Jim Henson died on this day in 1990. He is still missed.

[Photo Via: The Muppet Mindset]

Warshed out already.

[Photo Via: This Isn’t Happiness]

Cool.

[Photo Credit: Jane Mingay]

Maybe the Mets and Yankees should trade ballparks. After whipping Yankee pitching but good on Monday and Tuesday the Mets were shutout for the past two nights in Queens. Last night, the Yanks won an improbable 1-0 game in which both starting pitchers made their big league debut. Chase Whitley didn’t get through the 5th inning but when he left with 2 outs in the 4th–with 2 men on base–he hadn’t allowed a run. Guy threw strikes, nothing overpowering, but he had a good changeup. Oh, and he got a base hit his first time at bat.

He was relieved by Dellin Betances who retired Eric Young on a ground out to Solarte at third base. In the dugout, Whitley was all smiles, as was his pal, David Phelps (which reminded me that I don’t recall ever having seen Phelps smile before).

Betances pitched 2 more innings and struck out 6 batters.

The Yanks scored their run when the Mets failed to complete a double play in the top of the 7th which left Brian McCann on first base with 2 out. Alfonso Soriano doubled to the gap in left-center and McCann scored. That was it. The Yanks had runners on second and third in the 8th with just one out but couldn’t get a run in. Adam Warren struck out 2 hitters in the 8th but also walked a batter and allowed a base hit. David Robertson relieved him, struck out David Wright, and then pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning to give the Yanks a series split.

Final Score: Yanks 1, Mets 0. 

It should be noted that the Mets starter, Jacob deGrom, was mighty impressive. He has the easy cheese of a young AJ Burnett and is tall with longish hair sort of like Jered Wever. Anyhow, the Mets have an enviable stable of young pitching, man, and before long it could well be the Mets as the Kings of New York.

[Picture by Bags]

Couple of kids making their big league debut tonight.

Chase Whitley goes for the Yanks.

Brett Gardner LF

Derek Jeter SS

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Alfonso Soriano RF

Yangervis Solarte 3B

Brian Roberts 2B

Chase Whitley RHP

As expected, Beltran to the DL.

Never mind the aches and pains:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Hari Roser via MPD]

Beltran and C.C. and the Big Ouch. Young or old–in this case, old–players are falling like flies in 2014.

I wonder what the Yanks can expect to get out of their two veterans. I like ’em both. But who knows how often they’ll be on the field this summer.

[Photo Credit: Jonathan Daniel/N.Y. Daily News]

I’ll make you so proud of me.

[Photograph by Maurizio Di Iorio via MPD]

Made to order. 

CJ has the notes. 

[Photo Via: CBS]

C’mon Masahiro. Time to put an end to the losing streak.

Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Brian McCann C
Alfonso Soriano RF
Yangervis Solarte 3B
Brian Roberts 2B
Masahiro Tanaka RHP

Never mind nuthin’:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Picture via: Comically Vintage]

Welcome back to what has become perhaps a needed distraction, Where & When.  Hopefully the team won’t fall underneath .500 tonight, and if they do let’s hope they can float long enough until reinforcements arrive.  In the meantime, let’s ponder the past yet again and find out what this is all about:

There is an important distinction about this building, so tell us what building this is, where it’s located, when it was built and as a bonus, how long it lasted and what the distinction actually is. Show your math as well. A frosty mug of your favorite root beer if you have the where and when practical answers with notes, and I’ll upgrade it to a root beer float if you get the bonus question.  The rest of us will get cold cream sodas in a can. So you know the drill; have fun and I’ll see you in the game thread (maybe)!

[photo credit: Detroit Photographic Company (Wikipedia)]

The Mets don’t have hitting, they can’t score runs but on Tuesday night they continued to batter the bejesus out of Yankee pitching. This time it was to the tune of 12-7 as David Wright got 3 hits and Curtis Granderson and Daniel Murphy hit home runs. The Mets have a six-game winning streak over the Yanks dating back to last season.

The game took forever and even Zach Wheeler couldn’t pitch through the end of the fifth to earn the win. Although there was plenty for Met fans to cheer about the game took on a sleepy feeling for its final hour or two.

A low point for the Yanks is a highlight for the Mets.

The two teams move to Citi Field and the Yanks turn their lonely eyes to Masahiro Tanaka.

[Picture by Bernardita Arís]

Let’s face it, apart from Tanaka, who’ll start tomorrow night in Queens, the Yanks starting pitching is outmatched for the rest of this subway serious. And even Tanaka’s gotta lose sometime. Wouldn’t it sum up a losing streak for the Yanks if Tanaka’s first loss in forever came against the Mets?

Right?

On the other hand, I’m excited to see what kind of fight the Yanks have in them. The team is being squeezed by injuries but still have not a terrible lineup.

It’s up to the bats to do the heavy-lifting for a minute.

Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Mark Teixeira DH
Brian McCann C
Alfonso Soriano RF
Yangervis Solarte 3B
Kelly Johnson 1B
Brian Roberts 2B

That’s a half Good, half-Ass lineup if I’ve ever seen one.

Ah, never mind the gloom and doom:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Ivan Nova is done for the year. Michael Pineda is done for awhile and who knows if the guy will ever stay healthy (I doubt he will). C.C. Sabathia is on the DL and now Carlos Beltran may join him. Ichiro couldn’t go last night and neither could Shawn Kelly. Some of this is just what happens–guys get hurt, young guys, pitchers, doesn’t matter. But the Yanks have a lot of old guys so you can’t be surprised when their seniors’ get hurt.

