Our boys are in need of a swift kick in the ass. They are a couple of games over .500, slightly better than the disappointing fellas in Boston, Detroit, and Anaheim.

Perhaps being home will help (for Mark Teixeira, maybe a night off will do it). But if they don’t start playing competitive, engaging ball, they are sure to hear the Bronx boo birds.

Ah, never mind the pessimism, we know what awaits them if they continue to stink. In the meantime, here’s root-root-rootin’ ’em on:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

1. Jeter SS
2. Granderson CF
3. Cano 2B
4. A-Rod 3B
5. Ibanez RF
6. Swisher 1B
7. Chavez DH
8. Wise LF
9. Stewart C

[Picture by Elissa Goldstone via It’s a Long Season; photo by Benjammerj via Instagram]

This looks like fun.

Robert Darnton writes a defense of the New York Public Libaray over at the New York Review of Books:

Few buildings in America resonate in the collective imagination as powerfully as the New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. The marble palace behind the stone lions is seen by many as the soul of the city. For a century it provided limitless possibilities of gaining knowledge and satisfying curiosity for immigrants just off the boat, and it still opens access to worlds of culture for anyone who walks in from the street. Tamper with that building and you risk offending some powerful sensitivities.

Yet the trustees of the New York Public Library—I write as one of them but only in my capacity as a private individual—have decided to rearrange a great deal of that sacred space. According to a plan given preliminary approval by them last February, they will sell the run-down Mid-Manhattan branch library—just opposite the main public library on Fifth Avenue—and the Science, Industry, and Business Library (SIBL) at Madison Avenue and 34th Street, and they will use the proceeds to expand the interior of the 42nd Street building. They will not touch the famous façade on Fifth Avenue, but they will install a new circulating library on the lower floors to replace the Mid-Manhattan branch, whose collections will be incorporated into the holdings of the main library.

All this shifting about of books will require rebuilding parts of the infrastructure at 42nd Street. The steel stacks now hidden under the great Rose Main Reading Room on the third floor will be replaced by the new branch and business library on the lower floors. Several grand rooms on the second floor will be refurbished for the use of readers and writers, who will be provided with carrels, computer stations, a lounge, and possibly a café. Most of the three million volumes from the old stacks will remain in the building, either in redesigned storage space or in shelving located under Bryant Park. But many—for the most part books that are rarely consulted and journals that are also available online—will be shipped to the library’s storage facility in Princeton, New Jersey, along with some of the holdings from the SIBL.

A crowd in excess of thirty thousand filled Yankee Stadium on this Sunday afternoon and watched as the Yankees pummelled the worst team in the American League, beating the St. Louis Browns, 12-2. Lefty Gomez, one of DiMaggio’s closer friends on the team, started and got the win. Joltin’ Joe went three for three on the afternoon, scoring three times and driving in a run. New York papers reported the next day that two of the hits could’ve been called errors, and the third was a single awarded on the basis of catcher’s interference, the result of a rule which has since been changed. At any rate, the three hits brought DiMaggio’s four-game totals to 7 for 14, an even .500; the slump was certainly over.

…don’t say anything at all?

That would make my job a little easier than normal tonight, because right now there is nothing nice to say about the Yankees.

Here’s the best I can do: Phil Hughes has been decent for four straight games. He’s struck out 22 against only five walks. But I can’t go past decent because of the taters. The only certainty about the Yanks this year is that Hughes will let up a long ball – at least one in each game so far, ten total in eight starts.

I think I know why we’re kinda nuts over Phil Hughes and his developmental path. Sometimes we see him uncork fastballs that overpower hitters for a couple of games in a row. We’ve already had very high expectations due to the hype he generated during his Minor League career and then we see him blow guys away sometimes.

That’s the path he should be on, but we also see him toss batting practice half the time. So the path he’s on now must be the one the Yankees created for him with their incompetence. That’s probably partially right, but I think Hughes has a lot to do with this himself.

The fastball plays sometimes, but I’ve only rarely seen that loopy curve ball fool anybody. David Robertson throws the Platonic Ideal of the Nardi Contreras “spiked-curve” and Phil Hughes throws the Play-Doh version. And the 86 MPH cutter seems like a mistake every time he throws it. It was the cutter that Jose Bautista jacked to give the Jays a 2-1 lead and it was all they needed as the Yanks didn’t score another run. Jays 4 – Yanks 1.

The Jays, behind a rookie named, let’s look up the spelling, Drew Hutchison, punched so many holes in the bottom of the order they’d fail to qualify as swiss cheese for lack of substance. The fourth through ninth batters went 1 for 21 with 2 walks in the game. Ouch.

In the game thread, Ara Just Fair mentioned that the Yanks are 3 for their last 40 with RISP. Double ouch.

