August 14, 2014 – Brewers 6, Cubs 2 – Wrigley Field

Fiers away 

Umpires: HP: Tim Timmons. 1B: Tim Welke. 2B: Todd Tichenor. 3B: Clint Fagan.

Weather: 67 degrees, sunny.

Wind: 5 mph, In from CF.

T: 3:06.

Att: 38,157.

I was glad the Cubbies won last night, because Edwin Jackson was pitching for them this afternoon, which is almost always bad news for the Wrigley faithful. Jackson has been consistently mediocre throughout his career, including 2012 with the Nats, but degenerated to truly terrible after signing a long-term contract with Chicago after that season, leading the NL with 18 losses in 2013 and carrying a 5+ ERA for most of 2014. He certainly lived down to his reputation today, starting with two first-inning walks followed by a two-run Scooter Gennett double. Things didn’t improve thereafter, until he was mercifully lifted with 2 outs in the fifth, after 93 pitches and 5 runs allowed, despite the absence of Braun, Ramirez, and Segura from the Milwaukee lineup.

Meanwhile, Brewers starter Mike Fiers, who is only modestly endowed stuff-wise, completely baffled the Cubs during his six shutout innings, allowing only three hits and one walk while fanning 14 of the 22 batters he faced. For comparison purposes, the only other pitchers with 14 or more Ks in a game this season are Clayton Kershaw, Felix Hernandez, Jon Lester, Jose Fernandez, and Max Scherzer – quite heady company for a guy who was exiled to AAA for much of the season.

After some effective long relief by recent Cubs pickup Jacob Turner, the home team did make things somewhat interesting in the bottom of the seventh, plating two unearned runs off Zach Duke on a Chris Valaika pinch single. But Mark Reynolds hit one out in the eighth off Kyuji Fujikawa, and the Cubs went down 1-2-3 in both the eighth and ninth.

Nobody parachuted onto the field today, but there was plenty of non-baseball activity in the middle innings, as jets practicing for an upcoming air show were regularly buzzing over the ballpark. Since Jackson had pretty much ended the competitive part of the afternoon by then, this proved to be a welcome diversion for both fans and photographers alike.

Was almost on the field today – Club Box Infield, Aisle 33, Row 1, Seat 106, just beyond first base. Just past the visiting team dugout is an area three rows deep with about 10 folding chairs, mainly for press photographers. My seat was just behind and beyond this section, meaning that close attention to every pitch was a must to avoid potentially great bodily harm. We did notice that the security guy who was in the reserved area near us along with the photographers was wearing a batting helmet. On the other hand, a couple of the photographers sitting in the very front of that area had laptops on which they were frequently typing. Since the sun would have made it nearly impossible to see the screen, they draped what looked like large towels over both the laptop screens and their heads to do their work, leaving them with no view at all of any possible flying objects heading towards them. You could not pay me enough to be in that position.

While fortunately there weren’t any liners into the section, it did finally turn out to be a great place for getting baseballs. In the bottom of the seventh, Brewers shortstop Elian Herrera fielded a grounder and threw it past first base near the Brewers dugout. At the end of the play, Cubs first base coach Eric Hinske got the ball and tossed it into our section, where it was caught by the guy sitting right next to me. (After a bit of gentle prodding, he then generously gave it to a young woman nearby who had also been trying to get it.) A batter or two later saw a foul pop find its way near us. Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo tossed another ball our way after finishing warmups an inning later, and someone else tossed a fourth ball in before the game was over.

I got a bargain for lunch at Wrigley’s Decade Diner. When I ordered the blackened tilapia po’ boy sandwhich, the cashier asked whether I had a MasterCard. Although I didn’t, she apparently still gave me the MasterCard discount, which meant I got the sandwich, fries (which I didn’t expect and didn’t especially want), and two pickle spears for $8.65, rather than the listed price of $11.50. Although the sandwich was messy and not very quick to arrive (15 minutes), it was quite good, and tables were still available. Also wound up getting a $7.00 souvenir soda – it is the 100^th anniversary of Wrigley, after all – and a $4.50 lemon chill, an item which is much easier to find at Wrigley than it is in Washington.

August 13, 2014 – Cubs 4, Brewers 2 – Wrigley Field

Go, Cubs, Go!

Umpires: HP: Clint Fagan. 1B: Tim Timmons. 2B: Tim Welke. 3B: Todd Tichenor.

Weather: 70 degrees, clear.

Wind: 7 mph, In from RF.

T: 2:36.

Att: 31,191.

My first of two games in Wrigley proved to be successful for the home team, as the Cubs jumped on Kyle Lohse for a quick 4-0 lead and hung on to beat the first-place Brewers for a second straight night. Lohse has apparently been pitching with a slightly sprained ankle, and he definitely wasn’t himself this evening. After a leadoff double by Chris Coghlan and a single by Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo knocked in one run with a sac fly, and Starlin Castro followed with a single to drive in Baez.

