I like this man (plus, he makes me laugh):

What advice would you give the younger you?

I’d probably say just calm down. Don’t worry so much, the way you tend to in your twenties. When young actors ask for advice, I tell them to treat it like a business. You lower the awning of the fruit stand at the beginning of the day and you do the best that you can, and at the end of the day you reel it back up and go to dinner. Somehow if you understand it’s a long-term business, it eases you into not beating yourself up. That’s a tendency of a lot of younger people — they’re pretty hard on themselves.

…You lost a brother and your parents at a young age. Later, your wife of 30 years died. How does a man handle loss?

You have to respect the fact that no solution is realized in a day. I remember the first Thanksgiving after my wife died: I’m with my three kids and we’re at the table and trying to do the same Thanksgiving thing, and we kind of look at each other and I said, “OK, let’s say what it is. Thanksgiving this year isn’t going to be what it was, but it will be, eventually.” The mark of the man is to figure out how to regain strength and move on the way the person you lost would want you to.

[Photo Credit: Dreamworks Animation]

The Yankees belted the ball around last night, scored 11 runs and gave C.C. Sabathia the kind of cushion ever pitcher dreams of. He pitched a decent game, too as the Yanks cruised to an 11-5 win in Tampa. First win for C.C. since Christ was a cowboy.

Smile.

[Photo Credit: Digitalhaas via It’s a Long Season]

Here’s to C.C. getting his first win of the season.

Brett Gardner LF

Carlos Beltran RF

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Chase Headley 3B

Chris Young CF

Stephen Drew 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

Never mind the indoors:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Here’s Dwight Garner on Sally Mann’s memoir:

There aren’t many important memoirs by American photographers. I wish especially that, along with Robert Frank and Diane Arbus, Walker Evans had left one behind. How good was Evans’s prose? He once described James Agee’s sartorial style as “knowingly comical inverted dandyism.” He added: “wind, rain, work and mockery were his tailors.”

I held Evans’s writing in mind while reading “Hold Still,” the photographer Sally Mann’s weird, intense and uncommonly beautiful new memoir. Ms. Mann has got Evans’s gift for fine and offbeat declaration. She’s also led a big Southern-bohemian life, rich with incident. Or maybe it only seems rich with incident because of an old maxim that still holds: Stories happen only to people who can tell them.

…Her writing about “Immediate Family” is only one of many reasons to read this memoir. “Hold Still” is a cerebral and discursive book about the South and about family and about making art that has some of the probity of Flannery O’Connor’s nonfiction collection “Mystery and Manners” yet is spiked with the wildness and plain talk of Mary Karr’s best work. Like the young Ms. Karr, Ms. Mann was a scrappy, troublemaking tomboy, one who grew into a scrappy, troublemaking, impossible-to-ignore young woman and artist.

The details in “Hold Still” nail Ms. Mann’s sentences to the wall. She describes being dropped off after a date, for example, emerging from some boy’s El Camino and walking into the house to confront her parents. “My hair, trailing bobby pins, would be matted and tendriled against my hickey-spotted neck, and the skirt of my dress would be wrinkled, the taupe toes of pantyhose peeking out from my purse,” she writes. “My swollen lips were now a natural, chapped red, and my cheeks blushed with beard burn.” Taupe toes of pantyhose. It’s been a while since I’ve read a phrase that good, even in poetry.

I’m sold.

“In the first inning, I threw the first slider, I said oh, everything is working good today,” Pineda said after today’s game, according to Chad Jennings. “… I don’t know how to explain to you how happy I am right now. But I’m very happy now.”

Stud. That’s what Michael Pineda is. He’s the Yankees’ best pitcher and the only that can temper our feelings about him now is a nagging concern that he won’t stay healthy. Otherwise, he’s been tremendous. Today, he mastered the Orioles for 7 innings. Gave up a run, didn’t walk a batter and struck out sixteen. Can you remember a big dominant Moose like Pineda–with this kind of control and stuff–pitch for the Yanks in the past 30 years?

Carlos Beltran hit a line drive off the right field wall in his first at bat, a foot or two away from being a homer. Later, he did hit a home run, his first of the year. McCann hit a dinger, and Didi Gregorius drove in a pair as the Yanks won, 6-2.

[Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac/Newsday]

The Yanks lost a dud of a game yesterday, 6-2. This afternoon their best pitcher, Michael Pineda will pitch. Love to see him pitch well again, go deep into the game, and help give the Yanks a series win.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Brett Gardner LF

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Chase Headley 3B

Stephen Drew 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

Happy Mother’s Day and:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Afternoon game at the Stadium.

