It is supposed to be in the upper nineties this week in the Rotten Apple. Oy and veh. I’ve got the day off and I hope you do too. Blogging will be light, but we’ll be back tonight (if not sooner) when the Yanks take on the A’s.

Hope the holiday is making like Chubb Rock and treatin’ you right (and I hope most of you’ve got tomorrow off, too).

While we digest, and wait for Dee’s recap of the game, here’s the rosters for the 2010 All Star Game.

Mr. Hughes tries to rebound this afternoon.

It’s a scorcher…Hope everyone has a great (and safe) holiday.

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

Happy Birthday, George.

And speaking of George, here’s Mr. Cagney as that other famous George, Mr. Cohan:

Bow Down.

I know this routine from Albert’s first comedy album, Comedy Minus One.

Here is a version he did on TV:

Special Delivery…

When Andy Pettitte gave up a two-run homer to Jose Bautista in the first inning it was hard to fight off the “here we go again” feeling. But the Score Truck arrived in a rather royal way in the third inning. Brett Gardner led off with a single against Rickey Romero and chased Toronto’s starter later in the inning when he launched his fist big league grand slam into the right field bleachers. That made the score 8-2. Four batters later, Alex Rodriguez popped a high fly ball to left. His old “ha!” buddy John McDonald lost it in the sun and three more runs crossed the plate.

That was the only scoring the Yanks did today but it was more than enough as Andy Pettitte cruised to his 10th win.

Final Score: Yanks 11, Jays 3.

[Photo Credit: Bags and Hive]

I watched the entire game yesterday. Bob Dylan’s voice kept repeating in my head, “It’s a hard, it’s a hard...” Just about everything was hard yesterday, for both teams, but especially for the Yanks who scored just one run (in the first inning). I’m a just try and fergit it and hope for better things today.

The heat has returned. Gunna be a scorcher today and tomorrow.

Keep cool and Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

[Picture by Bags]

The Young Perfessor Steve Goldman examines the Yankees’ offense:

Can we call what the Yankees are going through right now, with the Yankees pushing past four runs just once in the last seven games a slump? Sure we can, because it has gone on a lot longer than that. After hitting .286/.367/.452 in April and May and scoring an average of 5.7 runs per game, they dropped off to .245/.333/.401 and 4.8 runs per game in June. It wasn’t just the Mariners or the six games played without the designated hitter in NL parks. The Yankees didn’t hit much in the first half of the month, then slid off as the days went on.

You can pick a half-dozen culprits. Brett Gardner (.383/.472/.533) and Robinson Cano (.333/.398/.510) had good months. Mark Teixeira was about average for an AL first baseman, which isn’t saying much this year. Everyone else was different flavors of slumpy. Curtis Granderson and Alex Rodriguez hit some home runs but had on-base percentages around .300. Derek Jeter hit .243/.339/.379, which isn’t terrible only because the average MLB shortstop is hitting only .264/.321/.371. The worst slumps took place in the DH/catching axis. Francisco Cervelli’s good luck on balls in play ran out and he hit .180/.275/.246 on the month. Jorge Posada was better because he was willing to walk but hit only .203/.337/.351.

The question here is, who can you expect to get better? Teixeira should continue to heat up. A-Rod was great in May (.330/.408/.534) and seems to be waking up again. Curtis Granderson might find some consistency if the Yankees would just stop asking him to do things he’s incapable of doing, but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards right now, so don’t expect much more. Jeter has been roughly consistent at his current level since the end of April, and at 36 he might not find his way back to the light. Posada is 38; the same thing goes for him. Nick Swisher has changed his style, so while we can note that so far he’s had one major hot streak bookended by two very mediocre months, we can’t know where the ride is going to stop. Cano might maintain something like consistency; Gardner is going to get worse.

I lived in Los Angeles for a little over four months when I was working for the Coen brothers on The Big Lebowski. An old college pal was good enough to let me crash on his couch in Santa Monica. We spent many weekends down at another college friend’s crib in Venice, hanging out on the balcony, checking out the scene on the boardwalk by the beach.

A record by a group named Sublime was on heavy-rotation at the time. It wasn’t the kind of record I usually go for, or even have the opportunity to hear for that matter, but there was something catchy about their pop, surfer sound, and it seemed entirely fitting to that time and place. So the record is forever linked to my memories of L.A. and the beach. I never did buy it–though later found out that my wife (who has some of the most finicky musical tastes of anyone I’ve ever met) loves it.

Here’s one of the tunes that brings me back to the beach with a smile:

Orel Hershiser is fast becoming one of the most astute analysts on network television. In bringing some actual analysis to ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball booth, Hershiser consistently exhibits an ability to fairly and clearly assess whatever team happens to be playing that night.

In working last Sunday’s game with the Dodgers, Hershiser pointedly discussed the Yankees’ needs as they approach the July 31st trading deadline. He pinned the tail correctly, as he listed the bullpen and the bench as the two areas the Yankees should target in trying to strengthen themselves for the final two months of the season. That runs counter to all of the columnist and beat writers who have suggested the Yankees make a priority of adding Cliff Lee to their rotation. But the acquisition of Lee would not address a weakness for the Yankees. Outside of alternating slumps by Javier Vazquez and A.J. Burnett, the Yankee rotation has been firm and formidable. There are also competent reinforcements at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre, where prospects Ivan Nova and Zack McAllister have pitched reasonably well and remain legitimate second-half options.

Additionally, the asking price for Lee figures to be high. The Mariners will almost certainly ask for Jesus Montero and possibly one other prospect in any deal for their left-handed ace. Given Lee’s age (31) and impending free agent status, Montero should stay off limits to Seattle and everyone else. Finding a solid reliever and/or a good platoon player figures to come at a far less substantial cost than a top-flight left-hander like Lee.

