Be Cool.

[Photo Credit: Bunny Yeager]

The Wife and I visited Governor’s Island on Saturday and ran into The Jazz Age Lawn Party.

Painting by George Billis via This Isn’t Happiness.

Carlos Beltran lost a ball in the sun with two men out in the 3rd inning. The ball dropped in for a double. Couple of hanging sliders later the score was 3-0. That was all the scoring the Blue Jays did but it was enough as they beat the Yanks, 3-1. Another well-pitched game on both sides. Again, with precious little hitting for the Yanks, who nevertheless return home in first place.

[Photo Credit: A. Aubrey Bodine]

Luis Severino makes his third start.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Brett Gardner LF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Brian McCann C
Carlos Beltran RF
Chase Headley 3B
Didi Gregorius SS
Stephen Drew 2B

Never mind prosperity:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Christopher Frank Beitz]

As in “Tanaka” who pitched a complete game on Saturday afternoon in Toronto as the Yanks beat the Jays, 4-1.

He was in control all game with the exception of the 5th inning. The Yanks had a 1-0 lead when a base hit and a couple of walks loaded the bases for Josh Donaldson. Game of inches? You bet. Because Donaldson just missed hitting a grand slam–he got under a 2-0 pitch. Instead of a fat 4-0 lead, his fly ball out to left was good to score a run, but then Tanaka struck out Jose Bautista and retired Edwin Encarnacion on a soft line drive to second base.

Yanks tacked on a few runs–including a long dinger by Mark Teixeira–and the win ensures they’ll leave town in first place no matter what happens today.

We’ll take it. Yes, we will.

Picture by Bags

The Yankees got on base against David Price on Friday night but could not plate a run off the man. Meanwhile, Ivan Nova had one inning that went screwy on him, but otherwise out-pitched his counterpart. Still, as the 8th inning began, the Yanks trailed 3-0. A very loud Toronto crowd enjoyed themselves and why shouldn’t not?

A run-scoring double to the gap by Chase Headley finally got Price out of there and then Carlos Beltran pinch-hit for Chris Young with runners on second and third, one out. Aaron Sanchez, 15 years Beltran’s junior replaced Price. The first two pitches he threw were clocked at 97 mph–high and out of the zone. Still, Beltran swung, waving at them both. Sanchez threw another high fastball, this one too high and too inside and then came back with yet another heater. This one was 97 mph too but it wasn’t out of the strike zone, it was right over the plate. And Beltran did not miss it.

His 3-run homer put the Yanks ahead by a run. Delin Betances, who threw a lot of pitches and didn’t look wonderful on Thursday in Cleveland, came on to pitch the 8th and was blazing–killer fastball, nasty breaking ball.

His partner Andrew Miller pitched the 9th and goddamn it was an adventure. With one man out, he walked Chris Colabello and then gave up a hard-hit single to Kevin Pillar. A wild pitch greeted Ben Revere putting the tying run at third and the winning run at second.

Miller composed himself and struck Revere out like he was supposed to but then had to contend with Troy Tulowitski. And you had to figure it could go either way. Seemed like everybody in the park was standing and when a team is on a wining streak like the Jays have been, well, I figured he’d get a base hit and win the game. I muted the TV and watched in silence, pacing back-and-forth in my living room.

The at-bat had plenty drama. The count went full, of course, all three balls came on fastballs that were outside. The rest were sliders, fast ones, slower ones, backdoor, inside and low, and Tulowitski kept fouling them off, one after the other. On the 12th pitch of the at bat he foul tipped a slider, bearing in on him but up. Brian McCann held onto the ball and the Yanks had the game.

A thriller goes the Yanks. Hot damn.

Final Score: Yanks 4, Jays 3.

Today, they’re back at it and the Jays can leapfrog right back into first.

Let’s hope for more good things.

