Left Field

Is Credit for Success vs. Blame for Failure in Sports a Zero-SumEquation?

2012-01-25T17:06:00.000-05:00

After the New York Football Giants defeated the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night to advance to a Super Bowl rematch with the New England Patriots, I spent quite a bit of time "celebrating" with friends on Facebook. Being a displaced New Yorker, that's pretty much all I have these days. Besides, with the game starting and ending on the late side, and with a two-month old in the picture, I doubt if I would have been attending any NFC championship parties anyway.

Incidentally, and this isn't the point of the post, I've recently decided, when your team is in a big game such as this one, it's much better to "hang out" on Facebook than it is Twitter. Otherwise, I definitely prefer the latter, but when the spotlight is on your team, Twitter is like hanging out in a neutral bar and having to ignore a lot of ridiculous and obviously jealous comments, while Facebook is more akin to watching the game in a hometown bar. At least that's the way it works for me.

Since most of the people I follow on Twitter are baseball enthusiasts, I had to pause momentarily to realize Rangers fans are also probably Cowboys fans, and what they're going through is kind of like being a Yankees fan in the '80s, so I can relate. Some of the comments are still annoying, but I can relate.

Another fan base's ire that I got a charge out of—yeah, you know that was intentional—is that of the San Diego faithful, believe it or not. It's directed towards Eli Manning, of course, because he spurned their team back in 2004, forcing a trade to the Giants for Philip Rivers. At times, Rivers has looked like a better quarterback than Manning, but nobody seems to be saying that anymore.

The Chargers have had some bad luck with quarterbacks over the years—only some of it their own fault—so I can sympathize. I mean they came {this close} to getting Eli's older brother, Peyton, but ended up with Ryan Leaf. Then, they gave up on Drew Brees, paving the way for Rivers. Again, Rivers has been a solid signal-caller, but he's no Brees.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with what I set out to write about in this post. During the aforementioned Facebook celebration, a good friend from New York posted the following:

"I'd say all the pressure is on the Patriots, given how they choked last time."

I disagreed with this, contending the Patriots didn't choke in Super Bowl XLII, the Giants just out-schemed and outplayed them. Sure, there was considerable pressure on the Patriots to complete their perfect season, but it didn't just kick in when they reached the Super Bowl. And they were playing a team that was on a roll, and just happened to put it all together at the right time and rise to the occasion on the ultimate stage.

Which brings me, finally, to my point. When we emphasize the opposition's failures, does that detract from our team's successes?

Here's another example: many Red Sox fans love to refer to their team's comeback in the 2004 ALCS as the greatest choke-job in the history of sports—on the part of the Yankees—rather than the greatest comeback in history, by their team.

Can we have it both ways? I suppose to some extent we can, but I contend the more you assign blame for the other team's failure, the less credit you're giving to your team's success. When I had this conversation with a few Red Sox fans regarding 2004, they seemed to—for the most part—agree with me.

We know that winning vs. losing in sports is a zero-sum proposition. That is, in order for one team to win, another has to lose. So, does that make credit for success vs. blame for failure a zero-sum equation as well?

Let's consider the 2004 ALCS again. If the Yankees truly choked that one away, don't you think that even the Kansas City Royals could have taken them in four straight? Surely a team that was wilting under the pressure of just needing to win one game out of four would be ripe for the plucking by any other professional team. If this is true, is there really any credit to give to the Red Sox for their performance?

It's obviously not that simple, but as a Red Sox fan, wouldn't you rather celebrate your team's incredible accomplishment rather than another team's failure? I know there are other factors involved—sports fans love to mock their rivals, of course—but as a Giants fan, I know I'd much rather appreciate their tremendous performance in Super Bowl XLII than get a chuckle out of the fact they ruined the Patriots perfect season.

I choose to think of that Giants team as having pulled off perhaps the greatest upset in Super Bowl history. Sure, that has something to do with the fact the Patriots were working on a truly historic season. But, when I think of that game, it's in celebration of the Giants, rather than in desecration of the Patriots. I personally do feel the latter detracts from the former, so I prefer to glorify the positive rather than mock the negative.

But, that's probably just me.

New Beers Resolution

2012-01-21T09:48:00.000-05:00

I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions. In theory, they're a great idea, but in practice, they're just ridiculous. I mean, who among us hasn't resolved to give up drinking cold turkey starting January 1, only to find ourselves slurring our speech on January 15?

Not me, of course. I've never resolved to give up drinking, that is, although I'm sure I've slurred my words on a few January 15ths.

But, my point is New Year's resolutions are generally impossible to maintain. Hey, more power to you if you're one of the rare folks who've succeeded at this futile endeavor.

I actually did once keep a resolution, but it was a realistic one. In my late teens and early 20s, I had the horrible nervous habit of biting my fingernails. So, one year I resolved to kick the habit by the end of the year.

Yes, I gave myself 12 months to reach my goal. Not too ambitious, I realize. But, guess what? It worked, and in the 20 or so subsequent years, I've managed not to fall off the wagon...so to speak.

However, most people who make resolutions are just mocking themselves by doing so, and usually go so far as to admit they know they're going to fail.

So, that's what I'm going to do for 2012. I'm going to make a resolution that I know I'm going to break eventually. The real goal will be to see how long I can go before doing so.

For 2012, I resolve to go the entire year (or as long as I can, since I've already admitted I won't succeed) without drinking the same beer twice. Despite the name of the post, I'm not limiting myself to beers I've never tried before, just saying I can only drink each once this year.

Initially, it won't be that big a challenge. It might be a little more expensive, since I'll be buying mostly bombers rather than six-packs. But, since I don't drink that much as it is, this won't be a huge deal.

In fact, I really only drink about two beers per week, so we're talking about 100 beers or so to get me through the year. I suspect vacations will bump that total up a bit. But, it probably won't go much higher than 150, despite the fact my current pace is 183 (10 beers in 20 days, 366 days in this leap year).

OK, so maybe 100 is a slight underestimate. But, 150-180 unique beers in a year's time seems doable, right? I suppose the problem could occur during those rare occasions when I'm instigated to overdo it, such as at a Yankees game with Lee Mazzola.

Come to think of it, the real trick will be when Abe (I've given my brewing partner a new pseudonym) and I finally get around to home brewing. Am I going to brew an entire batch of my own beer and then drink only one of them? I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

But, another challenge, as I was explaining to El-Squared at the Scuds show last weekend, is the suicide pool nature of it all.

Let me explain. Although I've never participated in one, an NFL suicide (or survivor) pool is where each participant picks one winner per week. If you get it right, you survive to pick another week. If you get it wrong, you're out. The goal is to be the last entrant standing, but the catch is you can't pick the same team twice, so there's incentive not to pick the best teams too early.

And that's where the analogy comes in. It's not a pure analogy, because I'm not talking about the best beers, but rather the most widely available.

Take a look at my list of the beers I've consumed so far for an idea of what I'm talking about:

Jan. 1 - Wipeout IPA (Port Brewing Co.)
Jan. 1 - Bengali Tiger (Sixpoint Brewery)
Jan. 7 - Saratoga Lager (Olde Saratoga Brewing Co.)
Jan. 7 - Saratoga IPA (Olde Saratoga Brewing Co.)
Jan. 13 - Double-Wide IPA (Boulevard Brewing Co.)
Jan. 14 - Long Hammer IPA (Redhook Ale Brewery)
Jan. 14 - Harpoon IPA (Harpoon Brewery)
Jan. 14 - Pipeline Porter (Kona Brewing Co.)
Jan. 15 - Lost Sailor IPA (Berkshire Brewing Co.)
Jan. 20 - Slumbrew Flagraiser IPA (Somerville Brewing Co.)

I'll use Untappd to help me keep track.

There are definitely some unique choices there, right? Maybe you have to be from these parts to appreciate this, but in the analogy Harpoon IPA is like picking the Patriots in the early weeks of the suicide pool. Fortunately, there's still the Packers (Samuel Adams), Steelers (Guinness), and Saints (Smithwick's).

Of course, this analogy refers to the beers—commonly available in bars with weaker selections—that are passable to me. I don't even want to get into what teams I would associate with Bud Light (1972 Dolphins?) or Coors Light (2007 Pat—er, never mind).

Anyway, if you're still reading this nonsense, I can only assume you're mildly interested. So, I'm sure I'll be providing a few updates along the way.

Cheers.

The Greatest (Eligible) Left Fielder Not in the Hall of Fame

2012-01-18T16:52:00.000-05:00

When I named this blog Left Field, it wasn't because of some unusual fascination with that particular position on a baseball diamond. It was mainly because I thought it would be a cool name for a site with a heavy baseball emphasis, and it also would reflect the fact that sometimes my content, while not completely "out there," would seem like it was coming from out of left field.

But, in the past year or so, I've sort of developed an unusual fascination with the position of left field. Last year, around this time, I posted The All-Left Field Team and the Top 20 Left Fielders of All-Time. I also named one particular left fielder the most over-rated player in baseball history.

Which leads me to my point...well, sort of. I started thinking recently about who is the greatest left fielder not currently in the Hall of Fame. Of course, the first names to come to mind are Joe Jackson and Pete Rose, assuming you choose to classify Rose as a left fielder. Honestly, I've spent way too much time trying to decide that one.

But, both of those players are ineligible for the Hall of Fame, and I've got an ulterior motive I'll get to in a moment, so I really want to consider only eligible players for this distinction. That also leaves out players who haven't been retired for five years and, therefore, haven't even been voted on yet.

Of course, a year from now, if a certain player with a huge cloud hovering over his head is shunned by the BBWAA, he'll take over the mantle. But, we're not there yet, so we can still ignore him.

So, who is the greatest left fielder eligible for the Hall of Fame but not currently enshrined? I thought about doing a survey, but instead I'm going to take a look at a few projects that have an interest in determining the Hall-worthiness of Hall of Fame and non-Hall of Fame players alike, as well as my own top 20 list referenced above.

My first source is actually a survey performed by Graham Womack's excellent Baseball: Past and Present blog.

Close to 100 baseball bloggers (including myself) and readers of the site submitted their opinions on the 50 best players not in the Hall of Fame, and Graham spent countless hours compiling and publishing the results.

Based on the number of votes received by each candidate, the top nine (you'll see why I chose that number in a minute) left fielders not in the Hall according to BPP's survey would be:

Joe Jackson
Tim Raines
Pete Rose
Minnie Minoso
Albert Belle
Sherry Magee
Rocky Colavito
Joe Carter
Lefty O'Doul

As I said, I'm more interested in Hall-eligible players, so that leaves Raines, Minoso, Magee, Colavito, Carter and O'Doul.

My second source is the Hall of wWAR, a tremendous purely statistical project conceived by Adam Darowski of Beyond the Boxscore.

According to Adam, "Weighted Wins Above Replacement (wWAR) aims to identify the best candidates for the Hall of Fame not just by total value, but also by peak value, postseason value, and other adjustments."

Based on wWAR, the top left fielders not enshrined in Cooperstown are:

Pete Rose
Joe Jackson
Tim Raines
Sherry Magee
Minnie Minoso
Harry Stovey
Jimmy Sheckard
Bob Johnson
Charlie Keller

Once again, ruling the ineligible Rose and Jackson out leaves Raines, Magee, Minoso, Stovey, Sheckard, Johnson and Keller.

Last, but certainly not least, I looked at Baseball Think Factory's Hall of Merit, an internet group of baseball enthusiasts who, almost a decade ago, created their own alternative to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Although players are not actually ranked in any particular order, there are nine left fielders in the Hall of Merit who are not in the Hall of Fame (in alphabetical order): Joe Jackson, Charley Jones, Charlie Keller, Sherry Magee, Minnie Minoso, Tim Raines, Pete Rose, Jimmy Sheckard and Harry Stovey.

Besides Rose and Jackson, the names that show up on all three lists are Raines, Minoso and Magee, so it's pretty clear they're the three greatest Hall-eligible left fielders on the outside looking in. My own list confirms this, as I ranked Raines #13, Magee #14 and Minoso #20 on my all-time list of left fielders.

Since Raines ranks ahead of Magee and Minoso on my list, as well as by wWAR, and the BPP voters ranked him behind only Jackson, I feel pretty confident making the claim that Tim Raines is the greatest eligible left fielder not in the Hall of Fame.

But, I've already written plenty on the subject of how I feel about Raines's Hall of Fame candidacy. So, if you've been reading here for any length of time, you're pretty well aware of that. All of which begs the question, where am I going with this, other than to repeat myself?

I've decided to launch a grassroots campaign with the goal of trying to improve Tim Raines's chances of eventually being elected to the Hall of Fame. In his five years on the ballot, his vote total has doubled, from 24.3% in 2008 to 48.7% in 2012. If he continues to gain support at that pace, it should take about six more years for him to make it, so he may not actually need my help.

But, there are no guarantees, and considering the glut of new candidates who are about to reach the ballot in the next few years, he could probably use all the help he can get.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear, though. I have virtually no idea how to embark on a grassroots campaign, but I'm going to give it a shot, and I'm pretty certain I'll have fun trying.

So, if you agree with me that Tim "Rock" Raines is worthy of the Hall of Fame, you can begin to help me out by following @RockInTheHall on Twitter. Hopefully, I can reach at least several hundred followers, some of whom may be willing to help me spread the word, by the end of baseball season.

In the meantime, I'll be trying to collect the names of writers who've failed to vote for Raines. At that point, I can begin the campaign in earnest by reaching out to those folks and appealing to whatever side of them has caused their complete swing-and-miss on this one.

Or, something like that. I'm probably completely out of my mind, but I welcome any and all advice and assistance regarding how to proceed with my efforts.

Scud Mountain Boys @ Brighton Music Hall

2012-01-16T09:44:00.000-05:00

In the summer of 1997, my second oldest friend—in terms of how long we've been friends, not his actual age—El-Squared and I drove to Albany—where I had lived until a year prior—to see our first Wilco concert. It was at a now burnt-down venue called Saratoga Winners, where I had previously seen my only Jayhawks show featuring their original lineup, until recently.

Wilco was fantastic, of course, but my lasting image of that show was the impact the opening act—none other than western Massachusetts' Scud Mountain Boys—had on me. Or, on us, for that matter. We both purchased their recent Sub Pop release, Massachusetts, and El-Squared even recalls a brief conversation he had with members of the band in which they told him that, unfortunately, the Scuds were soon to be no more.

From what I've read elsewhere on the internet, the band was broken up by July of 1997. The Saratoga Winners show was in June, so we know we saw one of—if not the—last show(s) in Scud Mountain Boys history. That is, prior to this week.

The band might have gone on to become one of my favorites had they stayed together, but it was not to be. Instead, the show in question turned out to be the catalyst for what has become my long history as a huge fan of all things Joe Pernice.

Pernice was the leader of the Scuds, and it was his departure that was, for all intents and purposes, the end of their existence. He would go on to found the Pernice Brothers, who still hold the distinction as the only act to top my year-end list twice. Because of this, I've often referred to myself as, quite possibly, their #1 fan, but I'm not going to ramble on about my Pernice Brothers reverence right now. If you care to read more on that subject, it's discussed in detail here.

The breakup of the Scud Mountain Boys led to a rift in the friendship between Pernice and his former bandmates, most notably Stephen Desaulniers and Bruce Tull. Recently, though, the death of a close friend was the unfortunate motivation for getting the band back together for a reunion tour.

That tour brought Pernice, Desaulniers, Tull and Tom Shea to Boston's Brighton Music Hall Saturday night for just their second show in 15 years. At one point during the performance, Pernice briefly explained the story, and in the same breath, dedicated the show to the memory of Ray Neades.

Fittingly, El-Squared joined me for Saturday night's show as well. A few days prior, in an email I told him it was going to feel like 15 years ago. That seemed like an exaggeration at the time, but it came pretty close. That is, it was a club show at an uncrowded small venue, which allowed us to stand right up in front of the stage.

Despite my proximity to the stage, I have to admit I didn't get any good photos. I'm not sure if I should blame my camera phone's inability to deal with the combination of dimly lit venue and bright lights onstage, that damn lamp they placed on the table they're all sitting around, or my abilities as a photographer, but this was honestly the best I could do:

L to R: Pernice, Shea, Desaulniers, Tull

OK, I'm quite certain it's a combination of all those factors, but I'm sure I could use some iPhone photography pointers as well.

Speaking of the aforementioned table, the story goes that back in their formative days, the band evolved from a rock outfit to one more inclined towards country music—and added Mountain Boys to their original name, the Scuds—when they realized they most enjoyed their sessions sitting around Tull's kitchen table. In fact, that's exactly where their first two albums, Pine Box and Dance the Night Away, were recorded.

Saturday night's set list drew heavily from their swan song, Massachusetts, but considering they only released three albums during their short-lived existence, they had little difficulty adding a handful of tunes from each of the earlier records.

Highlights for me were a show-opening stretch of four older songs, from "Peter Graves' Anatomy" to "Freight of Fire" on the set list below, Desaulnier's plaintive lead vocal on "Liquor Store," and a predictably rousing version of my favorite Scuds song, Pernice's ode to drunken stupor, "Lift Me Up."

Peter Graves' Anatomy
Sangre de Cristo
Silo
Freight of Fire
Grudge F***
Massachusetts
In a Ditch
Lift Me Up
Oklahoma
Penthouse in the Woods
Knievel
Liquor Store (Desaulniers on lead vocals)
Cigarette Sandwich
Wichita Lineman (Glen Campbell cover, Tull on lead vocals)
One Hand
Encore: Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves (Cher cover)

The biggest highlight of the night, though, was the feeling we were witnessing a reunion of good friends who had—and still have—tremendous musical chemistry, and who could take another 15 years off from playing together and still pick up exactly where they left off.

That, of course, underscored a personally nostalgic feeling that my pal and I were going back in time to experience something that was fairly commonplace 15 years ago, but which was made all the more special by its rarity in the present day.

Baseball Fans Among My Best Music of 2011 Honorees

2012-01-11T17:15:00.000-05:00

As I attempted to cover the countdown of my favorite albums of 2011 from a baseball angle, a common refrain was to identify which artists are fans of what teams. Some of this was based on my prior knowledge, but I also did a lot of internet searching to make these determinations.

So, just for giggles, I thought I'd list all the artists with a baseball affinity here and associate them with the teams to which they pledge their loyalties, at least to the extent I was able to figure out. In doing so, I've unofficially determined what are the most popular teams among my top bands and solo artists of last year. Honestly, I thought the Braves would distinguish themselves, but as you'll see below, this extremely unscientific survey resulted in a three-way tie.

One detail that's worth noting: a couple of these folks don't necessarily have one particular team they consider their favorite, particularly those I determined by listening to The Baseball Project's "Fair Weather Fans." In these cases, I counted them as fans of the teams whose loyalties they appear to have maintained the longest.

In doing my research here, I also found this MLB.com interview with Wilco where they talk about being baseball fans, but don't really express any devotion to a particular team. Glenn Kotche is sorta "we prefer the Cubs but we also like the Sox," and Jeff Tweedy mentions liking the Red Sox as a kid. But, he also references being from St. Louis and, despite his current status as a Chicago resident, having a difficult time considering himself a Cubs fan. So, he's a little too all-over-the-place for me to count as anything but a fan of the game itself. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Anyway, for what it's worth, here's what I came up with:

Atlanta Braves
Mike Mills (R.E.M.)
Jason Isbell

Los Angeles Dodgers
Steve Wynn (The Baseball Project)
Stephen Malkmus

Minnesota Twins
Linda Pitmon (The Baseball Project)
Gary Louris (The Jayhawks)

New York Yankees
Steve Earle

St. Louis Cardinals
Will Johnson (Centro-Matic)

San Francisco Giants
Scott McCaughey (The Baseball Project)

Seattle Mariners
Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie)

Washington Senators
Peter Buck (R.E.M., The Baseball Project)

Cooperstown Class of 2012

2012-01-04T17:37:00.000-05:00

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance (BBA) recently announced—for what it's worth to the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA)—its recommendations for the Hall of Fame Class of 2012.

With 84.25% and 78.77% of the vote, respectively, of the 148 member blogs—including this one—that participated, Barry Larkin and Jeff Bagwell received the BBA's endorsement.

I voted for Larkin, Bagwell, Tim Raines, Alan Trammell, Edgar Martinez and Larry Walker. Walker is the only one of the six who I did not vote for last year, although I admitted then I needed to take a closer look at him. I since have come to the realization he is worthy of becoming the first member of the Colorado Rockies in the Hall of Fame.

Despite the anti-Coors Field bias working against him, his park-adjusted offensive numbers (140 OPS+, 142 wRC+)* are comparable to deserving Hall of Famers such as Reggie Jackson, Harmon Killebrew, and Duke Snider. Admittedly, he did so over fewer plate appearances than Jackson and Killebrew, but the value-based metrics—mainly WAR*—rate him comparable to Snider, a notch below Jackson, but a notch above Killebrew.

The main reason he compares so favorably to these and other existing Hall of Famers: defensive value. Walker ranks just shy of the top 20 all-time in defensive WAR, among players whose primary position was outfield, a fact which is reinforced by his seven Gold Gloves. Now, many folks—including myself—are a little skeptical about defensive metrics, as well as Gold Glove awards, but when one backs up the other, it's pretty safe to say they're a true indicator of a player's defensive ability.

The thing about great all-around players like Walker—who also was a good base runner—is, since he didn't have that one exceptional skill—i.e. he wasn't as good a hitter as Killebrew and Jackson, but he surely was better at every other phase of the game—people tend to write them off as not quite Hall of Fame worthy. The same applies to guys like Raines, Larkin and Trammell as well. But, in my opinion, those people are wrong.

As I did last year, I declined to vote for Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro based on my still-evolving philosophy regarding PEDs and the Hall of Fame. Although, admittedly, not without its flaws, I wrote about my thoughts on that subject here two years ago. I've actually begun to re-think my position, though, and I may be writing about this in the weeks to come. If you want to criticize me for taking six years to make up my mind, or for being indecisive, so be it. Besides, mine is just a make-believe vote anyway.

For now, though, I'm going to focus on taking a look at whether or not the BBA's vote is a predictor of next week's announcement of the official BBWAA results.

It seems everyone is under the assumption Larkin will be the only player elected by the writers this year. Last year, he received 70.78% of the BBA vote. This year, his support jumped to 84.25%, a 19% increase. If his 62.1% 2011 BBWAA vote total increases at the same rate, that will leave him at 73.9%, just shy of the 75% needed for induction. Unfortunately, I have a sneaky suspicion that's just what's going to happen. He'll fall somewhere in the 72-74% range and have to wait until the crowded 2013 ballot to see if he can get over the hump.

Bagwell's BBA total is up, from 62.34% in 2011, to 78.77% in 2012, a 26.4% increase. I'm not sure if there are BBA voters with the same ridiculous first-year ballot bias as some of those in the BBWAA, but this could explain such a big jump. Even at that rate, this would only get him to 52.9% in the official balloting, compared to last year's 41.7%. So, I don't think Bagwell's going to get in this year either.

Jack Morris and Lee Smith received 53.5% and 45.3%, respectively, of the official vote last year. Since the BBA is more SABRmetrically inclined than the BBWAA, I don't think the BBA's voting provides much of a indicator of these guys' chances.

Smith has been stagnating in the mid-40s for four years now, and I don't see his candidacy receiving a boost in support. Personally, I think—and hope—Morris's candidacy has plateaued as well. Last year's total was only slightly higher than the year before. I see him getting to 55% this year, and holding off Bagwell for the distinction of second highest vote-getter, but I predict he'll become one of the rare candidates to reach the 50% voting mark, but never make the Hall of Fame.

Bernie Williams is the only first-ballot candidate worthy of consideration. But, despite a very good career that ended a little prematurely, Bernie falls short of Cooperstown-worthy, in my eyes and likely in the eyes of the voters. He'll get the requisite 5% of the vote to stick around for at least another year, though, but with all the candidates being added to the ballot in the next few years, he'll end up nothing but an afterthought.

So, there you have it. My prediction that the only speech we'll be hearing at the Clark Sports Center this summer will be that of Ron Santo's wife.

* Since I don't use the advanced metrics on a regular basis here, I figured I should explain:

OPS+ is park and league-adjusted on-base plus slugging percentage. 100 is average. Greater than 100 is above average, less than 100 below average.
wRC+ is park and league-adjusted weighted runs created, an improved version of Bill James's runs created statistic. It's comparable to OPS+ in terms of scale (i.e. 100 is average).
WAR, of course, is Wins Above Replacement, the SABRmetric community's attempt to establish an all-encompassing statistic that measure a player's overall value to his team.

Best Music of 2011: Part 6

2011-12-31T08:27:00.000-05:00

Previously: Best Music of 2011, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.

"So now I am older,
than my mother and father,
when they had their daughter.
Now what does that say about me?"

When I heard those opening lines to "Montezuma," the first track on Fleet Foxes' Helplessness Blues, I instantly knew it would be #1 album of 2011.

OK, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but let me explain.

Growing up, I always thought my parents were old, at least in comparison to other kids' folks. And, of course, they were, relatively speaking. But, my dad was 36 and my mom 32 when my older sister was born. Obviously, they were a little older when they brought me into the world, and now I'm even a few years older than my father was when I was born.

But, times have changed, right? Well, yes and no. I certainly know I'm not the oldest new dad there is, but among my close high school friends who have children, I don't think any of them had one in their 40s.

My point, if there really is one, is when I can relate to the music I'm hearing—even if it is just my own interpretation of something that was intended to mean something completely different—it makes for a greater listening experience. And, while the quality of the music itself is more important, finding meaning in the lyrics is really what makes it transcendental. And that's what this album is for me.

But, it's the album's title track—the one that inspired my Yes comparison when I wrote about it earlier this year—that really seals the deal.

From the existential crisis of its opening verse...

"I was raised up believing I was somehow unique,
like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes,
unique in each way you can see.
And now after some thinking, I'd say I'd rather be,
a functioning cog in some great machinery
serving something beyond me."

...to the resolution in the refrain...

"If I had an orchard I'd work til I'm raw.
If I had an orchard I'd work til I'm sore.
And you would wait tables and soon run the store."

...and, finally it's idyllic closing line:

"Someday I'll be like the man on the screen."

The theme of the song reminds me that I worked hard this year: taking care of a new home (particularly when you're far from the handiest guy on the planet), preparing for the arrival of a new baby, looking after a pregnant wife who was instructed by her doctor to take it easy, and finally welcoming our son into this world, all the while working 40 hours a week at my day job and managing to find just enough free time to indulge my writing hobby.

That's quite a lot that I had on my plate. All of these things were (are) totally worth it, of course, but they also made me feel a little overwhelmed at times, and the concept of making ends meet by being the caretaker of an orchard just seemed so much simpler to me.

But, in reality, when you reduce that meaning to its simplest element—the purpose of providing for one's family—it places priorities in their proper perspective.

So, on the occasion of this final day of the year, I want to thank everyone who reads this blog regularly—as well as those who do so occasionally—for paying attention to what I've had to say this year. Happy New Year to all and the best of luck in 2012.

