Painting by Hank Pitcher via This Isn’t Happiness.

To Stay or  To Go. 

All you need to know about yesterday’s fait accompli is that after Jose Bautista hit a home run, a fan threw it back on the field and accidentally hit Brett Gardner in the back.

Shut out. 

Picture by Bags

Never mind Nuthin’:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

It was close for awhile there yesterday. Then Ivan Nova gave up a grand slam and that was more than enough for David Price, who pitched a sweet game as the Jays beat the Yanks, 6-0. Toronto is now just two-and-a-half back. That makes today’s game especially important for the Yanks. Yes, they’ve got Masahiro Tanaka going, but he hasn’t been great lately, and well, this feels like one of those lost weekend’s don’t she?

This has the makings of a long weekend. But that’s cause I’m never much on confidence when it comes to my sports teams. I still remember those horrible late-season series vs the Jays in the mid-’80s. Screw those guys and screw these Jays, too. Upstarts. Fuckos. Douche Knots. They are a perfectly agreeable team to dislike–even though I like a bunch of their players (Martin, Donaldson, Price, Tulo). Their manager looking like a tin-cup-spitting-bar-stool-sitting hard ass pal of Brian Dennehey’s. Goddamn crotchy fucking goat.

The  Yanks had done reasonably well against Price and that’s a concern. Figure he’s due for a good one against them. Only hope Nova is up to the task.

Ah, never mind my gloom–it’s a gorgeous day here in New York:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Maybe I should stop doubting Nathan Eovaldi. He pitched a swell game last night. Gave up a solo home run to Josh Donaldson in the first on a 99 mph fastball on the black and that was it, as he pitched into the 7th inning. Really nice job. Shame his boys couldn’t help him out s’more, but Eovaldi’s benefitted from a ton of runs this season so I suppose it all evens out.

R.A. Dickey, the dastard, pitched well too, and the game went into extra innings tied at 1. Andrew Miller pitched a nifty 9th inning on only 6 pitches but he did not return in the 10th to face the heart of the Blue Jays line up. First guessers just ahead of second-guessers on this move by manager Joe Girardi for sure.

Instead, the young right-hander, Branden Pinder–nice slider, powerful fastball–replaced him. Pinder got Donaldson to look bad swinging at a couple of sliders and then threw a third one which Donaldson lined to center field. Good thing Didi Gregarious was positioned to catch it–though the ball almost took his glove off. Pinner got a called strike one on Jose Bautista with the slider, another called strike on a fastball inside and then tried to get another fastball by one of the better fastball hitters in the game. The location was off and Bautista hit the ball over the fence in left field.

That’s all the Jays needed as they won, 2-1.

Third straight 2-1 game the Yanks have been involved in. A difficult loss for sure, especially at the hands of that made-for-TV-bad guy, Bautista. David Price goes today for the Jays and the Yanks have held their own against him, which is what I’m afraid of.

Could be a long weekend for the Bombers which is a drag for the rest of us because it is diamond-in-the-back-sunrooftop beautiful here in New York.

Picture by Bags

The Mighty Mighty Blue Birds are in town this weekend; next weekend, the Yanks go up to Toronto. Be interesting to see what shakes out. From the looks of it, there should be many runs scored.

I’ve doubted Nathan Eovaldi many times this season only to be pleasantly surprised. Tonight, with Toronto’s Gashouse Gorillas on a roll, I just can’t see him doing well. Again, hope I’m wrong.

R.A. Dickey, another infuriating knuckleballer, goes for the Jays. Hey, so long as the Yanks don’t get swept, we’ll be able to digest.

Never mind the Heebie Jeebies:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Picture by Diebs]

Eh, fug it, it’s Friday:

[Photo Credit: Chris Heads]

Another 2-1 game, this time the Yanks won, thanks to a go ahead home run by Jacoby Ellsbury. The story of the night, though, was CC Sabathia, who not only pitched with determination and force but who was more animated than I ever remember seeing him. There he stood, sweat pouring off him like he was Zero Mostel under the hot stage lights. The stuff was sharp and he got into it with the home plate ump–aw, sensitive. When CC stuck out David Ortiz with the bases loaded to end the fifth, he let out a yell that we could feel uptown. Onions! And pride. A terrific way to enter what should be a tough weekend series against the red hot Jays.

Just a little bit of Flavor.

