Monday Swing.

[Picture by Fred Ingrams]

From Whitney Balliett’s book American Musicians: Fifty-Six Portraits in Jazz:

The Cape Cod pianist Marie Marcus came to New York from Boston to do a radio show in 1932, when she was eighteen. Her experience had been limited to Boston radio shows and to playing for a week at a Chinese restaurant called the Mahjong. “Tillie’s Kitchen, in Harlem, was a fried-chicken place,” she has said, “and Bob Howard, who sounded just like Fats Waller, was on piano. We went up there quite often, and one night Fats himself came in. I remember the whole room lighted up. He played, and then listened, and when I’d finished, he pointed to his heart, and said, ‘For a white gal, you sure got it there.’ We got to talking, and I told him that I would like to further my education in jazz, and did he know a good teacher? He looked at me and said, ‘How about me?’ I thought he was putting me on, but he wasn’t. He had a small office, with two pianos, in the Brill Building, at 1619 Broadway, and during the next year or so, when he wasn’t on the road or making records, he’d call me up and say, ‘Come on down and let’s play some paino.’ You couldn’t exactly call them lessons. We’d play duets, and then he’d play, and have me listen carefully to the things he did. He was very serious when we were working together, and I was grateful for every minute. He’d tell me, ‘When you’re playing jazz, remember the rhythm, remember the rhythm. Make the number of notes count. Tell a story, and get that feeling across to the people. Please the people by making it come from here.”

[Photo Credit: Time Life Pictures/Getty]

[Illustration by Kelly Thompson via 1979 Semi-Finalist]

Oh, yeah, the sun is out and the spring is coming into focus.

Photograph by Virginia Mak via MPD.

And here we thought the Yankees would never score any runs.

Feast your eyes on this.

They plump when you cook ’em (oh, yeah).

Sunday Night baseball. Let’s see what Masahiro’s got.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Brett Gardner LF

Carlos Beltran RF

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Chase Headley 3B

Alex Rodriguez DH

Stephen Drew 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

Never mind the standings:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

It’s early but the thud you hear is your 2015 New York Yankees. Yesterday’s version was scored an 8-4 loss.

Picture by Bags.

There’s plenty of it today here in the Bronx. It’s nice in the sun, supposed to get up to the mid-50s later on, but there’s still a little wind and it’s cool in the shade. It’s that white spring light–almost like there’s too much treble–sun high in the sky.

Yanks and Sox were up late last night but they’ll be at it again for us early this afternoon.

Never mind the hangover:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Richard Estes via the Marlborough Gallery]

Ah, 1,2, Ah 1,2.

[Photo Via: Bull Days]

The Yankees rallied 3 times against the Red Sox last night, starting in the 9th inning, but they couldn’t do it a fourth time and so in just under 7 hours, they lost 6-5 in 19 innings. It was the kind of a game that is every beat writer’s nightmare. You wondered if it’d ever end. There was good pitching, sloppy fielding, nice fielding, poor hitting, and clutch hitting. There was boredom and excitement and by the end, a lot of sleepy fans.

There was a 15 minute delay in the bottom of the 12th inning when a few of the lights went out. The organist was pressed into emergency service. I suppose the JumboTron was out of scheduled routines. The announcers didn’t know at first how long the delay would last and so as they talked it over the organist vamped–was that “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” he was playing? What an unexpected pleasure, the sounds of the organ pumping out a medley of pop tunes.

Anyhow, for the Yanks it was a drag of a game to lose.

The pace of play is supposed to be faster this season, and perhaps it will be, but the Yankees vs. Red Sox, well, they’ve got their own rules to abide, don’t they? And the two teams are back at it in a few hours this afternoon.

Take two and pass.

[Photo Credit: Mikko Lagerstedt]

Those guys again. This year–no pitching, fearsome hitting.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Brett Gardner LF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Brian McCann C
Chase Headley 3B
Chris Young RF
Stephen Drew SS
Gregorio Petit 2B

And our first look at Eovaldi.

Never mind the Cavity Creeps:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

All hail Marcella now and forever.

Head banger Friday.

[Photo Credit: Daniel S. Sorine]

Painting by Richard Estes via This Isn’t Happiness. 

Neither was that game last night. One lousy inning was enough to sink C.C.’s first start of the year. Rodriguez and Teixeira homered but otherwise the Yankees couldn’t make good on their scoring chances and they lost, 6-3.

Let’s raise a a glass to C.C. Sabathia and his pursuit of morphing into some kind of Hot Buttered Soul Junk Pitcher in the second part of his career. If he’s 3/4 of what Andy was as an older pitcher he’ll build a nice case for the Hall of Fame. If his body doesn’t cooperate I guess it could get ugly fast and be over quick. Either way, I’m pullin’ for the big fella.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Alex Rodriguez DH

Carlos Beltran RF

Mark Teixeira 1B

Chase Headley 3B

Chris Young LF

John Ryan Murphy C

Gregorio Petit 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

LHP CC Sabathia

This is one raggedy-ass lineup, man. A Rod’s in the 2 hole.

Never mind the Scubbineez:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Picture Credit:“the Upside of Down” by Christopher Barbour via Rob Kalmbach]

The baseball season begins in warm, sunny places like Florida and Arizona. Then the teams move north to the cold. Last night, I flipped around and saw rain in Washington and Philly and the Bronx. Ah, April baseball.

It was not a pretty game at the Stadium last night–the fielding was rusty and you have to figure the wet and cold played a part in that–but the Yankees rallied late and beat the Jays, 4-3. Chase Headley and Jacoby Ellsbury had two hits; Michael Pineda pitched well, and so did the bullpen (though Dellin Betances was rusty).

Funny thing: Although Alex Rodriguez is now an old man,  he still gets more of a rise out of the crowd than any player on the Yanks. There were boos and cheers every time he came to bat. It’s almost as if the fans still boo him because it’s something familiar not because they’re especially vicious. After all, we’ve just begun the post-Jeter era and who knows what to make of this team? Who knows who the next heroes and villains are? Rodriguez is a sure thing. Muscle-memory says boo the sombitch. Or cheer. Rodriguez didn’t get a hit last night–he put a good swing on the ball in his third at bat, it had a good sound, but he hit it too high and in that wind no fly ball stood a chance of leaving the park–but he was booed plenty when he struck out looking in the 8th inning with the bases loaded.

Old reliable.

Chad Jennings has the recap. 

[Picture by Bags]

Man, you’ve got to have a lot of heart to be at the Stadium tonight. I can understand sitting in the cold in October, but April? Thank you, no.

Pineda goes for the Yanks and that should be fun. He’s one of the few guys on this team I’m really excited about (I guess Tanaka’s worrisome health and got me distracted from dwelling on Pineda’s worrisome health).

Be hilarious if Alex takes a knuckler deep. Be great if they can beat up R.A. Dickey and the Jays:

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Brett Gardner LF

Carlos Beltran RF

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Chase Headley 3B

Alex Rodriguez DH

Stephen Drew 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

Never mind the chill:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

*Post title refers to this, just cause.

[Photo Credit: The Great Saul Leiter]

Ah, lovely man.

Seriously.