Ivan Nova was cruising along. Then he made a mistake, followed by another. An inning later he made another one. All told, those three mistakes cost him 4 runs, which these days is an unreasonable sum to ask his mates to match never mind top.

The Yanks are like a ballon that has slowly been leaking air for the past 2 months. Tonight saw another lifeless performance by the hitters as the Red Sox skipped to a 5-1 win at the Stadium. Jackie Bradley Jr. had a homer and made a couple of nice plays in the field.

The Yanks need to win 2 of their final 6 games in order to qualify for the Wildcard but let’s get right to it–have you ever had less confidence in a playoff-bound Yankee team?

It’s hard to be mad at them, we didn’t expect this at the start of the year. We sure would have taken where they are at now. But the way this has played out, death by a thousand cuts, has been dispiriting. While there is plenty of excitement to go around for all the playoff hopefuls there is something missing here in the Bronx. Call it the residue of a generation spoiled by success (the Yanks of the early Sixties ran into this as well). It’s almost as if the Yanks would have to be bad for a good stretch before the excitement returned to the Bronx. Or a player under 50 with some star power.

Part of it is the team on the field, part of it is the fans.

As Walt Kelly famously wrote, “We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us.”

Yanks looking to secure a playoff spot. Their next win will be franchise victory number 10,000. Not bad.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Brett Gardner LF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Carlos Beltran RF
Chase Headley 3B
Greg Bird 1B
John Ryan Murphy C
Didi Gregorius SS
Rob Refsnyder 2B

Never mind the chill:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Last week over at Grantland, Charlie Pierce wrote a column about why Peyton Manning should retire:

Peyton Manning is 39 years old. Four years ago, he missed an entire season because of a neck injury that required multiple surgeries. (The football career of his older brother, Cooper, came to an end at the University of Mississippi because Cooper was shown to have a congenital narrowing of the spinal column.) He sometimes wears gloves when he plays, because the injuries to his neck have deprived him of the feeling in the fingertips of his right hand. That means whenever he goes out for ice cream with his kids, he can’t feel the cone. When he embraces them, the sensation doesn’t extend throughout his fingers. I don’t know how it affects his driving, and I don’t think I want to know. Try imagining what it’s like. You can’t, because you’re not Peyton Manning with his fingertips having gone dead four years ago.

And this is why I hate that drive against Baltimore so much. It’s because that drive is the classic brand of anesthetic for the football conscience. Up until then, Manning looked like a battered 39-year-old trying to play the hardest position in his sport, and not being in any way up to the job. His team looked as though it was completely unable to protect an aging quarterback with limited-to-no mobility. But, then, Manning summoned up the strength to lead that last drive, albeit one in which he handed the ball off a lot, and we had to hear about how he toughed it out, that rugged old man with the dead fingertips.

Also at ESPN, is Kevin Van Valkenburg’s bonus piece on Manning. 

[Photo Credit: Dustin Bradford/Getty Images]

Another sure shot from Humans of New York. 

Fall is upon us.

Rise n shine…but not too fast.

Picture by Derrick Lin 

Painting by Andrea Brown via womeninarthistory

Luis Severino was good today and his counterpart wasn’t bad either. But the Yanks arouse from their offensive slumber to stitch together half a dozen runs on their way to beating the White Sox, 6-1.

It wasn’t thrilling but it was a nice way to spend part of a Sunday afternoon. The Bombers’ are three games away from clinching a wildcard spot, and as we all know, three is the magic number.

You know, if Luis Severino starts that game, I won’t riff, will you?

Meanwhile, La Moon sure am sweet tonight.

It’s Luis Severino on the hill today as the Yanks look to take the series from the White Sox.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Brett Gardner LF
Carlos Beltran DH
Brian McCann C
Greg Bird 1B
Dustin Ackley 2B
Didi Gregorius SS
Slade Heathcott RF
Brendan Ryan 3B

Never mind the clouds:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

In the middle of yesterday’s game a group of dozen pigeons settled in short right field pecking for seeds. They spread out–a few were combing the third base line for seeds–which prompted a girl sitting in front of us to say, “The birds are the most exciting thing that’s happened so far.”

