R.I.P. Ornette Coleman.

“I was out at [anthropologist] Margaret Mead’s school and was teaching some little kids how to play instantly. I asked the question, ‘How many kids would like to play music and have fun?’ And all the little kids raised up their hands. And I asked, ‘Well, how do you do that?’ And one little girl said, ‘You just apply your feelings to sound.’ And I said, ‘Come and show me.’ When she went to the piano to do it, she tried to show me, but she had forgotten about what she said. So I tried to show her why all of a sudden all her attention span had to go to another level, and after that she went ahead and did it. But she was right: If you apply your feelings to sound, regardless of what instrument you have, you’ll probably make good music.”–Ornette Coleman.

For more, dig this, this, this and then Go here for a listen. 

[Photo Credit: Roberto Polillo via Jazz in Photo]

Bad news all around for the Yankees today as Andrew Miller hit the DL with a forearm strain and the cascading bullpen shuffle hamstrung Girardi and contributed to a tough loss.

The Yankees struck in the bottom of the seventh again, turning an 0-2 hole into a 4-2 lead. But instead of the Betances-Miller hope-killer, we saw Eovaldi start the eighth. He allowed a hit and when Jacob Lindgren came out of the pen, something was officially NOT RIGHT.

Lindgren pitched OK for a guy who gave up a game-tying homer. He got Bryce Harper, the key at-bat, we thought, and induced a possible inning-ending double play. But Stephen Drew double-clutched when a single-clutch was all that was called for and the inning leaked forward for pinch-hitter Michael Taylor to ruin a really nice day.

Extra innings played out as Yankee fans began filing missing persons reports for their bullpen aces. When neither appeared in the 10th and 11th, the looming loss crystalized. It was Denard Span with chopper in the eleventh if you’re looking for the official cause of death. Nats pulled it out, 5-4.

The Yankees dropped three of four to Washington overall and at least two of those losses were real stingers. But losing Miller is the real test here. The bullpen hasn’t been anything special outside of those two dynamos, so we’ll see what happens when rubber meets the road.

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!

Masahiro Tanaka out-aced Max Scherzer in a titanic pitching duel last night. The final score skews Yankees because of a seventh inning bulge that came very close to not happening. But before that, it was a doozy.

Let’s pick up the two Tanaka-Harper showdowns that changed the game. In the 4th inning, Tanaka zipped a low fastball that caught a good chunk of the plate. It wasn’t a bad pitch, but I doubt anybody is surprised that Harper got good wood on it. The landing spot however, would be a surprise for most other hitters. Harper festooned just left of dead-center with a moon-shot and that tied the score at one apiece.

It was still tied when Harper batted again in the 7th and this time, Tanaka was better. For a few pitches. He dipped three splitters in and out of the zone and Harper fell behind in the count. Then Tanaka’s splitter slipped and meatball alarms blared throughout the stadium. If Harper had hit a 93 mph heater, low and away, out to the deepest part of the park, what was he going to do this 88 mph floating orb of “hit-me”?

Turns out he was going to bunt it foul. As our friends at the firm of St. Hubbins and Tufnel have held forth, there’s a fine line between clever and stupid and Harper found himself squarely in stupidtown. He took the bat out of his own hands during a crucial spot in a tight game facing what very may well be the best pitch he’ll see all season.

The Yankees quickly turned good fortune into runs in the bottom of the inning. Evidence that Alex Rodriguez has not yet won back the hearts and minds of the Yankee organization? He didn’t get credited for the hit that won the game. With Scherzer on the ropes and passing one hundred and eleventy pitches or so, Alex smacked a first-pitch sitter towards left field. Desmond made a great dive to his right to snag it and save the run, but he wanted to end the inning as well. From his knees he gunned to third, but failed to calculate Pirela’s Flores’ ETA correctly and his throw nicked Flores as he slid and bounced into the seats.

Flores scored the run and the Yanks tacked on with big hits from McCann and Beltran and, get this, a second homer from Stephen Drew. They won 6-1. But man, how is that not a hit for Arod? Desmond had no other plays around the diamond and it would have taken a degree from MIT to figure out where to the throw the ball in order to keep Rendon on the bag and avoid hitting Flores. From his knees. Imagine the whining we’d hear from David Ortiz if his home park official scorer jobbed him on a play like that?

