Brooklyn On 12/28 After Christmas Snowstorm

To Mayor Mike only Manhattan is considered New York City

Cathie Want A Cracker?

Too bad the search for a new schools' chancellor didn't extend to some of the teachers and parents on the nycpublicschools list serve. Here are a couple of folks with great insight on the machinations of the privatizing powers that be:

Of all the words used to describe Cathie Black, "parrot" may be a new one. But it seems that after her listening tour of Tweed, she has now come out repeating the tired old propaganda that has been adopted by the Department of Education for the last nine years.
This morning at 6:15 AM on NPR Cathie Black announced that she "has a problem with the practice of granting 25-year-olds tenure, insuring them a job for the rest of their lives for just showing up to work everyday". Also, she "has a problem with laying off the 'last in' first". She stated that she could never run a company successfully if these practices existed and that these practices would never be accepted in business.
Frightening to see that her ignorance regarding these issues had been replaced by the misrepresentations she is being taught. First of all, there is no practice of granting 25-year olds tenure. Anyone of that age who does achieve tenure has already served three years in a classroom and has been trained during that probationary period to work on techniques and strategies to improve their pedagogy. At any time during the three year period, if the teacher does not show improvement or an aptitude for the job, he or she can be summarily fired--no questions asked. It is called a "discontinuance of probation" and it is used frequently. After three years, if the teacher has been satisfactory rated, only then is tenure granted. And if an administrator has any doubts about granting tenure, there is the option to extend probation for an additional year...no questions asked.
Cathie Black is also showing her ignorance of the fact that tenure is not a "job for the rest of their lives for just showing up to work everyday." Tenured teachers can be fired under the terms of state education law Section 3020a. That's all tenure gets them: a due process proceeding. It does not mean a job for life. It is just a guarantee of a fair hearing, with evidence presented and with representation. Private sector workers would love to have such security, but apparently a successfull business cannot incorporate fairness according to Black. A tenured teacher cannot be summarily fired for any reason as a probationary teacher can. That's all tenure means. And if Cathie Black is unquestioningly passing along the false myths that we expect of a person who simply repeats what she hears without any independent research, we should fear what lies ahead in her decision making process.
May I add that without tenure, teachers risk discrimination, being punished for their political leanings, and they will rightly fear exposing wrongdoing or questioning violations such as failure to follow special ed or ELL laws, for example. It is just protection Cathie, not a lifetime guarantee. Get out of your cocoon.
"Last in, first out" was never a policy that was debated until the wholesale closing of schools left many veteran teachers without jobs. Before that, the only teachers in excess were those with one or two years experience. Suddenly there were hundreds of employees who had given their lives to the children of New York City, twenty or thirty years in many cases, who had no place to work, through no fault of their own. They were also the most highly paid. So, despite the fact that many are fine teachers, Tweed looked for a way to paint them all with a negative brush and build a pr position around firing them. Black says the practice would never be accepted in business where the model is to have the power to hire and fire at will. But first she must make a convincing argument that the basis of retaining teachers will never be favoritism or silence about problems at schools. Seniority is a fair way to fight favoritism and nepotism. Do away with seniority and tenure and watch what is unleashed in our workforce. After her week of listening to folks downtown, the breadth of her understanding of the issues may be a mile wide but it is a quarter inch thick.

Has she asked to speak to Diane Ravitch or Deborah Meier, for example, or to Patrick Sullivan, or to Lisa or Leonie or Mona or Patricia Connelly or David Bloomfield, or ANYONE who has even the slightest different views on ANYTHING schools-related? Would she be allowed to even if she wanted to, or would she be "accompanied" by "advisors" who made sure they retained control of her education on education? Does anyone think she'll be reading the report from the Parents' Commission, or Diane's latest book, or any of Deborah's or Yong Zhao's, or (heaven forbid) "NYC Schools Under Bloomberg and Klein: What Parents, Teachers, and Policymakers Need to Know"? I'm certainly not counting on it.
"Parrot" doesn't come close to what's going on here. This is a completely fabricated chancellor, trained in a hermetically sealed environment worthy of a Chinese re-education camp, who will spout as her "beliefs" only what she's been fed, based on the data she's been fed, from people who are in 100% control of her thinking and her agenda. I personally prefer "the Manchurian Chancellor" to mere "parrot" -- it comes much closer to the true nature of what's going on and the insidiousness of what's going to come out of it.

for more on Senor Wences and one of his favorite phrases

Where In The World Is Cathie Black?

Patrick Sullivan over at the nyc public school parents' blog has the full story

Cosmo Cathie Knows How To Dress For Success

Cathie met some real public school parents this week and got a rude awakening to the realities of the public school system in New York. It was noticeable how she toned down her wardrobe.

Hit The Road Black Redux

There's a "Red Thursday" Rally to Protest Cathie Black Appointment today

The first version of  Hit The Road Black

(Hit the road Black and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road black and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road black and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road black and don't you come back no more.)

Woah Woman, oh woman, it's truly obscene,
That publishing seventeen makes you Ed Queen.
I guess if King Mike says so
The city must accept that it's the way things go. (That's wrong)

(Hit the road Black and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Black and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Black and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Black and don't you come back no more.)

Now Cathie listen baby, don't ya treat us this-a way
Cause the people will be back on our feet some day.
(Don't care if we do 'cause it's understood)
(Cause you got lots of money you think you're good )
Well, we guess if the State Ed says so
You'll have to pack your things and go. (That's right)

(Hit the road Black and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Black and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Black and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Black and don't you come back no more.)

