Frequent Spins (2008.7)

Bloc Party - Intimacy
I discovered Sirius radio in the car I rented on my recent baseball park tour of the midwest. "Left of Center", the indie rock station, seemed to be the best I could find, but just like every top 40, alternative and classic rock station I know, they had a fairly repetitive playlist. So, of course, they played the new Bloc Party single, "Mercury", quite a few times. The DJ raved about the song and expressed her excitement about their upcoming album. I wasn't quite as impressed with that particular song, but there are quite a few others that have really grabbed me, especially the closing track, "Ion Square". This album, a digital-only release until October 28, feels a little less plaintive than last year's A Weekend in the City, but maybe that's because there are more songs on which it's easier to ignore the lyrics. There is no "I Still Remember" here, but the album certainly measures up to their prior efforts.

Blue Mountain - Omnibus
Two-thirds of this alt-country trio from Oxford, Mississippi were the husband and wife team of Cary Hudson and Laurie Stirratt, until their marriage fell apart circa 2001. They struggled to stay together musically, but eventually the band broke up as well. This year, though, they've reunited...as a band, not a couple, as far as I know. The result is two new albums: Omnibus, a collection of re-worked versions of their greatest hits; and Midnight in Mississippi, their first album of newly written material in nine years. The updated songs on Omnibus are just different enough to sound fresh, but familiar enough to evoke a few pleasant memories of this band's heyday. I can't complain at all about the song selection either, as all the essential tracks are here, including "Soul Sister", "Generic America" and "Mountain Girl", although I may have selected a slightly different set of deeper cuts.

David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
David Byrne and Brian Eno worked together plenty in the late 70s and early 80s. Eno produced three albums for the Talking Heads from 1978 to 1980, and he also played various instruments on those albums as well. They also teamed up for 1981's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which is credited to Brian Eno/David Byrne. Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, though, is their first collaboration in the 27 years that have passed since. I have to say that this one can be a little hit or miss. There are some songs here that I absolutely love, but a couple that are emerging as candidates to be skipped over, particularly the last two, which I suppose means they don't really have to be skipped. On the album's first track, "Home", Byrne sounds even more welcoming than he does on my favorite Talking Heads song, "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)", although no song moves me quite like the latter. Other standout tracks include "Strange Overtones", "Wanted for Life" and "Everything That Happens", the song that best fits the duo's description of the album as "electronic gospel". There's very little here that sounds as quirky or experimental as these two rock veterans' prior work. For the most part, though, this album is an absolute pleasure to listen to.

Jennifer O'Connor - Here With Me
Of course, I love this photo of Jennifer O'Connor. Apparently, she's from the "better" half of Connecticut, with no offense intended to my friends from the eastern side of the Constitution State. I hope allmusic doesn't mind that I grabbed this image from their site. After all, I do tout their site by frequently linking to it (see also "Current Oldies"). Here With Me, Jennifer's latest, is even better than 2006's well-received Over the Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars, in my opinion. It's a mellower affair, which runs the risk of venturing too closely to standard singer-songwriter territory, but the songs are so well written that that's never really a concern. Highlights include "Always in Your Mind", "Credit in the Cost" and "Highway Miles", but mostly this is a very consistent album without a bad moment from start to finish.

The Walkmen - You & Me
Earlier this year, I made reference to The Walkmen in touting Vampire Weekend's debut album. There was something about the guitars on some of the more upbeat songs on that record that reminded me of tracks like "The Rat" and "The North Pole", from Bows + Arrows. Maybe I was way off base with that comparison, but most of the resemblance to the rocking side of The Walkmen is absent here. Their trademark reverbed guitar sound is still present, but there's a much more somber tone than usual, even for a band that's never been accused of being happy. The standout tracks on You & Me , "In the New Year", "I Lost You" and "If Only it Were True" might not quite approach the highs of Bows + Arrows, but this may just be their most consistent album to date.

