Frequent Spins (2012.4)

It's fall—well, technically not until tomorrow, but it sure feels like it—and that means it's officially new release season. Of course, in the music industry, this season comes twice a year, with the first being in the spring. [Imagine if there were two baseball seasons a year. That would be awesome.] What this also means is I've got some serious catching up to do with a lot of new albums that have piqued my interest, but here is what I've been listening to leading up to this point.

Bloc Party - Four
This band produced three really good albums in their first four years, but it's taken another four to get to this one. In the meantime, lead singer Kele Okereke released a pretty lackluster solo record, so I wasn't sure what to expect here. What I got was a harder rocking affair than their previous efforts, and one that does not disappoint, even if it might rank fourth in their discography, in my opinion

Bill Fay - Life is People
Lee Mazzola and I love to engage in various nonsensical music-related discussions—although he's better at it—like bands named after someone other than the lead singer, bands who replaced a significant member and became better in the process, etc. One that recently occurred to me thanks to this album—although I think it's actually a spinoff of one of our previous topics—is cover songs that are better than the original, with the qualification that the original is good too. Worded differently...covers that blow you away by the realization they're better than the already excellent original. Fay's rendition of Wilco's "Jesus, Etc." falls into this category for me.

Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal
I read somewhere this six-piece chamber pop outfit from Iceland are being called the next Arcade Fire. I'm not sure about that, but everywhere I looked, the band kept turning up, so I figured it was a sign I needed to check out this April release, even if I was a bit behind the curve. It turned out to be a good idea.

Passion Pit - Gossamer
I loved their debut, but this is one of those bands I kind of figured would be exposed by extended playing time. You know the type; good in a platoon role, but not a legitimate full-time performer. There's no doubt more time is needed to officially make that assessment, but they've made significant progress towards proving they're no Joe Charboneau.

Stars - The North
This is more of the same from the Canadian outfit who Of Monsters and Men remind me more of than they do Arcade Fire. When I say "more of the same," I basically mean that in the best way possible.

Sun Kil Moon - Among the Leaves
Pre-LC, my commute typically consisted of a nearly 20-minute walk home from the T station in the afternoon (in the morning, there was a bus that fit nicely with my schedule). This allowed me the opportunity for a little quiet time with my music, without it having to compete with the sounds of the train, people talking (and otherwise being annoying) on the train, the conductor yelling over the loudspeaker on the train, etc. Recently, I had a day in which I didn't have to take LC to or from day care. As a result, I was able to spend that 20 minutes with this album, allowing me to further appreciate the lyrics of a couple of its better songs: "Song for Richard Collopy," an ode to Mark Kozelek's late guitar tech; and "Track Number 8," which name-checks troubled singer-songwriters who passed prematurely, including Elliot Smith, Shannon Hoon and Mark Linkous. I kind of miss that 20-minute walk, but I wouldn't have it back for anything.

Sharon Van Etten - Tramp
I've been listening to this one on and off all year, never to the extent that made it legitimately Frequent Spin-worthy, but enough in total to make it finally worthy of the distinction.

Fanfare for the Uncommon Man Stout

For those of you who haven't been able to keep up with the goings-on of AfroDan Progressive Brewers, my family's move from the very-urban to the less-urban suburbs of Boston two years ago resulted in the need to annex our operations.

Last year, we opened the first of our two new facilities, AfroDan North. It took longer than expected, but last month the Emerson, Lake & Palmer-inspired Fanfare for the Uncommon Man Stout marked the inaugural brewing effort of our AfroDan South operation.

Actually, our new brew's namesake song "Fanfare for the Common Man" is an Aaron Copeland original, but as ELP was known to do, they took the classical composition and made it their own.

There was a time when I thought ELP's version was the theme song for ABC's Wide World of Sports. But, this myth was dispelled a few years ago. It may have briefly (or occasionally) been used as the theme, but the show's primary intro music was a Charles Ira Fox number.

But, those ideas about "Fanfare for the Common Man" were apparently not completely unfounded:



This beer was influenced by a recipe of mine from 17 years ago which I called Mr. Pither's Imperial Stout. But, several factors resulted in its evolution to this particular creation bearing a different name.

First, not all of the original ingredients were available at our local home brew store. A minor change to the recipe is one thing, but a few changes makes giving this one the original name feel a little wrong to me.

