First off, we want to send a shout out to a group of guys and gals with whom we've had the gleeful delight of sharing our thoughts on music. It is a closed email group with a mysterious history but a mighty future. Though there is little point, and even less moderation, to our communiques, the recurrent theme is the music that moves us with a spotlight shown on the why, how, when, and where. Without this gang of oddballs, the majority of music on The Banter of One's lists would not be on The Banter of One's lists. Viva la Geek!
So without further fuss, here is our Top Twenty of Twenty-Eleven.
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1) Girls Father, Son, Holy Ghost
Nothing on here sounds new, yet nothing on here sounds as if we've ever heard it before. Pink Floyd, Otis Redding, Deep Purple are all represented, yet this album does not sound even remotely like any of their albums, these styles so masterfully weaved in and out of the overlying nap of the album proper. That's a huge credit to the writing and singing styles of head Girl, Christopher Owens.
2) The Rural Alberta Advantage Departing
We're pretty sure what makes this band so enjoyable is the drumming of Paul Banwatt. When we first heard The RAA, we were taken aback by the fills and attacks, and pure firmness, of his style. But then we saw them in concert, and we couldn't take our eyes off of him. He keeps lead singer Nils Edenloff's lyrics on a path right to your midsection, delivering his message with a pace and urgency that we just don't tire of. Departing contains song after song of well crafted goodness, both lyrically and musically, right up to, but not including that last track, "Good Night." Jeez, it's terrible.
3) Tom Waits Bad as Me
We're not gonna lie, we're pretty big Tom Waits fans, so we took to listening to this one a ton, just to make sure it wasn't a biased selection. Then, during all that listening, a funny thing happened. It just kept getting better and better and better still. The Godfather of Simple Grandeur just does what he does so well, it blows our minds. And it's got Keith Richards on it, and we can't really even tell. Meaning to say, Mr. Waits (or, specifically, Mrs. Waits — Kathleen Brennan — who gets the production credit) doesn't need to tip the production to showcase guests who might be more well-known than he, because, well, he just doesn't.
4) Thao and Mirah (Self Titled)
We've always generally liked Thao Nguyen's offerings (sometimes recording with The Get Down Stay Down), and so knew we'd download this one the second it dropped, even though we had no clue who Mirah was (and really still don't). Boy howdy, are we glad we did. It sounds sparse, even though it's not really sparse. It sounds angelic, yet it's not really angelic. It comes off with such ease, it just drips into our ear canals like honey, intoxicatingly so, and before we know it, the album's over. So melodic and beautiful.
5) Jolie Holland Pint of Blood
Her lyrical delivery comes off like some mysterious drug that works unlike any drug yet known to man. It tricks your mind into thinking you know exactly what she's singing about, yet you have not a clue. And it's not synthetic. Nope, totally natural, like something growing indigenously on the only plot of land not yet discovered on this earth. Hers is a sound that sounds brand new everytime we listen to her. Not an easy feat, let us tell you.
6) Iron and Wine Kiss Each Other Clean
I know, I shouldn't like these guys any more, right, cuz they're all over the Twilight soundtracks? Damn sell-outs. Not so, say we! At least not where I&W are concerned. No one does whisper rock better than Sam Beam. This is one of the earliest releases of the year to make this list, which, to us, says it stood up to the test of time. No question there will be selections on this list that we will wish we had vetted better come this time next year, but this won't be one of them.
7) Lia Ices Grown Unknown
Not unlike M&Ms, melts in your eardrums, not in your hands, its hard candy shell protecting the sweet goodness inside from getting all over everything. But once the shell comes off, it's pure pleasure, inside and out. Like an old Kate Bush album, it uses musically only what it needs to prop up a seraphic voice just so. So right.
8) Gillian Welch The Harrow and the Harvest
Like Lucinda Williams' Blessed later on this list, there's nothing new here, in terms of their oeuvre, but when someone does something so well, so consistently, it just gets listened to a lot. And that can't be discounted. We're not gonna just say, "Well, it's no Time (The Revelator) — or Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, in Lucinda's case — so it doesn't deserve to be on this list." Nope. In fact, we had a damn hard time keeping this out of the Top Five. With Dave Rawlings, her lyrics (first) and picking (OK, also first), just meander out of the speakers and dance around us like happy little devils, joyously so.
9) White Denim D
The first real rocker on this list and one that we think deserved way more indie cred than it got. What a blast this is to listen to, time and time again. It does so methodically, calculatingly, daringly, and with aplomb.
