#27 The Look Of Love -- Dusty Springfield (1967)

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

Although English singer Dusty Springfield did record some upbeat tracks, such as “I Only Want To Be With You” and “Son-Of-A Preacher Man”, she was never better than on this sultry Bacharach-David classic, from the Casino Royale soundtrack. If you’re looking for something for romantic candle-lit dinners (or dimly-lit bedrooms), this is a great place to start.

#28 Walking On Sunshine -- Katrina & The Waves (1985)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPUmE-tne5U

OK, I’ll admit that many of the songs on this list are pretty obscure – after I started posting it, a friend of mine asked when I would include something that she had heard of – but I’d think that most people who were alive in 1985 or later are familiar with this one (and not just because it’s prominently featured in Nick Hornby’s book/movie High Fidelity). Perfect summer song, perfect wake-up music, and a perfect example of what you can do with the classic three-chord progression (I-IV-V for the musically-inclined).

September 8, 2014 – Nationals 2, Braves 1—Nationals Park

A committee of one?

Umpires: HP: Joe West. 1B: Alan Porter. 2B: Marty Foster. 3B: Rob Drake.

Weather: 70 degrees, cloudy.

Wind: 15 mph, In from RF.

T: 2:39.

Att: 25,448.

Venue: Nationals Park.

Following Rafael Soriano’s most recent blown saves and at least temporary demotion from the closer’s role for the Nats, Matt Williams has insisted that he will be employing a “closer-by-committee” approach to finishing off close ballgames, at least until Soriano is straightened out. After watching Drew Storen handle the ninth inning the last two days, however, one has to wonder whether or not Storen may be winning the role for good, regardless of a possible Soriano resurgence.

Although the Monday night crowd was not especially large, the game had a playoff atmosphere throughout. The Nats struck quickly for a run in the top of the first on singles by Rendon, LaRoche, and Desmond. The starting pitchers dominated the game through the first six innings, with the Nats’ only other threat being in the bottom of the third – Werth and LaRoche reached third base and second base with two outs, but Desmond hit a foul fly to Jason Heyward in right to end the inning. Doug Fister was even better for the Nats, not allowing at Atlanta runner past first base in his first six innings.

Fister faltered a bit in the seventh, walking Freddie Freeman to lead off the inning and Tommy La Stella with two outs. This prompted a mound visit by manager Matt Williams, who elected to leave Fister in to the delight of the crowd. The Nats starter then finished off his seven innings of shutout ball by inducing a grounder to short by Andrelton Simmons.

After the stretch, the Nats added an important insurance run in the bottom of the frame, as pinch-runner Jeff Kobernus scored from third on a Rendon grounder, after the inning started with a Ramos single and an Asdrubal Cabrera double. This run proved crucial when Tyler Clippard and Matt Thornton, the other two members of the closer committee, combined to allow an Atlanta run in the top of the eighth before Craig Stammen came in to prevent further damage. There was no such suspense in the ninth, as Storen came in to strike out the side, given him 5 Ks in six batters faced in his Sunday and Monday saves.

Section 135, Row R, seats 10-13 – lower level, down the right field line. Prime foul ball territory; none came our way, but there was one in the section next to us. The drive down was uneventful, but the traffic on the freeway and 14^th-street bridge on the way home was even slower than usual. We finally discovered that a “milling and paving” project was underway that closed the right two lanes of the bridge as we got close to Virginia, meaning that not only couldn’t we take our usual ramp to the northbound GW Parkway, but we also couldn’t reach the southbound Parkway or take the shortcut around the Pentagon parking lots. We finally got off on Glebe Road and had a leisurely drive through Arlington, finally reaching the Parkway near the Chain Bridge. (Of course, since it was a start by the quick-working Fister, I still made it home slightly before midnight.)

September 7, 2014 – Nationals 3, Phillies 2 – Nationals Park

What would LaRoche be doing if he were healthy???

Umpires: HP: Tom Woodring. 1B: Chad Fairchild. 2B: Adrian Johnson. 3B: Mike Everitt.

Weather: 75 degrees, sunny.

Wind: 4 mph, Out to CF.

T: 3:20.

Att: 29,108.

In the Nationals’ epic 14-inning victory in Los Angeles this past Wednesday, Adam LaRoche was almost certain not to play – in addition to the back stiffness he had been suffering, he came up with the flu. Nevertheless, Matt Williams called on him to pinch-hit in the ninth inning, and he drilled a two-run homer to tie the game. Three innings later, after being drilled in the elbow with a pitch in the eleventh, he singled in two more runs to give the Nats the lead (which they promptly gave back in the bottom of the inning). In the fourteenth, he drove in what finally proved to the winning run by beating out a potential inning-ending double play. After the cross-country plane trip on Thursday, he followed up on Friday with a two-run homer in the first against the Phillies (in a game the Nats eventually lost in 11).

On Sunday, LaRoche again provided most of the offense for the Nats, with homers leading off the second and fourth innings off Phillies ace Cole Hamels. (Showing my incredible baseball expertise [sarcasm alert], I had speculated that Matt Williams might give LaRoche the day off against the left-handed Hamels.) The Nats took their first lead of the game and concluded the scoring in the bottom of the sixth on an Ian Desmond double, a balk call on Hamels, and a long sacrifice fly by Hamels-killer Scott Hairston.

The balk was not the only play where the umpires figured into the action. The Phillies had taken the lead in the top of the first when the Nats, playing as if they were intent on continuing their recent struggles against the Phils, threw the ball away twice on a Marlon Byrd single, with Grady Sizemore scoring from first and Byrd winding up at third. Phils manager Ryne Sandberg argued to no avail that Byrd should have been awarded home as well. In the top of the eighth, Ben Revere led off with a pinch single and appeared to steal second base successfully, but was ruled out when Williams challenged the initial call.

