Saturday, April 29, 2023

UPDATED: Mets-Braves Saturday & Sunday Matinees Postponed

Citi Field and the newly presented Mets championship banners on the roof. Photo by Jason Schott.

 

The Mets have postponed both of their weekend games, on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, with the Atlanta Braves due to the massive rain in the area. The storm began on Friday night, which forced the series opener to be a five-inning affair that the Braves won, 4-0.

Friday, April 28, 2023

Braves Take Opener Of Series At Soggy Citi Field

Max Fried pitching to Francisco Alvarez in the fifth inning. Photo by Jason Schott.

 

The Atlanta Braves beat the Mets, 4-0, in a rain-shortened game on Friday night at Citi Field. The Braves scoring all their runs, including on a three-run home run from Matt Olson, in the fifth and what would be final inning. 

Thursday, April 27, 2023

Mets Win A Wild One Against Washington To Take Series Finale

 

Brandon Nimmo points out to Francisco Lindor after scoring on his two-RBI double in the fourth inning. Photo by Jason Schott.
 


The Mets salvaged the final game of their three-game set with the Washington Nationals as they pulled out a wild 9-8 win on Thursday night at Citi Field. The Mets broke a four-game losing streak as they improved to 15-11 on the season and they will welcome the Atlanta Braves for a four-game set starting Friday night.

Verlander To Make First Rehab Start On Friday

 

Citi Field. Photo by Jason Schott.


Justin Verlander, one of the Mets aces who they signed as a free agent in the offseason, has missed the first month of the season due to a right teres major strain.

Verlander will be taking a big step to making his Mets debut as he will take the mound his first rehab start on Friday.

“Justin‘s pitching in Binghamton, game starts at 1 o’clock,” Mets Manager Buck Showalter said in opening his pregame press conference on Thursday. 

Verlander will be pitching for the Mets Double-A affiliate, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, against the Akron Rubber Ducks, who are a Cleveland affiliate.

Showalter announced on Tuesday that Verlander would pitch on Friday, but the affiliate he would pitch with was still to be determined.

On why the Mets chose Binghamton, Showalter said, “Well, weather-wise had a lot to do with it; trying to get ahead of the weather. In fact, pretty sure there was a change in the start time because of the weather problem. With we had that luxury, but, yeah, just kind of fit weather-wise and making sure he got it in, and proximity. Binghamton isn’t that far; Binghamton’s nice this time of year.” 

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Senga Loses First Game Of Season As Nats Take Second Straight From Mets

 

Citi Field. Photo by Jason Schott.


The Washington Nationals beat the Mets, 4-1, on Wednesday night at Citi Field, dealing Mets starter Kodai Senga his first loss of the season. The Nats (9-14) have now taken the first two of this three-game series, as the Mets have now lost four in a row and are now 14-11 on the season.

MLB To Try Out Experimental Playing Rules In Atlantic League

Yankee Stadium's facade. Photo by Jason Schott.

 

Major League Baseball recently announced new experimental playing rules that will be used in the 2023 Atlantic League (ALPB) Championship Season. In 2019, it became MLB's first Partner League, a capacity in which it pioneered rules and equipment tests.

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Gray, Nationals Shut Out Mets, Spoil Amazin's Homecoming

 

Jose Butto getting Keibert Ruiz to pop out to third base to end the third inning. Photo by Jason Schott.


The Mets had their homecoming on Tuesday night at Citi Field spoiled by Josiah Gray, who threw six shutout innings to lead the Washington Nationals to a 5-0 win to open their three-game series.

This was the Mets' first home game in 13 days, and they had only played six home games to this point in the season, which is nearly a month old, the fewest in the major leagues.

Despite 17 of 23 games on the road, the Mets entered Tuesday night's game with a 14-9 record, good enough for second place in the National League East. That also includes winning seven of 10 on their recent west coast swing, as they swept the Oakland A's, took two of three from the Dodgers in Los Angeles, and split four with the Giants in San Francisco.

Jose Butto, who won his season debut in Oakland on April 16, got the start for the Mets in what would normally be Max Scherzer's spot. (The Mets ace is serving his 10-game suspension for the sticky stuff found on his hand last Wednesday in L.A.)

Butto retired the Nationals in order in the first inning, but he ran into trouble in the second. Joey Meneses led off with a single down the third base line, but was retired at second as he tried stretching it into a double.

