Marcus Thames is best known in the Bronx for hitting a home run in his first big league at bat against Randy Johnson. According to reports (Sherman, Heyman) Thames has signed a minor league deal to return to the Yanks.

So I had a theme for the Beat of the Day all lined-up and ready to roll but then the Saints won the Big Game last night so I took a left turn at Albeturkey. Thanks to some mighty cool recommendations from my pal John Schulian, who knows about these things, kick back to a week of sounds from the Big Easy:

Several years back, the good people at Cook’s Illustrated rated Hunt’s ketchup above Heinz ketchup. That just sounds wrong, downright un-American!, which goes to show the power of tradition and advertising. Maybe I’ll do a taste-test one day and prefer Hunts. But for me, there are few things as reassuring–especially when you are at a restaurant–as ol’ reliable:

Last week, a good friend introduced me to the work of Norman McLaren, an innovative Scottish animator who spent most of his career in Canada. Lucky me. After watching a few of McLaren’s short movies I thought, Where has this guy been all my life? Or, Where have I been?

McLaren was a man ahead of his time–he created sounds by painting on the actual film–and made trippy–not to mention sophisticated–material in the Thirties and Forties.

I have only viewed a small sampling of his stuff but dig this here and see if it doesn’t leave you say, “Huh, well, I’ll be…”

(The picture quality isn’t the greatest–it is like looking at a reproduction of a painting in an art book. My pal has a McLaren box set, and it’s worth getting if you are into this sort of thing.)

Today’s update is powered by the almighty Nawlins staple, the po’boy:

• MLB.com examines the versatility of the Yankees’ outfielders.
• Might a former Yankee prospect (since traded) be older than advertised?:

His birth certificate and passport say outfielder Jose Tabata was born Aug. 12, 1988, in Anzoategui, Venezuela. Yet, during a recent radio interview, general manager Neal Huntington admitted there are “a lot of rumblings” that Tabata might actually be in his mid-20s.

In Latin America, record-keeping can be spotty, especially when it comes to youngsters with excellent baseball skills. The New York Yankees investigated Tabata’s background in 2005 and, satisfied he truly was 16, signed him as an undrafted free agent.

The Pirates are not publicly disputing Tabata’s age, and yet …

“All of the documentation he has used to obtain his visa from the U.S. government and his passport from the Venezuelan government indicates his reported age is accurate,” Huntington said in an e-mail to the Tribune-Review. “Apart from unfounded speculation, there is nothing to indicate his age any different than reported. My point is that while we have reason to doubt his reported age, it is a non-issue to us.”

• Joba speaks:

Q: How much of a relief is it to you that the “Joba Rules,” which limited your innings, are now a thing of the past?

JC: It means I’m growing up. As a competitor, I definitely got frustrated at times. But at the end of the day, I also understood why they were doing it. And I have the utmost respect for them taking that time and going through the good and the bad with me. Now we’ve done it. We’re better for it. We all learned how to handle the situation, and now I can just go out and play the game and get 200-plus innings in.

• Chase Wright (he of the four consecutive homers allowed in one inning) turns 27 today.
• Fritz Peterson turns 68 today.

Back on Thursday.

The Saints kept Peyton Manning off the field in the second quarter and forced one huge interception with the Colts driving, looking to tie, in the fourth. It was enough to win an exciting game–Drew Brees was terrific–and the Saints are the Champs.

Final Score: 31-17.

New Orleans is a-jumpin’. Good for them.

I heard a few years ago…

that the day before the Stupor Bowl…

is the biggest grocery shopping day of the year.

Whatever you are eatin, hope it am be finger-licking good.

Prediction: I’m in a food coma by the Half. And the Saints win the game.

It is sunny but cold in New York.

Tonight gives The Big Game. I’m rooting for Peyton and the Colts but will be hard-pressed to be upset should the Saints win. What a cool turn of events that’d be for a traditionally losing franchise, not to mention a city that has seen more than its fair share of hard times.

So? What do you do for the Stupit Bowl? Go to a party? Throw a party? Stay at home and make a feast? Which one of these?

Here’s a classic bit of Preston Sturges to keep you warm and smiling on another cold winter night in New York:

The latest from Klap:

“I think Brian [Cashman] has learned a lot about running a team,” said one rival executive. “He’s made some mistakes, but if you go around and ask people what they think of the Yankees, the answer you’ll get is that they’re intelligently run.”

Money+smarts=Heppy Kets.

I have always embraced the idea of collage, taking existing objects and turning them into something new. Which is why I was never offended about the concept of sampling in Rap music. (“It’s like the old flip books you had as a kid,” an engineer friend was telling me recently, “Oh, here’s a fireman’s hat with a tuxedo and clown shoes, all mashed-up, cool!”) Layering of old records together in Hip Hop is a musical extention of what I loved so much about Joseph Cornell, Kurt Schwitters and Robert Rauschenberg.

