19 posts tagged “yankees”
1. The National and Menomena @ The Moore Theater:
On Friday night, Em and I got to go see Menomena and The National at The Moore Theater here in Seattle. We had a really great time. I thought I’d missed my best chance at seeing The National since they’d been here fairly recently and I was too busy to free up an evening. I was pleasantly surprised when my friend Luke, who also attended, let me know they were coming back, and that Menomena was opening for them, a fact which is an unnecessary but welcome bonus.
As I’ve said before, I love The National more every time I listen to them, and they certainly didn’t disappoint live. Menomena and The National both put on a great show. It was a lovely Friday evening and a well deserving part of this week's five things.
Sadly, much of what once made the Soul/R&B sound great has perished in the wake of the ridiculous pop trends of the late 70’s and beyond. Even greats like Stevie Wonder and The Temptations lost their minds and went the way of overproduced, heavily synthesized silliness. What was once a proud and powerful force in the world of music has for too long been turned into music that is barely fit to listen to in an elevator.
The vacuum left behind by these musical giants after their fall from grace has at times been filled with talented individuals who were able to capture something of the old magic and combine it with current pop sensibilities. Yet, for every moderately talented group, there has been busloads of “no talent ass-clowns” who get paid to make the same song again and again, taking an insubstantial, but dance-worthy, baseline and covering it with mediocre vocal talent and mindless lyrics about sex and romantic relationships which barely reach a junior high maturity level.
For far too long, we've been without the timeless ballads and soulful lyrics of a young Stevie Wonder. The soulful pleas of David Ruffin and the Temptations were nowhere to be seen. The body-moving, soul-lifting power of James Brown could only be found by tuning into an oldies station.
Fortunately, during my lifetime, a talented group of men and women have finally taken it upon themselves to fill in the sizable gap left by past greats. The men and women I’m referring to are those who make up what is known as the Neo-Soul genre. The most popular manifestations of this genre are Alicia Keys and John Legend, but that is merely the tip of the iceberg.
If you are at all interested in this genre but haven’t gotten into it yet, I highly recommend picking up Raphael Saadiq’s new album, The Way I See It, released last Tuesday on Sony BMG. The title of the CD itself sounds more like a Marvin Gaye album than today's typical R&B fare. CD's today are more likely to be called something imaginative like Sweat or Shake That Ass or some other similarly mind-numbing possibility.
Saadiq’s CD is at times the postmodern incarnation of everything that was good about the sound and songwriting of Stevie Wonder or Smokey Robinson, and he moves and carries himself in a way that emanates the effortless sexuality, charisma and charm of David Ruffin or Marvin Gaye. I listened to the CD four times through... and that was just Thursday afternoon.
Some might feel it rests too much in emulation and fails to move forward into anything new, but personally I'm not looking for perfection, just something that seems worth listening to. I recommend checking out the CD, as the very name of the Neo-Soul movement (as well as the genre it points back to) implies, it’s good for the soul!
You can see a music video from the CD here. It isn't the strongest song on the CD, and the video isn't terribly exciting, but it works.
3. Magic Numbers:
For those who don’t know, magic numbers refer to sports standings, and are the numerical representation of how close a team is to clinching a spot in the playoffs. The best way to explain how the number works is to use an example. A team in first place in a division, the Cubs for instance, have a magic number that gets lower and lower as the team moves closer and closer to clinching their division, something the Cubs did over the weekend. Once the magic number reaches zero, it is mathematically impossible for another team in the division to catch them.
Continuing to use the Cubs as our example, a magic number goes down in two ways: when the Cubs win, and when the team closest to the Cubs in the division, in this case the Brewers, lose. So, for every Cubs win, the magic number goes down by one, and for every Brewers loss, the magic number again goes down by one. The magic number can never go up, so it is always the best representation of how close your team is to winning the division, or clinching the wild card.
The equation to figure out what a magic number is can be figured out pretty easily, it is the total number of games in a season, minus the number of wins for the first place team, minus the number of losses for the second place team, plus one. So, if we were to use the Cubs record on Friday, it would be Total number of games in an MLB season - Cubs wins - Brewers losses + 1 = Magic Number!, or, 162 - 92 - 69 + 1 = 2!