The weather was beautiful – about 15 degrees cooler than Saturday with much less humidity – but the sun was tough on the centerfielders. Tony Gwynn Jr. lost a fly ball by Desmond in the bottom of the second, but Hamels pitched out of it. The Nats were not so lucky in the top of the fourth, when Carlos Ruiz doubled on a ball that Denard Span lost in the sun, and subsequently scored the Phils’ second run on a Marlon Byrd single and a Darin Ruf sac fly.

Drew Storen had no trouble getting the save in lieu of the demoted Rafael Soriano, coming up with a 1-2-3 ninth inning culminating in a strikeout of Phils pinch-hitter Ryan Howard.

We finally used our Red Carpets Rewards points to get seats in the last row of Section 112 (UU, 8-11) – just beyond third base, nice view, in the shade. For the second time this season, I purchased one of the overpriced (but good) chicken shawarmas from Shawafel. (Judging from the lack of a line every time I’ve been by, I wonder whether they will be back next year.)

Shuffle #27 (September 6, 2014)

Lollipop – The Chordettes

Wild Weekend – The Rockin’ Rebels

Compared To What – Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express

St. Valentine’s Day Massacre – Cocktail Slippers

The Usual Thing – Marshall Crenshaw

So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad) – The Everly Brothers

Ordinary People – John Legend

Can I Trust You – The Bachelors

When The Morning Comes – Hall & Oates

Little Lies – Fleetwood Mac

#29 True Love Travels On A Gravel Road -- Elvis Presley (1969)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmlPtkzn36w

This obscure classic, from the comeback album From Elvis In Memphis, seems to be a favorite of WXPN’s David Dye, without whom I probably would never have heard it. It’s another one that I’m surprised no one ever had a hit with; it was co-written by a well-known country songsmith, Dallas Frazier, who did have success with songs such as “Elvira”, “Mohair Sam”, and “There Goes My Everything”.

#30 Two Hearts -- Phil Collins (1988)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97_XpAE1YmQ

I was never much of a Genesis fan, either before or after Peter Gabriel’s departure. Nor was I fond of Phil Collins as a solo performer – I mean, the guy turned one of his few good songs (“In The Air Tonight”) into a beer commercial, and resurrected one of the sappiest songs from the British Invasion (“Groovy Kind Of Love” by the Mindbenders), somehow managing to make it sound even worse than the original. This one, however, is a pure pop masterpiece, and I guess serves as redemption for a multitude of other sins.

September 1, 2014 – Potomac Nationals 6, Frederick Keys 1 – Harry Grove Stadium (Frederick)

So play ball already!

Umpires: HP: Cody Oakes. 1B: Rich Grassa.

Weather: 90 degrees, partly cloudy.

Wind: 6 mph, R to L.

T: 2:06 (1:44 delay).

Att: 4,909.

On a hot Labor Day afternoon with “scattered showers” predicted, both teams started out as if they were trying to vacate the premises as quickly as possible, with the first three innings being completed in a mere half hour. Clouds had been gathering, however, and a few drops of rain started falling in the bottom of the third. After the Nationals’ leadoff batter was retired in the top of the fourth, however, the skies opened and the game was quickly halted. The grounds crew got the tarp on reasonably quickly, the storm moved on after about 20 minutes, and then the sun came out.

And then we waited. After the tarp was removed, the umpires engaged in a lengthy conversation with the two managers down the left-field line, while many of the players from both teams congregated behind second base. The field appeared to be in great shape, and there didn’t seem to be any remaining storms or lightning anywhere in the vicinity. This continued until about 3:50 (the game had been halted shortly after 2:30), when the umpires finally came in and there was an announcement that the game would be resumed – at 4:15. No indication of what had caused the lengthy “sun delay”.

The game itself was pretty anticlimactic. Potomac broke through when catcher Pedro Severino belted a two-run homer off reliever Jimmy Yacabonis in the fifth inning, added another run off Yacabonis on three singles in the sixth, and broke things wide open in the top of the seventh with three runs on four hits off Lex Rutledge. The Keys didn’t get their first hit until the fifth inning, finally scoring a run in the seventh on a wild pitch.

Section 203, Row J, Seat 1 – on the aisle in the third row from the back, in the second section to the right of home plate. This row does provide some shade on a hot day, but unfortunately only the rearmost two rows are under the overhang and thus protected from the rain. There’s nothing like the combination of a heavy rain and a limited amount of space under cover on the concourse to make a relatively small crowd (many of the announced 4,909 were apparently present in spirit only) seem much, much larger.

Oh – and if I had stayed home, I could have watched the Phillies no-hit Atlanta.

Shuffle #26 (September 1, 2014)

Daydream Believer – The Monkees

Love Has No Pride – Bonnie Raitt

Come Dancing – The Kinks

The “In” Crowd – Ramsey Lewis

Jackie Wilson Said – Van Morrison

Cooksferry Queen – Richard Thompson

Alison – Elvis Costello

Pull Up To The Bumper – Grace Jones

I Can’t Understand – Los Lobos

Shuffle #25 (August 30, 2014)

Evil Ways – Santana

Silhouettes – Herman’s Hermits

True Faith – New Order

Southern Man – Neil Young

If I Needed Someone – The Beatles

Free Your Mind – En Vogue

All My Tomorrows – Frank Sinatra

P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) – Michael Jackson