10) The Black Lips Arabia Mountain
Hey! It's the second real rocker on this list. Even though they're two totally different albums, just take the above description and replace "with applomb" with "without apology." Yeah. That'll do.
11) Middle Brother (Self Titled)
They're basically the Dawes lead singer and Deertick's lead singer, and some other guy who we're not familiar with who all got together, pretty much on a whim, we think, and put together an album. In fact, when they introduce themselves on their Daytrotter set, they don't even have a name yet. Regardless, I hope they get together some more in the future. Thoroughly enjoyable.
12) Centro-matic Candidate Waltz
Thick, groovy, dirty, yet poppy ditties that get into your pores, and stay there.
13) Lucinda Williams Blessed
See #8
14) Kurt Vile Smoke Ring for My Halo
Guitar driven, guitar delivered.
15) Deerhoof Deerhoof vs Evil
Kinda Cibo Matto-ey, but eschew the pop for the rock.
16) Destroyer Kaputt
Dan Bejar has always been hit or miss for us, although we will say that a lot of our favorite New Pornographer songs are ones he penned, but on this one, he's consistently delivering the kind of Canadian pop only Bejar can summon.
17) Jessica Lea Mayfield Tell Me
Only 21 when she released this album in February, there's nothing immature about it. It's country at its core, but not exclusively so. Lick it up.
18) James Blake (Self Titled)
We don't usually care for albums made without any real instruments. And, to be fair, there's piano on this one, but so much of it, including the vocals, is put through the sonic blender. But what comes out when the blendin's done, is remarkably cohesive. It won't get anyone dancing, but, hell, half the stuff on this list won't either.
19) Agesandages Alright You Restless
We kept passing this off as something that should get Honorable Mention at best, but it just kept calling our name. "Oh, Bantery," it would beckon. We'd try to pretend we didn't hear it. But it just kept hollering. It's not far off the path beaten by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros or Mumford & Sons, but this one's actually good.
20) The Indelicates David Koresh Superstar
What business does a little-known British band have putting together a concept album borne of the ATF's 1993 siege on the wacky Branch Davidian cult from Waco? None. None at all. But we're sure as hell glad they did.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
The Music of 2011, Part One (The Honorable Mentions)
We here at The Banter of One are kept on our feet by music. It's the thing that keeps all other things in order. It's like breathing, eating, and shelter for us. We've never tried to live without it, and we don't want to. Can't, we suspect.
And so, here we are at the end of another year — a great year. Thusly, we have some lists of music that we want to share. Stuff we thought was extremely satisfying. Herein lies Twenty Honorable Mention albums that we just couldn't fit into our Top Twenty list. Said Top Twenty List will follow in Part Two, and our favorite songs will appear in Part Three. There probably won't be a Part Four.
Off we go, in alphabetical order.
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Army and Navy The Last Place
Not a big fan of the eighties, but there were some good hooks from that exiguous decade, and this platter takes 'em and bakes 'em.
The Beastie Boys Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
Just great to have them back, and in force, too. Plus, the 30 minute "video" for "Make Some Noise" is epicly epic.
Kate Bush 50 Words for Snow
Probably would crack our Top Twenty if we had a few more weeks to let it sink in, but it's only been out for a short while. Ethereal, textural, and relaxing. Good to hear from one of our all-time faves, especially topnotchually.
Bill Callahan Apocolypse
You are probably more familiar with his music as Smog. He's not getting any worse, let's just say.
Dawes Nothing is Wrong
SoCal mellow offerings in the same vein as vintage Jackson Browne, America, or very early Eagles. It makes us feel young again.
Dinosaur Bones My Divider
Nothing pithy to share; just good, enjoyable pop tuneage.
The Donkeys Born with Stripes
Pop. Not soda, but music. Through and through. Thoroughly enjoyed every listen of this layered and toe-tappingly good disc.
Eleanor Friedberger Last Summer
Boy how we fell in love with this album when it came out. It was like nothing we'd ever heard before. Catchy vocals, uniquely and catchily wrapped around sparse compositions. But then we learned that she was the female half of the band The Fiery Furnaces — a band we'd been aware of, but not familiar with. And so we tuned into some of their albums, and fell in love with them, too, but in the end, we couldn't justify her landing on our Top Twenty list because it was more like a brief and torrid love affair, but one where, once the sex stopped being fun and new, we were just better off as friends. And we'll be friends for a long time.