The next batter, Keibert Ruiz, drove one to deep right field for a solo home run to put the Nats on the board.

The Nationals kept it going in the third, as Alex Call and Jeimer Candelario walked, and Meneses followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0 Washington.

Gray cruised through the first four innings, as he just scattered a couple of singles and struck out seven.

The Mets would erupt in the fifth, as Brett Baty got a one-out double, and then after Luis Guillorme popped out to shortstop, Francisco Alvarez singled and Brandon Nimmo walked to load the bases.

That brought up Starling Marte, and he struck out to end the threat. That was part of an 0-for-4 night for the Mets right fielder, who is now just hitting .227 with one home run and six RBI on the season.

By this point, Jimmy Yacobonis, who got the final out of the fifth inning, was pitching for the Mets, and the Nationals pounced in the sixth.

After C.J. Abrams opened the inning with a strikeout, Victor Robles and Call singled, and both came in to score when Luis Garcia doubled. Candelario then struck out for the second out, but Meneses singled in Garcia to open up a 5-0 lead for Washington.

Gray responded by retiring the Mets in order in the sixth to finish his night. His final line was: 6 innings, 4 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts.

The right-hander from New Rochelle earned his first win of the season to improve his record to 1-4 and lower his ERA (earned run average) to 2.93.


Books: On Russia's War With Ukraine & Its Place In The World

There are two new books that will deepen your understanding of Russia's war with Ukraine and its place in the world: Overreach: The Inside Story of Putin's War Against Ukraine, by Owen Matthews; and Putin's World: Russia Against the West And With The Rest, by Angela Stent.

Books: "We Love To Entertain" By Sarah Strohmeyer

 



We Love To Entertain

By Sarah Strohmeyer

Harper; paperback, $18.99; available today, Tuesday, April 25th

Sarah Strohmeyer is the award-winning author of nineteen novels for adults and young adults. Her first mystery, Bubbles Unbound, won the Agatha Award and Romantic Times Award for Best First Mystery, and her most recent is Do I Know You?. A former newspaper writer, Strohmeyer now serves as the currently elected Town Clerk of Middlesex.

Sunday, April 23, 2023

Gausman & Guerrero, Jr. Lead Way As Toronto Takes Series From Yankees

Kevin Gausman firing one past Aaron Judge in the first inning. Photo by Jason Schott.


The Toronto Blue Jays, backed by a great start from Kevin Gausman and home runs from Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. and Daulton Varsho, beat the Yankees, 5-1, on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

Friday, April 21, 2023

Books: "Paradise Now" By William Middleton On The Life Of Lagerfeld


 

Paradise Now: The Extraordinary Life Of Karl Lagerfeld

By William Middleton

Harper; hardcover, 480 pages; $35.00

William Middleton is a Paris-based cultural writer who has been the fashion features director for Harper's Bazaar and the Paris bureau chief for Fairchild Publications, overseeing W and Women's Wear Daily. He is also the author of Double Vision, the first biography of Franco-American art patrons and collectors Dominique and John de Menil, which was honored as one of the best books of the decade by ARTnews.

Middleton knew Lagerfeld from his time working in Paris, and he interviewed and socialized with Lagerfeld, coming to see a side of the designer, who passed away in 2019, that was kept private from the world.

Lagerfeld's incredible life began in Hamburg, when he was born on September 10, 1933, although he was known to shave five years off his age, which meant that he was not sixteen when he won his first big fashion prize in 1954, but really twenty-one. He was heavily influenced when he first arrived in Paris by Christian Dior, and Middleton provides insights into the delicate balance Lagerfeld had to deal with as a German in France so soon after World War II.

In January 1955, Lagerfeld started working for the house of Pierre Balmain, before he moved on to Jean Patou, which was launched between the world wars, in 1958. After five years at Patou, he felt like he was not connected to the new mood in Paris fashion and was not feeling challenged in haute couture. He then became a prolific free agent, designing for French, Italian, and Japanese firms. Within months, he joined a team of designers at the ready-to-wear house of Chloe, which was founded in 1952 by Gaby Aghion, who came from a cosmopolitan Jewish family in Alexandria, Egypt. 

