This is one
that I discovered on a Carolina beach music station, most likely AM 770 “Big Wave Radio” in Rockingham NC. Since there were no DJs the first couple times I
heard it, I had some difficulty trying to identify the song – finally wound up
Googling a snatch of the lyrics. My only previous encounter with Grayson Hugh
was via his 1989 single “Talk It Over”, which I never particularly cared for.
This one, fortunately, is much better; according to the single solitary YouTube
comment the last time I checked, “if this doesn't get your foot tapping or make
you pound the dashboard like a piano, you better get your pulse checked!”
Monday, April 10, 2017
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
April 3, 2017 – Nationals 4, Marlins 2 – Nationals Park
Attendance: 42,744
Game Time: 2:47
Weather: 66 degrees, cloudy
Wind: 5 mph
Umpires: Home Plate - Jerry Meals, First Base - Ron Kulpa, Second Base
- Ed Hickox, Third Base - Chris Conroy
Seventh-inning stretch song: Can’t Stop The Feeling – Justin Timberlake
Section 133, Row UU, Seats 14-19 – lower level, about a third of the
way down the right field line, top row, on the aisle, good view (did suffer a
mid-game “beerfall” due to a spill in section above us)
Highlights – Strasburg tossed 7 efficient innings (63 strikes in 85
pitches) to get the win, allowing just 2 runs (both in the fourth inning) and 6
hits (2 of which were by Miami starting pitcher Edinson Volquez, a lifetime
.082 hitter), with no walks and 3 Ks … Harper put the Nats on the board in the
sixth with his fifth opening-day homer, and Adam Lind made his first Nats’
appearance count an inning later, with a pinch-hit two-run blast to give
Washington the lead for good … Solis and newly-anointed closer Blake Treinen
set the Marlins down 1-2-3 in the 8th and 9th to nail
down the win … perfect weather for baseball, and the drives down and back were
not nearly as bad as they could have been … food was good at the “Budweiser
Brew House” sit-down restaurant in center field (still the Red Porch Restaurant
to me), although getting and settling the charges took an excruciatingly long
time
Other – Nats didn’t take advantage of early opportunities, failing to
score in the first and fourth after getting their first two men on base …
ballpark operations lagged far behind the baseball side (getting an F- from one
frustrated fan on Twitter), as they were having “technical problems” with both
their eCard and credit card processing … fans wanting to use cash found that
the ATMs were down as well … it took one member of our party 55 minutes to get
a pretzel and two sodas … to top off the frustration, the “Magic 8-Ball” giveaway items were not distributed until fans exited
(with vouchers distributed on the way in), causing lines to get out of the park
… so far, more than 24 hours later, no apology to fans that I’ve been able to
find, via either Twitter, email, or press release
Monday, March 27, 2017
March 27, 2017 – Nationals 6, Mets 0 – Port St. Lucie FL
Attendance: 4,510
Game Time: 2:43
Weather: 78 degrees, partly cloudy
Wind: 8 mph
Umpires: Home Plate - Chris Conroy, First Base - John Libka, Second
Base - Ryan Additon, Third Base - Nick Mahrley
Seventh-inning stretch song: Lazy Mary [Luna Mezza Mare] – Lou Monte
Section 203, Row V, Seat 20 – a bit down the first-base line, on the
aisle, two rows from the top (but still with a good view), in the shade all
afternoon
I went through the first 4 of my 5 games this spring without seeing the
Nats hit a single ball out of the park, but they made up for it this afternoon.
Trea followed his single leading off the game with solo shots to left off Mets
starter Seth Lugo in the third and fifth, the latter a no-doubt-about-it blast.
Harper, who ended the first by grounding into a double play, hit two long ones
to the grassy area beyond the right field wall: a solo shot to lead off the
fourth and a two-run blast in the eighth. Doubles by Drew and Zim added another
4th-inning run, a frame that ended with an excellent at-bat by
Scherzer with runners on 2nd and 3rd, as he fouled off
several pitches and worked the count full before finally grounding out sharply
to Lugo. (The final 6 Washington batters of the afternoon fanned against Mets
minor leaguers, but by that point no one really cared.)
Max didn’t do badly on the mound in just his second official spring
start, throwing 85 pitches over 5 innings and holding the New Yorkers to 2 hits
while striking out 7, although he did issue 3 walks. Enny Romero, Vance Worley,
and Koda Glover, all competing for the final two spots in the bullpen, held the
Mets to one hit and one walk the rest of the way.
The Mets regular outfielders and shortstop were playing a split-squad
game down the road in Jupiter, so New York started some guy named Tim Tebow in
left field. (You may have heard of him.) Appearing to make a statement, Max
brought the heat in the second, fanning him on 3 pitches that registered 97,
96, and 97 on the scoreboard. He struck him out again to start the fifth. Tebow
did get a nice round of applause when he ended his 3rd AB (against
Romero) by grounding the ball back to the pitcher, but Glover fanned him one
more time to end the game.