Wild Sweet Orange - We Have Cause to Be Uneasy
I read about this band when the Boston Phoenix did their 50 Bands, 50 States feature. They were The Phoenix's pick as the Alabama "band you need to hear, like, now". The album's opener, "Ten Dead Dogs" begins with the lyrics, "I saw ten dead dogs on the side of the road...", blatantly playing into the hands of every uninformed country music detractor. There's far more to this record, which I like to call alt-country with a side of indie rock, than trite country phrasing. That Boston Phoenix feature described them as "More polite (and literary) than Kings of Leon...", and I have to admit that the lyrical refrain of "Tilt" kind of gets to me, and not necessarily in a good way. It's a great song, though, and this is a very good album, one that seems to be continuing to grow on me with each listen.

Also spin-worthy
Blue Mountain - Midnight in Mississippi
Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
Death Vessel - Nothing is Precious Enough for Us
The Music Tapes - For Clouds and Tornadoes

Cheerful Insanity Progtoberfest

Today, AfroDan Progressive Brewers produced the third batch of our short existence, an Oktoberfest style we're calling Cheerful Insanity Progtoberfest. This one is quite tamer than our prior concoction, 21st Century Schizoid Ale, which my apprentice wants to brew another batch of soon, due to the rave reviews it's received.

We had intended to remain as true to the traditional style as possible, with a few minor adjustments, of course, but a couple factors caused us to have to improvise a little more than expected. First, due to the worldwide hop shortage, we were unable to obtain Perle hops, a German variety, from our local homebrew shop, and instead opted for the closest American equivalent, Sterling, based on a store recommendation. Second, because of our inability to utilize lager yeast at its preferred chilled temperature, we decided to go with a German Ale/Kolsch variety.

I've decided to share the recipe, sans our "secret ingredient", which was my apprentice's idea. For various reasons, though, the jury is still out on this one.

6.6 lbs. Light Malt Extract
1 lb. 2-Row Pale Malt
1 lb. Munich Malt
1 lb. Crystal Malt (40L)
1 oz. Sterling Hops (6% alpha acid), for bittering
1 oz. Hallertau Hops (2.4%), for flavoring
1 oz. Hallertau hops (2.4%), for aroma
1/2 tsp. Irish Moss
German Ale/Kolsch Yeast

To produce a 5-gallon batch, we heated 1 1/2 gallons of water in the brewpot, then steeped the grains (2-Row, Munich and Crystal malts) at 160-170 degrees for 20 minutes. After removing and discarding the grains, we brought the pot to a boil, then added the malt extract, and returned it to a boil.

We boiled the wort for 60 minutes, adding the Sterling (bittering) hops for the entire boil, the Hallertau (flavoring) hops for 30 minutes, and the Hallertau (aroma) hops, the Irish Moss and the secret ingredient for 15 minutes.

After cooling the wort to about 160 degrees, we strained it into the fermenter, and added close to 4 gallons of Poland Spring Water, just enough to bring the batch to 5 gallons total. We then took an original gravity reading, pitched the yeast, stirred gently and sealed the fermenter.

We were disappointed that the original gravity reading was only 1.044, giving our brew a projected alcohol content of 4.2%, quite lower than we expected. I'm not sure why, considering the recipe was projected to reach a 1.065 O.G. and 7% ABV. Regardless, we're optimistically awaiting fermentation to begin, and fairly confident that we've produced another batch of fine ale, albeit one that may not be quite as deserving of its name as our 21st Century Schizoid Ale.

Up From the Valley (Part 3)

The third, and final, installment of this series, highlighting the best major league players who once played for the Hudson Valley Renegades, includes one solid part-time player and three potential future stars, two of whom were selected to this year's All-Star Game. The first two installments can be found here:

Up From the Valley (Part 1)
Up From the Valley (Part 2)

Matt Diaz (1999)
Matt Diaz was drafted by the Devil Rays in 1999, and played that season with Hudson Valley. He worked his way gradually through the organization's system and, after hitting .383 at AA Orlando and .328 at AAA Durham in 2003, was promoted to Tampa Bay. However, he didn't get much of a chance at the major league level, with a total of only 30 at bats between 2003 and 2004. Despite batting .332, with 21 HR and 93 RBI at Durham in 2004, he was released by Tampa Bay in the off-season.