I love watching magic numbers, as each draws closer to zero and we see the playoff picture come into clearer focus, my baseball loving heart fills with excitement and anticipation. Also, when a team your rooting for is in first place it is fun to know just how close they are to clinching a coveted playoff spot. So, for me to watch the Cubs (2) and the Dodgers (7) move closer to winning their division is exciting indeed.
I enjoy things even more to see the unexpected success of the Rays this season, it does my heart some good. They’ve never had even moderate success thus far in their short existence, so to look at the standings and see that they've already clinched a spot in the playoffs, and their magic number to win the division is 7 (not counting the conclusion of tonight's games) is stunning!
Anyway, magic numbers are a fun way for a baseball nerd like myself to get deeper into the game I love.
4. My iPhone:
There really isn’t anything that needs to be said. After two weeks with my iPhone, it’s everything I thought it would be. =)
5. Yankee Stadium:
I sit here in my living room as I write this, and watch with a full heart as, on the other side of the country, Yankee Stadium wraps up its storied career as the premier venue in sports.
Plenty has been said about how important Yankee Stadium is, not just to baseball, but sports in general, so I won’t go into great detail about how remarkable it is. What I will say is that it’s been pretty important in my life. You don’t have to know me very well to know about my passionate love for all things baseball, and Yankee Stadium was where I fell in love.
There are so many remarkable moments and memories I have as a lifelong Yankees fan that I will cherish for the rest of my life. My first baseball game was at Yankee Stadium, as Don Mattingly hit one out and the Yankees beat the Royals. I remember my first playoff game at Yankee Stadium, where Scotty Brosius hit the game winning home run and the Yankees beat the Rangers, and where Don Mattingly made an appearance before a screaming, electric crowd, and Mariano Rivera came in for the save to the sound of Metallica's “Enter Sandman”, a key part of what is still the most thrilling ritual I’ve ever witnessed in sports.
I even felt more connected to the games I watched on TV when they took place in the cathedral of baseball I’ve known so well. That trademark bright blue padding surrounding the field, that beautiful aerial view, the short porch in right field. As much as the pinstripes, they were always there to remind me of how special Yankees home games can be, and of all the great memories, frustration, pride, affection and enjoyment I’d found in being a Yankee fan for all these years.
I’m definitely excited about the new stadium, it looks beautiful and classy, carrying over not just the best of this Yankee Stadium, but also what Yankee Stadium was before the refurbishment of the late 70’s. That will become a special place as well in time. New memories will play out there.The fans will create an electric atmosphere again, the organization’s careful attention to tradition and history will make the ghosts feel at home, and the players will still step onto the field wearing pinstripes 81 times a season.
Still, while I've found some peace letting go of the old Yankee Stadium, there is definitely a part of my heart that will always stay in that hallowed place, and that will break when it is finally torn down. The best way I can think to describe it is as if the house you grew up in were torn down. Like your parents or your grandparents moved out of a home you thought you’d be able to visit forever. You thought you would bring your kids back and tell them stories from the house, but now it is gone and your children will never know it, you will never be able to visit the places of memory anymore.
So, with the coming demolition of Yankee Stadium, it’s as if part of myself will be torn down as well.
Goodbye old friend. I’ll always remember you.
**Updated with the promised picture of Brian**
1. Being done with my philosophy papers
Philosophy is great. I love deep thoughts and wrestling with questions about truth and knowing and language and such.
Nonetheless, I am still overwhelmingly glad to be done with my philosophy class.
Perhaps in a few weeks, or maybe months, I will be glad to look back and say I took philosophy with Carl Raschke, but at this moment I feel nothing but pure, unadulterated relief that I will never have to do it again... well, not Philosophical Inquiry II, I still need to take Philosophical Inquiry I.
For now, being done is the best part of my week.
2. Major League Baseball
It's been a great season thus far. This year had one of the most eventful trade seasons in recent memory, every division race outside of the AL West is still up for grabs, and the Rays are proving to be the real deal. Oh yeah, and the Cubs have a really exciting team which has as good a chance as anyone at taking a charge for October glory. The Cubs!!
