Hi everyone. Nato here, back in blogging action just in time for the beginning of the middle of spring training down in Florida and Arizona. Here in Northeast Minneapolis, the giant snowpiles are slowly receding. As they recede, they reveal the garbage and mud and general scrabble which they hid all winter long. Someone, I'm not sure who, called this "The Great Reveal."
And that's the theme of this entry: The Great Reveal. Bear with me now while I reveal to you some opinions and facts and opinio-facts and whatever. And hey, it's good to see you all again! Happy new year.
1. Since I last posted, the Milwaukee Brewers got better. Way better. How is this even possible? Well, someone (possibly owner Mark Attanasio) gave Brewers GM Doug Melvin both a giant wad of spending cash and a kick in the ass to go get some damn pitching! Fans know that, last year, the Brewers hitters could hit, but the pitchers couldn't pitch. In 2010, the Brewers ranked 3rd in the National League in OPS at .759, and only the Colorado Rockies hit more home runs, which stands to reason considering they basically play in outer space. But the pitching staff ranked 14th in both ERA (4.58) and opponents' OPS (.765) and 15th in WHIP (1.44).
Clearly, something had to change. So, showing the kind of pedal-to-the-medal, party-now-hangover-tomorrow attitude which in 2007 brought the Brewers CC Sabathia and the playoffs for the first time since 1992, Melvin shocked the baseball world (really, nobody saw it coming until it was too late, and I'm happy to report that rumors of tearful wailing and gnashing of teeth in the Bronx are not exaggerated!) by nabbing 2009 Cy Young Award winner Zach Greinke from the Kansas City Royals, as well as the stalwart demi-ace Shawn Marcum from the Toronto Blue Jays (who was, ironically, born in Kansas City). Now, I'm not saying this makes the starting rotation better than the Philadelphia Phillies "four aces" as that would be an insult to whichever of Messrs. Halladay, Hamels, Oswalt, and Lee one matches up against Randy Wolf. I'm just saying that right now, on paper, the Brewers look competitive against any team in the National League in the top AND bottom of any inning. As I type this, Zach Greinke is out for the first couple weeks of the season with a fractured rib he got while playing basketball. So what? Who cares? Adam Wainwright of the St Louis Cardinals is out for the entire season, and he probably can't even hit a free throw either...
And with Prince Fielder batting for big big bucks in his last year before free agency, I wouldn't want to be a pitcher going up against the Brewers offense this year!
2. Right now, the Twin Cities has a TON of really good punk/hardcore/indie rock/whatever bands! This is a good scene. Here's how I know this: I usually keep a mental list of the dozen or so bands I'd like to play with on any given local show. But around here, the number seemed unmanageably large to just keep upstairs, so I said to myself, "I'm going to make an actual pen-and-paper list of all the bands who I should ask to play with us the next time I put something together at Stinky's Beat Shack or wherever." And the list was TWENTY SEVEN BANDS LONG. Leaving aside the numerology of 27 as an overly-hyped Rock Number, that's a lotta bands. If we played with three different bands per show, we'd have to play at least nine times a month to play with all the bands around here I'm thinking of! That's ridiculous.
3. One night a few weeks ago, the bands Best Coast and Wavves played in Minneapolis. The next afternoon, I was driving in the West Bank neighborhood and eating a slice of pizza. Feeling full enough before I reached the crust, I tossed the crust out the window onto a grassy/snowy embankment. It was unseasnably warm. A woman and a man were standing on the corner, and as I approached, the girl yelled "thanks for littering, asshole!" I yelled back "that was a pizza crust - it's bio-FUCKING-degradable and you know it!" Funny thing: she looked like and was dressed like the girl from Best Coast, and the guy looked like and was dressed like the guy from Wavves! So, two things here. 1. Is throwing a pizza crust onto a grassy/snowy embankment littering? 2. Best Coast are actually pretty good, I don't care about Wavves, and I wasn't at the show the night before either way. BUT, I think that if it WAS the singer from Best Coast, it's pretty cool that she'd call out a litterer for littering. Even if he wasn't actually littering, heh heh.
4. The Minnesota Twins signed a Japanese guy! This rules. I cannot stress this enough: I love Japanese baseball. A few years ago, I saw a documentary on ESPN2 called "The Zen Of Bobby V," about Bobby Valentine's stint as the manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines in the Central League of Japanese Pro Baseball. I love the songs, the cheering, the fanaticism, and although the stathead in my wrinkles his nose at the emphasis on bunting and hit-and-run style baseball, honestly it is really fun to watch! So, Tsuyoshi Nishioka has joined the Twins as their starting second baseman. Expect lots of singles, lots of doubles, lots of first-to-third baserunning, hopefully some good old-fashioned base stealery, and at not a few games, a certain bald, sideburned doofus singing his fight song every time he comes to the plate!
Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=demGSiw8l0E
5. Usually, at any given moment in mainstream pop culture, there is one good song, and all the other songs pretty much suck. I wonder why that is? For awhile, it was "99 Problems." Briefly, "Last Night." Then, it was "Hey Ya." That was a good era, I never got sick of that song. Anyway, you see what I'm getting at, right? Ok. Right now, "Fuck You" by Cee-lo Green is that song. Go listen to it, fall in love with music all over again...
Right then, that'll do it for today. Thanks for reading! See ya later,
-Nato
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Thoughts On The Postseason Thus Far
1. The Minnesota Twins just completely flopped. Mediocre pitching, terrible hitting, no execution - not in a dumb Joe Morgan sense, but in a specific no hits with runners in scoring position sense - and no wins as a result. Credit the Yankees with playing well, but the Twins should've beaten Sabathia in Game 1, should've broken the game open against Pettite in the second inning of Game 2 (instead of scoring a measly one run on a Danny Valencia sacrifice fly) and maybe won that game too, and all in all played completely unlike the powerhouse they were from early April to mid-September. The piece they were missing throughout this unmercifully quick series was a right-handed bat to platoon with the miserably sunk Jason Kubel, who has gone from Beast to Least in a mere 365 days. But hey, Kubel did hit that grand slam of Mariano Rivera earlier this season at Yankee Stadium, so he's got that going for him.
2. The Tampa Bay Rays probably should've won their series against the Rangers, especially Game 5, but errors and defense cost them in the end. I listened to most of the Rays/Rangers series in my car, while delivering pizza. If I delivered pizza like the Rays played defense in Game 5, I'd have t-boned a telephone pole the minute I hit the road (messing up the pizza in the process, with toppings sliding everywhere and all that). Then again, maybe nothing the Rays could've done would've mattered because...
3. Nobody seems to be able to hit Cliff Lee, the future postseason immortal currently pitching as a Texas Ranger for his third team in two seasons, and hey, you just know the Yankees are gonna make him an offer he can't refuse as soon as he becomes a free agent, right? I'd say that their payroll is stretched to breaking point right now, but man, oh, man, to quote a late-game text from my friend Craig in San Francisco: "The Yankees are going to sign him just so they stop losing in the post season to him."
