If I were allowed to steer the Good Ship Yankee for a day and map out the proper strategy for this pivotal offseason below is how I would focus my efforts. The Yankees failed last year because of inconsistent hitting and injuries. The lack of quality starting pitching was a factor but was more of a detriment early in the season than later, it did contribute to the ginormous hole they dug themselves and may have led to the offense pressing and not performing as well.
My Yankee Lineup in 09
C Posada
1B Swisher
2B Cano/Hudson
SS Jeter
3B ARod
RF Nady
CF DeJesus
LF Damon
DH Matsui
SP Joba
SP Wang
SP Peavey
SP Greinke/Lowe
SP Hughes/Pettitte/Mussina
Bullpen
Mo
Marte
Coke
Bruney
Edwar
Veras
I would very much avoid making a 6-7 year commitment to a starting pitcher, CC Sabbathia or anyone else. The smarter move is to try to trade for Peavy. I would give up whatever it takes for him, including Cano. If you give up Cano you sign Hudson or Eckstein. Don't forget the impact Joba had when he became a full fledged starter, he stared down and beat Beckett head to head in Fenway, he is the number 1 they need if they will take the kid gloves off and let him flex his muscles, you have enough in the bullpen with Marte and Mo.
I would prefer to trade Matsui and sign Abreu but I believe Abreu will want too many years and maybe its just time to move on. If you could trade Matsui and sign a professional right handed hitter to replace him I wouldnt object. Or trade him and resign Giambi to be the DH. I don't trust AJ Burnett he has Pavano written all over him and Lowe is a safer bet who has proven he can pitch in big markets. I would take Pettite back on a one year deal for 10 mil or less, I would rather have Mussina and would be willing to do the same one year deal. The Yankees should use their developing farm system to put them in position to win rather than signing a ton of free agents who will block the farmhands and thus devalue them. The key to the offseason is filling centerfield. Melky is not the answer, neither is shifting Jeter there or Swisher. Cameron is a possibility but DeJesus fills all of your needs and is young enough to play there for a while. I would try to get him and Greinke in a deal and be willing to give up anyone but Cano, I would consider giving up Hughes for Greinke.
Thoughts?
Showing posts with label Yankees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yankees. Show all posts
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
A Yankee Fan's Quandry
Even though I have spent the better part of the last two weeks pretending that baseball ended when Mike Mussina recorded his twentieth win, apparently baseball has continued on without the Bronx Bombers. So with this new found awareness I must figure out who to root for?
Red Sox - No way in hell, no other explanation necessary, simply baseball's version of the anti-christ.
Devil Rays - A great story no doubt, but their success is always juxtaposed against the Yankee failure because of the salary disparity. With the teams slated for 19 games next year the last thing I want to hear ad nauseum is World Champion Devil Rays. However, they are preferable to the Dodgers or Red Sox
Dodgers - I would love to see Manny beat the Red Sox at Fenway. The ultimate F U, however, I am not willing to risk the Red Sox in the World Series. I also have no desire to see Torre and Mattingly win in a Dodger uniform. I respect everything Torre did for the Yankees but his part in the downward turn of the franchaise should not be ignored. Joe ruined the arms of many a bullpen stalwart and refused to integrate younger players until they were forced down his throat. I have no personal ill will against the man but I also could do without the hours of talk radio/espn nonsense that would follow a joe torre world series victory.
Phillies - by default are my team. However, a Phillies win solves all of my problems, a. the red sox don't win and b. its a giant f u to mets fans, which is always a big bonus. Besides how can you root against a team with players named shane, cole and chase. If they lose they could always start a boy band.
When you break it down, as a Yankee fan, there is only one option if you choose to believe that a playoffs without the Yankees really exists, and that is to root for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Red Sox - No way in hell, no other explanation necessary, simply baseball's version of the anti-christ.