On my currently neglected baseball blog, I made playoff picks back in March or April. As a bonus to this five things post, I am going to pick the teams who would be in the playoffs if my heart got to decide... although these picks also have to be possible, no Indians in the playoffs type stuff. In the NL, my dream playoff picture this year would be the Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers and Brewers. In the AL it would be the Rays, Twins, Angels and Yankees (although if Joba is out for too long this one moves into the impossible category).
3. Daniel Day-Lewis
Anyway, watching it continued to confirm my love for Scorcese, and helped my continually growing appreciation for DiCaprio, but what it really made clear to me is that Daniel Day-Lewis has to be on the short list of greatest actors of our generation. Actually, you wouldn't get any argument from me if you were to call him the greatest actor ever. He's that good.
I was watching DVD bonus features, and there were stories about being on set with him. I guess it can be pretty interesting because he really becomes his characters. When he would run into Liam Neeson in the weight room he would only call him "Priest" (Neeson's character in the film). He also always used his accent. What's it like actually going to work every day with Bill the Butcher?
The man is a freak of nature, and is electric on the screen. Perhaps you could quote Queen lyrics and refer to him as "dynamite with a laser beam." However you refer to him, I think he's amazing! As far as actors go, he's #1 in my heart... with a bullet.
4. Penelope
Anyway, perhaps this is a step in that direction.
Emily and I wanted to watch a movie the other night, and we didn't want to watch anything too heavy. So, Emily picked Penelope, and I didn't stop her. I'm glad I didn't.
I'm going to be honest. I really enjoyed this movie. It had it's flaws, sure, but most movies do.
Of course, the message was good and something people should watch with their daughters (and sons). There was plenty of fodder for discussion even though it's a super-light film.
Anyway, the film was imaginative, they did a great job creating a modern-day fable, and the acting was tight as well. Christina Ricci made clear that she is seriously underrated, in more ways than one. And James McAvoy proved he could pull off charming as well as anyone else in the business, while he and Peter Dinklage both are moving into the category of actors who I enjoy enough that I would watch a movie I otherwise wouldn't watch just to see their performance.
5. Brian might be moving to Seattle.
If I had the time to do '5 Things' in recent weeks, Brian's visit to Seattle would have been included, but alas, I didn't have the time. That's ok though, because it is looking like there is a strong chance that all my coaxing and cajoling might actually prove to have been worth it. Brian just might be moving to Seattle. Huzzah!
This is still a developing story, so stay tuned for more.
I need two posts in the next hour. This could be a problem being that I'm feeling fairly motion sick at the moment. The reason for this motion sickness is that I just went to see Cloverfield. I'll save most of my thoughts for, perhaps, another time. At the moment I'll just say that if you are the least bit prone to nausea in cars, planes, boats, etc., you may just want to bring along the Dramamine should you decide to take in a showing of said film. I indirectly received this same warning and ignored it, to my peril. Well, maybe not peril, but to my discomfort. I really need to see the film again after taking the proper precautions, since what it lacked in courtesy to my equilibrium it made up for in originality. Not the story mind you, but the method of storytelling. I know there can be some Blair Witch debate there, but I'll have to save that for a day when the dizziness has ceased.
A brief light note: After the film, which as anyone who's seen the trailer knows includes massive destruction to the New York City borough of Manhattan, a guy next to us was shouting to his buddies about how exciting it is that this means the destruction of Yankee Stadium. Had I been a bit less green, or had Emily been a bit more vocal, we could have informed him that he in fact had the wrong borough, thus the reason the Yankees are referred to as the 'Bronx Bombers' as opposed to, perhaps, the 'Manhattan Mashers.' Thus the action of the film took place about 100 blocks from Yankee Stadium, plus the Harlem River as a bonus. So, while I am sure his buddies thought he was terribly clever and witty, Emily and I rolled our eyes at his lack of understanding of just about anything he was talking about.
I'm going to go have a seat and enjoy a nice cold can of Coke until the world stops spinning.
Perhaps some thought I was crazy in my rant about how nuts it is to view the Red Sox as the anti-Yankees. At least I'm not the only one, as Howard Bryant makes clear in his article about the Sox breaking from the past.
Also, I've stuck up for Arod in the past, but after his most recent antics and the way he handled opting out of his contract Buster Olney (as he's always apt to do) summed Arod up quite nicely if you ask me.