Best Music of 2011: Part 5

2011-12-30T06:39:00.000-05:00

Previously: Best Music of 2011, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

Please join me today in celebrating the Baseball Solstice, the mid-point between the last game of the World Series and the first game of Spring Training, a fantastic idea envisioned by Daniel Day of The Ball Caps Blog. Since I don't have much daylight to mark the occasion by taking a photo of an empty baseball park as he suggests—my only opportunity would be in the morning before heading to work, and my sleep is quite the commodity these days—I have my own idea which you can partake in if you wish.

I created a Spotify playlist of five songs that appear as bonus tracks on the re-issue of Whiskeytown's 1996 album, Faithless Street. These mostly somber songs are referred to as the "Baseball Park Sessions," which I've renamed the "Baseball Solstice Sessions" for the sake of this exercise. Enjoy, content in the knowledge that the baseball off-season is already half over.

Oh, and speaking of Whiskeytown...

5. Ryan Adams - Ashes & Fire
This is the 16th year I've produced at least a top ten list, and this is Ryan Adams's third top ten album. If you add in two Whiskeytown records, it would actually be his fifth, although in hindsight I'm not sure 2001's Gold was really deserving. But still, that's pretty impressive. However, what is really interesting—at least to me—is it's been ten years since he last showed up here. So, obviously in the late-'90s to early-'00s, I was quite the Adams fan.

4. Drive-By Truckers - Go-Go Boots
If there was a Hall of Fame honoring artists who've appeared on my year-end lists, these guys would be first-ballot inductees. Not only is this their record-breaking fifth top ten appearance, it's their fifth consecutive album to be honored as such. I keep expecting myself to grow a little tired of their sound, but it just never happens.

3. My Morning Jacket - Circuital
In recent years, I've heard the term "Dad Rock" used in reference to a few modern bands that have been around for a decade or so, and whose music now appeals mostly to the hipsters-turned-fathers set. Or, something like that. Wilco is the prime example, but there are moments this record reminds me of that sentiment, particularly on "Outta My System." Although not a former hipster, if you want to lump me in the modern dad-rock-listening category, that's perfectly OK with me.

2. The Decemberists - The King is Dead
The Decemberists came really close to being just the second band to earn my album of the year honor twice. And, just as the Pernice Brothers did in 2001 and 2003, it would have been on consecutive releases, and within a three year span. The King is Dead would certainly have been worthy, as it's probably a better album than 2009's The Hazards of Love. However, it fell short because my #1 album was one that was not only great musically, but also it kind of defined my year.

Next: Best Music of 2011: Part 6

Best Music of 2011: Part 4

2011-12-28T17:13:00.000-05:00

Previously: Best Music of 2011, Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Sometimes, it feels like these lists are fairly predictable, that there are certain artists who are guaranteed to rank highly simply by releasing an album in a given year. While that may be true to some extent, this year's top ten features two bands who've never made my list at all, as well as three others making their first ever top ten appearance.

10. Bright Eyes - The People's Key
I don't think Conor Oberst is much of a baseball enthusiast, but several spoken-word interludes on this album feature the voice of Denny Brewer, of a band called Refried Ice Cream. If Denny Brewer is not a ballplayer's name, I don't know what is.

9. Mates of State - Mountaintops
Mates of State, of course, are the husband/wife duo of Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel. The versatile Hammel was 7-13 with a 4.76 ERA in 170 1/3 IP for the Colorado Rockies this past year...yeah, you guessed it, not the same guy. Gardner and Hammel have two children, and if my memory serves me correctly, they used to—or, perhaps they still do—bring the kids on the road with them. If I were them, I don't think I could do it. Yesterday, our baby survived his first minor car accident, at 5 1/2 weeks old, so now I have nothing but rave reviews for our Chicco car seat.

8. Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys
Death Cab—making their first appearance in my top ten—are led by Ben Gibbard, who is a big Mariners fan and apparently can throw a baseball in the neighborhood of 70 MPH. Not bad for a musician, although his strong arm did once backfire on him when he threw out the first pitch at Safeco Field in September 2008.

7. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
Bon Iver is the first of two artists in this year's top ten who have never before appeared anywhere on my year-end list. Since Justin Vernon, who pretty much is Bon Iver, was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin—making him an honorary Canadian, or something like that—I'll mention here (since I forgot to in Part 3) that Neil Young's #15 ranking is the highest of anyone north of the border this year.

6. The Black Keys - El Camino
This album was released on December 6, after my final Frequent Spins post of the year. This is not The Black Keys' first appearance here, but it is the first top ten finish for the band that shares a hometown with the late, great Thurman Munson.

Next: Best Music of 2011: Part 5

Best Music of 2011: Part 3

2011-12-26T22:10:00.004-05:00

Previously: Best Music of 2011, Part 1 and Part 2.

Now I'm getting to the point where I can no longer guarantee to continue with the baseball angle, but that's not to say I'm going to completely forsake it, either.

17. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Mirror Traffic
The former Pavement front-man and all-around indie rock icon is also a fantasy baseball guru, as well as a Dodgers fan and a hater of the Red Sox and Yankees.

16. Tom Waits - Bad As Me
Waits must be a baseball fan. As evidence, I offer the lyrics of songs such as "A Sight for Sore Eyes" and "Shore Leave." I think he's probably a bigger fan of drinking, though.

15. Neil Young & The International Harvesters - A Treasure
When Neil Young wrote, in 1979, that "...it's better to burn out than to fade away," was that somehow foreshadowing the 2011 Red Sox?

14. Crooked Fingers - Breaks in the Armor
Eric Bachmann is the lead singer of Crooked Fingers, a much mellower outfit than his former band, the raucous and edgy indie darlings of the early to mid-'90s, Archers of Loaf. That's why he's sometimes referred to as the Frank Tanana of indie rock. OK, I made that up, but considering he's 6'7" and from the south, I like to think of him as the Lee Guetterman of the indie scene.

13. Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
When I wrote about this album in the first Frequent Spins of the year, I thought I'd end up considering it Sam Beam's best effort since his debut. But, in hindsight, I'm not so sure, as it fell short of the top ten, while The Shepherd's Dog wound up as my #9 of 2007.

12. Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
My effort to view this best music of 2011 countdown from a baseball perspective has turned into a quest to determine what, if any, team to which each artist owes their loyalties. Quite often this means just googling the band name, or one or more of their individual members, followed by the word "baseball." When I did so for the lead singer of this band, one of the results was an online forum asking the question "Will Sheff retire or go the Rickey Henderson route?" I honestly never thought I could connect Okkervil River and Gary Sheffield so easily.

11. Wilco - The Whole Love
I like lists and I like statistics. So, of course, I maintain statistics on my year-end music lists. These stats tell me four artists are tied for the most top ten finishes ever: The Hold Steady didn't release an album this year; Steve Earle has already appeared, but not even close to the top ten; Wilco just missed establishing a record, but had they done so, they would not be alone.

Next: Best Music of 2011: Part 4

Best Music of 2011: Part 2

2011-12-23T05:31:00.000-05:00

In case you missed it: Best Music of 2011: Part 1

You may or may not have noticed, but in Part 1, each of the album titles was a link to the Frequent Spins post where they appeared earlier in the year. Part 2 introduces three of the four albums that show up on this list but, for various reasons, were never covered in Frequent Spins.

25. Feist - Metals
Canadian singer-songwriter Leslie Feist's latest was released in early October, but it wasn't until I started working on this list that it started to really make an impact on me. There's no iPod commercial material here—a la "1234"—but overall this is a better album than The Reminder. What about our national pastime, you ask? All I have to say is this adds new meaning to the concept of fantasy baseball.

24. Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit - Here We Rest
This one should have been included in the latest Frequent Spins, but since I characterized that as a catchup post, it shouldn't be terribly hard to understand I overlooked it. Isbell, the former Drive-By Trucker, is a pretty big Atlanta Braves fan, but apparently liked the Dodgers as a kid, and even recalls (sort of) being carried to his parents by Fernando Valenzuela's mom after passing out waiting for an autograph.

23. Those Darlins - Screws Get Loose
These female rockers from Tennessee faced the difficult task of being the opening act for the Drive-By Truckers at a show in St. Louis on Friday, October 28. What could possibly be so hard about that? It was the night of Game 7 of the World Series. You may or may not have heard, but the Cardinals won that game. The DBTs were able to move their set time to coincide with the post-game celebration, but Those Darlins were not afforded such a luxury.

22. Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest
There are 4 1/2 female-fronted acts that grace this year's list, not counting a handful of others with prominent—but not band-leading—female members. Other than the 1/2, Ms. Welch is the highest ranking of the group. David Rawlings is Welch's musical and life partner. As far as I know, he has nothing to do with the sham that is Major League Baseball's Gold Glove Awards.

21. The Baseball Project - Volume 2: High and Inside
I probably don't need to explain that this side project, led by Steve Wynn and Scott McCaughey, has an affinity for baseball. Since I wrote quite a bit about this album earlier in the year, I'll let you read about it here and here.

20. The Jayhawks - Mockingbird Time
These roots rock pioneers are from Minneapolis, and while Mark Olson may not be a big sports fan, Gary Louris is. And, of course, his loyalties are to the hometown Minnesota Twins.

19. Beirut - The Rip Tide
Beirut's Zach Condon is from New Mexico. My good friend and the most ardent follower of my year-end best music list, El-Squared—who, incidentally officiated my wedding to KJ—travels to Albuquerque for work somewhat frequently and has attended quite a few Albuquerque Isotopes games. Sorry, that's the best I can do.

18. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Departing
This band's moniker, for some reason, reminds me of The Iowa Baseball Confederacy, the lesser-known novel by Shoeless Joe author W.P. Kinsella. Kinsella, it just so happens, hails from Edmonton, Alberta.

Next: Best Music of 2011: Part 3

Best Music of 2011: Part 1

2011-12-20T17:19:00.000-05:00

Despite being a member of the Baseball Blogger's Alliance (BBA), this blog is far from entirely about baseball. Yet, when he does his weekly links post for the BBA's General Chapter, my pal The Flagrant Fan continues to highlight my non-baseball work. Since the blog's output has been dwindling of late, his posts are probably my main generator of traffic these days, so I'm quite appreciative.

So, in an attempt to be clever, and because I don't really have time to write extensively about my top albums of the year—but I still wish to count them down—I thought I'd try something a little different. That is, I'm going to emphasize baseball in my brief write-ups of the music that made my year. Or, at least I'm going to try to highlight each artist's connection with baseball as much as possible.

Anyway, we'll see how that goes.

If you're new here and care to read a little more about the history of my obsession with this particular exercise, please read what I wrote about it last year. In fact, I might add that the genesis of this blog was to count down my top ten albums of 2003. The writing wasn't as good then—well, at least I hope I've improved in the past eight years—but I still give myself an "E" for effort.

And now on the list of my favorite 33 albums that were released in 2011:

33. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo
I'm not sure to whom Kurt pledges his baseball loyalties (if anyone), but it seems this Angels blog is trying to claim them. However, I do know that this record's producer—John Agnello—is a die-hard Mets fan, the poor guy.

32. Lucinda Williams - Blessed
I don't know for certain if Lucinda is a baseball fan, but "Soldier's Song" provides some evidence. Written from the perspective of a man fighting for his country overseas while his wife is home with their child, she sings "I don't know my enemy's name. Baby takes the little one to a baseball game." That settles it, as far as I'm concerned, although I suspect she's not a fan of WAR.

31. R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now
I know at least two of the Athens, Georgia college rock pioneers are into baseball. Peter Buck plays bass in The Baseball Project (we'll hear from them later) and claims to be a Washington Senators fan, for what it's worth. Mike Mills is also known to be a pretty big Atlanta Braves supporter.

30. Steve Earle - I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive
There's a photo kicking around the interwebs somewhere of my pal Anders Parker and Steve Earle, in which the Texas native (Earle) is wearing a Yankees jersey. An interview he did a few years ago for ESPN's Page2 provides some insight into why that is.

29. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
M83 is Frenchman Anthony Gonzalez's creative outlet, and just one of two European acts in this year's rankings. I'm not saying Europeans don't like baseball, but it's certainly easier to find American artists who do.

28. J Mascis - Several Shades of Why
The Dinosaur Jr. leader played the same stage as new Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein recently, as both men joined Buffalo Tom in celebrating the band's 25th anniversary at Boston's Brighton Music Hall.

27. Centro-Matic - Candidate Waltz
Although the band hails from Denton, Texas, Centro-Matic front-man Will Johnson is from Missouri, and is a big-time Cardinals fan. On his web site's about page, after rambling on primarily about the type of work he's done, he ends by saying, "I love baseball. I have always loved baseball." Taking this love, and his art, to another level, however, one of his hobbies is painting portraits of mostly legendary baseball players.

26. Elbow - Build a Rocket Boys!
This English band is the highest ranking European artist on this year's list. Last year, I honored five European and six Canadian artists, in addition to 22 Americans. This year's distribution: two Europeans, three Canadians (still to come), 28 Americans. As far as baseball is concerned, the only connection I can draw is that Elbow's lead singer is named Guy Garvey.

Next: Best Music of 2011: Part 2

Imperially Tasting

2011-12-14T19:55:00.000-05:00

Over the course of the summer, I had stocked my beer closet with a half-dozen Imperial IPAs. My original intention was to include a couple fellow craft beer loving friends in a little taste test, but life got in the way, so I never made that happen. Finally, I figured it was about time to just drink them myself.

Beginning in early November, I had KJ serve them to me one at a time, over the course of a few weekends, so I could have my own blind taste test.

It's interesting to note that it took me about a month to drink all six of them. That's pretty much how it works these days. One beer a night, on Friday and Saturday nights only, is basically my limit. Although, in my defense, I will say that they're always strong beers, so they're generally the equivalent of two. And, with parental responsibilities entering the equation, I can't really afford to overdo it these days.

I'm not really sure how to write a post about a blind taste test, to be completely honest. You'll have to trust me that I truly didn't know what I was drinking at the time I was drinking it. In fact, even as I write this, KJ still hasn't revealed the brands.

So, what I'm going to do is refer to them as Imperial IP-A, IP-B, IP-C, etc., then reveal them at the end of the post. Since IPA stands for India Pale Ale, and pretty much everything I drink is an ale, the A is kind of a moot point anyway.

Imperial IP-A (11/5)
My stuffy nose didn't allow me to detect much aroma, but it's nicely balanced—tastes strong but is still pretty easy going down—and not overwhelmingly hoppy for the style.
Rating: B+

Imperial IP-B (11/12)
Nice subtle grapefruity aroma (there's a hint of some spice I can't make out too). Malty upfront—tastes pretty strong—with just the right amount of hops aftertaste.
Rating: B+

Imperial IP-C (11/24)
Pours a little cloudy, but in a good way. Nice grapefruity aroma with a hint of sweetness. Really well-balanced, almost perfectly: malty up front with excellent hops aftertaste. Rating: A

Imperial IP-D (12/2)
A very sweet, even malty, aroma (KJ says there's a coriander undertone). Not quite as malty going down, though, although just enough to balance its considerable hoppiness.
Rating: B/B+

Imperial IP-E (12/3)
This one has a ton of hop flavor, although not an overwhelming hop aroma (unless it's just my nose that's not quite working right again). It's slightly on the bitter side of the balance equation, which is what keeps it from moving up to A- or A status. Rating: B+

Imperial IP-F (12/4)
Most beers of this style are an assault on your senses, but in a good way. Other than a pretty typical IPA undertone of bitterness, this one does no such thing. Rating: B-

As you can see, I went through all this trouble just to essentially rate them even, with the exception of C (the best of the bunch) and F (the worst of the lot). Obviously, D was also a notch below the rest, and at this point, I'd have to say that E was probably the second-best, since I considered bumping it up to an A- rating.

So, without further ado, here are the results:

1. Imperial IP-C: GUBNA Imperial IPA (Oskar Blues)
2. Imperial IP-E: Hercules Double IPA (Great Divide)
3. (tie) Imperial IP-A: 471 Small Batch IPA (Breckenridge)
3. (tie) Imperial IP-B: Hop Crisis (21st Amendment)
5. Imperial IP-D: Captain's Reserve Imperial IPA (Captain Lawrence)
6. Imperial IP-F: C-Note Imperial Pale Ale (New Old Lompoc)

The top three—Oskar Blues, Great Divide, Breckenridge—are all Colorado breweries. 21st Amendment is from San Francisco, Captain Lawrence from New York, and New Old Lompoc is the Portland, Oregon brewpub that I ranked my favorite in the city just prior to my last visit. So, needless to say, I was quite surprised with that aspect of the results.

It's Hall of Fame Season

2011-12-04T21:15:00.000-05:00

This past week, the National Baseball Hall of Fame mailed out the ballots for their 2012 class to approximately 600 voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). The results of that process will be announced on January 9.

Tomorrow, the Hall of Fame's Veterans Committee will announce its selections from among eight former players and two former executives on the Golden Era Ballot, covering individuals whose contributions were realized primarily during the period from 1947-72.

On Thursday night, I submitted my votes for the second year in a row as part of Graham Womack of Baseball Past and Present's project to identify the 50 best players not in the Hall of Fame. Results will hopefully be announced on Monday as well.

There's also the upcoming vote of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, from which our 300+ member blogs will give our opinions as to who the BBWAA should elect in January.

Thus begins what I like to call Hall of Fame Season. For the next month, there will be much debating surrounding who, among this year's nominees, is worthy of baseball's highest honor. Comparisons will be made to current Hall of Famers deemed among the weaker current inductees, and names who have been previously shunned will be thrown into the discussion as well.

I may have said this before, but for me, this and the counting down of my favorite albums—among other factors—make this the most wonderful time of the year.

Since the BBWAA announcement is still a month away, and the Golden Era ballot results will be revealed within the next 24 hours, I'll focus on the latter for now.

All I really care about, with regard to tomorrow's announcement, is that Ron Santo finally gets his due. Don't get me wrong. I also think there's a pretty good case to be made for Minnie Minoso and Luis Tiant, and I wouldn't have a problem with Ken Boyer getting the Hall of Fame nod, but it's a real travesty that Santo has yet to be elected.

I can say, without reservation, that there are only five third basemen—Mike Schmidt, Eddie Mathews, Wade Boggs, George Brett, Brooks Robinson—who were clearly better than Santo. There are a few others who are in the argument for who comes next, but I'd probably rank him seventh all-time, with Frank "Home Run" Baker being #6. Actually, if we consider Paul Molitor as a third baseman, then Santo drops to 8th, but Molitor is generally considered to be the Hall's first designated hitter.

How is the 7th or 8th best third baseman of all-time not in the Hall of Fame? I really can't tell you, other than to say, obviously, the BBWAA does not agree with me. But, I know I'm far from alone in the Ron Santo camp.

It will, however, be a bit of a shame if Santo is elected this year. The reason, of course, is he passed away a year ago yesterday. Still, I look forward to celebrating his career, even if it is a couple years too late to allow him to bask in the honor.

120 Minutes

2011-11-29T20:36:00.000-05:00

No, this post isn't about the former MTV show dedicated to alternative music, a show whose major highlights included the world premiere of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in 1991. Nor is it about the approximately two hours that passed between the time KJ's and my son was born—less than two weeks ago—and when I finally got around to calling our parents.

That seems like a long time, right? Or, is that normal? Anyway, it's kind of a long story that I won't be getting into right now.

What this post is about is my first ever tasting of Dogfish Head's signature extreme beer, 120 Minute IPA. It was, in fact, in celebration of the birth of Little Chuck, as my pal and brewing partner AB (not August Busch) and his wife stopped by our house to meet the little guy.

AB works at the hospital where LC was born, so he was the first to visit us after the delivery. We got to talking about the cigar tradition, and although said tradition is that the father passes out cigars to his friends, somehow it was decided he would try and find me a bottle of 120 Minute instead.

I didn't really think he'd come through, as it's brewed only a few times a year and sells out fast, despite it's hefty price tag of $10 for a 12-ounce bottle. But, wouldn't you know it, he showed up at my door with not one, but two bottles of the "holy grail for hopheads."

I was surprised that it tasted more like our own 21st Century Schizoid Ale than any beer I've ever tasted. It's stronger (15-20% ABV) and better, of course, but its similarity to one of our own creations was a point of pride for us.

Its huge maltiness up front masks the hop bitterness, at first. There's no denying the presence of extreme hops, however, as considering the high alcohol content, it would be unbearably sweet otherwise. I tasted the hoppiness a little later than expected, but even still, it's not overwhelming. In fact, it's probably just right, the perfect balance of a beer's two most important ingredients, hops and malt.

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA wasn't the first beer I consumed after the birth of my son, but it certainly was worthy as an extended celebration of a moment I'll never forget.

Frequent Spins (2011.6)

2011-11-24T10:22:00.000-05:00

This will be the long overdue final installment of Frequent Spins for 2011. In fact, it will be a bit of a catchup post, after which I'll move on to attempting to rank the best albums of the year, as usual.

Ryan Adams - Ashes & Fire
The man formerly known as the hardest working singer-songwriter in alt-country (whatever that is) produces an album that hearkens back to his ultimate solo effort, Heartbreaker, and this one might be almost as good as that masterpiece.

Richard Buckner - Our Blood
Buckner churns out another solid, if unspectacular, collection of hauntingly poetic Americana.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Hysterical
They'll probably never again capture the magic of their debut release, but this album is a bit of a return to prominence after their disappointing sophomore effort.

Crooked Fingers - Breaks in the Armor
Returns to form have been a common theme in my Frequent Spins posts this year, and the latest from Crooked Fingers lands firmly in that category. After the significant drop-off that was Forfeit/Fortune, Breaks in the Armor makes me, once again, optimistic that former Archers of Loaf leader Eric Bachmann hasn't lost it.

The Jayhawks - Mockingbird Time
If you're a reader of this blog, then you probably kind of saw this one coming.

M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
I haven't been blogging much lately, and that trend probably won't change in the near future. But, I have been thinking more and more about good music that would appeal to young children. Among this album's highlights is "Raconte-Moi Une Histoire" (English translation: "Tell Me a Story"), a brightly optimistic song that fully captures the essence of the innocence of youth.

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Mirror Traffic
Quite possibly the former Pavement front-man's best solo release to date.

Mates of State - Mountaintops
I don't know about everyone, but I have a tendency to forever associate certain songs with events—in my life and otherwise—that were occurring at the time I was listening to them. In my mind, "Mistakes" will forever remind me of Joe Paterno.

Tom Waits - Bad As Me
I've never been a huge Waits fan. Of course, that's not to say I'm anti-Waits either. But, it's just that I've never really loved anything he's done before, or maybe I just haven't tried hard enough. This effort doesn't necessarily make me a convert, but it has me wondering if I've been missing out.

Wilco - The Whole Love
Ranking Wilco's albums from best to worst has always been difficult for me, but here goes:

Being There
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Summerteeth
The Whole Love
A.M.
Wilco (The Album)
Sky Blue Sky
A Ghost is Born

So, that would make The Whole Love Wilco's best album since Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which is nothing to sneeze at.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I know I've got more to be thankful for this year than ever.

Sad Days and the Road to Recovery in Happy Valley

2011-11-14T15:00:00.000-05:00

In my four years at Penn State, I attended every home game but one, which I missed to attend a cousin's wedding. I also traveled to away games at Pitt, Maryland, West Virginia and Syracuse (twice). In fact, the first game I ever witnessed was their first of the 1985 season, a road game at College Park, Maryland. In total, this adds up to somewhere around 30 games in just four seasons.

I haven't been to many games since I graduated, and now I kind of regret that.

This weekend marked the end of an era, and certainly wasn't the joyous, special occasion I always imagined it would be. Although, in reality, I didn't really think Joe Paterno would announce his retirement in advance. I honestly figured he would go out without fanfare, making the decision public only after his final game. Well, as it turns out, there was no official farewell game anyway.

I don't have a lot to say about the scandal at Penn State that hasn't already been said. I will admit to being upset that the majority of people stampeded to judgment of Paterno and the other secondary figures in this mess. I've since come to better accept the gravity of the situation brought out a lot of emotional responses, on both sides of the equation. And it's not wrong for either group to feel the way they do.

I did, however, appreciate this blog post written by Sports Illustrated writer and Paterno biographer Joe Posnanski, although he has since taken a lot of heat for it. Check out the 1500 or so comments. Or don't.

But, I'm not writing this as a defense or a condemnation of Joe Paterno or anyone else, although obviously there is at least one person who most likely deserves the latter.

The angle I want to discuss is that of the Penn State alumnus, which is not meant to discount the real victims in this tragedy, of course. I certainly realize I'm one of hundreds of thousands of people who are way down on the list of those who deserve sympathy here, but this is my blog and it's a place I choose to share my personal feelings from time to time.

This scandal is the most devastating heartbreak I’ve ever experienced as a sports fan, as it goes far beyond sports, and far beyond being a fan. It has to do with being a Penn Stater and being proud of what that means.

As I said to an old friend—who's also a fellow New York Giants fan—last week, "If we learned that Bill Belichick did this, it's not necessarily a black mark on the '86 Giants, but this incident is a black mark on an institution I'm otherwise proud to consider myself a part of."

Honestly, if you had asked me to rank my favorite teams across all sports, it would probably go like this:

New York Yankees
New York Giants
Penn State Nittany Lions (Football)
Penn State Nittany Lions (Basketball)
New York Knicks

So, Penn State football is not the team I live and die for. Maybe I did while I was in school, but that was over 20 years ago.

Still, despite the fact sports fans love to use the word "we" when discussing their teams, I've always been against that practice, except when it comes to Penn State. I'm not a member of the Yankees. I'm not a member of the Giants. Although I'm not, and have never been, a member of the Penn State football or basketball teams—except that I used to joke I was going to try to walk on as the placekick holder—I am a Penn Stater.

So, I take some personal ownership in this one, even though I know in reality, it has nothing to do with me.

Let's go back to those four years I spent in Happy Valley for a few minutes, though. They included the 1985 to 1988 football seasons, which means I was there for the 1986 National Championship. That season, and the 1987 Fiesta Bowl that capped it, is one of the most important sports memories of my life. In fact, if you asked me to rate my favorite championship teams, that list would look something like this:

1986 Penn State Nittany Lions (Football)
2007 New York Giants
1996 New York Yankees
1978 New York Yankees
1986 New York Giants

The only championship parade I've ever attended was the January 1987 celebration of Penn State's 14-10 Fiesta Bowl victory over the University of Miami. I still pretty vividly remember taking a photo of Jerry Sandusky waving to the crowd, and considering him the real hero of that championship game. It was his defensive game plan that stifled the vaunted Miami Hurricanes offense, led by Vinny Testaverde, although it was also the players on that defensive squad who executed it.

I no longer know what to make of that memory. While my Penn State pride may eventually fully recover, I don't know that I'll ever look back on that tremendous year with the same level of reverence. I certainly won't ever look back on Sandusky as such.

I was going to end this post by sharing a Posnanski observation from Wednesday night, one that he tweeted shortly after the announcement that Joe Paterno was fired:

"I saw a girl crying tonight. When I asked why she said: 'Because everybody lost.'"