Devil Rays - A great story no doubt, but their success is always juxtaposed against the Yankee failure because of the salary disparity. With the teams slated for 19 games next year the last thing I want to hear ad nauseum is World Champion Devil Rays. However, they are preferable to the Dodgers or Red Sox
Dodgers - I would love to see Manny beat the Red Sox at Fenway. The ultimate F U, however, I am not willing to risk the Red Sox in the World Series. I also have no desire to see Torre and Mattingly win in a Dodger uniform. I respect everything Torre did for the Yankees but his part in the downward turn of the franchaise should not be ignored. Joe ruined the arms of many a bullpen stalwart and refused to integrate younger players until they were forced down his throat. I have no personal ill will against the man but I also could do without the hours of talk radio/espn nonsense that would follow a joe torre world series victory.
Phillies - by default are my team. However, a Phillies win solves all of my problems, a. the red sox don't win and b. its a giant f u to mets fans, which is always a big bonus. Besides how can you root against a team with players named shane, cole and chase. If they lose they could always start a boy band.
When you break it down, as a Yankee fan, there is only one option if you choose to believe that a playoffs without the Yankees really exists, and that is to root for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Filowitz's Friday Five
1) Good for you, Joe Torre. I applaud a man that leaves with both his head and middle fingers held high. This is actually a win-win situation, though. It is probably a good time for a change for the Yankees, and this, in the end, will be best for both Torre and the team, in the long run.
2) Speaking of the Yankees coverage, have you heard what the Orioles and White Sox have been doing this offseason while the playoffs are still going on? You haven’t? What about the Cardinals, or the Padres? No? Weird.
3) Right now, I’m hoping that the Red Sox force a game 7, only for them to lose in that game 7. That will be the most entertaining outcome, as who doesn’t love playoff game 7’s, and is also guaranteed to simultaneously create the most joy (Cleveland fans) and the most pain (Red Sox fans.) No word on how much sunshine and rain it’ll cause, though.
4) Amaré Stoudemire just got a tattoo on his the inside of his bicep that says “Knowing is Knowledge”. That is so tremendous, on so many levels. You need to read the FreeDarko guys talking about it, here and here.
5) I’m officially excited about the start of the NBA season. I’ve realized that for me the NBA has now surpassed baseball as my second favorite sport to follow, behind the NFL. In fact, this year, I’m going to get
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
The apparently biased Yankee playoff preview
After doing copious amounts of research for this piece I have discovered that the team has made wholesale changes since the hey day of the early 90s when the town was painted red by the Wild Thing,Voo Dooed by Pedro, dressed by Dorn and blessed by Harris. Apparently Jake Taylor no longer cleans the dish and ogles Rene Russo.
No folks, a new Tribe is in town and other than a humongous pitcher what do they have going for them? They throw out guys named Casey and Travis and Grady and Trot. They are no match for the soon to be 27th time world champion New York Yankees
We all know by now that the Yanks destroyed the Tribe in the regular season highlighted by a walk off A Bomb from A Rod in April and ending with a 6 game sweep.
In the end it comes down to something similarly uttered by the Evil Geno Auriemma
We have Joba and ARod and you don't
At the end of 4 games you will be saying:
The New York Yankees, Ruth Gehrig, Dimaggio, Mantle, Jeter, Rodriguez and Costanza!
No folks, a new Tribe is in town and other than a humongous pitcher what do they have going for them? They throw out guys named Casey and Travis and Grady and Trot. They are no match for the soon to be 27th time world champion New York Yankees
We all know by now that the Yanks destroyed the Tribe in the regular season highlighted by a walk off A Bomb from A Rod in April and ending with a 6 game sweep.
In the end it comes down to something similarly uttered by the Evil Geno Auriemma
We have Joba and ARod and you don't
At the end of 4 games you will be saying:
The New York Yankees, Ruth Gehrig, Dimaggio, Mantle, Jeter, Rodriguez and Costanza!