Ed Deformer Sleigh Ride

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Just hear those school bells jingle-ing
Ring ting tingle-ing too
Come on, it's horrid weather
For a school ride together with you

Outside the mood is falling
And the public is calling "Boo Hoo"
Come on, it's horrid weather
For any kind of-ride together with you

Our cheeks are teared and rosied
as Dave got cozy with Mike
but we'll band together our many
forces together to strike

Let's fear the road before us
And sing a prayer or two
they protect their patent leather
as we get the royal screw from you

Who Cares

Let them complain and thunder
Let a million kids go under!
I am just concerned with
Stocks and bonds that I’ve been blessed with.
I love me and the rich love me,
And that’s how it will always be.
And nothing else could ever mean a thing
Who cares what the peons chatter
Wealth's the only thing that matters
Who cares if public schools care
To fall in the sea?
Who cares what banks fail in Yonkers,
Long as I've got the dough that conquers?
Why should I care?
Life is one long spending spree,
So long as I care for Cathie
And I care for me!

They All Laughed

They all laughed at me, Michael Bloomberg
When I said Black was edwise sound
They all laughed when I said she's chancellor bound
They all laughed at me, Michael Bloomberg
When I said that my choice would fly

They told Dave Steiner
Cathie was a phony
It's the same old cry
They laughed at me wanting her
Said I was reaching for the moon
But oh, Dave came through
Now they'll have to change their tune

They all said I never could get Cathie
They laughed at me and how!
But ho, ho, ho!
Who's got the last laugh now?

Newly Published Book: The Ed Eunuch Of New York

David Steiner's Thanksgiving Present

Thanksgiving At Mike And Diana's

They decided to stuff a pig instead of a turkey. Some of the usual ed deformer suspects in attendance along with notable Bloomberg tuchis lecher, Brooklyn BP Marty Markowitz and another versatile licker from Brooklyn, Iris Weinshall. She's the wife of Chuck Schumer and she was one of the women leaders signees of this lick worthy document

Ain't That A Kick In The Head

How unlucky can one guy be
The flunkies came kissing, but dissing it was to be
Like the fella once said,
Ain't that a kick in the head?
The stack looked completely for black
Mike hugged her but folks slugged back.
Like his yacht captain said, quote,
"Ain't that a hole in your boat?"
The people are grinning
The mayor's head must be spinning;
Let's hope this is just the beginning,
His life's not so beautiful.
No sunshine, but clouds instead
It's just like the fella said,
"Tell me quick
Ain't touting black a kick in the head?"

Fuhrman's Eye To Eye Contract Contact

 Could there be a conflict of interest?
To help make the decision on whether to grant the exception, Steiner has convened a panel to be led by Dr. Susan Fuhrman, president of Teachers College. She has received tens of millions of dollars in city Department of Education contracts, including one worth $16 million signed this year.

Across the crowded educational panel room
Through a maze of deciding people
She sits so quiet and all alone
Wanting to get the fiscal fever

And then she raised her head
Her eyes caught mine
And that was all that I needed
In her eyes I saw the need for money
The warm, soft feeling
'Cause we made

Eye to eye contract contact
Eye to eye contract contact(Oh, oh, oh yeah)
Eye to eye contract contact
(We made)Eye to eye contract contact
You and me

contract contact
You were looking at me
I was looking at you
You were looking at me

I've Got The Educational Panel On A String

I've got the Educational Panel on a string,
Got the string around their cash flow
They'll give Cathie the green light go
What a world! What a life!
I'm King Mike

I've got a song that I sing,
And I make the media echo
I give them all my ad biz
Lucky me! Can't you see
I'm King Mike

Being King is a beautiful thing
As long as I hold the string.
I tell them all where to go
As I shout Tally Ho

I've got the Educational Panel on a string,
Got the string around their cash flow
They'll give Cathie the green light go
What a world! What a life!
I'm King Mike

Cathie's Crown

Don't want your kind anymore.
And your narrow mind, that's for sure.
I die each time
I hear this sound:
"Here she co-o-o-o-omes. That's Cathie's crown."

I've gotta stand tall.
You know one can't crawl.
But when I know Mike tells lies
Then the media spins some jive
I won't play ball

Don't want your kind anymore.
And your narrow mind, that's for sure.
I die each time
I hear this sound:
"Here she co-o-o-o-omes. That's Cathie's crown."

When I see it's so clear
That our kids have much to fear
Dontcha think it's kinda sad
Your belief in the corporate fad,
Or don't you even care?

Don't want your kind anymore.
And your narrow mind, that's for sure.
I die each time
I hear this sound:
"Here she co-o-o-o-omes. That's Cathie's crown."
That's Cathie's crown.
That's Cathie's crown.

Mike's Got The Horses Right Here, Part 2

As Norm Scott does his handicapping in ednotes
It looks like the fix is in for Cathie Black to win the Chancellor's Handicap. Quoting a times' article:

New York State’s top education official on Friday named an advisory panel of eight experts, at least half of them with strong connections to the Bloomberg administration, to help him decide whether to approve Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s controversial choice to run the city’s school system.
    Three panelists selected by David M. Steiner, the state education commissioner, worked as senior officials at the city’s Department of Education.
    One of those three now works at a foundation that was, for many years, the vehicle for Mr. Bloomberg’s personal charitable donations.
    A fourth panelist is the head of a museum that has received almost half a million dollars from Mr. Bloomberg in donations since he took office.

