There was a terrific article on Wayne Thiebaud in the Times yesterday:

Jock Reynolds, now the director of the Yale University Art Gallery, recalled his first day of class, when Professor Thiebaud asked his students to produce a pencil and paper. “What followed was a remarkably lucid lecture on where to buy the best and cheapest salami, cheese, coffee, fruit, bread, cakes, and wine, things he insisted would significantly enrich the quality of our lives,” Mr. Reynolds said.

Later Mr. Reynolds realized that his professor was sharing more than a shopping list. “He was giving his students direct insights into the very subject matter that was inspiring his own art; the frosted cakes, cream pies, lollipops and the trays of herring and sardines he was transforming, through the skilled application of paint onto canvas, into the most tactile and sensuous visual compositions imaginable.”

Mr. Thiebaud’s favorite class to teach was Beginning Drawing. “You really see people transformed,” he said. “Teaching it has a big fatigue factor. But once they get a sense of it, it’s like heroin.”

Yanks-Sox and the last weekend on the regular season. There is something at stake here, of course, the best record in the American League. Looks like the Sox have something to play for after all.

Mr. de Kooning

It just is.

[Photo Credit: J. Parthum]

The Yanks are stumbling toward a playoff berth. Last night, the offense showed some fight, which has me feeling good. However, the formidable J. Lester goes for the Sox later this afternoon on Fox (doom, doom!) and Dustin Moseley will start for the Yanks tomorrow night so a Red Sox sweep is not hard to imagine.

Still, I’ll be keeping the faith like De La, and root-root-rooting for the home team.

Fug whatchu hoid: Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

[Picture by Frank Miller]

Okay, so 1960 is a most horrid thought for most Yankee fans but this is too good not to share.

For you skeptics out there, last night’s loss is proof that this is not a magical year, that this Yankee team will get bounced from the playoffs in early October. We’re always looking for signs and the Yanks have not played well over the past month. This morning, the papers took notice.

In the Post, George King begins his recap:

Joe Girardi and CC Sabathia better be correct. Because if they are wrong, the Yankees’ October experience is going to be a short one.

The manager and ace both said the max-effort pitching duel between David Price and Sabathia less than two weeks ago in St. Petersburg, Fla., didn’t bankrupt the Yankees ace’s tank.

In the News, Mark Feinsand writes, “The standings still show the Yankees in sole possession of first place in the American League East, so why does it feel like they lost the division Thursday night?”

Nobody was happy in the comments section here at Banter last night, either. So? What does it all mean? Can this team turn it on and go back to the Whirled Serious? Or is this 2006 and a first round bump?

I don’t think the Yanks will repeat but also would be surprised if they don’t at least make it to the ALCS.

Higher Loinik:

[Photograph by Ruth Orkin, NYC: 1947]

The Threshing Floor (1904), By Diego Rivera

Peace to Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York for hipping me to the photography of Ted Barron. Here’s some of Barron’s work, featured recently over at Sensitive Skin Magazine:

Check it out.

Then dig Barron’s blog:

A super-heroic game from Arod inspired both Alex and me to choose images of Superman after last night’s performance. Thanks to Rodriguez the Yankees won 4-3 and gained a game on both the Rays and Sox, moving back into the penthouse of the AL East. The one I chose is a picture by George Perez from the Avengers-JLA crossover a few years ago. This drawing is from the climactic battle. The Vision has just been killed, and Thor is under a pile of bad guys. With his last act, the Vision drains his power jewel into Superman, essentially supercharging their strongest gun. Thor whips him his hammer, Captain America flings him his shield, and Superman puts everything into one swing with the mighty Mjolnir which saves the day.

Yeah, last night was kind of like that.

I’m not picky when it comes to wins. AJ Burnett going seven innings and allowing three runs, even if it was tough to watch at times, is cause for optimism. The offense was brutal, no getting around it, and they’ll have to be better if they want to win the series with Tampa next week. But they have two more games in Baltimore to put on their hitting shoes and I think they will.

I did not think the pitch Alex took for ball two in the ninth was a strike. It required a little restraint from the home plate umpire, but to me it was not overly close and would have been a harsh way to end the game. Though I guess from Balitmore’s perspective, having Arod plaster one into the night is pretty harsh too.

Alex said that Arod expressed his inner-Reggie last night. Coming up big at the biggest times is how heroes are made, and we sure needed hero during this recent stretch. I hope Arod is ready to assume that role for the duration.

When Alex smushes one like that, I imagine the ball flattening upon impact and then snapping back to form as it hurtles into space. It’s a testament to the good folks at Rawlings that the ball did not explode. Next time, he should try the hammer.

Hot damn. Shades of Tino and Mark Langtson as Alex Rodriguez saves the day. Jon will have the recap shortly…

Nu féminin (1918), By Amedeo Modigliani

Dig this coolness from Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York:

Cause there ain’t no such thing as too much Sammy.

The Yanks have lost four straight, seven of their last eight. They’ve been back-and-forth with the Rays for first place all season, a steady give-and-take, a dance. Now, the Rays are up by a half-game. But unless something horrible happens (the Red Sox trail the Yanks by seven games for the wildcard), they are both making the playoffs.

Tonight gives Matt Garza against the kid Nova, in his biggest test yet. Should be fun. I see the Bombers scoring some runs–don’t know if they’ll haul in the Score Truck, but more than enough to win.

Time to get back to the business of being in business.

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

Nice piece by Joe Lemire over at SI.com on umps.

[Picture by Norman Rockwell]

Peace to Brad for hipping me to this on-line collection of William Gottlieb’s photography. It’s wonderful.

Man, imagine going back in time to witness 52nd street during its heyday?

Is Carl Crawford’s time in Tampa close to being over? Ben Shpigel reports in the Times:

…With every game this month and next, the clock also ticks louder toward Crawford’s free agency — and his likely departure from the only organization he has ever known. It is the perpetual challenge for small-market teams like the Rays: how to prevent a homegrown star from bolting for a big payday.

The Rays’ payroll has steadily increased over the last four years, to roughly $71 million from about $24 million in 2007, but their principal owner, Stuart Sternberg, said in spring training that it would plunge below $60 million for 2011. Even with the money they receive in revenue sharing, team revenue has not increased in lock step with the Rays’ success. Devoting what could be a quarter of their budget to one player would run counter to their operating philosophy.

“We could sign just about any player in baseball,” said Andrew Friedman, the Rays’ general manager. “The issue is whether we could field a competitive team around that player. Our job is to balance that. We certainly can’t win a bidding contest for any top player. It’s kind of Math 101 when you look at our resources relative to most every team in the game.”

Bronco Buster, By Frederic Remington