Alex Rodriguez sure is having a productive spring, huh? But he’s not alone–Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira are swinging the bat well, too.
Man, the season is so close you can almost taste it. It’s raining again in New York today but it’s nice to know that the Yanks are geared up and ready to roll (knock on everything).
I walked to the subway in the remnants of a muscle-relaxed fog this morning. I eased into a seat and took out my book. But the text was swimming all over the page so I just looked around. So many people wearing green today. Why is that? O’crap. It’s St. Patrick’s Day. I forgot to wear green. Then I looked down at my shirt – by chance it was green. No pinches today. My kids might not be so lucky.
Yanks and O’s on YES tonight.
[Picture by Bags]
Robert Altman once said that you could write a movie by listening to snippets of conversation as you walked down the street.
Overheard on my lunch today…
Short woman talking into her cell phone: “Don’t hang up on me, bitch, I’m trying to f***ing talk to you.”
Two young women:
“W’e’re late, it’s already 1:15.”
“I’ve got 1:07.”
“Oh, that’s cause I set my watch ahead so that I freak myself out so that I’m not late in the morning.”
“That’s smart.”
Business guy talking to another business guy: “And I didn’t get in until 2 but I don’t even feel hung over.”
Dude on his cell phone: “C’mon baby, you know I love you. I love you like cooked food. What? No, for real, I love you like Red Lobsters.”
[Picture by William Gedney]
For some cool New York City flix, check out Nelson George on Tumblr.
It is dark, cold and wet in New York this morning. Nothing like the rain to make the morning commute an adventure. The bus was jammed packed and so was the train. At one point, the conductor on the IRT said, “Please, step all the way inside, you are blocking the closing doors.” A few seconds passed and then his voice came over the loudspeaker again, “You are still blocking the door.” He wasn’t happy. Another beat, then: “I’m looking right at you!”
That got a good chuckle out of the people near me. I was smiling too. At the next stop, the conductor said, “This is a crowded train, people, let’s work together.” He wasn’t upset anymore but encouraging. And when we arrived at 72nd street, a transfer station, he said, “Number 3 arriving across the plaform, number 3. Oh, and it’s as crowded as we are. You are better off staying put.”
I got off the train at my stop and went up to the conductor, who was peaking out of his window, and told him what a pro he was and how much I appreciated riding with him. He had big teeth and he smiled and then he was gone.
Man, it’s hard to believe but I’ve gone the past two seasons without a regular Yankee hat. Yeah, I wore one that I got a cap day last year but it doesn’t fit right so it didn’t become a regular piece of gear. I used to buy the cheap hats with the snaps on the back for five bucks on the street. I’d break ’em in with lots of love then eventually lose ’em (which is why I only bought the cheap ones). But I dig it when you see an old hat, one that someone has had for years like this one that I caught on the train today.
So, what about you guys? How old is your Yankee cap? Do you wear a fitted one? How many do you own?
Whadda ya hear, whadda ya say?
A boy climbed into the seat next to me on the subway this morning and pressed his face against the window. We were underground and he looked into the darkness, yellow and red lights whooshing by. The train went above ground for a stop and then back into the tunnel. The boy didn’t seem to notice the change from dark to light and back again.
I remember staring out of the train window as a kid, fascinated by what was out there in the darkness, beyond the graffiti and the sparks of light and the dirt. It was all so mysterious and exciting, a playground for a young boy’s imagination.
[Photo Credit: Kirstiecat]
My main concern with spring training is that nobody on the Yanks gets seriously hurt. Otherwise, I avoid watching games and I don’t follow the stories out of Florida too closely, because I don’t want to know too much. I crave the element of mystery and surprise and I want to be fresh once the season begins. There are other sports to keep me busy now–it’s hoops galore these days–and other interests, book and movies, that I’ll put aside once the regular season starts.
This is will be the ninth season for me at the Banter and, as you can tell, baseball alone, never mind the Yankees, is not enough to sustain my interest. Writing is hard, even when it is a quick blog post, and it is important for me not to become jaded and bored. Which is why I’m lucky to have a great crew of contributors as well as a cherce group of regular readers.
Here’s hoping this season turns out to be a fun one. I’m counting on it.
Picture of the Day…from the steps of Cooper Union, circa 1945.
Photo taken by Victor Laredo (via the Museum of the City of New York).
According to George King, Joba Chamberlain looks top notch to scouts. Good news, indeed.
Picture of the Night…
[Photo Credit: Larry Fink – Club Cornich, New York City, 1977]
Ted Barron captures Robert Frank taking Tom Waits’ picture…from the New York Times.
Another winter day filled with thoughts of summer…
[Picture by Bags]
“A best friend is someone who gives me a book I’ve never read,” Abraham Lincoln.
It’s still chilly. Boy, is this spring ever gunna be a good one in New York or what?
I had dinner at my aunt and uncle’s on the Upper West Side a few weeks ago and we got to talking about Morris, the deli counter man at the old Daitch Shopwell that used to be on Broadway. They loved Morris and the little old ladies who would visit him. This is what they overheard, back when.
Old Lady: Is the potato salad fresh?
Morris: Yes, we made it today.
Old Lady: It looks like yesterday.
Morris: Lady, you’re from yesterday.
Old Lady: How’s the roast beef?
Morris: It’s gorgeous.
Old Lady: Give me a half of a quarter pound of baloney.
Morris: You’re having a party?
The light continues to change. The Sun is high in the sky now when I get off the subway and walk a few blocks east to my office building. People shield their eyes as they move. It is winter cold today but the spring is near.
Down in Floriday, A.J. Burnett pitched yesterday and showed off his new delivery.
