I don't bleed blue and gold, but...

...that loss to the Houston Astros in 10 innings killed last night.

I'm not going to claim that I am a baseball expert. I don't really understand what VORP is -- nor do I really care -- and a lot of the minutiae of the game is completely lost on me. I've only followed the Brewers closely this past year because they were competitive for once, so perhaps my opinion is invalid.

There has been a lot of Ned Yost hate going on around the internet lately, what with his mismanagement of the bullpen in tight games. I understand some of it. For one thing, this is the internet and that means there will always be someone, somewhere to bitch and nitpick about every little move he makes. Secondly, there have been some decisions that were definitely questionable. When I start picking up on those decisions, you know there's something wrong.

But this isn't going to be a "trash Yost" post (heh, that rhymed). I don't believe, as talented as this team is, that they got off to a 24-10 start despite him. He's gotten them where they are today -- which is better than they've been in 15 years -- even with his occasional screw-ups. And I say "occasional" because a lot of baseball decisions are "woulda-coulda-shoulda" in hindsight. Yeah, Yost coulda pinch-ran (run? what's the proper verbiage there?) for Bush at 3rd when he knew he was pulling him anyway, but there's no guarantee that the runner scores. That's just one example -- a small sample size to be sure -- but I think it's indicative of the types of things fans nitpick on. They're not any better than Yost is at gambling with the game on the line.

So, what about winning with your best guys? Isn't that a baseball manager's job? I'd like to think it is. Trouble is, sometimes you get burned with your best, sometimes you don't. A loss is a loss either way, so when Ned doesn't have the best guys out there, what's the difference? I realize that makes Yost sound like a horrible manager (and that I sound like I don't give a shit) that doesn't care about his team. Maybe on some nights he does give that impression. But to imply that if we had Lou Piniella or Joe Torre or someone of that caliber would guarantee a win in those close games is nieve, don't you think?

This is why I don't blame Ned Yost completely for last night's breakdown. The Brewers themselves shoulder the blame here. What about that bases loaded situation in the first inning? They pissed it away. How about the aforementioned Bush-on-third situation in the 6th? Dillon got him over there with a double... and the Brewers didn't bring anyone yet again. Those two things, if executed properly, would have made a shaky bullpen irrelevant. (figure three runs in those two situations with Rickie's shot in the 9th, and it's 7-4, not tied up)

Of course, none of those things happened, and the game was left up to the shaky bullpen. Linebrink almost got out of the 7th unscathed (which would have setup Turnbow comfortably in the 8th), but this isn't horseshoes or hand grenades. Shouse and Turnbow couldn't get it done either. Then, in the 9th, Ned Yost channeled Kenny Rogers and gambled on Chris Spurling and Mitch Stetter. After the inning was done and the score still tied, I decided I wanted to go to Potowatomi and have Ned with me at the blackjack table. There was no way I could lose then.

What happened here on both offense and with the pitching was that for the most part, the players didn't step up when they needed to. The whole point would be moot if the Brewers squeaked out a victory somehow... but then Yost had to go and put in Matt Wise in the bottom of the 10th, facing both Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman. Yeah, the same Matt Wise that nailed a guy in the face and hasn't been the same since. Even the staunchest of Ned defenders should know that was a dumb choice.

All is not lost for the Brew Crew though. Those guys have a way of bouncing back from tough losses. Plus, the Cubs are chokers of the finest order. If the starting pitching goes as well as it has lately (with the exception of Ben "Glass Joe" Sheets), I think they'll be all right. That is, unless they get into another situation against the Braves or Padres like they did last night.

The General Mish-Mash, Volume One

I had something all ready to go last weekend, but then I decided to buy what you see above, Old Grand Dad 100 proof whiskey. There went that idea. So instead I give you what will probably become a recurring feature when I don't have a single big topic to write about. Here is the first installment.

Part I: Why I don’t update

Deep inside my mind I knew that this time wouldn’t be any different; I knew that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with even a paltry two updates a week. For once, it’s not for lack of topics. I still have at least 3 or 4 that could go well beyond my usual 1,000 word benchmark. Still others are lesser, but yet I want to write about those things too.

