May 14, 2015 – Padres 8, Nationals 3 – Petco Park (San Diego)

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/124455786/after-rain-delay-padres-derek-norris-has-five-rbis-in-win-over-nationals

 

Umpires: HP: Tony Randazzo. 1B: Pat Hoberg. 2B: Gerry Davis. 3B: Phil Cuzzi.

Weather: 60 degrees, drizzle.

Wind: 4 mph, Varies.

T: 2:44 (1:56 delay).

Att: 22,710.

Section FV101, Row 11, Seat 15 – just a bit down the first base line, just a few rows behind the 4-5 rows of “Lexus Home Plate Club” super-premium seats – great location (and one that would be unaffordable in Nationals Park), but no particular perks (sitting in one of the “Field VIP” sections, I had at least expected an usher to offer to wipe off my seat)

Personal choice for song of the day: It Never Rains In Southern California – Albert Hammond

 

Highlights – no rain on the one-mile walk through the Gaslamp Quarter to the park, either coming or going … the rain that started once I got to the stadium stopped in time for them to remove the tarp around 6:30, and there was some blue sky for the next half-hour … after 3 innings of nonexistent offense, Nats broke through against Padres starter Tyson Ross for single runs in the 4^th and 5^th … strong relief work by Treinen and Grace held San Diego to just one run over the last 6 frames

 

Other – rain resumed as the game started, and play was halted after Ross struck out Nats leadoff hitter Denard Span … the ensuing almost 2-hour rain delay was the first at Petco since April 2011, and only the fifth since the park opened in 2004 … after retiring the first two Padres batters in the bottom of the first, Fister yielded 3 runs on two singles and a Derek Norris homer … San Diego struck for 4 more runs in the second, capped by a two-run Norris triple … started raining again in the bottom of the 4^th; I held out until the Nats were finally retired in the top of the 5^th, making it an official game

B. B. King

The Thrill Is Gone

 

From this morning’s New York Times: “B. B. King, whose world-weary voice and wailing guitar lifted him from the cotton fields of Mississippi to a global stage and the apex of American blues, died on Thursday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 89. …”

May 10, 2015 – Nationals 5, Braves 4 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/123524096/wilson-ramos-caps-nationals-rally-in-8th-to-edge-braves

 

Umpires: HP: Jim Reynolds. 1B: Manny Gonzalez. 2B: Paul Schrieber. 3B: Fieldin Culbreth.

Weather: 80 degrees, cloudy.

Wind: 4 mph, Out to CF.

T: 2:51.

Att: 31,938.

Seventh-inning stretch song: I Can’t Help Myself – The Four Tops

 

Highlights – 3-run Nats first inning, featuring a mere double to deep center by Bryce Harper … 2-run game-winning rally by Nats in bottom of the eighth (Desmond single, Werth walk, Zimmerman single, Ramos double) … scoreless top of the eighth by Sammy Solis to get his first major-league win … 1-2-3 ninth by Storen to save it and win everyone Chick-Fil-A sandwiches

 

Other – Nats (Uggla, Werth, Ramos) made 3 unnecessary outs on the bases … Jordan Zimmermann struggled with his command all day, making the Nats 3-run lead vanish by the middle of the third, and giving up 3 hits to Atlanta starter Alex Wood (matching his previous career hit total) … despite Zimmermann’s problems, Matt Williams let him lead off the bottom of the fifth, despite being at the 90-pitch mark

Playlist for Tom Brady

Today’s project – a playlist dedicated to New England Patriots QB Tom Brady. (I know this is almost too easy, but I just couldn’t resist.)

 

You Cheated (You Lied) – The Shields

Your Cheatin’ Heart – Hank Williams

Lips Are Movin’ – Meghan Trainor

Liar – Three Dog Night

You’ve Been Cheatin’ – The Impressions

Lyin’ Eyes – The Eagles

The Cheater – Bob Kuban And The In-Men

Lies – The Knickerbockers

The Great Pretender – The Platters

Little Lies – Fleetwood Mac

 

And finally …

 

Won’t Get Fooled Again – The Who

Serendipity #34

Tempted – Squeeze

 

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

 

Heard 5/4/2015 around noon, at Jerry’s Subs (Shady Grove)

May 3, 2015 – Bowie Baysox 11, Harrisburg Senators 9 – Prince George’s Stadium (Bowie MD)

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20150503&content_id=122142586&fext=.jsp&vkey=recap&sid=t418

 

Umpires: HP: John Bacon. 1B: Jorge Teran. 3B: Charlie Ramos.

