The Yanks are in Houston for a four-game series against the too-legit-to-quit Astros.

I’m curious to see these guys.

Never mind the humidity:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: William Eggleston]

It’s the return on Ivan Nova as the Yanks look to stop sucking. At the very least, they’re looking to avoid being swept.

Welcome back, Hoss, no pressure.

Yanks have a tough assignment this afternoon in Cole Hamels.

Brett Gardner CF
Chase Headley 3B
Alex Rodriguez DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Carlos Beltran RF
Chris Young LF
John Ryan Murphy C
Didi Gregorius SS
Jose Pirela 2B

Nice to see Tex back too.

Never mind this losing:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Eric Branco.

Brett Gardner CF

Chase Headley 3B

Alex Rodriguez DH

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Garrett Jones 1B

Chris Young LF

Didi Gregorius SS

Jose Pirela 2B

It’s CC and get your head-out-of-your-ass boys.

Never mind last night:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Nova’s coming back this week. Tonight gives Big Mike.

Brett Gardner CF

Chase Headley 3B

Alex Rodriguez DH

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Garrett Jones 1B

Didi Gregorius SS

Chris Young LF

Stephen Drew 2B

Never mind playing down to the competition:

Picture by Bags

He’ll be at the Stadium today for Old Timer’s Day. Tonight gives Yanks, Tigers.

Enjoy, everyone:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Why wait? Alex Rodriguez swung at the first pitch he saw from Justin Verlander last night–a fastball on the outside part of the plate–and popped it over the wall in right field. Hit number 3,000 was a home run.

It was a sweet moment and Rodriguez seemed to soak it in. Got big hugs from C. C. Sabathia and Brian McCann and Joe Girardi, pats, slaps, and daps from the rest of his team. Pointed and blew kisses to his daughters, Natasha and Elia, sitting in the stands behind the Yankee dugout.

A quick look at the articles around the web this morning and I see most of them hone-in on what this moment could have been–should have been–if only Rodriguez hadn’t botched it all up. Stain, shame, tarnished, asterisk, you’ve heard it all before.

John Flaherty was less than sanguine on the YES broadcast last night, noting that none of the Tigers applauded as Rodriguez rounded the bases. It was a fair observation but incomplete as the replays didn’t show if any of the Tigers clapped or saluted while Rodriguez was hugged by his teammates and cheered by the crowd. When Sabathia hugged Rodriguez, they turned, smiled and pointed to someone on the other side of the field, presumably in the Tigers dugout. Perhaps the Tigers didn’t cheer–this was no lovefest like the one Jeter got the day he hit 3,000–but it was misleading of Flaherty and YES to suggest the Tigers apathy and not give a full account of their actions–Miguel Cabrera, for one, gave Rodriguez a hug after the game.

Rodriguez told reporters after the game, “The thing that I’ll take away from a day like today is, after the last out is made, Miguel Cabrera comes over and gives me a hug,” Rodriguez said. “Twenty years from now, that’s really what I’ll take away — the fans’ reaction, sharing it with my teammates and seeing their reaction.

“Everything about this year has been a surprise. I’ve never enjoyed the game as much as I have this year.”

This gray area is of Rodriguez’s making and some of us don’t like to have the innocence of the prize-in-the-crackerjack moment sullied by anything as sticky as reality. But Rodriguez has always been a challenge, even before 2009, hasn’t he?’

Leave it to Ken Davidoff to make sense:

You don’t view this as a redemption tale? Good. Me neither. A-Rod had nothing from which to redeem himself; he served his year’s suspension in 2014 and returned as a player with the same rights as all of the others. For me, it’s a tale of perseverance — the guy just won’t go away, even with two surgically repaired hips and his extensive rap sheet — and of comeuppance for the blinders-wearing moralists who thought, just with the force of their consternation, they could will A-Rod into oblivion.

You’re expending energy trying to determine whether A-Rod is using something right now? Ay yi yi.

You’re searching for a level of truth that is virtually unobtainable — if not necessarily about A-Rod, than it is about the player population in general. What a shame to lose sleep wondering who uses illegal PEDs and who doesn’t. The drug tests, to repeat a line, are IQ tests. The same goes for baseball’s investigative department, which capitalized on the stupidity of A-Rod and his fellow Biogenesis guys to rely on the unreliable Anthony Bosch for their stuff.

A-Rod is great for the game because he gets people to care, one way or the other. The game needs its villains just as badly as its protagonists, and in this age of social media, can we really hope to find a worthy successor to this guy?