With a big lead lead, Miller and Betances seems like overkill, but with a day-off coming, why not. Miller and Betances and no more chances. Miller and Betances and you better sit out these dances. Remember when Joba came up and was the best reliever we’ve ever seen for 24 innings? Betances is that, but now over 122 innings.

***

NBA Finals, do not sleep on this. LeBron James went to Miami and became just about the perfect basketball machine. He was lethal and efficient and, when Wade and Bosh were firing, often didn’t have to break a sweat to level a team. One year later and he has scrapped that model completely and become a tornado of basketball ability, barely harnessed and unleashing destruction all over the court. It’s hard to watch him miss so often when he had basically eliminated bad shots from his game over the last four seasons, but the fact that he’s found this gear under these circumstances is one of the great individual performances in basketball history. I hope he’s got two more wins in him.

Artwork by Bob Layton, Marvel Comics

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

Found in the $1.00 cutout bin at a record store in Jersey.

[Photo Via: Wikipedia]

Tonight gives the draft. And an open chat.

Have at it.

Picture by Bags

Nice job by the New Yorker allowing us to dig Lillian Ross’ famous 1950 profile of Hemingway (and thanks to Longform for linking it on their site):

After getting his necktie off, and then his jacket, Hemingway handed them to his wife, who went into the bedroom, saying she was going to unpack. He unbuttoned his collar and went over to the telephone. “Got to call the Kraut,” he said. He telephoned the Plaza and asked for Miss Dietrich. She was out, and he left word for her to come over for supper. Then he called room service and ordered caviar and a couple of bottles of Perrier-Jouët, brut.

Hemingway went back to the bookcase and stood there stiffly, as though he could not decide what to do with himself. He looked at the pasteboard backs again and said, “Phony, just like the town.” I said that there was a tremendous amount of talk about him these days in literary circles—that the critics seemed to be talking and writing definitively not only about the work he had done but about the work he was going to do. He said that of all the people he did not wish to see in New York, the people he wished least to see were the critics. “They are like those people who go to ball games and can’t tell the players without a score card,” he said. “I am not worried about what anybody I do not like might do. What the hell! If they can do you harm, let them do it. It is like being a third baseman and protesting because they hit line drives to you. Line drives are regrettable, but to be expected.” The closest competitors of the critics among those he wished least to see, he said, were certain writers who wrote books about the war when they had not seen anything of war at first hand. “They are just like an outfielder who will drop a fly on you when you have pitched to have the batter hit a high fly to that outfielder, or when they’re pitching they try to strike everybody out.” When he pitched, he said, he never struck out anybody, except under extreme necessity. “I knew I had only so many fast balls in that arm,” he said. “Would make them pop to short instead, or fly out, or hit it on the ground, bouncing.”

Have you ever seen C.C. Sabathia as hot as he was yesterday at the end of the 6th inning? He was in the right to be pissed and his ejection was entertaining. So was the rest of the game, apart from the first inning when Mike Trout and Albert Pujols hit solo home runs against Sabathia. The Yanks hit three long balls of their own–Chris Young, Brett Gardner, Jose Pirela–and sailed to a 6-2 win and a series sweep.

[Photo Credit: Seth Wenig, AP]

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

Man, oh, man, the Yanks put a beating on Garrett Richards last night and that first inning drubbing was enough to propel them to a breezy, 8-2 win.

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

There are a lot of wonderful things that have happened to me because I started Bronx Banter back in 2002. But nothing’s been better than the friendships I’ve made along the way. I’ve become pals with a handful of readers–either via email or phone or even in person. One of my best Banter pals is known around these parts as “Dimelo”. We’ve known each other socially for close to 10 years now. Last night he came over and brought me this cake as a belated birthday present (never mind Hank and McCovey, I just turned Reggie Jackson).

Thing is, Dimelo loves listening to John and Suzyn on the radio. My wife Emily loves John and Suzyn too and some point along the way I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb that is John and Suzyn myself. Just for the comedy. So I was delighted Dimelo walked into our apartment last night and presented me with this cake with one of John’s favorite sayings.

The other thing you should know is that as much as Dimelo loves Ma and Pa Pinstipes he hates Stephen Drew in equal measure. “A little part of me dies every time I have to watch him hit,” Dimelo told me recently. So you can imagine the laughs we had when Drew went deep once and then again.