But, Saturday's game made me feel like ending this on a positive note instead. In their highly emotional return to the playing field, the team fell behind a good Nebraska squad 17-0 in the second half. It would have been easy to pack it in and write it off as a game they really had no chance of winning due to all the distractions. However, they persevered and launched an impressive comeback—for an offensively challenged team—that fell just a little short in a 17-14 loss.

Of course, there are many who felt the game never should have been played, and I can't fault them for that. But, they did play the game, and it was one that obviously meant a lot to 100 or so Penn State players who had absolutely nothing to do with this recent tragedy.

It was the fans who most impressed me, though. Following the embarrassing chaos of Wednesday night, Penn State fans—including tens of thousands of students—were well behaved throughout the game. And their post-game gesture, in which they gave the team a rousing ovation, followed by the patented "We Are...Penn State!" chant, made me feel once again that there are plenty of reasons to be proud to be a Penn Stater.

That fact won't be changed by the actions of one man and the inaction of several others, and I can say for damn sure it will not be affected by the folks out there who have decided to use this occasion to denigrate Penn State and all Penn Staters rather than take aim at those culpable in this ugly situation.

Those folks do not define Penn State. They are not Penn State. We are Penn State!

The All-MLB All-Star Team

2011-11-06T22:25:00.005-05:00

I had plans to post a BBA Awards: Part Two, highlighting the ballots I submitted for the Walter Johnson (Pitcher of the Year) and Stan Musial (Most Valuable Player) awards, but that bird has flown, so to speak.

In case you're interested, the winners of those awards were Clayton Kershaw (NL Walter Johnson), Justin Verlander (AL Walter Johnson), Matt Kemp (NL Stan Musial) and Jose Bautista (AL Stan Musial).

I'm kind of tired of year-end awards anyway. Tired of the "how do you define most valuable?" debates, of the claims that one pitcher was luckier than another (as reflected by their FIP or xFIP vs. ERA comparisons), and really sick—to my stomach, that is—of the incompetence of the folks who choose the Gold Glove awards.

Instead, I've decided to select my own 2011 All-MLB All-Star Team. And I can guarantee you if someone's not on this team, he didn't deserve an ounce of consideration for the MVP, Cy Young, Stan Musial or Walter Johnson honors. Well, that's probably a bit overstated, but I have a tendency to do that on occasion.

This team consists of 31 players. I chose two for each everyday position (not including DH), five starting pitchers, five relief pitchers, and then rounded out the roster with five additional—and highly deserving—players. I even reconsidered my Goose Gossage (Reliever of the Year) award selections in the process.

So, here they are, presented without analysis. My 2011 MLB All-Stars:

Catcher
Alex Avila, Detroit Tigers
Mike Napoli, Texas Rangers

First Base
Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
Adrian Gonzalez, Boston Red Sox

Second Base
Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers
Robinson Cano, New York Yankees

Shortstop
Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
Jose Reyes, New York Mets

Third Base
Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers
Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants

Left Field
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals

Center Field
Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers
Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox
Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees

Right Field
Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays
Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks

Starting Pitcher
Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies
C.C. Sabathia, New York Yankees
Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies
Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels

Relief Pitcher
Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees
Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves
David Robertson, New York Yankees
Jonathan Papelbon, Boston Red Sox
Sean Marshall, Chicago Cubs

Obstruction and Adrian Beltre's Foot

2011-10-31T12:17:00.102-04:00

OBSTRUCTION is the act of a fielder who, while not in possession of the ball and not in the act of fielding the ball, impedes the progress of any runner.

Rule 2.00 (Obstruction) Comment: If a fielder is about to receive a thrown ball and if the ball is in flight directly toward and near enough to the fielder so he must occupy his position to receive the ball he may be considered “in the act of fielding a ball.” It is entirely up to the judgment of the umpire as to whether a fielder is in the act of fielding a ball. After a fielder has made an attempt to field a ball and missed, he can no longer be in the “act of fielding” the ball. For example: an infielder dives at a ground ball and the ball passes him and he continues to lie on the ground and delays the progress of the runner, he very likely has obstructed the runner.

A few postseasons ago I wrote about the controversial call that wasn't, a play I thought should have been more of a controversy than it turned out to be. In contrast, this year's World Series included a somewhat controversial call that shouldn't have been. At least in my opinion, but not if you ask a couple bloggers who have since written about a play in game six they think was, or at least should be, against the rules.

If you're interested in completely digesting this subject, you can read those viewpoints at The Captain's Blog and The Platoon Advantage.

First of all, let me say both bloggers made some solid points in their posts and in subsequent discussions I engaged them in, either via comments or on Twitter. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't feel my own explanation of the play to be worth the effort.

As I said, the play in question occurred in game six of the World Series. In the bottom of the 6th inning, with the bases full of Cardinals and one out, Rangers catcher Mike Napoli picked St. Louis' Matt Holliday off third. But, replays showed Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre had used his foot to at least partially block Holliday's return path to the bag.

Both of the aforementioned bloggers claimed this was obstruction, that Beltre moved his foot there with the intention of blocking the base, not because he had to in order to receive the throw.

First of all, let me just say that when a fielder possesses the ball, he's allowed to be anywhere he pleases. It's really as simple as that. He has no obligation to yield any kind of "right of way" to the runner. By the same token, the runner, in this instance, has equal right of way as the fielder. As you're probably well aware, this is why there are occasional collisions between runners and fielders, although most of the time these occur at home plate.

To further illustrate "right of way," I'll discuss a hypothetical example not related to the play in question.

Imagine there's a runner on second base and a ground ball is hit to the shortstop, who is attempting to field it directly in the path of the runner. Up to the point the ball reaches the fielder, assuming he's in the act of fielding it, he has the right of way. That is, if the runner collides with him, it's interference on the runner.

But, if the ball passes through the shortstop's legs, for instance, and then the runner makes contact with him, it's obstruction on the fielder. In other words, if he's no longer in the act of fielding the ball, the fielder has no right to be in the runner's path at all.

However, if the shortstop is no longer in the act of fielding the ball because he has it securely in his glove or hand, the runner and fielder now have equal right of way.

This is a little confusing, I realize, but it's important to the Beltre-Holliday example because one point that's been made is Beltre planted his foot in the base path before he caught the throw. So, the question is, does this mean he's guilty of blocking the base without the ball and, therefore, obstruction?

The answer is no, and the explanation for this is that essentially Beltre does so at his own risk. If the throw gets away from him and Holliday makes contact with his body, he's then guilty of obstruction. Whether or not Holliday would be awarded home as a result is left to the umpire's judgment, but I'm not getting into that scenario.

The important point is it's not obstruction until the fielder impedes the runner (in this case, when contact is made), so since the throw was securely in Beltre's glove before Holliday slides into his foot, what Beltre did was perfectly legal.

As well it should be. Another point that was made is the fielder shouldn't be able to do this regardless. But, what we're potentially getting into here is trying to dictate where a fielder is allowed to be when receiving a throw and/or preparing to apply a tag. I don't think the rule book can possibly govern that.

I also don't think intent can be part of the equation. That is, did Beltre put his foot there with the intention of blocking the base? Is it obvious that the answer is yes to that question? I don't think so, but even if you do, is it not entirely possible to envision a scenario where the fielder moves his foot into the same position in the act of fielding the throw? Most importantly, though, do we really want to add a rule that requires the umpire to determine intent? There are a few such rules in the book right now, but it's my opinion these situations should be minimized, and I suspect most people would agree with me on that point.

So, where does this leave us? I think we can draw only one conclusion, and that's to say what Beltre did was completely within the rules, and it should remain that way.

Of course, I'm not trying to claim I'm in any way the final word on this subject. In fact, as I learned back in 2008 when I interviewed former Brinkman/Froemming Umpire School instructor, and operator of rulesofbaseball.com, Rick Roder, there are still sections of the rules that are gray enough that they're subject to different interpretations by different umpires. That fact remains a problem Major League Baseball has failed to address, but the obstruction rule does not fall into that category.

Where Have All My Friends Gone?

2011-10-26T17:42:00.012-04:00

I first saw The Jayhawks live on the Tomorrow the Green Grass tour back in 1995. It was at a place called Saratoga Winners, in the Albany, New York suburb of Latham. The venue took its name from the fact it's on the drive back down-state from the race track in Saratoga Springs.

That Jayhawks show was one of only two I saw at the now-defunct club, which burned down in 2009 in an incident that resulted in its owner being convicted of insurance fraud, but acquitted of arson. Go figure. Both of my visits to Saratoga Winners were for shows I consider to hold a special place in my personal history. The other was a Wilco/Scud Mountain Boys performance that still stands as the best double-bill I've ever seen, not the least important reason for that distinction being it was my introduction to the brilliant—in my opinion—Joe Pernice.

The Jayhawks show was so important to me because it was the only time I'd seen their classic lineup, including both Gary Louris and Mark Olson. Olson left the band only a year or so following that show, and all the subsequent times I'd seen them live—and there have been many—Louris was the lone front-man. Of course, you can probably guess where this is all leading.

Sorry, I'm not a great photographer.

Last Tuesday night marked the occasion of The Jayhawks reunion tour's return to Boston, and my first time seeing them live, with Olson, in over 15 years. The Jayhawks' visit to the Paradise Rock Club was also KJ's first time seeing them, not to mention it was our future son's first concert ever. Well, sort of. But, it almost didn't happen for us.

You see, KJ is 8+ months pregnant, and as the date of the performance drew closer, we came to the realization there was no way she was going to be able to stand for the duration of a club show. So, I called the Paradise and inquired about their limited reserved seating for persons with mobility issues.

Long story short, they took care of us, and I can't express how truly grateful we are for how accommodating they were. Every member of their staff that we dealt with was extremely helpful and polite, and I want to thank them for allowing us to see this show from a pair of chairs set to the right of the stage.

Unfortunately, this also meant we had to split up from the four friends who attended the show with us—including el-squared, who it seems has gone to about a dozen Jayhawks shows with me, although that's probably a slight exaggeration—but that was an understandable price to have to pay.

Although Louris has proven to be a more than capable band leader, nothing beats the version of the Jayhawks that features the lead vocal harmonies of Olson and Louris together. So, while this performance probably fell short of the magic of seeing them for the first time in the mid-'90s, it sure brought back some pleasantly nostalgic memories.

The show also gave me a greater appreciation for their brand new material. Prior to the show, the consensus among my friends was that the new album rates as solid, but falls far short of Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow the Green Grass. Last week's performance didn't necessarily change that assessment, but that's more an acknowledgment of the brilliance of those two albums than a negative reflection of Mockingbird Time.

Seeing Olson, Louris and company perform this new material live highlighted how truly strong songs such as "Closer to Your Side," "She Walks in So Many Ways," and "Black-eyed Susan" are.

But, of course, the set's real highlights were the old standards, particularly back-to-back renditions of "I'd Run Away" and "Miss Williams' Guitar." The former is one of the many songs that KJ and I consider "ours," and realizing how apt the third verse of that song now is reinforced our feeling of ownership.

One day, I suppose, we'll tell the little boy about the first concert he attended, and how much he seemed to enjoy it, judging by—according to KJ, of course—how much he was moving and shaking during the show. Depending on how old he is at the time, he may roll his eyes at the notion, but we'll know we couldn't have made a better decision.

What if There Was Instant Replay (Part 2)?

2011-10-21T20:33:00.003-04:00

I'm really reaching for controversies here, but I guess that's kind of a good thing, right? In Part 1, I discussed the Victor Martinez HBP controversy from game two of the ALCS. In this post, I'm going to discuss a couple of potential controversies that occurred late in the NLCS and early in the World Series.

In the top of the 9th of Wednesday night's game one of the World Series, Adrian Beltre topped a grounder off his left toe. Or, so it seemed. The ball really didn't significantly change direction, and home plate umpire Jerry Layne ruled it a fair ball as Cardinals third baseman Daniel Descalso threw Beltre out at first for the second out of the inning.

Replays weren't exactly conclusive either, but Fox's new infrared view apparently showed the ball had nicked Beltre's toe. So, if the infrared evidence is considered reliable enough, this one could have been overturned.

But, what I also think instant replay proved was that Beltre's reaction was instantaneous. That is, he immediately reacted as if the ball had hit him. Since I don't think there are any major league players—except maybe Derek Jeter—who are that good at acting, and because I know umpires are trained to go on the reactions of players in such situations, I think the replay would have been enough to overturn the call and give Beltre's at bat new life.

Since there were no runners on base, but more importantly, since the potential reversal would result in a dead ball situation, this would have been an easy change to apply.

That one was easy, but I also want to go back a few days to game six of the NLCS. In the bottom of the 5th, with Carlos Gomez on third and no outs, Ryan Braun hit a slow bouncer to Albert Pujols at first. Pujols fielded the ball cleanly, but had to dive to tag Braun, who attempted a head-first slide into first. The ruling on the field was out, but one particular angle of the replay clearly showed Braun had beat the tag.

Since the runner from third had gone on contact, he had reached the plate by the time the play was made, so a reversal of the call would not have any effect on that outcome. The run would have scored whether Braun was safe or out. However, I'm going to play a little what-if game here.

The runner was Carlos Gomez, one of the fastest men in baseball. So, for the sake of example, let's suppose he was on first base instead of third, and that there were two outs instead of none. With the ball hit so slowly, it would not be out of the realm of possibility that the speedy Gomez would have rounded second and taken 2-3 steps toward third by the time the tag was applied on Braun. With Braun being called out—for the third out—in live action, there would be no reason for Pujols to concern himself with Gomez's attempted advance to third.

But, with the call being reversed after reviewing instant replay, the question would be, what to do with Gomez? There probably was no chance that Pujols, who had to dive to make the tag on Braun, would have been able to get back up and prevent Gomez from going to third, but the fact remains he was only a few steps past second at that moment. Is this another judgment the use of replay would force the umpires to make? This may not seem like a big issue, but once again, we're entering into dangerous territory here...settling one controversy, while potentially creating another.

I'm certainly not trying to throw a wet blanket over the concept of expanded use of instant replay in Major League Baseball. In fact, I'm 100% in favor of the idea. But, I suspect being able to work out all the potential complications that could be created, and to write these contingencies into the rule book, is a factor in how slow the commissioner's office has been to react.

Leatherheads College Football Poll

2011-10-19T20:30:00.000-04:00

I've always had a fascination with college football polls. I'm not really sure why. Obviously, a poll, rather than a playoff, is a less than ideal—to say the least—way of determining a national champion, or which two teams get to play for said championship. But, ever since I was in high school, I've played around with developing my own rankings.

I would usually wait until at least mid-season to get started. It was always my feeling that early season polls were really just predictions of who were going to be the best teams, rather than evaluations of who had earned those distinctions. Sometimes I toyed around with the philosophy that last year's final should be this year's opening rankings. But, I never really followed through with that idea.

Over the years, I've even worked on my own rankings system, complete with points awarded for each victory on a scale which assigns a higher value for beating better teams, then adds bonuses for road wins and "decisive" victories, without going overboard to reward running up the score. Let's just say this system continues to be a work in progress.

So, it was only fitting, when my pal Joe started a football blog called Leatherheads of the Gridiron, and encouraged me to contribute, that my first project would be to spearhead a weekly college football poll.

We put together a group of 13 contributors to the site—including me and Joe—who've been voting regularly for the past four weeks now. If you're interested, you can check out all of the posts related to the poll here.

Our poll is a top 16, rather than a top 20 or 25. Why, you ask? For starters, it's for the sake of time. I don't necessarily think it's really worth the effort to spend a lot of time laboring over picks 17-25, when a top 16 truly comprises college football's elite. But, most importantly, 16 is kind of a magic number for a potential mock playoff system, and we have an intriguing plan for that.

Interestingly enough, our latest rankings are pretty darn close to the AP poll's. In fact, our top ten is exactly identical, while numbers 11 through 16 are the same teams, but in a different order. I'm not necessarily saying that's a good thing, just that I find it interesting.

Of course, I know far less about football than I do about baseball, but somehow I got talked into co-hosting a podcast, which airs this Saturday night at 9pm (EST) on BlogTalkRadio. Tune in if you're so inclined, or feel free to download it after the fact.

What If There Was Instant Replay (Part 1)?

2011-10-15T10:11:00.004-04:00

OK, I'm going to come right out and admit it. This is a part one that may not have a part two. What I mean is I've decided to take a look at controversial calls in baseball's postseason and discuss what would have happened in various related scenarios had there been a system of expanded instant replay in place in Major League Baseball.

Or, perhaps there won't be a part two until next year. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

My first example wasn't really all that controversial in retrospect (it was made a moot point by Ryan Raburn's three-run homer that immediately followed), but it brought a manager out of the dugout, and was the subject of a question at the manager's post-game press conference, so that's enough for me.

In the top of the third inning of game two of the ALCS on Monday, a pitch appeared to hit Detroit's Victor Martinez in the foot. Well, at least by his reaction it did. But, it was initially unclear what the call was by home plate umpire Larry Vanover.

Vanover immediately appealed to first base umpire Jim Wolf to see if Martinez had swung at the pitch in question. My initial reaction was he had ruled Martinez was hit by the pitch, but had to determine if he'd swung or not (he hadn't) in order to decide if he should be awarded first base.

In hindsight, though, Vanover apparently did not rule it a hit by pitch. Amidst some confusion, Detroit's Miguel Cabrera came around to score from second as the ball got away from Texas catcher Mike Napoli.

The umpiring crew conferred and the play was ruled a hit by pitch, so Martinez was awarded first base and Cabrera had to return to second. Detroit manager Jim Leyland subsequently argued, and my initial reaction was he had no argument. His player—Martinez—by his body language had indicated the pitch hit him, and that was the ruling on the field. To me, at the time, Leyland was arguing because he decided a different outcome was more favorable to his team.

It wasn't until his post-game press conference that we learned what Leyland was complaining about. His beef, albeit a weak one, was he had never seen umpires confer to determine a hit by pitch. In the past, home plate umpires had always told him they couldn't get help on such a play, that other members of the crew would make the ruling immediately if they saw it.

But, back to the instant replay what-if scenarios. Assuming the initial ruling on the field was the ball had not hit Martinez and, most importantly, the play had not been ruled dead, the outcomes are pretty simple. If replay determines the ruling on the field was correct (i.e. no HBP), then all subsequent action is allowed. Martinez remains at the plate and Cabrera scores from second. If the replay ruling is it was an HBP, then the ruling is exactly what happened in the actual game: Martinez to first, Cabrera remains on second.

Things get complicated if the initial ruling on the field is that the pitch hit the batter. In that case, the play is ruled dead, and this makes it more difficult to correct if it is, in fact, an incorrect ruling. Obviously, if replay subsequently confirms the HBP call, Martinez gets first and Cabrera stays at second. But, if the replay determines the batter wasn't hit by the pitch, the question is what to do with Cabrera.

Assuming the play was ruled dead on the field, Cabrera's advance from second can't be allowed, no matter what the replay determination is. After all, the defense's efforts would have stopped when the ruling on the field was to call the play dead, so there is really no way to decide what would have happened otherwise.

This would be analogous to the fumble/no fumble ruling in football. In the NFL, if the whistle blows the play dead, there is no changing the call.

In our baseball example, however, the call would be changed from a hit by pitch to simply a ball, but the runner would have to stay on second. There's no way around that, in my opinion. I suppose the runner could be awarded a one-base advance in the umpire's judgment, assuming the ball legitimately got away from the catcher, but I think this would open up another can of worms. That is, using instant replay to get one call right, while creating another potentially debatable judgment call for the umpire to make.

While this is not the best example of such a play, it does point to the potential complications created by calls on the field resulting in the play being ruled dead. A foul ball that should have been ruled fair and a home run that shouldn't have been are a couple other examples.

Scenarios created by such situations will have to be worked out in order to make expanded use of instant replay in Major League Baseball an effective solution. I think it can be done, but it's just a little more difficult than most people think.

On a related note, one thing I would like to see is more explanation from the umpiring crew regarding calls requiring interpretations of rules that aren't common knowledge to fans. It's something they do in the NFL and, although I follow football much less than I do baseball, it seems to me NFL officials receive much less criticism than MLB umpires do.

Maybe a better understanding of some of the more controversial calls would help. I'm not suggesting this be done during the games, as in football, but perhaps requiring crew chiefs to explain such calls in post-game press conferences would be beneficial.

World Series or Bust?

2011-10-07T16:08:00.000-04:00

This is a (slight) re-write of something I posted last year at about this time. Unfortunately, it's just as apt now as it was then.

Last year at around this time, I got to thinking about what constitutes a successful season for a sports franchise. Not from the perspective of players, coaches and front office personnel of the team, but from the point of view of the fans.

As spectators, what is our primary motivation for watching our favorite sports? I'm sure the answer varies a little from person to person, but I think the common denominator is entertainment. That is, we watch the games because they are enjoyable to us. Does it get any simpler than that?

Taking this a step further, why do we choose to follow a particular team, rather than just let ourselves be entertained by individual games in which we're less personally invested in the outcomes? I would assume the answers to that question vary a little more than the first, but, I think ultimately it boils down to increased entertainment level.

So, my point here is really to ask the question, is the only entertainment value associated with rooting for a specific team to witness them win a championship? If the answer is yes, then it's a pretty said state of affairs, because that means we spend 5-6 months a year worrying about an outcome that most likely will never happen.

I contend the answer, in fact, is no. We root for a specific team because it provides us with added entertainment value, and that value is measured on a spectrum, rather than being an absolute either/or proposition. That is, the more successful our team's season, the more entertainment value they've provided us with. If they kept us believing they had a chance to win a championship for over six months—and survived only a few weeks less than the most successful teams in the league—then they did a very good job of entertaining us.

Don't get me wrong, here. I'm not saying I'll ever take consolation in a season that simply exceeds expectations, especially when it comes to the Yankees. In fact, it could be argued that, since the Yankees can never truly exceed expectations—although this year might be the exception—that a little entertainment value is foregone just being a fan of theirs. But, that's a discussion for another day.

What I am saying is I'm not going to let myself get sucked into that 29-losers-and-only-one-winner mentality. I enjoyed my team's success for much of the season, despite being disappointed in its final outcome. In the end, though, it provided me with a great deal of entertainment, and—with all due respect—that's probably more than the fans of about 18 of Major League Baseball's 30 teams can say.

BBA Awards: Part 1

2011-10-04T21:15:00.000-04:00

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance has their own set of year-end awards that its members vote on, and are asked to do so in a blog post. Each of these awards is appropriately named after one of baseball's all-time greats. This being my first year in the organization, it will be my first time casting votes for the following awards:

Connie Mack Award (Manager of the Year)
Willie Mays Award (Rookie of the Year)
Goose Gossage Award (Reliever of the Year)

Connie Mack Award - AL

Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays
Joe Girardi, New York Yankees
Jim Leyland, Detroit Tigers

I'll start with the Connie Mack Award because, to me, this one is fairly easy, at least to the extent that I view such an award. When thinking about this honor, I tend to favor the managers whose teams outperformed expectations. That's really all we have to go on, in my opinion, and the two teams that most exceeded expectations were the Tampa Bay Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks.

It's not that no one predicted the Rays to make the playoffs, but not many people gave them a chance this year, especially after losing Carl Crawford, Rafael Soriano and Carlos Peña to free agency. But, what was even more impressive was how they did it, by erasing a huge wild card deficit and overtaking the Boston Red Sox on the last day of the season. To me, there's no question that Joe Maddon is the American League's top manager this year.

Connie Mack Award - NL

Kirk Gibson, Arizona Diamondbacks
Ron Roenicke, Milwaukee Brewers
Tony LaRussa, St. Louis Cardinals

It may actually be true that no one picked the Diamondbacks to reach the playoffs, and for that reason, Kirk Gibson is the clear choice for best National League skipper.

Other worthy candidates include the New York Yankees' Joe Girardi, for guiding a team considered to have highly suspect starting pitching to the best record in the American League; the Detroit Tigers' Jim Leyland, for managing a team that few expected would win 95 games; the Milwaukee Brewers' Ron Roenicke, for leading the brew crew to their first playoff appearance in almost 30 years; and Tony LaRussa, because his team pulled off almost as impressive a comeback as the Rays, and they did it without the ace of their pitching staff, Adam Wainwright.

Willie Mays Award - AL

Alexi Ogando, Texas Rangers
Michael Pineda, Seattle Mariners
Ivan Nova, New York Yankees

There were a lot of solid rookie performers in the American League this year, but no one who really stood out. I'm surprised that very little has been said about Ogando's chances, but he gets my vote over a couple other young starting pitchers.

Willie Mays Award - NL

Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves
Vance Worley, Philadelphia Phillies
Danny Espinosa, Washington Nationals

Everyone loves to downplay the importance of relief pitchers, but a rookie taking over a pretty high pressure situation, and handling it as well as Kimbrel did, is fairly impressive to me. He was one of the best in the National League at his role, so he gets my vote as the top first-year player in the league.

Goose Gossage Award - AL

Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees
Jose Valverde, Detroit Tigers
David Robertson, New York Yankees

If saves are an over-rated statistic, then blown saves are even more so. Valverde was 49-for-49 in save opportunities, but he also lost four games. His four losses were all tie games in which he failed to pitch the one scoreless inning he was asked to. This is basically the equivalent of blowing a one-run lead, so Valverde's lack of blown saves is at least a little misleading. So, let's face it, Mariano Rivera may have blown five saves, and lost two, but he was clearly better this year. I'm favoring closers for this award, but rounding out the top three is Yankees setup man David Robertson, who deserves some recognition for the fantastic year he had.

Goose Gossage Award - NL

John Axford, Milwaukee Brewers
Joel Hanrahan, Pittsburgh Pirates
Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves

Although I downplayed the blown save statistic in explaining my pick for the AL's best reliever—but, seriously, that was to argue Mariano Rivera over Jose Valverde—I'm going to use it to help me decide between three excellent National League closers. All else being fairly equal, Axford converted 46-of-48, Hanrahan 40-of-44, and Kimbrel 46-of-54.

What Have You Done For Me Lately (Part 2)?

2011-10-04T09:28:00.002-04:00

I don't have much more to say today than this.

Well, I want to, at least.

Who Am I? (Father & Son Edition)

2011-09-28T06:09:00.000-04:00

As father and son tandems go, we were hardly the Griffeys, but we both played over 10 years in the majors, so that's something to be proud of.

Father accumulated over 2000 hits and 50 wins above replacement (WAR) in his career. Son was a first-round draft pick (#3 overall), but never lived up to expectations, although he did show a few sustained flashes of his five-tool ability.

Continue reading, and maybe take a crack at guessing the answer, over on Pickin' Splinters.

Frequent Spins (2011.5)

2011-09-24T22:56:00.000-04:00

Last year, I celebrated my discovery of Lala and then, a few months later, I lamented the end of the service. Well, it took over a year, but finally there's a legitimate substitute.

Spotify, launched in Sweden in 2008, became available to U.S. customers—without requiring an invitation—in the past few months.

Spotify requires a software installation, whereas Lala was web-based, and it doesn't make finding quality new releases as easy as Lala did, but it has one major advantage. Where Lala only allowed users one free listen to each song, Spotify allows unlimited previews.

So, if you're already a Spotify user, or you're interested in checking it out, the links to each of these albums would be a good place to start, as far as I'm concerned.

