Key quote from David Von Drehle’s column: “Voters appear to want grand
gestures more than they want achievable policies. They’d rather be bathed in
agreeable hogwash than be tasked with achievable goals. … Of course, it’s part
of a president’s job to paint a bold vision of America’s future. But the art of
leadership includes the politics of the possible.”
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Favorite Musical Artists: Lyle Lovett
It’s more or less a coincidence that Lyle Lovett comes up right after
Mary Chapin Carpenter. Fans of the latter, of course, are sure to be familiar
with these lines from “I Feel Lucky”:
Now eleven million
later, I was sittin' at the bar.
I bought the house a
double, then the waitress a new car.
Dwight Yoakam's in
the corner, tryin' to catch my eye.
Lyle Lovett's right
beside me with his hand upon my thigh.
[obviously with her
consent; see chorus below]
…
I feel lucky,
I feel lucky, yeah.
Hey Dwight, hey
Lyle, boys, you don't have to fight.
Hot dog, I feel
lucky tonight.
(I have to admit I started to wonder, when in recent years it became
annoyingly typical for the two of them to appear at Wolf Trap on back-to-back
evenings, forcing me either to choose between them or endure two late nights in
a row.)
The best summary of Lovett’s music I could find came from Last.fm: “Lyle
Lovett is an Americana singer-songwriter and actor from Klein, Texas, who has
been described as "the thinking man's cowboy". While typically
associated with the alt-country genre, his albums typically incorporate folk,
swing, blues, jazz and gospel music as well as more traditional country &
western styles.”
Concert notes (all from appearances at Wolf Trap with his Large Band
unless otherwise noted): 2019 2018 2017 (at Strathmore with John Hiatt) 2016
2015
Favorite songs:
If I Had A Boat
That's Right (You're Not From Texas)
Here I Am
Closing Time
Church
She's No Lady
I Will Rise Up/Ain't No More Cane
What Do You Do/The Glory Of Love
Simple Song
Penguins
Nobody Knows Me
Don't Touch My Hat
L.A. County
Good Intentions
My Baby Don’t Tolerate
North Dakota
Family Reserve
Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior
Wallisville Road
Which Way Does That Old Pony Run
Bonus tracks -- Funny How Time Slips Away (duet with Al Green), and
Francine Reed’s performance of Wild Women Don't Get the Blues (always a
highlight of his Large Band shows)
Monday, August 19, 2019
August 18, 2019 – Nats 16, Brewers 8 – Nationals Park
Weather: 95 degrees, Partly Cloudy.
Wind: 5 mph, R To L.
Umpires: HP--Ripperger, 1B--Hoye, 2B--Danley, 3B--Wolcott.
Time: 3:24
Attendance: 30,571
Had Joe Ross hit one out of the park in his 14th-inning
pinch-hitting appearance Saturday night, the Nats would have scored 16 runs and
won the game by 1. They sort of made up for that Sunday afternoon, although
this time 16 runs proved to be major overkill.
On a day that was hot enough to draw folks in droves to the designated cooling
area in the Kennedy Room, the Nats hit 8 dingers to tie a team record first set
in 2017, also against the Brewers. The only starters who failed to join the
parade were pitcher Erick Fedde (who did lay down two nice sacrifice bunts),
plus Turner and Gomes, each of whom reached base 3 times. Juan Soto and Brian
Dozier each went yard twice, although Dozier’s second blast should get an
asterisk, since it came in the bottom of the 8th against Milwaukee
utility man Hernan Perez.
Fedde pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the first, then put up
zeroes the next two frames. By the time he took the mound in the 4th,
Washington had scored 4 in the 1st, 2 in the 2nd, and 7
in the 3rd. Milwaukee starting pitcher Chase Anderson gave up 10 of
the runs while recording only 7 outs. With the 13-run cushion, no one
particularly cared that Fedde was touched for a run in the 4th and 3
in the 5th, or that the visitors added 4 more meaningless tallies
against Kyle McGowin in the top of the 9th.
August 17, 2019 – Brewers 15, Nats 14 (14 innings) – Nationals Park
Weather: 88 degrees, Partly Cloudy.