Monday, October 1, 2007
Quick Hitters
All it takes is September to remind me why I love baseball. It is certainly true that my team did mount a historic comeback and the team I most enjoy watching lose found a way to mount a historic collapse. But the essence of baseball and what makes it really different than the other sports is the pennant race and the ultimate tie breaker, the one game playoff. In the end baseball is king because the regular season means something and over a 162 game season you can run but you can't hide. The cream does rise to the top and mediocrity is left to play golf not allowed to serve as first round fodder to generate and extra round of playoff revenue. October is for the elite.
I can hear you muttering, the NFL is not the NBA or NHL, it only has 6 teams per conference make it to the second season. Certainly, you will have 10-6 NFL teams fail to make the playoffs, but for every one of them there are plenty of 8-8 teams that enter as wild cards. The NFL flaunts its parity with pride, the great Alan Selig has tried to emulate this with his prescriptions for "competitive balance", which on balance seem to have worked as you have not had a repeat world series champion this decade. But the greatness of baseball lies in the fact that only 4 teams per league are playing as of October 2.
Baseball's brilliance also lies in the fact that while the regular season is the best at selecting the worthy teams, it is a lousy predictor of who will ultimately reign as champion. Short series are predicated on dominant starting pitching, hot relievers and timely hitting. Baseball is the only sport where pure physicality is not dispositive. Often the "less talented" team will prevail based on key hits and an average pitcher with uncharacteristically good stuff. The only postseason that comes close is the NCAA tournament where a hot team can knock off the better team (see George Mason v. UConn). And while buzzer beaters are nice, nothing beats the walk off home run.
Objectively it is impossible to say that the best team truly wins every year and that is why postseason baseball is the best and most consistent of the playoffs in the major sports.
I cannot say that I have enjoyed a collapse more than the Mets the last few weeks. How stupid can you be to take a team that just wants to go back to South Beach and wake them up. The problem with the Mets all year has been a total lack of focus and leadership. Naturally you blame the manager. You would be wrong to do so. Willie has never gotten a fair shake from the Wilpons, being stuck with coaches he didn't choose and spies from the front office he cannot be held accountable. You have to look first at Omar Minaya.
One of the smart things the Yankees have done the past few years is bring in older players to help mentor the younger up and coming latin stars like Luis Sojo, Jose Vizcaino, Miguel Cairo, Chili Davis, Tim Raines, Ruben Sierra, all good clubhouse guys by the end of their tenure. The clubhouse is also ruled by Jorge Posada's hot temper and iron will. You think a Yankee would be allowed to get away with the antics the Mets displayed? You think Jeter or Posada would allow Cano to stand at home plate while the ball trickles down the base line in a must game? Would never happen.
Earlier in the season many Met fans proclaimed Reyes as the best shortstop in NY, he isn't even the best in his division. Jimmy Rollins, who should be the NL MVP, imposed his will on the stretch run the way Reyes did in the early season before the Mets became disinterested with the season. Rollins, knowing the Mets were down big, stole both second and third in the first inning, Reyes has failed to steal a base since September 15, in fact he had only 1 attempt since then.
A few other thoughts
Sherm Ave Fantasy Football - not to brag but I have rallied the troops after an abysmal 0-2 start to do what the Jets couldn't and square my record at 2-2. I suffered one of the all time worst defeats in the history of Fantasy Football where if you totaled my starters and bench points I still would have lost to my opponents starters. Look out
Boxing - it was great to be able to see a real live fight and not have to drop fifty bucks. Pavlik vs. Taylor was a refreshing trip to the fights of our youth where the two guys actually try to punch each other more than once a round.
Giants - great to see the new D coordinator Steve Spagnoulo exploiting the strengths of his unit by mixing blitz packages and making sure he had more guys rushing than could be blocked. ITs the only way to disguise the awful secondary play. Even Corey Webster can cover for 2-3 seconds. I'm still not sold on Eli, he makes too many dumb mistakes per game. I know his completion pct is up but he has thrown some of the most god awful intercepts I have ever seen and he still would rather try to float a pass off balance rather than step into a throw and take a hit or toss the ball out of bounds and live to fight another day. The offensive line is one fo the most underappreciated units in the game. The border war with the Jets Sunday will allow one team's season to continue and one will come to an end. Two enter, one leaves.