Beirut - The Rip Tide
An eclectic indie band that uses horns as an integral part of their sound? Seems like a Neutral Milk Hotel comparison is in order. But, those characteristics are where the comparisons end. This album is melodic orchestral indie pop at its best.

Bon Iver - Bon Iver
Add these versatile indie-folksters to the long list of artists whose first albums didn't hook me, but whose second completely reeled me in.

Centro-Matic - Candidate Waltz
As prolific a songwriter as Centro-Matic front-man Will Johnson has been over the years, it's kind of surprising this is the first album by his main band in five years. It's a short set—only 33 minutes total—but its brevity ensures it does not wear out its welcome, and despite the gap between releases, this one was well worth the wait.

Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys
At $8.24 on eMusic, this is one of the more expensive albums I've purchased in a while. Because the price represents almost half my monthly subscription, and considering I wasn't blown away by my first few listens, I almost passed on this one. I'm glad I changed my mind.

Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest
Welch's appearance on The Decemberists' The King is Dead earlier this year was a bit of an appetizer for the release of her first album since 2003. Her return is a welcome one, although this record falls far short of my favorite material of hers.

What Have You Done For Me Lately, (or Can A.J. Burnett still make the Yankees' postseason rotation)?

2011-09-14T22:50:00.002-04:00

Since, in hindsight, I was a little off in my recent assessment of the Yankees' postseason rotation situation, I thought I'd take another crack at it. Except, this time I'm going to look at each pitcher's average game score* over the course of their last four—or, in the case of Freddy Garcia, three—starts.

For an explanation of game score, see Baseball-Reference's Play Index Glossary.

Why am I looking only at their most recent outings? Because when a battle is as wide open as the Yankees' situation is, what's happened most recently tends to be weighted more heavily.

Why am I only considering Freddy Garcia's most recent three starts, while looking at the latest four for the other candidates? Because he's only pitched three times since returning from the disabled list on August 29.

What is the meaning of the sub-title of this post? Most blogs I've read recently on the subject—including this one—have already written off A.J. Burnett's chances of making the Yankees' postseason rotation. But, let's face it, the team's management has to be pulling for him, and if he's still being given the opportunity to start games in mid-September, they're not ruling him out yet.

So, let's cut to the chase and size them up based on average game score since August 21:

Ivan Nova - 59.3
C.C. Sabathia - 57.5
Bartolo Colon - 54.8
A.J. Burnett - 44.5
Phil Hughes - 43.0
Freddy Garcia - 37.7 (actually, even if we throw Garcia's August 7 start into the mix, he still ranks last at 41.0)

So, what does this tell us? Well, first of all, we all know Sabathia is the #1 starter regardless of what happens the rest of the way, so this exercise is really to try and size up the 2-4 slots.

Nova is looking as close to a lock for one of the remaining three spots as anyone. Will he be the #2 starter come playoff time? Not necessarily, but at this point, it's looking unlikely that he'll fall to #5.

That leaves two spots up for grabs. Colon seems to have the inside track on one of them, but take a look at #4 on this list. While I'm not trying to say that Burnett has pitched his way back into the team's postseason plans, is there any real reason to give Hughes the benefit of the doubt over him? I don't think so, although I'm not ruling him out yet either.

So, unless Garcia can turn things back around after scuffling of late, we could very well be looking at a postseason rotation of Sabathia-Nova-Colon-Burnett.

Of course, this is all speculation, but at this point I still think the competition is wide open and the much-maligned Burnett has at least as good a chance as Hughes and Garcia to earn a couple October starts.

King of Carrot Flowers Parts 1 & 2

2011-09-13T20:59:00.004-04:00

Jeff Mangum is an indie rock legend. He's also a recluse. As the singer, guitarist and primary songwriter of Neutral Milk Hotel, he released two critically-acclaimed albums—including the seminal In the Aeroplane Over the Sea—in the 1990s, then disappeared into obscurity.

It was around this time I was living in Albany, with my pal Skip, who turned me onto The Velvet Underground. He also introduced me to the legend that VU's debut album sold only about 10,000 copies, but everyone who bought it went on to form a band. More recently, I've heard a similar claim made about NMH's sophomore effort.

Of course, The Velvet Underground & Nico was released over a quarter century prior to that. I was a latecomer to the NMH bandwagon as well, but only by a few years. Which reminds me of a little list I've been thinking up lately...top five bands I discovered too late and, therefore, never got to see live.

First, let me qualify. This does not include artists who were before my time (e.g. The Velvet Underground). These are bands I missed the boat on because I either didn't fully appreciate them, or simply hadn't heard of them, during their heyday:

Uncle Tupelo
Neutral Milk Hotel
The Replacements
Pavement
The Police

I thought I'd never get the chance to see Jeff Mangum, and that didn't change when I heard, several months too late, that he was playing his first tour in over a decade and a Cambridge show had sold out in a matter of minutes.

Then, a second Boston area show was added, but that too sold out in minutes. So, I decided it might be worth my while to make the trip to western Massachusetts on a weeknight, and I plunked down just under $66 (including fees) for two tickets to that show.

I recruited my good friend June, who had alerted me to the two added New England shows, to drive me to Northampton's Academy of Music Theatre this past Wednesday in exchange for the other ticket. I left work at 4:30 to take the T to Newton to meet up with her for the journey to the 8 pm show.

I got home around midnight, so that means I invested 7 1/2 hours of my time (in addition to shelling out the $66 for essentially one ticket).

But, it was well worth it. My brewing partner, AB (once again, not August Busch), had previously declined interest in the show, on the grounds that he'd be willing to pay $30+ to see NMH, but not Mangum solo.

Well, Mangum did take the stage alone, and would have been forgiven for being a little rusty, but he played his most celebrated material with more energy and enthusiasm than anyone could have expected.

He definitely exhibited the shyness that would be consistent with someone characterized as a recluse, but still had tremendous stage presence, joking with the crowd and encouraging them to sing along, particularly to the horn parts otherwise missing in this solo set.

June and I passed the time on the drive home, piecing together the set list from the notes she scratched on an envelope during the show, using my iPhone to help us with the song titles we didn't really know. Here's the final output of that process:

In case you can't make that out, here's the translation:

Oh Comely
Two-Headed Boy Pt. Two
I Love the Living You (Roky Erickson cover)
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Song Against Sex
A Baby for Pree/Glow Into You
Ghost
Naomi
Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone
The King of Carrot Flowers Pt. One
The King of Carrot Flowers Pts. Two & Three
Holland, 1945

Encore:
Engine
Two-Headed Boy

Wouldn't you know it, but two nights later, I got a call, from the aforementioned AB, informing me that his band-mate's brother is the sound guy for the Mangum tour and could get us on the guest list for the Saturday night show at Boston's New England Conservatory of Music. So, two shows in four nights it was.

The Boston show didn't differ all that much from the Northampton performance. Instead of Roky Erickson's "I Love the Living You," he covered Daniel Johnston's "True Love Will Find You in the End," and he was also joined onstage by members of opening act ACME, a string quartet who backed him for a stirring rendition of "April 8th."

The real highlight of the Boston show was that he played a legitimate encore. I'm not talking about the kind of encore that's come to be expected at concerts these days. What I'm referring to is a true encore, "a reappearance or additional performance demanded by an audience," according to Merriam-Webster.

That is, after playing the same two encores he did on Wednesday night, he said good night and went backstage. The hall's lights came on, prompting the audience that it was time to leave, but no one did. For ten minutes, the audience cheered, applauded and essentially begged for Mangum to reappear, which he eventually did.

Those who chose to stick around—which was pretty much everyone, as far as I could tell—were rewarded with hearing the last song Mangum is likely to play in New England for quite some time: "Ferris Wheel on Fire."

Ten Years After

2011-09-11T09:59:00.001-04:00

In late July of 2001, my father traveled on a bus trip sponsored by the Hudson Valley Renegades to see the team play at the Staten Island Yankees. During that trip, Dad shot this photo of downtown Manhattan from across the bay:

I never was a big fan of the concept of the date stamp on a photo, but in this case, it says it all.

Teach Your Children

2011-09-02T15:24:00.003-04:00

KJ and I attended our first Yankees-Red Sox game together on Wednesday night, and the occasion marked Little Chuck's introduction to the long-standing rivalry as well. Well, sort of.

It was also the first time I've paid to park in the Fenway neighborhood since my first visit there back in the summer of '88. Since KJ is under doctor's orders to take it easy, we decided to suck it up and shell out for parking at Fenway's most convenient location, the Lansdowne Street Garage. $44 later—and that's actually a competitive price, I kid you not—we arrived just across the street from the park.

This, of course, did nothing to change my perception of Fenway as the worst value in baseball, but in this case, it was well worth the price.

We also sat in the right field box seats for the first time ever, and they were actually pretty good seats by Fenway Park standards.

The game took place the night after the ridiculous Cervelli-Lackey fiasco, in which Francisco Cervelli broke the long-standing and well-known unwritten rule that dictates only pitchers—even when they're showing up their own teammates—are allowed to show emotion on the field. But, that's all I'm going to say about that incident. I may revisit it in another post, but don't count on it.

During the game, David Ortiz was intentionally walked in front of Jed Lowrie. The crowd, predictably, booed the move, prompting me to tweet:

Of course, this quick list was missing a couple other important examples that I thought of a little later.

So, since I'm soon to be a brand new parent, I thought I'd share my list of the five things you (and I) need to teach your (our) children about being a fan with a clue. Because, honestly, most fans at the ballpark are really lacking in that respect, and the Fenway faithful are no different from anywhere else.

Without further ado, I present these in my favorite list format...as a top five countdown, even if I've already given a few of them away. I suppose you could call these my unwritten rules of fandom (otherwise known as the top five stupidest things baseball fans do that you should avoid).

5. Don't boo the opposition's attempted pickoffs.
When you boo the opposing pitcher for attempting to pick off your runner, you're basically complaining that the other team is trying to win. I know you're rooting for your team to win, but this is supposed to be a competition. I can, however, understand booing an excessive number of pickoff attempts against the same runner. I guess that's why this one is #5.

4. Don't boo when the opposing team makes a pitching change.
Again, what you're doing here is protesting the fact the other team is trying to win. I get that pitching changes drag out the length of the game, but if you're going to be a baseball fan, it's something you'll have to learn to deal with. Besides, if you're frustrated that the game is being delayed, why don't you boo your own team when they change pitchers?

3. Don't boo when one of your players is intentionally walked.
First of all, the intentional walk is generally a foolish strategy. This is not intended to be post about SABRmetrics, so I'm not going to over-analyze this one, but more often than not, the intentional walk improves the offensive team's chance of winning. So, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, alright. Also, since your opposition at least thinks they're doing it for their own benefit, see #4 and #5 above.

2. Don't yell "balk" at things that aren't balks.
First of all, you'll need a lesson about what is and isn't a balk. I once wrote a post—exactly three years ago today, in fact—that my pal Lee called the ultimate blog entry on balks. But, that's a little more detail than is necessary here. What I'm really talking about is when fans call for a balk when the pitcher fakes a move to second or third. News flash, folks...THIS IS NOT A BALK. It's legal for a pitcher to fake a pickoff throw to second or third, but not to first. OK, got that? I'm not even going to confuse you by explaining when it's legal to fake a throw to first. Concentrate on understanding this difference first.

1. Don't do the wave.
If I even need to explain this one, then I'm sorry, but you're a hopeless cause and probably shouldn't have little baseball fans in the first place.

Oh yeah, the Red Sox beat the Yankees 9-5, so our family tally now stands at Red Sox 1, Yankees 0...obviously.

Neil Young: The Geffen Years

2011-08-30T16:34:00.005-04:00

I'm a little more than halfway through my project of evaluating and ranking the entire Neil Young discography. Since I'm working through the albums roughly chronologically, that means I'm just reaching 1990 right now. That also means I've made it through the Geffen years, not an easy task if you're familiar with Young's entire body of work.

In case you're not, Neil Young's Geffen years were the period from 1982 to 1987 during which he produced five somewhat experimental and highly controversial albums for Geffen Records. There's much more to the story, of course, but I'm not going to get into it. Suffice it to say, Geffen was not pleased with Neil and was happy to let him return to his old label, Reprise Records, upon the completion of his contract.

5. "Sample and Hold" (Trans)
Young's experimentation with electronic music, including the use of a vocoder to synthesize his voice, seems much less questionable when you realize his motivations for doing so. Years after its release, Young revealed some of the songs on Trans are intended to represent the difficulty his youngest son, Ben, disabled due to severe cerebral palsy, has with communication. While there are a few misses on that album, this is one of the songs that hits the mark.

4. "Are There Any More Real Cowboys?" (Old Ways)
I first heard this song during Neil's 1993 Farm Aid performance, which I still have on VHS somewhere. Neil was in rare form that night, drinking a beer on stage and spewing some particularly vitriolic criticisms at Vice President Al Gore and Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy. Willie Nelson guests on the album version, and also joins him onstage for the Farm Aid performance.

Although it has nothing to do with Young's Geffen years, you can get a taste of that Farm Aid 1993 performance, as Young and Nelson perform "Farmer's Song," a tune that only appears on album as "Last of His Kind (The Farm Aid Song)" on the 1999 Farm Aid Volume One compilation.

3. "Old Ways" (Old Ways)
Old Ways was the only album during the Geffen years that wasn't out of character for Young. Unfortunately, it was a mostly unsuccessful attempt at straight-up country. In fact, he and his band, the International Harvesters, do a much better job of channeling their country energy on the long lost but recently released live album, A Treasure. Still, Old Ways had its moments, and the title track was the best one of all, in my opinion.

2. "Transformer Man" (Trans)
It should be obvious, at this point, that Trans and Old Ways were my two favorite Neil Young albums from this period. I'll admit I like the version of this song that appears on 1993's Unplugged even better, but the original recording was the high point of Young's first Geffen release.

1. "Mideast Vacation" (Life)
Although it might seem like a questionable choice for #1 on this list, "Mideast Vacation" has been my favorite song from this era ever since I first picked up a copy of the compilation Lucky Thirteen. Since it's a difficult song to describe, I'll leave you with this live version—which is basically a video, except without the video—from the 1986 "3rd Best Garage Band in the World" tour:

Garcia and Colon to Vie for #4 Spot in Yankees' Playoff Rotation?

2011-08-22T16:55:00.000-04:00

Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon have already battled for a job once this year—in spring training, when Garcia beat out Colon for the #5 spot in the Yankees' rotation—and they may very well be on their way to competing for a role once again.

It's probably a little too early to be speculating about the makeup of the Yankees' postseason rotation, but it's still a fun exercise, so I'm not going to shy away from it.

At the start of the year, it was expected that A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes would be the stalwarts of the rotation behind staff ace C.C. Sabathia. But, an early season injury to Hughes and Burnett's inability to rebound from last year's disaster, combined with surprisingly effective performances from Garcia, Colon and rookie Ivan Nova have left that notion in doubt.

It has been apparent for quite some time that the Yankees' playoff rotation would come down to Sabathia and the best three of the remaining five guys. In recent weeks, just who those top three are has started to come into perspective for me.

Following Burnett's horrible outing on Saturday night, he has now given up 21 earned runs on 35 hits in 17 2/3 August innings—for a 10.70 ERA—while allowing a .432 batting average against. Although his first-half performance was solid if not spectacular, his second half has proven that he's not someone who can be relied on. Given the fact the Yankees have options, something they didn't have heading into previous Octobers, I have to believe he's pitched his way out of the team's postseason plans.

While Garcia and Colon were the hot hands early in the season, of late the performances of Nova and Hughes have been promising. Nova has made five starts since returning from AAA in late July, and has won them all. The 5-0 record does overstate a little how well he's pitched, but he's posted a 3.55 ERA, a 23-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and has allowed a respectable 31 hits and three home runs in 33 IP.

Over the same time frame, Hughes has started four games and made one relief appearance, allowing six earned runs—for a 2.08 ERA—on 20 hits and six walks in 26 IP. He's only struck out 15, which is a bit of a concern, but it's otherwise hard to argue with the results. He appears to be well on his way to righting a season that looked to be way off-track early on.

Until recently, it seemed Colon would be a lock to secure a postseason rotation spot, as long as his body held up over the course of a long season. I even went so far as to proclaim him the Yankees' #2 starter before an injury derailed him in June. While his overall stats are good, he's been more of a mixed bag since returning from said injury, including 18 hits, five walks, four home runs allowed, and a 5.17 ERA in 15 2/3 August innings.

Whether hitters have finally figured him out, his body has worn down after throwing his highest number of major league innings since 2005, or his carriage has finally turned back into a pumpkin, Colon's ability to contribute in October is starting to come into question.

Garcia has only recently been slowed by injury, a mysterious cut right index finger that has landed him on the disabled list. There's no questioning his performance on the field this season, although he's another pitcher who doesn't blow you away with his ability to strike hitters out. He's just simply gotten the job done, to the tune of a 3.16 ERA over 122 1/3 innings, which ranks him second among the team's starters behind Sabathia.

Still, I can't help but feel Garcia needs to continue to prove the first three-quarters of this season have not been a fluke. Simultaneously, Colon will try to prove the flame has not burned out on his early-season success. The two of them will battle it out for the right to follow Sabathia, Hughes and Nova—not necessarily in that order—in the Yankees' postseason equation.

At least, that's how I see it...for now.

Maple Bacon Voodoo

2011-08-14T22:15:00.004-04:00

On our recent trip to Oregon, KJ and I finally visited the world famous Voodoo Doughnut in downtown Portland. I'd been wanting to try their maple-bacon bar for a while, even more so after AfroDan's latest home brewing endeavor.

Well, I was not disappointed. One of Voodoo Doughnut's most popular creations is a delectable raised yeast doughnut with maple frosting and bacon on top. Maple bars don't seem to be as common on the east coast as they are out west—unless I just haven't visited the right bakeries in Vermont—so it was kind of a new treat for me. The bacon on top might sound a little weird to some, but it was absolutely fantastic.

The second time a photo of bacon
has appeared on this site.

I actually thought it was called the Maple Bacon Bar, but, in fact, it's the Bacon Maple Bar. I guess that makes sense from their perspective. But, I'm going on the record to say if Voodoo Doughnut is interested in calling our home brew the official beer of their Bacon Maple Bar, we'll gladly change its name to Maple Bacon Voodoo Porter, but not Bacon Maple Voodoo Porter.

Update (8/25/11): I meant to add to this that I'm not holding my breath, especially so after seeing this.

Solar-Powered Beer

2011-08-09T21:49:00.005-04:00

There's no shortage of subjects to write about from my recent trip to Oregon, but I'll start by profiling one of my favorite new (to me) Portland brew pubs.

Two years ago, Lucky Labrador Brewing Company was one of the places KJ had wanted to introduce me to, but we didn't make it there until this past week. It was worth the wait.

I actually only had time for one beer, but I was quite impressed with their Super Dog IPA. This aggressive-but-not-overpoweringly hopped brew quickly moved to the top of a list I'll probably share in another post. That is, I placed every beer I drank over my nine days in Oregon into one of three categories: "One and done," "I'll drink it again," and "More please." Obviously, Super Dog—which features a grapefruit and piney hop profile—made it onto the "More please" list, but I'll explain the lists later, if their meanings are not super obvious.

But, it wasn't just Lucky Lab's beer I was impressed with. I was also pretty fascinated with their claim that they use solar-heated water in their brewing process. Since they're able to heat the water using solar power to 185 degrees, they use this water for several of the facility's non-brewing functions, but also for the part of the process that is analogous to the steeping of the grains in home brewing.

Click to enlarge for a more readable version

185 degrees is not quite boiling, so they're not able to use solar energy for the entire brewing process, but, as the sign above explains, they use the solar-heated water for the all-important step in which fermentable sugars are extracted from barley malt.

The atmosphere at Lucky Lab is also top notch. One of my observations on this trip was the more rustic brew pubs tend to be superior to those that have a more corporate feel. This, of course, is a gross generalization, but this particular establishment helps to maintain the stereotype.

Lucky Lab features a sort of cafeteria-style atmosphere, in which you order food and ales at the bar and then just take your selections to your seats. No table service, just no-nonsense self-service in a warm, comfortable setting.

Oregon Brewers Festival

2011-08-04T13:55:00.003-04:00

When KJ and I were discussing our summer trip to Portland, the idea of going the last week in July so I could attend the 2011 Oregon Brewers Festival was floated out there. But, when our plans changed to the first week in August, I immediately wrote off the idea. Then, a couple weeks ago, she got an email from one of her friends saying her husband was planning on going to the festival on Sunday and wanted to invite me to join him.

It hadn't occurred to me we were still going to make it in time for the final day of the brew fest, so—needless to say—I was pretty psyched at this development. This past Sunday was that day.

I went into the event—which is a great deal compared to the brew fests back east—with the intention of sampling as many beers as I could handle. For $20, I purchased an official mug—which is basically the admission price—and 14 tokens. The tokens, obviously, are used toward the purchase of beer samples: one token for a 4-oz. pour, and four for a full mug, about 12 oz.

I used up all 14 tokens on the smaller samples, and as this amounted to about 3 1/2 pints in total—several of them Imperial IPAs—this was about all I could handle. By contrast, the American Craft Beer Fest, sponsored by BeerAdvocate in Boston each year costs $45, and BeerAdvocates's Belgian Beer Fest is now up to $50.

You would think the higher prices would discourage these eastern events from turning into frat-boy drunk fests, but my experience was that the crowd at the Oregon event was much more well-behaved.

Sampling and truly evaluating 14 beers in an afternoon is easier said than done, but I was determined to give it my best shot. My strategy was to start with the lighter, less hoppy beers and work my way up to the Imperial IPAs, of course. Anyone who's tried to taste a Belgian white after something that was brewed with an extreme hophead in mind knows what I'm talking about.

What this strategy essentially means is I drank many of the afternoon's strongest offerings after I had already consumed quite a few. Let's just say at that point conditions were far from ideal, so samples 11 through 14 probably didn't really get a fair shake.

Regardless, there were two brews that really stood out to me. The first was Mt. Emily Wildfire Red Ale, brewed by Mt. Emily Ale House in La Grande, Oregon. The name threw me, so it wasn't on my original list of beers I wanted to try, but after suggesting my beer-challenged companion give it a try, I was drawn to it based on his feedback. It's a hoppy, American-style Imperial red ale brewed with three different types of hops, including Cascades for finishing, giving it the citrusy aroma that I'm partial to. At 7.6% ABV, it's pretty strong, but very well-balanced.

My other favorite was Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema, brewed by Boonville, California's Anderson Valley Brewing Company. Interestingly enough, I had already started down the IPA road when I veered back in the direction of this one. Because of this, it didn't make an instant impression, but as I tasted my final sips, some really great qualities revealed themselves. Summer Solstice is a smooth, creamy, malty-sweet but nicely balanced ale that makes for a perfect complement to a hot summer day.

A complete list of the beers I sampled follows:

Alaskan White Ale - Alaskan Brewing Co. (Juneau, AK)
Ale Industries Orange Kush - Ale Industries (Concord, CA)
Alpha Centauri - Hop Valley Brewing Co. (Springfield, OR)
Anderson Valley Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema - Anderson Valley Brewing Co. (Boonville, CA)
Dopacetic Imperial IPA - Amnesia Brewing Co. (Portland, OR)
Elysian Idiot Sauvin - Elysian Brewing Co. (Seattle, WA)
Hale's Supergoose IPA - Hale's Ales (Seattle, WA)
Hopworks IPA - Hopworks Urban Brewery (Portland, OR)
Klamath Basin Crystal Springs IPA - Klamath Basin Brewing Co. (Klamath Falls, OR)
Lompoc Kick Axe Pale Ale - Lompoc Brewing (Portland, OR)
Longboard Island Lager - Kona Brewing Co. (Kailua Kona, HI)
Mt. Emily Wildfire Red Ale - Mt. Emily Ale House (La Grande, OR)
Terminal Gravity Pale - Terminal Gravity Brewing (Enterprise, OR)
Yellow Wolf Imperial IPA - Alameda Brewhouse (Portland, OR)

25 Years of Hall of Fame Weekend

2011-07-25T21:53:00.000-04:00

24 years ago today, while attending a weekend-long party in Albany during our college years, my pal Will asked me if I wanted to head down to Cooperstown for the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

When Sunday morning rolled around, the two of us were so hungover that, if it wasn't for Will's girlfriend at the time (and future wife), a tradition may never have been born.

This past weekend was the 25th such occasion. I missed the event in 2000 to attend a wedding in Kamloops, British Columbia, and we all missed the actual ceremony in 1990—it was rained out and we couldn't skip work the next day to attend the rescheduled ceremony—but otherwise it's been a pretty strong ongoing tradition that brings friends together to celebrate a common obsession for one weekend a year.

KJ and I skipped the induction ceremony this year as well, due to various reasons, not the least important of which is the future arrival of Little Chuck. We did, however, catch the Hall of Famer parade on Saturday evening, and these are the photos that best capture this particular highlight of the weekend.

Ralph Kiner

Al Kaline

Johnny Bench

Gaylord Perry

Phil Niekro

Carlton Fisk

Eddie Murray

Rickey Henderson

Bert Blyleven

Rock a No-Show vs. Rox

2011-07-22T18:20:00.002-04:00

Last night was my last chance of the season to see Tim Raines's Newark Bears play at Campanelli Stadium versus the local team, the Brockton Rox. I had fully intended to write a blog post about how I saw Tim Raines in Brockton last night, when I really should be seeing him in Cooperstown this weekend.

Of course, I've written plenty here about how I feel Tim Raines should be a Hall of Famer. In fact, I didn't realize how many times his name has been mentioned in this blog until a search on Raines returned 11 results. One of those was actually about his son, but if you're interested you can read my feelings on Rock's Hall of Fame credentials here.

If you want even more on the subject, check out this excellent web site.

Anyway, I didn't get to see Raines last night, because he wasn't there. In fact, neither was his son, Tim Raines Jr., who is one of Newark's star players. He's currently hitting .321, with 8 HR, 38 RBI, 46 runs and 16 stolen bases in 46 games.

As it turns out, the junior Raines hasn't played since July 16 due to injury. But, according to this article, the elder Raines is out with a bad back. So, I was disappointed not to get to see him, but I was pleasantly surprised that the Bears' acting manager and pitching coach is none other than Yankees' 1996 World Series hero Jim Leyritz.

My good friend—and former drinking buddy—Barb accompanied me to last night's game. At one point, a question she asked prompted me to explain that most of the players in the independent minor leagues have previous experience in affiliated professional baseball and are just trying to work their way back into the system. That is, they're trying to get noticed enough to earn a contract with a major league organization and get their dreams back on track.

My post-game research uncovered a good example of such a player. Jorge Jimenez started the 2011 season with the Brockton Rox, and was the starting third baseman for the team when KJ and I attended our first game back in late May. Jimenez, who had previous experience in the Boston Red Sox farm system, recently had his contract purchased by the Cincinnati Reds and is currently playing for the Bakersfield Blaze in the Class A California League.