4. Speaking of San Francisco, something to keep in mind as the announcers talk about the Phillies left-handed power threat: the Giants are better off when their great one-two righthanded pitching punch of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain are on the mound, than they are with Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner tossing: the Phillies have a higher on-base percentage and slugging percentage against lefties than righties (and OPS, natch). It's already Game 3... but my rotation for the Giants here on out would be to return Lincecum and Cain to the mound on short rest for games 4 and 5. They're in San Francisco, home field advantage is in effect. Time to strike while the iron is hot! If this series goes to seven games, Cole Hamels in Philly will likely be invincible. Team Torture needs to win at least two games in SF, or they will not win this series. And Matty and Tim give them their best shot.
5. Respect to Bobby Cox. What a great manager, the greatest in my lifetime for sure.
6. Maybe if Cincinnati hadn't had the worst attendance of any playoff team in the National League, they would've scored more runs against Philly. People of Cincy! Put down the chili and GO TO THE GAMES. Your Reds are one of the most fun, unique, exciting young teams in baseball. And Bronson Arroyo might sing you some Pearl Jam, too, if you ask him real nice and he's got his slow curve working. My NL MVP vote would've been for Joey Votto this year - I say "would've" because, yet again, the Baseball Writers Association Of America has refused to give me my say. Can we start a petition or something?
7. Although the no-hitter from Roy Halladay is an instant legend, for my money the best pitching performance of this year's postseason thus far is Tim Lincecum's 14 strikeout two-hit shutout of the Braves one day later. And when the two met, in Game 1 of the NLDS, Lincecum prevailed. Here's why. The strike zone was called tight, to the point where most strikes could be hit well by a good swing. Halladay refused to accept that, and he suffered as a result (and took the loss). Conversely, the Freak was willing to issue a walk or three, thereby cutting down on the number of pitches that batters could hit with authority, and limited the damage enough to nail down that quality start and win (and one more k than Doc, to boot). It's a risk when a pitcher issues walks, because that allows baserunners, and the opposite of recording an out is allowing a baserunner. But for my money, if a home plate ump is calling an Eddie Gaedel-sized strike zone, a good pitcher should be willing to walk one or two more guys than usual if he knows he can get the strikeout as a result of his ump-induced "effective wildness."
8. Predictions, at 1:17am, from the basement of Mesa Pizza in Dinkytown, Minneapolis: Rangers in six, Phillies in seven. Cliff Lee, meet Roy Halladay. Not sure if you two are aware of this, but you might have something in common...
2. The Tampa Bay Rays probably should've won their series against the Rangers, especially Game 5, but errors and defense cost them in the end. I listened to most of the Rays/Rangers series in my car, while delivering pizza. If I delivered pizza like the Rays played defense in Game 5, I'd have t-boned a telephone pole the minute I hit the road (messing up the pizza in the process, with toppings sliding everywhere and all that). Then again, maybe nothing the Rays could've done would've mattered because...
3. Nobody seems to be able to hit Cliff Lee, the future postseason immortal currently pitching as a Texas Ranger for his third team in two seasons, and hey, you just know the Yankees are gonna make him an offer he can't refuse as soon as he becomes a free agent, right? I'd say that their payroll is stretched to breaking point right now, but man, oh, man, to quote a late-game text from my friend Craig in San Francisco: "The Yankees are going to sign him just so they stop losing in the post season to him."
4. Speaking of San Francisco, something to keep in mind as the announcers talk about the Phillies left-handed power threat: the Giants are better off when their great one-two righthanded pitching punch of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain are on the mound, than they are with Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner tossing: the Phillies have a higher on-base percentage and slugging percentage against lefties than righties (and OPS, natch). It's already Game 3... but my rotation for the Giants here on out would be to return Lincecum and Cain to the mound on short rest for games 4 and 5. They're in San Francisco, home field advantage is in effect. Time to strike while the iron is hot! If this series goes to seven games, Cole Hamels in Philly will likely be invincible. Team Torture needs to win at least two games in SF, or they will not win this series. And Matty and Tim give them their best shot.
5. Respect to Bobby Cox. What a great manager, the greatest in my lifetime for sure.
6. Maybe if Cincinnati hadn't had the worst attendance of any playoff team in the National League, they would've scored more runs against Philly. People of Cincy! Put down the chili and GO TO THE GAMES. Your Reds are one of the most fun, unique, exciting young teams in baseball. And Bronson Arroyo might sing you some Pearl Jam, too, if you ask him real nice and he's got his slow curve working. My NL MVP vote would've been for Joey Votto this year - I say "would've" because, yet again, the Baseball Writers Association Of America has refused to give me my say. Can we start a petition or something?
7. Although the no-hitter from Roy Halladay is an instant legend, for my money the best pitching performance of this year's postseason thus far is Tim Lincecum's 14 strikeout two-hit shutout of the Braves one day later. And when the two met, in Game 1 of the NLDS, Lincecum prevailed. Here's why. The strike zone was called tight, to the point where most strikes could be hit well by a good swing. Halladay refused to accept that, and he suffered as a result (and took the loss). Conversely, the Freak was willing to issue a walk or three, thereby cutting down on the number of pitches that batters could hit with authority, and limited the damage enough to nail down that quality start and win (and one more k than Doc, to boot). It's a risk when a pitcher issues walks, because that allows baserunners, and the opposite of recording an out is allowing a baserunner. But for my money, if a home plate ump is calling an Eddie Gaedel-sized strike zone, a good pitcher should be willing to walk one or two more guys than usual if he knows he can get the strikeout as a result of his ump-induced "effective wildness."
8. Predictions, at 1:17am, from the basement of Mesa Pizza in Dinkytown, Minneapolis: Rangers in six, Phillies in seven. Cliff Lee, meet Roy Halladay. Not sure if you two are aware of this, but you might have something in common...
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Know Your Product
The Saints were a great Australian punk band from the late 1970's. Well, they moved to England to make their classic couple of albums (and some less classic albums which, while still very enjoyable in their own right, just don't quite stand up to the first two, no matter what your crazy friend in Brooklyn who is obsessed with Prehistoric Sounds says), but they were Australian.
Their first album, (I'm) Stranded, sounds like a hurricane. The vocals are sneering, slicing nasal acid. The guitar and bass roar. The drums are big and trashy and thunderous. There are a couple slow songs, and hey, they're great too - the guitars are still loud, I think I've never heard louder guitar on a ballad than on "Messing With The Kid." It's an amazing album, hard to beat.
