Check out this cool post from the always cool spot, Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York.

Grey skies, snow flurries in New York.

Stay warm, eat well, be happy.

[Picture by Bags]

I first noticed it a few days ago coming out of the subway station on 103rd street. The light. Then a few more times this week, including various times this morning. The light. It’s changing. Spring is coming. We know that, of course. Every day, the papers have stories from Florida. Pitchers and catchers report to Yankee camp in three days.

It is still cold in New York and we’ll still have to endure plenty of lousy weather. Bring it on. You can’t stop the light.

I’ll tell you this–when it does warm up, this town is going to blossom like nobody’s business. Man, it’s gunna be a good spring.

This morning on the train a couple sat next to me with their toddler. When the father and the child got off, the doors closed and the mother stood up and looked out of the window and waved. I’m always interested in how people say goodbye to each other on the subway. Sometimes, you’ll see a couple kiss and even before one has left the train, they have both stopped looking at each other.

I always look.

When I was growing up, we had a dog who would chase our car whenever we left home. More than a few times, I’ve gotten off the train and said goodbye to my wife, and then run down the platform as a goof to crack her up. That’s my job, make the wife smile, keep her laughing. Or maybe it’s just the K-9 in me.

[Photo Credit: iphonegraphic from the flickr Subway Portraits gallery]

Here’s some Yankeeness for you fiends out there:

Over at River Avenue Blues, Joe P links to a Wallace Mathews piece on Kevin Long.

And at IATMS, here’s a note via Buster Olney that C.C. Sabathia has lost 30 lbs.

Joba Chamberlain, on the other hand, has reportedly put on some weight. Check out this great Yankee weigh-in by Steve Goldman. And while you are there, dig the Aceves Challenge by Jay Jaffe.

[Picture by Bags]

Never seen anything like the sheets of ice on the streets and sidewalks of the Bronx this morning. I’m just glad I didn’t bust my ass getting to the subway. All I could think of was Cloris Leachman saying, “The stairway…can be treacherous.” By the time I reached midtown, it was raining and there wasn’t much ice to be found, just slush.

But the ice uptown, man, that was crazy. I told one of the security guards in my building about it and she said, “Welcome to the ‘hood.”

Direct from the SI Vault twitter feed, check out my man!

Nah, it ain’t snow, it’s a “wintery mix.” Sleet in the Bronx, rain in midtown.

Bring it on…and yo, is this going to be some kind of great spring or what? People are going to bug when it finally gets warm.

One of the benefits of living up in the Bronx is that I always get a seat on my way to work. By the time we reach Washington Heights, the train is packed. Today, it was crowded and a few people in my car were short-tempered. Nothing dramatic, just cranky on a Monday morning, negotiating space. I looked up and took it all in and thought, It’s amazing that more fights don’t break out. But the social contract holds together–most of the time.

Sometimes I wonder what life must be like away from so many people? Would it be peaceful and a relief? Or would I miss the agitation, conflict, and the pleasure of meeting a stranger’s eye and smiling ever so slightly?

What? The Pro Bowl ain’t good enough for you? The SAG awards isn’t doin’ the trick? How about chillin’ with some pals?

[Picture by Bags]

Some shots from my wife’s favorite store, Pearl River.

Snow in New York today with more expected to dump on our skulls tomorrow…y’all be safe now, y’hear?

A middle-aged woman came on the subway this morning with a small girl, maybe four or five years old. The girl sat a few seats away from me and the woman stood above her. I didn’t pay much attention to them but I caught the woman scolding the girl a few times. I read the paper and listened to my iPod. Then I heard the woman over the music.

“You are going to make me hurt you one of these days,” she told the child. She was smiling, playfully, without malice.

“Don’t believe me?” she said. “You don’t think grandma will hit you?”

Her words echoed in my head. The little girl sneezed.

“Bless you,” said her grandmother. “You need a tissue, sweetie?”

“It’s supposed to hurt,” said Rex Ryan after the AFC championship game last night.

Bitterly cold in New York today, the coldest day of the winter so far.

Baseball is coming…not soon enough for most of us but it’ll be here before we know it. Excited?

Naturally.

I know the thinking goes the Yanks’ 2011 hopes ride on whether or not A.J. Burnett has a strong season, but Mark Teixeira is my guy. I expect him to have a strong year–and a good start to boot. If he’s a monster, the Yanks sure will be tough. Over at It’s About the Money, Stupid, Mark Smith looks for Teixeria and Alex Rodriguez to rebound in 2011. Who do you think are the key players to watch?

[Pictures by Bags and Alex B]

Engine room, bring me my drink.

Same ol’ Jets, indeed.

[Picture by Bags]

Houston Street after dark by Bags.

More Snow.

The beat goes on.

Two women on the IRT…

Bowie Friday for Diane…