I'm sitting back in my easy chair, lads and lassies, smoking a La Rosa Rothchild cigar and listening to one of the overlooked classic jazz presentations from 1955, maybe Miles's first album on the Columbia label (the label that gave us the amazin' and jazz-changing Kind of Blue album in 1957, the first stereo jazz album, too), 'Round Midnight, with the most marvelous of "Ah-Leu-Cha's" ever recorded, and then the original version of what would become a Miles staple, "Bye-Bye-Blackbird" with Red Garland cookin' so cool on piano on "--this is the album young John Coltrane's on, with Mr. P.C. on bass ("Wanna hear the bass played the way it should be, you dig P.C./Hear it really played the way it really should be, you dig P.C./Talk about rhythm, he's got the rhythm, you dig P.C."), and Philly Joe Jones on drums. An ultimate time in American classical music--or Black Classical Music as Max Roach wanted it called.
Young Miles (Miles ahead of his time)
And I'm relaxin' because once again tonight my baseball-enraptured heart almost quit on me several times tonight during again one of the most exciting baseball games of a Yankees's fan's season, the second win in a row over the Boston Red Sox, the best team percentagewise in baseball, tonight especially adventurously hard on a Yankee fan's heart because the 45-year-old Rocket was pitching for the Yanks--he went into the game 5-5--but unreliable in the sense that one game he pitches brilliantly and then the next game he'll give up 8 runs in one inning--that's the precipice a Yankee fan finds himself out on when the Rocket's pitching--and tonight he was pitching against the American League's hottest current pitcher and star turnaround pitcher, Josh Beckett--a bum last year but suddenly this year the cat's meow, but then that's baseball--it all depends on these pitchers--your starting pitchers are your keys to winning--so Yankee fans aren't quite sure going into tonight's game and after last night's thriller.... One good sign for Yankee fans was that Manny Ramirez wasn't in the BoSox lineup tonight. His back spasms turned out to be more serious and Manny got the night off.
So what does the Rocket do? He pitches no-hit, no-run ball for 6 innings. The Yanks give him a 3-0 lead; they start right off banging old Josh Beckett into the ground. Sixth inning, though, here comes Big Poppy, and the Rocket fires, and BAM! WHAM! Thar she blows! just inside the right field foul pole (yes, the one Marvelous Marv Backbiter was seen sitting atop last night acting like a squirrel)--3-1 Yanks and Roger finishes the inning but that's it for him and the next inning in comes Luis Viscano and gets 'em out in the seventh and then in the bottom of the seventh A-Rod hits an A-bomb, his 43rd home run and gives the Yanks a 4-1 lead going into the eighth. Ugh, Yankee fans go, as Joe brings in Kyle Farnsworth, the favorite boo bird of the Yankee faithful--we hate this bum but Joe thinks he could be one of the greatest pitchers ever except this time Joe's full of shit and so here comes Farnsworth and, well, damn, he strikes out the first batter, but then he reverts back to his old style and walks the next batter. OK, OK, there's one out, one on, no big deal--except--Kyle's back to normal tonight and the next batter Kevin Youkills comes up and Kyle delivers and BOOM! HOLY JESUS BAM! there it goes, a two-run home run and it's suddenly 4-3 and then Farnsworth gets the next batter out but then he walks the next batter and gives up a hit, and that's all for Kyle--and he's carried off the field by a brace of strong boos--and in comes Mariano Rivera.
What does Mo do? Gets the batter to hit a little dribbler back to him; throws him out; inning over.
Bottom of the ninth. 4-3 Yankees, top of Boston batting order coming up.
What does Mo do? Gets three dribbling ground balls; one, two, three go the Sox; ballgame over, Yankees win. Seattle lost; Yankees and Seattle are now deadlocked for the American League Wild Card--and Yanks are now only 6 back of Boston and Wang's pitching tomorrow night for the Yanks against old Curt Schilling and the Yankees usually hit Schilling hard as hell so if it's a sweep, Yankee fans will go berserk with brag and pomposity, what all other baseball fans hate about Yankee fans, and start hearing Broadway show tunes in their heads, as the World Poker Tour commercial says--and then it's a 3 game series with the Devil Rays!!
Lookin' good.
thehowlinggrowlingYankeewolf
for The Daily Growler
How About Mr. and Mrs Rocket:
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