Rutgers - Its hard to believe that Rutgers was ranked as high as it has been based on its name. Yes, I will repeat that, Rutgers has garnered a high ranking based on its name and a Heisman candidate. Until Schiano finds a way to get his defense to use its speed to beat the bigger opponents it could be a long year. They are truly feeling the loss to graduation of an All Big East Nose Tackle and two linebackers who had been in the system for 4 years and understood the defense in and out. Never underestimate experience at the college level.
Don't forget to pick up your copy of Magic, hitting stores October 2. The new Springsteen Cd is an interesting compilation of pop hits, strong guitar driven rock and some 60s infused sound. There is an underlying political tone to the work but you have to real delve into the lyrics to find it, but it lurks within if you so desire. So far I am partial to Long Walk Home and Devil's Arcade. This album took me a few spins until I really appreciated the nuances and now i find myself singing the hooks.
The play in game just ended and I have a few thoughts:
With so much on the line, amazed at how boring the 8th thru 12th innings were
You had to know that the deadlock was ending when the Rockies brought in Jorge Julio, you know you are bad when you can't even pitch in the Mets bullpen.
How about Kaz Matsui in the playoffs, Jose Reyes at the salon frosting his hair.
Matt Holliday doesn't deserve the MVP just for sliding head first into home.
Seriously, who dresses Craig Sager, did he lose a bet as a child, I am happy I don't have TBS HD just so i dont have to see his ridiculous wardrobe in hi def.
Lastly, I don't care what SI says, Trevor Hoffman is not the greatest closer of all time and does not belong in the same sentence as Mariano Rivera.
I can hear you muttering, the NFL is not the NBA or NHL, it only has 6 teams per conference make it to the second season. Certainly, you will have 10-6 NFL teams fail to make the playoffs, but for every one of them there are plenty of 8-8 teams that enter as wild cards. The NFL flaunts its parity with pride, the great Alan Selig has tried to emulate this with his prescriptions for "competitive balance", which on balance seem to have worked as you have not had a repeat world series champion this decade. But the greatness of baseball lies in the fact that only 4 teams per league are playing as of October 2.
Baseball's brilliance also lies in the fact that while the regular season is the best at selecting the worthy teams, it is a lousy predictor of who will ultimately reign as champion. Short series are predicated on dominant starting pitching, hot relievers and timely hitting. Baseball is the only sport where pure physicality is not dispositive. Often the "less talented" team will prevail based on key hits and an average pitcher with uncharacteristically good stuff. The only postseason that comes close is the NCAA tournament where a hot team can knock off the better team (see George Mason v. UConn). And while buzzer beaters are nice, nothing beats the walk off home run.
Objectively it is impossible to say that the best team truly wins every year and that is why postseason baseball is the best and most consistent of the playoffs in the major sports.
I cannot say that I have enjoyed a collapse more than the Mets the last few weeks. How stupid can you be to take a team that just wants to go back to South Beach and wake them up. The problem with the Mets all year has been a total lack of focus and leadership. Naturally you blame the manager. You would be wrong to do so. Willie has never gotten a fair shake from the Wilpons, being stuck with coaches he didn't choose and spies from the front office he cannot be held accountable. You have to look first at Omar Minaya.
One of the smart things the Yankees have done the past few years is bring in older players to help mentor the younger up and coming latin stars like Luis Sojo, Jose Vizcaino, Miguel Cairo, Chili Davis, Tim Raines, Ruben Sierra, all good clubhouse guys by the end of their tenure. The clubhouse is also ruled by Jorge Posada's hot temper and iron will. You think a Yankee would be allowed to get away with the antics the Mets displayed? You think Jeter or Posada would allow Cano to stand at home plate while the ball trickles down the base line in a must game? Would never happen.