I have to say that I really liked First Data Field (“Tradition Field”
until a month or so ago). It’s not the newest or fanciest place, but the
sightlines are good, there’s plenty of shade, the lines for food and restrooms
were short-to-nonexistent (at least when I went), and they did a nice job of
getting the cars out of the parking lot after the game. (Allow 10-15 minutes
after exiting the lot to get back onto I-95, however.) The concession prices
were also reasonable; I got the largest slice of pizza I’ve ever had in my life
for a mere $6.
March 26, 2017 – Astros 5, Nationals 1 – West Palm Beach FL
Attendance: 5,135
Game Time: 2:47
Weather: 76 degrees, partly cloudy
Wind: 13 mph
Umpires: Home Plate - Brennan Miller, First Base - Mike Estabrook,
Second Base - David Rackley, Third Base - Shane Livensparger
Seventh-inning stretch song: It’s Not Unusual – Tom Jones
Section 110, Row M, Seat 6 – same section and row as Friday
After yesterday’s 4-run outburst, the Nats’ offense continued its
struggles on Sunday. Things started off well with a leadoff double by Turner in
the bottom of the first, followed by long fly outs by Murphy and Harper to
bring him home. The Nats managed only 2 hits over the final 7 innings, however,
and fanned 9 times over the course of the game. (Hitters from both teams were
frequently frustrated with Brennan Miller’s strike zone.)
Meanwhile, the Astros tied the score on a solo homer by Jake Marisnick
in the top of the third (the first round-tripper I’ve seen this spring), and
teed off on Gio the next frame, with an infield single by Altuve and a double
by Gurriel plating the go-ahead run, followed by a two-out single by Josh
Reddick and a homer by Marwin Gonzalez to complete the day’s scoring.
There were no actual games going on in the complex when I arrived
around 11:15, although I did get to see Strasburg and Joe Ross throwing on the
side. Went with the grouper tacos again for lunch.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
March 25, 2017 – Nationals 4, Astros 1 – West Palm Beach FL
Attendance: 4,354
Game Time: 3:07
Weather: 76 degrees, partly cloudy
Wind: 17 mph
Umpires: Home Plate - John Libka, First Base - CB Bucknor, Second Base
- Greg Gibson, Third Base - Mike Estabrook
Seventh-inning stretch song – Deep in the Heart of Texas
Section 109, Row R, Seat 7 (same seat as Thursday)
Tanner Roark and Daniel Murphy made their first game appearances since
returning from the World Baseball Classic, so the Nats had what looked like a
regular season lineup on the field. (Although Houston used Carlos Beltran as
their DH, Washington elected to let Roark hit for himself.) Tanner was in fine
form, allowing only one run before exiting with one out in the sixth after 73
pitches to a standing ovation. Solis, Kelley, Romero, and Treinen blanked the
Astros the rest of the way.
The batter’s box wasn’t an especially safe place in the first few
innings. Roark plunked Bregman in the first and Gurriel in the second. In the
top of the third, after Murphy beat the shift with a one-out single to left, Houston
starter Lance McCullers got Harper and Rendon (although Bryce wanted to decline
the base and take his swings). Werth then put the Nats on the board with a long
sac fly.
Washington broke things open and chased McCullers the following inning.
With one out, following a Zimmerman double and a Wieters single (and a wild
pitch advancing Matt), Turner grounded to second – Zim looked like an easy out,
but somehow managed to avoid the tag at the plate. Murph then doubled into the
right-field corner to easily score Wieters and Trea.
This was a home game for Astros in their shared ballpark, which meant
Astros programs on sale and plenty of appearances by quirky-but-cute green
mascot Orbit. No Racing Presidents, and the Washington player photos didn’t
appear on the scoreboard when they batted, although there seemed to be more
Nats than Astros fans in the stands.
Splurged on a “Diablo Burger” (lettuce, tomato, pepper jack cheese and
jalapenos) – large and tasty, but definitely not a bargain at 12 bucks.
I arrived at the complex around 11:15 and got to see the last several
innings of a pitchers’ BP contest – starters (Max, Stras, Gio, Ross) vs.
relievers (Guthrie, Albers, Worley, Nathan). No infielders or baserunning
(except for ghost runners), with the two teams taking turns batting and playing
the outfield. Coach-pitch until the last two innings, when they used the
machine. Quite competitive, as the final score was 20-19, with Gio making a
game-saving catch in right to end it.
Saturday, March 25, 2017
March 24, 2017 – Cardinals 3, Nationals 1 – West Palm Beach FL
Attendance: 5,078
Game Time: 2:42
Weather: 74 degrees, partly cloudy
Wind: 19 mph
Umpires: Home Plate - Ryan Additon, First Base - Mike Estabrook, Second
Base - John Bostwick
Section 110, Row M, Seat 1 – next section to where I was yesterday,
just a bit down the first base line. “Dugout Box”, so somewhat closer, and more
in the sun.