That move to Chloe was when Lagerfeld - known for his signature look of dark sunglasses and a powdered white ponytail - began his ascent, and would also create constant fashion at Fendi and his own eponymous brand, and reinvent Chanel. He became legendary for this, and for his deep devotion to his cat, Choupette.

In Paradise Now, Middleton brings the reader behind the catwalk and into the most exclusive rooms in the fashion industry, and into a world of brilliantly talented artists, stylish socialites, and famous stars. Most intriguing, some of those featured here are the most elusive and unforgettable figures of fashion's inner circle for the past four decades.

In this excerpt, Middleton writes of Lagerfeld in the 21st century: "It was the fall of 2004 and Karl Lagerfeld was throwing everything into high gear. Karl, as most everyone called him, was just turning seventy-one, an age when his many fellow fashion designers were looking for an exit. Yves Saint Laurent, long perceived as his great rival, had retired two years before (and would die in 2008, when he, in turn, was seventy-one). Karl, however, was engineering a series of significant events, the first indication that he would be turbocharging the last fifteen years of his life.

By that time, he had already been in the public eye for fifty years. Karl was born and raised in and around Hamburg, the second-largest city in Germany, on the Elbe River just off the North Sea, an atmospheric port that was turned to face the world. As a teenager, he was given his parents' blessing to move to Paris, his emotional, intellectual, and spiritual home. Karl's slice of the French capital was quite concentrated, no more than a couple of square miles, on both sides of the Seine. His Paris extended from the Luxembourg Gardens and the Paris Saint-Sulpice, where he had his first apartments, to the Faubourg Saint-Germain, the aristocratic neighborhood where he lived for decades in a sequence of increasingly dramatic apartments, to the gilded streets around the Avenue Montaigne, where he began his career, to the top of the Champs-Elysees, where, with a view out onto the Arc de Triomphe, he launched his own fashion house, to the rue Cambon, the narrow street just behind the Hotel Ritz, the headquarters of Chanel, the historic house that he revolutionized, beginning in 1983, turning it into an international colossus that produced over $11 billion in annual sales. Within that enchanted slice of Paris, Karl ascended to the very top of the city's social, financial, and intellectual worlds, managing to make himself into one of the most remarkable cultural figures of recent decades.

The designer had first started revving up around the new millennium. He had settled a thorny case with the French tax authorities establishing that he had, in fact, been an official resident of Monaco but agreeing to pay taxes on his French income. For much of the '90s, he had been overweight, cloaking his gains in oversized black suits by avant-garde Japanese designers and concealing himself behind one of his longtime signatures, a large fan. Then, in the year 2000, he began a radical weight loss. He told everyone that he wanted to diet do that he would be able to wear the form-fitting designs of the hottest menswear designer around, Hedi Slimane for Cristian Dior, who also happened to be a younger man whom Karl found quite attractive. He ended up dropping ninety pounds in thirteen months. 'Like letting go of a parka of fat,' Karl said. 

In those years, Karl would begin every day at 5:00 or 6:00 a.m., waking up in his eighteenth-century apartment and putting on a robe in white, starched cotton pique. As rigorous as he was about his work, he could be equally exacting about his appearance, often spending two hours very morning getting ready. His first task was to tie his shoulder-length black hair into a ponytail, which he had been doing since the late 1970s. 'My hair is too wavy, undisciplined, and it does not stay in place even when short,' he explained. 'The only way for me to be correct is to pull my hair back.' Only later, in the 1990s, did he turn his signature flourish white with a dusting of dry shampoo. After several hours of sketching every morning, in his office adjacent to his bedroom, Karl would go to his perfectly arranged closets to dress for the day. Newly trim, he began wearing his tailored suits, or jackets and skinny jeans, with white shirts with high collars that he had custom-made at Hilditch & Key. In September 2003, just after he turned seventy, Karl made one of his many appearances on French television with his sleek new look. The host suggested that, with his powdered hair and grand lifestyle, it was as though he were living in another century. 'I am both more simple and more modern than that,' he explained. 'I prefer living in the 3rd millennium, rather than the 18th century, or the 19th century, which I hate, or the 20th century, which was fine. I prefer today.'" 



Thursday, April 20, 2023

Yankees Get Solid Start From Nestor, Backed By Early Lead & IKF Flashing Leather

Nestor Cortes firing one in against Mike Trout in the first inning. Photo by Jason Schott.