Joe Henry Reverie
Recorded in a room in his house with all the windows open. So? It makes for a sonic quality that is as dramatic as it is comfortable. Like he's performing it in our own living room.
The Ladybug Transistor Clutching Stems
Vaguely brings back memories of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. Nuff said, right?
Megafaun (Self titled)
Jaunty indie pop music, jauntily popping just the way we like it.
The Poison Control Center Stranger Ballet
See Megafaun
Portugal. The Man In the Mountain in the Cloud
See The Poison Control Center, except not indie, cuz it's on Atlantic, but still cool cuz they're from Alaska. Alaska!
The Rapture In the Grace of Your Love
At the risk of seeming to be getting lazy, see Army Navy.
St. Vincent Strange Mercy
Just exactly how this missed our Top Twenty list we're not quite sure, and we'll probably look back at this list this time next year and blame it on all the pain meds we're on right now. Edgy, slightly experimental-cum-beautiful music that challenges to grab your attention like a boa constrictor grabs its prey. But, of coure, you don't die.
TV on the Radio Nine Types of Light
Man, these guys are good. Uniquely, boldly, and purposefully going where no one else goes, not because no one else dares to do so, but because they don't know how.
The War on Drugs Slave Ambient
Layers of guitars and vocals that weave in and out of our consciousness like birds of prey coasting on the heat vectors high in the sky on a hot, sunny summer day, dipping, then rising, and dipping again, finally fetching their prey tightly in their tallons.
Yellow Ostrich The Mistress
Contains possibly our favorite song of the year, "Whale." Once it crams itself in your noggin, it stays there, but in a welcome way.
Dengue Fever Cannibal Courtship
Cambodian pop music? We're in. Infectious as it is incomparable.
The Sea and Cake The Moonlight Butterfly
Nothing terribly new from Sam Prekop and his Chicago brethren on their ninth album. Opulent pop meets opulent jazz, all jangly and wonderful. But like most of their music, honorably deserves mention.
And so, here we are at the end of another year — a great year. Thusly, we have some lists of music that we want to share. Stuff we thought was extremely satisfying. Herein lies Twenty Honorable Mention albums that we just couldn't fit into our Top Twenty list. Said Top Twenty List will follow in Part Two, and our favorite songs will appear in Part Three. There probably won't be a Part Four.
Off we go, in alphabetical order.
——————————
Army and Navy The Last Place
Not a big fan of the eighties, but there were some good hooks from that exiguous decade, and this platter takes 'em and bakes 'em.
The Beastie Boys Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
Just great to have them back, and in force, too. Plus, the 30 minute "video" for "Make Some Noise" is epicly epic.
Kate Bush 50 Words for Snow
Probably would crack our Top Twenty if we had a few more weeks to let it sink in, but it's only been out for a short while. Ethereal, textural, and relaxing. Good to hear from one of our all-time faves, especially topnotchually.
Bill Callahan Apocolypse
You are probably more familiar with his music as Smog. He's not getting any worse, let's just say.
Dawes Nothing is Wrong
SoCal mellow offerings in the same vein as vintage Jackson Browne, America, or very early Eagles. It makes us feel young again.
Dinosaur Bones My Divider
Nothing pithy to share; just good, enjoyable pop tuneage.
The Donkeys Born with Stripes
Pop. Not soda, but music. Through and through. Thoroughly enjoyed every listen of this layered and toe-tappingly good disc.
Eleanor Friedberger Last Summer
Boy how we fell in love with this album when it came out. It was like nothing we'd ever heard before. Catchy vocals, uniquely and catchily wrapped around sparse compositions. But then we learned that she was the female half of the band The Fiery Furnaces — a band we'd been aware of, but not familiar with. And so we tuned into some of their albums, and fell in love with them, too, but in the end, we couldn't justify her landing on our Top Twenty list because it was more like a brief and torrid love affair, but one where, once the sex stopped being fun and new, we were just better off as friends. And we'll be friends for a long time.
Joe Henry Reverie
Recorded in a room in his house with all the windows open. So? It makes for a sonic quality that is as dramatic as it is comfortable. Like he's performing it in our own living room.
The Ladybug Transistor Clutching Stems
Vaguely brings back memories of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. Nuff said, right?
Megafaun (Self titled)
Jaunty indie pop music, jauntily popping just the way we like it.