The Cubs resumed their assault in the bottom of the third. The recently-recalled Baez led off with the first of what probably will be many Wrigley Field homers, a no-doubt-about-it shot to left that wound up on Waveland Avenue. Not to be outdone, Anthony Rizzo hit Lohse’s next pitch out to right. The Milwaukee trainer came out to visit Lohse later in the frame; he completed the inning by striking out the side but did not return for the fourth, giving way to Marco Estrada, who kept the Cubs off the board for the next 4 innings. (For the game, the first four hitters in the Cubs’ batting order accounted for all of their 9 hits, runs scored, and RBI.)

Meanwhile, Cubs starter Tsuyoshi Wada blanked the hard-hitting visitors until giving up back-to-back homers to Rickie Weeks and Martin Maldonado with two outs in the top of the seventh. The Cubbies bullpen took it from there, allowing only one baserunner the rest of the way. The heavily-booed Ryan Braun went 0-4, as did Carlos Gomez.

During the singing of the National Anthem, 4 Navy Seals parachuted onto the field, one of them carrying an American flag. Quite exciting, although perhaps somewhat unfair competition for the poor woman who was singing the anthem.

Was in Aisle 120, Row 7, Seat 6, directly behind home plate. “Field Box infield” is not the closest section to the field, but it nevertheless was a great lower-level seat, much better than I could get at Nationals Park for anything close to $71.00 (plus various charges, of course). Had a Chicago Dog ($6.50) in honor of the location, plus a $7.50 draft Bud and a $4.00 soft pretzel.

Based on this single visit, I’ve concluded that the Cubbies long-time woes are due primarily to a lack of overall confidence, whether by the team, its fan base, or both. Apparently after every home victory they play a ditty (written by the inimitable Steve Goodman) called Go Cubs Go (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9XtDyDUjIU), whose key lyric is “Hey, Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today.” Think about that for a moment. A team with any confidence might play that before every game, or as part of the seventh-inning stretch. The Cubs, however, don’t play a song saying the Cubs “are gonna win today” until AFTER THEY HAVE ALREADY WON!

Shuffle #23 (August 14, 2014)

Moving In Slow Motion – The Sweet Remains

Manic Monday – The Bangles

Bustin’ Loose – Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers

Home Again – Carole King

Crawl Back (Under My Stone) – Richard Thompson

Everlong – Foo Fighters

Dance Away – Roxy Music

It Was A Very Good Year – Frank Sinatra

Why Can’t We Be Friends? – War

Suavecito – Malo

Uprising -- Muse

Shuffle #22 (August 10, 2014)

I Just Want To Celebrate – Rare Earth

Just Let Me Cry – Lesley Gore

Pencil Thin Moustache – Jimmy Buffett

All Around The World – Lisa Stansfield

Between You And Me – Graham Parker

They Can’t Take That Away From Me – Patti Austin

Shelter From The Storm – Bob Dylan

Buffalo Soldier – Bob Marley & The Wailers

All The World Loves Lovers – Prefab Sprout

I Wish It Would Rain – The Temptations

#35 Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye) -- Gladys Knight & The Pips (1973)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJmplWfWAPU

“One of the great break-up songs in soul music” was one comment I found for this one online, and it sums things up pretty well. This was the group’s last big hit before leaving Motown records, and it’s a high point both for the group and for songwriter Jim Weatherly, who’s also responsible for their post-Motown classics “Midnight Train To Georgia” and “Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me”.

#36 The Impossible Dream -- The Temptations (1967)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE8jxBH37Ho

I liked the Temptations and the other Motown acts when I was growing up in the sixties, but until Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder really took charge of their own careers with classic albums such as What’s Going On and Innervisions, I didn’t really buy Motown LPs. (In my defense, as was the custom of the time, most of them contained a couple of hits and a lot of filler.) I probably just bought the Temptations In A Mellow Mood album on a whim; it’s certainly not as though it had any hits on it. It’s extremely well done though, with great soulful arrangements of show tunes and some other standards that I wouldn’t necessarily have cared for in versions by other artists. “The Impossible Dream” is the best of the bunch – it brings a lump to my throat whenever I hear it.

August 6, 2014 – Nationals 7, Mets 1 – Nationals Park

Earl Weaver would be happy

Umpires: HP: Larry Vanover. 1B: Dan Iassogna. 2B: Vic Carapazza. 3B: Paul Nauert.

Weather: 80 degrees, partly cloudy.

Wind: 3 mph, L to R.

T: 2:31.

Att: 26,701.

