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!
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!
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!
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!
Not the season yet, I know, but dag, this picture just got me going.
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]