It’s not that fun when the Yanks don’t win, and especially so when they don’t hit. When they are going like this, it seems like it would take a miracle to bust the score truck out of the impound lot. But it will happen sooner rather than later and we’ll be laughing about this one and all the others like it.

Won’t we?

Photo by Abelimages/AP

Phil Hughes looks to make another leap forward.

Onward Ho!

Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Raul Ibanez LF
Nick Swisher DH
Eric Chavez 3B
Andruw Jones RF
Russell Martin C

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Geof Kern ;wbsloan]

Around this time last year, I took a look at the growing belief that the Yankees hit “too many home runs” and concluded there wasn’t much wisdom in that unconventional thought. However, following a recent period of offensive malaise, the same theme has popped up once again. So, let’s take another look.

Yankees’ Record in Homerless Games, Since 1918

Source: Baseball-reference.com

A fashionable statistic making the rounds this morning is the Yankees 0-8 record when the offense fails to hit a home run. Despite the very small sample, this still seems to be a very intriguing relationship, especially when you consider that in half of those games the Yankees only allowed four or fewer runs. What’s more, the team’s bottom-four and six of the bottom-10 games in terms of WPA (win probability added) also happen to come from among the eight they’ve played without hitting a home run. So, it seems as if the team’s offense has suffered from a feast or famine syndrome with the long ball. However, that doesn’t mean the problem is “too many home runs”.

Yankees’ 10 Lowest WPA Games, 2012

Source: Baseball-reference.com

So far this season, 91 of the Yankees’ 177 runs, or just over half, have come via the home run, which compares to 44% cumulatively between 1996 and 2011. Of course, it should also be noted that the Yankees’ current run/game average of 4.76 is almost three-quarters off the .5.48 rate posted from 1996 to 2011. In other words, the Yankees aren’t hitting too many home runs. They just aren’t scoring enough runs, which is mostly a byproduct of a recent dry spell with runners in scoring position (it wasn’t too long ago that the team was scoring at a historic pace).

Just as the Yankees have found it difficult to win when they don’t hit a home run, the team has had good success when its pitchers keep the ball in the ballpark. Unfortunately, there have only been seven such occasions, which is by far the lowest percentage of homerless games since at least 1918. With the exception of C.C. Sabathia, Yankees’ starters have given up more than their fair share of homers, which, in turn, has significantly mitigated the relative power advantage that the team usually enjoys. This is the real problem.

Percentage of Games in Which Yankees Have Not Allowed a Home Run, Since 1918

Source: Baseball-reference.com

It’s easy to understand why so many Yankees’ fans harp upon the team’s offense. Historically, the Bronx Bombers have been a team defined by the strength of its bats, so when the lineup underperforms those high expectations, it becomes easy to point the finger at the offense. Having said that, just because the offense hasn’t been a weakness doesn’t mean there isn’t reason for concern. Although the Yankees’ offense is still very strong when compared to the rest of the league, it might not be good enough to overcome the team’s underperforming rotation. That’s why the Yankees biggest concern shouldn’t be the number of home runs hit by its lineup, but instead the amount allowed by its starters.

Rest in Peace, Donna Summer.

Check out this incredible archive of audio material on Francis Bacon at the BBC.

The day after appearing to snap out of their funk, the Yankees slipped again, losing to the White Sox, 3-2. The Yanks were now a game below .500 at 15-16, and they stood a disappointing 7 1/2 games behind the streaking Cleveland Indians (23-9) in the American League standings. DiMaggio was limited to a single in the second inning, but he had now hit in three consecutive games.

[Painting by Erin Wong]

Dig this piece at by Jeff Sullivan at SB Nation on the infuriating Jose Molina.

[Photo Credit: Rob Carr/Getty Images; David Goldman/AP]

Yeah, man, the Blue Jays demolished Hiroki Kuroda and the Yanks tonight by the tune of 8-1. It’s always amazed me how fly balls lift off in Toronto. The Jays hit four home runs and Kyle Drabek stifled the all-or-nothing Yankee offense. Yo, anyone else ready to seriously dislike the Jays? I am. Just something about the looks of the guys on the team. I don’t like ’em at all.

This is a night we will not remember unless Robbie Cano’s 300th career double means anything to you (Cano did make a slick unassisted double play in ninth; he fielded a ground ball as he sprinted to second base, touched the bag and still running toward the Yankee dugout made the throw to get the runner at first. Poetry in motion.).

This one is already starting to vanish, tomorrow night can’t come soon enough and that’s the beauty of baseball–they do it every day. Sure, there is plenty of kvetch about (I get it, Phil Hughes starting isn’t inspiring you with confidence). I know, the Yanks have had a “m’eh” season so far. But soon enough there will be reason to cheer.

Count on it, True Believers.

[Images via: Comic Book Artwork, Trash is Free]

Yanks play the Blue Jays for the first time this year. They’ll play two games up in Toronto.

