Newsday’s Brian Costa, whom presumably has never felt the taunts of ballpark patrons after dropping a ball hit right at him, has some fun at the expense of an unfortunate fan.
Incredibly, Robert Marchese, 41, of Flushing had a chance to catch two homers at Yankee Stadium last night — and missed both. Even more incredibly, the first one bruised him and the second one left him with a cut finger.
Marchese was sitting in the first row in the rightfield stands when Alex Rodriguez’s two-run homer in the first inning came his way. It ricocheted off him.
“The first one, I was zoned in,” Marchese said while talking to friends on his cell phone. “I had it locked. But the speed was faster than I thought. It hit me right on the wrist,” he said, showing his bruise.
He then fumbled away Jason Giambi’s solo shot in the second, which bounced out of rightfielder Casey Blake’s glove, off Marchese and back onto the field. Marchese’s right pinky was cut by Blake’s glove on the play. Blake then flipped it back over Marchese’s head.
Marchese’s two errors prompted his mother to call him on his cell phone. “She asked me why I didn’t bring my glove,” he said.
Maybe he dropped it on the way to the park.
That’s 4 homers in 3 days for AJ Soprano, by the way. The next person he hits one to might not be too shocked to catch it.