And as can also be seen on Jesse's blog, here is a Jim Caple story along similar lines to mine. Although I still maintain that all fans can be obnoxious, consistent winning just adds an arrogance and entitlement to it that makes it infinitely hard to take. It seems just a matter of time before the world turns against Northeastern sports in general, and the fans are quickly speeding along this process.
**For those who couldn't see the Olney article earlier, ESPN.com has made it so it is no longer Insider only.
I'm really tired of being in Seattle and seeing so many Red Sox hats. I feel like it is my duty as a baseball fan to lend fact to a few myths about just who the Red Sox really are, but first, a few disclaimers:
1. While I am a Yankees fan, I am in no way advocating that anyone should be Yankees fans. If I weren't raised to love the Yankees I would hate the Yankees too (although I guarantee I would still respect the hell out of men like Joe Torre and Derek Jeter). By all means, continue rooting against the Yankees, I would expect nothing less. What I am arguing against is the foolish, misinformed notion that the Red Sox are somehow the anti-Yankees and represent the best of what baseball is all about.
2. If you are a true Red Sox fan then this post is in no way directed at you. If you have always been a Red Sox fan, if you lived through the trials and tribulations of being a member of the Fenway Faithful before 2004 then cheer on for your beloved Red Sox and enjoy this new golden age in New England sports that was born from the ashes of decades of futility.
I am writing this because I continue to be deeply troubled that people have taken their hatred of the Yankees so far that it has somehow taken on the form of this odd passion for all things Red Sox. How can a baseball fan root against a scrappy, young team with a lower payroll like the Indians unless they had a genuine love for the team competing against them. Even as a Yankees fan, as saddened as I was that the Joe Torre era was ending in New York, it is hard to feel too badly that it was the Indians who advanced. We're talking about a low payroll team with exciting young talent like Grady Sizemore and Fausto Carmona, a great team to watch.
Now, the reason I am so aggravated is because most of the new Red Sox fans who have popped up over the last 5-10 years have done so because they can articulate a long list of grievances about how the Yankees are horrible for the sport of baseball. I'll save an argument as to how woefully untrue this idea is for another time, mostly because while this may be untrue there is still something fun and even good about rooting for the team with fewer resources against the team with money to spend. The proverbial David vs. Goliath. I just get so tired of hearing people talk about the Red Sox as if they're the little engine that could, a scrappy, low budget team getting by on a wing and a prayer. If that is the way you are going to look at it then it is important to keep in mind that it is a state of the art $143 million wing we are talking about.
I hold no hard feelings when the Yankees play teams like the Indians or Diamondbacks in the playoffs and the whole country roots against them, it makes perfect sense. The issue is that if this is the reason you are rooting for the Red Sox you're horribly mistaken. Take out that long list of arguments against the Yankees and you'll find every one of them to be true about the Red Sox.
A few examples, some common complaints about the Yankees that lead people into the arms of the Sox:
1. They spend so much damned money: It's true. You're right. The Yankees spend a whole damned lot of money. While estimates change depending on where you look the Yankees spent (at least) somewhere around $190 Million dollars on their 2007 team. This is the most in the majors. However, if that is your reason for hating the Yankees then you should hate the Red Sox as well. The Cleveland Indians spent somewhere around $62 million on their entire team while the Red Sox spent $52 million just for permission to talk to Dice-K last year. The Sox spent more to bring Dice-K to Fenway than all but 6 other teams spent on their entire payroll. And while the Yankees payroll has continued to shrink a bit each year as Brian Cashman argues for building from within (a fact that may no longer be true if they sign Arod to an extension), the Red Sox payroll has bloated significantly each year to stay competitive. As far as their World Series foes are concerned, the Rockies spent around $55 million on their entire team. David vs. Goliath indeed. You can add the Indians and the Rockies payrolls together and they still don't add up to what the Red Sox are paying, you can even throw in, say, the Nationals, Devil Rays, Pirates or Marlins if you'd like and still have breathing room between the combined payroll of those three teams and that of the Sox.