But actually - and this may or not be a key defining characteristic of my musical taste - I've always liked the second album better. It's called Eternally Yours. It's still loud as hell, but the production is a little cleaner, the slow songs have a little less overdrive on the guitar, and ultimately it's less raw. Oh, and there's a horn section here and there. I'm pretty ambivalent about horn sections - basically, the more trebly a horn section is, the worse off I am. And it seems like a horn section makes a song no better and usually worse at least 95% of the time. But a cool, soulful horn arrangement done right can really add a lot to a song - and on the first track, "Know Your Product," the horns do just that. To me, "Know Your Product" is the Everest of punk rock songs with horn sections. The lyrics are essentially a reworking of the frustrated anti-cheap consumerism parts of the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," which always floats my boat. I know it's hard to believe, but I think commercials have gotten even dumber in the last few years. No, actually, that's not hard to believe at all. Brawndo's got what plants crave, right, right... well, "Know Your Product" is a great song, and Eternally Yours is a great album.
Last night, I went out to the Triple Rock, here in Minneapolis, to see one of my favorite bands, Gentleman Jesse and His Men, open up for King Hhan and His Shrines (by the way, those twin "His"-es lead me to wonder: are Jesse and Khan the two most insecurely possessive frontmen out there today?). Well, Jesse/His Men smoked as always. They've added a keyboardist who correctly understands that the only two good keyboard sounds in rock'n'roll history are: 1. Hammond organ providing a big background hum, with occasional rare riffy flourishes, and 2. Piano going dingdingdingdingdingding AND NOTHING ELSE (unless you're The Killer, in which case 2.a. Piano going dingdingding-dingdingding-dingdingding is acceptable). They're great.
And then, ladies and gentlemen, King Khan and His Shrines. All I can say is: WOW. I haven't seen a live band that good in a long time. I mean, I've seen live bands that good - just not in recent memory. It was about an 8-piece soul/rnb/rock/garage/funk/punk mishmash, part Screamin' Jay Hawkins, part P-Funk, part garage tras a la the Gories/the Oblivians/etc., a little bit of mindbending banter and secrets, and of course a whole lotta James Brownism from Khan himself. Well, they were tremendous. I danced, sang along to songs I was hearing for the first time, and cheered especially loudly when it was time to get the band back out there for an encore.
That was when I was run over by a freight train. A glorious, jawdropping, freight train of rock'n'roll perfection.
Warren from Gentleman Jesse's Men grabbed a guitar and joined the folks onstage (making it nine total musicians/dancers up there), and the band launched into the GREATEST LIVE COVER I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE: "Know Your Product," done EXACTLY AS THE ROCK'N'ROLL GODS INTENDED.
Ladies and gentleman: Everest has been climbed. That is all.
Their first album, (I'm) Stranded, sounds like a hurricane. The vocals are sneering, slicing nasal acid. The guitar and bass roar. The drums are big and trashy and thunderous. There are a couple slow songs, and hey, they're great too - the guitars are still loud, I think I've never heard louder guitar on a ballad than on "Messing With The Kid." It's an amazing album, hard to beat.
But actually - and this may or not be a key defining characteristic of my musical taste - I've always liked the second album better. It's called Eternally Yours. It's still loud as hell, but the production is a little cleaner, the slow songs have a little less overdrive on the guitar, and ultimately it's less raw. Oh, and there's a horn section here and there. I'm pretty ambivalent about horn sections - basically, the more trebly a horn section is, the worse off I am. And it seems like a horn section makes a song no better and usually worse at least 95% of the time. But a cool, soulful horn arrangement done right can really add a lot to a song - and on the first track, "Know Your Product," the horns do just that. To me, "Know Your Product" is the Everest of punk rock songs with horn sections. The lyrics are essentially a reworking of the frustrated anti-cheap consumerism parts of the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," which always floats my boat. I know it's hard to believe, but I think commercials have gotten even dumber in the last few years. No, actually, that's not hard to believe at all. Brawndo's got what plants crave, right, right... well, "Know Your Product" is a great song, and Eternally Yours is a great album.
Last night, I went out to the Triple Rock, here in Minneapolis, to see one of my favorite bands, Gentleman Jesse and His Men, open up for King Hhan and His Shrines (by the way, those twin "His"-es lead me to wonder: are Jesse and Khan the two most insecurely possessive frontmen out there today?). Well, Jesse/His Men smoked as always. They've added a keyboardist who correctly understands that the only two good keyboard sounds in rock'n'roll history are: 1. Hammond organ providing a big background hum, with occasional rare riffy flourishes, and 2. Piano going dingdingdingdingdingding AND NOTHING ELSE (unless you're The Killer, in which case 2.a. Piano going dingdingding-dingdingding-dingdingding is acceptable). They're great.
And then, ladies and gentlemen, King Khan and His Shrines. All I can say is: WOW. I haven't seen a live band that good in a long time. I mean, I've seen live bands that good - just not in recent memory. It was about an 8-piece soul/rnb/rock/garage/funk/punk mishmash, part Screamin' Jay Hawkins, part P-Funk, part garage tras a la the Gories/the Oblivians/etc., a little bit of mindbending banter and secrets, and of course a whole lotta James Brownism from Khan himself. Well, they were tremendous. I danced, sang along to songs I was hearing for the first time, and cheered especially loudly when it was time to get the band back out there for an encore.
That was when I was run over by a freight train. A glorious, jawdropping, freight train of rock'n'roll perfection.
Warren from Gentleman Jesse's Men grabbed a guitar and joined the folks onstage (making it nine total musicians/dancers up there), and the band launched into the GREATEST LIVE COVER I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE: "Know Your Product," done EXACTLY AS THE ROCK'N'ROLL GODS INTENDED.
Ladies and gentleman: Everest has been climbed. That is all.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Welcome Back, Me
Hi there, Nato here, I'm back on this blogging thing, hopefully a good once or twice a week from here on out. It sure has been awhile, specifically late July, since I've posted here! This is primarily because I've spent the last couple months with rather sporadic internet access, and not enough time to devote to good lunchbucket blood and guts blogging, the kind you expect from me.
And the twin parallel worlds of rock and roll and baseball have most certainly not ceased to function merely because I temporarily ceased to post here! So let me see if I can't recap what's piqued my interest in the last couple months...
1. I moved to a new neighborhood in Minneapolis - "Nordeast" if you will - and there's a record store about a mile away from me! The last thing I bought from there, The Return Of Roger Miller, is currently blasting through the hallways of my house. Yes, that's the album that has "(And You Had A) Do Wacka Do" and "You Can't Rollerskate In A Buffalo Herd," as well as the immortal "King Of The Road" (but my copy skips horribly on that song only). Great stuff to begin your day with, first cup of coffee music and all that.
2. Apparently one of the best bands in the world right now, The Goodnight Loving (from Milwaukee), ended up being popular in SPIN Magazine? Or something? Well regardless, all of you should get their new album, The Goodnight Loving Supper Club, and their previous album, which is self titled and has a picture of them with dogs on the cover... and hey, get their first two albums, too! You can find 'em on Dusty Medical Records, a lable from Milwaukee. Hey, do you like the Byrds? Do you like punk rock that isn't played through Marshall half-stacks? If you answered "yes" to both of these questions, then you're probably fishing right now, and I wish I was you.