As Hershiser suggests, the bullpen and bench are more pressing needs for New York. With Joba Chamberlain mired in his enigmatic quagmire, and Chan Ho Park and Boone Logan continuing to occupy roster spots that they do not deserve, an effective late-inning reliever becomes a near necessity. Power-armed Mike MacDougal is now available after opting out of his minor league contract with the Nationals. On the trade front, Octavio Dotel, now with the Pirates, might be worth pursuing for a second stint in the Bronx. Or perhaps Arizona’s Chad Qualls, who has been good in recent years before falling off a cliff in 2010, would benefit from escaping the Diamondbacks’ bubonic bullpen plague.

In terms of bench concersn, the Yankees always seem to have someone facing a nagging day-to-day injury, with Brett “The Jet” Gardner the latest victim. So whom should the Yankees target for depth on the bench? The bargain basement shelf includes corner infielder Chad Tracy, recently released by the Cubs. On the trade market, Washington’s hard-hitting Josh Willingham could be an option at DH and a platoon partner for Curtis Granderson (with Brett Gardner moving over to center field). Baltimore’s Ty Wigginton would be an ever better fit. He could DH against lefties, spot Alex Rodriguez at third base on days when he needs to DH, and back up both Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira on the right side of the infield.

(more…)

Man, has it ever been gorgeous in the Big Apple the past few days. It is bright and sunny again this morning. Gunna get back to real summer over the weekend but for now, it’s just a delight.

Light morning here at the Banter, and another 1 pm start for the men in pinstripes today.

Here’s hoping everyone has a safe and happy holiday.

[Picture by Bags]

At 10:00 PM, it is now almost three hours after my children typically fall asleep. As I tiptoed out of their room for the sixth time tonight a few minutes ago, having been slyly manipulated by the two-year-old and head-butted and throttled into submission by the one-year-old, I found my skull pounding all over except for this void in the front-center of my brain, from whence everything important I once knew was surely flooding into the abyss.

These kids have worn me down to nothing but a steaming pile of nerves. If the Yankees were slogging their way through nine innings of not-hitting Ryan Rowland-Smith right now, I would probably be standing in a pile of broken electronic equipment. But they already did that today, and thanks to CC, Mo, and Arod, they won, 4-2, so they are the least of my troubles.

For seven innings, the game sped along without much offense to gum up the works. The Yankees threatened a big first inning when Jeter sharply singled off Hyphen’s foot and Swisher whacked one in the left center gap. I actually thought a blowout was in the offing. But weak results from Teixiera and Rodriguez and a nifty over-the-shoulder catch from Josh Wilson at SS robbing Robbie of a ribbie limited the Yanks to one measly run.

From there, nothing much happened except an un-rob-able bomb from Cano in the fourth. Even though the Mariners have a weak offense, their recent binge on Yankee pitching coupled with a slumping Yankee lineup placed a lot of weight on CC’s big shoulders. He responded marvelously. He allowed two corking rips to Milton Bradley, but avoided any trouble apart from one tough spot in the second. With Bradley on third and one out, CC really bore down to keep Josh Wilson from tying the game. After seven pitches, including a great change-up which Wilson spoiled with an emergency hack, CC got the harmless pop out and preserved the lead.

It stood 2-0 in the eighth when CC walked the leadoff man on four pitches. Not a good sign, but I also didn’t want to see Joba Chamberlain in that spot, so really not much to do but watch and wait. CC couldn’t get a glove on Ichiro’s grounder through the box, but he still had a good shot to get out of it as he faced Branyan with runners on first and second and two outs. Then Posada gagged a ball to the backstop which turned Branyan’s subsequent single into a game-tying basehit.

Strangely, I felt supremely confident in the heart of the Yankees order headed to the bottom of the eighth. Perhaps it is because I own Aardsma in fantasy baseball and know how much he blows. When Arod muscled a short homer over the right field wall, I realized I never really even had time to get mad at the guys for coughing up the lead. And then when Mariano was shaking hands after his 13-pitch ninth inning cakewalk, it was a good day. The video of the last strikeout of Josh Wilson should be put in a time capsule – the cutter moving off the outside edge toward infinity; Wilson’s bat pointlessly waving in the other direction.

Sabathia was the stopper they needed him to be, and Arod came up big on demand as well. Good day at the ball park. Bad night for bed time (and recaps).

Milo Manara

No shame in getting shut down by the likes of Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez. Now, it’s time for CC Sabathia to make like Obelix and return the favor.

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

Okay, you want something healthy? Dig this tasty-looking tomato, mozzarella and farro salad from food52. Food goddess Jennifer Hess (who writes the devastatingly delicious site, Last Night’s Dinner) gave it a try and liked it muchly.

R.I.P. Rammellzee

Over at New York Magazine, a guy named Harry Hanrahan put together a list of the 100 greatest movie insults of all time. He would have been wiser to just call it 100 great movie insults because his choice of movies shows an extremely limited range (only one Groucho line and no W.C. Fields or Mae West).

Still, it’s a smile, with lots of cherce cursing.

Enjoy:

Andre Franquin

Ever been livid watching a movie? I’m such a prig there is no shortage of movies that have gotten my red ass going, especially during my high school and college years (When Harry Met Sally, Thelma and Louise, Born on the 4th of July, and The Crying Game come to mind). But the first time I was angry watching a movie came much earlier, when I was ten-years old an my mom took me to see Chariots of Fire. God, that theme song, which was played on the radio for the longest, never failed to angry up the blood:

So: movie fury. Whadda ya hear, whadda say?

Time for some “happy rap.”

This song never fails to put a spring in my step, as it did this morning on my way to work. Who cares if Greg Nice doesn’t know what instrument Dizzy played.