Monthly Archives: December 2013

According to Mark Feinsand Carlos Beltran is coming to the Bronx for the next three years.

It’s 3/$45.

One year too long, you say? I hear you. Another old guy? Yeah, I can relate. Almost ten years too late for Beltran in Pinstripes? Hear you there, too.

But Carlos Beltran, who I once believed was heaven sent to replaceme Bernie Williams (Puerto Rican, switch-hitter, understated), is belatedly a Yankee.

And tell you what: I’m not going to think about it being too late, or about him being old, or about the contract. I’m excited we get to watch Carlos Beltran play every day. Sure makes the lineup look a whole better n it did a few hours ago, don’t it?

[Photo Credit: N.Y. Daily News]

Because he’s going to sign a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Mariners.

Love watching Cano play but I’m glad the Yanks didn’t sign him to that deal.

Serious Eats rates the best baguettes in town.

Bowie Friday:

[Image by Aaron Savage]

Lego Art by Marco Sodano.

Here’s a Friday baseball open thread fuh ya. While there is word that things aren’t going so smoothly for team Cano in Seattle Jon Heyman reports that the Yanks are close to signing our man Hiroki to a 1-year deal.

Hey, how about this? A bonus round of Where & When! I guess this week was a little too easy for our seasoned vets, so I had to go a little deeper, a little further, quite a ways to get this one. Being that this is special, and in keeping with the fact that this is the third game of the week, I’m presenting a three-part challenge; also this will serve as a tribute to one of our regulars who may or may not recognize at least one of the featured buildings outright.  If you recall any reason why I would do that this week of all weeks, you get a bonus!

Part 1:

This picture was taken in the same year that a future President of the United States began a historic reformation of the New York City Police Department. In it, a secondary learning institution began its existence on the second floor of the building on the left.  Name this building and the approximate address.

Part 2:

This is said to be the earliest photo of the new building for the previously mentioned secondary learning institution, built one year after the region it was built in officially became part of Greater New York; two boroughs east of the seat of power.  What was this building the original site of and what year was it built?

Part 3

This is the present day site of the institution, which was built the same year there was a major shift in the country’s fortunes that would later cause mass upheaval for many. What is the name of this building/institution and when was it built?

So, if you know any of this, you would also know where within all of this movement took place, and you may or may not know that one of our own is originally from this region.  It’s not an easy place to get to; in fact it’s not near.  Quite the opposite, in fact. Therein lies the subtle tribute; which our target may or may not reveal the reason (if it’s seen).  What a mystery.  I’m sorry if the clues are rather vague, but gifts are often best left to the imagination.  And maybe in the future, other regulars may be served with similar plotting >;)  A bottle of Triple XXX for the first person to emerge from this maze with the right answers, and Capone Family Secret for the rest who endure.  Good luck with it and I hope this turns out the way I pictured it.  If not, well I see ya Monday then >;)

Here’s the obit from the N.Y. Times. 

[Photo Via It’s a Long Season and Ian Berry]

This ESPN report has the Mariners offering to make Robbie’s pockets Fat not Flat.

Strong work from Howard Bryant:

Even with a Harvard-educated black man occupying the White House, the conception of black masculinity still revolves around the primal, not the intellectual. The first skill any African-American man learns in navigating the white world is how to make white people comfortable. He must be nonthreatening. Before he can profit from the snarl, he must first soften them with a smile. These tactics predate Matt Barnes’ tweeting of the N-word; they predate the NFL, Jay Z and the Civil War.

Yet no matter the tactic, no matter how powerful or savvy a black man might be, manipulation of his image remains a shadow currency. LeBron James was the first black male to gain the cover of Vogue, in 2008. His portrayal conjured images of King Kong — it was him roaring at the camera with a white woman, Gisele Bundchen, in his arms.

These old constructions, very much alive, were returned to light by Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito. Here was a case in which a white man used racial slurs to a Stanford-educated teammate who comes from a two-parent, Harvard-educated home. And more than anything else, the root issue was the eternal difficulty this country has in allowing black men to live in full dimension. Martin didn’t look the part. He didn’t conform to the accepted code of black masculinity, exposing the fault line that has always run underneath the American soil, transformative president or not.