Which is not to say that I like all collage or sampled-based music. But I dig the spirit of reinterpretation.

On that note, dig this, a 3-D exploration of Picasso’s seminal painting, Guernica:

LL? Special Ed? How best to end a week of Young Emcees?

How ’bout them both?

I never get tired of this one (never could do the running man):

Near the end of Manhattan, Woody Allen lies on a couch and talks into a tape recorder:

Well, all right, why is life worth living? That’s a very good question. Well, there are certain things, I guess, that make it worthwhile.  Like what? OK… for me…Ooh, I would say Groucho Marx, to name one thing. And Willie Mays.And… the second movement of the Jupiter Symphony. And… Louis Armstrong’s recording of Potato Head Blues. Swedish movies, naturally. Sentimental Education by Flaubert. Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra. Those incredible apples and pears by Cezanne. The crabs at Sam Wo’s. Tracy’s face.

I’ve never sat down and come up with a list myself but last night a friend of mine showed me the folloing Laurel and Hardy clip. Now, I’ve never been enamoured with Laurel and Hardy in the same way I am with Buster Keaton or the Marx Brothers, but this scene brightened my week and reminded me of some things really do make life worth living.

The Super Bowl will have come and gone and in less than two weeks, spring training will begin.

The Yanks are still the champs and this year brings the tension of a possible repeat. Winning consecutive championships is one of the hardest things to accomplish in team sports. Be interesting to see how they react. 

There is no reason not to think that this is gunna be another exciting year…

The spring crop of baseball books is just around the corner and I’m especially eager to read Howard Bryant’s biography of Hank Aaron. Closer to home, there are two baseballish memoirs of interest, The Cardboard Gods: An All-American Tale Told through Baseball Cards, by former Toaster pal, Josh Wilker, and 90% of the Game Is Half Mental: And Other Tales from the Edge of Baseball Fandom, by our own Emma Span. In a baseball round-up from Library Journal, the word is such on Emma’s book:

A warm and funny memoir (casual swearing included) by freelance writer Span, consisting of separate essay-chapters relating to her own experience of baseball, from her father’s nurture over scorecards, through her time (2006–07) as sportswriter for the Voice, to observations of what the game brings out in all of us around this country and beyond—players, writers, and fans included. This will be especially enjoyed by Span’s twenty-something peers who follow the Mets or Yankees. She has a refreshingly unassuming and appealing voice.

Josh and Emma are not only friends but I think they are two of the most interesting and engaging writers to emerge from the baseball blogosphere. I’m so excited for them both and I hope that their books get the attention and praise they deserve. This is just the first you’ve heard about both projects in this space.

Ya Hoid?

[Photo Credit: ckaroli]

I am a bona fide vinegar junkie. Much to the wife’s chagrin, I’ve got over a dozen bottles at a time, and can’t keep any of them neat or clean. I’ll cop to it–I’ve got a sticky problem. I denied it for years, but I’m like Pig Pen, man. Emily is always harumphing, “How come this counter is so damn sticky?!” And I shout back, “I wiped it down twice!” Which isn’t always the case, but I usually try to clean after myself a little bit.

Then, one time when she was out of town for a few days, and I was in the apartment and I’ll discovered it for myself–I am sticky. What the hell, dude? I make a mess. Hey, we all have our flaws.

But back to the finer things in life, namely, vinegar. This here is one of my favorite products of all-time, an aged red wine vinegar from Spain.

It is not nearly as distinct and syrupy as aged Balsamic vinegar, but it is a little sweet and mellow. Anyhow, I think it is the bomb and use it constantly. It isn’t cheap, but for twenty bucks it makes a terrific gift. You can buy it here.

Our two cats, with that certain Bronx attitude.

Ms. October, this is for youski.

Today’s update is powered by . . . Man vs. Food (baseball food)

• Ready to Winn:

“They’re the World Series champions from last year and I have a chance to compete and get some playing time,” Winn said in a phone interview Tuesday night with The Associated Press from the Bay Area where he still lives. “I thought it was a great fit, being a versatile guy who can play all three outfield positions and can hit anywhere in the lineup.”

. . . “This came together quickly. The offseason was slow,” Winn said. “I didn’t really know what to expect. I got calls with interest but no offers.”

• Minor league managerial manuevering.
• Yahoo Sports offers this Free Agent Tracker, with this amusing note on a catcher we all know:

122. Jose Molina, C: If the Yankees re-sign him, A.J. Burnett should be forced to pay half his contract.

Read more…