Some new lyrics for two of the "horses" in this updated fugue for tinhorns Jean-Claude Brizard and Andres Alonso

NICELY
I got the horse in charge
The name is Jean-Claude Brizard
And Mike says that he'll win by yards and yards
Can do, can do, Mike says it's a winning card
If Mike says that he'll win by yards, a win by yards, a win by yards

Can do - can do - Mike says it's a winning card
If Mike says that he'll win by yards, a win by yards, a win by yards

For Jean-Claude Brizard I'll choose
Did you hear the news
To pay back his old pal Mike, how could he refuse
BENNY
I'm pickin' kid Alonso 'cause if you're in the know
You know it was under Mike he was allowed to grow
He'll go, He'll go, Mike says Alonso will go
If Mike says Alonso will go, he'll go, he'll go

I know kid Alonso, he may look big and slow
But as Mike says, he's no schmo
For a brighter future, he'll take off and blow
He'll go, He'll go, Mike says Alonso will go
If Mike says Alonso will go, he'll go, he'll go

Mike's Got The Horses Right Here

As Norm Scott does his handicapping in ednotes
It looks like the fix is in for Cathie Black to win the Chancellor's Handicap. Quoting a times' article:

New York State’s top education official on Friday named an advisory panel of eight experts, at least half of them with strong connections to the Bloomberg administration, to help him decide whether to approve Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s controversial choice to run the city’s school system.
    Three panelists selected by David M. Steiner, the state education commissioner, worked as senior officials at the city’s Department of Education.
    One of those three now works at a foundation that was, for many years, the vehicle for Mr. Bloomberg’s personal charitable donations.
    A fourth panelist is the head of a museum that has received almost half a million dollars from Mr. Bloomberg in donations since he took office.

Some new lyrics for two of the "horses" in this updated fugue for tinhorns Cahill and Mirrer:

NICELY
I got the horse right here
Her name is Louise Mirrer(e)
And Mike's a guy that says if the weather's clear
Can do, can do, Mike says the horse can do
If he says the horse can do, can do, can do.

Can do, can do, Mike says the horse can do
If he says the horse can do, can do, can do.

For Louise Mirrer(e) sure knows
If she wants her museum to grow
It may depend if Mike sends her dough

BENNY
I'm pickin' Michelle Cahill 'cause even if her looks can kill
Mike says she fills the bill
She will, She will, Mike says says the horse sure will
if Mike says the horse sure will,  sure will,  sure will

I know it's Michelle Cahill, cause even if her looks can kill
Besides Mike says, he'll pay her Carnegie bills
Mike says as long her weight won't cause a spill
She will, She will, Mike says says the horse sure will
if Mike says the horse sure will,  sure will,  sure will
Michelle Cahill she will, she will

Get Black, Get Back

Cathy was a gal who was a barricuda
she longed to charterize education's ass
mikey left his home in HAMILTON, Bermuda
to stage his new york city crass

Get black, get back.
Get black to where she once belonged
Get black, get back.
Get black to where she once belonged
Get back Cathy Go home
Get black, get back.
Get black to where she once belonged
Get black, get back.
Get black to where she once belonged
Get back Cat

the naive nyc folk believe she's wonder woman
But she's just following mike's plan
All of mike's stooges are available for performing
so they can get from him what they can

Get black, get back.
Get black to where she once belonged
Get black, get back.
Get black to where she once belonged
Get back Cathy Go home
Get black, get back.
Get black to where she once belonged
Get black, get back.
Get black to where she once belonged
Get back Cat

Your servants are waiting for you
holding your limo doors stat
And your stetson hat
Get on home Cat

Cathie Black Is White

I Took My Cathie
To a job I arranged
Boy Is That Girl With You
Yes We're One And The Same

Now I don't Believe In Miracles
Since I create miracles
With my dough as my might

But, If
You're Thinkin'
About My Cathie
Though she may be Black
She is really very, very white

They Print My Message
In The Times and the Sun
I Had To Tell Them
I Ain't Second To None

I don't hold to Equality
You know it's Not True
Even if I'm Wrong
I'm Still Very Right

But, If
You're Thinkin'
About My Cathie
Though she may be Black
She is really very, very white

Sisters, Sisters

Mayor Bloomberg's pick for new schools chancellor got the heavy-weight endorsement of Oprah Winfrey last night - the same day he asked the state to approve his pick.
The talk show host's support is a sign of how hard City Hall is pushing back against Cathie Black's critics. Gayle King also showed support on her site.

Sisters, sisters
There were never such devoted sisters,
But never, ever say we're more, no sir,
I'm there to keep my eye on her
Caring, Sharing
Though our dishonesty at times is glaring
When a certain gentleman named Mike would call
He's even richer than us so we played ball
All kinds of weather, we stick together
The same in the rain and sun
Two different faces as well as two-faced
We think and we act as one
Those who've seen us
Know that not a thing could come between us
Many men have tried to split us up, but no one can
Lord help the mister who comes between me and my sister
Cause there's no mister, since I don't need a man

Defective Hard Drive

I'm pretty certain that the voice heard above is of Steven Thrasher, the same Village Voice reporter who wrote this hatchet job about the opposition to Cathie Black, an excerpt...

Have you noticed that it's the same five or six people protesting Cathie Black's appointment as Chancellor of Schools the past couple of weeks? No? That's probably because her opposition has been hyped to seem like it's made of far more people than it is.

Cathie Black's In Town

Gotta get my old tuxedo pressed,
Gotta sew a button on my vest,
'Cause tonight I've gotta look my best,
Cathie Black's in town.
Gotta get her a great job somewhere,
Gotta sell the news with lots of flair
Gotta get myself a boutonniere,
Cathie Black's in town.
You can tell all my politician pets,
They're just sycophantic coquettes;
The hell with parent regrets
They won't be aroun'.
You can tell Steiner not to call,
It's a done deal after all
The DOE's in for one big fall
Cathie Black's in town.

Whoopi Gives Cathie Fashion Advice

Choo Choo Boogie: Headin' Education With A Quack Named Black?