2. I'm just tired of them winning all the time: Hmm, I'd have to say I am surprised that this one still has legs. Granted, the Yankees have made the playoffs every year since 1995, but they haven't won the World Series in 7 years. How many decades will the "I'm just tired of them winning all the time" keep going? But anyway, if the Red Sox can overcome the red hot Rockies to win the World Series it will be their 2nd Championship in 4 years. With a core of great young talent like Papelbon and Pedroia the Red Sox look poised to be a force in Major League Baseball for some time to come, will the nation now turn against the Red Sox because they are "just tired of them winning all the time"? Somehow I find it unlikely based on how things have gone thus far.
3. Yankees fans are just dicks!: Again, this is pretty true. I know quite a few Yankees fans that even I don't like being around when the topic of baseball comes up. However, this is in no way exclusive to the Yankees. Last week Red Sox fans were throwing rocks and bottles at police officers for trying to maintain peace after the ALCS ended (mind you, this was in Boston so the officers were most probably Red Sox fans themselves). When it comes right down to it, it isn't that Yankees fans are dicks, it's that sports fans in general are dicks. This is something I may blog about soon, a post entitled something along the lines of "Hey jackass, you're not on the team!" People often have the unhealthy tendency to associate their favorite team a bit too closely with their own ego, and at times this can get pretty ugly. It just got easier to see this ugliness in Yankees fans because during the dynasty it was easier to see the fans getting arrogant in their team's success. I challenge anyone to take in a game at Fenway as a neutral observer and not come away realizing that there is a tremendous amount of arrogance amongst Red Sox Nation, an arrogance that will only grow as success continues, it's the nature of the beast. Even the kind people of Denver turned quite ugly when I was wearing the wrong hat on the street following a Yankee loss in Colorado (although in this case I would point out that there was complete silence until the game was over).
4. The Red Sox are the underdogs: This one is flat out untrue. Even playing the Yankees over the last 4 or 5 years the teams have been remarkably evenly matched. One of the most exciting things about Yankees/Sox games lately have been that neither team has a distinctive edge overall, they are so closely matched. And when it comes to teams like the Indians and the Rockies the idea of the Sox being underdogs is laughable. The Red Sox are literally 2-1 favorites over the Rockies. Underdogs my ass.
The moral of the story is that, if you feel it is your duty as a baseball fan to hate the Yankees, then my friend it is also your duty as a baseball fan to hate the Red Sox. They spend and make a buttload of cash, they outspend their nearest competitors (outside the Yankees) by a considerable margin, they are expected to win, they win often. If you are going to continue to stay on the Red Sox bandwagon (and again, this is not directed to long-time Sox fans) you must at least acknowledge the double standard at play. All of the things people hate about the Yankees are true about the Sox, the Sox just get a free pass.
So, for what it means to the game, and for what it means to sports, all those without legitimate ties to the Red Sox should feel compelled to give their hearts, at least for the next week and a half, to a 14 year old team from Denver, Colorado.
The upset would be significant. David would defeat the mighty Goliath.
Go Rockies!
I've had a sports rant welling up inside of me for the last few days and now that I've gotten some school work done it's time to let it spring forth upon the world.
A Yankee in Jacobs Field, or, Attack on King James, or, Lebron can wear whatever the hell hat he wants!
So first off the bat, there has been a huge uproar in Cleveland because Lebron James showed up for Game 1 of the Indians/Yankees series wearing a Yankee hat. So much so that after the Indians dominated every aspect of Game 1 the calls into the sports radio programs the following day were all about how awful and wrong it was for Lebron to be supporting the Yankees with his apparel selection. Goodness gracious. This is one of those situations that makes me wish I hated sports. What the hell difference does it make if Lebron likes the Yankees?!? As long as he doesn't show up for one of his own games wearing a Knicks hat then what's the problem? Lebron gets paid well to represent the Cavs on the basketball court, and he does so quite nicely. Why does that somehow require him to root for every Cleveland team. Outside of basketball Lebron's loyalties are Lebron's business. And for those who might argue that I feel this way only because he happened to be wearing the same cap that I am currently wearing myself as I write this, I assure you this isn't the case. If Eli Manning or Jeremy Shockey decide to show up for a Yankee game sporting a Red Sox hat, more power to them, as long as they show up on Sunday to play for the Giants. It's like that whole ridiculous controversy when Tom Brady was wearing a Yankee hat. It's an example of people taking sports fandom way, way too seriously.