She also asked me if I'd seen any "washed-up former major leaguers" at these games. My reply was no, but last night provided a good example of this as well. Former Astro/Dodger/Pirate/National/Brave/Cub Daryle Ward is the first baseman for Newark. Ward, now 36 years old, played 11 years in the majors from 1998 to 2008, and was basically an average-to-slightly-below player.

Of course, this makes him a star in the Can-Am League, and last night provided evidence of this. He got the scoring started for the Bears by hitting a solo homer in the second and an RBI single in the third to give Newark a 2-0 lead.

Then, in the bottom of the 6th, with his team leading 9-2, Chris Valencia was on second for Brockton with no outs. The batter—Mike Torres—smacked a hard grounder that Ward snared on a hop and threw to third, with Valencia attempting to advance, as he's supposed to, on a ball hit to the right side. My initial reaction was, "What the heck is he doing?" (in reference to Ward). But, lo and behold, he threw the runner out. Unorthodox, but unbelievable. Leyritz had to have been shaking his head in the dugout.

Newark won the game, 10-2, snapping an eleven-game home winning streak for Brockton. The loss was also the Rox's first defeat in the second half of the Can-Am League season.

The league plays a split-season schedule, with the first-half and second-half champions (if different) both qualifying for the playoffs, in addition to the two (or three) additional teams with the best overall records. The Québec Capitales won the first half, while Brockton and the New Jersey Jackals are currently tied for the second half lead at 4-1. The Rox are also third overall, so they're in a good position to qualify for the postseason in Bill Buckner's first season as manager.

Unless Brockton meets Newark in the playoffs, I'll likely have to wait until next season to see Tim Raines at Campanelli Stadium. It remains to be seen how much longer than that I'll have to wait to see him in Cooperstown.

Who Am I? (Hall of Fame Weekend Edition)

2011-07-22T09:05:00.003-04:00

I've been doing a weekly "Who Am I?" feature over on Pickin' Splinters since mid-June, and will probably continue to do so through the end of the baseball season. It's pretty self-explanatory: I offer a bunch of facts about a certain player, written in the first person as if by the player himself. It's a pretty fun exercise, and the folks over there are good about not looking up the answer on the internet, as that would be too easy.

Anyway, since this coming weekend will be my 24th (in the past 25 years) trip to Cooperstown for Hall of Fame Weekend, I thought I'd share this week's entry. Also, feel free to head over to Pickin' Splinters on Wednesday mornings if you care to participate. Just don't go there now. It will give away the answer to this one, which honestly isn't very difficult.

I was one of the great ones. That’s right, I have a plaque in Cooperstown.

I’m one of two Hall of Famers who was born in Baltimore. The other guy is a way bigger deal. You know, an icon…one of those guys with multiple nicknames, a larger than life figure who played most of his career in a stadium they supposedly built for him.

I was a pretty special player too. So much so I was signed right out of high school and made my major league debut at the age of 18. The next year I was a full-time starter, and the following season I finished second in MVP voting.

As it turns out, I never won an MVP, but I finished in the top 10 in the voting nine times, including three times in the top three. Every time I finished in the top three, I was beaten out by Yankees. Even when I finished third, the top two vote-getters were those damn pinstripers.

I did earn my share of accolades, though. What do you think about 10 Gold Gloves and 15 All-Star selections? Not too bad, huh? Of course, the ultimate honor was a first-ballot Hall of Fame induction. There aren’t that many people who can say that.

I didn’t make very many postseason appearances, however. You can probably guess why. I played my entire career for one team, and we happened to be in the same league as the Yankees. I did finally make it, though, kind of late in my career. We had a phenomenal season, led by a starting pitcher who accomplished something that hadn’t been done in over 30 years, and hasn’t been matched since.

In the World Series, our ace was twice out-pitched by their ace, a guy who had a pretty historic season himself and who would enter the Hall of Fame the year after me. But, a different pitcher for our team came back on two days rest to out-duel said Hall of Famer in a game-seven matchup that earned him the Series MVP. It was his third complete game victory in the Series, a truly historic performance.

If not for that player, I had an MVP-worthy performance (11-for-29, 6 runs, 2 HR, 8 RBI) myself. But, as usual, I was outshined.

I came pretty close to being the first player to ever collect over 3000 hits and 400 home runs solely in the American League, but Carl Yastrzemski later earned that distinction.

I wasn’t outshined on the day I got into Cooperstown, though. Well, I was inducted alongside another legendary player, but it was his 11th year on the ballot. Like I said, I was voted in on my first try. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Who Am I?

Back to Blogging Basics

2011-07-19T09:05:00.002-04:00

The term "blog" was coined in the late '90s as the short form of "weblog," when a particularly clever blogger broke the latter term in the two words "we blog." Back then, the weblog or blog was typically used as an online diary of sorts. Nowadays, bloggers are writing about more diverse subjects than their innermost feelings and/or what has happened to them over the course of a day.

When I started this blog, back in December of 2003, its initial purpose was to be the vehicle to count down my top ten albums of the year. With no clear ongoing purpose, though, I then posted a grand total of 24 times over the next three years, mostly about baseball, but I also revisited the best music of the year concept at the conclusion of 2006.

Then, in 2007, as my 40th birthday approached, the blog became about a 40-part series I wrote discussing the 40 musical artists who had meant the most to me during my lifetime to that point. After that momentum died down, I slacked off for a while, but successfully resurrected the blog the following year to chronicle a pretty serious baseball road trip.

These two projects are what really defined the blog from that point forward, and I can now say I'm approaching the third anniversary of writing on a fairly regular basis in this space. That is, the blog became about my life as seen through the lenses of my major interests, primarily baseball, my mostly non-mainstream taste in music, and my enthusiasm for craft beer.

So, for some time my challenge has been to write about myself—what I'm listening to, concerts I've attended, ballparks I've visited, breweries I've toured, etc.—without making the subject matter too personal. While I don't have a problem sharing some of the more personal details, I've tried to only occasionally do so, but in a veiled way.

Late last year, I joined a group called the Baseball Bloggers Alliance. Doing so has given me the opportunity to network, and even establish a few new friendships, with some of my many fellow members.

For a while there, from seeing all the great work being done by so many other baseball bloggers, I felt motivated to try and take my baseball writing to the next level, but it hasn't been in the cards. This all happened to coincide with many major life changes that, while all very positive, haven't really allowed me to devote a lot of time to writing.

The latest change is, perhaps, the biggest one of all. Since I just got married last year, I'll let you figure out what I'm talking about.

Anyway, my point is I've resigned myself—and, honestly, I'm quite happy with the decision—to the idea that I'm returning to blogging basics. By this I mean, I'm remaining focused on what the strengths of this blog have always been, and those strengths seem to correlate pretty closely to what the original purpose of a blog was.

So, what I'm really saying is, stayed tuned for more of the same...just maybe a little less of it.

Ranking the Portland (OR) Brew Pubs

2011-07-14T22:00:00.004-04:00

KJ and I just booked our flight for a summer trip to Portland, Oregon. It will be my third trip to the "City of Roses," otherwise known to me as the wife's hometown.

Of course, if you're reading this you know my favorite aspect of Portland is that it's indisputably the #1 beer city in the country. In our two previous trips, I've spent a fair amount of time exploring the local beer scene. Admittedly, though, I've only been able to scratch the surface and, short of moving out there, I'll probably never be able to produce a worthy list of the city's best brew pubs.

Regardless, I thought I'd post a short list of my favorites so far. There are so many more I need to check out. Hopworks Urban Brewery and Lucky Labrador are among those currently on my radar. But, for now, here are my top five:

New Old Lompoc Brewery - On my first visit to Portland, in the summer of 2009, I was pretty much blown away by both their LSD (Lompoc Strong Draft) and C-Note Imperial Pale Ale. The former was my pick for that year's best new (to me) beer, while the latter is named for the fact it's brewed with seven different varieties of hops beginning with the letter C.
Admittedly, not my most
flattering photo

Amnesia Brewing Company - Also during that first visit, I was quite impressed with Amnesia's Copacetic IPA and Desolation IPA—as well as a couple others—and by the fact this particular establishment had two IPAs on tap simultaneously. I also loved the atmosphere here. It's an old converted garage with lots of outdoor seating. In fact, I was so enamored with this place that I bought a T-shirt.
Alameda Brewhouse - This past Christmas, on my second trip to Portland, I discovered this spot and it quickly became one of my new favorites. I enjoyed their Papa Noels Olde Ale and Yellow Wolf Imperial IPA, the latter so much that I risked making a mess in my suitcase to bring home a 22-oz. bomber.
BridgePort Brewing Company - When I first met KJ, she considered BridgePort IPA to be the one beer that fondly reminded her of home, so this was one of our first stops my first time out there. Their beers were very good, particularly the ESB and IPA, but they were lacking that one brew that really blew me away. It's a special place nevertheless.
Laurelwood Public House & Brewery - My latest trip included a stop-off at Laurelwood. Their Workhorse IPA and Vinter Varmer were more than solid, earning them the final spot on this short list, although it may be tenous, considering I have every expectation my next trip will result in a couple more great discoveries.

Shannon Stone Memorial Fund

2011-07-11T13:57:00.001-04:00

This is something I should have done back when the Bryan Stow incident occurred in Los Angeles, but not believing this blog had enough readership to warrant it, I neglected to do so.

Well, not this time. The Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation has set up a memorial account in honor of Shannon Stone, the fan who lost his life at the Rangers' game last week, a game he was attending with his six-year old son, Cooper.

The link in the paragraph above will take you to the donation form, which is a secure page on Major League Baseball's web site and includes the following verbiage:

All funds donated to this account will directly benefit the Stone family. The Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation will not benefit in any way.

And, since I brought up the subject, Stow's condition was upgraded from critical to serious last month, providing a glimmer of hope to an otherwise dire situation. The Bryan Stow fund can still be found on the web site of the San Francisco Police Credit Union.

Frequent Spins (2011.4)

2011-07-01T16:27:00.006-04:00

Steve Earle - I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive
I had almost given up on Steve Earle, an artist who appeared in my yearly top ten in four of the first five years I produced such lists, but has failed to even grace my more expansive lists since. Well, the critics might not be completely in agreement with me on this one, but in my opinion, his latest is his best album since 2000's Transcendental Blues.

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
I'm going to go out on a limb here and tell you how much this album reminds me of the folkier side of Yes. In fact, I'm going to suggest that Yes is, in fact, a folk-prog band rather than a prog-rock band. Seriously, think about this as you listen again to "And You and I," "Starship Trooper" and "I've Seen All Good People," and tell me I'm crazy. The best example of this comparison is the title track to this album of wonderous stories. It's absolutely my favorite song of the year so far. Of course, Fleet Foxes show up closer to the folk end of the folk-prog spectrum than Yes did, so to complete the "name three artists they remind you of" game, I'll add Simon & Garfunkel and My Morning Jacket. Speaking of whom...

My Morning Jacket - Circuital
...I was turned onto My Morning Jacket, circa 2002, when I read in the Metacritic user forums a description that they were like a cross between Neil Young and the Flaming Lips. I'm not really sure if that comparison holds true, but I was an instant fan after making myself a mix of mp3s that I downloaded from their web site. 2001's At Dawn and 1999's The Tennessee Fire were my first purchases, and they were great, but there was a drop-off after that, which happened to coincide with their signing to a major label. I'm not saying that's always a problem, nor am I saying they were no longer any good after that. But, what I am saying is this just may be their best album since their big breakthrough.

Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
I'm sure I've said several times before that this band will probably never make an album quite as good as the one that drew me in initially, Black Sheep Boy. This one, in my opinion, comes the closest of all their subsequent efforts, although it's still very far away.

Neil Young & The International Harvesters - A Treasure
Back in the mid-'80s, Neil Young released Old Ways, a pretty unremarkable—and that's being generous—country album. This live recording from the same time period captures the true energy that Neil was capable of putting into country music, something that was seriously lacking on that studio effort.

Sixpoint Sweet Action

2011-06-24T20:20:00.003-04:00

It's been a while since I've discussed my new-found interest in discovering the best canned craft beer offerings. In terms of the selections that are readily available locally, three breweries are major players: Colorado's Oskar Blues Brewery, San Francisco's 21st Amendment, and upstate New York's Butternuts Beer and Ale. That is, until now.

On the way home from work this evening, I discovered another entry into the canned craft beer derby. Several offerings from Brooklyn's Sixpoint Craft Ales are now available at my preferred local store, and tonight's choice was their Sweet Action, an amber ale that Sixpoint describes as "...a simple representation of what makes beer great—the marriage of barley and hops, in a harmonious balance for your mind, body and soul."

The beer was already half-consumed at this point, lest you think this was a flat pour.

Since I've always advocated for the importance of hops/malt balance, the emphasis on this all-important quality in this particular brew made it pretty much essential that I give it a try, and I was not disappointed.

As advertised, it's a very well-balanced beer, and at 5.2% ABV it makes for an excellent session beer. It's slightly yeasty as well, a quality that reminds me of home brewing, which is never a bad thing.

Sixpoint's offerings come in 16-oz. cans, which came as a very pleasant surprise to me. Seriously, why should we settle for 12-oz. servings at home when we're used to drinking full pints in bars? Actually, the cheater pints that are used in most bars hold closer to 14 ounces, but that's a discussion for another day.

Anyway, I'll definitely return to the store for a taste of more of what Sixpoint has to offer, and I'm sure it will be a worthwhile venture.

Ranking the Neil Young Discography

2011-06-18T13:58:00.003-04:00

I have a tendency towards starting many projects that I never finish. Don't get me wrong. I finish a lot of them, but just as many end up getting placed on the back burner.

From Hank to Hideki? I'll get back to it eventually.

The Left Field 100? Stalled at about one-third of the way to completion.

I've even struggled with getting around to my year-end compilation the past couple of years. In fact, I've handed out a grand total of three 2010 comps to friends I've actually seen since I completed the playlist in February of this year.

That one I can chalk up to life-related excuses, though. Well, I guess I can use that excuse to cover other instances of slacking off as well.

Anyway, you get what I'm driving at. But, here is one project I promise to see through to completion. It might...uh, rather, it will take a few months, but I think it's time I tackled the concept of ranking the entire Neil Young discography.

Of course, these rankings will be entirely based on my opinion rather than viewed from a critical perspective. Well, because I'm hardly a music critic. So, there may be a few unconventional choices, but so be it.

I have a dilemma, though. That is, what to do with live albums and compilations. Obviously, live records that consist of previously unreleased material, such as Rust Never Sleeps and Time Fades Away, are as much proper albums as the studio releases. Then there are the live albums that capture a single performance—Live at Massey Hall 1971 and Live at the Fillmore East, for example—which feel like more legitimate releases than live compilations such as Live Rust and Weld.

Normally, the answer to the question of what to do with compilations of studio material is an easy one. That is, don't consider them. But, of course, with Neil Young it's not so easy. Decade, for instance, while primarily including his greatest hits from 1966 to 1976, also contains the previously unreleased "Down to the Wire," "Winterlong," "Deep Forbidden Lake," "Love is a Rose" and "Campaigner." And, then there's Journey Through the Past, the soundtrack to Young's bizarre film of the same name.

So, maybe there will be a critical element to my rankings, in that I'll probably rate the live albums in terms of whether or not the concert versions do justice to the originals or in any way are compelling re-workings of the songs. I'm leaning towards not considering the studio compilations at all.

Of course, I'm open to anyone's suggestions regarding methodology.

The Left Field National League All-Star Ballot

2011-06-17T15:20:00.000-04:00

I already explained this in my American League post, but just to be sure to cover all the bases, I'll say it again. My All-Star picks are based on each player's performance since this point in the season last year (i.e. 6/15/10 - 6/15/11), and they're presented here because I like to share my opinions about such things—I wouldn't be writing a blog if I didn't—and as part of the voting for the Baseball Bloggers Alliance.

I also want to elaborate a little on why I chose to base my picks on the last calendar year rather than 2011 to date, and the best way to do this is with an example.

Last year, I advocated that Colorado's Miguel Olivo had been the best catcher in all of baseball in the first half, yet he was completely overlooked by not being selected for the National League team. In the first half of 2010, he batted .325 with 11 HR, 42 RBI and a 150 OPS+, and at the time of the aforementioned post had thrown out 46.5% of would-be base-stealers. In the second half, he batted .193 with 3 HR, 16 RBI and a 48 OPS+. I don't have his defensive splits, but even his caught-stealing percentage dropped to 42.3% by the end of the year.

The bottom line is Miguel Olivo has never produced an entire season in his career that was worthy of All-Star selection. So, with apologies to the Howie Kendricks, Matt Joyces and Alex Avilas of the baseball world, I need to see a little more sustained production before I vote you onto my All-Star team.

Now that I've got that out of the way, here are my National League selections:

Catcher - Brian McCann (Atlanta)
There's not really much question about who the best all-around catcher in the National League is, especially with San Francisco's Buster Posey unavailable due to injury.

First Base - Joey Votto (Cincinnati)
It's hard to believe this is such a no-brainer too, but St. Louis's Albert Pujols doesn't even come close.

Second Base - Rickie Weeks (Milwaukee)
Is Weeks officially a superstar yet? I'm not sure, but I'm pretty certain there's no other National League second baseman worthy of comparison.

Shortstop - Troy Tulowitzki (Colorado)
Despite the fact that the Mets' Jose Reyes is off to such a tremendous start to 2011, Tulowitzki is the best shortstop in the league over the last calendar year.

Third Base - Chase Headley (San Diego)
We all know Washington's Ryan Zimmerman is a better player, but Headley is tied with him in WAR since mid-June of last year and, therefore, gets the nod based on the current year performance tie-breaker.

Outfield - Matt Holliday (St. Louis), Andrew McCutchen (Pittsburgh), Ryan Braun (Milwaukee)
Holliday's a no-brainer. McCutchen doesn't need the center fielder requirement to make this squad, but he'll play that position nevertheless. Lastly, I'm taking Braun over Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez because of better 2011 performance, and over Cincinnati's Drew Stubbs because of better offensive production.

Starting Pitcher - Roy Halladay (Philadelphia)
I don't really need to justify this pick, do I?

There you have it, my 2011 All-Star ballot.

The Left Field American League All-Star Ballot

2011-06-16T18:15:00.002-04:00

One of several votes that the Baseball Bloggers Alliance collaborates on throughout the year is the All-Star ballot. As such, I've determined my picks for starters in both leagues and will reveal them here, after I explain my methodology a little.

I've read a lot lately about how selecting an All-Star team based on two-plus months worth of performance is a flawed idea, and although that's how I've generally done it in the past, I've come to agree with this assessment. So, I thought I'd base my picks on an entire year's worth of performance, with an ever-so-slight emphasis on the current season, where applicable.

It probably would have been better to use statistics since last year's All-Star break, but they're not so easily available, so I utilized FanGraphs' functionality to display the numbers for the past calendar year (i.e. 6/15/10 - 6/15/11). I primarily looked at WAR, for its ability to take both offensive and defensive performance into consideration, but I made a few discretionary adjustments.

First, the American League:

Catcher - Matt Wieters (Baltimore)
Wieters wins out over Detroit's Victor Martinez—who hasn't really caught all that much this year—and Minnesota's Joe Mauer, who's been injured most of 2011 to date.

First Base - Miguel Cabrera (Detroit)
It was a close call between Cabrera and Boston's Adrian Gonzalez, but I ultimately chose Cabrera because this is an American League All-Star team, and Gonzalez was a National Leaguer for a good portion of the sample period.

Second Base - Robinson Cano (New York)
I gave Cano the edge over Texas's Ian Kinsler, because Kinsler's slight edge in WAR is primarily due to defense. Honestly, I still don't completely trust WAR's ability to measure fielding, especially when it comes to the fact Cano rated as below-average last year.

Shortstop - Alexei Ramirez (Chicago)
Cleveland's Asdrubal Cabrera is off to a great start this year, but combining this year's numbers with those from mid-June of last year on makes Ramirez an obvious choice.

Third Base - Adrian Beltre (Texas)
Beltre had an excellent 2010, and is off to a good start for 2011, so he's my pick over Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria and the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez.

Outfield - Jose Bautista (Toronto), Curtis Granderson (New York), Josh Hamilton (Texas)
I'm a firm believer that at least one of the three outfield positions should be a center fielder, but Granderson deserves one of the three spots regardless of that distinction. I had to decide between Hamilton, who really hasn't done much yet this year, and the Yankees' Brett Gardner, believe it or not. I just couldn't bring myself to proclaim Gardner an All-Star starter, so I went with Hamilton, despite the fact his selection is almost entirely based on 2 1/2 months of performance from last year.

Designated Hitter - David Ortiz (Boston)
Not really much to choose from here, so Ortiz's 2011 first-half resurgence earns him the spot.

Starting Pitcher - Jered Weaver (Los Angeles)
Although not technically part of the ballot, starting pitcher is a four-horse race between Weaver, Seattle's Felix Hernandez, New York's C.C. Sabathia and Detroit's Justin Verlander. Weaver earns the tie-breaker based on 2011 performance.

I'll return with my National League picks in a separate post.

Jinxing Colon

2011-06-12T11:28:00.001-04:00

With the heavy rains in New England this weekend, my work around the house has moved from outside to in, which gave me the opportunity yesterday to more closely follow the Yankees game on my mobile device, and share a couple observations on Twitter in the process.

So, when Bombers starter Bartolo Colon completed his sixth inning of shutout baseball, while the Yankees were leading the Indians 2-0 on home runs by Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson, I tweeted the following:

It couldn't have been more than a half-hour later that I received this response from my pal Lee Mazzola:

I had already noticed Colon had been pulled in favor of David Robertson two outs into the 7th inning, but since I wasn't watching the game on television, I hadn't made anything of it. Then, of course, I learned Colon was removed from the game due to a strained hamstring—an injury he suffered while covering first base—and will likely wind up on the disabled list.

I've written a few times in the past about my baseball superstitions, but have always qualified these statements by saying I don't really believe in such things. Now, I'm not so sure.

On the Rox

2011-06-10T22:14:00.001-04:00

It looks like I've got some blog catching up to do.

On Friday night, May 27, KJ and I attended our first game at Campanelli Stadium, home of the Brockton Rox of the independent Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, otherwise known as the Can-Am League.

I've got a bit of a history with independent minor league baseball. In 1995, I tried out for an umpiring position with the brand new North Atlantic League, and was selected as an alternate. Unfortunately, due to financial issues, the league released all of its umpires and decided to go with local officials mid-way through that first season, so I never got the call to work a game. Not surprisingly, the league disbanded after only two years in existence.

My pal Fred, whom I met at umpire school, was also one of the alternates in that inaugural North Atlantic League season. Following this unsuccessful venture, he went on to work close to ten years in the Northeast League, which eventually became what is now the Can-Am League.

I saw Fred work games in small cities such as Newburgh (NY), Waterbury (CT), Nashua (NH) and Lynn (MA), three of which are sometimes known as the armpit of their respective states. My main observation regarding the crowds in these cities are that they can sometimes be a little less than civil. That's possibly a spillover from the on-field action, as the lack of affiliation with a major league organization generally makes for a less professional contest. Not in terms of the quality of play, but instead with regard to the way the players carry themselves on the field.

Neither of these prior impressions were confirmed by my first taste of Can-Am League action. The size of the crowd—2017, or about 1/3 the capacity of the 6000-seat stadium—wasn't all that impressive, but there was a definite family/community feel to the atmosphere. I've also learned to appreciate that the between-innings games and promotions are part of the experience when it comes to the minor leagues.

On this particular night, my favorite was the "Pie-In-The-Face Game," which basically consisted of a 5-year old three times being offered the choice between a prize in an envelope/box or hitting his father in the face with a pie. Not surprisingly, he chose the pie in the face every time. In the end, though, quite predictably he was awarded the prizes anyway.

As far as the baseball was concerned, the Can-Am League claims to be AA-quality baseball. While there were a couple errors—both by Brockton's opponent, the Worcester Tornadoes—and a few more mental lapses during the game, I'd have to say this is a fair assessment.

The offensive talent is definitely there, as evidenced by the three home runs the two teams combined for. That kind of hitting display is something you almost never see in the short-A New York-Penn League, because the players at that level just haven't developed enough power yet, particularly due to the adjustment to wooden bats. Of course, the exception was the four homers Evan Longoria hit in just eight games for Hudson Valley back in 2006.

The Rox defeated Worcester 7-5, in what was the second game of a season-opening four-game sweep en route to an 8-1 start. They've since lost four of five games, including three of four to the Quebec Capitales, the Can-Am League's two-time defending champions.

At 9-5 prior to tonight's game, Brockton finds themselves tied for second place with this weekend's opponent, the Newark Bears, with both teams trailing first-place Quebec by a half game.

Newark is managed by none other than Tim Raines—his son is also on the team and one of the league's major hitting stars—so we'll definitely be checking out some of this weekend's action. Of course, you know Brockton has a pretty noteworthy—especially in these parts—skipper of their own.

Assimilation and Conversion

2011-06-03T23:10:00.002-04:00

My wife is a Red Sox fan. I'm a Yankees fan. This doesn't cause conflicts as I imagine it could in other households, but it's an interesting topic to write about nonetheless.

Part of the reason there's no tension between us in this area—besides the obvious—is that she doesn't have as much invested in the Red Sox as I do in the Yankees. I've been a Yankees fan for close to 40 years. My dad's been a Yankees fan for about twice as long as I have.

KJ's only lived in Boston since 2001 and, like many other transplants, she got swept up in the excitement of the hometown team pretty quickly. And, why not? You certainly have to admire the dedication of sports fans in this town. I doubt there are such statistics available, but if there were, I'd be willing to bet Boston has the highest per capita rate of rapid sports fans—pink hats not withstanding—than anywhere else in the country.

During the 2009 World Series, in which she rooted for the Yankees, I was beginning to think she was going to become a Yankees convert. She really seemed to want to root for the same team as I did, and I believe I even told people—perhaps a bit over-confidently—that it was only a matter of time. I've since realized I was probably wrong, and I'm fine with that.

In fact, I don't know that I want her to change loyalties just because of me. Despite the fact she hasn't been a Red Sox fan all her life, she's still got some serious time invested in them. Plus, they've won two World Series during the time she's been a fan, and I can't imagine changing teams and being conflicted when looking back on the past glory of your former team.

She did, however, tell me the other night—at Fenway Park, of all places—that she thinks she wants a Cano jersey. So, I'm pretty much happy with the fact that she's a Yankees fan only when they're not playing the Red Sox. Now, if there's ever a repeat of 2003—or 2004, for that matter—I'm not exactly sure how it will play out in our house, but I'm sure we can handle it.

On the other hand, does it make me a bad husband that I just can't bring myself to ever pull for the Red Sox? Obviously, considering they're the Yankees' division rivals, this is somewhat understandable. But, if the Yankees are eliminated from the playoffs and the Sox are still playing, what then?

Thinking about the subject of conversion further, I don't think I know a single person who's converted from being a Red Sox fan to a Yankees fan, or vice-versa. The closest example I can come up with is my good buddy El-Squared, as he likes to sometimes call himself. I've known him for about as long as I've been a Yankees fan, and he actually used to be kind of a Yankees fan as well, but not really.