Meanwhile, Marc Carig writes that the Yanks have enough pieces in the bullpen to get to Soriano in the 9th.

Curtis Granderson CF
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Raul Ibanez LF
Eric Chavez DH
Russell Martin C
Jayson Nix SS

Jetes the the night off.

Never mind the tantrums: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Featured Image via Personal Message; photograph by Bags]

From The Atlantic, via Kotke a short film by Sarah Klein and Tom Mason.

[Featured Image via ICG Magazine]

There were fewer than 1,500 fans in the Stadium as the Yankees snapped their five-game losing streak, beating the White Sox, 6-5. Those who were there saw DiMaggio hit a momentous homerun in the third inning, a colossal blast which cleared the bullpen in leftfield before landing far up into the bleachers. It was said at the time that the only other right hander to hit a ball that far in Yankee Stadium was Detroit’s Hank Greenberg. The Yankees came to bat in the bottom of the ninth down by a run when DiMaggio smashed a triple to dead center, keying a two-run rally that would earn his team a much-needed win. Two down, fifty-four to go.

Dock Ellis is back in amination.

Seventy-one years ago Tuesday, Joe DiMaggio began his historic fifty-six game hitting streak, a feat which likely will never be matched. To commemorate this achievement, we’ve decided to track Joe D day-by-day and game-by-game over the next two months, which promises to be fun. Here’s the first installment…

As the Yankees arrived in the middle of May, both the team and its twenty-six year old center fielder were in the midst of terrible slumps. DiMaggio came into the afternoon’s game against the White Sox hitting a respectable .306, but he had seen his average drop more than 200 points in the previous three weeks following a torrid start to the season. The Yankees started the day 5 1/2 games behind the first place Cleveland Indians, and they lost that day to Chicago, 13-1. DiMaggio’s 1 for 4 effort at the plate actually lowered his batting average to .304, and so it appeared that both slumps were continuing. While it’s likely that few would’ve expected the team’s struggles to continue, it’s certain that no one had any idea where DiMaggio’s first inning single would eventually lead.

The Yankees lost to the Orioles 5-2 tonight in a game so dull and unremarkable that I’m worried I might lapse and accidentally recap the drama at Manchester City on Sunday instead. The Yankees had a chance to sweep a two-game set with the division leading Orioles and with CC Sabathia on the hill and in form of late, what could go wrong?

Wei-Yin Chen. I don’t know if he’s really any good, but he’s pitching pretty well and the Orioles have now won six of his seven starts. CC wasn’t good on a night when he had to be. Adam Jones really smacked one out of the park in the second, and CC let up three doubles, but he could have survived if not for all those other base runners. Seven Orioles reached on via walk, hit by pitch, or infield single and CC was toast after six.

Chen kept the Yanks off the board for those same six innings. Curtis Granderson got him, the other way no less, in the seventh for the only two runs the Yanks would score and the game never seemed like it would bend towards the Yankees.

Maybe with a little bit tighter defense and a few decent calls from the umps at key moments and if we could swap those three rally-killing double plays for hits… oh hell, forget it. We’d have to start over and play this one again to find a way to make a Yankee victory plausible. They were the second best team at the park and that’s because the rain scared away that Little League team that was planning to attend.

Moving over to basketball and soccer, let’s just say that if your Mother’s Day celebration did not include the Manchester City game versus Queens Park Rangers, you missed out on the best sporting event of the year. No doubt, lock up the prize, no one is topping that. It was the 2004 Red Sox, but if all that craziness of the Games 4 and 5 of the ALCS happened in Game 7 of the World Series instead.

In the NBA Playoffs, I’m rooting for Lebron I guess, though I’ll be plenty psyched if Roy Hibbert and the Pacers keep winning. I just want Lebron to win one and then to see what happens after that. Will he break through and become something different and better than he is right now? Will he slide back after grabbing the ring? I also would like him not be the terrible choke artist that many paint him to be.

Then I look at the play-by-play data from tonight and I see he disappeared at the end of the game only to pop up and miss the two biggest free throws of the night, ones that would have turned a one-point deficit into a one-point lead with 54 seconds to play. He didn’t get a shot off for the final three and half minutes, clearly deferring to Wade, who managed to pump off five and was fouled shooting a sixth in the same time span.

I wish I watched that game instead of the Yankees because I’d love to know what the hell was going on there. I don’t think we’re asking Lebron to win or lose by himself. We’re just asking him to play the final minutes the same way he plays the rest of the game. Did anybody watch?

David Robertson to the DL.

It’s C.C. tonight in Baltimore.

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Curtis Granderson CF
Andruw Jones DH
Jayson Nix LF
Chris Stewart C

Never mind the band-aids: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Gail Burton/AP]

Excuse this shameless bit of jacking from Ego Trip’s classic site, but you must check out this remarkable BBC documentary: