, as has been their style of late. When Velazquez and the returning Anthony Rizzo teamed for a superb final play, the Yankees secured a 5-2 victory over the rival Red Sox, closing out a three-game sweep against their former tormentors and — thanks to the White Sox’s 3-2 triumph over the A’s in Chicago — carving out exclusive possession of the top American League wild-card slot.
They did so with Velazquez, 27, who delivered a pair of RBI singles in addition to his game-ending glovework, earning the cherished championship wrestling belt, which sparked him to offer a heartfelt speech to his teammates.
“In that locker room, with those guys, I’ve dreamt of doing what I just did,” Velazquez said, recounting his words. “In real life, it was way better.”
Probably way more nerve-wracking, too. These being the 2021 Yankees, the ninth inning turned turbulent when closer Aroldis Chapman, returning from the injured list, inherited a 5-1 advantage and served up a one-out homer to Hunter Renfroe, walked Xander Bogaerts and, with two outs, permitted a J.D. Martinez single. Aaron Boone correctly turned to lefty Lucas Luetge to go after former Met Kevin Plawecki, a righty swinger.
Plawecki pulled a grounder into the shortstop hole, where Velazquez ranged to his right, somehow avoided being blocked by third baseman Rougned Odor diving (and whiffing) in front of him and powered a throw to Rizzo, who snared it on a bounce.
“I was just ready for anything there, anything on the ground,” Velazquez said. “I didn’t know if Rougie was going to make a play on it, so I just wanted to see what was going to happen there. And then when I got it, I said, ‘You know what? I’m gonna throw it as hard and as low as I can so that Rizzo can just pick it. If not, I would’ve thrown it in the family section in the second deck.”
Yes, the Fordham Prep product is high-energy and very funny.
“He endeared himself to our room in spring training. I think everyone enjoyed getting to know him,” Aaron Boone said. “He can really play short, but he has the defensive versatility to move around. You see the speed that he has, and he can swing the bat a little bit. He’s gotten some big hits for us here the last couple of days and played really well in helping us win games.”
If he’s not crushing it statistically, with a .217/.217/.261 slash line, Velazquez now has three hits in 10 at-bats with runners in scoring position. In the second inning Wednesday, against Boston starter Nick Pivetta, he grounded a base hit to right field to plate Odor from third base, giving the Yankees a 2-1 edge. And in the eighth, off Josh Taylor, he grounded a single to left to score Gary Sanchez from third to give the home team a 5-1 cushion, no small thing given the Yankees’ recurring ninth-inning malaise.
“See the ball, hit the ball,” Velazquez said, describing his approach in those situations. “Trying to maintain aggressiveness. Trying not to expand the zone. … Just trying not to do too much. My job isn’t to hit a homer necessarily, just put it in play and let something happen.”
Music to old-school ears, right? What a boon he has been for the Yankees, who have Gleyber Torres and Gio Urshela on the injured list while Tyler Wade took the night off.
Losing their first seven games to the Red Sox feels like ages ago for these Yankees, whose new shortstop is staying with his parents in The Bronx.
“Way closer than staying in Manhattan,” Velazquez said. “Cheaper, too.”
“That’s special stuff,” Rizzo said of Velazquez’s speech. For the moment, that applies to most things about this wacky Yankees season, few more than Velazquez’s rise.
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The season finale of Riverdale aired in late July on The CW. Notice we said season finale? Thankfully, the beloved series will return for a seventh season, but, unfortunately, Season 7 will be the final installment of Riverdale.
If you already streamed the current season, make sure to read Alex Zalben’s interview with Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa on Decider. If you’re waiting to binge Season 6 on Netflix, well, you better clear your calendar because all 22 episodes are about to drop on the streamer. What time will the sixth season of Riverdale debut on Netflix? What time does Netflix release shows? Here’s everything you need to know.
WHEN IS THE RIVERDALE SEASON 6 NETFLIX RELEASE DATE?
Riverdale Season 6 premieres Sunday, August 7 on Netflix.
HOW MANY EPISODES ARE IN RIVERDALE SEASON 6?
The sixth season of Riverdale consists of 22 episodes.
WHAT TIME DOES NETFLIX RELEASE NEW SHOWS?