Weather: 76 degrees, partly cloudy.

Wind: 10 mph, Varies.

T: 2:46.

Att: 3,885.

Section 203, Row P, Seat 21 -- second section on the first-base side of home plate, back row (in the shade), on the aisle -- my preferred seat whenever I can get it

 

Quite a game, on a perfect day weather-wise for baseball. After falling behind 6-0 in the top of the second inning, the Baysox worked their way back into the game, and trailed 9-7 entering the bottom of the ninth. The first 5 hitters of the inning produced a double, strikeout, walk, another strikeout, and a hit batter, loading the bases with two out. Bowie manager Gary Kendall then sent starting catcher Chris O’Brien up to pinch-hit for shortstop Ozzie Martinez. True to the Hollywood-ish script, O’Brien hit the first pitch he saw from Senators closer Abel De Los Santos over the right field fence for a walk-off grand slam.

 

Trivia note – the Nats picked up De Los Santos from the Rangers last December in the Ross Detweiler trade.

 

Mustachioed Harrisburg reliever Bryan (brother of Bryce) Harper contributed to the Baysox rally, retiring all three batters he faced in the seventh but yielding three runs in the eighth (walk, RBI double, home run) while retiring only one batter.

 

Once again, no game action for Anthony Rendon in his rehab assignment.

Shuffle #56 (May 3, 2015)

Ana Ng – They Might Be Giants

Ruby Tuesday – The Rolling Stones

4^th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) – Bruce Springsteen

Leader Of The Pack – The Shangri-Las

Someday Soon – Judy Collins

Nighttime In The Switching Yard – Warren Zevon

Walk On – U2

For The Love Of You – The Isley Brothers

Ben E. King

Soul singer Ben E. King died April 30^th at the age of 76. Obviously King will always be best known for performing and co-writing (with Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller) the classic soul ballad “Stand By Me”, which was a Top 10 hit both when it originally came out in 1961 and when it was re-released in 1986, after being used as the theme for the equally great movie of the same name. King, however, was no one-hit wonder. As a solo singer, his singles hit Billboard’s Hot 100 over 20 times, including Top 10 hits “Spanish Harlem” (his first single) and “Supernatural Thing – Part 1” in 1975. He also sang lead on the two biggest hits the Drifters ever had: “There Goes My Baby” (for which he wrote the lyrics) and “Save The Last Dance For Me”, which reached #1 in 1960.

LP #14 The Temptations – In A Mellow Mood (1967)

A man whose taste is eerily similar to mine noted last year that this album is “extremely well done … with great soulful arrangements of show tunes and some other standards.” That pretty much sums it up; obviously the Temps did a great job on songs by Motown writers such as Smokey Robinson, Norman Whitfield, and Barrett Strong, but this LP shows that they could bring a “Lot O’ Soul” (to borrow from the title of their previous album) to other material as well. In more recent years, established artists releasing “standards” albums has almost become a cliché, but this one is one of the best ever in that genre.

 

Favorite tracks:

The Impossible Dream

Ol’ Man River

Try To Remember

Hello, Young Lovers

With These Hands

LP #15 Peter Gabriel – So (1986)

I have to admit that I’ve never been a Genesis fan, either before or after Gabriel left to start his solo career. (Phil Collins’s solo work does nothing for me either, with one glorious exception.) Gabriel has done some good stuff over the years, but So is the high point of his career (commercially as well as artistically), accessible without pandering to the lowest common denominator. “Big Time” is a classic (along with its video), and “Mercy Street” is one of the most haunting songs ever, but there are several other great tracks on it as well.

 

Favorite tracks:

Big Time

Mercy Street

Sledgehammer

Don’t Give Up