 

The Yankees rolled to a 9-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday evening, as Nestor Cortes had a solid start, they gave him an early lead with a big first inning, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa made the most of a rare appearance in center field. 

Mets' Scherzer Suspended 10 Games After Ejection Wednesday

Max Scherzer pitching during his only home start this season, on April 10 against San Diego. Photo by Jason Schott.

 

Mets ace Max Scherzer was issued a 10-game suspension and a fine, which was undisclosed, by Major League Baseball on Thursday afternoon for his ejection in Wednesday's game at the Los Angeles Dodgers when he was found to have a foreign substance on his hand. On Friday morning, Scherzer decided he would not appeal and will accept this ruling.

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

St. John's Add Three More New Standouts As Pitino Keeps Revamping Roster

@StJohnsBball retweeted Rick Pitino's tweet on Tuesday afternoon.

 

St. John's announced on Tuesday that they have added three more standout players as new Head Coach Rick Pitino continues to revamp their roster.

Sophomore guard Cruz Davis signed with St. John's after he played last season for Pitino at Iona. Sean Conway, a graduate transfer from Virginia Military Institute, committed to play at St. John's next season. Another graduate transfer, Nahiem Alleyne, will be joining St. John's after playing for the National Champion UConn Huskies.

Information on each new star of St. John's:

CRUZ DAVIS: Sophomore guard Cruz Davis was a unanimous All-MAAC Rookie Team selection with Iona last season, in which they won 27 games, the MAAC conference championship and was a No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Plano, Texas, native averaged 6.5 points-per-game in 24 games, seven of which were starts. In 13 MAAC conference games, he averaged 8.3 PPG. He was the MAAC Rookie of the Week on January 9, after he put up a season-high 16 points on 8-13 shooting against Marist n January 6, followed two days later by a 13-point performance at Quinnipiac.

Pitino said in a statement, "Cruz is an elite athlete who is long and very active defensively. He is an extremely quick left hander with outstanding potential and upside."

SEAN CONWAY: The graduate transfer from Virginia Military Institute has 115 games of Division I experience, 85 of which were starts. He scored 1,006 points, notched 561 rebounds, and hit 199 three-pointers in his his four years with VMI.

In the 2022-23 season, when Conway was a senior, the 6-foot-5 wing ranked second on the team with a career-high 12.1 points, shot 41.8 percent from the field, and notched 4.9 rebounds per game. 

The Fairfield, Connecticut, native, put up double figures in points 17 times, and he led the team with 63 three-pointers, and was ranked sixth in the Southern Conference with an average of 2.1 threes per game, and 14th in the league with a 37.8 shooting percentage from behind the arc.

Pitino said in a statement, "Sean is an outstanding shooter and understands how to play in the EuroLeague offenses that we have installed. He moves well without the ball, he is a good passer, and he really understands how to play the game the right way."

NAHIEM ALLEYNE: The 6-foot-4 guard, a Buford, Georgia, native, played his first three years of college hoops at Virginia Tech and last season with UConn, a team that won the 2023 NCAA National Championship.

Alleyne has scored 1,072 points in his four years at the Division I level, and last season, he played in 38 games, including eight starts, for UConn, averaging 5.1 points in 17.9 minutes per game. He averaged 7.2 points in their NCAA Tournament games.

Pitino said in a statement, "Nahiem is a veteran coming off a national championship. He has had great success at both Virginia Tech and Connecticut, and he is a wonderful addition to our roster. Nahiem has strong fundamentals at both ends of the floor."


Books: "Power Players" By Chris Cillizza On U.S. Presidents & The Power Of Sports



Power Players: Sports, Politics, and the American Presidency

By Chris Cillizza

Twelve; hardcover, 336 pages; $30, available today, Tuesday, April 18th

Chris Cillizza has covered Washington politics for four decades, as an editor at large and political analyst at CNN, as a reporter for The Washington Post and The Cook Political Report

Books: "True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson" By Kostya Kennedy

 



True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson

By Kostya Kennedy

St. Martin's Press; paperback, 288 pages; $18.99; available today, Tuesday, April 18th

This past Saturday, April 15, marked the 76th anniversary of Jackie Robinson making his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field, and breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier. 

Monday, April 17, 2023

Yankees Announce New Promotions, Including Fireworks Night & Bobbleheads

 

Provided by the New York Yankees. 