3. The National League East, West, and Wild Card races are fascinating and awesome! All season long, I kept saying that I didn't "believe" in the Padres, whatever that means, but I felt that the descriptor was apt for a team named after a bunch of child molestors/Mayan killers... oops I mean Jesuit priests... but that's neither here nor there. I STILL don't believe in the Padres, and fully expect that either the Rockies or the Giants will win the NL West, while the Philadelphia Phillies win the NL East, and most likely the Atlanta Braves but quite possibly the Colorado Rockies snag the Wild Card. My sentimental favorite in the National League (absent the Brewers, of course), is San Francisco, mainly because I like a bunch of the players on the team, and I have a bunch of friends in the Bay Area. However, it's pretty hard to bet against the Phillies right now, with that offense, and the best 1-2-3 punch from a starting rotation available in the Major Leagues, or any other.
4. Let's say you're the Chicago White Sox. Your manager, operating on the principle that the DH spot in the lineup is a good place for position players to get a sort of half-day (i.e. need a rest, Alex Rios, from that demanding center field job? Ok buddy, you're DHing today, we'll toss Brent Lillibridge into center field and you can get a rest from all those fly balls you've been scampering to catch), lets Jim Thome - who is a future Hall Of Famer and a still-ultraproductive power hitter - vanish into free agency, and makes no push to resign him. So, during the disappointing 2010 season, during which your offense is probably the biggest disappointment next to Jake Peavy, you end up with the most DH plate appearances going to Mark Kotsay, with an OPS of .678... and he is your DESIGNATED HITTER, mind you, a player whose only real job requirement is HITTING (ok, a little baserunning too, but come on - Mark Kotsay has an OPS of .678 this year!). And while guys like Carlos Quentin and Paul Konerko get the occasional DH assignment, you also end up with such powerhitting luminaries as Gordon Beckham (OPS .695), Juan Pierre (OPS .649), and Omar Vizquel (the real slugger of the bunch with an OPS of .701) clogging up the DH every so often. This is not a plan which guarantees success at the plate. This is a plan which guarantees that the Minnesota Twins will run away with the AL Central by mid-September, which is exactly what happened.
And the Twins? Yeah, they're the team that signed Jim Thome as a DH-only part-time player for $1.5 million... the same Jim Thome who, as a DH-only, leads the Twins in home runs with 24 and a Lazarus-like OPS for a 40-year old man of 1.027!
Let's say you're the White Sox. It's late August, the Twins are playing like it's 1991 again, and your team is struggling to keep up. What do they have that you don't? A slugger at DH. So, you go out and sign known 'roider (incidentally, Jim Thome has never been linked to steroid use) and suspected aging skill-sink Manny Ramirez, and take on approximately $3.8 million of his salary for the rest of the year. And what does Manny give you? Weeks without an extra-base hit or a RBI. A home crowd booing his every at-bat. A circus. An OPS of .768. Well, at least it's an improvement over Mark Kotsay. The Chicago White Sox will enjoy a quiet October, because their manager and organization forgot two important yet often-overlooked facts about baseball:
i. Steroid guys age very quickly.
ii. The only thing a designated hitter should be able to do is hit.
The Minnesota Twins, with a somewhat old-school manager and a thrifty GM, kept both these things in mind, and are currently competing for the best record in all of baseball.
5. Delmon Young has a Misfits tattoo! "I've got something to saaaayyyy... I hit two homers today and it doesn't matter much to meeeee, as long as weee wiiiinnnnnnn...."
And the twin parallel worlds of rock and roll and baseball have most certainly not ceased to function merely because I temporarily ceased to post here! So let me see if I can't recap what's piqued my interest in the last couple months...
1. I moved to a new neighborhood in Minneapolis - "Nordeast" if you will - and there's a record store about a mile away from me! The last thing I bought from there, The Return Of Roger Miller, is currently blasting through the hallways of my house. Yes, that's the album that has "(And You Had A) Do Wacka Do" and "You Can't Rollerskate In A Buffalo Herd," as well as the immortal "King Of The Road" (but my copy skips horribly on that song only). Great stuff to begin your day with, first cup of coffee music and all that.
2. Apparently one of the best bands in the world right now, The Goodnight Loving (from Milwaukee), ended up being popular in SPIN Magazine? Or something? Well regardless, all of you should get their new album, The Goodnight Loving Supper Club, and their previous album, which is self titled and has a picture of them with dogs on the cover... and hey, get their first two albums, too! You can find 'em on Dusty Medical Records, a lable from Milwaukee. Hey, do you like the Byrds? Do you like punk rock that isn't played through Marshall half-stacks? If you answered "yes" to both of these questions, then you're probably fishing right now, and I wish I was you.
3. The National League East, West, and Wild Card races are fascinating and awesome! All season long, I kept saying that I didn't "believe" in the Padres, whatever that means, but I felt that the descriptor was apt for a team named after a bunch of child molestors/Mayan killers... oops I mean Jesuit priests... but that's neither here nor there. I STILL don't believe in the Padres, and fully expect that either the Rockies or the Giants will win the NL West, while the Philadelphia Phillies win the NL East, and most likely the Atlanta Braves but quite possibly the Colorado Rockies snag the Wild Card. My sentimental favorite in the National League (absent the Brewers, of course), is San Francisco, mainly because I like a bunch of the players on the team, and I have a bunch of friends in the Bay Area. However, it's pretty hard to bet against the Phillies right now, with that offense, and the best 1-2-3 punch from a starting rotation available in the Major Leagues, or any other.
4. Let's say you're the Chicago White Sox. Your manager, operating on the principle that the DH spot in the lineup is a good place for position players to get a sort of half-day (i.e. need a rest, Alex Rios, from that demanding center field job? Ok buddy, you're DHing today, we'll toss Brent Lillibridge into center field and you can get a rest from all those fly balls you've been scampering to catch), lets Jim Thome - who is a future Hall Of Famer and a still-ultraproductive power hitter - vanish into free agency, and makes no push to resign him. So, during the disappointing 2010 season, during which your offense is probably the biggest disappointment next to Jake Peavy, you end up with the most DH plate appearances going to Mark Kotsay, with an OPS of .678... and he is your DESIGNATED HITTER, mind you, a player whose only real job requirement is HITTING (ok, a little baserunning too, but come on - Mark Kotsay has an OPS of .678 this year!). And while guys like Carlos Quentin and Paul Konerko get the occasional DH assignment, you also end up with such powerhitting luminaries as Gordon Beckham (OPS .695), Juan Pierre (OPS .649), and Omar Vizquel (the real slugger of the bunch with an OPS of .701) clogging up the DH every so often. This is not a plan which guarantees success at the plate. This is a plan which guarantees that the Minnesota Twins will run away with the AL Central by mid-September, which is exactly what happened.
And the Twins? Yeah, they're the team that signed Jim Thome as a DH-only part-time player for $1.5 million... the same Jim Thome who, as a DH-only, leads the Twins in home runs with 24 and a Lazarus-like OPS for a 40-year old man of 1.027!