The Poison Control Center Stranger Ballet
See Megafaun
Portugal. The Man In the Mountain in the Cloud
See The Poison Control Center, except not indie, cuz it's on Atlantic, but still cool cuz they're from Alaska. Alaska!
The Rapture In the Grace of Your Love
At the risk of seeming to be getting lazy, see Army Navy.
St. Vincent Strange Mercy
Just exactly how this missed our Top Twenty list we're not quite sure, and we'll probably look back at this list this time next year and blame it on all the pain meds we're on right now. Edgy, slightly experimental-cum-beautiful music that challenges to grab your attention like a boa constrictor grabs its prey. But, of coure, you don't die.
TV on the Radio Nine Types of Light
Man, these guys are good. Uniquely, boldly, and purposefully going where no one else goes, not because no one else dares to do so, but because they don't know how.
The War on Drugs Slave Ambient
Layers of guitars and vocals that weave in and out of our consciousness like birds of prey coasting on the heat vectors high in the sky on a hot, sunny summer day, dipping, then rising, and dipping again, finally fetching their prey tightly in their tallons.
Yellow Ostrich The Mistress
Contains possibly our favorite song of the year, "Whale." Once it crams itself in your noggin, it stays there, but in a welcome way.
Dengue Fever Cannibal Courtship
Cambodian pop music? We're in. Infectious as it is incomparable.
The Sea and Cake The Moonlight Butterfly
Nothing terribly new from Sam Prekop and his Chicago brethren on their ninth album. Opulent pop meets opulent jazz, all jangly and wonderful. But like most of their music, honorably deserves mention.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Physics
Certain laws are non-negotiable. The man-made ones certainly are negotiable. Murder is illegal for obvious reasons, but it's manifest from a sociocultural dogma, and however inconceivable, could actually be legal, if we, as a society and culture, were so inclined. It is, in fact, negotiable.
Laws of physics, however, are another story. No amount of negotiation will cause gravity to work in the other direction, for the mass of an object not to effect its rate of speed, or for Donald Trump's hair to look OK.
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It is due strictly to these non-conciliatory truths that my head and right shoulder met with a slab of concrete. Concrete is hard. Very hard. Bodies, and the bones within them, are not as hard. And bikes will always yield to cars when the two collide.
And so it is that I sit here at my lovely laptop with a broken collar bone and 5 broken ribs. I am typing with both hands for the first time in six days, but in order to do so, I have to grab my right hand with my left hand and rest it on the keyboard, in just the right place. My right arm does not move on its own very well.
But the important bits of me do, and those that don't, will in time. So all is well.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Mountain time.
I remember when I was a kid, like eight or nine maybe, my grandma had this watch that she sometimes wore on a chain and around her neck. When she did this my grandpa would pronounce that if you asked her the time, whatever time it was would be considered to be from the Mountain Time Zone. Pretty damn funny, I used to (and still do) think. We lived in Iowa back then.Today, in baseball, the Mountain Time Zone is still somewhat of a joke. For starters, Kevin Millar, on MLB Network spoke out about the Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki saying that he's not a superstar because he's never tallied more than 110 RBIs in a season. Yeah. Whatever. Apparently 20+ home runs in six weeks of baseball (dating back to last season) is lame.
I'm pretty sure that if a little-known second basemen who goes about 5-9 and 150 lbs was getting on base at a clip of just under .600 for the Yankees (that's Venezuelan Johathan Herrera I'm referring to), the Baseball Gatekeepers (I'm talking about the ESPNs and Sporting News and MLB.coms and Sports Illustrateds and the like) would be going off the hook bragging about him and proclaiming him to be the next prince of New York.
If Troy Tulowitzki played for the Yankees, Derek Jeter would now be a DH at best, and as close to a foot note as he's ever been in his career.
I would assume that if either the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox were 11-2 after 13 games into their season, there would be a considerable amount of chatter.
It boils down to the fact that, in the baseball lexicon, the Mountain Time Zone is forgotten. Good, I say. Keep it that way, I say. No need to get all up in their faces about how none of the Rockies' starting pitchers have recorded a loss. How the only two losses the team has are in extra-inning games.