The Yankees announced eight exciting new additions to their Promotional Schedule for this season, including the first-ever fireworks night at the current Yankee Stadium, a Yankees Harry Potter Cap, and a Roger Maris and Aaron Judge interlocking bobblehead set (seen above).

Part 3: New Baseball Books To Usher In The Season

 

Photo by Jason Schott.


The baseball season is in full swing, making it a good time to settle in and check out three wonderful books on baseball's rich history: Leo Durocher: Baseball's Prodigal Son, by Paul Dickson, Tales from the Deadball Era: Ty Cobb, Home Run Baker, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and the Wildest Times in Baseball History, by Mark S. Halfon; and Tris Speaker: The Rough-and-Tumble Life of a Baseball Legend,  by Timothy M. Gay.

Sunday, April 16, 2023

Cole Shuts Out Twins, In What Boone Calls "Big-Time Performance"

Gerrit Cole striking out Byron Buxton in the fourth inning. Photo by Jason Schott.


Yankees ace Gerrit Cole continued his hot start to the season, as he threw a complete game, two-hit shutout against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, as the Bronx Bombers went on to win 2-0 to earn a split in their four-game series.

Yankees Put Stanton On IL, Call Up Top Prospect Peraza

 

Yankee Stadium on Sunday morning. Photo by Jason Schott. 



The Yankees announced on Sunday morning that they have placed outfielder/designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. They called up infielder Oswald Peraza to take his place on the roster.

The injury occurred late in Saturday’s Yankees 6-1 win over Minnesota when Stanton hit a two-run double in the seventh inning.

Yankees Manager Aaron Boone, in his pregame press conference Sunday morning, said that Stanton signaled to the dugout pretty quickly that he should be removed. 

“He’s getting an MRI this afternoon,” Boone said. “Let’s see what the MRI says, I mean, he’s moving around okay after the game, but he definitely felt like it was, even before the MRI, that it was an IL stint, so we’ll see what we got today.”

Boone said of it clearly happening on the double, “Yeah, so, as he was, I think kind of, decel-ing into second base, he felt it…

“There’s no good timing for it, obviously, and I know he’s really frustrated, but it’s opportunity now. It’s opportunity for, frankly, people we have a lot of confidence in that we can mix and match, and get more other people back here in the next days, next couple weeks, we have got to make due.”

Stanton, in 13 games played this season, is hitting .269, with a .296 on-base percentage, with four home runs and 11 RBI.

Boone was asked why Stanton is so susceptible to lower-body injuries, and he said, “I don’t know. I don’t know, just, he’s got an awesome build and physique. He works very hard to try and avoid these things, but you know, unfortunately, some things happen. I guess if we knew the answer, we’d, we’d - so, I don’t know.”

Peraza made his Major League debut last season, when he played 18 games, and he hit .306 (15-49) with a .404 on-base percentage, with 1 home run, 2 RBI, 6 walks, 8 runs scored, 2 stolen bases, and 2 hit-by-pitches.

The Yankees thought so highly of him that he played three games in the ALCS, with one start.

This season, he was in the running to be the starting shortstop out of camp, but he was edged out by Anthony Volpe.

Peraza began the year with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and in nine games, he is hitting .289 (11-38) with 0 home runs, 4 RBI, 3 walks, 2 runs scored, 1 walk, and 5 stolen bases. 

Boone said he will be used primarily at second base and shortstop.


Books: "Unlikely Heroes" On FDR's Four Trusted Lieutenants



Unlikely Heroes: Franklin Roosevelt, His Four Lieutenants, and the World They Made

By Derek Leebaert

St. Martin's Press; hardcover, $35; eBook, $16.99

Derek Leebaert won the biennial 2020 Truman Book Award for Grand Improvisation, and he was a founding editor of the Harvard/MIT journal International Security and is a cofounder of the National Museum of the U.S. Army. His previous books include Magic and Mayhem: The Delusions of American Foreign Policy from Korea to Afghanistan and To Dare and to Conquer: Special Operations and the Destiny of Nations, which were both Washington Post Best Books of the Year.

Friday, April 14, 2023

St. John's Signs Jenkins, Who Starred At Iona For Pitino

@StJohnsBball.

 

When St. John's hired Rick Pitino to be their head coach a few weeks ago, he vowed to bring some of his players from Iona, and on Friday, that began to come to fruition.

