Blog Archives

Take that boo birds.

Yanks go boom, beat up the Rays, 7-2.

The O’s in town for a long weekend series.

Never mind the c-c-c-old.

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

It ain’t just on Broadway! Up in the BX, the Yanks host the Rays.

Never mind the fog:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

It took awhile but the Yanks finally got their home opener in and although it was a long, cold, wet journey into night the Yanks came out ahead, 11-4. Didi had himself a career day at the plate and Yankee fans went home happy. About the only downside was when Giancarlo Stanton got booed after striking out for the fifth time. Granted, that’s a lousy day for the slugger, but any so-called fan who believes that in order to prove their bona fides they need to act shitty can get bent. Seriously, who are these people? No wonder people hate Yankee fans with these Toys besmirching our good name.

Stanton took it in stride and we’re here to let him know most all of us are pulling for him. He’ll be okay.

Picture by Bags

Yeah, the snow is coming down here this morning in the Bronx. Ah, memories of 1996 home’s opener will abound today. Well, that’s okay—at least it will make us forget how things played out yesterday in Toronto (about which the less said the better in an irritating 7-4 loss).

Bundle up and bring on the Hot Cocoa.

Oh, yeah, and: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Um, what the hell? The Yanks are getting pounded with injured centerfielders. You gotta be kidding me already.

(Come On Down, Miguel Andujar!)

And then there’s Dellin Betances, the giant from Brooklyn whose size is the source of his strength and weakness. He looked bad yesterday and of course he’s made us nervous before. Gotta hope he can work through it. Pulling for him.

Final Score: Jays 5, Yanks 3.

More today with our dude Sonny Gray. Love that guy. He’s like Coney’s nephew.

Never mind the DL:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

A good starting performance from our man Tanaka, a big league debut for a young outfielder, and a second victory for the Yanks.

Today gives The Big Fella, good ol’ C.C.

Never mind a thing:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Game 2. Whadda ya hear, whadda ya say? (Other than the irksome news that Aaron Hicks is headed for the DL.)

Dayenu and all that Good Friday stuff.

Never mind the gefilte:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Giancarlo Stanton homered in his first at bat as a Yankee and, just to show off, hit a goddamn bomb late in the game, as the Yanks cruised to a 6-1 Opening Day win in Toronto. Severino and the bullpen shut the Jays down and made us all pleasantly pleased. Am I right?

Picture by Bags

Whirled Serious or Bust! That’s how it’s got to be for the 2018 Yankees. At least if you listen to the pundits and the ever-demanding Yankee fans. No pressure.

But let’s not be too narrow, huh? Of course, we’d like to see them reach the Serious, and once there, win a title. But we’ve got a long time between now and then, and many pleasures to be had.

So never mind the noise, let’s enjoy.

The Bombers are up in Toronto to open the season. And we’ll be watching or listening or following in some capacity because, well, that’s what we do.

Here we go. Strap in.

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

You all know the news by now. Greg Bird, doing his best to be the new version of Nick “Bones of Balsa Wood” Johnson, is hurting again. Surgery. Out for a few months. Man, what a drag. I feel for the kid and hope he gets better soon. In the meantime, this creates a chance for someone to fill in and do some work. Mr. Walker?

Hard to believe the season begins in a couple of days. Been an awfully long winter. Be nice to get back to it.

Picture by Bags.

I saw today that Kenny Singleton will retire from the broadcast booth after this season. He’s had a good run with the Yanks, a welcome, even-handed and amiable presence. We’re certain to appreciate spending one last summer with him.

I haven’t been following spring training too closely—only the quotidian peek to make sure nobody has been terribly injured—but did see the Yanks signed Neil Walker on the cheap. That feels like a nice bit of insurance to have at second base. Left-handed pop, Yankee Stadium, Mmm, mmm, good. Plus, a little more seasoning in the minors could be just what uber-prospect Gleyber Torres needs. Over at The Athletic (subscription required), Marc Carig reports:

“It’s way too early to critique the bat because he’ll get it going when he’s playing every day with a little less pressure,” said one talent evaluator, who said Torres’ spring performance did little to change his belief that Torres could be a special player.

Torres is ranked as the Yankees’ top prospect and No. 5 in all of baseball by MLB Pipeline. He will almost certainly be summoned at some point during the season….

“Any experience he can get to prepare him for his future role is a huge plus,” the evaluator said. “He played defense very well and just needs the ABs.”