The truth of the matter is lately, I just don’t care.

Now, that’s no way for a writer to talk, is it? For one, if the writer doesn’t care, why should the reader? That’s fair enough. However, I’m going to be very childish and say that the reader didn’t care first.

I don’t have the luxury of having hundreds of friends on Facebook or MySpace; with such a large sample size, one would think at least a handful of people would come check it out. So I’m down already, but not out: I still have some friends on those sites, and if even 25% (which would be what, four?) of those people would read this garbage, I would feel all right. Unfortunately, no one has.

Sure, I’ve forcibly shown the site to a couple of people, but aside from initial comments, I’ve heard nothing. If I suck, fine. Tell me that I suck and that you’re never coming back. At least I know you came. But if I really am a good writer, who the hell am I writing for? I understand people are busy and have better things to do than check out a shitty blog written by grumpy old man, but would every once in a while hurt? A “Hey, I like what you wrote!” or “You’re an idiot” from someone other than Ken would be cool.

Honestly, I think school spoiled me. I had a deadline to work with, a grade on the line, and perhaps most importantly I was ten times bitterer than I am now. Those things kept me going. The other writers in my class may have been forced to read everyone’s stuff, but at least they were there and you knew they were paying attention.

If I wanted to write for myself, I have a 10-pack of notebooks in the drawer beside me. I could write in those and keep them away from everyone, so later on I can look back and see how stupid (or ahead of my time) I was at twenty-five. Right…

I understand that blogs get readers through word of mouth. One blogger goes to another blogger and says “Hey, check out my shit!” and it goes from there. Well, I don’t have the sack – even with the anonymity of the internet – to do that because 1)Yes, I am a giant pussy, and 2) because I have no focus. I can’t write something about the Brewers and expect a sports blog to link to it when everything else on the site is about 17 other random things. It doesn’t make sense to me, even though I’m probably wrong.

Part II: Television vs. Reading

Here I go being two months late again, but I read this report and it scared me. We’re getting closer and closer to the movie Idiocracy. I don’t want to come off as Mister High-and-Mighty English major, because I don’t fit that stereotype, at least not all the way.

But I do like to read; I always have. So it pisses me off a little that some people apparently can’t be bothered to pick up a book once in a while. I understand that there are tons of things one can do to pass the time today. You Tube, video games, movies, television… I like all those things, but once in a while I like to lose myself in a book.

My friend Ken said “if there are no tits or Batman [in the book], then I’m not interested.” That’s fine, but it infuriates me. I’ve read a ton of stuff that I think he’d enjoy, but I’m met with resistance. I don’t want to sound like one of those people that proudly proclaim that they don’t own a television. I think both media have their merits. TV, admittedly, has something for everyone: educational programs on PBS, History Channel, and Discovery Channel; and mindless entertainment like WWE, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and Beavis and Butt-head.

But so do books. I think you can use your imagination in such ways that television just can’t match.

If I have a point here – and it may not be very good – is that people shouldn’t be so resistant to both reading and watching television. Books aren’t just for high-falutin’ English majors and dorks, and TV-watching isn’t for mere plebeians. Maybe if we did a little of both, we could have a more balanced – and ultimately healthier – life.

Part III: Two American Classics

I found this on You Tube last weekend, and it made my day. I give you David Letterman interviewing Beavis and Butt-head.

Sunday (not Friday) Five: 9/2/07

Five concerts I would like to have seen


Okay, so I missed a couple of days on the Friday Five, but no one was breathing down my neck wondering where the post was so no harm, no foul.

I was listening to the VH1 Storytellers CD featuring Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson last weekend when I thought of this list. I was thinking to myself, “Man, that would have been a sweet concert to go to.” That got me to thinking of other concerts I’ve missed out on over the years whether I was too young, not actually alive, or in the case of one it may have never actually happened. I think you’ll see that most of them have some sort of historical significance in addition to being a concert to remember.