Let's say you're the White Sox. It's late August, the Twins are playing like it's 1991 again, and your team is struggling to keep up. What do they have that you don't? A slugger at DH. So, you go out and sign known 'roider (incidentally, Jim Thome has never been linked to steroid use) and suspected aging skill-sink Manny Ramirez, and take on approximately $3.8 million of his salary for the rest of the year. And what does Manny give you? Weeks without an extra-base hit or a RBI. A home crowd booing his every at-bat. A circus. An OPS of .768. Well, at least it's an improvement over Mark Kotsay. The Chicago White Sox will enjoy a quiet October, because their manager and organization forgot two important yet often-overlooked facts about baseball:
i. Steroid guys age very quickly.
ii. The only thing a designated hitter should be able to do is hit.
The Minnesota Twins, with a somewhat old-school manager and a thrifty GM, kept both these things in mind, and are currently competing for the best record in all of baseball.
5. Delmon Young has a Misfits tattoo! "I've got something to saaaayyyy... I hit two homers today and it doesn't matter much to meeeee, as long as weee wiiiinnnnnnn...."
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Descendents and Thin Lizzy
This past month, my band (www.myspace.com/natocoles) learned a set of Descendents songs, to play at a two-day event in Minneapolis called The Pop Punk Emporium, which happened on July 9th and 10th. Here's the setlist:
ALL
MYAGE
COOLIDGE
NO, ALL!
CHEER
I'M NOT A LOSER
BIKEAGE
HOPE
GOOD GOOD THINGS
CLEAN SHEETS
Now, I know what you're thinking. You're wondering why your favorite Descendents song - "Pep Talk," perhaps, or maybe "Suburban Home," or even "Iceman" - wasn't included in this set. There were three criteria used to draw up the set: 1.) General popularity of the song; 2.) Specific popularity of the song within the band; 3.) Difficulty of learning and playing the song.
For example, consider "Good Good Things." It's a really cool song! But, is it as cool as "Pervert," or the song "I Don't Want To Grow Up," or "Silly Girl," or "My World," or the song "Descendents," all of which are from the same album (I Don't Want To Grow Up)? Well, Mike Cranberry (our drummer) really loves "Good Good Things," and it was a very easy song to learn - unlike, say, "Pervert" or "I Don't Want To Grow Up," both of which have funny chord changes and timing issues (as is typical of songs Tony Lombardo had something to do with the writing of). And although my favorite Descendents song of all time is "My World," it's a personal favorite more than a fan favorite, and thus it was left off the setlist (by which I mean, not learned).
Anyway, we played the set on July 9th, and then about 2/3rds of it again on July 26th (at a bowling alley called Memory Lanes, appropriate enough a location for a tribute act). We worked very hard to get the songs tight and right, and it was a ton of fun to actually pull it off. I think it was a success. I saw a lot of smiling, familiar faces as we played, that's for sure. Some crazy dancing as well.
Now, we near the end of July, and my band has our sights set on another task: a Thin Lizzy cover set, to be played at the Triple Rock Social Club on August 20th. I doubt we'll learn ten songs - more like six or seven. And we're not going to learn any "hits," as those will be left to the headlining band of punks (their name? Jailbreak, naturally). I'm not sure what songs we're going to learn. Any suggestions?
The only thing I know is this: learning Thin Lizzy songs is WAYYY easier than learning Descendents songs!!!
ALL
MYAGE
COOLIDGE
NO, ALL!
CHEER
I'M NOT A LOSER
BIKEAGE
HOPE
GOOD GOOD THINGS
CLEAN SHEETS
Now, I know what you're thinking. You're wondering why your favorite Descendents song - "Pep Talk," perhaps, or maybe "Suburban Home," or even "Iceman" - wasn't included in this set. There were three criteria used to draw up the set: 1.) General popularity of the song; 2.) Specific popularity of the song within the band; 3.) Difficulty of learning and playing the song.
For example, consider "Good Good Things." It's a really cool song! But, is it as cool as "Pervert," or the song "I Don't Want To Grow Up," or "Silly Girl," or "My World," or the song "Descendents," all of which are from the same album (I Don't Want To Grow Up)? Well, Mike Cranberry (our drummer) really loves "Good Good Things," and it was a very easy song to learn - unlike, say, "Pervert" or "I Don't Want To Grow Up," both of which have funny chord changes and timing issues (as is typical of songs Tony Lombardo had something to do with the writing of). And although my favorite Descendents song of all time is "My World," it's a personal favorite more than a fan favorite, and thus it was left off the setlist (by which I mean, not learned).
Anyway, we played the set on July 9th, and then about 2/3rds of it again on July 26th (at a bowling alley called Memory Lanes, appropriate enough a location for a tribute act). We worked very hard to get the songs tight and right, and it was a ton of fun to actually pull it off. I think it was a success. I saw a lot of smiling, familiar faces as we played, that's for sure. Some crazy dancing as well.
Now, we near the end of July, and my band has our sights set on another task: a Thin Lizzy cover set, to be played at the Triple Rock Social Club on August 20th. I doubt we'll learn ten songs - more like six or seven. And we're not going to learn any "hits," as those will be left to the headlining band of punks (their name? Jailbreak, naturally). I'm not sure what songs we're going to learn. Any suggestions?
The only thing I know is this: learning Thin Lizzy songs is WAYYY easier than learning Descendents songs!!!
Friday, July 23, 2010
"Liveblogging" Bob Uecker's Return
Why not? Over the course of the Milwaukee Brewers broadcast today, July 23rd 2010 A.D., I will attempt my first-ever "liveblog," because Bob Uecker is back! He's back, he's healthy (enough), and he's calling the play-by-play for the Brew Crew (with Corey Provus) once more. Glad to have ya back, Bob.
(I put "liveblog" in quotes, because I'm not truly liveblogging, just keeping the minutes of his broadcast, which I will then post at the end of the game or whenever it is I have to quit typing and go to the Screeching Weasel reunion show at the Triple Rock in Minneapolis, like around 8:30pm or so).
7:10pm - "Allright Corey, thank you very much, and this broadcast once again is..." blah blah blah express written consent, whatever, HOLY SHIT, BOB UECKER IS BACK!!! This is awesome.
7:11pm - Bob Uecker congratulates Corey and Davey Nelson for their work in his absence. This makes sense. Corey did his quasi-Jim Powell best - good enough. And Davey Nelson did nothing whatsoever to convince Brewers nation that Bob Uecker could be replaced. Good job, Davey!
7:12pm - Bob sounds good, calling Nyjer Morgan's strikeout. He has not forgotten how baseball works. Gold star!
7:13pm - Here, Bob alludes to the recent flooding of Milwaukee, although no mention of the giant sinkhole at the corner of Oakland and North which literally swallowed a Cadillac Escalade... we'll see if he gets to that later. Seems like a Ueck-ish thing.