Right now, the team is a hurtin’.

Our feelings were hurt by the end of the night as Hiroki Kuroda and bullpen could not hold leads of 4-1, and 7-4, as the Mets rallied for a 9-7 win.

Ouch.

The last insult came when Kyle Farnsworth almost shit the bed in the 9th inning. The Yanks were down by 2 and there were runners on first and third (and the only reason Mark Teixeira only made it to first on his drive to right field is because he’s hurting too). Brian McCann ripped a ball that looked ticketed to right. It’d be good for an RBI and another first and third situation. Except Lucas Duda made a sweet pick and started the 3-5-3 double play to end the game.

I’m sure Met fans expected Farnsworth to blow it. Yankee fans expected him to blow it, too.

So it goes.

Final Score: Mets 9, Yankees 7.

[Photo Credit: Quietly Writing]

Time for this dumb thing again.

This year the Yanks and Mets will play a couple of games in the Bronx and then a couple out in Queens.

Tonight gives our man Hiroki vs. our old pal, Bartolo Colon.

Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Carlos Beltran DH
Brian McCann C
Alfonso Soriano RF
Yangervis Solarte 3B
Kelly Johnson 1B
Brian Roberts 2B

Never mind the horseshit:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Picture by Bags]

Lo and Behold, we are back with another Where & When. I’ve missed doing these for a while, so let me take advantage of a little time I have to present to you another little challenge with a little history attached to it:

This one has a bit of irony attached to it, considering what it is.  If you can tell us what this building is and when this building existed, you will win a box of Thin Mints (because the Girl Scout cookies we ordered months ago have arrived and I feel inordinately generous in my imagination).  You will get a quart of milk to wash them down if you can tell us the ironic stories with this structure as well. A bonus box will be thrown in if you can tell us the name of the building beside it in the background.

Most of you know the rules of this game, but for those who don’t or need a refresher: to win, you should be the first person to answer all of the questions above in one post, plus you must show your process of finding the answer.  You can utilize any methods you find feasible to find the answer, but you must not peek at the photo credit link because that’s cheating.  If, however, you happen to find the link on your own in the course of research, then you will be excused. Everyone else who answers after the winner will receive a cold cream soda of choice.  Usually we award a cold root beer for the winner unless there’s a special or seasonal occasion for something more apropos to the occasion.

You are encouraged also to share your research or memories about the site in the picture, in the spirit of cooperation and fostering education.  Above all, have a good time and I hope you learn something new.

Have fun and we’ll discuss later!

[Photo credit: Wiki Commons]

Yeah, that happened.  A-gain. That moment that has happened more often than not lately, where defeat was snatched from the open arms of victory.  On Mother’s Day, too.  Oh, it’s fine if you’re a Brewers fan, you probably enjoyed a nice pick-me-up while enjoying the company or memory of your Mom on her special day (why are you watching a ball game on Mother’s Day by the way?), but if you’re a Yankee fan, it’s not as if C.C.’s injury wasn’t bad enough to make you realize that the season is in deep stink-stinkle unless the lineup reinserts Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in some way, shape or form while Cash works his Pokemaster skills on the MLB scrap heap for some starting pitching help. You had to endure yet another bubble monster who actually played for the team for a minute last season do them in at the last minute, and all you can do is just stare and say, “Really?”  A-gain.  How old is this? Too old.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mom’s out there!

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[

Maybe C.C. is broken. I will say this–he allowed 3 home runs last night and none of them were cheapies. They were all bombs. Yet despite the long ball, Sabathia did keep his team in the game though he didn’t end up with a decision. Still, the worry has been there and it remains–will the Big Guy come around? Not to his old self, of course, but to a new self. You can see him working through it.

We’ll be rooting for him, of course. In the meantime, the Yanks lost 5-4, but hope to win the series this afternoon.

[Picture by Bags]

Just as some lovers will always have Paris, C.C. Sabathia always has Milwaukee where he once pitched his ass off for half a season. C.C. made his name in Cleveland and will pitch for the Yankees for a long time but his brief stay over in Milwaukee saw him at his best.

We can only hope the comfortable surroundings bring good things tonightski.

We are also treated to the defensive stylings of Brendan Ryan. Welcome back, dude.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Brett Gardner LF
Carlos Beltran RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Brian McCann C
Yangervis Solarte 3B
Brian Roberts 2B
Brendan Ryan SS

Never mind the sausage race:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

We’ve seen it in almost every one of Masahiro Tanaka’s starts–the moment he bends but does not break. Last night, it came in the bottom of the 6th inning. The Yanks had a 4-0 lead and Tanaka had only given up a pair of singles over the first 5 innings. But he allowed back-to-back doubles to start the 6th and then a single. Now, the score was 4-2 and with a man on first Tanaka fell behind Aramis Ramirez, 3-0. Ramirez took a called strike and then fouled off the next 5 pitches.

Here was the game. If Tanaka loses the battle with Ramirez, maybe the pitchers’ night is over. Instead, on the 10th pitch of the at bat, Ramirez hit a hard ground ball right to Derek Jeter who converted it into a double play.

Bend not broke.

Tanaka struck out the first man in the 7th but then allowed a couple of base hits and this time, his pitch-count over 100, Joe Girardi replaced him with Adam Warren. The Yanks got a strike ’em out, throw ’em out double play to get out of it. They added a run, and so did the Brewers. The big hit was a 3-run home run by Yangervis Solarte as the Yanks beat the Brewers, 5-3.

[Photo Credit: Jan-Pieter ‘t Hart via MPD]