5) The Smashing Pumpkins’ final show, 12/2/2000

All right, so it’s not that big of a deal now that Billy Corgan has brought back the Smashing Pumpkins, albeit in an abridged form. But I came of age listening to the Pumpkins; songs like “1979,” “Muzzle,” “Disarm,” and “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” were the soundtrack to those carefree years. When Corgan broke the news of the band’s breakup, people called into the radio station and cried. I don’t think I would’ve had the same reaction, but it did make me sad inside.

And the actual concert? It wasn’t just any show. The band played 35 songs over four hours. The atmosphere in The Metro must have been electric. To hear them play songs that spanned their whole career would have been nothing short of awesome, and to see what in my mind is the definitive Pumpkins lineup – Billy, James Iha, and Jimmy Chamberlin (bassists are a dime a dozen, sorry) – would have been a memory I never forgot.

4) Nirvana – anytime around 1991-92

I was obsessed with Kurt Cobain around 2002-03 – ten years late and in the wrong part of the country, just like my hair at the time – so I know a little bit about his back story. That’s why I chose this particular time frame. He was a heroin user even then, but he wasn’t a full-on junkie. The band was still tight, perhaps even on top of their game even though In Utero, their best album, wasn’t released yet.

I get the feeling that Cobain wasn’t weary of being a rock star at that point. To me, that could only make shows around that period even better. Later in their short career, the band (though probably Kurt moreso than anyone else) tired of playing the megahits like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Lithium.” It would be quite the downer to go see a band you love and not hear the songs that made them famous.

If I had to pick a specific show, I suppose I would skip 91-92 altogether and go with an obvious choice, the MTV Unplugged concert. Going back in time to see that would be eerie, as we all know what happened not long after that. But the music from that concert is undeniably powerful and moving, which makes it an easy choice.

3) Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. Anytime, anywhere.

Yeah, I made this one up. I would think they’ve played together at some point aside from the Storytellers CD, but you never know.

My vision for this concert would be both men co-headlining, perhaps with a Storytellers-esque encore. Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Three. Willie Nelson and the Family. With country music in mind, you really can’t get any better than that.

I’ll be completely honest; I didn’t get into Cash until he covered NIN’s “Hurt.” I soon realized his true genius after he died. Shortly after that I started getting into Willie as well, and my interest in classic country music was born. They have slightly contrasting styles, but both wore their hearts on their sleeves and have unmistakable voices. I really have nothing more to say here, so… Yeah, Cash and Nelson, stay the course, 1000 points of light, etc. etc.

2) Jimi Hendrix – Monterey Pop Festival, 1967

Time travel doesn’t exist (yet) but it doesn’t need to, considering this set is on DVD and will be coming out on CD sometime this fall. From the moment the first lines of “Killing Floor” blared through my speakers, I was blown away.

As far as historical significance is concerned, this was Hendrix’s coming out party in the US. I imagine some of the people at the festival didn’t know what think when Jimi came out and started rocking; he was in sharp contrast to less heavy acts such as Simon and Garfunkel and The Byrds. An interesting note about his set was that he covered The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band… a week after the record came out.

(Okay, it may not be the most difficult song in the world, but it’s still pretty damn cool, right?)

I guess I’m running out of gas down the stretch because I have nothing more to add. Then again with Jimi Hendrix, who does?

1) The Beatles – anytime in Hamburg, 1962-63

Was there any doubt that I would pick what many think is the greatest band of all time for my number one spot? I shied away from the Beatlemania period for one reason: they played ½ an hour at most, in front of 50,000 screaming fans so you couldn’t hear a damn word anyway. I ruled out their later years because a lot of the songs don’t strike me as the kind that would translate into good live numbers. So, Hamburg it is.

They played all night in sweaty nightclubs, aided by amphetamines and paid with prostitutes (and a little money too). This is where they honed their craft, playing every song they knew and probably some they didn’t. They were loud and rowdy and ass-kicking. In short, they were a rock n roll band. It was at this time that Lennon and McCartney also started writing the songs that would make up their debut album.

Unlike Nirvana, I can’t pick out a single concert I’d like to see from the Beatles. The famed rooftop concert would’ve been cool, but then again in hindsight the set list was kind of lame. Plus, it wasn’t as spontaneous as they made it seem; they were simply trying to do something that could make it into the concert film that Paul wanted to make.