He was subsequently signed by Kansas City and played most of 2005 at AAA Omaha, batting .371, with 14 HR and 56 RBI in 259 at bats. Still, he was traded in the off-season to the Atlanta Braves. It was with the Braves that he was finally given the opportunity to prove himself at the major league level. Between 2006 and 2007, as a platoon left fielder, he batted .333 with 19 HR, 81 runs and 77 RBI in 655 at bats.

His 2008 season has been marred by injury, though, as he's been out for three months with a left knee injury. Despite this, his career numbers (.310, 23 HR, 102 runs, 103 RBI in 906 at bats) are solid enough to expect that he should be able to return and continue a productive career as a platoon outfielder.

Josh Hamilton (1999)
By now, everyone knows the Josh Hamilton story: first-round draft pick (#1 overall) of the Devil Rays in 1999, after which he began his ascent through the organization, including helping to lead the Renegades to their first New York-Penn League championship in his first professional season. He actually batted only .194 in 72 AB with Hudson Valley that year. Still, his progression through the minors continued until injuries and drug problems put his career on hold following the 2002 season.

He was out of baseball from 2003 until his reinstatement from drug suspension in 2006. That year, he made a brief appearance with Hudson Valley again, but batted .260 and slugged only .360, with 0 HR in 50 at bats.

In the off-season following 2006, he was left unprotected by Tampa Bay and was selected in the Rule 5 draft by the Chicago Cubs, who subsequently sold his rights to the Cincinnati Reds. Since the Rule 5 draft requires the selected player to remain on the team's major league roster for an entire season, this turned out to be Hamilton's big break. Injuries to other Reds outfielders paved the way for him to earn considerable playing time, but his own injuries also limited him to 90 games and 298 at bats. He made the most of those at bats, though, hitting .292 with 19 HR and 47 RBI.

Cincinnati traded him in the off-season to the Texas Rangers, for Edinson Volquez, in a deal that's turned out well for both teams, with both players selected to play in the 2008 All-Star Game. So far this season, Hamilton has batted .301, with 31 HR and a major-league leading 121 RBI, and has emerged as a candidate for American League Most Valuable Player, despite playing for a team with a losing record. It may be a little early to say, but it appears he may be emerging as the tremendous player he was projected to be when drafted, and quite possibly one of the best in the game.

James Shields (2001)
Jamie Shields, as he was then called, was drafted by Tampa Bay in 2000, and played for the Renegades briefly in 2001. After a strong first professional season, injuries and ineffectiveness slowed his progress for the next few years.

Shields turned things around in 2005, though, posting a 2.80 ERA with 104 SO and just 31 BB in 109 1/3 innings at AA Montgomery. Then, a strong start at AAA Durham in 2006 (2.66 ERA, 64 SO, 6 BB in 61 IP) earned him a promotion to the big leagues. His rookie season was unimpressive, though, as he went 6-8 with a 4.84 ERA, but still struck out 104 batters in 124 2/3 innings.

Somewhere along the way, he started going by his given name, James, again. 2007 turned out to be James' breakout year, as he showed his potential to team with Scott Kazmir as an effective 1-2 punch at the top of the Tampa Bay rotation, going 12-8 with a 3.85 ERA and 184 SO, to just 36 BB, in 215 innings. This year, he's built on that impressive 2007 season, and is one of several reasons why the Rays currently own the best record in the majors. His 12-8 record, 3.66 ERA, 140 SO, and just 35 BB, in 184 2/3 innings have demonstrated his ability to be the staff ace, a role he had to assume for the first month of the season due to an injury to Kazmir.

Other than a propensity to give up the long ball (66 HR in 524 career IP), Shields' statistics, particularly an almost 4-1 strikeout/walk ratio (428 SO, 109 BB), his stuff and his makeup show his potential to be a dominant major league starting pitcher.

Evan Longoria (2006)
Tampa Bay made Evan Longoria the third overall pick in the 2006 draft. He batted .424, with 4 HR, 11 RBI and an .879 slugging percentage in just 33 at bats at Hudson Valley before being promoted. Following that brief stint, he quickly rose through the organization, batting .304, with 44 HR and 153 RBI in 733 at bats in his two full minor league seasons.