Netflix releases new episodes at 3:00 a.m. ET/12:00 a.m. PT.
WHAT TIME WILL RIVERDALE SEASON 6 BE ON NETFLIX?
Netflix is based out of California, so Riverdale Season 6 will be available to stream at 12:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (3:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time) beginning Sunday, August 7. If the clock strikes 12:00 (or 3:00 a.m. for folks on the East Coast) and you don’t see the new episodes, give it a moment, hit refresh, and then enjoy the show!
WILL THERE BE A SEASON 7 OF RIVERDALE?
Yes! Decider recently covered that very topic.
For further reading visit Source
Actress Anne Heche, known for her roles in such films as Donnie Brasco, Volcano and I Know What You Did Last Summer, was involved in a fiery car crash in the Mar Vista area of Los Angeles on Friday.
According to TMZ, Heche was driving a blue Mini Cooper and had first crashed into the garage of an apartment complex. Residents of the apartment complex tried to get her out of the vehicle but she backed up and sped off.
Footage of Heche speeding down the streets of her neighborhood had been obtained by TMZ as well as her initial encounter at the apartment complex.
In the first clip, you can hear her car crash towards the end. It has been reported that the actress crashed into someone’s home, causing her vehicle and the house to erupt into flames. Heche suffered severe burns and was resisting being taken away in a stretcher. You can also view footage of this via the TMZ article.
It has not been confirmed whether alcohol has been involved in the incident since her condition prevents doctors from performing any tests to determine if she was driving under the influence. She is currently intubated in the hospital but expected to live.
For further reading visit Source
Stay CL4SSY, New York!
The state Department of Motor Vehicles nixed 3,752 requests for vanity license plates in the last three years because it deemed them too raunchy, radical or simply ridiculous.
New York’s personalized plates go for $60 initially, and then $31.25 annually for renewal. You can get any plate as long as no one else has it and it’s not offensive.
Odds are a request for a plate that marks a wedding anniversary or shows your allegiance to a team — like METS86 — will pass muster with the DMV gatekeepers.
Vulgarity won’t get you to first base.
So plates with the phrase LFGM — the acronym for Pete Alonso’s “Let’s F–king Go Mets” rallying cry — did not make the cut.
And you won’t see anyone driving around with the custom plates MILFDAD, AS5M4N and WLHUNG.
The DMV also put NICEBUNS, FATFANNY, GOTAPOOP and BENDOVER in the rear-view mirror.
One player unsuccessfully tried to score the plate YESDADDY, to no avail.
The DMV also shot down such dark requests as DEADGIRL, GENOC1DE, S8TAN, DETONATE and MURDERM3.
Getting political is a dead end too — FJOEBIDN, FDTRUMP and CNNLIES were nixed.
LUDEDUDE, NARCO, GOT METH and BLUNT also went up in smoke.
Staten Island attorney Bill Dertinger said his blue 1995 Jaguar SJS was tagged with ESQLTD after his company and his 2014 Porsche had the plate GHOSTGTS because the sleek sportscar was white.
“The plates can make you stand out — which can be a curse or a blessing,” the 54-year-old Dertinger said. “Make sure you don’t cut anybody off.”
There must be a New York Jets fan playing referee at the DMV because a request for the seemingly innocent plate GASE was sidelined. Ex-Jets head coach Adam Gase had an offensive 9-23 win-loss record during his forgettable two-year tenure.
The DMV would not reveal who gives the final yea or nay.
“The DMV reviews all custom license plate requests and works hard to ensure that any combinations that may be considered objectionable are rejected,” said agency spokesman Tim O’Brien.
He said guidelines on what plate combinations are restricted can be found on the DMV website: https://dmv.ny.gov/learn-about-personalized-plates. Approximately 50,000 personalized and custom plates are sold per year, O’Brien said.
Bagged Tags
The state DMV has rejected 3,752 requests for custom license plates in the last three years because it deemed them potentially offensive. Here are some:
YESDADDY
FJOEBIDN
FDTRUMP
GLOCKS
FLYMOFO
BOOBIE
AS5M4N
BUDLIGHT
DEADGIRL
SUM8ITCH
GENOC1DE
S8TAN
CNNLIES
DETONATE
MURDERM3
MILFDAD
WLHUNG
Source: NYS DMV
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