Second, we've been partial to naming our beers after prog-rock songs ever since we formed this brewing partnership in late 2007. Mr. Pither's was named after the main character in the Monty Python's Flying Circus classic episode "The Cycling Tour." While that's equally nerdy as prog-rock, it still strays from our mission.

Lastly, it didn't really turn out worthy of being considered an imperial stout. Despite using enough malt and fermentable adjuncts to reach upwards of 9%, it came in at 5.6% by our calculations. We thought we had solved the mystery of projected high octane brews not quite fermenting to their potential by using super high gravity yeast, but this brew's original gravity reading was mysteriously too low to come anywhere near the ABV we were expecting. Hopefully further research will be able to reveal the reason for that shortcoming.

This past weekend was the unveiling of our latest endeavor and we're quite pleased with the results. In fact, this one might be technically our best, even if it's not necessarily our favorite. What I mean by this is we love our 21st Century Schizoid Ale, and the 2010 edition is the consensus pick as our best brew to date, but it's extremely high alcohol content makes it not so easy on certain palettes. On the other hand, a lot of people—the wife included—aren't really big fans of stout, so who knows.

Anyway, we look forward to maybe sharing a Fanfare for the Uncommon Man Stout with some of you in the near future. If you're not one of those beer drinkers who hold certain prejudices against dark beers, I'm sure you won't be disappointed. You might not appreciate having to listen to a steady stream of Emerson, Lake & Palmer in the process—just like stouts, they're not for everyone either, I realize—but sometimes we have to make sacrifices in life.

Finally, here's the recipe for a five-gallon batch:

1/2 lb. roasted barley (steeped 20 mins.)
1/2 lb. chocolate malt (steeped 20 mins.)
1/2 lb. Belgian de-bittered black malt (steeped 20 mins.)
9.9 lbs. amber malt extract (boiled 75 mins.)
1 lb. dark brown sugar (boiled 75 mins.)
3 oz. Chinook hops - 13% alpha (boiled 75 mins.)
1 oz. Warrior hops - 13.7% alpha (boiled 75 mins.)
3 tsp. pure vanilla extract (boiled 30 mins.)
1.6 oz. Cascade hops (boiled 10 mins.)
1 1/2 oz. WLP099 (super high gravity ale yeast)

All-Time Teams #13: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

This is part of an ongoing series where I'm naming an all-time team for each of the current 30 MLB franchises. 


Franchise History

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2005- )
Anaheim Angels (1997-2004)
California Angels (1965-1996)
Los Angeles Angels (1961-1964)

An asterisk (*) denotes a Hall of Famer.

Statistics referenced for each player are plate appearances (for hitters), innings pitched (for pitchers), Baseball-Reference WAR and Wins Above Average (WAA), OPS+ (for hitters) and ERA+ (for pitchers).


Starters

C - Brian Downing (1978-1990, 6912 PA, 35.3 WAR, 15.8 WAA, 126 OPS+)
He only caught for two-plus seasons with the Angels, but I had to find a place in the starting lineup for the player who ranks third in team history in position player WAR and among the top five in numerous offensive categories (including OBP, runs, hits, total bases, home runs, RBI, and OPS+).

1B - Darin Erstad (1996-2006, 5789 PA, 30.4 WAR, 12.9 WAA, 96 OPS+)
Erstad just as easily could have been the center fielder, but I opted for him here, because I liked this team's other center field option better than its remaining first base options.

2B - Bobby Grich (1977-1986, 4876 PA, 32.9 WAR, 19.1 WAA, 124 OPS+)
The greatest player who should be wearing an Angels cap on a Hall of Fame plaque, in my opinion, and certainly that of a lot of other folks. Grich ranks 7th among eligible non-Hall of Famers in wWAR. [He's actually 6th--not counting Pete Rose and Joe Jackson--on the list this link directs to, but I believe he's now 7th based on the as-yet-unpublished newest calculation of wWAR.]

SS - Jim Fregosi (1961-1971, 5945 PA, 43.3 WAR, 26.5 WAA, 116 OPS+)
Maybe somewhat surprisingly, Fregosi is the Angels' all-time leader in position player WAR.

3B - Troy Glaus (1998-2004, 3479 PA, 20.8 WAR, 10.3 WAA, 120 OPS+)
The 2002 World Series MVP earns the nod at the hot corner.

LF - Garret Anderson (1994-2008, 8480 PA, 23.7 WAR, -1.7 WAA, 105 OPS+)
The advanced metrics don't think as highly of the Angels' all-time leader in numerous categories (including runs, hits, total bases and RBI) as he was regarded when he was hitting 3rd, 4th and 5th in the team's lineup all those years, but he's still good enough to earn a starting job.

