Tuesday's New York Times crossword puzzle solved: July 3, 2018

My time: 5:05.

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All-American cruciverbalist Christopher Adams brings the patriotism a day early in this Tuesday's puzzle.  Three American League baseball teams are clued to to celebrate the colors of our flag: BOSTON / RED SOX, CHICAGO WHITE SOX, and TORONTO BLUEJAYS.  Hey, Toronto is in Canada, you pinko!  Anyway, baseball is the chosen sport for these colors because it's our NATIONAL PASTIME.

Frankly I find it hard to celebrate America when we have a disgusting uneducated narcissistic nepotistic sexual predator, Russian-backed puppet, and wanna-be dictator installed in the White House, using the Constitution for toilet paper (trial judges? due process? the Emoluments Clause? what are those?).  But onward we go.

"Course in which to determine a curve's slope" is CALC.

I'm surprised Jean ARP hasn't been featured in this blog before, but he's not exactly a new name to me.  Mustache Hat kind of looks like a Pac-Man ghost.

Never heard of PEDRO Martinez, three-time Cy Young winner, a Dominican-American pitcher who played for the Red Sox, among others.

Continuing the baseball theme, "Montreal nine, once" is EXPOS, last seen April 6.  Martinez played for them to great acclaim.

On a Houston Astros cap you will find a STAR.

And still in baseball, the expression RIDE the bench is new to me.

Battery terminal ANODE appeared on May 16, clued then as "what a current flows through."  Remember CLAIM, for "Cathode Leaving, Anode Into Machine."

Actress ISSA RAE appeared on September 11, 2017.  Here she is clued as the costar on HBO's "Insecure."  She is also the show creator and her character's name is Issa Dee.

The answer EARL for "title below marquess" appeared on January 5.  From the bottom up it's baron, viscount, earl, marquess, duke.  Remember this handy mnemonic: Bears voraciously eat mallard ducks.

Clever clues: "Result of going bumper to bumper?" is DENT.  "Fetal position?" is WOMB.

LET'S SEE now... This one WENT pretty quickly.  Not too much new material and a pleasing theme that helps with the solve.