Anyhow, never mind the angst–or the professional putz who caught the ball and won’t fork it over–it was a lovely moment. Even better, was Adam Warren, who pitched 8 innings (the longest outing of his career), held the Tigers to a couple of runs, and got home runs from Didi Gregorious and Brett Gardner as the Yanks beat the Tigers, 7-2.

[Photo Credit: Bill Kostroun; Frank Franklin II/AP]

Brett Gardner LF

Chase Headley 3B

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Carlos Beltran RF

Didi Gregorius SS

Stephen Drew 2B

John Ryan Murphy C

Mason Williams CF

It’s the Warren Report, and, of course, all eyes on Alex as he looks to get hit #3,000.

Never mind the flashbulbs:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

It’s the Big Fella on the hill on a gray, chilly evening in the BX. The Old Fella, the Relic, the Good Fella.

C’mon, C.C., we love ya, dude.

Brett Gardner LF

Chase Headley 3B

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Didi Gregorius SS

Stephen Drew 2B

Mason Williams CF

Never mind Giancarlo:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Back at home, Big Mike looks to rebound from an ass-kicking.

Brett Gardner LF

Chase Headley 3B

Brian McCann C

Alex Rodriguez DH

Garrett Jones 1B

Carlos Beltran RF

Didi Gregorius SS

Stephen Drew 2B

Mason Williams CF

Never mind this losing:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Always did like that David Phelps though I’ll be rooting against him tonight. Course, he’s pitching against the dude he was traded for. How odd is that?

Brett Gardner CF

Didi Gregorius SS

Mark Texieria 1B

Brian McCann C

Chase Headley 3B

Carlos Beltran RF

Chris Young LF

Brendan Ryan 2B

Never mind the fish:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Yanks have an odd week–play two against the Marlins in Miami, then two against the Marlins in New York.

Tonight gives Tanaka and a close-up look at Mr. Stanton.

Brett Gardner LF

Chase Headley 3B

Brian McCann C

Mark Teixeira 1B

Garrett Jones RF

Stephen Drew 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

Mason Williams CF

Masahiro Tanaka RHP

Never mind the view:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Hey Guys,

How about not sucking today?

Brett Gardner LF

Chase Headley 3B

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Garrett Jones RF

Stephen Drew 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

John Ryan Murphy C

Adam Warren’s on the hill.

Never mind the losing:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!
Mason Williams CF

Picture by Bags

C.C.’s on the hill tonight in Baltimore.

Let’s hope he puts together a solid outing and the boys score him plenty of runs.

Brett Gardner LF

Chase Headley 3B

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Didi Gregorius SS

Stephen Drew 2B

Mason Williams CF

Never mind last night:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Knut Egil Wang]

Big Mike’s on the hill tonight in Baltimore.

Brett Gardner LF

Chase Headley 3B

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Didi Gregorius SS

Stephen Drew 2B

Mason Williams CF

Mase! Never mind the nerves:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo via @orioles/twitter h/t @jessespector]

It’s Senior Eovaldi as the Yanks and Nats play a matinee in the Bronx.

Brett Gardner CF

Chase Headley 3B

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Chris Young LF

Jose Pirela 2B

Brendan Ryan SS

Never mind the commencement speech:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Tanaka vs. Scherzer at the Stadium tonight. Should be a good one.

Brett Gardner CF

Chase Headley 3B

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Didi Gregorius SS

Stephen Drew 2B

Ramon Flores LF

Never mind the raindrops:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Couple of southpaws on the hill this afternoon at the Stadium on a beautiful Sunday in the Bronx.

Brett Gardner CF

Chase Headley 3B

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Carlos Beltran RF

Chris Young LF

Jose Pirela 2B

John Ryan Murphy C

Didi Gregorius SS

Never mind those flapjacks:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Yanks get a tough assignment tonight in Garrett Richards. They’ll counter with Adam Warren, who is pitching these days

Brett Gardner CF

Chase Headley 3B

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Didi Gregorius SS

Stephen Drew 2B

Ramon Flores LF

Never mind last night’s close call:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

The Angels are in town for a visit this weekend.

The Big Question Mark, Mr. Eovaldi’s on the hill; McCann’s in the lineup.

Brett Gardner CF

Chase Headley 3B

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Garrett Jones RF

Didi Gregorius SS

Stephen Drew 2B

Ramon Flores LF

Never mind the jet lag:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Before the Yanks split from Seattle, Masahiro Tanaka makes his return this afternoon against the M’s.

Brett Gardner CF

Chase Headley 3B

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Garrett Jones RF

Didi Gregorius SS

Stephen Drew 2B

Ramon Flores LF

Never mind looking ahead:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!