Earlier in the season many Met fans proclaimed Reyes as the best shortstop in NY, he isn't even the best in his division. Jimmy Rollins, who should be the NL MVP, imposed his will on the stretch run the way Reyes did in the early season before the Mets became disinterested with the season. Rollins, knowing the Mets were down big, stole both second and third in the first inning, Reyes has failed to steal a base since September 15, in fact he had only 1 attempt since then.
A few other thoughts
Sherm Ave Fantasy Football - not to brag but I have rallied the troops after an abysmal 0-2 start to do what the Jets couldn't and square my record at 2-2. I suffered one of the all time worst defeats in the history of Fantasy Football where if you totaled my starters and bench points I still would have lost to my opponents starters. Look out
Boxing - it was great to be able to see a real live fight and not have to drop fifty bucks. Pavlik vs. Taylor was a refreshing trip to the fights of our youth where the two guys actually try to punch each other more than once a round.
Giants - great to see the new D coordinator Steve Spagnoulo exploiting the strengths of his unit by mixing blitz packages and making sure he had more guys rushing than could be blocked. ITs the only way to disguise the awful secondary play. Even Corey Webster can cover for 2-3 seconds. I'm still not sold on Eli, he makes too many dumb mistakes per game. I know his completion pct is up but he has thrown some of the most god awful intercepts I have ever seen and he still would rather try to float a pass off balance rather than step into a throw and take a hit or toss the ball out of bounds and live to fight another day. The offensive line is one fo the most underappreciated units in the game. The border war with the Jets Sunday will allow one team's season to continue and one will come to an end. Two enter, one leaves.
Rutgers - Its hard to believe that Rutgers was ranked as high as it has been based on its name. Yes, I will repeat that, Rutgers has garnered a high ranking based on its name and a Heisman candidate. Until Schiano finds a way to get his defense to use its speed to beat the bigger opponents it could be a long year. They are truly feeling the loss to graduation of an All Big East Nose Tackle and two linebackers who had been in the system for 4 years and understood the defense in and out. Never underestimate experience at the college level.
Don't forget to pick up your copy of Magic, hitting stores October 2. The new Springsteen Cd is an interesting compilation of pop hits, strong guitar driven rock and some 60s infused sound. There is an underlying political tone to the work but you have to real delve into the lyrics to find it, but it lurks within if you so desire. So far I am partial to Long Walk Home and Devil's Arcade. This album took me a few spins until I really appreciated the nuances and now i find myself singing the hooks.
The play in game just ended and I have a few thoughts:
With so much on the line, amazed at how boring the 8th thru 12th innings were
You had to know that the deadlock was ending when the Rockies brought in Jorge Julio, you know you are bad when you can't even pitch in the Mets bullpen.
How about Kaz Matsui in the playoffs, Jose Reyes at the salon frosting his hair.
Matt Holliday doesn't deserve the MVP just for sliding head first into home.
Seriously, who dresses Craig Sager, did he lose a bet as a child, I am happy I don't have TBS HD just so i dont have to see his ridiculous wardrobe in hi def.
Lastly, I don't care what SI says, Trevor Hoffman is not the greatest closer of all time and does not belong in the same sentence as Mariano Rivera.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Must Wins and Must Sees
Game 2 is a must game for Cleveland. The 232 format makes it impossible for teams down 0-2 to win. My disdain for the 232 is recorded in my previous post. As with any long series the most important adjustments are made between games 1 and 2. If I were holed up in a hotel suite in San Antonio with Mike Brown these would be my suggestions for getting back in the series:
• Run guard guard screen rolls on the wing with LeBron setting the screen for Gibson/Hughes/Pavlovic. Since the Spurs jump and double LeBron on ball screens this gives him the opportunity to force a mismatch and if they still double you have a ball handler with an open drive or a shooter on the strong side of the floor. It also gets the ball in LeBron’s hands going toward the basket.