Thursday, April 13, 2023

Books: On Politics & Current Events

There are three new books out that will shed light on the current political moment that will deepen your understanding of what has brought us here, and what the future holds: The January 6 Report, by The January 6 Select Committee & The New York Times; The Case For Cancel Culture, by Ernest Owens; and Only The Strong Survive, by Tom Cotton.

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Mets, Powered By Pete & Lindor, Take Series From Padres

 

Pete Alonso celebrating his home run with Mark Canha, as Padres pitcher Blake Snell looks out to the giant videoboard in center field to see the replay. Photo by Jason Schott. 


The Mets, backed by home runs from Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor, and a solid start from Tylor Megill, beat the San Diego Padres, 5-2, on Wednesday afternoon at Citi Field. 

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Padres, Led By Machado & Bogaerts, Pull It Out Late Against Peterson, Mets

 

David Peterson facing Xander Bogaerts in the third inning. Photo by Jason Schott.


The Mets dropped the middle game of their three-game series with the San Diego Padres, 4-2, on Tuesday night at Citi Field. The Mets, who beat San Diego, in the opener, 5-0, on Monday night, are now 6-6 on the season, and Tylor Megill will take the mound in the rubber match on Wednesday afternoon against San Diego's Blake Snell.

Books: "Going Zero" By Anthony McCarten



Going Zero

By Anthony McCarten

Harper/ HarperCollins Publishers; hardcover, 304 pages; $30.00; available today, Tuesday, April 11th

Anthony McCarten is a four-time Oscar nominee, a New Zealand-born screenwriter, playwright, and novelist known for his work on The Theory of Everything, Darkest Hour, The Two Popes, and Bohemian Rhapsody. He also has two shows on Broadway, "A Beautiful Noise," about the life and career of Neil Diamond, and "The Collaborartion," on the collaboration between Andy Warhol and Jean-Michele Basquiat.

Monday, April 10, 2023

Scherzer, Mets Shutout Padres In Playoff Rematch


Max Scherzer fires one in facing Xander Bogaerts in the fourth inning. Photo by Jason Schott.


The Mets waited six months and a day to face the San Diego Padres after they were ousted by them in the Wild Card round in the playoffs last fall, and on Monday night at Citi Field, they got a measure of revenge.

Books: "Burn the Boats," By Matt Higgins, On How To Unlock Your Potential


 


Burn the Boats: Toss Plan B Overboard and Unleash Your Full Potential

By Matt Higgins

William Morrow; hardcover, 288 pages; $29.99

Matt Higgins is the co-founder and CEO of private investment firm RSE Ventures and an executive fellow at Harvard Business School, where he co-teaches the course Moving Beyond DTC. He has appeared as a guest shark on Shark Tank seasons 10 and 11, and is set to star in a new spinoff also executive produced by Mark Burnett.

Sunday, April 9, 2023

Mets Can't Finish Off Marlins As Carrasco Has Another Tough Outing; Alvarez Debuts

Bryan De La Cruz approaching the plate on his three-run home run in the first inning. Photo by Jason Schott.

 

The Miami Marlins, backed by home runs from Bryan De La Cruz and Garrett Cooper, beat the Mets, 7-2, on Sunday afternoon to avoid getting swept. 

Books: "Wanderlust,” The Tale Of One Of The World's Most Compelling Explorers



Wanderlust: An Eccentric Explorer, An Epic Journey, A Lost Age

By Reid Mitenbuler

Mariner Books; hardcover; $45.00

Reid Mitenbuler is the author of Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America's Whiskey and Wild Minds: The Artists and Rivalries That Inspired the Golden Age of Animation, and his writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Slate, and The Daily Beast.

Saturday, April 8, 2023

Senga Sizzles As Mets Roll Past Marlins

 

Kodai Senga pitching to Luis Arraez in the first inning. Photo by Jason Schott.


Kodai Senga had an impressive debut at Citi Field to lead the Mets to a 5-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Saturday evening.

Buck On Senga’s Citi Debut & Canha At First Base

 



Mets Manager Buck Showalter had a lot to cover in his pregame press conference on Saturday ahead of their game with the Marlins. He spoke about the home debut for starting pitcher Kodai Senga, and then he talked about Mark Canha playing first base for the first time this season.