Picture by Bags

Is it better to burn out or fade away? Good question. Well, here at the Banter, we have been more of the long, slow dissolve state of mind. The site is still up—thanks in large part to Will—and I can’t ever see it closing, really. At the same time, it’s clear to any of you who still stop by, that I have been an absentee landlord at best. Certainly, the Banter’s time as a hub for Yankeeness has long since past, though I am of course grateful that some of you longtime heads still come by to hang out.

I’ve been running Esquire’s digital archives for the past few years in addition to the curating work that began here and developed into gigs with Deadspin and The Daily Beast. Just a few weeks back I launched a new site, The Stacks Reader, which will house everything I have reprinted at various sites, and put it all under one roof. In many ways it is Banter 2.0. And I am in deep with it. But also in love.

I never imaged that this is where things would take me—archivist, curator—but here we are. All that said, I just don’t have a ton of time to devote to the Banter. I am not sure what this season is going to look like around here but I will do my best to keep posts coming up so you guys can kibbitz and schmooze and hang.

Oh, yeah, and: this should be a fun season, am I right?

Our guy, Oscar has passed away. Sad new.

Head on over to Don Van Natta’s Sunday Long Read (co-run by Jacob Feldman) and check out my long oral history of Inside Sports. Spent a few years putting this sucker together. Plenty of baseball stuff in there. Enjoy!

Back in the mid-’70s through the early ’80s, magazine editor John A. Walsh was the ringleader of the A-Z Bar tour, which is exactly what it sounds like, a bar crawl that ran the gamut of watering holes from A to Z. It began in San Francisco (Walsh was briefly the managing editor at Rolling Stone), moved to Washington D.C. (where he worked as an editor at the Post’s fabled Style section) and eventually landed in New York (Walsh was the original editor of Inside Sports).

Thought you might appreciate the rules n regulations:

[Photo Via: John A. Walsh]

Hot Stove my eye. Well, at least there’s football…Oh, Hell, I can’t even type that without scoffing to myself.

That said, the Vikings win last week was some kind of fun, right? And if the Jaguars find a way to beat the Patriots today, that will be just fine, too.

Meanwhile, it’s been reading, movies, TV-show streaming, reading, and NBA action for me the past month or so, which is all well and good for hibernation, but once our boys hit spring training things will perk up, nu?

Notorious Yankee-killer Evan Longoria gets shipped to San Francisco, a long ways away. Happy to see him gone from the AL East, but, as the saying goes, I’d grown accustomed to his face. He was a worthy adversary, and will be missed in a weird way. Of course, you all know the Yanks re-signed C.C. to a one-year, $10 million deal and that sounds about right. They also shipped away Chase Headley to save some dough and that sounds about right too. But I am also sorry to see him go because that Chase Headley’s a good egg.

Last summer, I spent a couple of days at the Stadium on assignment for Esquire poking around about Aaron Judge. I spoke to Judge, briefly, and to a few of his teammates: C.C. was standoffish, Didi was terse and odd, Aaron Hicks, then on the DL, was interesting and Brett Gardner was generous and helpful, and I’ll tell you this—Chase Headley was just such a good guy. No airs, no pretense, professional, but thoughtful, just a good guy. Gave me a lot of time, had some great observations. I’d never been his biggest fan just watching him but after meeting him I had no choice but to root for him for the rest of his career. Wish him luck.

[Photo Credit: Adam Hunger/USA Today Sports]

From an Albert Brooks routine describing a stoned redneck’s fantasy gift.

Well, the Yanks have Aaron Judge, emerging superstar and giant home run hitting/whiff machine in right field. But apparently they want the more expensive version as well, and reports have the Yanks agreeing to a trade with the Marlins to acquire Giancarlo Stanton. Physicals, approval, etc. still pending.

On the surface it is a head-scratcher. Then again, we don’t know what else is involved in the trade yet (word is Starlin Castro and prospects). And on another hand, this is a classic Yankee boffo move. They got more expensive, they got more powerful, they got more star power and that, my friends, is, and has always been, the Yankee way.

Aaron Boone press conference today.

Yadda-Yadda-Yadda. 

That said, I am excited for Boonie. Why not, right?

Picture by Bags

Aaron Boone will be the new Yankee skipper. Yanks hope the neophyte can be a New Age Joe Torre and lead this young team to big time success. On the surface, Boone doesn’t exit me, but then again, a) he doesn’t need to be exiting to be good, and b), what the hell do I know? Wishing him the best of luck regardless now that he’s got the gig.

And away we go…