7:15pm - "Here is Ricky Weeks to lead things off..." And we are back to Ueck play-by-play on offense for the Brewers, which, let's face it, most Brewer fans are looking forward to much more than his play-by-play calling of Brewers pitching or the very unreasonable facsimile thereof.
7:18pm - "Great to be back. Miss this stuff when you're not around it!... I did read the disclaimer every day whether I was at the park or not. The doctors told me it was the first thing I did after I came out of anaethesia. This surgery brought to you by the Milwaukee Brewers... speaking of the surgery, it was a coin flip to find out who was gonna do it..." Then he thanks the doctors by name.
7:19pm - Corey Hart triples to the opposite field, and an excited Bob Uecker calls it without requiring more heart surgery!
7:23pm - "Braun, with his 60th RBI of the year..." gives the Brewers the lead on a sac fly to deep center, driving in Corey from third. According to Bob, Ryan Braun "hit that one right on the screws." One to nothing, Brewers lead the Nationals here in the first inning.
7:25pm - "Fielder lines a bullet to Adamn Dunn and the inning is over." Works for me! Bob Uecker is back, and everything is awesome. Hey, the Brewers are even winning (by one run)! Time for a bathroom break.
7:35pm - Upon my return to this "liveblog," I hear Bob complaining about how someone named Morse hit a home run. Uh oh. Three to one, Nationals. At least there's a bright side - Chris Narveson has really improved as a starting pitcher. In the past, he's had trouble getting out of the first inning without giving up multiple runs, after which point he usually settled down. Tonight? Well, he's managed to hold off on his Inning of Crappiness until the second. Good for him!
7:38pm - Uecker, in promoting a Menards special: "I've been in Menards a whole lot the last couple of months! Anything to pick up a couple bucks. Paint department." Corey: "Any new hobbies?" Bob: "Wellll, I fell off a ladder! Coupla shinburgers on that baby." Later, after mentioning that he fell into one of his flower beds... "I don't know why I did it. It made everybody mad. At least if I'd have expired I'd have been in the flowers, anyway."
7:40pm - Corey says the most popular text messages regarding Bob Uecker were ones inquiring as to the health of his garden. Bob claims that most of it is currently somewhere in the Menomonee River.
7:41pm - Ueck: "It's not tough to get that stuff in the ground. It's tough to train the chipmunks to dig the little holes for ya."
7:45pm - "We are ready for the third, and stepping in to call it for you, here's Corey Provus." Ok, no offense to Corey (who is very good at his job), but I'm gonna listen to the Twins game for a little while. This is, after all, Dan Gladden's first night back in the broadcast booth after having surgery to remove his siamese Jack Morris.
8:10pm - Despite a tension-filled 2-out moment in Baltimore, I'm checking back on the Brewer game. Let's see what Bob has to say...
8:11pm - It's still Corey Provus, and that damn Morse fellow hit yet another home run off Chris Narveson. Five to one, Nats. That's enough for me. I'm off to Screeching Weasel! But hey, Bob Uecker's back, and it's awesome. See y'all next time.
(I put "liveblog" in quotes, because I'm not truly liveblogging, just keeping the minutes of his broadcast, which I will then post at the end of the game or whenever it is I have to quit typing and go to the Screeching Weasel reunion show at the Triple Rock in Minneapolis, like around 8:30pm or so).
7:10pm - "Allright Corey, thank you very much, and this broadcast once again is..." blah blah blah express written consent, whatever, HOLY SHIT, BOB UECKER IS BACK!!! This is awesome.
7:11pm - Bob Uecker congratulates Corey and Davey Nelson for their work in his absence. This makes sense. Corey did his quasi-Jim Powell best - good enough. And Davey Nelson did nothing whatsoever to convince Brewers nation that Bob Uecker could be replaced. Good job, Davey!
7:12pm - Bob sounds good, calling Nyjer Morgan's strikeout. He has not forgotten how baseball works. Gold star!
7:13pm - Here, Bob alludes to the recent flooding of Milwaukee, although no mention of the giant sinkhole at the corner of Oakland and North which literally swallowed a Cadillac Escalade... we'll see if he gets to that later. Seems like a Ueck-ish thing.
7:15pm - "Here is Ricky Weeks to lead things off..." And we are back to Ueck play-by-play on offense for the Brewers, which, let's face it, most Brewer fans are looking forward to much more than his play-by-play calling of Brewers pitching or the very unreasonable facsimile thereof.
7:18pm - "Great to be back. Miss this stuff when you're not around it!... I did read the disclaimer every day whether I was at the park or not. The doctors told me it was the first thing I did after I came out of anaethesia. This surgery brought to you by the Milwaukee Brewers... speaking of the surgery, it was a coin flip to find out who was gonna do it..." Then he thanks the doctors by name.
7:19pm - Corey Hart triples to the opposite field, and an excited Bob Uecker calls it without requiring more heart surgery!
7:23pm - "Braun, with his 60th RBI of the year..." gives the Brewers the lead on a sac fly to deep center, driving in Corey from third. According to Bob, Ryan Braun "hit that one right on the screws." One to nothing, Brewers lead the Nationals here in the first inning.
7:25pm - "Fielder lines a bullet to Adamn Dunn and the inning is over." Works for me! Bob Uecker is back, and everything is awesome. Hey, the Brewers are even winning (by one run)! Time for a bathroom break.
7:35pm - Upon my return to this "liveblog," I hear Bob complaining about how someone named Morse hit a home run. Uh oh. Three to one, Nationals. At least there's a bright side - Chris Narveson has really improved as a starting pitcher. In the past, he's had trouble getting out of the first inning without giving up multiple runs, after which point he usually settled down. Tonight? Well, he's managed to hold off on his Inning of Crappiness until the second. Good for him!
7:38pm - Uecker, in promoting a Menards special: "I've been in Menards a whole lot the last couple of months! Anything to pick up a couple bucks. Paint department." Corey: "Any new hobbies?" Bob: "Wellll, I fell off a ladder! Coupla shinburgers on that baby." Later, after mentioning that he fell into one of his flower beds... "I don't know why I did it. It made everybody mad. At least if I'd have expired I'd have been in the flowers, anyway."
7:40pm - Corey says the most popular text messages regarding Bob Uecker were ones inquiring as to the health of his garden. Bob claims that most of it is currently somewhere in the Menomonee River.
7:41pm - Ueck: "It's not tough to get that stuff in the ground. It's tough to train the chipmunks to dig the little holes for ya."
7:45pm - "We are ready for the third, and stepping in to call it for you, here's Corey Provus." Ok, no offense to Corey (who is very good at his job), but I'm gonna listen to the Twins game for a little while. This is, after all, Dan Gladden's first night back in the broadcast booth after having surgery to remove his siamese Jack Morris.
8:10pm - Despite a tension-filled 2-out moment in Baltimore, I'm checking back on the Brewer game. Let's see what Bob has to say...