Ellsbury CF
Gardner LF
Young RF
Teixeira 1B
Beltran DH
Pirela 2B
Headley 3B
Drew SS
Murphy C

Never mind the fog:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

This is how I spark it…

[Photo Credit: Michael Kirby Smith for The New York Times via This Isn’t Happiness]

This is becoming a routine, huh? Yanks get an early lead but their starting pitcher can’t do deep into the game so the bullpen takes over and preserve the lead and the Yanks win. Brian McCann (2-run homer on a 3-0 pitch) and Carlos Beltran (2-run double on a 3-2 pitch) had big hits as Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner continued to set the table, Adam Warren couldn’t make it out of the fifth, and four relievers followed him, Betances and Miller dominant again at the end.

Seems like a dangerous game to be playing. As deft as Joe Girardi is at handling the bullpen it’s not hard to be concerned about them being overused if this keeps up.

Still, another win, and that’s always reason to smile. Final Score: Yanks 5, O’s 4.

It’s the Warren Report tonight at the Stadium.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Brett Gardner LF

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Chase Headley 3B

Jose Pirela 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

Never mind the warm weather:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags.

I’m not a Hitchcock fan but I’ve probably seen close to  half of his movies. Never saw Rear Window, though, just bits and pieces on TV. Until last week when I was in L.A. and went to see a screening of Rear Window at a revival theater in Santa Monica.

I had a good time; it was fun watching the movie with an audience.

I didn’t realize how erotic it is. I especially like this scene with Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart.

Alex Rodriguez was robbed of a 3-run home run in the first inning but he hit a line drive over the wall in center field a couple of innings later, just dropped the bat and extended his arms. Good enough for career home run 661. He got a nice cheer from the crowd, came out for an ovation, which died down almost immediately after he quickly returned to the dugout. No fanfare. Ah, if only all milestones were like this!

Next up for Rodriguez, who got another base hit later in the game, is 3,000 hits. He’s only 38 away.

The Yankees got a decent performance from Nathan Eovaldi and more stellar work from their bullpen. Good for a 4-3 win over the Orioles.

Picture by Bags

When we look back on the 2015 season we’ll be able to recognize tonight’s game as one of the loveliest in terms of the weather. It’s a beautiful spring night, a little cool, you’ll need a sweatshirt or a jacket at the ball park, but it’s crisp and clear, just a great night to be at the Stadium. Maybe a little cool later, but not prohibitively cold.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Brett Gardner LF

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Chase Headley 3B

Stephen Drew 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

The latest Big Question Mark is on the hill for the Yanks. Weaver, Black Jack McDowell, Pavano, Burnett, you know the line. I don’t have a read on the guy yet. He reminds me of Pavano physically but with more stuff. I can’t figure out if he’s a mope like Pavano yet. I don’t want to think so. It’d be really cool to see him get better unlike, says, A.J. who just sort of was what he was.

Never mind those birds a’chirpin’:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Alas, poor C.C. 

Yanks lose, 5-1. 

Picture by Bags

One last game in Toronto for The Scrubby Mustache Gang.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Chris Young LF

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Chase Headley 3B

Stephen Drew SS

Jose Pirela 2B

C.C. vs. ol’ Mark B.

Never mind nuthin’:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

I was in L.A. visiting friends for a few days. I brought an old 35 mm camera with me and took pictures. When I get the film developed I’ll post some. Such a weird, interesting city. So vast. And sadly, now, so hot and dry.

Big thanks to Jon for holding it down round here. I really enjoyed reading his game threads and recaps. Hey, how bout them Yankees still playing well? The Scrubby-Mustache Gang Rides Again.

So nice to be home.

Or science(s), if you prefer.

Jacoby Ellsbury, quiet, balanced and deadly quick, is a joy to watch at the plate. He’s in the middle of a tear right now and you can count on three line blistered drives a night, but even when he’s not scorching, the swing is still a thing of beauty.

It’s a stark constrast to his partner in the outfield and atop the lineup. When Brett Gardner came up I had never seen a worse swing from a Major League player. He’d often lose his bat into the stands, flinging it further than the balls he hit. But Gardner’s swing evolved as he slowly added pull-power to an already useful profile.

Look into their numbers and you’ll be there all day (I mean, if you go for that sort of thing and you have some free time, I’m endorsing frivolous procrastination or anything) as you compare and contrast all their different methods to skin the same cat. The cursory glance reveals Ellsbury to have more power, but that’s purely a shadow of the Green Monster.

Ellsbury makes more contact than Gardner, for good and for bad. Fewer whiffs but fewer walks as well. Despite a higher batting average for Ellsbury, Gardner actually gets on base just as often. Neither needs a platoon partner and of course, they have the wheels. But by appearance, you’d never mistake one for the other. Especially the follow-thru. Gardner’s one-handed, full-extenstion epee flick versus Ellsbury’s balanced, two-handed broad-sword sweep.

Their swings may be “beauty and the blech” but the results are damn similar (a good lesson to observers who like me, tend make a quick judgment on who can and cannot hit by the shape of their swing). And when they click like this, they’re an especially annoying echo chamber for the opposition. And Yankees are going to win a lot of games.