Never mind the Toronto Turf:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

The Yanks are up in Toronto this weekend where they’ll try to tame the surging Jays.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Brett Gardner LF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Brian McCann C
Chase Headley 3B
Chris Young RF
Didi Gregorius SS
Brendan Ryan 2B

Never mind the glare:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Hang the fuck up and call back tomorrow.

I can’t give it away on 7th Avenue. Aka, Stuck in the middle with you.

Okay, it wasn’t smooth either. Nathan Eovaldi didn’t pitch deep into the game, Dellin Betances pitched more than one inning, Alex Rodriguez is pressing, and Greg Bird didn’t get a hit, but a win is a win. Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner had good games, as did Stephen Drew and Brian McCann hit a big home run. The Yanks will take it as they move on to Toronto.

Final Score: 8-6.

Picture by Bags

No, we’re not in NYC, I just love this picture. Still, the Yanks are looking for a win tonight, man before they split from Cleveland.

The Jays won again this afternoon and it sure would be nice to see the Bombers head to Toronto with a win.

Young Greg Bird makes his major league debut tonight and gets the start at first base.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Brett Gardner LF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Carlos Beltran RF
Brian McCann C
Chase Headley 3B
Greg Bird 1B
Didi Gregorius SS
Stephen Drew 2B

It’s Eovaldi–dude, Yanks are looking to you to have a strong start, Holmes.

Never mind the late night flight to the Great White North:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

There is good news. The good news is that the Yankees are pitching well. Sure, the starters aren’t going deep enough into games, and yes, the bullpen is taxed, but as a whole, they are performing well. CC Sabathia wasn’t terrific last night, giving up 9 hits, but he bulled his way through 6 innings allowing only a couple of runs.

It’s just that nobody is hitting. Four lousy hits all night. Rallies left limp and for dead in the 8th and 9th. I could recount these failures by why bother? If you didn’t see it live, you’ve seen something like it before, enough to know you don’t need to know more. Less you are a some kind of masochist or something.

2-1 was the final and that’s how it unfolds when you’re in a slump.

Oh, the Jays won again, and now they are in first place.

Game on, fellas. Something tells me good t hings are right around the corner.

Picture by Bags

Let’s try this again, shall we?

Never mind the dog daze:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

It’s getting late…

Painting by Andrew Gifford.

‘Cause there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues.

The Yanks’ offense looked dead in the water again last night. Never mind a slump, they were up against a formidable pitcher in Carlos Carrasco. But solo home runs by Stephen Drew and Carlos Beltran tied the score and the top of the 10th inning, pinch-hitter Chase Headley dropped an RBI single in front of the right fielder, the Yanks scored a couple, and it was Miller Time. Ah, Miller time.

Hell of a spot to blow your first game of the season. Miller wasn’t awful, the Indians hit a couple of good pitches. Still, by the end of the inning, the score was tied. And that’s how it remained through good relief pitching–or weak hitting–on both sides. On and on.

The Indians finally scored the winning run in the bottom of the 16th and those of us who stayed up for it are now feeling less than spry.

And so it goes during a slump–hard hit balls go for outs, the other guys’ bloopers fall in for hits.

Course the Jays won, too.

Shake it off. Today is…well, it’s already today. Onward!

[Illustration by Francis Livingston]

Yanks turn to lil’ Luis to get them back on the good foot tonight in Cleveland.

Never mind those footsteps:

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Brett Gardner LF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Brian McCann C
Carlos Beltran RF
Didi Gregorius SS
Stephen Drew 2B
Brendan Ryan 3B

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Via: We Heart It]

I was in high school in 1986  the year Platoon and Hannah and Her Sisters and Something Wild came out. They made big impressions on me. So did David Lynch’s masterpiece. 

I don’t have anything against Mayonnaise but it never occurred to me to put it on a simple tomato sandwich. But that’s how they roll down South so last weekend I gave it a try after picking up some nice, rip tomatoes from a local farmer’s market. And you know what? Southerners know what they’re doing.

Over at Garden & Gun, Jed Portman explains why Duke’s matters. 

Summer…

Picture by Bags