Wow, Do the Yankees Look Old

Two-game series that—if all continues to go wrong—could have them and their $207 million payroll with a sorrier record than the money-hungry Mets, who have won seven of their last 10.

No incident better paints a picture of the current Yankees than this weekend’s drama featuring designated hitter Jorge Posada. After being told he was batting ninth on Saturday, Posada asked manager Joe Girardi to take him out of the lineup. What followed was a dizzying amount of commentary, speculation and contradiction. Rumors swirled that the 39-year-old Posada, batting .165 in his first year as a full-time designated hitter, might announce his retirement . Brian Cashman was interviewed live on the Fox broadcast and seemed as flummoxed as anyone else. Posada simply said he needed a day off and then offered that his back was a little stiff from taking grounders at first base before the game. His wife took to social media to defend him. By the end of the night, there was talk of possibly voiding his contract , with nobody sure what would happen next. (Posada was not in the starting lineup Sunday, but walked in a pinch-hit plate appearance to loud applause.) That the Yankees were shut out 6-0, by Josh Beckett, whose career ERA against New York is 5.66, seemed to get lost in the shuffle. A few weeks ago, it was Derek Jeter in decline . Saturday, it was Posada. On Sunday night, Alex Rodriguez caught slack for making an error on a routine ground ball. “ This is larger than Posada ,” the New York Post’s Joel Sherman writes. “The Yankees have more aging icons than any team. And if it’s Posada today, which aging Yankees icon will it be tomorrow?”

On Sunday, Posada issued apologies for his behavior. Ian O’Connor of ESPN believes this was actually a bad thing for the team, as it ended a distraction that had been keeping everyone’s attention from the fact that the Yankees are a mess of a team. For Sunday’s game, he points out, Girardi posted a lineup that didn’t include a single batter hitting at least .300. It was true for every game of their losing streak. “They don’t catch the ball, they don’t hit it and they don’t pitch it out of the bullpen, either. They come across as slow, old and athletically challenged at too many positions in the field,” O’Connor writes. “ The Yankees stink .”

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After Oklahoma City sent the upstart Memphis Grizzlies home in Game Seven of their series Sunday, the Eastern Conference finals kicked off with Chicago’s 103-82 blowout of Miami. The assertive victory was punctuated by two Taj Gibson dunks.

Crazytown - YOUR GUIDE TO SUMMER NECESSITIES

It requires several minutes and dollars of investment but aside from making your legs soft and physically bearable to look at in shorts (white reflects; in the sun I look like my own light source ) it’s amazing how slimming a brownish tint can be.  Totally worth it, as long as you can get past the musty teabagy not-quite-human tan lotion smell being on every part of your skin.  Air Conditioning. If you don’t have it, mine is FREE (what?!) so you’re welcome to come be cold at my place. We crank it UP . (Your challenge is to work out where my place is. Then you’ll have earned the coldness.) 

Try and get to bed before 5am, at least some nights. The sun’s been beating me now it’s up like a shot at 5am. It’s always good to fall asleep while it’s still dark. Then you’ll be delighted, not irritated, to wake to rays of glorious sunshine on your face. American Spirit!  You got your Independence Day coming up!