Headin' education with a quack named black?
We're tired of leaders in education with no kind of track
We'd love to hear the rhythm of a swift kick in the back
and hear Steiner's decision that will blow Bloomberg's stack
along with support from democratic fellows named Ba-rack
givin little Mikey a lot of flack Jack.

Choo choo, choo choo, ch'boogie
woo woo, woo woo, ch'boogie
choo choo, choo choo, ch'boogie
givin little Mikey a lot of flack Jack.

You reach your destination finally as joel gets the sack
you need some compensation for all that he has cracked
you take a morning paper from the top of the stack
and read the situations from the front to the back
the education job that's open needs a chick named Black?
no, no put it right back in the rack Jack.

Choo choo, choo choo, ch'boogie
woo woo, woo woo, ch'boogie
choo choo, choo choo, ch'boogie
givin little Mikey a lot of flack Jack

Calling Brooklyn BP Tuchis Lecher, Calling Brooklyn BP Tuchis Lecher

a little over a year to the date of the event above, little Marty is still on the job

"Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has also chimed into the debate, asking New Yorkers to give Black a chance. He released a statement saying he spoke with her on the phone and was impressed with her enthusiasm for the job." (From a WNYC report today)

from nyc education news

Remarkable -- Brooklyn BP Marty Markowitz believes Cathie Black is qualified to lead the NYC public school system because she's enthusiastic about the job, as judged by a telephone conversation with her. Not that's what we calling vetting a candidate! 
Enthusiastic? Well, that should certainly be good enough for the parents of 1.1 million children What a crock, and how spineless can you be?

Hit The Road Black

Maybe State ED commissioner, David Steiner, will find the cojones to block Black's
appointment

(Hit the road Black and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road black and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road black and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road black and don't you come back no more.)

Woah Woman, oh woman, it's truly obscene,
That publishing seventeen makes you Ed Queen.
I guess if King Mike says so
The city must accept that it's the way things go. (That's wrong)

(Hit the road Black and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Black and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Black and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Black and don't you come back no more.)

Now Cathie listen baby, don't ya treat us this-a way
Cause the people will be back on our feet some day.
(Don't care if we do 'cause it's understood)
(Cause you got lots of money you think you're good )
Well, we guess if the State Ed says so
You'll have to pack your things and go. (That's right)

(Hit the road Black and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Black and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Black and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Black and don't you come back no more.)

Santa's Ed Deformer Helpers

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

One can only imagine what kind of workshop hanky panky that takes place after hours?

"Cathie Black’s most persuasive credentials for the schools job seem to be a friendship with the mayor’s girlfriend, Diana Taylor, and membership in the same Upper East Side social orbit as Ms. Taylor and Bloomberg. Black’s husband, Thomas E. Harvey, is a significant contributor to Republican causes, including Senator John McCain’s 2008 presidential race and the Republican National Committee. The couple has, like Ms. Taylor and the mayor, spent leisurely days at the Allen & Company’s annual gathering in Sun Valley, Idaho, the summer retreat for the super-rich that few regular folk know much about because the media are banned. “He didn’t go outside when he chose Cathie Black, he went inside,’’ said a Bloomberg friend and supporter, unhappy with the new schools chief. “It’s him and Diana, Cathie and Tom.”

What Do The Simple Folk Do?

Tom Harvey, Cathie Black's husband, is helping tutor Cathie on the subtleties of public education in New York City. Really, as Lancelot, he's just channeling what King Arthur/Mike is passing on.
view a slice of their world
GUENEVERE/Cathie
What do public education folk do?
To be so unaware that we're applying the screws?
The child who is failing, the parent who is glum
The teacher who is wailing while under the thumb
When they're beset and besieged
The folk not noblessly obliged
However do they manage to shed their weary lot?
Oh, what do simple folk do we do not?

ARTHUR via LANCELOT /Tom
I have been informed by those who know them well
They find relief through our clever ways
When they're sorely pressed, the lying media's there at our behest
To redirect their anger and that seems to brighten up their day
And that's what simple folk do
So they say

Charlie Brown, That Evil Clown, Aka Cathy Black

Fe-fe, fi-fi, fo-fo, fum
I smell smoke from the chancellor's podium
Cathy Black Cathy Black
She's a hack, that Cathy Black
She's never ever, ever taught
Just you wait and see
She's out to destroy the D-O-E

Down on their knees
Her eyes on the prize
Bringing public employees
To the world of the privatized

Cathy Black Cathy Black
She's a hack, that Cathy Black
She's never ever, ever taught
Just you wait and see
She's out to destroy the D-O-E

Who's always dressing for the ball
Who's never viewed students in the hall
Who has the nerve to think she knows it all
For you, not her, For charter, that's who

Who walks in a classroom, cool and slow
Who says to the teacher, we'll have to let you go

Cathy Black Cathy Black
She's a hack, that Cathy Black
She's never ever, ever taught
Just you wait and see
She's out to destroy the D-O-E

Cathleen Black: Memo 1

great piece by Bob Morris from the nyobserver on Cathleen Black's first memo to her staff
Memo
    To: Staff
    From: Cathleen Black
    Re: The New Schools for Spring 2011
    To set the tone of the new administration and make things fresh, accessible and modern,effective immediately I am instituting these changes in New York City schools:
    -We will now refer to semesters as seasons
    -All school uniforms in black
    -Basketball uniforms in natural fibers
    -Winter break will be called resort
    -Morning announcements will include pronouncements
    -Fashion monthlies to be used for all lesson plans
        *  spelling (K-a-r-d-a-s-h-i-a-n)
        *  geography (Jersey Shore, Milan, Mustique, Sundance, Cannes)
        *  history (Gianni Versace)
        *  chemistry (scent strips)
        *  mathematics (ad page counts and base rates)
        *  geometry (hemlines)
        *  spatial relations (front row seating charts)
    -Summer school is suspended until after couture
    -Historical school names to be replaced with local fashion designers (except Halston)
    -Report cards reformatted as reviews for Ipads
    -Test times pushed back to 10 am (real start time 10:30)
    -Gym classes to include social climbing
    -Exchange programs to include Top Shop and Uniqlo
    -Removal of all asbestos and carbs from school buildings
    I am excited to be here (although I still miss the subsidized sushi at the Hearst cafeteria) and hope to look over your shoes and your test scores in the near future.
    Xxo
    Cathie

Scrooged New York Ed

On the first day of Christmas Mike Bloomberg gave to me
A school chancellor with no educational pedigree..