“And look, he’s still only hitting .174. Fuck that guy.”

When Drew came to bat in the bottom of the 8th inning with the bases loaded I told Dimelo that I’d blow him if Drew hit a grand slam. He said, “Don’t worry, he’s not getting a hit.” Drew grounded out and I was spared the embarrassment of welching on that bet.

A few innings earlier I said, “Man, in honor of John and ‘there’s no predicting baseball’ what if the Yankees blow this–especially to the Angels?”

Dimelo said, “If that happens I fucking hope Drew is the guy that blows it.”

Well, Drew had nothing to do with what almost became a nightmare. The Yanks had an 8-1 9th inning lead. The bad feelings started when Jose Pierla and Chase Headley let a ball drop between them in the infield. It was an easy pop up, but they didn’t communicate and Headley ran away from the spot where the ball landed. It looked bad. Then things got worse–base hits, wild pitch, walks, runs. All this with Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, who had been pulled from the blowout game the previous inning–on the bench.

Never mind how irritating it was to see Dellin Betances have to pitch, once he got in the game, he didn’t pitch well. Couldn’t locate the breaking ball and mysteriously stopped throwing his fastball. Things got so close that suddenly the score was 8-6 and with 1 out and the bases loaded, the tying run was on second.

Emily, Dimelo and I watched the game with the TV on mute and listened to John who said, “If the Yanks lose this game it will be the worse loss I can remember.”

Didi Gregorious made a nice diving stop in the hole to save a base hit–and a tied game–and got the force at second for out number two. Next, Betances threw five straight curveballs to pinch hitter Carlos Perez, striking him out on the final one.

Good enough for schvitzy 8-7 win. And yes, Suzyn, there’s no predicting baseball.

By the way, the cake–with some kind of delicious cream cheese frosting, was red velvet inside, and easily one of the best birthday cakes I’ve ever had.

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

The GZA drops science:

I’m sure there are great lyricists out there today, but when you look at mainstream hip-hop, lyricism is gone. There are some artists out there that think they’re great storytellers, but they’re not. Nowadays there are certain things I don’t hear anymore from rappers: I haven’t heard the word “MC” in so long; I haven’t heard the word “lyrical.” A lot of rappers think they’re hardcore or say they’re from the streets and there’s that thing where they always say, “I live what I rhyme about, I rhyme about what I live.” But you don’t always have to do that. Because for me it’s not about telling the story — it’s about weaving the tale.

[Photo Credit: Frank Hoensch/Getty Images

The NBA Finals start tonight. I am rooting for the Cavs because I’d like to see Cleveland celebrate a championship. But I also really enjoy watching the Warriors play and will not be sad to see them win, which I think they will do handily (say in 5 games). The Cavs just have too many injuries. Yes, they’ve got the best player in the world–and of his generation–in Lebron James, but the rest of the team just isn’t all that great and without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving far from healthy, I just don’t see how they could pull it off.

Here’s hoping it’s a good, entertaining series.

[Photo Credit: David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images]

First, the good news. Masahiro Tanaka was terrific in his return. Garrett Jones hit a bomb and the Yanks beat the Mariners, 3-1 to complete the 3-game sweep.

Bad News: Brian McCann is hurt and it could be serious.

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!

So what was the bigger surprise, the Yankees torching Felix Hernández on Monday night or Stephen Drew coming through with two clutch hits on Tuesday night? Well, let’s just say that if you were to play that exacta at Pimlico, you’d be buying drinks that night.

CC Sabathia and Seattle’s Mike Montgomery came out strong, trading zeros over the first two innings, but things got a bit crazy in the top of the third. With one out and a 3-2 count, Brett Gardner fouled off four straight pitches before getting fooled by the tenth pitch of the at bat. He tried to check his swing, but his bat clearly broke the plane of the plate. Gardner lowered his head and took two steps across the plate towards the Yankee dugout, but then home plate umpire Mike DiMuro sent him to first. Ball four.

Replays showed what everyone knew to be so. Gardner had struck out, but instead he was trotting to first base, and Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon wasn’t happy. Even amateur lip readers were able to easily make out his loud complaint, “He was going back to the dugout!” Well, now he was standing on first.

