BRONX, NY – Welcome to the first official day of Autumn, the best season of them all. I suppose if you live in Yuma or Jacksonville or some other hellscape, this seasonal change doesn’t really register with you. But if you’re in one of those places where the temps change and the leaves change and your (Angry)wardrobe changes, you just gotta love this time of year. In New York City, for instance, you could go all summer long avoiding hot pretzel and roast peanut carts, silently cursing them under your sweltering breath. But, in Fall and Winter, you see those same vendors and smile. Autumn weather is not only great for sleeping/napping, it also ushers in “comfort” foods and drinks. So get ready to tuck yourself in to a nice beef stew and/or bourbon. It’s all good. What else is good? Let’s take a look.
New York Yankees.
Wait, you didn’t think I meant to imply that the Yankees were good, did you? Ha! Don’t be silly. At their best, the Yankees are a HIGHLY streaky team chock full o’ lumbering power hitters who either hit home runs or strikeout, mostly the latter, and starting pitching that is mediocre, at best. What is good about the Yankees though is that they are still very much in the playoff hunt, and both media and fans can’t get enough of the rollercoaster ride. To wit: The Bombers can get absolutely embarrassed losing back-to-back home games, while surrendering double digit runs in both games, to Cleveland, but when they actually beat the next roadkill team on their schedule (Texas), the back pages are like: THE YANKEES ARE BACK! Personally, I can’t get enough of it. This team may well make the playoffs, but they are not built to win in the playoffs. They will get swallowed up by any team with good pitching and solid defense.
Give Zach Wilson a Shot!
The newest New York Jets can’t-miss kid, Zach Wilson, is off to a rocky start. The almost-certainly un-vaxxed rookie QB is showing symptoms of something far more contagious than COVID: Jets Variant Suckosomatic Sh!ttiness. The horror. It’s not the rook’s fault. He didn’t choose to leave Provo for Football Rikers, but here he is. Word has it that Jets owners, the craptastic Johnson Family, are working on a vaccine that could bring Wilson some semblance of Pennington-like success. Miracle workers they ain’t. Also, he might need a Richard Todd booster come next Spring.
Keith Hernandez for Baseball Hall of Fame.
William Hayward Wilson (aka Mookie) recently brought up that he thought Keith Hernandez should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame, and I’m inclined to agree. Curious what Cards Fan Cam thinks about this. But, anyway, Keith was NL MVP in 1979, won 11 gold gloves, finished with a little over 2,000 hits and just under a .300 average, and was a World Series champ with both the Cardinals and the Mets. Not bad credentials, if you ask me.
September.
Since I am writing this on the 21st night of September, I would be remiss to not bring up a story from my youth. My Mom and her good friend from our building were world travelers and, around 1979-1980, went to Egypt. Upon her return, Mom regaled us with stories, including one about a bunch of American musicians staying at their hotel who wore “wild outfits” and were a lot of fun. She said they kept trying to convince my mom and her friend (both closing in on 60) to go out to the disco with them. When I pressed Mom to remember the band’s name, she finally came up with: “Earth, Wind, and something.” Teenage me, was pretty damn impressed.
Come back tomorrow for huge Rufus and Chaka Khan fan, Buddy Diaz.