Boring division series leading up to exciting League Championship Series?, or, Someone wake me up in time for the NLCS
Thank heavens the Yankees won a game and avoided the reality in which EVERY Division Series was a sweep. With the exception of Game 2 of the Angels/Sox series there haven't even been any exciting games. Most games have been over by the 4th Inning. For some reason the Angels, Cubs and Phillies forgot to show up for the playoffs (although in fairness to the Angels they're pretty banged up, as much as it pains me to make excuses for the Angels). The only hope for an exciting October is that the Diamondbacks and Rockies stay hot and have an exciting 7 Game NLCS. Yet with the Cubs eliminated my divided loyalties will have ceased after the Indians/Yankees series and I will unquestionably root for the winner of said series to go all the way this year.
Passing of the Baton?, or, The Launch of the Bottle Rocket, or, Yankees/Indians: Game 3, or, Stayin' Alive
Perhaps it was just prolonging the inevitable, perhaps it was a momentum shift and the Yankee bats will stay hot for the first time in years in post-season play, either way, it was fun for a Yankee fan to watch Game 3. People have talked an awful lot about Johnny Damon's homer, and rightly so, but for me, the real story has to stay focused on Phil Hughes. After Clemens struggled with ineffective stuff and a strained hamstring, leaving after 2 1/3 Inn. pitched, things looked dire for a Yankee team that, outside of Joba and Mo, have no bullpen to speak of. And then, in stepped Phil Hughes who pitched beautifully to shut down the Indians and give the Yanks the chance to rally and come back to stay alive in the post-season. Comparisons between Hughes and Clemens have abounded throughout Hughes amateur and pro career, he's been given several Clemens related nicknames including: Baby Rocket, Little Rocket, and my personal favorite, Bottle Rocket. So how interesting it was to see Clemens strike out a batter and leave a playoff game, giving way to Hughes as he stepped into the Yankee Stadium spotlight and performed with thrilling implications of what is to come. His lights out stuff breathed confidence back into a Yankee Offense that was shaky for the first two games and needed a kick to stave off elimination. To be accepted in the Bronx one needs to perform with the air gets cold and the leaves along the Hudson change colors, and that is exactly what Hughes did on Sunday. Regardless of the outcome of Game 4, the future looks bright in Yankeeland.
With Heroes and The Office back for new seasons NBC has established itself a special place in my heart. The two shows can provide me with a lovely mental vacation from the stresses, pressures, and personal disturbance at school. If that weren't enough, October is quickly approaching, and with it, playoff baseball. I certainly won't be able to complain about a lack of distractions from the work I'm supposed to be doing.
School is great by the way. The readings have been enjoyable for the most part, my reading/midrash group is great, and I seem to have really drawn the right straw in terms of my practicum group as well. I love my classes, the other students, my professors, and the school experience in general thus far. I'm also finding a hope for the redemption of my story that is not part of why I came here to MHGS at all. I'm discovering a courage and hope that I didn't expect at all, a purely accidental (at least on my part) benefit of selecting Mars Hill Grad School. It gives me the feeling that somebody has better ideas than I do in terms of what choices I should make and why I should make them. Perhaps (and I'm not one who normally goes around quoting The Matrix) there can be "a difference between knowing the path and walking the path."
Speaking of baseball, I have been encouraged by my wife Emily and my friend Tim to go along with my initial instinct and point out that after most others had scoffed at my argument that, as bad as things looked, the Cubs and Yankees would still have a say in who won their respective divisions, I was right after all. Both teams had fallen way out of first place and I'll admit even I started to have my doubts. I am the one who made the horrible selection of the A's to win the AL West, which to be honest I realized was foolish as soon as I made the pick, it was just dumb. But thanks to the Indians staying strong, the Yankees making enough of a showing in the East to draw to within 2 games, and the Cubs finally playing like many expected them to all along, I don't look like a complete idiot. Sadly the Mets collapse looks like it will hurt my final tally of picking this years playoff teams. If they make it, I'll be 6 for 8, if not, 5 for 8 really hurts my percentage.