You guys over there on the East Coast just keep covering the surprisingly horrible Red Sox and a Yankees team whose starting rotation is already showing signs of cracking. Pay no attention to us over hear in the mountains.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Giant bullet dodger
I was very keen on last night's match-up between the Dodgers and Giants—the first such match-up since the last series ended. The last series started with the bludgeoning of a Giants fan by some dumb ass Dodgers fans in Los Angeles. The bludgeonee, Bryan Stow, is still in a coma. I was concerned that a retaliation of some kind might be in order seeing how last night's game was in San Francisco. I had the game on but was unable to pay more attention to it than a glance here and there so it wasn't until this morning that I learned of some good news.
Both teams held a pre-game ceremony in which there was a moment of silence and after which Giants pitcher Jeremy Affeldt (a former Rockie) took the microphone and talked for a spell about what a great rivalry the Giants' and Dodgers' has been and how it's OK to want your team to beat the other while the game is on, but once over, it's back to peace, love and understanding. I'm paraphrasing, of course, but what I'm not paraphrasing is what happened between fans at AT&T park. To my knowledge there was no retaliatory bullcrap. It was, as I paraphrased, peace, love and understanding.
UPDATE: Just when I thought this thing was mellowing out and cooling down—aside from Bryan Stow's condition, obviously, who's still in a medically-induced coma, and had part of his skull removed to allow for the swelling of his brain—I read what this tool from Pittsburgh has to say. John Steigerwald writes for the Observer Reporter, a paper serving Washington and Greene counties near Pittsburgh. He is obviously fishing for links and clicks because suggesting that it's Bryan's own fault for what happened to him simply because Mr. Snow was wearing a Giants jersey in "enemy" territory is one of the most stupid things I've heard ever. I'm not sure who I'm more appalled by: the thugs who beat up Bryan Stow, or John Steigerwald.
Both teams held a pre-game ceremony in which there was a moment of silence and after which Giants pitcher Jeremy Affeldt (a former Rockie) took the microphone and talked for a spell about what a great rivalry the Giants' and Dodgers' has been and how it's OK to want your team to beat the other while the game is on, but once over, it's back to peace, love and understanding. I'm paraphrasing, of course, but what I'm not paraphrasing is what happened between fans at AT&T park. To my knowledge there was no retaliatory bullcrap. It was, as I paraphrased, peace, love and understanding.
UPDATE: Just when I thought this thing was mellowing out and cooling down—aside from Bryan Stow's condition, obviously, who's still in a medically-induced coma, and had part of his skull removed to allow for the swelling of his brain—I read what this tool from Pittsburgh has to say. John Steigerwald writes for the Observer Reporter, a paper serving Washington and Greene counties near Pittsburgh. He is obviously fishing for links and clicks because suggesting that it's Bryan's own fault for what happened to him simply because Mr. Snow was wearing a Giants jersey in "enemy" territory is one of the most stupid things I've heard ever. I'm not sure who I'm more appalled by: the thugs who beat up Bryan Stow, or John Steigerwald.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Thoughtservations…
I want to get to this first because it cannot be overstated how sadly messed up it is. Last Thursday, at Dodger Stadium, opening day for both the Dodgers and visiting Giants, a Giants fan was beaten to a pulp by a couple thuggish Dodger fans after the game. It is said that he has brain damage and is obviously facing an arduous recovery. It is also said that over 100 people may have witnessed the beating, yet the thugs are still at large. In fact, there is now a $150,000 reward for information leading to their whereabouts.
As baseball rivalries go, this is a good one, dating back to both teams' days in New York, but going to a baseball game should not be a life-threatening event. I don't care how much you love your team, and "hate" your teams' rivals, you don't kick the shit out of someone to prove your team loyalty. I have been heard to say things like "I hate the Yankees" or "I hate the Dodgers" because I always have "hated" those teams. But not hate hate. I don't wish ill will on their fans or players. Hell, I went to a game once at Dodger Stadium, versus the Rockies, and I was wearing my Rockies jersey proud, and I don't recall even a sour glance. But it's unnerving to think one could go to a baseball game wearing the out-of-town colors and get the crap beat out of him.
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Appendix(citis) A: The baseball season is just a week old, but already two guys this year have had their appendixes surgically removed. Matt Holiday and Adam Dunn (who apparently has the healing powers of a wolverine). What is up with that? Add Andres Torres from late last season, and that's three guys in two months of baseball with emergency appendectomies.
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There are two still-winless teams, and their identities are pretty surprising. Boston and Tampa Bay. Say what? Pretty much everyone predicted the Red Sox to win the World Series. And pretty much not quite everybody, but at least a handful of pundits had Tampa Bay finishing right behind them in the AL East. Wanna know who's leading the AL West? Baltimore. Say what?