He didn't make the Tampa Bay squad out of spring training this year, but quickly was called up following an injury to Willy Aybar. He's made the most of this opportunity, batting .278 with 22 HR and 71 RBI, before a wrist injury sidelined him in early August.

He joined fellow former Renegade Hamilton on the American League All-Star team, and is still among the top Rookie of the Year candidates, despite missing close to a month with the aforementioned injury. Wrist injuries are always cause for concern, of course, but he's expected back within the next couple of weeks, and his ability to return to his pre-injury productiveness remains one of the keys to the Rays run to the post-season. Assuming the injury has no impact on his future, the sky appears to be the limit for Longoria's career.

How Many Ways to Balk? : The Sequel

Since I never updated this, here are the 14 ways to balk that I came up with in my August 21 post:

The pitcher...

1. Hesitates, or stops, in his delivery to home plate.
2. While in contact with the rubber, fakes a pickoff throw to first base.
3. Steps on the mound without the ball.
4. While in contact with the rubber, fakes or throws to an unoccupied base.
5. Moves from the windup to the set position without stepping off the rubber.
6. While in the set position, fails to come to a complete stop before delivering to the plate.
7. Fails to step directly toward the base when making a pickoff throw.
8. Fails to step directly toward the plate when delivering a pitch.
9. Delivers to the plate while the catcher is not in the catcher's box.
10. Hesitates or stops in the process of coming to the set position.
11. Drops the ball while in contact with the rubber.
12. While in the set position, breaks his hands while not in the process of delivering to the plate, and without stepping off the rubber.
13. While in contact with the rubber, makes any movement associated with his delivery to the plate without completing such movement (i.e. delivering a pitch).
14. Delivers to the plate while not in contact with the rubber.

Here's what the rule book says:

8.05 If there is a runner, or runners, it is a balk when—

(a) The pitcher, while touching his plate, makes any motion naturally associated with his pitch and fails to make such delivery;

I covered this in #1 and #13, so maybe that was redundant after all.

(b) The pitcher, while touching his plate, feints a throw to first base and fails to complete the throw;

I covered this in #2.

(c) The pitcher, while touching his plate, fails to step directly toward a base before throwing to that base;

This is covered by #7.

(d) The pitcher, while touching his plate, throws, or feints a throw to an unoccupied base, except for the purpose of making a play;

This is covered by #4, although I left out the "except for the purpose of making a play" part. This allows the pitcher to throw to second, for instance, when the runner from first breaks before he delivers a pitch.

(e) The pitcher makes an illegal pitch;
Rule 8.05(e) Comment: A quick pitch is an illegal pitch. Umpires will judge a quick pitch as one delivered before the batter is reasonably set in the batter’s box. With runners on base the penalty is a balk; with no runners on base, it is a ball. The quick pitch is dangerous and should not be permitted.

I missed this one entirely.

(f) The pitcher delivers the ball to the batter while he is not facing the batter;

This is sort of covered by #8, but not entirely. This has me a bit confused. I'm positive that, if the pitcher steps towards first, then delivers to home plate, it's a balk. It's possible that (c) also includes a delivery to the plate as well as a throw to a base, but I still think that's pretty vague.

(g) The pitcher makes any motion naturally associated with his pitch while he is not touching the pitcher’s plate;

#14 partially covers this, but not entirely.

(h) The pitcher unnecessarily delays the game;

Another one I missed entirely.

(i) The pitcher, without having the ball, stands on or astride the pitcher’s plate or while off the plate, he feints a pitch;

Partially covered by #3.

(j) The pitcher, after coming to a legal pitching position, removes one hand from the ball other than in an actual pitch, or in throwing to a base;

Covered by #12.

(k) The pitcher, while touching his plate, accidentally or intentionally drops the ball;

Covered by #11.

(l) The pitcher, while giving an intentional base on balls, pitches when the catcher is not in the catcher’s box;

#9, although I left out the fact that it's only a balk when it's in the act of issuing an intentional walk.