And she wasn’t far off. The crowd was dead and the person who directs the chants and rallies over the P.A. system didn’t do much to encourage us. Neither did the Yankees, especially their hitters who were off-balance all game long. They scored a couple of runs and it turns out that was enough against an even more hapless offensive team. One encouraging note was the 7-pitch, 3-out performance by Dellin Betances. Justin Wilson and Andrew Miller was good, too.

The Yanks won, 2-1, and every win is a good one, even the ones that are less than inspired.

Just win the damn game. Score some damn runs. Don’t make it so hard, give  the pitching staff some help.

The Wife and I will be at the Stadium today root, root rooting for Adam Warren and mates.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Chase Headley 3B
Alex Rodriguez DH
Carlos Beltran RF
Brian McCann C
Chris Young LF
Greg Bird 1B
Didi Gregorius SS
Rob Refsnyder 2B

Never mind the chill:

Let’s Go  Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

I remember these dudes used to be on mad early. What I remember is this–waking up early, trying to sneak in some TV before my parents got up, excited to find cartoons and all that was on were these guys.

Hapless, that’s what it was. C.C. Sabbath didn’t pitch poorly, even when he allowed the go-ahead run in the 7th. No, it was all those 6-4-3 double plays–4 in all–that doomed the Yanks to a 5-2 loss.

Really, there ain’t much good to say about this one, much good to remember about it (with the exception of a weird base hit off the bat of Brian McCann that looked like a knuckle ball).

Forgotten it yet?

Good, let’s move on.

Picture by Bags

It’s our man, CC, the Big Fella, tonight at the Stadium. Behind him you’ll find:

Brett Gardner CF

Chase Headley 3B

Alex Rodriguez DH

Carlos Beltran RF

Brian McCann C

Chris Young LF

Greg Bird 1B

Rob Refsnyder 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

Never mind prosperity:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Again, not easy. Again, Dellin Betances looks gassed. The offense didn’t do much at all outside of Carlos Beltran’s 3-run home run but it was enough.

Decent start by Big Mike.

Another step closer to the playoffs.

Final Score: Yanks 3, Jays 2.

Picture by Bags

Man, it doesn’t get any easier for our boys, who return to the Stadium with heavy hearts as the Yanks play the first game at home since Yogi died. The loss is deeper now that they’re home. So there’s that. And then, when the game starts, Chris Sale will be on the bump for the White Sox who regularly slings nastiness all night. Yanks have never hit the guy.

But who said it was supposed to be easy?

And maybe Big Mike will be dyno-mite–ya never know.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Chase Headley 3B
Alex Rodriguez DH
Carlos Beltran RF
Chris Young LF
John Ryan Murphy C
Dustin Ackley 1B
Rob Refsnyder 2B
Brendan Ryan SS

Never mind the nitpickin’:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

The Jays are the better team right now. Want to assign blame? Can’t be on the Yankee players or their manager. You could look to the front office but for now, that’s not going to make us feel much better. More righteous, maybe; better, probably not.

Ivan Nova was good last night but Marcus Stroman was even better. The Yankee bullpen, enervated, absorbed the big blow–a 3-run home run by our old pal, Russell Martin. Course he hit the home run off Andrew Bailey one pitch after Bailey thought he had Martin struck out. But Bailey didn’t get the call and then he missed his spot. Martin didn’t miss the pitch.

Final Scored: Jays 4, Yanks 0. 

The home crowd was loud and they cheered and why shouldn’t they? Their team hasn’t made the playoffs since Christ was a Cowboy and the Yanks have been kicking the Blue Jays’ asses for years now.

That doesn’t mean we have to like it. A hard, unpleasant end to their season come October is chief on my wish list for these playoffs.

In the meantime, the Yanks limp home. But, they are still in the lead for the Wildcard game. The division looks out of reach but as we all know, it ain’t over ’til it’s over.

Picture by Bags

You have to think funny tonight, even if you’re also sad, because we’ve got Yogi in our thoughts and in our conversations. That’s a pretty good guy to have on the brain, don’t you think?