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For those of you who don't particularly care for baseball because there's not enough contact, Minnesota second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka had his fibula busted by Nick Swisher trying to break up a a double play today.
As baseball rivalries go, this is a good one, dating back to both teams' days in New York, but going to a baseball game should not be a life-threatening event. I don't care how much you love your team, and "hate" your teams' rivals, you don't kick the shit out of someone to prove your team loyalty. I have been heard to say things like "I hate the Yankees" or "I hate the Dodgers" because I always have "hated" those teams. But not hate hate. I don't wish ill will on their fans or players. Hell, I went to a game once at Dodger Stadium, versus the Rockies, and I was wearing my Rockies jersey proud, and I don't recall even a sour glance. But it's unnerving to think one could go to a baseball game wearing the out-of-town colors and get the crap beat out of him.
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Appendix(citis) A: The baseball season is just a week old, but already two guys this year have had their appendixes surgically removed. Matt Holiday and Adam Dunn (who apparently has the healing powers of a wolverine). What is up with that? Add Andres Torres from late last season, and that's three guys in two months of baseball with emergency appendectomies.
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There are two still-winless teams, and their identities are pretty surprising. Boston and Tampa Bay. Say what? Pretty much everyone predicted the Red Sox to win the World Series. And pretty much not quite everybody, but at least a handful of pundits had Tampa Bay finishing right behind them in the AL East. Wanna know who's leading the AL West? Baltimore. Say what?
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For those of you who don't particularly care for baseball because there's not enough contact, Minnesota second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka had his fibula busted by Nick Swisher trying to break up a a double play today.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Closing Day.
That's what today is. Guess that makes tomorrow Opening Day. Yup. Pretty much. 12 teams get baseball officially started up tomorrow. And I'd be remiss if I didn't weigh in on at least a thing or seven.
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There's a lot of chatter out there about the Red Sox winning it all this year. Easy money is what that is. It's about as good a bet as any in baseball. Last year they were devastated by injuries, and still finished 16 games above .500. This year, if they're pitching staff can stay healthy, they own an an offense that could be scary good.
But that's not where I'm headed. There's another team garnering a fair amount of chatter, too. A team that a lot of people are expecting good things from this year. And I can't say it's not because of a good deal of unintended spin. I'm talking about the Pittsburgh Pirates. They're the owners of a major-sprots-league-best 18 consecutive losing seasons. A handsome number of know-it-alls connected with baseball are suggesting, hinting, alleging (read: definitely not "predicting") that might change this year. I think it's because the Bucs are all decked out with a new manager this year. One who knows a little something about getting a team to the World Series sans expectations. Clint Hurdle did just that with the Rockies in 2007 when they won 21 of they're final 22 regular season games that year, and went on to sweep the first two rounds of the playoffs, only to have their brooms turn against them in the World Series by the Red Sox.
Nothing against Clint Hurdle or the Pirates. If I have a second-favorite team, it's the Pirates. And I like Hurdle a lot, as baseball guys go. But I think that's where some of this misplaced spin is sourced. I don't think the Pirates have a pitching staff worthy of consistent run abatement. Although they do have a good core of hitters. And one of the best center fielders I've seen in Andrew McCutchen.
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I'm really geeked up about the Rockies' chances this year. Like any team that captures a World Series title, they've got to have a bunch of stuff go right for them this year, but they've got more depth right now than I can ever remember. To wit: Their last Spring Training game was actually what they call and Exhibition Game because it was versus their AA affiliate in Tulsa. The Drillers no-hit their Major League elders for eight innings, and won 5-3.
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If I were forced to pick a team to watch out for—a team who, like the Padres last year, stays unexpectedly competitive till the last day of the season—it would probably be the Florida Marlins. Their pitching staff is dominant. And they've got Mike Stanton, who many scouts project 40+ home runs out of this year. If they were in the NL Central, they would almost certainly contend.
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Speaking of the NL Central, what a bummer for the Brewers, who plucked Zack Greinke from the Royals this off-season, only to find out that he will be nursing an injury until early May. Good thing they're in the NL Central. Could be the worst division in the bigs.