(m) The pitcher delivers the pitch from Set Position without coming to a stop.

Covered by #6.

8.05 (a) through (m) totals 13 ways to balk. This is why, I believe, one of the participants of the original conversation (at the Metrodome) that inspired this list referred to there being 13 different ways to balk. The only ways on my list that aren't covered in section 8.05 are #5 and #10. #5 is actually covered in section 8.01, which addresses the windup position, and states:

"From the Windup Position, the pitcher may...disengage the rubber. In disengaging the rubber the pitcher must step off with his pivot foot and not his free foot first. He may not go into a set or stretch position—if he does it is a balk."

#10 is definitely also a balk. However, it is essentially covered by 8.05(a) and, therefore, it was probably redundant for me to consider it a separate infraction. So, I'll count #5 as the 14th way, but not add #10 to the list. There are three additional ways, covered by the rule book, for the pitcher to balk:

• 7.07 states that it's a balk when, with a runner on third base and trying to score by means of a squeeze play or a steal, the catcher or any other fielder steps on, or in front of home base without possession of the ball, or touches the batter or his bat. The batter is awarded first base due to interference, but the rule book also considers this a balk.
• 8.02(a) covers illegal pitches, such as when the pitcher applies a foreign substance to, or defaces, the ball. An illegal pitch is considered a balk when there is a runner or runners on base.
• 8.01(d) refers to when a pitched ball slips out of the pitcher's hand during his delivery. The rule book is not entirely clear, but the approved ruling is that it's considered a balk, with runners on base, if the ball does not travel half the distance towards home plate or cross a foul line.
So, I'm considering this a total of 17 ways to balk. As you can see, though, there is still a lot of gray area, at least in terms of how many distinctly different ways there are. Not that anyone really cared, but I'm sure this explanation did very little to clarify my original balk discussion. This also speaks to how clearly the baseball rule book is written. That is, not very.

Best-of-Trip Awards

Best Fans: Milwaukee, with St. Louis a close second. Both games were sellouts, but there just seemed to be more dedication emanating from the Brewers fans. I suppose this is a bit of an upset selection, considering St. Louis' reputation.

Best Neighborhood: St. Louis, by a landslide. None of the other parks were downtown, except Minnesota, but that neighborhood was dead.

Best Out-of-Town Scoreboard: Busch Stadium (St. Louis). I think I've already written about the fact that the rest of them were pretty standard, while Busch's scoreboard provided in-game information, such as the current batter, runners on base and number of outs.

Best Promotion: The Buck O'Neil Legacy Seat, Kaufmann Stadium (Kansas City). I sat two rows behind the lucky owner of this seat. She won a copy of the book, The Soul of Baseball: A Roadtrip Through Buck O'Neil's America, by Joe Posnanski. I guess the promotions that night weren't all bad.

Best National Anthem: Barcel Suzuki String Academy, Miller Park (Milwaukee).

Best Performance (Pitcher): CC Sabathia, Milwaukee vs. Houston, August 18 (9 IP, 130 pitches, 11 H, 2 BB, 9 SO, 2 ER). Honorable mention: Justin Verlander, Detroit vs. Kansas City, August 22 (6 2/3 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 6 SO, 0 ER).

Best Performance (Batter): Albert Pujols, St. Louis vs. Atlanta, August 23 (3-for-5, HR, 2 2B, 3 RBI). Honorable mentions: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit vs. Kansas City, August 22 (2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI); Corey Hart, Milwaukee vs. Houston, August 18 (3-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI).

Best Beer: Summit Extra Pale Ale (St. Paul, Minnesota). Honorable mention: Boulevard Pale Ale (Kansas City, Missouri).

Best Motel/Hotel: Microtel Inn & Suites, Kansas City. I stayed here two nights because, for $65, this low-end suite was a tremendous value, especially when compared to the dumpy Super 8 I paid $80 to stay at in Ames, Iowa.

Friendliest People: The employees at the 18th & Vine Museums, Kansas City.

Best-Looking Women: St. Louis. Sorry, no pictures.