I recall going to a game at the stadium with him, his younger brother Bernard, and their father, but El was one of those kids who was a fan by default, until he got a little older and realized he really didn't care.

Then, he moved to Boston to go to grad school a little over 20 years ago, and he's never left. During that time frame, he's developed more of an interest in professional sports than he ever had as a kid, and has become a Red Sox and a Patriots fan.

But, I consider his more of a case of cultural assimilation, rather than religious conversion.

It was once suggested that, if I lived in Boston long enough, it would only be a matter of time before I became a Red Sox fan. Well, I've been here 14 years now and that inference couldn't be further from the truth. I guess it's just that, as Steve Wynn or Scott McCaughey might say, my soul can't be rearranged.

Is Fenway Park the Worst Value in Baseball?

2011-06-01T21:56:00.004-04:00

I'm sure some of the exorbitantly priced seats at the new Yankee Stadium could give them a run for their money, but it doesn't get much worse than the vantage point KJ and I had for last night's game.

For $55 per ticket, here was our view of the on-field action:

Click to enlarge

Actually, since KJ was sitting one seat to my right, she could just barely see the batter, but not the catcher or the umpire.

But, there was a silver lining.

During the second inning, we discovered that we were sitting in the wrong row, and our real seats were one row closer to the field. As you can see from the next photo, this made a significant difference:

Click to enlarge

Seriously, though, this isn't the only reason I'm suggesting Fenway Park is worthy of this dubious distinction. Prior to the game, I was telling KJ that the stadium's right field boxes are the absolute worst seats I've ever witnessed a game from.

For an idea of what I'm talking about, take a look a sections 91 and 92 on the Fenway Park Seating and Pricing page. As you view the field from the photo provided on the web site, note the direction of the seats, which I'll point out are beyond the right field foul pole (otherwise known as "Pesky's Pole"). They're facing directly into the right field corner. Now, try to imagine how your neck would feel at the conclusion of that game.

These seats go for $52 a pop.

But, these are just my observations, and I'm certainly not trying to say that last night wasn't an enjoyable night at the ballpark. The weather was perfect, Philip Humber—bullpen support not withstanding—delivered almost as brilliant a performance as John Danks did the last time we saw a White Sox game, and we were lucky enough to witness former Yankee Alfredo Aceves's second career loss, against 16 wins.

Since an unusual play occurred during the game, I'll revisit what I've previously referred to as the "baseball lesson of the day."

In the home half of the 5th, Carl Crawford singled with nobody out. The next batter, Jed Lowrie, lofted a fly ball to center field, but Crawford was running on the pitch. He returned to first easily, but was called out when White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez appealed by stepping on second base.

It took me a few seconds to figure out what happened, but when asked by the girl sitting to my left, the explanation was that Crawford, after sliding into second, had taken a step towards third. This action subsequently required him to retouch second on his way back to first, something he neglected to do. Therefore, he was out on appeal.

30 and Counting...Still

2011-05-21T13:23:00.001-04:00

A couple years ago, I wrote that my goal was to see a game at all the current major league parks by the end of the 2017 season. Not surprisingly, the time frame of that goal is beginning to look a little unrealistic. Honestly, I'll be happy to simply reach the point someday where I can say that I've visited all of the existing ballparks, so I'll amend the goal as such.

At the time, my number stood at 18 of the 30 active ballparks. Since then, I've visited two new ones, Turner Field and the new Yankee Stadium, but this only brings my active total to 19, as the Twins subsequently moved out of the Metrodome and into their new digs, Target Field.

Coincidentally, 30 is actually the number of total ballparks I've visited, including 11 that are no longer current major league parks. To keep track of this, I've created this Ballparks Visited page on the blog because, to be honest, I constantly find myself having to peruse the standings in order to refresh my memory regarding my personal count. Now, hopefully I won't have to do that anymore.

Since I added no new parks to my list last year, a couple ideas involving multiple stadiums have already been discussed this year. First, my friend Will suggested we attend the SABR convention in Long Beach, California in early July. Conference registration includes trips to two major league ballgames, at Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium, but Will nixed the idea before I could get on board.

Later that month, KJ is attending a conference, also in Long Beach. If I choose to accompany her, schedules would permit trips to both Petco Park in San Diego and Angel Stadium, but we'd need to stick around until the weekend to hit Dodger Stadium on Friday night. Unfortunately, the weekend in question is when the Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place, so neither of these Southern California plans will allow me to get to all three of these parks at once.

We haven't ruled that trip out yet, but the latest idea is a September long-weekend mini-road trip to Citi Field in Queens, Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia and Nationals Park in Washington. Stay tuned for more on those plans, if you're so inclined.

Rox Looking to Bring a Can-Am League Crown to the City of Champions

2011-05-15T22:25:00.000-04:00

Brockton, the seventh largest city in Massachusetts, refers to itself as the "City of Champions," mainly due to two legendary boxing champions—Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler—who called Brockton home.

The Italian-American Marciano was born and raised in Brockton. Hagler's birthplace was Newark, New Jersey, but his family moved to Brockton during his early teenage years, and it was there that his boxing career got its start.

But, it's the Brockton Rox—of the independent Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball—who, following a strong 2010 campaign, are looking to bring some glory back to the South Shore city they call home.

As my eight or so loyal readers are well aware, KJ and I recently moved to the South Shore, less than a half hour from Brockton. A few months ago, we decided to purchase a flex pack of 12 vouchers to Brockton Rox games. Each voucher can be exchanged for a game ticket at the stadium's ticket office, so we're looking at probably attending at least six games this year.

My father is a Hudson Valley Renegades season-ticket holder, and I love the idea of having our own local team to root for on a regular basis. So, we're definitely candidates for being future Rox season ticket holders. We just need to check out the product first, before we make such a commitment.

The Rox open their 2011 season with a seven-game home-stand from May 26 to June 1. That stretch runs through Memorial Day weekend, so KJ and I plan to attend our first game of the season, most likely on Friday, May 27. Of course, I'll be blogging about all of our experiences, and maybe even writing a post or two about the Can-Am League in general, and the Rox specifically, prior to the start of the season.

Frequent Spins (2011.3)

2011-05-10T21:49:00.002-04:00

Elbow - Build a Rocket Boys!
"Station Approach," the opening track of Elbow's 2005 release, Leaders of the Free World, was an absolute eagle in my book, but the rest of the album never lived up to the expectations created by that first song. Still, based on just one song, I've been waiting for this band to reach that potential, and finally they have. While there are no eagles here, there are a few birdies, and that's enough to capture my attention.

J Mascis - Several Shades of Why
I was living in New Hampshire when the Dinosaur Jr. front-man's first solo album, Martin + Me, was released. I was shopping in my favorite record store, Portsmouth's Rock Bottom Records, and asked the clerk what she thought of it. Her response was that it was basically Mascis's "Unplugged" record, and while he was definitely not capable of melodic folk, she really liked the album. 15 years and three solo releases later, Several Shades of Why is a much more melodic effort than anything he's released before. Somewhat surprisingly, that turns out to be a good thing.

R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now
There was a time when it seemed every band had an expiration date. That is, a point where the momentum of their early, defining material wears off and they try—repeatedly and unsuccessfully—to reinvent themselves. That point came for R.E.M. almost 20 years ago. Then, in 2008, they went back to basics with Accelerate, and it worked. Three years later, they continue that no-nonsense approach with Collapse Into Now, proving there's really a very simple formula for artists looking to extend their shelf lives.

The Strokes - Angles
The Strokes are a band that seems to be in jeopardy of becoming the Joe Charboneau of indie rock. Maybe there's a better baseball analogy than that one, but Charboneau always comes to mind when thinking of someone who burst on the scene showing so much promise, only to fade to oblivion shortly thereafter. Of course, that's not entirely the case here, despite the fact it's been ten years since their debut, Is This It, and they're just releasing their third subsequent album, with none of them anywhere near as good as their first. At times, I've thought this is their second best album, but reality is it's about as good as the prior two. That is, much better than any of Charboneau's post-rookie seasons, just not as great as the one that got everybody excited.

Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo
This one came recommended by a couple different reputable sources. Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers called it his favorite album of this year so far, and Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis selected Vile as his opening act for some early 2011 tour dates. Pitchfork's review plays the "name three artists" game, referring to Vile as "...channeling the energies of John Fahey or Tom Petty or even Bob Seger," which is quite an interesting perspective. While I've definitely been enjoying this album, it's not instantly catchy, in my opinion. So, you may have to be a little patient to try and decide if this will be one that falls into the "rewards repeated listens" category.

Lucinda Williams - Blessed
I'd almost given up on the artist who I've always considered the queen of alt-country, but with this year's release of her best album in a decade, it's occurred to me that she's much better when she waits at least three years between album releases. While her last few efforts were a little too focused on the bluesy side of her persona, Blessed marks a bit of a return to her rocking side, a la Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, an album that was famously six years in the making. Not that this record comes anywhere near the brilliance of Car Wheels, but it's a pleasant return to the style that turned me on to Lucinda in the first place.

Beer for Breakfast?

2011-05-04T21:22:00.000-04:00

Sunday, my brewing partner AB* stopped by with two six-packs and two 22-oz. bombers of our most recent brew, I've Seen All Good Maple Bacon Porter. We'd been trying to get together for the past couple weeks to taste it for the first time, but life just kept getting in the way.

*I've been referring to him as just "my brewing partner" for quite some time, mainly because I mask everyone's true identity on this blog with a nickname or pseudonym, and I just haven't been able to think of an appropriate one for him. AB, in fact, are his real initials, but I assure you he's not August Busch.

When we developed the original recipe, our expectation was that it's alcoholic content would wind up in the 5.5-6% range. Unfortunately, the final specific gravity reading we took just prior to bottling told us otherwise. Our brew had only fermented enough to reach 4% alcohol. I'm not really sure why. The obvious answer would be we didn't let it ferment long enough, but by all indications, that wasn't the case.

Regardless, considering its two most unique ingredients are maple syrup and bacon, I'm rationalizing that we intended all along for it to be a breakfast beer. So, the next time KJ makes me bacon, eggs and pancakes, I think an I've Seen All Good Maple Bacon Porter will make the perfect accompaniment.

As far as the results are concerned, the bottles we opened were a bit over-carbonated. Inconsistent carbonation is fairly common in home brewing, so it's possible they're not all like that. Otherwise, in all likelihood, we overdid it with the maple syrup used for bottle priming. That wouldn't be a big surprise, considering it was the first time we used this particular ingredient as a substitute for priming sugar.

Taste-wise, I'm quite pleased. AB says he could recognize a very subtle maple flavor, although I didn't. I did, however, enjoy its full-bodied flavor and pleasant smokiness. It isn't exactly what we expected—although we weren't really sure what to expect—but is another brew that we're proud to consider an AfroDan original.

Frequent Sips

2011-04-30T22:11:00.001-04:00

Since my fairly regular feature about the albums I've been listening to is called Frequent Spins, I figured it might be interesting to write about the beers I've been drinking recently. I'm not sure that this is something I'll do on a regular basis—and I'm certainly not going to mimic the nerdy 2011.x title scheme—but for now, it seems that Frequent Sips is as good a descriptor as any.

Lagunitas Maximus
KJ and I had a small dinner party on Valentine's Day, to which we invited two other recently married couples that we're friends with. I went to the store in search of Southern Tier's 2XIPA and another milder beer to serve our friends, but came home with a six-pack of Lagunitas Brewing Company's Imperial IPA in lieu of the former. As is usually the case with these types of events, our friends also brought beer, so there were still five Maximus's in our refrigerator at the end of the night.

Since I don't really drink like I used to, and this is a pretty strong beer of which I can usually only drink one at a time, it was only recently that I finished the last of the bunch. While it's not my absolute favorite IPA, it's pretty darn close. Possessing all the characteristics that I look for in an Imperial IPA—full bodied, well balanced, and with a wonderful citrusy hop aroma—it's just slightly harsher than my favorites of the style. Still, a fantastic brew and probably the best I've had in a while.

Dale's Pale Ale
Since I've been on a canned beer kick since last fall, Dale's has been my most frequent go-to beer, which is pretty fitting considering it became America's first canned craft beer back in 2002. I've made the observation before that, while Oskar Blues Brewery considers Dale's a pale ale, stylistically it reminds me more of an IPA, but one that's much easier going down than Lagunitas Maximus. That, of course, is mostly a good thing, except when it tricks me into thinking I can have one more, and I find myself regretting the decision the following day.

Leatherlips IPA
Northeast Massachusetts' Haverhill Brewery produces one the rare IPAs that I really don't like all that much. I'd had it before on draft a couple times, and wasn't overly impressed, but a six-pack found its way into my refrigerator recently when some friends from my hometown visited and brought it with them. Of course, it's the thought that counts, and they obviously know my taste in beer pretty well. Unfortunately, it falls into the category of IPA that—in my opinion—is all about hop bitterness and has no other significant redeeming qualities. To me, the problem is the use of two types of high alpha hops, particularly Chinook, in a beer that is only 5% alcohol.

Porkslap Pale Ale
Another brew I've frequently consumed during the winter of canned craft beer is Butternuts Beer and Ale's Porkslap Pale Ale. While most of my standard beers are fairly high in alcohol content, Porkslap has filled the role of "session beer" for me lately. In case it needs explanation, a session beer is one that, due to its mild character and modest alcohol content, allows a drinker to consume multiple beers in a session.

Porkslap has nice malty character up front, and is easy going down, but its finish is a little lacking, in my opinion. I suppose that comes with the territory of a beer that refers to itself as an all-malt farmhouse ale.

Greatest Player Not in the Hall of Fame for Each Team

2011-04-23T18:37:00.000-04:00

A while back, I was going to produce a list of the top 25 players who are not in the Hall of Fame, in my opinion. I still haven't gotten around to that, but instead I decided to pick one player for each franchise who, to me, is their greatest non-Hall of Famer.

Of course, I limited this to players who are eligible for election, which means no Pete Rose, Joe Jackson or Eddie Cicotte. It also means this is limited to players who retired in 2005 or earlier.

I considered each player for the team whose hat would most likely be depicted on his plaque, if he were elected to the Hall of Fame. In most cases, this is the team he played the most years or the most games with, but in other cases, it has more to do with impact.

Let me make one thing clear. Back when I was looking at each team's greatest living retired player, I was only concerned with the portion of their career that they played for the team in question. In this exercise, since I'm interested in their Hall of Fame credentials, I looked at each player's entire career, but considered him only for the one team I felt he was most associated him with.

There are a couple teams who aren't represented here, basically because there wasn't a single player who fit the criteria. If you can name someone eligible for the Hall of Fame who played more years or more games—or produced more WAR—with the Arizona Diamondbacks* or Tampa Bay Rays, I'll award you with some kind of prize. But, remember...in addition to the team-specific criterion, to be eligible for the Hall of Fame, a player has to have played 10 seasons and retired before 2006.

*OK, I will admit I was able to identify one Diamondback who fits the criteria, but he falls way short of the type of player I'm looking to honor here. So, this gives me an opportunity to use him as a trivia question. Anyone out there in internet land care to venture a guess as to who I'm talking about? Here's a couple hints: he was roughly a .500 pitcher over his 10+ years in the majors, was worth less than one WAR per season, but had some pretty good postseason numbers, including one ALCS and one NLCS win.

There are also some potentially Hall of Fame worthy players not mentioned here as well, because they played in the 19th century for teams that no longer exist, and I'm only covering the 30 existing franchises here.

Atlanta/Milwaukee/Boston Braves - Joe Torre is my selection here, but I also considered Darrell Evans and Dale Murphy.

Baltimore Orioles/St. Louis Browns - It's a St. Louis Brown, Urban Shocker, who gets the nod here, over fellow Brown Vern Stephens and Mount Vernon, New York's Ken Singleton.

Boston Red Sox - I bet Dwight Evans and Luis Tiant would be the more popular picks, but I think Reggie Smith is quite under-rated and he's the man who gets my vote.

Chicago Cubs - I'm going with Ron Santo, but it was a tougher decision than one would realize, taking him over turn of the century shortstop Bill Dahlen. Also considered were 19th century standout George Gore, and another one of history's many unheralded Cubs, Rick Reuschel.

Chicago White Sox - There's some stiff competition on the south side of Chicago as well. Minnie Minoso, though, is my man, with Billy Pierce and Robin Ventura the runners-up.

Cincinnati Reds - Barry Larkin is an easy call, but assuming he gets elected next year—as I hope he will—it's going to be tough deciding between Vada Pinson, Heinie Groh, George Foster and 19th century pitcher Tony Mullane to take his place. Dave Concepcion, you say? I don't think so.

Cleveland Indians - Not a lot of tremendous choices here, but I'm going with Albert Belle, over Rocky Colavito and Wes Ferrell.

Colorado Rockies - Larry Walker may just be worthy of being Colorado's first Hall of Fame inductee, in my opinion.

Detroit Tigers - This was definitely one of the toughest decisions of this exercise, but I'll take Alan Trammell by a nose over Lou Whitaker.

Florida Marlins - Charles Johnson is far from Hall of Fame worthy, but he won four Gold Gloves—as a catcher—and did appear on the ballot this year, although he received zero votes. So, to me, he's good enough to be considered for this distinction.

Houston Astros/Colt .45's - Well, this one might be just as easy as my Rockies pick. Jeff Bagwell, without a doubt. Hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, I'll be faced with the decision of who to replace him with. If Craig Biggio hasn't yet been passed over at that point, then we'll likely be looking at Jimmy Wynn, Cesar Cedeno or Jose Cruz.

Kansas City Royals - I really wanted to say Dan Quisenberry, because I truly believe the very best relievers are under-appreciated by modern statistical analysis. But, that's a discussion for another day, and the fact of the matter is Quiz's career started late and faded early. So, I'm going with Bret Saberhagen, over Quisenberry and Kevin Appier.

Los Angeles/Anaheim/California Angels - Bobby Grich is the obvious choice, although Chuck Finley and Frank Tanana deserve a mention.

Los Angeles/Brooklyn Dodgers - There are quite a few good candidates, including Willie Davis, Tommy John (who I'm not really sure whether to consider as a Dodger, Yankee, or White Sox), Orel Hershiser, Ron Cey, Gil Hodges, and Steve Garvey, but Kevin Brown—who played more years in Texas, but played his best for the Dodgers—is the closest to Hall of Fame caliber, as far as I'm concerned.

Milwaukee Brewers - Not a lot to choose from here. Their Hall of Fame worthy players have already been so honored. I'll take Cecil Cooper, with an honorable mention to Don Money.

Minnesota Twins/Washington Senators - I think his Hall of Fame case is over-rated by many, but my choice here is Tony Oliva over Jim Kaat.

New York Mets - Most people probably think of David Cone as a Yankee, but he pitched almost 300 more innings for the Mets. I'm not certain that means he would go into the Hall as a Met, but I'm taking him over Jerry Koosman.

New York Yankees - There are a lot of Yankee greats in the Hall of Fame, and there are also a number of borderline candidates who aren't, so this was a tough choice. But, to me, Thurman Munson is the best, with Graig Nettles and Willie Randolph not far behind. Don Mattingly? Back injury or not, he just didn't sustain it long enough. Pretty much the same goes for Ron Guidry.

Oakland/Kansas City/Philadelphia Athletics - As is usually the case with these types of exercises, I'm not passing judgment with regard to confirmed, alleged and suspected steroids users, so Mark McGwire gets the nod, with Sal Bando the runner-up.

Philadelphia Phillies -Gotta go with Dick Allen, although Sherry Magee deserves some recognition as well.

Pittsburgh Pirates - Dave Parker is really the only choice.

St. Louis Cardinals - I was torn on this one, so I informally polled the Cardinals bloggers I follow on Twitter, but their varied responses only confirmed how difficult a decision this is. Pitchers Hit Eighth was adamant in their support of Ken Boyer, and Ted Simmons also received a couple mentions, but I still find myself in the corner of Keith Hernandez.

San Diego Padres - There are only a few players who qualify for this distinction. Terry Kennedy is one. He appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in 1997 and received one vote. But—to me—Andy Benes, while far from a Hall of Famer, is better. Yet, for some reason, his name never made it on the ballot, which is kind of hard to believe.

San Francisco/New York Giants - I'll take Will Clark, over Bobby Bonds.

Seattle Mariners - Edgar Martinez. Is there anybody else?

Texas Rangers/Washington Senators - Man, I hate what a dilemma these steroid questions have created. Imagine having to actually be a Hall of Fame voter? To remain consistent, I'll go with Rafael Palmeiro, over Buddy Bell.

Toronto Blue Jays - This is a tough call, but I'm going to take Dave Stieb over John Olerud and Fred McGriff.

Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos - Tim Raines, of course.

I'll be the first to admit that many of these are debatable, and, of course, that's what made this exercise so fun. If you have any thoughts on any of these—particularly if there are any players I overlooked—I'd love to hear them.

Déjà vu All Over Again

2011-04-20T15:36:00.001-04:00

Neil Young played in Boston last night, marking the first time he's played here since a three-night stand at the Orpheum Theatre in December of 2007. I attended one of those shows, although it didn't occur to me until now that, of the eight teams I've seen him, only two of those shows have been in Beantown. In fact, despite living here for the past 14 years, I've seen my favorite artist live just as many times in Worcester, of all places.

Last night's show was the first of two nights he'll be playing at the Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre. At least, I think that's what they're officially calling it now, although Neil's joke of the night—in obvious distaste for the concept of corporate sponsorship—was that it's now called the Kellogg's Corn Flakes Center.

Young's set started off with acoustic renditions of "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)," "Tell Me Why," and "Helpless," at which point I was struck by a distinct feeling of déjà vu, and it wasn't because the latter song appeared on a CSNY album of the same name.

No, it was because Neil proceeded to perform the exact same set list at last night's show as he did the last time I saw him live, almost a year ago. OK, not exactly. The exception was that he ended things one "Heart of Gold" encore short this time.

This, of course, I considered disappointing, even though I'm a much bigger fan of the new material than I thought I would be when I heard it previewed last year. It's just that, being a huge fan of an artist with such an extensive and diverse catalog, I look forward to being surprised a few times.

Maybe I should have seen the signs coming. He brought along the same opening act—Scottish folkster Bert Jansch—and was touring entirely solo again. Maybe I was expecting too much from a 65-year old artist. I'm sure it's difficult enough re-learning songs that you haven't played in years, and it probably gets harder as an artist gets older.

So, perhaps I should have realized what was in store. Actually, I kind of did, in that I expected a similar format to last year's show. Just not an exact replica.

Regardless, Young played the material well, the venue's sound was good, and the rest of the crowd didn't really seem disappointed. But, I'm sorry to say that I was.

An Ode to the Record Store

2011-04-15T20:35:00.003-04:00

My first favorite record store was Record World in the South Hills Mall in Poughkeepsie, New York. As a young teenager, I also sometimes purchased records at department stores such as Caldor, but Record World definitely had the best combination of price and selection around.

It was at Record World that I'd flip through the discographies of bands like Blue Öyster Cult, Rainbow and Judas Priest, trying to determine which of their older albums were worth taking a chance on.

It was at Record World that I would purchase a mediocre EP by a band called Cintron, after seeing them as an opening act at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center. But, of course, purchasing records that didn't live up to your expectations was all part of the process back in the pre-internet days.

It was also at Record World that I hemmed and hawed over paying $8 for a full-length LP, rather than a more reasonable price of $5 to $7.

Record World is now a pet store, or something like that. It hasn't been in the South Hills Mall for years...actually, decades. In fact, the South Hills Mall has basically been rendered obsolete by the nearby mega-mall, the Poughkeepsie Galleria.

I've moved around a lot since those days, and I've had plenty of new favorite record stores, and eventually those record stores became CD stores, but I've continued to call them record stores.

Even long after I stopped buying new records—I'm not one of those music collectors who's remained a vinyl junkie, although I admire those folks—I still maintained a relationship with old-fashioned record stores.

First, I went through a phase where I scoured countless used record stores—fairly successfully, I might add—in search of every record that Neil Young never released on CD. Then, these stores became my destination for the purchase of albums so that I could frame and hang the covers on my wall. I suspect I own at least a dozen records that have, in fact, never been listened to by my ears.

But, over the years, there's only one record store that I've held in as high esteem as Record World. That destination would be a place called Rock Bottom Records in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I lived in New Hampshire for only one year—from spring of 1996 to spring of 1997—but after moving to Boston, it still remained a frequented destination when I was in the area or just passing through.

Long before music stores came up with the idea of in-store listening stations, Rock Bottom had an area with racks of hundreds of used CDs and a few portable CD players with headphones that patrons could use to preview albums.

I remember vividly in April of 1997 when both Son Volt's Straightaways—their eagerly anticipated followup to Trace—and The Jayhawks' Sound of Lies—their first album of the post-Mark Olson era—came out on the same day. I previewed and purchased both of them at Rock Bottom, and, for some reason, hearing them in the record store for the first time was a goose-bump-inducing moment.

On another occasion, I was going about my business, listening to various used CDs there, when the album playing on the in-house stereo system caught my ear and really grabbed my attention. I asked the store clerk what it was, and he responded with such enthusiasm that it was the solo record by Smashing Pumpkins' guitarist James Iha. Let it Come Down may never have become my favorite guilty pleasure album if not for Rock Bottom Records.

Another night, as I was leaving the store, I was overhearing a discussion between the store clerk and another customer, as he tried to explain who England, Dan & John Ford Coley were. He was trying to identify their most recognizable song, showing a little frustration as he admitted he was drawing a blank. As I opened the door to the street, I turned in his direction and said, "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight." After a several second double-take, he realized I was identifying the song rather than asking him out.

Unfortunately, Rock Bottom Records has been out of business for quite some time. Other than Newbury Comics, a regional chain of stores that remains a model of success in a fading industry, I haven't had a favorite record store since.

And, as that previous sentence reminds me, I really hope this post is more than just an ode to a dying breed.

Tomorrow is the fourth annual Record Store Day, an idea conceived by a few like-minded folks "as a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundreds of similar stores internationally."

If you're out and about tomorrow, make a little side trip to one of the many participating stores. If you're anywhere close to my age, in the very least it will be a chance to flip through a few stacks of albums and reminisce about the days when those wonderful vinyl discs measuring 12 inches in diameter were your musical medium of choice.

Jason Varitek Catches Two-Hit Shutout, WAR Doesn't Care

2011-04-11T20:42:00.004-04:00

Much has been made in the past about what a great game-caller Jason Varitek is, and with Josh Beckett pitching last night like the 2007 version of himself, I'm sure the calls for Varitek to be Beckett's personal catcher are not far off. In fact, the nonsense has already started.

I'm not trying to downplay Varitek's reputation for being good at handling pitchers. I'm sure it's warranted. I bet there are a lot of pitchers who love working with him. I just don't think it makes that much of a difference. Any pitcher with his head screwed on straight knows he's the one who decides what pitch to throw in what situation—the catcher can only suggest—and that it ultimately comes down to his ability to execute. So, I suspect the pitchers who stand to gain the most from a catcher who's a good game-caller are those who are not long for the major leagues anyway.