Sometime In The Future

Walking My Baby Back Home

as the expression goes for Murdoch and Klein above,
"You can tell when they're lying because their lips move"

Diane Ravitch Kicks Superman's Butt

Her article on Waiting For Superman in the NY Review Of Books

Oh What A Beautiful Morning: Curtains For The Bosox Children Of The Corn

There's a bright reddish haze on the meadow,
There's a bright golden haze on the meadow,
The corn is as high as an elephant's eye,
An' it looks like its climbin' clear up to the sky.
Oh what a beautiful morning,
Oh what a beautiful day,
I've got a wonderful feeling,
The Red Sox are going away.

A Humid Day As The Yanks Left Town

A humid day as the Yanks left Town
Had me low and had me down
I viewed our pennant chances with alarm
The Arlington Park has lost its charm
How long, I wondered, could this thing last?
Has the age of miracles just gone and passed,
For, suddenly, there's a team to fear
And through the humid Texas Town
No Yankee sun was shining anywhere

Real New York New York Yankees: Eddie Lopat, part 2

Edmund Walter Lopat (originally Lopatynski) (June 21, 1918 – June 15, 1992) was a Major League Baseball pitcher.
Lopat was born in New York, New York. His Major League debut was on April 30, 1944, playing for the Chicago White Sox.
He was traded to the New York Yankees on February 24, 1948 for Aaron Robinson, Bill Wight, and Fred Bradley. From 1948 to 1954 he was the third of the "Big Three" of the Yankees' pitching staff, together with Allie Reynolds and Vic Raschi. He pitched in the All-Star Game in 1951 for the American League. In 1953 he led the AL in both earned-run average and won/lost percentage.
On July 30, 1955, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Jim McDonald and cash, finishing out the season and retiring. Over his 12-year AL career, Lopat won 166 games, losing 112 (.597) with an ERA of 3.21.
Lopat managed the AAA Richmond Virginians for the Yankees in the late 1950s, and in 1960 served one season as the Yankees' pitching coach before holding the same post with the Minnesota Twins in 1961 and the Kansas City Athletics in 1962. In 1963 Lopat was tapped to manage the Athletics and continued in this role until June 11, 1964. His Major League managerial record was 90-124 (.421). Lopat stayed on as a senior front office aide to team owner Charlie Finley until the club moved to Oakland after the 1967 season.
He was sometimes known as "The Junk Man," but better known as "Steady Eddie.", a nickname later given to Eddie Murray.
He died at his son's home in Darien, Connecticut, and had been a resident of Hillsdale, New Jersey until his death.
Lopat pitched for five victorious Yankees teams in the World Series during his career, in 1949-1953.

Real New York New York Yankees: Eddie Lopat, part 1

from Raschi, Reynolds, Lopat

an excerpt from the baseball biography project

Eddie Lopat, by Zita Carno
Eddie Lopat, "The Junkman," teamed with fireballers Vic Raschi and Allie Reynolds to form the Big Three starting pitchers on the New York Yankees' five straight World Championship clubs from 1949 through 1953.
He was born Edmund Walter Lopatynski on June 21, 1918, the first of seven children. The family lived on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City, later moving uptown to be closer to the shoe-repair shop owned and operated by father John.
Lopat went to DeWitt Clinton High School. The school did not have a baseball team, so he played with outside teams. His usual position was first base. From an early age he had been a Yankee fan, having grown up with the Bombers of 1927 and beyond, and quite often he and some schoolmates played hooky to go to a ball game. He dreamed of playing for the Yankees one day.
While working summers as an usher at Radio City Music Hall, he attended a tryout held by the New York Giants. He was told he wouldn't do; he couldn't make the throw to second base. He went to a Dodger tryout, and they signed him to a minor league contract in 1936. The first thing he did was shorten his name to Lopat so it would fit better into a box score, the way Cornelius McGillicuddy had become Connie Mack.
The scout who used the phrase "good field, no hit" might have been describing Eddie Lopat. After two false starts he was with Greensburg in the Penn State League, but his .229 batting average got him packed off to Jeanerette, Louisiana, in the Evangeline League.
Warming up with a catcher before a game, he put a little something on the ball. His manager, Carlos Moore, noticed this and told him to throw a curve. Lopat did. Moore told him that with the right coaching he would become one of the best pitchers in the league.
Exit the first baseman, enter the lefthanded pitcher. In his first mound appearance, in relief, he allowed just two hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Still, he bounced around the minors for seven years: from Jeanerette to Kilgore, to Shreveport, to Longview, back to Shreveport. In 1939 he started experimenting with a screwball, which would later become his best pitch. And in 1940 he found love; he married Mary Elizabeth Howell, known as Libby. When he was ready to pack it in and return to New York, she persuaded him to give it one more year.