Kodai Senga made his Mets debut last Sunday against the Marlins, as he earned the victory in a 5-1 Mets win. He went 5 1/3 innings, and allowed one run (earned) on three hits and three walks, with eight strikeouts.

Showalter was asked about the challenges Senga will face battling a team for the second time already, and he said: “Actually, another good thing, there’s no surprise, everybody in the ballpark in Miami knew what he was going to try to throw,” referring to Senga’s “ghost fork” pitch.

Buck continued, “It was fun in a way in the spring when he pitched a couple times without it, and watching the other dugout, you know, because they’ve got the sheet of what he throws, even in spring, guys come up, they kept waiting for him to throw the split and he never did, but it was good to see him pitch without it, and I think he’s got a lot deeper repertoire than just that.

“It’s another factor today, second time someone’s going to see him, just the release point and a little more familiarity with him, but I find that, if you’re good, you’re good, and if you’re not, you’re not. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen somebody. 

“We’ll see, it’s a little different condition today (compared to Miami, which has a dome). I was talking to him in spring about their spring training, I mean, it’s 50, 60 degrees just about the whole spring over there, I mean, they, you talk about going off on like, almost, a boot camp, their spring training is a little different than ours, from the standpoint of how long it is and the weather and the way it’s done. I actually kind of like it, I know there’s a team that actually goes off on an island, almost, I believe, but it’s a real team-building, get away from everything. I kind of like the way they do it, some of it.”

Mark Canha will play at first base on Saturday, and Showalter said of the decision to have the regular outfielder play there: “Mark’s a guy that, whatever the club needs, center field, right field, left field, designated hitter, first base, and he’s played it a lot. This is not something new and experimental, I mean, he’s played first base, and I lean a lot on (third base coach) Joey (Cora), did a lot of work in the spring because we knew this was coming, and just making sure what we had seen last year, this year, and what Oakland saw, and other teams he’s played for, that we’re seeing the same things, so it’s good to be able to give Pete (Alonso) a day. You know, he’ll never admit it, but he’s going to need a day here and there. 

“That was one of the reasons where we made the decision with Darin (Ruf) because we felt like Mark could do it. (Ruf was released by the Mets on April 2) We still have Vogy (Daniel Vogelbach) who could go there, a number of people could go there if we need it.”

Alonso will be the designated hitter on Saturday afternoon, one day after he hit his 150th career home run.

Yankees Give Sobering Injury Update

 



On Saturday afternoon, ahead of the Yankees’ second game of their weekend series in Baltimore, they send out an extensive injury update.

Third baseman Josh Donaldson, who left Wednesday’s game with a hamstring injury, has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Thursday 4/6, with a right hamstring strain.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa will likely take over at third base, and the Yankees signed outfielder Willie Calhoun to likely take the extra OF role that they had Kiner-Falefa pencilled in for.

Right-handed relief pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga, who last threw in Wednesday’s win over Philadelphia, was placed on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation. 

Reliever Tommy Kahnle was transferred to the 60-day injured list. He suffered right biceps tendinitis in early March in spring training.

The Yankees brought Kahnle back for a second stint in pinstripes after he pitched last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

However, he had an elbow injury last May and missed the remainder of the season with right elbow inflammation. He pitched in only 10 games for LA last season before the injury, and since he had Tommy John surgery in 2020, his last significant work came in 2019.


Friday, April 7, 2023

Mets Make Opener Worth The Wait, As Megill Leads Them Past Marlins

 

Francisco Lindor (left) being greeted by Brandon Nimmo after his two-run home run in the eighth inning. Photo by Jason Schott.


The Mets had their Opening Day at Citi Field pushed back a day, and they made it worth the wait, as they beat the Miami Marlins, 9-3, on Friday afternoon.

Mets Opening Day: Alvarez Called Up & Buck On Making Most Of Unexpected Off Day

 

The new massive scoreboard in center field debuts today. Photo by Jason Schott.


The scene at Citi Field on Friday ahead of Opening Day. Photo by Jason Schott.


The Mets will have their home opener at Citi Field on Friday afternoon, with the first pitch at 1:10 p.m., as they take on the Miami Marlins.

The Mets enter this one with a 3-4 record as they began the season on the road, and Thursday, they had to place their new catcher, Omar Narvaez, on the injured list with a medium to high-grade strain of his left calf. The typical return for this type of injury is eight to nine weeks.