Like last night. Ellsbury and Gardner reached base five times between them and scored three runs. That alone should have been enough for the Yankees, but in between a strong 8-inning outing from Michael Pineda and a final out from Andrew Miller, David Carpenter got smeared for three runs. No matter though, as the Yankees had three more in their pocket and won 6-3.

***

And now I return you to your regularly scheduled host, Alex Belth. Thanks to Alex and all of you for letting me fill up the space this week. I will head back to twin forges of Little League and Pee Wee Soccer coaching and emerge at the end of June hoping to see the Yankees doing what they’re doing. Playing solid, winning baseball. The only difference is that I won’t be so surprised anymore.

Ellsbury Photo by Brad Penner via USA Today and NJ.com

Gardner Photo by AP via Newsday.com

Time for the Yanks to play it cool and rebound from the tough loss with a big win, like good teams usually do. I’m still not convinced this is a good team, but might as well act like one either way since they’re already in first place by a couple of games and all.

Feels like Michael Pineda is just the big lug the Yanks need to establish their presence with authority and even up this series.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Brett Gardner LF

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Stephen Drew 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

Gregorio Petit 3B

Lineup via LoHud

Update:

Lohud also says Jose Pirela has joined the Yankees in Toronto, but has not been activated. The “for rent” sign on second base has grown thick with dust. Let’s hope he takes it and does something with the place.

Anybody play “scoops” growing up? Chucking short-hops at each other until someone spells “s-c-o-o-p”? Like “horse” but more likely to cause a black eye. But I’m ahead of myself.

In the bottom of the 8th inning last night, the Yankees clung to a 1-0 lead, delivered to the bullpen by a sterling Chase Whitley. Dellin Betances, who has been nigh mo-tomatic lately, was not summoned to face the Jays’ three best hitters. Instead, Chris Martin got the very high-leverage appearance and the go-ahead run was on base within three batters. (I didn’t have audio and I haven’t found out yet for sure, but my guess is Miller’s long outing yesterday made Girardi attempt to sneak through this game without him.)

Then came Betances, then came baseball. Dellin’s slow hook got Encarnacion to loft a weak fly ball, but whereas Ellsbury was in the perfect spot to preserve Sunday night’s win, Gardner was in the perfect spot to lose Monday’s lead. The big swing coupled with the weak contact led Gardner on a long, curving route and the ball nestled softly into the corner for a double.

With the go-ahead run on third base, Betances got the second out before facing old-friend Russell Martin. Betances went after him with a steady diet of breaking balls, but with the count full, Martin has seen enough of the knuckle-curve and smacked a hot shot down the third-base line. Chase Headley, playing deep, sprung towards the foul line and snagged the grounder prematurely, as it was surely ticketed for the left field corner. Headley was on his feet and firing across the diamond in an instant, turning a double into a possible out. I’d bet good money the name “Brooks Robinson” was mentioned in the booth. The play was that good.

Too good to be true. Headley’s laser-beam throw from behind the third base bag was right on line but just a hair short. The ball skidded off the dirt as first baseman Garrett Jones stretched heroically but futilely. He swiped his glove at the short-hop, found the ball land true for the briefest moment before failing to squeeze it for the out. The ball skipped to the middle of the infield and two runs scord and the Jays won, 3-1.

It was almost a play for the season’s highlight reel and instead it’s a tough loss. Maybe Teixeira makes the scoop. Maybe. Probably.

Of course he does.

The Toronto Blue Jays are you at the Halal cart, next in line to order chicken over rice, white and hot sauce please, waiting patiently and quietly, perhaps distracted by an interesting cloud formation or a bike-messenger’s near-miss with a yellow cab. Meanwhile, the rest of the American League East pushes around you, yells over you and slaps their money on the counter and doesn’t even bother to look at you, let alone apologize, as they plant an elbow in your rib cage and knock you back to last place.

And look at that, the Yankees travel to Toronto and find the Blue Jays are in last place. The Rays drafted their way to the front of the line when the Yanks and Red Sox were both still trying and the Orioles have at least taken advantage of the latest Yankee “blue period” and the Boston cellar/series/cellar Oreo to play October baseball. The Jays are going nowhere, fast, again.

A few times the prognosticators have anointed them, most especially when they were able to off-load Vernon Wells on the Angels. But unloading a terrible contract doesn’t necessarily lead to being a good team. Shedding salary (albeit unconscionable salary) just creates empty space. Bautista, Encarnacion and now Donaldson are fun as heck as they swing from the heels and try to hit everything in orbit, but it still seems a sideshow thus far this year.

That doesn’t mean they can’t bloody a team in a short series. Look no further than opening week when the Yanks were fortunate to win one of three and were outscored 15-8. Chase Whitley will find a different breed of hitter in this game than he did against Tampa. And R.A. Dickey has handled the Yankees well as a Blue Jay. But even still, the Yanks have muscled their way into first place, now’s not the time to look back and apologize.

Photo via Wikipedia