Doing The Yankee Over The Hill Out Of Shape DL Hustle

A closeup still of the video shows Yankee DL hustlers Lance Berkman and Nick Johnson

Kerwegian Wood

He once had an arm or should I say, an arm more than just good
He's showed us he's not through, isn't it good, Kerwegian Wood?
We needed him to replace 8th inning Chamberlain grief
He's turned things around with great short relief.
On the D-List just biding his time he aged on the vine
He gets strike two and then it is said, "It's time for bed"
He said,  "The inning’s over," and started to laugh.
I said that it wasn’t and curled up to sleep in the bath.
And, when I awoke, the side was retired,
These Tigers were tired.
Isn’t it good?
Kerwegian Wood?

On The Futility Of Rooting For The Mets: While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Being a staunch Yankee fan, I still do not put myself in the category of a met hater. Yet one has to be cognizant of the futility of rooting for this team.

I look at the mets and see that they are sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at their next series and I see they need sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps

I don't know why no one told you
how to convey your love
I don't know how the mets controlled you
they bought and sold you

I look at their game and I notice it's failing
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake they still aren't learning
Still my guitar gently weeps

I don't know how you were diverted
you were perverted too
I don't know how you were inverted
no one alerted you

I look at the mets and see that they are sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at their next series and I see they need sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps

I look from the stands at the play they are staging
While my guitar gently weeps
As I'm sitting here doing nothing but aging
Still my guitar gently weeps

Oh, oh, oh
oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
oh oh, oh oh, oh oh
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah yeah

The Cisco Kid Ain't No Friend Of Mine

things have changed with Cisco since the beginning of the season

The Cisco Kid ain't no friend of mine
The Cisco Kid ain't no friend of mine
He can't hit curves, his B.A. in steep decline
He can't hit curves, his B.A. in steep decline
Powerless, his balls can't reach the stands
Powerless, his balls can't reach the stands
Opposing runners steal whenever they can
Opposing runners steal whenever they can

Any Runs Today?

Any runs today?
runs for winning
That's what I'm hoping
Any runs today?
Scrape up the most you can
We're chasing the pennant man
Asking you to score some goddam runs today

Any runs today?
We'll cheer shalom
If a Yank crosses home
In the Bronx, U.S.A.
There goes the pennant man
Can't make tomorrow's plan
Not unless you score some goddam runs today

I Remember You

I remember You
You're the heater who made my wins come true
A few seasons ago

I remember you
You're the one that clocked more than 82
When I could throw

I remember too
When I pitched well
And batters fell
Like rain out of the blue

When the year is through
And the Yankees ask me to recall
What led to my downfall
Then I will tell them I remember you

Kansas City: We Scored No Runs

I'm going to Kansas City
Kansas City here I come
I'm going to Kansas City
Kansas City where the Royals are just bums
We had some crazy luck and missed Greinke there
Yet against some no-name we couldn't even manage one run

They've Got Beginner's Luck

From days of Valentino to Pacino
Or in reverse,  M & M days to the Bambino's
They tell you that a beginner
Comes out a loser
Beginner pitching of rounders
Will be hit by a string of pounders
That's what I've always heard
Would usually in baseball occur
But now I don't believe a word!

For newbies get beginner's luck;
The first time they pitch
Against Yankee white and blue
Gosh they're lucky!

For newbies get beginner's luck;
Yank opponents always smile
It's so weirdly true
Gosh they're fortunate!

This thing we've begun
Confounds the pinstripe pastime,
For this time is the one
Where the first time is the Yankee worst time!

For newbies get beginner's luck;
Lucky through and through,
For the first time they pitch
Against Yankee white and blue

Real New York New York Yankees: Jimmie Reese

Jimmie Reese (October 1, 1901, in New York City – July 13, 1994, in Santa Ana, California) was the adopted name of Hyam Soloman (birth name variously given as Herman Soloman, James Herman Soloman, and James Hymie Soloman), a professional baseball player. He played primarily second base, though he also played a few games at third base.
In order to avoid the brunt of prejudice against Jewish baseball players during that era, Soloman adopted the name of Jimmie Reese, which he used throughout his baseball career.
Although Reese was born in New York City, he grew up in Los Angeles.
James Herman Soloman was born on October 1, 1901, in New York City but was raised in Los Angeles. At the age of 12 he was a batboy for the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League. For six years he held the batboy job except for a one-year stint in the U.S. Navy in 1918, where he was a mascot for a Navy team that included Lefty O'Doul, Bob Meusel, and Howard Ehmke. Concluding his batboy career in 1923, Reese started his playing career in 1924 as a second baseman for the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League. In 1925 he played 136 games at shortstop and second base, batting .248. Jimmie became the Oaks' regular second baseman in 1926, pairing with Lyn Lary as a double play combination; they became known as "The Gold Dust Twins." In 1927, Reese batted .295 in 191 games and led the PCL in fielding for second basemen (.984) as the Oaks won their first pennant in 15 years.

Real New York New York Yankees: Bob Grim

Robert Anton "Bob" Grim (March 8, 1930-October 23, 1996) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball.
He was born in New York, New York and later his family moved to Brooklyn. He attended Franklin K. Lane HS and is a member of the PSAL Hall of Fame.