• Play some zone defense to make the Spurs play outside in rather than running the offense through Duncan. The Spurs shooters are pretty streaky, I’d rather live and die by them than Duncan. You should also bring strong doubles to Duncan on the catch early in the game, if you can frustrate him early on he tends to fade for a while.
• Need more Boobie – Daniel Gibson needs to play more, he is the only guy they have who can attempt to control Tony Parker off the dribble, it would be a different story with a healthy Hughes. He also presents a legitimate shooter who you should be able to open up with the doubles on LeBron. The other guards need to feed off his fearlessness and find ways to assert themselves.
• Transition conversion percentage – There will not be many opportunities to run because San Antonio gets back and recovers better than just about any team I've ever seen but when you get a chance you can’t brick a layup, you have to convert.
A few quick thoughts:
Knocked Up – Funniest movie I’ve seen since Wedding Crashers, easily the funniest and maybe one of the 5 best of the year so far. It isn’t perfect, it drags and some of the characters are superfluous, but it is well worth the admission price. It was nice to see a movie that was genuinely funny without resorting primarily to bodily humor jokes. Plus Katherine Heigl is worth seeing.
Ocean’s 13 – Was disappointed by Ocean’s 13, it was clearly better than 12 but nowhere near as fun and stylish as 11. The tone was off and it the plot was confusing. Yeah its fun to see all the characters you are familiar with, Clooney and Pitt are charming, the other guys play their roles well but it was just missing something. I walked out thinking it was just an excuse for Clooney and Pitt to hang out and get paid. On a side note, it didn’t help that the guy behind me took off his shoes and put his feet up on top of the seat next to me then answered 3 phone calls with his ringer on loud and felt the need to comment back to the movie after every joke/comment/surprise.
Early Oscar Watch – Saw a preview for American Gangster with Denzel and Russell Crowe and directed by Ridley Scott. It’s based on the true story of Frank Lucas from the 70s. It’s got gangsters, cops, Vietnam and two of the best actors of our generation. Set to arrive in theaters in November.
Yankees – Nice to see the Yankees found out the season started already. People will credit Clemens’ comeback and ARod’s walk off vs. Papelbon but the real story behind the comeback is the return to small ball. They have started to hit and run, bunt and actually score runners from third with less than two outs. Don’t overlook them in the second half if Pettitte can stay healthy.
Springsteen – Even if you are not a hardcore Springsteen fan, I defy you to pick up his new live cd and tell me you don’t enjoy it. It is composed of songs recorded in Dublin on his last tour with the Seeger Sessions Band. A 20 or so piece band he put together that plays folk music inspired by Pete Seeger. They also rework some of the Boss’ staples. I especially enjoy his rewrite of How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live. A song originally by Blind Alfred Reed that Springsteen reworked and first covered at the New Orleans Jazz Festival last year. It is undisputed that The Rising is the single best commentary on 9/11, and this song is as good a description of the wake of Katrina as I have heard.
Television – Though Summer is traditionally home to bad TV I must recommend the Fox reality show, On the Lot. It’s a filmmaker reality show that is refreshing in the amount of talent of the contestants. The show runs usually on Tuesdays and is like seeing a good Short Film Festival. I would also be remiss if I left out the new comedy central show Lil Bush which follows little George W. Bush and his friends (Condi, Dick and Rummy) through harrowing adventures. It debuts Wednesday at 10:30. If you have seen the previews you know that this is clearly must see TV.
Sopranos – For those who care, and I’m fairly certain at least half of my co-bloggers don’t, I predict Little Carmine will come back, eliminate Phil, retake his rightful place as the Boss of NY and broker a peace with Tony. The most important thing is that Silvio pulls through.
