Blog Archives

Check out this fun piece on all-time Yankee Killers over at ESPN.com.

How to rock a party, an intro to blending by Z-Trip (from the mostly excellent documentary about the history of Hip Hop DJing, Scratch*):

And here, Z Trip just gets stoopit:

* My only reservation is that the movie didn’t cover the great Philly DJs; otherwise, it’s impressive.

Not so long ago, Carlos Zambrano made a scene in the Cubs dugout. The incident made headlines, nothing new for the troubled Zambrano. What struck me watching the replays was the look on manager Lou Piniella’s face. He didn’t just looked startled, as this large man stomped around the dugout yelling, steam practically shooting out of his ears, Piniella looked old. After all, this is a manager who is legendary for his temper tantrums. But now, he looked timid.

I suppose it is the right time to go. Sweet Lou has enjoyed a fine career as a player and manager, and he’ll always be welcome in the Bronx. He was one of George’s guys, and one of our own.

Congrats, Lou, on a wonderful career. Come by anytime.

[Photo Credit: Kennerly.com (Lou in 1966, playing for the Portland Beavers)]

Doesn’t take much to get me riled-up. Just ask my old pal Rich Lederer, die-hard Angels fan, who had me cursing like a sailor last night as the Angels pounded the Yanks. Eh, I don’t like to disappoint, so I gave him a show. In honor of Sweet Lou announcing his retirement. Yeah, that’s it.

The Yanks and Angels finish their two-game series this afternoon with Mr. Vazquez and Mr. Pineiro on the hill. Pineiro has been terrific for the past two months, and Vazquez hasn’t been too bad himself.

Another scorcher out there today; this one could be a barn-burner. Nevermind the heat, boys…

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

[Picture by Bags]

Apollo and Daphne (Detail), By Gianlorenzo Bernini (1622-25)

The Ecstasy of St. Teresa (detail), By Gianlorenzo Bernini (1647-52)

Here’s my good pal Jared Boxx of Big City Records talking about why vinyl matters. Glad to see someone got around to doing a good interview with Jared:

Boundless Radio Presents: Big City Records – JBX from Kellen Dengler on Vimeo.

Albert Brooks used to tell a joke about disk jockeys. He said it was a proven fact that the worst three kinds of people in the world were: incurable lepers, disk jockeys, curable lepers. Said it was a scientific fact, not opinion. Well, I think of this joke whenever I see or read about celebrity chefs who make a good replacement for disk jockeys. I’ve got a friend who thinks that celebrity chefs are one of the most obnoxious cultural trends in years. And I’d be hard-pressed to argue even though I minor in food nerdary.

Anthony Bourdain is an interesting case beacause I can’t tell if I like him or not. His memoir “Kitchen Confidential” made him a celebrity (and if you ever want to convince someone not to to be a chef, look no further). I don’t know that anyone would call him a chef anymore, he’s a food celebrity. But he’s arrogant, funny, hip, full of rock n roll rage and viciousness, not to mention self-parody. And he cares about food.

Bourdain has a new book of essays out and I enjoyed the review of it in the Times Book Review last weekend.

Dig.

[Photo Credit: The Frosting]

How about a few days of some good red ass scenes.

Let’s start with a classic:

Brian Cashman says he’s not looking for a starting pitcher. Says that’s why the Yanks have ol’ Serge Mitre. Over at River Ave Blues, our pal Joe Pawlikowski looks at some of the options that are out there.

Whadda you think?

Ah, love me some Bill Lee.

[Photo Credit: Houston Sports Rapp]

Damned Soul, By Bernini, Gianlorenzo (1619)

Where will Alex Rodriguez’s 600th home run land, you ask? Well, even if you haven’t been thinking about it, the good folks over at SeatGeek have.

Dig this!

[Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images]

I can’t live without salad. Crave it more than chocolate. When I was growing up, we had to help my mom make dinner or clear the table and wash the dishes. Cooking was always more appealing and we usually had a salad every night so I became the salad guy (although my brother’s got salade skills too).

Hmmm, what’ll I have fer lunch?

[Photo Credit: Last Night’s Dinner]

…Weeks. That’s how long Andy Pettitte is expected to miss.

The Yanks could try to ride this out with what they’ve got, but my Spidey Sense tells me a move will be made. Question is, will it be a boffo move (Roy Oswalt), or a hold-down-the-fort-move (Mitre, Ponson)?

Which one of these?

Andy Pettitte gave up a three-run home run to Carlos Pena in the first inning but the real pain game a couple of innings later when Pettitte was removed from the game with what has been diagnosed as a grade-one strained left groin. Pettitte is likely headed to the disabled list and if anyone was still sore at AJ Burnett, well, I can’t expect they’re feeling especially forgiving now even if it is Sunday.

The Yanks rallied against Tampa’s ace, David Price, and ran away with another slow-moving game, 9-5. The offense clicked, Brett Gardner running, a big RBI single by Derek Jeter, couple more base knocks by Nick Swisher, and a couple of base hits by Alex Rodriguez–one that nearly decapitated Price, another that bounced off the back of the bullpen wall, good for career home run number 598.

The bats got it done, and so did the Yankees’ bullpen. David Robertson, who relieved Pettitte and immediately worked work of a jam, and Chan Ho Park were particularly strong.

So…it was a good, albeit costly, win. Losing Pettitte is no small matter, though it would have been difficult to imagine him not getting dinged-up along the way at some pernt. With the trade deadline fast-approaching, you can bet Brian Cashman will be working the phones.

[Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images]

Couple of fine lefties on the mound today at the Stadium–the old man Andy Pettitte vs. the young gun David Price.

It’s another scorcher out there. Here’s hoping the Yanks find a way to win this game and take the series. A victory is the difference between leading Tampa by three games instead of just one.

Go git ’em, fellas.

Hand it to AJ Burnett, who gets the gas face two times on a stifling hot summer afternoon in the Bronx. Former Yankee greats assembled for Old Timer’s Day and spoke about Bob Sheppard and George Steinbrenner. As expected it was a muted affair. Reggie Jackson arrived late and was somber as he talked to the media. Yogi Berra didn’t make it at all, after falling in his home last night. He’s apparently doing okay, but Yogi’s absence was felt.

Well, the Boss would have been fired-up if he was around to witness Burnett’s performance, that’s for sure. According to Josh Thompson over at Lo-Hud:

A.J. Burnett cut his hands in an act of frustration after the second inning today. He came into the clubhouse and slammed his hands against a set of double doors, cutting his palms on the plexi glass that holds the lineup card. Burnett said he was embarrassed and wanted to stay in the game so he told a trainer he had fallen.

“I was embarrassed of the situation,” he said. “I didn’t want that to be a reason why I came out of the game. I’m an honest person and I’m not going to lie to cover up something. That’s the reason, that’s the truth and I’m definitely not going to lie to this organization and these 25 guys in here who I play with everyday.”

Burnett was yanked before recording an out in the third. He admitted the truth and apologized to Brian Cashman, Joe Girardi and trainer Steve Donohue after the game and said he will speak to his teammates tomorrow.

“The moral is that I let these guys down,” Burnett said.

The Rays beat the Yanks to the tune of 10-5. If Burnett’s act and the final score wasn’t bad enough, the game seemed to take forever, slogging along, hot, sticky, dull. No, it wasn’t much fun at all.