8:11pm - It's still Corey Provus, and that damn Morse fellow hit yet another home run off Chris Narveson. Five to one, Nats. That's enough for me. I'm off to Screeching Weasel! But hey, Bob Uecker's back, and it's awesome. See y'all next time.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The 2010 All-Star Game: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Hey! The 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game just happened! And some pretty interesting things happened during it. I'm sitting in a beautiful log cabin just upmountain from Estes, Colorado, with the door wide open and I'm feeling that refreshing breeze typical of young mountains, pine forests, and sparkling ice-cold crystal-clear lakes and streams. Also, I talk to trout.
Anyway, consider that old Clint Eastwood movie The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly. That three-part title has always meant to me the following: some things in life are just and right and awesome - The Good. And some things in life are nasty and brutish and stupid and evil - The Bad. And then there are some things that aren't pretty, aren't nice, but are effective and get the job done no matter how high the body count may climb - The Ugly. Here's my The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly take on yesterday's baseball match.
The Good:
1. The National League won! It was about time. I kinda knew they were going to win this year, because they in general had a more solid pitching staff. It'll be nice for the NL team to have home field advantage again... for the first time since cave man days.
2. Marlon Byrd. Credit where credit's due to a hated Cubbie - he worked a great at-bat against Matt Thorton with two outs to draw a walk, just before Brian McCann hit a bases-clearing double to score all three NL runs. Byrd, being a speedy fellow, scored from first, where a slower dude - Scott Rolen (who scored from third) comes to mind - wouldn't have. Although the NL only needed two of their three runs to win, that cushion is invaluable. Not to mention his heads-up defense in the ninth inning; Marlon Byrd played a shallow blooper on a hop and threw a laser strike to second base to nick David Ortiz for the second out of the inning, and kill a rally. That's classic veteran poise and performance - and considering his great day in Anaheim, Byrd must've been "Eight Miles High" after the game, heh.
3. Brian McCann. Hit a bases-clearing double to score the only runs the NL would need to win. Plus, he caught just about every single pitch he was thrown by the vast assortment of talented NL pitchers he handled - and Matt Capps, too (more on Capps later).
4. Derek Jeter using Bob Sheppard's recorded intro was cool. Even if you're sick of the Yankees, that's classy all down the line.
5. Ryan Braun's diving catch to rob Josh Hamilton of extra bases. Watching him twist and bend his wrist over and backward and come up with the ball unharmed, you had to give it up for a guy willing to risk injury in what is essentially an exhibition game. I guess he really thinks the Brewers can come back and make it to the World Series and get home-field advantage. Good for him!
The Bad:
1. The Managers. Ay, yi, yi. Let's start with Joe Girardi. Why on EARTH would you let Alex Rodriguez sit on the bench throughout an entire game, where at several crucial late inning moments, his pinch-hitting or baserunning could've made a difference or even tied the game? I am baffled, and I have to assume that A-Rod didn't a.) pinch run for David Ortiz in the ninth inning (dollars to donuts Byrd can't throw A-Rod out on that play), or b.) pinch hit for Ian Kinsler with two down in the bottom of the ninth, who while a fine hitter in his own right, isn't - oh, I don't know, what's a good descriptor here - THE BEST HITTER IN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE??? I have to assume that A-Rod didn't enter the game for one of two reasons: because Joe Girardi didn't want to risk injury or whatnot to his star, or because A-Rod is a total dick and didn't want to play. The easy joke here is "both answers are correct," but I honestly see a different A-Rod this year, and I can't believe that New A-Rod isn't a little pissed that he didn't get a chance to play hero when the chips were down in Southern Cali.
Also, he didn't use Joakim Soria once, despite the fact that The Mexicutioner is the hottest closer in baseball right now.
I can't complain about putting Andy Pettite in to pitch the third inning, but if he had stumbled, you'd better believe I would be complaining right now!
Then you've got Charlie Manuel, manager of the National League - the victors. Besides picking Omar Infante for the All-Star game, a horrible move in the first place (Infante must have pictures of Charlie shaking hands with Jerry Manuel or Santa Claus or something else that would get him fired in Philly), there's the yanking of Roy Halladay for Matt Capps to face David Ortiz, after the Doc had recorded only two outs and thrown 17 pitches - and recall now that Halladay has BY FAR the most complete games of any pitcher in baseball today, so fatigue ain't the issue. That made no sense, but less sense that it was Matt Capps he brought in. You see, if he were channelling Mr. Burns and "playing the percentages," he might have gone to a lefty in his bullpen for that critical out with runners on first and second and two down. He had a few to choose from - and southpaw Arthur Rhodes immediately jumps to mind, and what a great story it would be if that 40-something old man made a freakin' All-Star appearance, eh?
Charlie Manuel brought in Matt Capps. Matt Capps is a righty. David Ortiz devours righties. Why did this happen??? Luckily for the NL, Ortiz struck out and no damage was done. But it was the wrong move, and I can't for life of me understand why Manuel made it. Hey, I guess that's why he's the manager and I'm the bloggerist.
2. Matt Capps gets the win. Ok. Let's say you have a pitcher - Pitcher A. He pitches for two innings, pretty much lights out, and then is relieved for innings numbers three and four by Pitcher B, who is also pretty much lights out. No other pitcher on your team throws for more than an inning. A couple pitchers only throw a handful of pitches, used situationally to get one out. When all is said and done, who should get the win? Pitcher A or Pitcher B, right?
Nah. Let's give it to one of the dudes who recorded one out (admittedly one of four or five more crucial outs, but really! Come on!). Let's give it to one of the guys who threw five pitches. The Win is one of the most stupid stats in baseball, right up there with The Loss and The Hold.
3. Joe Mauer's attempt to throw out David Wright stealing second was abysmally off target, and exceedingly atypical considering the man's past history of great defense behind home plate. But that throw wasn't as off target as Hong Chi-Kuo's attempt to throw out Joe Mauer at first - fueled by nerves and adrenaline, Kuo picked up Mauer's choppy swing-bunt and threw the ball practically to San Diego. Yikes! And thus was the road paved for Robinson Cano's sacrifice fly, scoring what would be the AL's only run.
The Ugly
1. The one run scored by the AL came about via a walk, a throwing error advancing a runner to third, and a sacrifice fly. Ugly. But effective. Maybe the AL should've tried using that strategy more, instead of trying hit the ball well (and locking their best hitter to the bench with titanium manacles).
2. The anointed closer for the 2010 National League All-Stars Jonathan Broxton was able to lock down the bottom of the ninth with a major assist from two sources: boneheaded managing by Joe Girardi - no pinch runner for Ortiz; no at-bat for A-Rod - and exceptional defense from Marlon Byrd and Brandon Phillips to retire the American League and secure the first win for the NL since, say it with me now, cave man days. Sure, he might've gotten the job done had there been one out and runners on first and second and A-Rod at the plate... you know how this game works. Broxton was ugly, but the job was done.
3. The shadows and sun spots sliding and sinking across the ballpark during the first half of the game were causing trouble for the batters on both teams. Is it coincidence that neither offense really mustered anything until the shadows completely settled on the field? Not to take anything away from Ubaldo, Josh, David, and others, but one has to wonder.