Wind: 5 mph, Out To LF.
Umpires: HP--Wolcott, 1B--Ripperger, 2B--Hoye, 3B--Danley.
Time: 5:40
Attendance: 36,953
Section 419, Row N, Seats 27-29
OK, we knew it was going to be a long day. We arrived at the park just
after 1:30 for the Nationals’ annual Season Plan Holder Appreciation Day. After
exiting the park around 4:15, we decided to join the line to get back in for
the game, so we could pick up our Patrick Corbin bobbleheads and enjoy a leisurely
pre-game meal at the Budweiser Brew House. We certainly did not expect the game
to still be going on well after midnight, ending as we neared the end of our
trek home on Metro’s Red Line. (We left at the end of the 11th
inning.)
Inning 3 – Brewers plate 5, after Anibal Sanchez walks the pitcher and
then the rookie leadoff batter, followed by 5 straight hits. But a 2-run Juan
Soto homer keeps the home team in it.
Inning 4 – 3-run HR by Eaton with 2 outs. Nats tie things up at 5.
Inning 5 – Matt Grace replaces Sanchez and promptly serves up a tater
to Ryan Braun. Brewers back up by 1.
Inning 6 – Grace faces 3 batters and retires none of them, giving up a
2-run homer to Trent Grisham before giving way to Wander Suero. Freddy Peralta
comes in to pitch the bottom of the inning, and 4 batters later the Nats have a
9-8 lead, punctuated by a Trea Turner 3-run shot.
Inning 7 – Strickland blanks the Brewers, Kendrick hits one out after a
Robles walk to extend our lead to 11-8.
Innings 8-9 – Against all odds, no one reaches base for either side in
the 8th, with Rodney holding the visitors in check. Doolittle comes
in for the save in the 9th. 10 pitches later
(homer-double-homer-homer), it’s 12-11 Milwaukee. But our heroes aren’t done
yet, despite the entry of imposing Brewers relief ace Josh Hader. After a Gomes
walk, a Suzuki double, and a Robles single, the Nats have tied the game, with
the winning run on third and no outs. Somehow, following the intentional walk
to Kendrick to load the bases, Hader recovers to fan Turner, Eaton, and Rendon
to provide some bonus baseball.
Innings 10-12 – The hitters on both teams seem worn out, and no one
comes close to ending the game. With the Nats out of position players and short
on pitchers, Tanner Rainey hits for himself in the bottom of the 10th
so he can take the mound for the 11th. Long man Javy Guerra replaces
him an inning later and fans the side in the 12th.
Inning 13 – Yelich hits his second homer of the game (and #41 for the
year) to give the Brewers a 13-12 lead. Asdrubal Cabrera (more on him later)
coaxes a leadoff walk in the bottom of the frame, but Javy Guerra (forced to
hit for himself) fails to bunt him to second. After a Suzuki single gets
Cabrera to third, Junior Guerra (no relation) comes in to pitch for Milwaukee and
gives up a sac fly to Robles. Game tied. Again.
Inning 14 – Javy G, clearly gassed, walks Braun and gives up a 2-run
homer to Eric Thames for a 15-13 Milwaukee lead. The Nats have one last chance,
as Keston Hiura throws away Juan Soto’s potentially-game-ending ground ball,
scoring Eaton from second and putting the tying run in scoring position.
However, Junior G intentionally walks Cabrera to reach the pitcher’s spot in
the order. Martinez sends starting pitcher Joe Ross up to hit for Javy G, and
he fans to bring the affair to its final conclusion.
Note #1 – Had the game continued, the Nats would have sent out a lineup
with Kendrick moving to second, Soto playing first, Ross in left, and Cabrera
on the mound. It would have been his first major league pitching appearance,
after over 1500 career games peacefully plying his trade in the infield.
Note #2 – The Nats tied a major-league record by allowing 5 homers in
the 9th inning or later.
Note #3 – According to Jamal Collier’s MLB.com story, “The rock band
The Raconteurs began the game sitting in the stands, played at a nearby concert
hall [The Anthem] and made it back in time to see the conclusion of the game.”
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