He was signed as an amateur free agent by the New York Yankees in 1948. His Major League debut was on April 18, 1954 for the Yankees. He wore uniform number 55 for the Yankees during his entire period on the team. He won 20 games (the first Yankee rookie to win 20 since 1910) and lost only 6 that year, with a 3.26 earned run average, and was voted American League Rookie of the Year, with 15 votes out of 24. He played in two World Series for the Yankees, in 1955 (against the Brooklyn Dodgers) and in 1957 (against the Milwaukee Braves). By 1957, because of arm troubles, he became an exclusive relief pitcher. He has been retroactively listed as leading the American League in saves in 1957 with 19 (At the time, saves were not a regularly calculated statistic). He was an All-Star in 1957.
On June 15, 1958, he was traded, along with Harry Simpson, by the New York Yankees to the Kansas City Athletics for Duke Maas and Virgil Trucks. The A's assigned him uniform number 34.
On April 5, 1960, he was traded by the Kansas City Athletics to the Cleveland Indians for Leo Kiely. The Indians assigned him uniform number 26.
On May 18, 1960 the Cincinnati Reds purchased his contract from the Cleveland Indians. He was assigned uniform number 46 by the Reds.
On July 29, 1960 the St. Louis Cardinals purchased his contract from the Cincinnati Reds. He kept uniform number 46 on the Cardinals.
He was released by the St. Louis Cardinals before the 1962 season, but on April 9, 1962 he was signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Athletics. He resumed the uniform number 34 on the A's, which he had worn earlier on that team.
His final MLB game was played on May 24, 1962. On May 31, 1962 he was released by the Kansas City Athletics. He died in Shawnee, Kansas.

Kansas City Here I Come: When Kansas City Was A Yankee Farm Team, Part 2

Kansas City Here I Come: When Kansas City Was A Yankee Farm Team

I'm going to Kansas City
Kansas City here I come
I'm going to Kansas City
Kansas City here I come
They had a crazy way of trading there and I'm gonna get me one
--------------------------------------------------------------
I'm gonna be standing on the corner
22nd street and Brooklyn
I'm gonna be standing on the corner
22nd street and Brooklyn
With my Kansas City tradee and a wad of Kansas City fake finns
--------------------------------------------------------------
Well I might take a plane I might take a train
But if I have to walk I'm going just the same
I'm going to Kansas City
Kansas City here I come
hey had a crazy way of trading there and I'm gonna get me one

card images from check out my cards
from the baseball almanac

....However, by the mid-1950s the other teams appeared to be catching up to the Yankees. Some teams, most notably the Dodgers, moved quickly to sign the excellent African-American players made available by the ending of the color line in 1947. Some good young players decided to sign elsewhere, not wanting to get stuck in the large Yankee farm system. Other teams became more active on the trade front, and built their own minor-league systems, following the model created by Branch Rickey in St. Louis and, later, Brooklyn and Pittsburgh.
The Yankees won a record five World Series in a row ending in 1953, but they lost the pennant in 1954 to Cleveland. Their dominance of baseball was threatened.
Of course, the Yankees were the richest and most resourceful club in baseball, then as now, and they found a way to ensure a continuous supply of good players. They managed to turn one of their American League rivals, the Kansas City Athletics, into a virtual farm team.
How did this happen? Connie Mack's family sold the Philadelphia Athletics in 1954, and Yankee principal owner Dan Topping arranged for one of his business friends, Arnold Johnson, to buy the A's and move the team to Kansas City. It's still unclear how much influence the Yankee ownership held over the A's, but the two teams then embarked on a six-year series of trades. These trades, as we shall see, almost always favored the Yankees.
The Yankees, in fact, rarely traded players with any other team in this six-year period. From 1955 to 1960, the Yankees gained many outstanding players from Kansas City, and managed to give only marginal value in return. It must have worked, since the Yankees won four more pennants in a row beginning in 1955, while the new Kansas City team struggled to stay out of last place.
Were the A's simply bad traders, or did the Yankees and Athletics have some kind of secret agreement that gave the Yankees their choice of all of Kansas City's good players?

The Third A-Bomb

Was A-Rod's 3rd A bomb, a massive 430 plus footer, an almost exact, to the day, reminder of a possible 65 year old historical event? Is the Kauffman Stadium left field facing west towards Sapparo, Japan?
On the 3rd A-bomb, an excerpt:

The question often arises: did the United States have a third bomb ready to drop on Japan, following the Little Boy uranium device that destroyed Hiroshima on August 6 and the Fat Man plutonimium bomb that destroyed Nagasaki three days later?
In the Spaatz Papers at the Library of Congress manuscript section, there is much radio traffic generated on Tinian in the second week of August. The U.S. Army Strategic Air Forces wanted the third bomb to be dropped on Tokyo as a wakeup call for the Japanese government, which was stalling on agreeing to the United Nations surrender terms. (That this could have been seriously proposed is an indication of how woefully uninformed USASTAF was about the destructive power of the weapons it had delivered to the Empire.) Back came a message, presumably from Hap Arnold, saying that the decision had already been made that the target would be Sapporo in the northern island of Hokkaido.

Joe The Chimp: An Early TV Appearance

Make the Connection
Presented by Jim McKay (July 7-28)
Gene Rayburn (August 4-September 29)
No. of episodes 13
Running time 30 Minutes
Original channel NBC
Original run July 7 – September 29, 1955
Make the Connection was an American game show, sponsored by Borden, that ran on Thursday nights from July 7 to September 29, 1955 on NBC. Originally hosted by Jim McKay (who years later would be best-known for hosting ABC's Wide World of Sports as well as that network's coverage of the Olympics), he was replaced after the first four episodes by future Match Game host Gene Rayburn for the final nine episodes.
The series was a Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Production, and as such it had many things in common with the other panel shows developed by the company. Like I've Got A Secret, there were four celebrity panelists who were each given a timed period in which to ask questions. Each panelist that was stumped earned the contestants money.
Rules
The object of the game was for the four celebrity panelists to "make the connection" between two people who would sit on both sides of the host. Like many of its sister panel shows, it also featured the obligatory appearance by a celebrity guest, who would play the game as a contestant.
Betty White made one of her earliest game show appearances as a panelist. White would later be a frequent panelist on every version of the Rayburn-hosted Match Only a handful of the thirteen episodes exist, including at least one McKay episode. GSN has occasionally shown an episode (mostly those hosted by Rayburn) in its "black and white" programming blocks.