So let’s hope the Yanks win this one cause that’s another thing Yogi was about–winning. When it counted. Hardly anybody did it more.

Who the hell knows what to expect from Ivan Nova tonight. He looked lost last time out and now he’s got to face the Gashouse Gorillas. I mean, it really could be a long night. Guess that’ll just give the announcers more time to talk about Yogi. Might be worth listening to John and Suzyn tonight, come to think of it. That’ll be boozy n schmoozy.

Never mind the eulogizing, (there’s a game to play):

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Fabrizio Raschetti]

R.I.P Yogi.

Here’s the obit I wrote for SI:

Yogi. It’s hard not to smile when you hear his name. You might think of his goofy mug, with the crooked smile that looked as if it had been ripped from the funny pages. Then there’s the oddly-shaped wrestler’s body—squat torso, long arms—that inspired his first Yankees manager to call him “the Ape.” And of course then there were the malapropisms, some authentic, others invented by sportswriters, which he delivered in a monotone sprinkled with the flat A’s of his Midwestern roots.

If anyone didn’t like Yogi Berra, it could only have been someone who played on the teams he helped beat so relentlessly for 19 seasons. Then again, many of his opponents and their fans echoed the sentiments of my father, whose love for the Brooklyn Dodgers was matched only by his hatred of the Yankees: Once, when I asked him if he hated Yogi, Dad looked at me with incredulity. “How can you hate Yogi?”

As Mickey Mantle said, “He was the guy who made the Yankees almost seem human.”

Photo Via: N.Y. Times

I was walking past Madison Square Garden last night when I looked in the window of a restaurant and saw Alex Rodriguez batting on a the giant screen TV inside. He popped out but the Yanks had a 2-0 lead. By the time I got home to the Bronx–following the action on my Gameday App and listening to the radio call–the Jays had tied it. (Severino pitched well.) I watched the game with The Wife, doing my best to behave in the face of what seemed like pending doom.

The home crowd cheered like nuts when Rodriguez whiffed with the bases loaded in the 7th. The Yanks went ahead the next inning on a solo home run by Carlos Beltran (which was similar–just not as long–as the one he belted as a pinch-hitter last time the Yanks were up north), and then Dellin Betances courted disaster in the bottom of the inning. With a  man on second and two out he walked Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista and went 2-0 to Edwin Encarnacion. And those two pitches to Encarnacion weren’t even close. Beatances looked shook (when did he turn into the ever-dramatic John Wetteland?). But he gathered himself and spotted a fastball right over the plate and then threw another one in the same spot–Encarnacion swung through it. Betances put his man away with a slider, well out of the zone–Encarnacion missed it by a couple of feet.

The Yanks had runners on the corner with nobody out in the 9th, primed for insurance, when Ellsbury hit a fly ball to right field. Medium deep, I’d say. Bautista caught the ball and then uncorked a strike to home plate where Chris Young was tagged out to complete the double play. Just a great play by Bautista. The Jays got out of the inning without giving up a run.

Which was pivotal when, with one out in the bottom for the 9th, Dioner Navarro launched a home run into the left field seats.

Bring the noise, Toronto.

Now, one thing you should know about The Wife. In the almost 14 years since we’ve been together she does not find self-pity arousing. I know this sounds crazy, but I’ve never been able to get any action by playing the sympathy card (curious, but women just don’t find it sexy). Now, I’m not saying she felt bad for me, but when the 9th inning ended and the game went into extra innings she turned to me and gave me a choice: baseball or bed.

Now, the disgust was starting to wash over me but I stopped myself right there–am I crazy?–and clicked the TV off and The Wife and I went and had some fun. When we were finished I turned the game back on to see what’d happened and there was Andrew Miller still pitching, 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th, the Yanks now leading 6-4. Turns out Greg Bird slapped a 2-2 change up just over the wall in right field for a 3-run home run. Encarnacion got a measure of revenge nailing a solo shot off Miller but Miller got the last word when he retired Navarro on a fly ball to left to end the game.

Say it like, John: Yankees win, Thhh-uuuuu Yankees Win!