On the Dolphins, Martin wasn’t seen as a real man. Uncomfortable with the strip clubs, he wasn’t trusted as one of the boys. And because he represented the images of scholarship and manners, of dignity and higher education — reputable qualities generally associated with white mainstream America — he was inauthentic in the eyes of black players, but no more authentic in the eyes of whites. His teammates preyed on Martin’s economic class and demeanor, viewing each as weakness, his education as a mimicry of whiteness. (It’s telling that John Elway and Andrew Luck, also Stanford grads, have never been accused of being soft.)

[Image Via: The Starting Five]

What scares you?

Picture by Elizabeth Fleming.

I’m as into trying new things as the next guy but some products don’t need to be messed with. I haven’t tried a homemade ketchup yet that bests Heinz, have you?

[Image Via: Hand-Cad]

Coolin’.

[Image Via: La Vida En Fotographia]

Here’s our pal Leigh Montville on Ellsbury as a Yankee:

Ellsbury’s departure fits somewhere in the middle between Boggs and Damon. Like Damon, he is a more than competent centerfielder, romanced directly off a character-driven, long-haired world championship team. Unlike Damon, he was not the favored face. That belonged to David Ortiz, no argument. Ellsbury was in the second line of stars, high on a long list. Little kids loved him because of his size. Purists loved him because of his speed, his ability to steal a base and track down fly balls. Girls loved him because of his good looks. He was good, good, good, but not break-the-bank good.

There was a curious, season-long disconnect to close out his time in Boston. Despite all the good things he did during the championship run, there always was the sense he was going to leave. He was in the last year of his contract. His agent was Scott Boras, the same no-prisoners negotiator Johnny Damon used. The centerfielder would want the big years and the big money and the Red Sox would not outbid the other bidders. He was good, but not break-the-bank good. Everybody understood.

Unlike Boggs, Ellsbury’s departure would not be without sadness. He would have looked good in a Red Sox uniform for his entire career. Unlike Damon, though, his departure would not be a surprise. He never had promised anything. Everyone knew he was going for the top dollar.

The surprise — ah — would be the destination.

Joel and Ethan’s latest is out. 

Also, there’s this:

Picture by Harold Hollingsworth via Just Another Masterpiece.

Greetings, and welcome to another episode of Where & When, the game that makes you think, “Hmm, that must have been nice back in the day” or something similar to that.  Well, the Hot Stove is burning bright this winter and we haven’t even gotten to the Winter Meetings yet.  Nothing much else going on in New York except us; we’re the next hottest game in town, folks! At least we like to think it is, and our hungry regulars like to keep us relevant during a down year for New York in general.  So while we sweat by the wood burner and wonder WWJZD and how sternly Boras is frowning on the way to the bank, let us ponder the graceful ornaments of these interesting structures:

This pic was taken about 20 years before the houses were taken down and twenty years before a very iconic Chevy rolled off the assembly lines of GM plants.  There were similar, but less-ornamental structures around the block that were both either owned or named after one of the old New York land-owning families of old.  It is said that quite a few famous artists and authors lived rather bohemian lifestyles here during its existence.  Today, you would never notice the remnants of these buildings unless you were close enough to have lunch (or take part in a flea market perhaps), but some things in the picture still survive.  You can use all of these clues to find the correct answer, plus if you’re feeling empirical you can tell us a little about the designer of the houses and a couple of other designs he had done in his day that also remain to this day.
A (dare I say) rare mix of our favorite stuff for the first person to post the correct answers below, and an Old Philly for the rest of us (though I’m not entirely sure I’m being fair this time around)… feel free to post your thoughts, invite your family and friends and tease each other over this one; it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out.  You can also discuss other elements in this picture for a bonus.  I’ll check back in the afternoon as usual and throughout the morning if need be.  Enjoy the game!

[Photo Credit: Berenice Abbot and Ephemeral New York]

Rest in Peace, Judy Rodgers. In her honor, try this.

Via Kottke:

Naissance de “Sympathy for the devil ” (one+one… by cinocheproduction

Our old pal Tony Clark will be named as the next executive director of the MLBPA. He is the first former player to hold the job.

[Photo Credit: Yahoo!]