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The World Series champs Giants announced their opening day roster today and it features rookie Brandon Belt at first base, for whom they designated Travis Ishikawa for assignment. The guy's so young and inexperienced at this level that I'm pretty sure his Little League team just stopped practicing together a couple months ago. I'm not convinced this was the right move for them. But when you're coming off of a World Series win, you can do no wrong. Maybe that's why so few teams actually repeat the feat the following year.
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I saw some buzz today about how the Rockies installed some new purple lights atop the outside of Coors Field. They look pretty cool. But no one's talking about how they switched those ubiquitous dimpled floor matt-like things at intersections from neon yellow to Rockies purple. Rode my bike by there the other day and crews were replacing them. Brilliant, I thought.
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Lastly, there's not a better time in recent memory for the Rockies to capture the hearts of local sports fans than now. The Broncos and Avalanche stink. And the NFL and NBA (and maybe even the NHL) are facing labor pains (sorry, couldn't resist) that could shut down those sports temporarily. How huge would the Rockies become in the minds of potentially erstwhile Broncos fans if they contend all year, and make a run at the World Series? Pretty darn huge, if you ask me.
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There's a lot of chatter out there about the Red Sox winning it all this year. Easy money is what that is. It's about as good a bet as any in baseball. Last year they were devastated by injuries, and still finished 16 games above .500. This year, if they're pitching staff can stay healthy, they own an an offense that could be scary good.
But that's not where I'm headed. There's another team garnering a fair amount of chatter, too. A team that a lot of people are expecting good things from this year. And I can't say it's not because of a good deal of unintended spin. I'm talking about the Pittsburgh Pirates. They're the owners of a major-sprots-league-best 18 consecutive losing seasons. A handsome number of know-it-alls connected with baseball are suggesting, hinting, alleging (read: definitely not "predicting") that might change this year. I think it's because the Bucs are all decked out with a new manager this year. One who knows a little something about getting a team to the World Series sans expectations. Clint Hurdle did just that with the Rockies in 2007 when they won 21 of they're final 22 regular season games that year, and went on to sweep the first two rounds of the playoffs, only to have their brooms turn against them in the World Series by the Red Sox.
Nothing against Clint Hurdle or the Pirates. If I have a second-favorite team, it's the Pirates. And I like Hurdle a lot, as baseball guys go. But I think that's where some of this misplaced spin is sourced. I don't think the Pirates have a pitching staff worthy of consistent run abatement. Although they do have a good core of hitters. And one of the best center fielders I've seen in Andrew McCutchen.
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I'm really geeked up about the Rockies' chances this year. Like any team that captures a World Series title, they've got to have a bunch of stuff go right for them this year, but they've got more depth right now than I can ever remember. To wit: Their last Spring Training game was actually what they call and Exhibition Game because it was versus their AA affiliate in Tulsa. The Drillers no-hit their Major League elders for eight innings, and won 5-3.
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If I were forced to pick a team to watch out for—a team who, like the Padres last year, stays unexpectedly competitive till the last day of the season—it would probably be the Florida Marlins. Their pitching staff is dominant. And they've got Mike Stanton, who many scouts project 40+ home runs out of this year. If they were in the NL Central, they would almost certainly contend.
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Speaking of the NL Central, what a bummer for the Brewers, who plucked Zack Greinke from the Royals this off-season, only to find out that he will be nursing an injury until early May. Good thing they're in the NL Central. Could be the worst division in the bigs.
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The World Series champs Giants announced their opening day roster today and it features rookie Brandon Belt at first base, for whom they designated Travis Ishikawa for assignment. The guy's so young and inexperienced at this level that I'm pretty sure his Little League team just stopped practicing together a couple months ago. I'm not convinced this was the right move for them. But when you're coming off of a World Series win, you can do no wrong. Maybe that's why so few teams actually repeat the feat the following year.
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I saw some buzz today about how the Rockies installed some new purple lights atop the outside of Coors Field. They look pretty cool. But no one's talking about how they switched those ubiquitous dimpled floor matt-like things at intersections from neon yellow to Rockies purple. Rode my bike by there the other day and crews were replacing them. Brilliant, I thought.
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Lastly, there's not a better time in recent memory for the Rockies to capture the hearts of local sports fans than now. The Broncos and Avalanche stink. And the NFL and NBA (and maybe even the NHL) are facing labor pains (sorry, couldn't resist) that could shut down those sports temporarily. How huge would the Rockies become in the minds of potentially erstwhile Broncos fans if they contend all year, and make a run at the World Series? Pretty darn huge, if you ask me.
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