I'd like to see someone perform a statistical analysis of Varitek's catcher ERA in comparison to the other catchers who've played for the Red Sox during the same time frame. This would have to be a little more than just a look at the team's ERA with versus without Varitek, as it's possible that backup catchers might be at a statistical disadvantage, more often than not being called on to catch back-of-the-rotation starters. For example, when Doug Mirabelli was in Boston, he was Tim Wakefield's personal catcher. Wakefield had some pretty good years during that time frame, but I would still suspect he was below average relative to the rest of the team's starters.*

*EDIT: As it turns out, I'm wrong about this. Mirabelli spent six full or partial seasons with the Red Sox (2001-05 & 2007, catching 48-62 games in each), and Wakefield's ERA was below the team average in only 2004 & 2007. But, you get the point. Regardless of who's at a statistical disadvantage, the analysis would need to be properly weighted to ensure a fair comparison.

So, this would need to be some kind of weighted-average analysis that takes into consideration the quality of the pitchers throwing to each catcher. Who knows? If it's determined that Varitek improved his pitchers' ERA by as much as 0.2 runs per game, that translates to more than 280 runs over his 1423 games caught. Since, in WAR methodology, every 10 runs roughly equals one win, this could add 28 wins to Varitek's current career WAR of 23.1. Bringing his WAR total over 50 would put him in the class of rock-solid Hall of Fame catchers Mickey Cochrane and Gabby Hartnett.

But, seriously, I have no intention of taking on such a project. I don't have the time nor the motivation. Besides, I'm quite content in the knowledge that the closest Varitek is going to get to the Clark Sports Center podium is sitting in the invited guest seats when Pedro Martinez or, perhaps, Curt Schilling gets inducted.

I made my first visit to a major league park last night, witnessing Josh Beckett's masterful pitching performance in person. I always enjoy going to the ballpark, even if it means I have to contend with "Yankees Suck" chants and the drunks in the Fenway Park bleachers, as I did last night. I wore my Yankees hat, but maintained a pretty low profile, as there wasn't really much reason to do otherwise.

Highlights, while few and far between, included:

Attending a game with my pal DJ for the first time since our trip to Toronto for the World Baseball Classic two years ago, and discussing our new offensive player rating system, which I'll write more about at a later date, if it seems worthy.
Observing the cluelessness of fans around me, as no one seemed to notice that a run was erased when Kevin Youkilis was called out for runner interference on an attempted double play in the third.
Watching Carl Crawford continue to struggle.
The fact that the game was over in just under three hours (2:58 according to the box score), which has to be some kind of record for a nationally televised Yankees-Red Sox game.
Witnessing the Yankees debut of Freddy Garcia. OK, not really.

But, as I may have said before, a night at the ballpark—even when your team manages only four base runners, and ends the game with 17 consecutive batters retired—is pretty much unrivaled by almost any other activity.

As if We Needed Any More Evidence That Wins and Losses Are Flawed Statistics

2011-04-08T20:06:00.011-04:00

The old school types were up in arms over the fact that Felix Hernandez, and his 13-12 won-loss record, won the American League Cy Young Award last year. One of them actually went so far as to use some ridiculous argument about the morale of a pitcher's teammates when he takes the mound, and that when players make great defensive plays behind one pitcher and not another, it is not an accident.

Think about this for a second. The pitcher whose ERA—a measure of the number of earned runs per nine innings he allows, in case the author of the aforementioned article needs some reminding—was a half run better than anybody else in the league apparently didn't instill enough confidence in his teammates for them to play to the fullest extent of their abilities. Honestly, if this was the case—that his teammates were only playing half-heartedly behind him—then Hernandez was even more deserving of the Cy Young Award.

But, that's not really my point.

My point is we don't need to look any further than this afternoon's contest between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox to see one of the worst applications of won-loss credit there could possibly be.

John Lackey pitched five innings, allowing six earned runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out just two, and "earned" the win. Bartolo Colon pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing one earned and one unearned run on two hits and one walk, while striking out five, and was tagged with the loss.

Lackey spotted the Yankees two runs in the top of the 1st inning, just what an 0-6 team needed as a morale boost. When Dustin Pedroia cut that deficit in half with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning, Lackey promptly gave one back.

But, Lackey's teammates' increased confidence from seeing him on the mound resulted in a five-run rally in the bottom of the 2nd, giving the Red Sox a nice 6-3 lead and knocking Yankees starter Phil Hughes—I'll get to him later—out of the game.

What did Lackey do with this newfound advantage? He proceeded to squander it, one run at a time over the next three innings.

But, of course, his teammates were bolstered by the confidence of having him on their side, and scored the go-ahead unearned run in the bottom of the 5th. That development is what resulted in Lackey being credited with the first win of the 2011 season for the Red Sox. Now, if you look up clutch pitching performances following six-game losing streaks to start the season in Merriam-Webster, I'm quite certain you'll see a photo of John Lackey right next to its definition.

Bartolo Colon came into a game that his team trailed 6-3 after two innings, and were looking at needing seven innings out of their bullpen to have a chance to win the game. He proceeded to pitch shutdown baseball for four innings—allowing only an unearned run—and giving his team exactly what they needed to claw back into the contest. If not for said unearned run, the score would have been tied following his fourth inning of work.

But, I suppose we could make the argument here that Colon's three-plus innings of shutout baseball up to the point of the defensive miscue just weren't enough of a morale boost to his team. So, essentially the error was, in fact, his fault.

Then, to begin his fifth inning, he gave up a bunt single to the Red Sox third-place hitter, Adrian Gonzalez, a tactic employed by such a dangerous hitter due to the Yankees' use of an extreme shift to the right side of the field. When Colon was subsequently pulled from the game, with a runner on first and one out, that runner eventually came around to score, resulting in the only earned run Colon was charged with.

But, Colon gave up the run that put the Red Sox in the lead for good, and everyone knows that's the most important run of the game. Everyone also knows that great pitchers find ways to avoid giving up those runs, something that Phil Hughes did masterfully on this day.

Yes, that's right, Hughes earned the right not to be charged with the loss by strategically giving up a bunch of runs early and getting the heck out of there before a decision could be rendered. Hughes gave up six earned runs in two innings, and Colon gave up one earned run—one that easily could have been stranded by the pitcher who relieved him—in 4 1/3 innings, yet Colon is considered the losing pitcher.

But, of course, wins and losses are the true measures of a pitcher's effectiveness.

MLB HOF Madness on 85% Sports

2011-04-07T22:22:00.004-04:00

A site called 85% Sports, a fellow member of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, has been running a March Madness tournament of their own for about a month or so now. They started out with 68 entrants, including a play-in round to narrow the pool down to four 16-team brackets.

This particular tournament involves the blog's quest to determine the greatest Hall of Famer of all-time. The 68-player bracket of Major League Baseball's all-time greatest has since been narrowed down to 16. Voting on 85% Sports' Slugging Sixteen runs through April 12th.

Here's my breakdown of the matchups and who I voted for:

Sparky Anderson Bracket

#1 Babe Ruth vs. #5 Rickey Henderson
As great a player as Rickey was, I'm not really sure that he even belongs in the top 16 of all-time. I voted for Grover Cleveland Alexander, who Henderson upset in the round of 32. This one's a pretty easy call...Babe Ruth by a landslide.

#3 Honus Wagner vs. #2 Stan Musial
This is a tough one, but I had to go with the greatest shortstop of all-time over the third best left fielder. Honus Wagner it is.

Leo Durocher Bracket

#1 Willie Mays vs. #4 Joe DiMaggio
Despite the fact that DiMaggio is my father's hero, there's really not much question that Willie Mays had the superior career and ranks #1 on my list of center fielders.

#3 Walter Johnson vs. #2 Ty Cobb
"The Big Train" ranks as probably one of the top two pitchers in history, and that beats out the #2 center fielder of all-time in my book.

Branch Rickey Bracket

#1 Hank Aaron vs. #5 Sandy Koufax
Koufax had a great peak, but he doesn't even belong among the top 16 pitchers of all-time, let alone the top 16 players. Hank Aaron wins this one by a wide margin.

Although Koufax, as the fifth-seeded player, making the final 16 is not a major upset, this bracket has featured the biggest upset in the tournament, at least by seeding standards (I completely disagree with Koufax being a #5 seed, obviously, but that's not my point). The guys at 85% Sports gave Josh Gibson the #4 seed in the bracket, but he was knocked off by #13 seed Nolan Ryan in the first round.

Why? Because, not surprisingly, the majority of the folks voting in this contest have very little idea how to compare Negro League stars to their Major League Baseball counterparts. I'm not saying I do, but it would seem a no-brainer to me that perhaps the greatest player in Negro League history is better than Nolan Ryan.

#3 Mickey Mantle vs. #2 Cy Young
Along with Walter Johnson, Cy Young has to be considered one of the top two pitchers in history. I'm taking that over the #3 center fielder.

Casey Stengel Bracket

#1 Ted Williams vs. #5 Johnny Bench
It's tough being a catcher. Bench was the greatest of all-time at his position, but while that was enough to get him past Christy Mathewson in the prior round, it doesn't beat out Teddy Ballgame.

#3 Rogers Hornsby vs. #2 Lou Gehrig
This is another very tough call. Hornsby is debatably the best second baseman ever, but Gehrig is indisputably #1 among first baseman. Plus, he's Lou Gehrig, so he gets my vote.

So, if I get my way, we'll be looking at these matchups to decide who advances to the Final Four:

Babe Ruth vs. Honus Wagner
Willie Mays vs. Walter Johnson
Hank Aaron vs. Cy Young
Ted Williams vs. Lou Gehrig

Frequent Spins (2011.2)

2011-04-03T10:51:00.003-04:00

The Baseball Project - Volume 2: High and Inside
Of course, I've already written a couple posts breaking down the lyrics of two of this album's major highlights, "Buckner's Bolero" and "Fair Weather Fans," but there's much more where those songs came from. "1976" celebrates the year that Mark "The Bird" Fidrych's on-field antics captivated the baseball world. "Here Lies Carl Mays" tells the story of baseball's most tragic moment from the perspective of a man who would be forever considered a villain. "Twilight of My Career" actually sheds a bit of a sympathetic light on Roger Clemens. In fact, so many of these songs prove that heartbreak and tragedy not only provide the subject matter for better songs, but they also make for better baseball tales.

Bright Eyes - The People's Key
If Conor Oberst was trying to shed his pretentious image with the release of the more straightforwardly rocking Outer South (credited to Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band), this one's not helping his cause much. Interspersed throughout the album are the philosophical ramblings of Denny Brewer of Refried Ice Cream on subjects such as mankind's responsibility for the future, the Sumerian Tablets' depiction of lizard-like beings who invaded the Garden of Eden, and the naming of the pomegranate. Meanwhile, Oberst's lyrics ponder questions such as "...if it's true what we're made of, why do I hide from the rain?" In the end, the intersection of the messages is the theme of love and mercy towards your fellow man. Despite the overly philosophical nature of the album, or perhaps—in part—because of it, Bright Eyes' latest is one of my favorites of the year so far.

Drive-By Truckers - Go-Go Boots
It's quite possible that I'll never grow tired of these guys. Go-Go Boots shows off a little more Muscle Shoals influence—not surprising, considering co-leader Patterson Hood's father David was the bassist of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section—than prior efforts, which have always been decidedly southern rock oriented. My personal highlight is a song that I described to KJ as being the equivalent of listening to an 8-minute Dateline episode, "The Fireplace Poker."

The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts
The Go! Team's schtick is that they're kind of an indie cheerleading squad. I pretty quickly dismissed their 2004 debut, Thunder, Lightning, Strike, as "not my thing" and didn't pay an ounce of attention to the band until one of that album's songs, "The Power Is On," appeared on the NFL Play 60 commercial featuring the Atlanta Falcons riding a school bus. So, I was definitely curious to check out their latest, and I wasn't disappointed.

The Rural Alberta Advantage - Departing
This band is one of my favorite discoveries of the last few years. In fact, they're probably at the top of the list, at least partially due to the fact that I discovered them all on my own. Don't misunderstand me, now. I like a good recommendation from a friend as much as the next guy, but there's something very satisfying about being your own influence. I'm not really sure why, to be honest. It's not like I did extensive research regarding my own personal likes and dislikes and developed an algorithm for determining what music is perfectly suited for my eardrums. In fact, I probably just got lucky. Anyway, it's nice to get into a band before they even have a recording contract and then see them a few years later show up in Curtis Granderson's iTunes Library. Well, sort of.

The Streets - Computers and Blues
Ever since A Grand Don't Come for Free, The Streets seem to have an alternating album thing going for them. That is, every other album is very good, but followed up by an effort with a few bright spots that has failed to come close to being as good as its predecessor. Computers and Blues falls into the latter category. Don't get me wrong. I've enjoyed listening to it, particularly "We Can Never Be Friends" and "OMG," the latter of which tells the story of a Facebook-induced relationship misunderstanding that ultimately has a happy ending. It's just that, it's not the swan song I'd hoped it would be. Did I mention this is supposed to be Mike Skinner's final album as The Streets?

Yuck - Yuck
When I wrote the first Frequent Spins of 2011, I decided that I would play the "name three bands they remind you of" game with each entry throughout the year. But, as you can see from the albums written up in this installment, I've already broken that trend. Still, when I heard the first song the first time I listened to this album, I was thinking Dinosaur Jr. The remaining songs don't really live up to that expectation, but if you like your Weezer with a generous portion of Elliott Smith and a dash of Pavement, you might actually enjoy this record.

Opening Day

2011-03-31T08:42:00.001-04:00

Is Curtis Granderson ready?

Maybe, just for today, this should be his at-bat song:

Greatest Living Retired Player for Each MLB Team

2011-03-25T18:37:00.002-04:00

This one is inspired by an article written by Craig Calcaterra on Hardball Talk, but my idea takes on a slightly different twist. While that article was simply about identifying the greatest living player for each team, I'm more interested in narrowing it down to include only retired players.

I originally posted this on Pickin' Splinters, so I've incorporated some of the feedback I received there, as well as on Twitter, and some of my comments in response to that feedback.

This is an exercise where Wins Above Replacement (WAR) comes in handy, because I'm not interested in determining who is the greatest living player who happened to play–even for just a season or two–for each team. Instead, I want to measure greatness by what each player contributed to the team in question. So, WAR helps me to compare Player A's five very good seasons with Player B's ten pretty good seasons, for example.

But, I'm mentioning WAR here only to say that I used it as a starting point. From there, I also considered what each player means to their former team. So, in some sense, and only in some of these cases, I'm considering the "face of the franchise" factor.

Of course, some of these evolved into top 5 lists, basically because I couldn't resist. So, let's get started, by running through the teams alphabetically:

Arizona Diamondbacks – Gotta go with Randy Johnson, and his four consecutive Cy Young Awards, here.

Atlanta Braves – There's some serious competition, but it's pretty hard to argue with Hank Aaron. Still, here's my first top five list:

Hank Aaron
Phil Niekro
Greg Maddux
John Smoltz
Tom Glavine

Baltimore Orioles – I was called out on Twitter, by one of the few people I interact with there who I'm actually friends with in real life, for so dismissively choosing Cal Ripken over all the other living Orioles greats. Although that didn't change Ripken's standing, it inspired another top fiver:

Cal Ripken
Brooks Robinson
Jim Palmer
Eddie Murray
Mike Mussina

Boston Red Sox – Thank goodness Carl Yastrzemski is still living. Otherwise, I might have to put up with people nominating Jim Rice for this distinction. So, while I'm at it, here are my top five living former Red Sox:

Carl Yastrzemski
Roger Clemens
Wade Boggs
Dwight Evans
Pedro Martinez

Chicago Cubs – They don't call Ernie Banks Mr. Cub for nothing, but there are quite a few worthy contenders who are former Cubbies:

Ernie Banks
Ryne Sandberg
Fergie Jenkins
Billy Williams
Sammy Sosa

Chicago White Sox – Frank Thomas is a pretty easy choice here. Oh, what the heck…how about another top five list:

Frank Thomas
Billy Pierce
Minnie Minoso
Wilbur Wood
Robin Ventura

Cincinnati Reds – Wow! This is a tough one. I'll take Johnny Bench, but I think this team warrants yet another mini-list:

Johnny Bench
Pete Rose
Joe Morgan
Frank Robinson
Barry Larkin

Cleveland Indians – This is a tough one, now that Bob Feller has passed away. Since there's no one that really fits the bill of "face of the franchise," I'm going to go with Kenny Lofton, believe it or not.

Colorado Rockies – Larry Walker is the only player truly worth considering.

Detroit Tigers – Another easy one, Al Kaline.

Florida Marlins – This was a difficult one for completely different reasons. Based on WAR, the candidates are Luis Castillo, Cliff Floyd, Mike Lowell, Jeff Conine, Gary Sheffield and Kevin Brown. I guess for face of the franchise, I'll go with Jeff Conine.

Houston Astros – Jeff Bagwell, with Craig Biggio a close second.

Kansas City Royals – This one's a no-brainer, George Brett.

Los Angeles Angels – Another tough one. If you like traditional stats, it's either Garret Anderson, Tim Salmon, Chuck Finley or Nolan Ryan. WAR likes Jim Fregosi, but it also likes Finley and Ryan. So, I'll take the Hall of Famer, Nolan Ryan.

Los Angeles Dodgers – With Duke Snider's recent passing, I guess the torch gets passed to Sandy Koufax.

Milwaukee Brewers – I'm a bigger Paul Molitor fan, but the edge goes to Robin Yount for having played his entire career with the team.

Minnesota Twins – This one's up for debate, but I'm going with Rod Carew over Harmon Killebrew.

New York Mets – Tom Seaver, without a question.

New York Yankees – Part of the reasoning for adding the retired criterion was to not have to decide between Derek Jeter and Yogi Berra. Among retired Yankees, Yogi is the easy choice, but I think these guys warrant a top ten list (I'm sure someone will have something to say about this one):

Yogi Berra
Whitey Ford
Willie Randolph
Bernie Williams
Ron Guidry
Andy Pettitte
Graig Nettles
Don Mattingly
Roy White
Mel Stottlemyre

Oakland Athletics – Rickey Henderson, hands down.

Philadelphia Phillies – Michael Jack Schmidt over Steve Carlton.

Pittsburgh Pirates – I'm going to have to go with Barry Bonds.

San Diego Padres – I don't think you could really make a case for anyone other than Tony Gwynn.

San Francisco Giants – Say Hey, Willie Mays, over his godson.

Seattle Mariners – I'm tempted to say Edgar Martinez, but I'll go with the less controversial choice, Ken Griffey Jr.

St. Louis Cardinals – Stan “The Man” Musial over Bob Gibson.

Tampa Bay Rays – Hmmm...since Julio Lugo hasn't officially retired (I don't think), the candidates are Fred McGriff, Rocco Baldelli and Roberto Hernandez. I kid you not. Again, back to this "face of the franchise" distinction, I'll go with Baldelli.

Texas Rangers – All of a sudden, this exercise is more complicated than I realized. Among former players, I would definitely go with Ivan Rodriguez, but since being retired is a criterion, then I'll have to pick Rafael Palmeiro.

Toronto Blue Jays – I'm going with a player I consider to be very under-rated, Dave Stieb.

Washington Nationals – Of course, the Nationals' history includes that of the Montreal Expos, so I'll take Gary Carter over Tim Raines and Andre Dawson.

Three Teams That Should Try Unconventional Bullpen Strategies

2011-03-23T22:24:00.001-04:00

A lot has been written about the role of the modern closer, and the fact that the position's usage is essentially driven by what many consider to be a flawed statistic, the save. It's been argued—and I'm not disagreeing with the premise—that the save has resulted in the unconventional scenario in which the rules governing a statistic are essentially dictating strategy for major league managers.

I'm not going to claim to be the first person to suggest a team should use their best relief pitcher in what I'll refer to as a pure fireman's role. In other words, bring him in when a high leverage situation dictates it, which more than likely will be to get the most important outs of the game, even if this occurs before the 9th inning.

Of course, the idea isn't unique to me. In fact, this was basically the Moneyball strategy Billy Beane was attempting with Chad Bradford a decade ago. What I am going to do is suggest a few teams who are in a position to employ such a strategy this year.

Let's face it. The baseball community can be pretty set in its ways about a lot of things, so there are definitely situations where this idea just isn't going to fly. For instance, it would just seem odd to me to suggest that the Yankees should remove Mariano Rivera from the closer's role, even if bringing your best relief pitcher into a more high leverage situation earlier in the game might make sense. Besides, the Yanks have a much younger guy in Rafael Soriano to potentially use in a more versatile role.

Which brings me to another point. There would seem to me to be a certain type of pitcher who is better equipped for the inconsistency of such a role. Most importantly, I think this kind of usage probably would suit a younger player, especially given the fact that he might not always have the ideal amount of time to get ready for his assignment.

So, you may be asking yourself, who do I have in mind? At least I hope you are. I'm sure there are potentially others, but there are three teams I'm focusing on here: the Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics and Cincinnati Reds.

Let's begin north of the border. The Jays closing situation is actually a little unsettled right now, as it looks as though injuries to Frank Francisco and Octavio Dotel will leave them out of action at the start of the season. But, neither should be out for long, making them ideal candidates for such a scenario.

Clearly the most talented arm in this bullpen belongs to Francisco, and it appears he would have been named the closer if not for the fact he's suffering from a sore pectoral muscle. He's posted a better than 3-to-1 K/BB ratio in each of the last three years, and his 2008 and 2009 OPS-against numbers were an impressive .634 and .639.

The only thing preventing similar results last year was bad luck, as his BABIP (batting average on balls in play) jumped from .270 and .274 in 2008 and 2009, respectively, to .321 in 2010. In fact, his FIP (fielding independent pitching), which attempts to measure what a pitcher's ERA would have been if not for factors mostly related to luck, was lower in 2010 than in both of the previous seasons.

Making this an easier decision for the Blue Jays is that they have two other relief pitchers who have been reasonably successful closers in the past. In fact, Jon Rauch, who will likely fill the role at the start of the season due to the Francisco and Dotel injuries, did a respectable job filling in for Joe Nathan with the Twins last year. He also served as the Nationals' closer for a good portion of the 2008 season.

Dotel never became the elite closer it looked like he would be when he was dominating as a setup man for Houston a decade ago. Injuries definitely had something to do with that, but when entrusted with the closer's role at various points throughout his 12-year career, he's done a solid job. So, if Rauch falters in the 9th inning role, Toronto can turn to Dotel without having to disrupt the strategy of using Francisco in the way the "fireman" was intended to be used: to put out fires.

At 31, Francisco is actually the oldest of the three relievers I'm suggesting be used in this manner. The others are Oakland's Andrew Bailey and Cincinnati's Aroldis Chapman.

Bailey's first two seasons have been nothing short of phenomenal. A 3.6 K/BB ratio and .501 OPS-against, the latter of which is better than Rivera over that time frame, pretty much speak for themselves. He's definitely the go-to guy in the Athletics' bullpen. But, they also signed Brian Fuentes in the off-season, and he's more than capable of being a solid 9th inning guy, which I think is all you really need, thus freeing up Bailey for a more strategic assignment.

Chapman might be a little more of a wild card than the other two, and of course, he has less of a track record by which to evaluate him. Plus, Francisco Cordero is already the incumbent closer. So, it won't be too difficult for the Reds to use him in the role I'm suggesting. But, there is talk that Chapman could be the team's future closer. I say his is the perfect situation to experiment with a true fireman's role.

I guess one common denominator among my suggestions is they involve teams whose second best reliever has experience as a fairly successful closer. I still think the 9th inning is important, even if sometimes the closer is handed the ball with a three-run lead, no one on base, and only three outs to get. But, I think in the three cases I've identified, another pitcher in each team's bullpen is the guy I'd go to in more crucial situations. Of course, that's not to say that situation will never be in the 9th. It's just that, it won't always be, and being more flexible with your best relief pitcher just seems to make strategic sense to me.

I've Seen All Good Maple Bacon Porter

2011-03-21T17:28:00.006-04:00

This past weekend, AfroDan Progressive Brewers celebrated the grand opening of one of two new brewing facilities: AfroDan North, in Medford. It felt good to brew again, since we'd been idle for almost a year, following the closing of our Somerville facility. Our latest endeavor, however, signals that we're back, and possibly better than ever.

The new business plan remains true to our mission of brewing only experimental beers. Now, though, we'll be doing so out of two different facilities, with AfroDan South set to commence operations in Quincy in about two months.

Our latest creation is, quite possibly, our most experimental to date. The brewing partner has been itching to add meat to one of our brews for quite some time—citing the fact that his wife's uncle uses steak in his wine making—but, needless to say, I've been resistant. However, when he suggested bacon, I finally gave in.

It didn't take long to decide that a darker beer would work better with this experiment, and somehow the idea of a maple bacon porter just sounded right. It turns out, we're not exactly on the cutting edge, but a little research on brewing with bacon was helpful in understanding just how we should employ this specialty ingredient.

So, here's our recipe for a five-gallon batch:

1/2 lb. crystal malt - 90 L (steeped 20 mins.)
3/4 lb. chocolate malt - 350 L (steeped 20 mins.)
1/4 lb. black patent malt - 500 L (steeped 20 mins.)
8 lbs. light malt extract (boiled 60 mins.)
3 oz. Kent Goldings hops - 4.5% alpha (boiled 60 mins.)
1 oz. Fuggles hops - 4% alpha (boiled 15 mins.)
5-6 oz. crispy cooked hickory smoked bacon (added to fermenter)
1 1/4 cups maple syrup (for priming)
1 1/2 oz. British Ale yeast

mmm...bacon :)

The brewing took place on Saturday at AfroDan North, of course. While the brew pot was boiling, we oven baked the bacon, drained as much of the grease away as we could using paper towels, and then cut off as much of the excess fat as possible. Then, once the brewing process was complete and the yeast was pitched, we also added the bacon to the fermenter before sealing it.

Following a period of fermentation, we'll be bottling, of course, but with an added twist...so to speak. For those of you who don't home brew, priming is the process of adding a solution of sugar and boiled water to the fermented beer just prior to bottling. The extra sugar added during the bottling process is what gives the beer its carbonation.

But, other sugary substances can be used for priming as well. So, we'll be substituting 1 1/4 cups of maple syrup for the standard five ounces of priming sugar at bottling time. The end result we're looking for is a slightly sweet, but still nicely balanced, maple bacon porter. Hopefully, the maple sweetness doesn't overpower the smokey bacon goodness, but all we can do now is wait and see how it turns out.

Of course, once again, we've borrowed the name of the beer from one of our favorite prog-rock pioneers. With our signature beer being named after King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" and a Rush song being the namesake of another of our brews, we figured it was time to pay tribute to Yes. So, in case you haven't figured it out already, I've Seen All Good Maple Bacon Porter is inspired by one of Yes's classics, "I've Seen All Good People."

Fair Weather Fans

2011-03-15T22:07:00.007-04:00

I enjoyed the idea of breaking down the history behind the lyrics of The Baseball Project's "Buckner's Bolero" so much that I thought I'd take another crack at a similar idea. This time, the subject matter is the song that celebrates the favorite teams of each of the band members, "Fair Weather Fans," which is certainly not what Scott McCaughey, Linda Pitmon, Pete Buck and Steve Wynn are.