Joe-Joes, The Managerial Chimps

As my former PCL teammate and one-time Yank, Lyn Lary said

Tonight was another awful example.  Yanks down 4-3, going into the 9th, facing one of the very best closers in the game in Joakim Soria.  Jeter has a tough at-bat, battles back from 0-2, and grounds a single through the left side.
So...whattaya do??
You have to have to have to have to have to put on a play.
Run him, hit-and-run, bunt.  Something.  Anything.  I don’t care if his Achilles tendon just fell off, you have to AT LEAST have Jeter hopping up and down at first, trying to take a big lead, etc.  The Grandy Man, your .244 hitter, folks, is up next.  Have to put on a play.
So did he?  Nope. No steal, no bunt, no hit-and-run.  Jeter stuck so close to the bag Soria never even had to throw over.   Granderson got a good whack at the ball, flied out to left.  Teixeira got a second chance after the catcher dropped his foul pop, and struck out...and Jeter never moved.
Then—A-Rod hits a bouncer up the middle.  Perfect ball to score a run—if Jetes had been on second.  But he wasn’t.  Instead, all he could do was race to third (no sign of a leg injury there).  Then Cano grounded out.
It was ludicrous.  Girardi’s basic assumption there was that you were going to get at least three hits off one of the best closers going.  Preposterous.  You have to force the play there.  No way you’re getting three hits.  Hell, for that matter they could have easily walked Cano, and just pitched to Cervelli, who was filling in for Posada by then.  
A gutsy team, betrayed by idiots.  Or as a German officer once said about the English, they are lions led by donkeys.  Hee-haw.

Meet The Mets

 with a h/t to nomaas

Meet the Mets, meet the Mets,
Step right up and beat the Mets.
Beat your kiddies, beat your wife,
Guaranteed to have the time of your life.

Because the Mets are really socking them all
Knocking those in-laws over the wall.
East side, West side ev'rybody's coming down,
to meet the M-E-T-S Mets from jail-house town.

Oh the raper and the assaulter and the people on the street
Where do they go? To meet the Mets!
Oh they're smacking and they're fondling when they sit down in their seats
Where do they go? To meet the Mets!

All the fans are true to the orange and blue,_
And their Mets will be glad to beat you black and blue
Give ‘em a yell!_Give ‘em a hand!_
And let ‘em know you're rootin’ to beat someone behind the stands
so hurry up and come on down -
_‘cause we’ve got ourselves a ball club,_The Mets of New York town!_

Curtis Granderson's New Swing

We've heard about Curtis' new swing. 
But if it involves Kathy Griffin we wonder which side of the plate Curtis is swinging from

In Days Of Old....

Tex misses a crucial series to be at home with his newborn. Swish jokes with Molina after wussing out on play at home. What ever happened to the gas house gang?

In days of old
When the players were bold
And no time was spent with folk
A close play at the plate
Would endanger catchers' fate
Instead of sharing a joke

Happy Timms Are Here Again

Happy Thames (Timms) are here again
The Yanks have won a game again
So let's sing a song of cheer again
Happy Timms are here again
Altogether shout it now
There's no one
Who can doubt it now
So let's tell the world about it now
Happy Timms are here again
Marcus pounded one and it was gone
Mo got the save with one on
From now on ...
Happy Timms are here again
The Captain got some clutch hits again
So, Let's sing a song of cheer again
Happy Timms
Happy nights
Happy days
Are here again!

Jesus Is Coming?

Jesus Is Coming
Jesus is coming, Jesus is coming
Yanks, you'll get some new spark
A much needed jump start
Jesus is coming and the rivals say...
Broken heart, oh broken heart, oh broken heart
Jesus is coming, lose your fears fans
Jesus is coming, lose your fears fans

Oh Captain, My Captain

Yet another GIDP in a clutch situation. Say it ain't so Derek.

O CAPTAIN! my Captain! is your amazing trip done?
The team has weather’d every rack, can the prize we seek be none?   
The rays are near near, the sox I hear, the yank fans all revolting,   
While we eye your un-steady keel, your hitting grim and flaring:   
    But O heart! heart! heart!            
      O the bleeding drops of red,   
        Let not on deck my Captain lie,   
          Fallen cold and dead.   

With Tex Out Of The Lineup, Will Mrs. Tex Deliver?

The Yanks could sure use a mini-Tex

The Outmakers

Berkman finally got untracked on Sunday, but he and Kearns failed miserably in the clutch on Monday afternoon

(What they do!)
(“They smile in your face
All they wanna do is to slow down your pace
The Out-Makers. The Out-Makers.
“They smile in your face
All they wanna do is take you out of first place
The Out-Makers. The Out-Makers.
There are yankees who produce and  really care, yeah, yeah
Then there are yankees for who you better be beware, yeah yeah
Somebody's out to ruin your pay day
A few of your teammates sure look shady
Bats are long, clenched tight in their fist
But with holes a mile wide
And with them  they'll surely miss
(What they do!)
(“They smile in your face
All they wanna do is to slow down your pace
The Out-Makers. The Out-Makers.
“They smile in your face
All they wanna do is take you out of first place

a h/t to Lynn Lary
The in-depth stats on Berkman and Kearns are shockingly awful. Neither has been a full-time player this year, but going into Saturday's game, Berkman had 12 double-plays and 70 strikeouts in 298 at-bats; Kearns, 12 and 80, in 307 at-bats. Save for Jeter’s 13 GIDP, they are tied for second on the team. Only Swisher (88), Teixeira (75), and Granderson (71), have comparable strikeouts. In other words, both these guys make an incredible number of unproductive outs. They are out-makers