Long-time Orioles manager Earl Weaver always preferred long ball to small ball, so he certainly would have been impressed with this Nats victory. Washington gave starter and winner Doug Fister a nice lead in the bottom of the first on a Rendon double, a run-scoring single by Werth, and a two-run homer by the suddenly-hot Adam LaRoche. The Nats doubled their lead in the sixth, as Danny Espinosa continued his success against lefty pitchers with a three-run shot off Jon Niese, following a Desmond single and steal, and a walk to Bryce Harper. LaRoche finished the Nats scoring with an eighth-inning homer off Carlos Torres.

Meanwhile, Fister turned in another fine outing, shutting down the Mets with his usual alacrity, being charged with only one (unearned) run which scored after he was taken out in the middle of the eighth. (We joked about the Nats possibly putting in a “Fister season ticket plan” for 2015, designed for fans who enjoy quick, crisply-played games.)

Caught a ride down and back with the Pierce clan, and actually was home before 11:00 – first time in recent memory that’s happened for a night game. Was thinking of getting something from Taste of the Majors, but due to the line decided to settle for a couple of Nats dogs.

August 3, 2014 – Nationals 4, Phillies 0 – Nationals Park

Hamels blinks once, Strasburg dominates

Umpires: HP: Eric Cooper. 1B: Tom Hallion. 2B: Hal Gibson III. 3B: Chris Guccione.

Weather: 82 degrees, partly cloudy.

Wind: 7 mph, In from CF.

T: 2:47.

Att: 30,038.

If you came to this game expecting a pitcher’s duel between Cole Hamels and Stephen Strasburg, you didn’t go home disappointed.

Each starting pitcher retired the first 7 batters he faced. The third inning was really the key to the game. With one out, each team’s #8 hitter reached first base and was sacrificed to second by the pitcher. In the top of the inning, Phillies leadoff man Ben Revere was unable to plate the run, while in the bottom of the frame Denard Span singled to center to score Jose Lobaton for an unearned run and a 1-0 Nats lead.

Hamels and Strasburg continued their dominance through the next 4 innings, with neither team mounting a major threat to score. With Strasburg having thrown 99 pitches, the Nats replaced him with Tyler Clippard in the top of the eighth, and the Phillies, still down by a run with time running short, were forced to pinch-hit for Hamels. Unfortunately for them, the Nats were able to plate three runs in an ugly bottom of the 8^th for the visitors, which gave Soriano plenty of breathing room as he completed the shutout in the 9^th. The Phils were shut out for the second straight game, managing only three hits and one walk while whiffing 13 times.

Traffic was uneventful, and the afternoon was much sunnier than I had expected, with the thunderstorms holding off until the evening. The Taqueria continues to produce excellent pork tacos (although very slowly), and my eCash card again proved useful to avoid the long regular line for ice cream.

Mary Chapin Carpenter with the National Symphony Orchestra, Wolf Trap Filene Center, 8/1/2014

On the first Tuesday of this year, Mary Chapin Carpenter released her latest CD, Songs From The Movie, featuring orchestral versions of 10 songs chosen from her previous albums. Friday evening’s Wolf Trap performance, with Vince Mendoza (who was the arranger and conductor for the album) conducting the National Symphony Orchestra, was the on-tour version of the album. The orchestra was augmented by Matt Rollings on keyboards, drummer Peter Erskine, and bass player Edwin Livingston, who are traveling with Carpenter for this tour.

The evening’s performance began with Elmer Bernstein’s suite from To Kill a Mockingbird, after with Carpenter and her band mates came on stage to a warm welcome from the crowd. (Nice size, but definitely not a sellout.) The remainder of the set closely paralleled the album, albeit with a few minor changes in order. “Where Time Stands Still” was the only song from the CD that was omitted, replaced near the end of the show with “Stones in the Road” and “10,000 Miles”.

The arrangements and performances were very professional, and Carpenter clearly enjoyed the opportunity to present some of her slower songs in this setting. Personally, I would have enjoyed them more in non-orchestral versions that were closer to the original recordings. I didn’t think that old favorites such as “I Am A Town”, “Come On Come On,” and “Stones in the Road” benefited from the added instrumentation. And, although it was clearly by design, the predominance of Carpenter’s more contemplative material led to a certain lack of energy and sameness in tempo, which was finally remedied by the encore version of “The Hard Way”, which elicited the most enthusiastic audience response of the evening. Prior to that, my clear favorite was “10,000 Miles”, since it had originally featured an orchestral arrangement on the Party Doll compilation and in the movie Fly Away Home.

Shuffle #21 (August 3, 2014)

I Met Him On A Sunday – Laura Nyro

Once In A While – The Chimes

Wicked Game – Chris Isaak

Dance Across The Floor – Jimmy Bo Horne

Don’t Hang Up Your Dancing Shoes – Ian Matthews

Fool’s Paradise – Sam Cooke

Check Out Your Mind – The Impressions

Someday Soon – Gin Blossoms

Don’t Cry Baby – Madeleine Peyroux

The Sweet Escape – Gwen Stefani