World Series sweeps are hardly ever expected from the outset, and the one just completed by the Giants was no exception. After all, in theory a least, the World Series pits the two best teams left in baseball against each other in a best-of-seven format. Each team is likely a strong one and given what they must go through to even reach the Series, it would seem likely and reasonable to expect one of the teams to win at …
Had the ghost of John McGraw been magically transported to Game Two of this World Series last night in San Francisco, he would have at first seen much that would have bewildered, outraged, maybe even frightened him, though he sure didn’t scare easily in life. A thousand questions and confounded thoughts would have flashed through the hard-headed old manager’s mind in an instant.
Jaysus, where am I? My Jints are in white, playing at home, but what have they …
This site is devoted equally to both jazz and baseball, and though I have a number of music pieces on the go, baseball will take a front seat for the next little while as, a), it’s World Series time and b), I’m really busy with gigs for the next week or two.
Being busy is a nice problem to have and I’m not complaning, but it always seems to be the case that it never rains but it pours …
To many, the St. Louis Cardinals in this year’s post-season looked to be repeating their celebrated, longshot run of last year. This time around they snuck into the playoffs by an even thinner margin, winning the brand new second wild-card, then beating the favoured Braves in Atlanta in the one-game, loser-goes-home playoff. When they shockingly beat the young and talented Nationals by scoring eight runs in the final three innings of Game Five, erasing a 6-0 deficit, it seemed …
The above tongue-in-cheek headline refers to one of the veteran character actor’s most famous movie roles, “The Invisible Man”; Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez, though the conspicuous centre of a benching controversy, was pretty much invisible in the ALCS (1 for 9) and his replacement Eric Chavez was, believe it or not, even worse (0 for 20.) Yes, I realize Claude Rains has been dead for a long time now, but given the cold wind blowing around the Yanks’ …
Although not all bad music is funny, few things are funnier than really awful – as opposed to merely mundane – music. Provided, of course, that it was never meant to be taken seriously in the first place. You know, musical bloopers, clams, kacks, orchestral train wrecks, blown lyrics and so on. I’ve had a ringside seat on various bandstands for many of these over the years, which has no doubt warped my taste and judgement. I suppose the …
As you readers out there are compos mentis and all – sane and normal types, no offense intended, you’re likely not saddled with my baseball name obsession. So you’re probably not aware that the Detroit Tigers lead all of baseball in weird and funny pitcher’s names. It’s really quite something and I only just began to notice. I must be slipping.
Their two best pitchers are Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. Verlander isn’t really a funny name, but Scherzer …
Tax season is never a fun time for musicians, or anyone else for that matter. But for me, this annual April bother is always tempered by the memories it brings of Bob Price, who was a very fine jazz bassist, a wonderful guy and an accountant to boot. He’s been gone a while now and I always feel the pang of missing him in early spring, but it’s also pleasant to remember him and how lucky we were to …