The tune starts off with McCaughey revealing the four teams he's rooted for at various times in his life, and the three that remain near and dear to his heart:

As a kid in Arizona we didn’t have our own team, but I was drawn to the Braves of Aaron, Mathews and Spahn. When we moved to The Bay I got McCovey, Marichal and Mays. It was heaven and then in ‘68 the A’s came along. With Captain Sal, Reggie, Joe Rudi, and Rollie, having two teams to love was out of sight. When Seattle became home I spent my nights in the Dome. I still think the Mariners, Giants and A’s are all right!

The lyrics here seem to imply that McCaughey no longer roots for the Braves, that he was just a fan of the team during the Aaron/Mathews/Spahn era. Spahn is the elder of that trio, and was, in fact, already 33 in 1954, when Aaron made his major league debut with the then Milwaukee Braves. But, the three still had quite a run together, combining for 24 all-star selections—which doesn't even double-count the years when two games were played—from 1955 to 1963.

The chorus explains that these fans remain loyal to their teams, despite the fact their love for the game has influenced them to follow new home teams while moving around the country:

A fair weather fan is not what I am, even though my zip code has changed. I might smile and enjoy where I’m currently employed, but your soul can’t be rearranged. It’s hard to understand, it’s so hard to understand a fair weather fan.

My favorite verse features Pitmon as lead singer, professing her love for the Twins, but admitting a weakness for the Yankees:

I grew up outside of Minneapolis, glued to the radio and the ‘70’s Twins, and the sad sound of crying when they didn’t score enough runs for a Blyleven win. Now I reside in New York City, so I got a little thing for the pinstripes. But when the Twins face the Yanks in the ALDS, you know who this small town girl likes...

Quite fitting, I must say, is the reference to her hometown team failing to score enough runs in backing recent Hall of Fame electee Bert Blyleven. His underwhelming 287-250 career won-loss record is probably what prevented him from earning his rightful place in Cooperstown until his 14th year on the ballot.

And there’s bass player Pete, always fast on his feet. No home team, then for sure. He stays fast and loose but if he had to choose, it’d be the Washington Senators.

According to Wikipedia, Peter Buck's family moved from California to Atlanta sometime during his youth. The Braves moved there in 1966—Buck was born in 1956—but I guess he didn't latch onto them. I don't know exactly when the family arrived in Atlanta, but if it was pre-1966—when Peter's age was still in the single digits—the Washington Senators, St. Louis Cardinals or Cincinnati Reds would have been the closest thing they had to a home team.

Which brings up an interesting point, one that applies to both McCaughey's baseball upbringing and Buck's, and countless other fans from remote areas of the country. When you live in a place where the nearest team is several hundred miles away, who do you root for? This question came up when KJ and I were visited last year by our friends from Boise, Idaho.

While taking them sightseeing on the North Shore, one of the locals asked their 10-year old daughter what sports teams she roots for. It didn't even occur to him that it's possible cities without professional teams are just not as into sports as the folks from Boston are. Or, that 10-year old girls might not be into sports at all. But, that's more a reflection of how truly sports-obsessed this particular city is, which is a discussion for another day.

Finally, it's Wynn's turn:

I grew up in LA to the sweet sounds of Vin Scully. That’s how I went to bed most every night. There ain’t a prettier park than the one in Chavez Ravine. I’ve seen many games by the palm trees and the lights. But I sure do love Manhattan -- I took on the AL team in ’93. But now that Torre and Mattingly have moved to LA, it makes it so much easier for me.

Obviously the song was written at least a half year before it was released, considering Torre is now out—and Mattingly in—as the manager of the Dodgers. It's hard to imagine someone's two favorite teams being the Dodgers and the Yankees, though.

But, then again, KJ and I were in Vermont this past weekend, where we met a fellow from Rhode Island wearing a Red Sox hat. I was wearing my Boston Braves hat, so I had to correct him when he assumed I was one of his brethren. When I admitted I am, in fact, a Yankees fan, he claimed they are his second favorite team.

Now, that guy just might be a fair weather fan.

Nittany Lion Cagers

2011-03-14T21:46:00.005-04:00

Is the word "cagers" still used to represent basketball players? When I attended college at Penn State I was introduced to the term, but I haven't heard it used much since. In case you're curious—which I was—in the early days of the sport, the court was literally enclosed in a cage, which made for a much rougher game than exists today.

In honor of my alma mater, Penn State, and their men's basketball team's return to the NCAA tournament for the first time in ten years, I present you with the top five players to come out of the program since my days at the school, a quarter-century ago.

Honorable mentions: Pete Lisicky (1994-98) Calvin Booth (1995-99), Titus Ivory (1999-2001) Geary Claxton (2005-08), Jamelle Cornley (2006-09)

5. John Amaechi (1992-95)

Amaechi began his college career at Vanderbilt, but transferred to Penn State after his freshman year. In three years in Happy Valley, the team's first three in the Big Ten, he averaged 15.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots in 84 games, and was twice named a first-team Academic All-American. The team improved from their dismal Big Ten debut (7-20, last place in 1992-93) to 21-11 and a third-place NIT Tournament finish in his senior year.

Amaechi went on to play 294 games in five NBA seasons for three teams, but is best known as the first openly gay NBA player, coming out several years after his retirement.

4. Tom Hovasse (1985-89)

Hovasse was the star of the Nittany Lions basketball team during my time as a student there. The 6'8" forward was a four-year starter who averaged 14.7 points and 6.3 rebounds over 99 games in four seasons. The team improved from 12-17 and 8th place in the Atlantic 10 in his freshman year to 20-12 and an NIT berth in his senior year. I traveled with friends to witness their second round game at Villanova, which unfortunately was the final game of their season, and of Hovasse's Penn State career, a 76-67 defeat.

He would have to wait six years before making his professional debut with the Atlanta Hawks in 1994-95. Signed in October and released in November, he played four minutes in two games in a very brief NBA career.

3. DeRon Hayes (1989-93)

Sports-Reference.com's College Basketball pages—which I used for most of the statistics cited in this post—are seriously lacking information from the years that Hayes played at Penn State, but one of his teams provided me with my most memorable Penn State basketball moment.

The 1990-91 team qualified for Penn State basketball's first NCAA tournament in more than a quarter-century. The 13th-seeded Nittany Lions pulled off a stunning first round upset over 4th-seeded UCLA—a team that included six future NBA players—in Syracuse's Carrier Dome.

I was a recent college graduate living in Syracuse at the time, and was lucky to be in attendance at that game. That game still stands as the only time Penn State and UCLA have ever met in men's basketball, so the Nittany Lions can proudly say that they lead the all-time series with the most storied program in college basketball history.

According to a site called PSU Hoops Alumni Tracker, Hayes scored 1570 points in his Penn State career, which was 4th on their all-time list as of four years ago (so probably 6th now, with Talor Battle and Jamelle Cornley having since passed him). He was also named Atlantic 10 Freshman on the year for 1989-90 and All-Atlantic Ten in 1990-91. He never played in the NBA, but instead has enjoyed a successful career in the European Leagues, where apparently he's still playing.

2. Joe Crispin (1997-2001)

Crispin led the team to their last NCAA tournament appearance in 2000-01, a run that ended with a Sweet 16 loss to this year's first-round opponent, Temple. He and his younger brother, Jon, teamed up to make Penn State's back court one of its strongest ever, although Jon would transfer to UCLA following Joe's senior season.

Joe Crispin is Penn State's third all-time leading scorer, with 1976 points. In 126 games over four years, he averaged 15.7 points and 3.8 assists. Most importantly, though, he led the Nittany Lions to two Big Ten tournament victories—including an upset of Michigan State, a team that went on to make the NCAA Final Four—and two NCAA tournament wins, the highlight being a round-of-32 defeat of North Carolina.

Crispin had a slighly longer cup of coffee in the NBA than Hovasse, playing 21 games for the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns in 2001-02, before moving on to European basketball for the nine years since.

1. Talor Battle (2007-11)

This year's star, Talor Battle, became Penn State's all-time leading scorer with his game-winning shot against Wisconsin in the Big Ten quarter-finals. He then scored 25 in their semi-final victory over Michigan State. He's connected for 2190 points in his four-year career, averaging 16.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 133 games.

In addition to leading the team to their first trip to the NCAA tournament since the Joe Crispin-led 2000-01 squad, Battle teamed with seniors Jamelle Cornley and Stanley Pringle to pace the Lions' run to the NIT championship in his sophomore year of 2008-09. He was named first-team All-Big Ten in both his sophomore and senior seasons, while being honored as a second-teamer in his junior year.

Battle's story, of course, continues on Thursday night, with the Nittany Lions cagers matching up against Temple in the opening round of the West regional.

It just occurred to me that I could make a starting five from the names on this list: Battle and Crispin at guards, Hayes and Hovasse at forwards (although Hovasse is hardly the prototypical power forward), Amaechi at center. Also, the honorable mentions fit perfectly into a second-team squad: Lisicky and Ivory are the guards, Claxton and Cornley the forwards, Booth the center.

So, there you have it. The All-Penn State Nittany Lion basketball team covering the period of 1985-2011.

Most Productive Offensive Players in Baseball History

2011-03-09T22:22:00.003-05:00

I thought it would be interesting to try and determine the most productive offensive players in baseball history, and to use advanced statistical analysis for this purpose.

I decided to base this particular analysis on the metric I'm most familiar with, Wins Above Replacement (WAR). But, since this is supposed to be about offense, I needed to look at just the offensive components of WAR.

WAR is comprised of seven different categories, only five of which are relevant here:

Runs from Batting
Runs from Baserunning
Runs from Reached on Error
Runs from Grounded into Double Plays
Runs from Fielding
Runs from Positional Scarcity
Runs from Replacement Level

All of these numbers are added together to get Runs Above Replacement (RAR), which is then converted to Wins Above Replacement (WAR). Roughly, ten runs equal one win. That is, for every ten runs someone is better than a replacement player, he contributes one additional win to his team's success.

Basically, I took each player's Runs Above Replacement and subtracted his Runs from Fielding and Runs from Positional Scarcity. The latter statistic is based on the concept that, if a team were to get the exact same production out of its catcher as from its first baseman, the catcher would be far more valuable. This makes sense, but I'm looking to determine overall offensive production, not value.

Lastly, since I'm talking about who was(is) the most productive, I decided to rank the players on a per plate appearance basis. So, let's cut right to the chase and present the 50 most productive offensive players in baseball history, among those with a minimum of 6,000 career plate appearances, based on position-independent offensive RAR per plate appearance:

Babe Ruth
Lou Gehrig
Ted Williams
Barry Bonds
Dan Brouthers
Mickey Mantle
Ty Cobb
Albert Pujols
Rogers Hornsby
Joe Jackson
Billy Hamilton
Jimmie Foxx
Joe DiMaggio
Ed Delahanty
Willie Mays
Tris Speaker
Stan Musial
Frank Thomas
Hank Greenberg
Mark McGwire
Hank Aaron
Johnny Mize
Mel Ott
Alex Rodriguez
Frank Robinson
Roger Connor
Dick Allen
Manny Ramirez
Jeff Bagwell
Sam Thompson
Edgar Martinez
Eddie Collins
Harry Heilmann
Honus Wagner
Jim Thome
Elmer Flick
Jason Giambi
Cap Anson
Jesse Burkett
Eddie Mathews
Nap Lajoie
Ralph Kiner
Rickey Henderson
Mike Schmidt
Duke Snider
Chipper Jones
Joe Morgan
Willie McCovey
Gary Sheffield
Lance Berkman

If you're interested in the actual numbers, you can view the spreadsheet here.

A few observations:

Obviously, this is a rate stat, so it favors players with short or incomplete careers. It will be interesting to see if Albert Pujols can sustain his top ten ranking over the remainder of his career.
Among the top eight, none of them peaked in the same decade. This may be an indication of this particular metric's effectiveness at adjusting for era. Obviously, taken at face value, Dan Brouthers's numbers can't possibly compare to Bonds's. Bonds hit over 650 more home runs than Brouthers, had a higher on-base percentage and twice as many stolen bases, yet Brouthers—who played in the power-deficient 19th century—lands right behind him on the list.
The list seems fairly representative of all eras, including 19th century and modern players, with 10 beginning their careers prior to 1900, and 14 having played at least part of their careers in the 21st century.
Other than the 19th century players, who most people aren't as familiar with, I'd say the list comes pretty close to reinforcing our pre-conceived notions about how these players stack up against each other. Obviously, different people will have differing opinions, but by how much? Do any of these rankings seem significantly out of whack?

I'm certainly not trying to say we should all accept that this is the way we should evaluate players. But, at the same time, there's really no way to compare players who played in entirely different eras without using statistics that are era-adjusted. Statistics such as Wins Above Replacement, and its components, provide us with an excellent starting point for being able to make such comparisons.

Buckner's Bolero

2011-03-04T22:10:00.008-05:00

I've decided that any subject that is at the intersection of two of my three main interests—baseball, music and beer—absolutely must warrant a blog post.

Less than three years ago, Steve Wynn and Scott McCaughey teamed up for Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails, Volume One of their Baseball Project series. This spring, they return with Volume Two: High and Inside, another collection of baseball-themed rock anthems.

I picked it up this week, and have only listened to it twice. So, while I'll eventually get around to writing up a complete review of the album, I want to spend a little time discussing one particular song, "Buckner's Bolero."

Bill Buckner returns to professional baseball, and to the Boston area, this season as the manager of the Brockton Rox, of the independent Can-Am League. So, it was perfect timing for McCaughey to write this tribute to an undeserving scapegoat in this year that will mark the 25th anniversary of his ill-fated error.

I thought I'd take you on a little stroll down memory lane with my commentary on the lyrics of one of High and Inside's better songs. First, let me tell you that, despite the fact I'm a Yankees fan, I rooted for the Red Sox in the '86 World Series, mainly because I used to be the typical New Yorker who loves one team and hates the other.

If the Sox and Mets were to engage in a rematch of that Fall Classic—slim chance this year, thanks to the boys from Queens—I would be pulling for the Mets. But, that doesn't mean I don't still cringe a little when I recount what fans of New York's second team simply refer to as "Game Six."

If Bobby Ojeda hadn't raged at Sullivan and Yawkey,
and hadn't been traded to the Mets for Calvin Schiraldi.

I'm not sure what Ojeda did, other than not pitch as well as the team hoped, to warrant getting shipped out of town by the Red Sox, but both he and Schiraldi played significant roles in Game Six. Ojeda was the starting pitcher for the Mets, giving up two runs over six innings before departing in a tie game. Schiraldi's role, of course, was a little more notable.

If Oil Can Boyd hadn't been such a nut case,
and Jim Rice had twice taken an easy extra base.

With the Red Sox leading the series 2-0, Boyd took the mound for game three and gave up four runs in the first inning, en route to a 7-1 Mets victory. Personally, I don't recall the second-guessing of Rice's base running, but I'm not surprised, considering how one-dimensional a player he was.

If the Red Sox had had a better playoff fourth starter.
Instead Nipper served up a big fat slider to Carter.

Gary Carter's two-run homer off Al Nipper in the third inning of game four gave the Mets a 2-0 lead, on their way to a 6-2 victory.

What would Seaver have done, if not for his bum knee?
Would he have taken the ball and exacted revenge on his old team?

Seaver turned 42 the month after the completion of the '86 World Series, but his 3.80 ERA in 104 innings would have provided the Sox a much better option than Nipper (159 IP, 5.38 ERA).

If Gooden had pitched like the real Doctor K,
or Donnie Moore hadn't had that nightmare day
that stuck with him 'till he couldn't take anymore,
and turned his own kitchen into a killing floor.

Now, we're getting into "what ifs" that would have resulted in Game Six never happening. Dwight Gooden gave up 8 earned runs on 17 hits in 9 innings in losing two of the series' first five games. Moore served up the crucial homer to Dave Henderson in what could have been the ALCS clincher for the California Angels over the Red Sox. Tragically, less than three years later, Moore committed suicide.

And John McNamara, what the hell was he thinking? Was it him, not the party boy Mets, doing all the drinking? If he'd hit Baylor for Buckner and yanked the first baseman, for his by-the-book late inning defensive replacement, that ball would've been snagged, if it'd ever been hit, and Mookie's last name wouldn't now be "86."

Yeah, we've heard about this little piece of second-guessing a few times before. McNamara should've replaced Buckner with Dave Stapleton, of course, but Buckner had good hands and the ball was hit right to him. However, there were plenty of other reasons to second-guess McNamara, but I'm not going into them.

Bob Stanley picked a pretty bad time to uncork a wild pitch, and I'm sure he's still thinking that you could have blocked it Rich. Then the tying run might not have been tallied by Mitch. If one play killed the Sox, can you please tell me which?

I remember wondering why this pitch wasn't actually ruled a passed ball. After all, it was at least a foot off the ground when it reached catcher Rich Gedman, and he was able to get his glove on the ball. In hindsight, the pitch clearly crossed Gedman up, so Stanley obviously didn't throw the pitch he was expecting. But, Stanley would be right if he wondered why Rich wasn't able to block it.

I guess everything happens for some sort of reason,
and there must be a tragic end to every long season.
If even one man doesn't do one thing he does,
we'd all know Bill Buckner for just what he was.
A pretty tough out for the Dodgers, Red Sox and Cubs.
Ten thousand at bats and close to three thousand hits.
And he stole plenty of bases before his legs quit.
As tough to walk as he was to strike out,
but there's only one play that ever gets talked about.

Bill Buckner was a good enough player to survive for a long time in the majors, but anyone overemphasizing the fact that he accumulated over 2,700 hits in his career is over-rating him. He had a .289 lifetime batting average, but, as McCaughey sings, he almost never walked, he didn't have much power and, not surprisingly, at best he was an average fielder at the two least important positions on the field. Still, he doesn't deserve to be remembered for that one fateful moment. But, McCaughey has another theory...

Now some kind of fame lies in being a scapegoat.
And, if not that, then you're just an historical footnote.
And your 22 years playing ball might be forgotten.
Maybe Bill Buckner was lucky his luck was so rotten.

I'd never thought about it that way.

Most Over-Rated Players in Baseball History

2011-02-27T10:12:00.000-05:00

The title of this post may be a bit of an exaggeration. There's really no way for one person to make such a determination, especially having witnessed only a little more than one-fourth of the 140 years of baseball history this list is based on. Besides, it's extremely difficult to define over-rated, but I've got a pretty good idea what that term means to me.

Essentially, a player is over-rated if a majority of people think he's better than he really is. Pretty simple, right? Of course, this is all subjective, because the person claiming he's over-rated—in this case me—is actually in the minority. So, in theory, those who I think are over-rating a particular player could, in turn, be just as convinced that I'm under-rating him.

But, there are two distinct camps with regard to player valuation in baseball. Actually, it's not quite that simple, but essentially there are the old school "eye test" types, and the newfangled statistics-oriented folks. Not surprisingly, I fall into the latter category, but the former category use statistics too. They're just in denial of the fact that they emphasize the wrong statistics.

The ultimate baseball honor is to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. But, not surprisingly, there are players who are in the Hall who are not deserving, and, therefore, are somewhat over-rated. But, they're all good players at least, right? Well, not necessarily. You may or may not be surprised to know there are members of the Hall of Fame, elected as players, who were only of average ability.

Additionally, players elected on the first ballot—those who at least 75% of the voting body think are Hall of Famers without having to give them a second thought—are the most highly regarded of an already elite group. So, it follows that the weakest of the first-ballot inductees are at least a little over-rated as well.

But, what about first ballot inductees who don't even belong in the Hall of Fame? Do such players exist? Yes, they do.

These two groups—Hall of Famers of average ability and first-ballot inductees who really don't deserve the honor at all—are going to be the focus of my determination of the most over-rated players in baseball history.

I'm going to start with the former category, by looking at the Hall of Famers with the fewest career Wins Above Replacement (rWAR):

Satchel Paige -8.6
Tommy McCarthy - 18.1
Monte Irvin - 20.5
Ray Schalk - 22.6
Rick Ferrell - 22.9
Rube Marquard - 24.2
Lloyd Waner - 24.3
Rollie Fingers - 24.3
Bruce Sutter - 24.3
George Kelly - 24.6
Bill Mazeroski - 26.9
George Wright - 28.6
Freddie Lindstrom - 29.2
Chick Hafey - 29.5

Paige and Irvin, of course, are in the Hall of Fame because of their performances in the Negro Leagues prior to integration, so their WAR totals are only associated with their abbreviated major league careers.

McCarthy has become the poster boy in recent years for being the worst player in the Hall of Fame. So, if he was over-rated at the time of his election, he no longer is. Besides, he is often credited with inventing the hit and run. So, he gets a pass from this list.

Schalk, Ferrell and Mazeroski are highly regarded because of their defensive prowess, and while the WAR numbers only back up the case for Mazeroski, I'm not convinced that they accurately reflect the defensive abilities of Schalk and Ferrell. At least not to the extent that I'm willing to say they're not as good as people say they were.

Fingers and Sutter are among the greatest relief pitchers of all-time. There are some who think most relievers, particularly these two, don't belong in the Hall of Fame. If anything, those folks would claim their value is over-rated, but not necessarily their ability as players.

Wright and Hafey aren't necessarily Hall of Fame worthy, but each of them were considerably better than average offensive players, as evidenced by Wright's career OPS+ (park and league adjusted on-base plus slugging percentage) of 125—25% better than average—and Hafey's 133 mark.

So, that leaves Marquard, Waner, Kelly and Lindstrom.

Rube Marquard was a deadball era pitcher who enjoyed four very good seasons: 1911 to 1913 and 1916. Even still, these seasons were far from Koufax-esque and his career ERA+ (park and league adjusted earned run average) of 103 indicates a slightly better than average pitcher. His career won-loss record of 201-177 and .532 winning percentage—for those who like to look at such numbers—are nothing to write home about either.

As far as I can tell, Lloyd Waner was elected to the Hall of Fame because he was "Little Poison" to his older brother Paul's "Big Poison," and because batting average was an over-rated statistic during his playing days. Big brother had a Hall of Fame caliber career, but Lloyd was basically an average offensive player whose .316 lifetime batting average masked his complete lack of power and relatively weak ability to reach base. His career OPS+ of 99 is indicative of the mediocre hitter that he was.

George "High Pockets" Kelly produced only six or seven above average seasons out of 16 in his career. Maybe three or four of them were All-Star caliber campaigns. None of them were worthy of MVP consideration, although he finished 3rd in 1925 and 6th in 1924. With a career OPS+ of 109, Kelly was a solid player, but not a Hall of Famer.

Freddie Lindstrom only had a marginally better career than Kelly and Waner. Similar to Kelly, his career OPS+ was only above average, although he had two MVP caliber seasons before retiring young, prior to his 31st birthday.

Among first-ballot Hall of Famers, the lowest in terms of career WAR are as follows:

Lou Brock - 39.1
Kirby Puckett - 44.8
Sandy Koufax - 48.7
Willie Stargell - 57.5
Dennis Eckersley - 58.3
Dave Winfield - 59.7
Jim Palmer - 63.1
Jackie Robinson - 63.2
Bob Feller - 63.3
Ernie Banks - 64.4

Koufax's entire body of work may be a little over-rated, but it's impossible to consider the brilliance of his peak years over-rated.

Eckersley is an interesting case. He had a pretty good career as a starter, but it flamed out early, until he transformed himself into a dominant reliever. The same applies to him as does to Fingers and Sutter. Even if his career worth is a little overvalued, he's not over-rated.

Winfield's WAR total is low because he rates -9.2 in career defensive WAR, despite seven Gold Gloves. His defensive skills may have been a little over-rated, but not to the extent that he was actually a below average outfielder. Personally, I don't think his first-ballot Hall of Fame election was unwarranted.

Robinson, of course, only played 10 years in the major leagues due to a late start resulting from pre-1947 segregation. Not that I needed to offer even the slightest defense of his place in baseball history and first-ballot Hall of Fame induction.

Stargell's a fairly typical example of a player who was a weak defender but a fantastic hitter. He's far from the only Hall of Famer who falls into that category.

The careers of Palmer, Feller and Banks may be a tad over-rated, but they were tremendous players who don't belong in this most over-rated in history discussion.

Brock and Puckett are another story.

Kirby Puckett had a short career, similar to that of Thurman Munson. The end of Puckett's career was not as tragic as Munson's, but it was non-baseball related nevertheless. Kirby only topped a 140 OPS+ twice in his 12 seasons, and his 124 career mark is not indicative of a strong enough peak to get a player with such a short career into the Hall of Fame, let alone on the first ballot.

Lou Brock is in the Hall of Fame because he reached the artificial milestone of 3000 hits and because he was the career stolen base leader for 13 years. However, the fact that he reached 3000 hits had a lot to do with his longevity, and his impressive stolen base total is tempered by his just barely acceptable 75.3% success rate. His 109 OPS+ shows that he was only an above average offensive player. This, however, only scratches at the surface of his over-rated status.

Brock was a pretty weak outfielder. He committed 10 or more errors in 11 consecutive seasons, from 1964-1974. As an outfielder. The fact that he didn't play center field, despite his tremendous speed and decent throwing arm, is testament to his sub-par defensive ability.

Lou Brock was not a first-ballot worthy Hall of Famer. In fact, he probably doesn't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame at all. In my opinion, he is easily the most over-rated player of all-time.

After all that, I'm really only able to say that these five names make my short list of the most over-rated players of all-time:

Lou Brock
Lloyd Waner
Rube Marquard
Kirby Puckett
George Kelly

Look, I don't have anything against any of these guys. In fact, three of them played their entire careers long before I was born, so obviously all I have are statistics to form the basis of my opinions of them. I cheered for Puckett when I attended his Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2001, and Brock has always seemed like a class guy. But, some players were simply not as good as many would have you believe, and these players land squarely in that category.

Top 20 Left Fielders of All-Time

2011-02-21T21:21:00.000-05:00

When I was writing my post about the All-Left Field Team, it occurred to me how many non-Hall of Famers I rank higher than those who are actual members of the Hall. So, I decided to produce a list of my top 20 all-time left fielders.

It turns out, the National Baseball Hall of Fame lists 20 left fielders among its membership. However, there are quite a few differences between that list and this one:

Barry Bonds
Ted Williams
Stan Musial
Rickey Henderson
Carl Yastrzemski
Ed Delahanty
Fred Clarke
Joe Jackson
Jesse Burkett
Al Simmons
Manny Ramirez
Goose Goslin
Tim Raines
Sherry Magee
Billy Williams
Willie Stargell
Joe Medwick
Joe Kelley
Zack Wheat
Minnie Minoso

The names in italics are not Hall of Famers. Of course, Bonds and Ramirez are not yet eligible, and Jackson is on the permanently ineligible list. But, Raines, Magee and Minoso are the most deserving left fielders who aren't in the Hall.

What Hall of Famers didn't make this list? Well, first of all, the Hall's web site lists Musial as a first baseman, so there are actually seven who are missing. Can you name them? I'll be writing more about at least one of them in the not-too-distant future.