That's all for this entry. Now I'm gonna go wrestle a grizzly bear, and drink a good microbrew. Later.
Anyway, consider that old Clint Eastwood movie The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly. That three-part title has always meant to me the following: some things in life are just and right and awesome - The Good. And some things in life are nasty and brutish and stupid and evil - The Bad. And then there are some things that aren't pretty, aren't nice, but are effective and get the job done no matter how high the body count may climb - The Ugly. Here's my The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly take on yesterday's baseball match.
The Good:
1. The National League won! It was about time. I kinda knew they were going to win this year, because they in general had a more solid pitching staff. It'll be nice for the NL team to have home field advantage again... for the first time since cave man days.
2. Marlon Byrd. Credit where credit's due to a hated Cubbie - he worked a great at-bat against Matt Thorton with two outs to draw a walk, just before Brian McCann hit a bases-clearing double to score all three NL runs. Byrd, being a speedy fellow, scored from first, where a slower dude - Scott Rolen (who scored from third) comes to mind - wouldn't have. Although the NL only needed two of their three runs to win, that cushion is invaluable. Not to mention his heads-up defense in the ninth inning; Marlon Byrd played a shallow blooper on a hop and threw a laser strike to second base to nick David Ortiz for the second out of the inning, and kill a rally. That's classic veteran poise and performance - and considering his great day in Anaheim, Byrd must've been "Eight Miles High" after the game, heh.
3. Brian McCann. Hit a bases-clearing double to score the only runs the NL would need to win. Plus, he caught just about every single pitch he was thrown by the vast assortment of talented NL pitchers he handled - and Matt Capps, too (more on Capps later).
4. Derek Jeter using Bob Sheppard's recorded intro was cool. Even if you're sick of the Yankees, that's classy all down the line.
5. Ryan Braun's diving catch to rob Josh Hamilton of extra bases. Watching him twist and bend his wrist over and backward and come up with the ball unharmed, you had to give it up for a guy willing to risk injury in what is essentially an exhibition game. I guess he really thinks the Brewers can come back and make it to the World Series and get home-field advantage. Good for him!
The Bad:
1. The Managers. Ay, yi, yi. Let's start with Joe Girardi. Why on EARTH would you let Alex Rodriguez sit on the bench throughout an entire game, where at several crucial late inning moments, his pinch-hitting or baserunning could've made a difference or even tied the game? I am baffled, and I have to assume that A-Rod didn't a.) pinch run for David Ortiz in the ninth inning (dollars to donuts Byrd can't throw A-Rod out on that play), or b.) pinch hit for Ian Kinsler with two down in the bottom of the ninth, who while a fine hitter in his own right, isn't - oh, I don't know, what's a good descriptor here - THE BEST HITTER IN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE??? I have to assume that A-Rod didn't enter the game for one of two reasons: because Joe Girardi didn't want to risk injury or whatnot to his star, or because A-Rod is a total dick and didn't want to play. The easy joke here is "both answers are correct," but I honestly see a different A-Rod this year, and I can't believe that New A-Rod isn't a little pissed that he didn't get a chance to play hero when the chips were down in Southern Cali.
Also, he didn't use Joakim Soria once, despite the fact that The Mexicutioner is the hottest closer in baseball right now.
I can't complain about putting Andy Pettite in to pitch the third inning, but if he had stumbled, you'd better believe I would be complaining right now!
Then you've got Charlie Manuel, manager of the National League - the victors. Besides picking Omar Infante for the All-Star game, a horrible move in the first place (Infante must have pictures of Charlie shaking hands with Jerry Manuel or Santa Claus or something else that would get him fired in Philly), there's the yanking of Roy Halladay for Matt Capps to face David Ortiz, after the Doc had recorded only two outs and thrown 17 pitches - and recall now that Halladay has BY FAR the most complete games of any pitcher in baseball today, so fatigue ain't the issue. That made no sense, but less sense that it was Matt Capps he brought in. You see, if he were channelling Mr. Burns and "playing the percentages," he might have gone to a lefty in his bullpen for that critical out with runners on first and second and two down. He had a few to choose from - and southpaw Arthur Rhodes immediately jumps to mind, and what a great story it would be if that 40-something old man made a freakin' All-Star appearance, eh?
Charlie Manuel brought in Matt Capps. Matt Capps is a righty. David Ortiz devours righties. Why did this happen??? Luckily for the NL, Ortiz struck out and no damage was done. But it was the wrong move, and I can't for life of me understand why Manuel made it. Hey, I guess that's why he's the manager and I'm the bloggerist.
2. Matt Capps gets the win. Ok. Let's say you have a pitcher - Pitcher A. He pitches for two innings, pretty much lights out, and then is relieved for innings numbers three and four by Pitcher B, who is also pretty much lights out. No other pitcher on your team throws for more than an inning. A couple pitchers only throw a handful of pitches, used situationally to get one out. When all is said and done, who should get the win? Pitcher A or Pitcher B, right?
Nah. Let's give it to one of the dudes who recorded one out (admittedly one of four or five more crucial outs, but really! Come on!). Let's give it to one of the guys who threw five pitches. The Win is one of the most stupid stats in baseball, right up there with The Loss and The Hold.
3. Joe Mauer's attempt to throw out David Wright stealing second was abysmally off target, and exceedingly atypical considering the man's past history of great defense behind home plate. But that throw wasn't as off target as Hong Chi-Kuo's attempt to throw out Joe Mauer at first - fueled by nerves and adrenaline, Kuo picked up Mauer's choppy swing-bunt and threw the ball practically to San Diego. Yikes! And thus was the road paved for Robinson Cano's sacrifice fly, scoring what would be the AL's only run.
The Ugly
1. The one run scored by the AL came about via a walk, a throwing error advancing a runner to third, and a sacrifice fly. Ugly. But effective. Maybe the AL should've tried using that strategy more, instead of trying hit the ball well (and locking their best hitter to the bench with titanium manacles).
2. The anointed closer for the 2010 National League All-Stars Jonathan Broxton was able to lock down the bottom of the ninth with a major assist from two sources: boneheaded managing by Joe Girardi - no pinch runner for Ortiz; no at-bat for A-Rod - and exceptional defense from Marlon Byrd and Brandon Phillips to retire the American League and secure the first win for the NL since, say it with me now, cave man days. Sure, he might've gotten the job done had there been one out and runners on first and second and A-Rod at the plate... you know how this game works. Broxton was ugly, but the job was done.
3. The shadows and sun spots sliding and sinking across the ballpark during the first half of the game were causing trouble for the batters on both teams. Is it coincidence that neither offense really mustered anything until the shadows completely settled on the field? Not to take anything away from Ubaldo, Josh, David, and others, but one has to wonder.
That's all for this entry. Now I'm gonna go wrestle a grizzly bear, and drink a good microbrew. Later.
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