Well, enough procrastinating, time to get back to some school work.
Day 4
Well, this blogging thing is becoming a daily affair, again. As I said before, it's good to be back from the dead, baby (not from the dead baby as I originally stated due to atrocious grammar). Anyway, you can call me butter, baby, because I taste better salted and I'm high in cholesterol, oh yeah, and I'm on a roll.
This afternoon marks the start of my last weekend before classes officially begin. I'm excited, but also a bit nervous. There's also a really strong chance that the 'bit nervous' will become 'terrified' by the time Tuesday rolls around and it is time for me to head to orientation and class. Either way, this whole grad school thing has been a long time in coming, so on with the show!
Baseball Fashion Police and Joba the Headhunter (?)
I'm not sure if I'll be able to slide back into my old weekly themed posts with my new school schedule, but we shall see. I suppose if one has to go it will be the Diamond Thursdays baseball posts. Speaking of baseball, what the hell is going on in the Commissioner's Office?!?
First off, Terry Francona, Manager of the Boston Red Sox was forced to leave the dugout in the middle of a game the other day so that the MLB could check to make sure he was wearing his uniform under his pullover. Now let us forget for a moment that it is a ridiculous thing to check in the first place, but the situation at the time was that Francona's first place Red Sox were playing their arch-rival second place New York Yankees, Derek Jeter (universally known as one of the best base-runners in the game was on second). What the hell kind of timing is that to make a Manager leave a game? It's insane! Francona was needed to make decisions about pitch-outs, positioning, strategy, you know, his job. If you really need to make sure he is wearing his jersey under a pullover he isn't going to take off, do it before the game, not at one of the game's most critical junctures.
Then the Commissioner's Office (in both instances it appears to be Bob Watson doing the actual dirty work rather than Commissioner Selig) suspended Joba Chamberlain for throwing two balls over Kevin Youkilis' head. Chamberlain didn't hit Youkilis, but he did throw 2 consecutive 98 mph pitches over Youkilis' head. I certainly understand Youkilis being upset, that's some scary shit, but to suspend Chamberlain with no proof it was intentional is foolishness. The argument being made is that Chamberlain meant to do it because he's had great control over the first 11 innings, so he must have meant to hit Youkilis in the head... if that is the case I ask the obvious question: Why did he miss Youkilis?!? Perhaps the suspension of Joba was an attempt to apologize to Francona for the dumb-ass fashion police move. Either way I wonder what the MLB is thinking a lot of the time.
Why I Love Seattle
So tomorrow I plan to start my daily 'Why I Love Seattle' posts for the month of September. If anyone is actually reading this and you love where you live, maybe we could go in on this together. We can have a Why I Love San Diego and a Why I Love San Francisco or something... just a thought. I wonder, having lived here for such a short amount of time, how long it will take for me to start running out of ideas so that it gets more difficult. Time will tell.
I hope everyone is doing well out there on VOXland. Have a lovely evening.
Another stadium in the books. It's funny to think that not long ago I hadn't even made it a third of the way to my goal of seeing all 30 Major League stadiums, and now I've made it past half way. Coors was another crown jewel for the MLB to show off to all who appreciate a great ballpark.
The Game
As far as the game was concerned, it was the beginning of this long string of losing for the Yankees. They had started playing a bit more like everyone expected them to play at the start of the year, even better than that, but now they have fallen back into their losing ways, and it looks like this will be a sad end to the Joe Torre era.
Strengths
Coors was another beautiful ballpark. Simple. Classy. Easy on the eyes all around.
The scoreboard was probably my favorite part. The home plate entrance was beautiful as well. All of it was great when it comes down to it. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking as far as the strengths are concerned.
Weaknesses
The only weakness was really the fans. It wouldn't have been too bad if they just hated the Yankees and rode the Yankee fans the whole game, everyone does that.
I'm used to the same unoriginal whining from the Yankee-haters. “Yankees Suck!” Oh, wow, did you come up with that one all on your own? Amazing. Has anyone ever told you that you should do stand up. You're downright hilarious. Next you'll be making some hilarious joke about the Yankees payroll. You should be in movies.