The Mets called up top prospect Francisco Alvarez, and Tomas Nido will assume the starting role.

Mets Manager Buck Showalter, in his pregame press conference on Friday, said of calling up Alvarez, “We had a player hurt, and he was on the roster, so next guy up. We’re lucky to have a guy like Tomas, who we’re very comfortable with, obviously, see how it goes, what the day-to-day needs of the club are. We know what Tomas is, but certainly Francisco will get some playing time.”

The home opener was delayed a day by rain, and Showalter spoke of having a day off after playing the first seven without a day off on the road, “I think more than anything, that’s the way usually seasons start (that there are plenty of days off). For some reason, this has been unlike any I’ve really ever had, I think more about the start times. I think I said in Miami that I think the first time it will really have a routine feel to it will be probably Monday, but the start times, we all know what that’s driven by. We play, they tell us when to play. 

“I think yesterday, more than anything, potentially, you understand how many people have never really been here. They’re moving in apartments, houses, whatever, for the first time, it’s just a chance to kind of get organized. From spring training, we’ve been on the road since forever. I enjoyed yesterday, got in here, we had four to five pitchers here, trainers, some other stuff, but it was nice to work at a pace and be able to do some things, get organized in my office, but I can’t imagine the things the players have faced, families. 

“What does it mean? We’ll see. Other teams had the same issues with weather that we did and you make an educated guess and live with it. Fortunately, it didn’t result in a doubleheader. That’s the thing that really you’re trying to stay away from early in the year because you can’t pile them up later in the season as much as you used to, which is never a good thing anyway. You pay the price for doubleheaders, so I’m glad we had a scheduled off day to play on.” 

Thursday, April 6, 2023

Mets Announce Partnership With New York-Presbyterian

 

@Mets.

On Thursday morning, the Mets announced a multi-year partnership with New York-Presbyterian, one of the nation's leading healthcare systems. 

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Mets Home Opener Postponed Until Friday

 

Citi Field, with the Tom Seaver statue in front. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Mets' home Opening Day, which was originally scheduled for Thursday, will now be this Friday, April 7 at 1:10 p.m.

Cole Cruises To Second Win, "Calm" Torres Continues Hot Start As Yanks Get Past Phillies


Gerrit Cole pitching  to Trea Turner in the sixth inning. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Yankees, led by another superb outing from their ace Gerrit Cole, and a three-hit, two-RBI day, from Gleyber Torres, beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2, on Wednesday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Citi Field's New Innovations For This Season

 



Photo by Jason Schott.


The Mets' home opener is Thursday, and when you come to Citi Field, there are plenty of new innovations to check out, including one that will certainly catch your eye when you walk in. The Mets unveiled them recently at their "New in 23" event.

Jonas Brothers To Perform At Yankee Stadium This August

 

@Yankees on Twitter.


The Jonas Brothers will be performing a one-night only show at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, August 12, the Yankees announced on Tuesday morning. UPDATE from 4/11/23: A second concert on Sunday, August 13 has been added.

Books: The Collected Poems of Ursula K. Le Guin


 

Ursula K. LeGuin: Collected Poems 

By Usrula K. Le Guin; edited by Harold Bloom - LOA #368

Library of America; hardcover, $40.00; available today, Tuesday, April 4th

April is National Poetry month, and the best way to commemorate it is by reading this beautifully-produced collection of the work of Ursula K. Le Guin, whose career started and ended with poetry. This first-of-its-kind book begins with her earliest collection, Wild Angels (1974) through her final publication, the collection, So Far So Good, which she brought to her editor just one week before her passing in 2018.

Sunday, April 2, 2023

Part 2: New Baseball Books To Usher In The Season

Photo by Jason Schott.

 

The much-anticipated baseball season in New York opened this weekend, as the Yankees hosted the San Francisco Giants, and the Mets battled the Marlins in Miami.

Saturday, April 1, 2023

Volpe Gets First MLB Hit, But Yankees Come Up Short Against San Francisco


Anthony Volpe at bat in the sixth inning. Photo by Jason Schott. 


On Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, when the Yankees were taking on the San Francisco Giants, there was one Yankees player who got the loudest cheer when the lineup was announced, when the roll call from the Bleachers Creatures commenced, and when he came to the plate.