[Photo Credit: Rich Schultz/Getty Images]

We love CC around these parts even if he’s struggling. Even if he’ll never be an Ace again.

Not sure how much he’s got left, but I do know how much of a boost it’d be to the team if he could be even decent down the stretch.

Dream big, right?

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

Never mind the standings:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Luis Severino has a plus fastball and at times last night he had a sharp-breaking slider and a decent change. He didn’t pitch deep into the game–and was done a disservice by Chase Headley who made another throwing error–but he made a good impression in his debut. The Yanks were stymied by Steven Wright–the other Steven Wright, though it is fitting that a guy with that name is a knuckle ball pitcher. And they had the tying and wining runs on base in the 9th when pinch-hitter Brian McCann flew out to center field to end the game. Near miss and bummer of a loss since the O’s and Jays both won.

Speaking of Steven Wright I once saw him in the lobby of the Brill Building. This was 25 years ago. He got out of the elevator, wearing an old Red Sox cap. I just looked at him and said, “The Red Sox?” And in that monotone voice he looked at me, deadpan, and said, “Well, I’m from Boston.”

Which made sense.

[Photo Credit: Anthony Gruppuso/USA TODAY Sports Images]

Tonight, the Yanks counter with a pitching prospect of their own. Luis Severino makes his big league debut.

No pressure.

And don’t forget to have fun.

Meanwhile, Brian McCann is gimpy and won’t play tonight. Also, good news: Garrett Jones is back. I like that Garrett Jones and was bummed to see him go. Think if these 2015 Yanks are gonna do something, he’s going to have a little cameo role.

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

Never mind the nagging injuries:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Painting by Roger Eliot Fry.

Whenever I pass the Ansonia Hotel on Broadway I get to thinking about Babe Ruth or Saul Bellow–whose novella Seize the Day takes place in and around the Ansonia–or even Plato’s Retreat. What a history, right? And still, what I think about most, especially from this point of view is Matthau leaning out of the building in The Sunshine Boys, bellowing: “The Feeeenghah! The Feeeenghah!”

I found this cool short about Ingmar Bergman over at always entertaining Cinephilia and Beyond.

“Cuno Amiet” by Sitzendes Mädchen (1915)

For a good while tonight there wasn’t much scoring and then…

…well, then, our boys took care of that, thank you very much.

In the end, it was a familiar story for the 2015 Red Sox, another beating.

The Yanks unloaded in the 7th, scoring 9 runs, more than enough to put the Sox away, 13-3.

All this after an odd bit of strategery from ol’ Joe G.

[Image Via: Tavis Coburn]

Ackley’s hurt and so is Big Mike. Enough to be worrisome, of course.

It’s Tanaka Time as the Yanks return home to face the Red Sox. Henry Owens, one of their pitching prospects, makes his first start in the majors tonightski.

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

Never mind those chirpin’ birdies gainin’ on ya:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Nice chat with the Wood Man over at Vanity Fair:

Sam Fragoso: You’re more prolific than most people.

Woody Allen: But prolific is a thing that’s not a big deal. It’s not the quantity of the stuff you do; it’s the quality. A guy like James Joyce will do just a couple of things, but they resonate way beyond anything I’ve ever done or ever could dream of doing.

Would you say your quality, in spots, dipped because of the quantity?

It always [has]. When you start out to make a film, you have very big expectations and sometimes you come close. When I did Match Point, I felt I came very close. But you never get that thing that you want. You always set out to make Citizen Kane or to make The Bicycle Thief and it doesn’t happen. You can’t set out to make something great head-on; you just have to make films and hope you get lucky.

Have you considered scaling back, making a film every few years?

It wouldn’t help. It’s not that I feel, “Oh, if I had more time or more money, I could make this better.” It’s coming to terms with the shortcomings in one’s own gift and one’s own personality.

What are your major shortcomings?

I’m lazy and an imperfectionist. Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese will work on the details until midnight and sweat it out, whereas for me, come 6 o’clock, I want to go home, I want to have dinner, I want to watch the ballgame. Filmmaking is not [the] end-all be-all of my existence. Another shortcoming is that I don’t have the intellect or the depth or the natural gift. The greatness is not in me. When you see scenes in [Akira] Kurosawa films … you know he’s a madman on the set. There would be 100 horses and everything had to be perfect. He was crazy. I don’t have any of that.

Painting by Jon Redmond