Two batters later it was Alex Rodríguez’s turn to stir the pot a bit. A-Rod checked his swing on another 3-2 pitch, and again the Yankees received the benefit of the doubt. It was ball four. (It should be noted that these were two different umpires and that replays seemed to show that A-Rod had checked his swing.) McClendon shot out of the dugout like a George Brett and raced towards first base umpire Will Little. Little listened for about two seconds before tossing him from the game, and somewhere in the commotion someone had also ejected Mariners’ catcher Mike Zunino, so McClendon figured he’d get his money’s worth. He crossed the diamond to engage Randazzo and then had a visit with DiMuro behind the plate, yelling, spitting, and kicking at all three stops. As he finally left DiMuro and headed to the clubhouse, he gestured angrily at the three umpires in question and yelled out, “All three of you!”

It’s easy to see how a young kid like Montgomery, pitching in his first major league game, might be a little rattled by all that, so it came as no surprise when Mark Teixeira jumped on the first pitch he saw and rocketed a double down the left field line to score Gardner. The Yankees led, 1-0, and I’m sure something in the Seattle clubhouse paid the price for it.

Sabathia, meanwhile, was pitching pretty well. He gave up a single run in the bottom of the third when the M’s strung together three hits by Austin Jackson, Robinson Canó, and Nelson Cruz, but that was all. Once again Sabathia was pitching well enough to be winning, but once again he wasn’t. After the bottom of sixth, he’d be losing.

With two outs and a runner on first, CC gave up a single to right to put runners on first and third. Girardi came out and lifted Sabathia in favor of David Carpenter, who proceeded to give up a run-scoring double to Austin Jackson. Mariners 2, Yankees 1.

The score stayed right there until the ninth inning. Facing Seattle closer Fernando Rodney, who’s been fairly awful this season, the Yankees manufactured a rally. But with two outs and runners on first and third, Stephen Drew walked up to the plate with the fate of the game resting squarely on his shoulders.

Drew quickly fell into a 1-2 hole, and Rodney was poised to shoot another arrow into the night. Instead, Drew pounced on the next pitch and roped a ringing double down the line in right to the tie the game at two. A stranger thing I’ve never seen.

Dellin Betances brought his spotless ERA out of the bullpen for the bottom of the ninth, and for a moment it looked like the Mariners might get the best of him. Jackson walked to lead off the inning and then stole second on the first pitch to Seth Smith, but Betances easily struck out Smith and then dominated Canó, ending the at bat with two fastballs, one at 99 mph and the next at 98, that simply overpowered Robby as he struck out. Nelson Cruz grounded out, and the threat was over.

The Yankees had a golden opportunity to jump ahead in the top of the tenth. Garrett Jones singled and Teixeira drew a one-out walk, bringing Chase Headley up to the plate. Headley smashed a one-hopper directly at first baseman Logan Morrison, but the play didn’t unfold as you might have expected. Morrison took a look at second to see if he could cut down Teixeira, but when he reached into his glove for the ball, the ball squirted free and fell to the infield dirt. By the time he picked it back up, Morrison had no play and the bases were loaded.

All Beltrán had to do was lift a fly ball into the outfield and the Yankees would have a 3-2 lead, but he wasn’t able to do that. He rolled a soft bouncer up the middle where Canó gobbled it up to start an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

In the eleventh, once again it was Stephen Drew. Ol’ Reliable stepped to the plate and with two outs and two strikes he dug deep and came up with a clean single to right. Gardner followed that with a double to the gap in left center, and suddenly the Yankees were in business. Garrett Jones came to the plate knowing that all he needed was a ball that found the outfield grass, but he ended up getting much, much more. Lefty Joe Beimel had been brought in to face the left-handed Jones, but he gave up his advantage by starting Jones out with two balls to run the count to 2-0. His next pitch ended up in the seats 401 feet away, and the Yankees were finally ahead, 5-2.

In perhaps the most bizarre incident of this crazy night, Andrew Miller actually gave up two hits and a run in the bottom of the eleventh, but he was able to right the ship and bring home the 5-3 win. You know, because that’s what he does.

[Photo Credit: Elaine Thompson/AP Photo]

It’s C.C., the big fella we still love, despite it all.

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

Never mind the drizzle:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Hannah-Marie Hayes via MPD]