No weather issues today, but the Washington offense continued to
struggle. They did load the bases with two out in the first against Cards
starter Michael Wacha, but failed to score, and went down in order in each of
the next 4 frames. They finally broke through in the sixth on singles by
Turner, Harper, and Werth off Trevor Rosenthal, but Eaton fanned with the bases
loaded and two out to end the threat.
Jeremy Guthrie started for the Nats and held the Cards hitless through
his 4.1 innings. They finally broke through off closer candidate Koda Glover,
plating two in the 6th keyed by a Dexter Fowler triple, and adding
another in the 7th. Glover, who’s typically more of a one-inning
guy, wound up facing 9 batters, retiring 5 and allowing 4 hits.
For lunch, I decided to try a “PB half smoke”, which it turns out is
topped by pulled pork, BBQ sauce, and cole slaw. Actually good, not quite as
messy as expected, and a relative bargain at $7.00.
Friday, March 24, 2017
March 23, 2017 – Nationals 1, Mets 0 – West Palm Beach FL
Attendance: 6,086
Game Time: 2:26 (start delayed by 42 minutes due to rain)
Weather: 73 degrees, cloudy (but it got significantly cooler later in
the game)
Wind: 12 mph (and up)
Umpires: Home Plate - Angel Hernandez, First Base - Chris Conroy,
Second Base - Nick Mahrley, Third Base - Shane Livensparger
Seventh-inning stretch song: I Got You (I Feel Good) – James Brown
Section 109, Row R, Seat 7 (“Infield Box”) – Lower level (as are
virtually all the seats at The Ballpark of The Palm Beaches), almost exactly
behind home plate. I purchased “Dugout Box” tickets, which are $3-5 more
expensive, for a couple other games, but only got a few rows closer to the
action)
It was nice and sunny up until about 12:30, when a thunderstorm arrived.
Fortunately it didn’t last too long, but the game started closer to 2:00 than
the scheduled 1:05. Rain event #2 came an hour or so later, in the middle of
the 5th inning; it wasn’t hard enough to stop play, but the wind
whipped up to such an extent that most of us cleared out of the stands until it
stopped. We had a little more in the final couple innings, by which point quite
a few of the fans had already left the building.
After Hall of Famer Tim Raines threw out the first ball, Erick Fedde
and 5 Nats relievers combined to hold the visitors to 4 hits, without walking a
single batter. Fedde was particularly good, throwing a ton of ground balls
during his 5-inning stint. The only baserunners he allowed were on two one-out
singles in the 4th, but he retired Curtis Granderson and Neil Walker
to end the threat. Closer candidate Blake Treinen handled the ninth, retiring
Michael Conforto and Juan Lagares with the tying run in scoring position.
The Nats didn’t do much better against the Mets pitchers, but did
manage to scratch out an unearned run in the 3rd, as Trea reached on
an error by shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and scored on a two-out double by Tony
Two-Bags.
Cabrera provided a little more excitement a half-inning later, as he
managed to get tossed after his one-out single. Apparently he complained a
little too much about being denied a timeout prior to the previous pitch. He
got a little bit of revenge with his exit, strolling slowly from the third-base
dugout across the middle of the field to the visitors’ clubhouse beyond right
field.
My first glance at the concession selection and prices at the Nats’ new
spring home left me less than overwhelmed. The $8.00 pair of grouper tacos was
pretty good, however.
Monday, March 20, 2017
Chuck Berry
Long live rock & roll!
Favorite songs:
Roll Over Beethoven
Johnny B. Goode
Back In The U.S.A.
Rock And Roll Music
Almost Grown
School Days
No Particular Place To Go
Sweet Little Sixteen
Nadine
Favorite covers of Chuck Berry songs:
You Never Can Tell (C’est La Vie) – Emmylou Harris
Memphis – Lonnie Mack
Roll Over Beethoven – Electric Light Orchestra
Saturday, March 18, 2017
#141 The Dark End Of The Street – James Carr (1967)
The first
time I ever heard this soul classic by Chips Moman and Dan Penn was when it was
performed in the 1991 movie The
Commitments. It’s been recorded by
Percy Sledge, Don Dixon, Eva Cassidy, and many others, but somehow never
managed to become a hit. The original version by James Carr was the only one to
appear on the Hot 100, peaking at a modest #77.
#140 The Windows Of The World – Dionne Warwick (1967)
Dionne
Warwick, of course, made a career out of recording songs written by Burt
Bacharach and Hal David. This one unfortunately wasn’t a big hit, but it’s one
of their best, and almost certainly the most poignant. (Chrissie Hynde and the
Pretenders later did a great cover version as well.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)