The reason the Rockies fans were particularly lame at this contest was that first off none of them showed up. They were outnumbered by of ratio of somewhere around 4 to 1 at least. So, rather than getting mad at their fellow fans for staying home, they got mad at us for showing up. This in an of itself wouldn't have been so bad. The tipping point was that the fans were silent heading into the game. You would think the Rockies fans were on their way to an execution. They wouldn't make eye contact, they sat silently in their seats. However once the victory was assured they wouldn't shut up. Emily and I enjoyed laughing at how ridiculous it all was, but it was pretty spineless as far as sports fans go. Yankees and Red Sox fans have for the most part earned their reputation for being obnoxious, they often take their loyalty to their team WAY too far, but at least they are consistent.
One Rockies fan who shouted at me for wearing a Yankees hat FROM HIS CAR after the game told me I'd probably never been to New York. When I informed him I lived there his brilliant response was “What the hell are you doing in Colorado?!?” I was too dumbfounded to respond. Apparently the guy hadn't heard of the concept of a vacation. The same driver also threatened to sick his dog on another Yankee fan.
In fairness I am assuming these were the worst of the Rockies fans, that there are tons who are as classy and honor the game as much as their ballpark does. It was much more expensive than most Rockies games with the Premium Ticket Prices, so many probably stayed home because of that, but the ones who were at this game were downright nuts.
But, enough about the fans, here are the beautiful stadium pictures:
The lights finally went down at Radio City. It was 8:30. A full thirty minutes had passed since the promised 8:00 start time. I suppose with no opening act the proper measures have to be taken to create the appropriate anticipation for the start of the show, not to mention the accommodation that must be made for those who wrongly assumed there would be an opening act. Opening acts provide adults with an excuse to stand in the absurdly long lines that they might pay the absurdly high prices for a beer or a martini (although at Radio City Music Hall the martinis are known as 'Rocketinis' and come with odd light-up drink stirrers). The delay provided the needed drink buying time for those who spent 60 bucks a ticket to spend the majority of the night drinking, certainly this is something they could have done somewhere else at a much lower cost, a bar for instance.
Anyway, as I was saying, the lights finally went down at Radio City. The only light to be seen in the now dark music hall was a dozen or so candles scattered in various spots across the stage. A shadow scuffled across the stage in the darkness to the piano at center stage. The shadow cleared his throat, and without a word began playing piano in the dark. The darkness all around us, the acoustics of the music hall, the sound of a lone piano, all creating a combination both beautiful and haunting.
A single spotlight slowly began to light directly over the piano, giving us our first real glimpse of Damien Rice. As the spotlight came on the melody at the piano became '9 Crimes.' It was then that for the first time we heard the perfect voice of Damien Rice. The beautiful simplicity of the moment was literally breathtaking. He could have stopped playing halfway through the first song and I would have been satisfied that it was worth the price of admission. I expected the show to be really good because I really enjoy Damien Rice, but the show exceeded my expectations more than any other show I can remember.
Every time it seemed as if the show had hit its peak it got better. The encore was the most original I've ever seen, but I won't spoil it in case you come upon the opportunity to see it for yourself. I really can't say enough, the whole show was fantastic. I can't imagine how good the show would have been if Lisa Hannigan had been there, the show would have actually been even better which is something I can't fathom. Yet, while the bad news is that she wasn't there, the good news is that she was in Ireland instead, recording an album of her own which is reason to be very excited.
The concert was part of a larger evening that was immensely entertaining, while I was at the show the Yankees were beating the Red Sox (and while that in and of itself means very little with the Sox enjoying a commanding lead in the divison, at this point I'll take what I can get), and then I got to go home and watch the season finale of Heroes on the DVR. It was a wonderful evening indeed!
So, anyway, sorry for not being around so much lately. Things have been terribly busy with the whole moving everything we own into storage and packing for a two month trip thing. Starting very soon I will actually convert this to a travel blog for the summer so that everyone who cares can be in the loop as Emily and I cross the country.
So, in case I don't get to post until then everyone have a splendid few days and remember what Heroes* tried to teach us: the world won't be saved by strength, but by compassion, sacrifice, and above all, love.
*Yes, I know, Heroes is a silly place to find truth, but I find it is often in the silliest places that truth is able to sneak behind our guard.