I’ll meet you further on up the road
• Run guard guard screen rolls on the wing with LeBron setting the screen for Gibson/Hughes/Pavlovic. Since the Spurs jump and double LeBron on ball screens this gives him the opportunity to force a mismatch and if they still double you have a ball handler with an open drive or a shooter on the strong side of the floor. It also gets the ball in LeBron’s hands going toward the basket.
• Play some zone defense to make the Spurs play outside in rather than running the offense through Duncan. The Spurs shooters are pretty streaky, I’d rather live and die by them than Duncan. You should also bring strong doubles to Duncan on the catch early in the game, if you can frustrate him early on he tends to fade for a while.
• Need more Boobie – Daniel Gibson needs to play more, he is the only guy they have who can attempt to control Tony Parker off the dribble, it would be a different story with a healthy Hughes. He also presents a legitimate shooter who you should be able to open up with the doubles on LeBron. The other guards need to feed off his fearlessness and find ways to assert themselves.
• Transition conversion percentage – There will not be many opportunities to run because San Antonio gets back and recovers better than just about any team I've ever seen but when you get a chance you can’t brick a layup, you have to convert.
A few quick thoughts:
Knocked Up – Funniest movie I’ve seen since Wedding Crashers, easily the funniest and maybe one of the 5 best of the year so far. It isn’t perfect, it drags and some of the characters are superfluous, but it is well worth the admission price. It was nice to see a movie that was genuinely funny without resorting primarily to bodily humor jokes. Plus Katherine Heigl is worth seeing.
Ocean’s 13 – Was disappointed by Ocean’s 13, it was clearly better than 12 but nowhere near as fun and stylish as 11. The tone was off and it the plot was confusing. Yeah its fun to see all the characters you are familiar with, Clooney and Pitt are charming, the other guys play their roles well but it was just missing something. I walked out thinking it was just an excuse for Clooney and Pitt to hang out and get paid. On a side note, it didn’t help that the guy behind me took off his shoes and put his feet up on top of the seat next to me then answered 3 phone calls with his ringer on loud and felt the need to comment back to the movie after every joke/comment/surprise.
Early Oscar Watch – Saw a preview for American Gangster with Denzel and Russell Crowe and directed by Ridley Scott. It’s based on the true story of Frank Lucas from the 70s. It’s got gangsters, cops, Vietnam and two of the best actors of our generation. Set to arrive in theaters in November.
Yankees – Nice to see the Yankees found out the season started already. People will credit Clemens’ comeback and ARod’s walk off vs. Papelbon but the real story behind the comeback is the return to small ball. They have started to hit and run, bunt and actually score runners from third with less than two outs. Don’t overlook them in the second half if Pettitte can stay healthy.
Springsteen – Even if you are not a hardcore Springsteen fan, I defy you to pick up his new live cd and tell me you don’t enjoy it. It is composed of songs recorded in Dublin on his last tour with the Seeger Sessions Band. A 20 or so piece band he put together that plays folk music inspired by Pete Seeger. They also rework some of the Boss’ staples. I especially enjoy his rewrite of How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live. A song originally by Blind Alfred Reed that Springsteen reworked and first covered at the New Orleans Jazz Festival last year. It is undisputed that The Rising is the single best commentary on 9/11, and this song is as good a description of the wake of Katrina as I have heard.
Television – Though Summer is traditionally home to bad TV I must recommend the Fox reality show, On the Lot. It’s a filmmaker reality show that is refreshing in the amount of talent of the contestants. The show runs usually on Tuesdays and is like seeing a good Short Film Festival. I would also be remiss if I left out the new comedy central show Lil Bush which follows little George W. Bush and his friends (Condi, Dick and Rummy) through harrowing adventures. It debuts Wednesday at 10:30. If you have seen the previews you know that this is clearly must see TV.
Sopranos – For those who care, and I’m fairly certain at least half of my co-bloggers don’t, I predict Little Carmine will come back, eliminate Phil, retake his rightful place as the Boss of NY and broker a peace with Tony. The most important thing is that Silvio pulls through.
I’ll meet you further on up the road
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