CF - Jim Edmonds (1993-1999, 2951 PA, 19.1 WAR, 10.3 WAA, 119 OPS+)
Edmonds was better in St. Louis than Anaheim, but he still played well enough for the Angels to make the starting nine.

RF - Tim Salmon (1992-2004, 2006; 7039 PA, 37.1 WAR, 16.1 WAA, 128 OPS+)
The team's career home runs leader is also the longest tenured career Angel on this team.

DH - Vladimir Guerrero (2004-2009, 3606 PA, 20.9 WAR, 10.0 WAA, 141 OPS+)
Since almost 80% of the team's existence has been in the DH era, this lineup needs a DH, and the Angels' all-time leader in OPS+ is the perfect candidate for the job.


Rotation

Chuck Finley (1986-1999, 2675 IP, 48.7 WAR, 27.1 WAA, 118 ERA+)
The underrated Finley is the team's career leader in pitching WAR and wins, and earns the spot as the ace of the rotation.

Nolan Ryan* (1972-1979, 2181 IP, 37.6 WAR, 20.3 WAA, 115 ERA+)
No offense to Texas, but Ryan should be wearing an Angels cap on his Hall of Fame plaque.

Frank Tanana (1973-1980, 1615 IP, 32.5 WAR, 19.7 WAA, 118 ERA+)
I had Frank Tanana's autograph as a kid, but that didn't influence my decision. He seriously deserves to be here.

Jered Weaver (2006- , 1292 IP, 27.2 WAR, 16.5 WAA, 128 ERA+)
The only active Angel among the starters on this team is under contract until 2016, so if he keeps it up, we could eventually see him at or near the top of this rotation.

Mark Langston (1990-1997, 1445 IP, 24.4 WAR, 12.6 WAA, 109 ERA+)
Langston still carries around the dubious distinction of being the key piece the Expos got in return when they traded a young Randy Johnson, but he had a nice career otherwise.


Closer

Francisco Rodriguez (2002-2008, 452 IP, 15.5 WAR, 8.9 WAA, 189 ERA+)
I'll wonder aloud if Percival would be the popular pick among Angels fans, but I can't help but favor K-Rod's 189 to 157 ERA+ advantage as the deciding factor, considering the two are virtually equal based on the value metrics.


Reserves

C - Bob Boone (1982-1988, 3391 PA, 10.8 WAR, 1.2 WAA, 71 OPS+)
1B - Rod Carew* (1979-1985, 3570 PA, 16.2 WAR, 6.2 WAA, 119 OPS+)
IF/OF - Chone Figgins (2002-2009, 4075 PA, 20.8 WAR, 8.5 WAA, 99 OPS+)
3B - Doug DeCinces (1982-1987, 3268 PA, 17.5 WAR, 8.5 WAA, 117 OPS+)
OF - Torii Hunter (2008- , 2913 PA, 18.7 WAR, 9.8 WAA, 121 OPS+)

I'm sure there are some who would have Boone and Carew as starters. But, I prefer Downing's offense to Boone's defense, and Carew provides a good example of my all-time team philosophy of not letting a player's entire career overshadow his performance with the team in question. Figgins' inclusion might seem a bit surprising at first, but his Angels years were quite good and his versatility was invaluable.


Bullpen

John Lackey (2002-2009, 1501 IP, 22.9 WAR, 10.5 WAA, 116 ERA+)
Troy Percival (1995-2004, 587 IP, 16.2 WAR, 8.2 WAA, 157 ERA+)
Dean Chance (1961-1966, 1237 IP, 19.1 WAR, 10.3 WAA, 122 ERA+)
Jarrod Washburn (1998-2005, 1153 IP, 18.7 WAR, 9.2 WAA, 114 ERA+)
Scot Shields (2001-2010, 697 IP, 11.4 WAR, 5.5 WAA, 139 ERA+)


Manager

Mike Scioscia (2000- , 1143-943 W-L, 1 WS)
Scioscia's teams haven't had much postseason success, other than winning the 2002 World Series, but he could be building himself a nice Hall of Fame case.


Next Up: Los Angeles Dodgers

High Heat Stats

I'm quite pleased to share I've been selected as a new writer for what's become my favorite blog of late, High Heat Stats.

