twilightdawning

A writer's thoughts – mainly about music, sport and theatre. Shakespeare, Bob Dylan, live shows, New York Yankees

The New York Yankees – The Batters in August (2017)

Posted on September 2, 2017 by twilightdawning

Aaron Judge was hot and untouchable in the first half of the season. Now either the opposition pitchers have caught up to him or something else is wrong. Fortunately, Gary Sanchez who was very much in his shadow before the All-Star break, has exploded offensively in the last month. The Yankees are clearly concerned about some defensive kinks he has behind the plate but it is thanks to him and guys like Didi Gregorius that the Yankees’ ship is still afloat and in a promising position to take the first wildcard spot -although they are looking increasingly less likely to catch Boston for the division lead.

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The New York Yankees – The Pitchers in July (2017)

Posted on August 12, 2017 by twilightdawning

In July, the Yankees strengthened their bullpen by adding David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle although these moves meant they had to subtract Tyler Clippard. Then right on the deadline they strengthened their starting rotation with the addition of Sonny Gray from Oakland and Jaime Garcia from the Minnesota Twins.

Whilst it would be in August that we will see whether Gray and Garcia provide an upgrade, the arrival of Robertson and Kahnle was evidently a master-stroke especially since Clippard’s season was falling apart at the seams.

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The New York Yankees – The Batters in July (2017)

Posted on August 6, 2017 by twilightdawning

The second half of June was a disaster for New York. After the twelfth of the month they suffered a huge slide which saw them go 8-17 between then and the 14th of July. However, in the second half of July they turned that around with a sequence of 12 wins out of 17 games which saw them return to the head of their division. A lot of the success was led by the pitchers but which of the batters were also at the forefront of the turnaround?

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Sad Cafe Discography 1977-2017

Posted on July 15, 2017 by twilightdawning

Sad Café
Discography

(This is not a typical discography. It does not relate to any one country’s releases for the band but where there has been a UK copy, it favours that. It is primarily a listener’s discography, rather than a collector’s discography. It will tell you where to get all the releases, in the most modern formats.)

Albums

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Kabaret at Karamel… Two in Perfect Harmony

Posted on July 12, 2017 by twilightdawning

What: The Incorruptibles Soiree

When: 7th July 2017

Who: Louise Kleboe and her Society of Imaginary Friends; Darren Hirst; The Astronauts; Martin Wakefield and more

Where: The Karamel Music Club and Restaurant, Wood Green, London

The band who opened Glastonbury

A kind of punky-folky rock band

A poet talking about creation

And the ghost of the white-faced clown holding a teddy and reciting Shakespearean monologues and soliloquies.

In a vegan restaurant and bar.

What could be more everyday? What could go wrong?

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The New York Yankees – The Pitchers in June (2017)

Posted on July 9, 2017 by twilightdawning

The Yankees pitching in June finally settled to a level much closer to what might have been expected when the season began. Add into the mix a few significant injuries and it was not a sweet recipe that was cooking as the month went along.

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The New York Yankees – The Batters in June (2017)

Posted on July 8, 2017 by twilightdawning

The Yankees had an amazing month in June. Staggering in the way it came together… and then fell apart.

Through to the 12th of the month, they went 8-3 with the bats exploding. Thereafter, it was 5-12. This left them with a month of 13-15 and a clear leadership swept away with Boston opening, in turn, a clear lead on the boys from the Bronx.

Whew!

A lot of this was due to injuries but also the team saw some of their players returning to the form they might have expected at the beginning of the year. Let’s review it all… starting with the guys with the lumber.

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The New York Yankees – The Pitchers in May (2017)

Posted on June 7, 2017 by twilightdawning

As we pointed out in our last column, the Yankees are having a steady, productive and successful season so far. The same can be said of their pitching. With the exception of Aroldis Chapman whose struggles led to further medical examination and then to the 10-day disabled list, most everyone is living up to or exceeding expectations. Let’s look in a little more detail:

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The New York Yankees – The Batters in May (2017)

Posted on June 4, 2017 by twilightdawning

The Yankees got off to a strong start in April – stronger than most had anticipated. They tussled for the lead in the American League East with the Baltimore Orioles.

In May, even more surprisingly, they maintained that trajectory whilst Baltimore faded slightly and the Boston Red Sox came into the picture. But by the end of the month, there was a couple of games clear lead that the Yankees had carved out ahead of their two rivals. Impressive.

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A Dish Fit For… Everyone

Posted on May 14, 2017 by twilightdawning

What: Julius Caesar

Where: Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon

Who: Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)

When: 4th May 2017.

This reviewer is confused

The RSC decided in their wisdom to have “press day” for both Antony & Cleopatra and Julius Caesar on the same day. Figuring that seeing two plays on one day would rather ruin the palate for the second, I decided to opt out of one. On the flip of a coin and because I prefer the “Cleopatra” play normally, I decided to come back and see Julius Caesar another day even though my review would appear later than everyone else’s and although it would mean seeing the plays out of sequence. Also, sequentially, it makes much more sense for Julius Caesar to be seen first.

Now I have to say that “Antony and Cleopatra” was horrible and the worst production i have seen from the RSC for a number of years.

Now since there is a director overseeing the four productions in the RSC’s Rome series, I estimated that this production would go in roughly the same direction as Iqbal Khan’s “Anthony and Cleopatra” and would need some fine performances to save it.

I needn’t have worried because Angus Jackson’s “Julius Caesar” is confusingly, truly excellent. Not flawless but truly, truly excellent and you would do well to see it.

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