High Heat Stats evolved from the Baseball-Reference.com blog, with the latter's primary author founding and taking on the role of Editor-in-chief at the new site, which launched almost a year ago. It's a great community that engages in a lot of insightful discussion about baseball, with an emphasis on statistics, of course, but not overwhelmingly so.

Although plans often change, my thoughts right now are that I'm going to take my All-Time Teams series over there, while continuing to link to the posts here. I'll also be maintaining the page where they're all compiled. And, of course, I'll continue to write about everything else in this space.

So, I hope you'll follow those links over there and maybe leave a comment or three. Although I probably should make a note-to-self that the two most frequent commenters in this series to date are also new/newish writers at High Heat Stats.

Paw Tuck It

In the late '90s, I was a fan of a Providence-based indie band called Purple Ivy Shadows. I knew of them and got to know the band members through friends who were mutual inhabitants of a similar music scene, but I've remained friendly with, and a fan of subsequent projects by, singer/guitarist Chris Daltry, a charming southernish gentleman who once was a batboy for the Richmond Braves.

I'm pretty sure Chris used to live—and maybe still does—in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He still plays music, currently in a rootsy band called the 'Mericans, when he's not running What Cheer Antiques and Vintage, the store he co-owns and operates with his wife.

Purple Ivy Shadows' most acclaimed record was probably 1997's No Less the Trees Than the Stars—although 1999's White Electric is probably my personal favorite—and its opening track was a song named for the aforementioned Providence suburb. It's a good song, no doubt, but the thing about it that has stuck with me for all these years: Daltry's raspy/twangy song-closing rendering of the word Pawtucket, whether intentionally or not, sounds an awful lot like "aww fuck it."

Alright, so I'll admit that was a rather pointless intro to a post about an outing to baseball game, but KJ and I took the boy to his second game this past weekend, a Labor Day trip to McCoy Stadium, home of the AAA International League Pawtucket Red Sox.

Their opponent for their final regular season game was the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (or Empire State, whichever it is) Yankees. In the alternative reality that is the International League, the Yankees did not squander a comfortable division lead and the Red Sox also qualified for the playoffs as a wild card. In fact, this game was just a tune-up for a postseason series between the two teams.

I'm really curious as to why this matchup is happening in the first round, considering Indianapolis finished with the league's best regular season record. In most playoff systems, that would draw them the wild card. I even asked Tamar Chalker (@jeterian on Twitter), who writes about the Yankees minor league system for It's About the Money, Stupid, but even she didn't know the answer.

It then occurred to me that, with the exception of the players involved and the fans in those smaller cities and towns, nobody really cares about the minor league playoffs. Even a writer covering those teams for a major league team-oriented blog is really only interested in how the prospects are doing. But, Tamar's interest in finding the answer seemed seriously piqued, so maybe this mystery will eventually be solved.

Monday's game was Little Chuck's second professional baseball game and he was just as well-behaved as the first, lasting until around the 8th inning before he started acting a little overtired. This time he stayed awake, though, but mom and dad had work to do back at the home front, so we left early.

I'm not even going to try to give the impression I paid much attention to the game. I saw former Boston Red Sox Darnell McDonald hit a solo homer for the Yankees, but beyond that I can't really recount the highlights. I could look them up, of course, but so could you, and minor league game recaps are not what you're here for. (What are you here for, while I'm on the subject?)

At this point, a ballgame is basically just a family outing to a place we enjoy spending time. McCoy Stadium is a great little park, with an added bonus being—for parents who might otherwise be stressed about whether or not they sufficiently applied sunscreen to their pale little baby of German, Irish, English and northern Italian descent—a good percentage of seating is in the shade.

While we're on the subject of family-related amenities, the changing station in the men's room was adequate and, more importantly, situated in a spot that wasn't over-run with traffic. There was also a family restroom, which we strategically used so we could take turns holding LC while the other took care of business. (I'm sure KJ will be pleased I included that detail.) The concourses were quite congested, however. Actually, they weren't that crowded, but since New Englanders walk like they drive, we felt like we were constantly trying to avoid people running into us while carrying the little guy. In fact, at one point KJ used her arm to shield LC from being brushed by a bag of garbage carried by a PawSox employee. Needless to say, she was not pleased.

Overall, though, Little Chuck's second baseball game was a successful adventure. We did finally find an infant-sized ball cap suitable for a boy and it looks nothing like the Bosox ripoff that is the standard PawSox cap: