One of only a few songs from Billy Joel's catalog I celebrate.
Well, I should have guessed that my hopes would be dashed. I'm now 0-3 in the past year for the teams I've cheered for: 04 Cardinals, Illini's Nat Championship run, and the 05 Cardinals. I'm thinking I'm actually 0-4 but I'm forgetting what other team it was I thought was going to do something good. It was certainly not the Titans. For once I'm cheering something from Chicago.
Enough sports talk. It's not like I'm some sorta sports freak.
Like everyone else in Nashville, I talk about the weather. To sound like a broken record, it's either really hot, or cold (not unbearable, just uncomfortable). There is never any inbetween... at least not longer than a week. Case in point? Last Thursday it was 80 degrees. Sunday? High in the low 50's. Can I not get several days of 60/70 degree weather? I did get some hiking in during the weekend of the 15/16. Despite being in the area for 10+ years I finally hiked at Warner Parks.
I took in two concerts in the past couple of weeks, Nickel Creek and The New Pornographers show. Nickel Creek was good. The New Pornographers put on one heck of a show and L100 carried it live! The NP show ranks up there with some of the best concerts I've seen. It's no Eels show (probably the all time best) but they made their case. I've since heard the live telecast (way to go L100 with the encores!) and I hope those in radioland enjoyed what they heard. It rocked on the air just as much as it did in person.
For the Nashville folks: I have to hand it to the Villager. It's the only place in town that reminds you the next morning where you've been. There's smokey bars and then there's the Villager, a smell all its own. I'm still trying to figure out if that's a good or bad thing. Unfortunately we could not convince the group of women that came in for their friend's 21st to go for the dog bowl. Kids these days.
This past weekend Rick and I loaded up our cars with detrius from Area 51. Gone are the broken Mac LC580's. Dell was having a recycling event at Vandy and it was a perfect time to unload. Despite the seemingly long line of cars things moved pretty quick. They unloaded your car for you (smart move) and then thanked you. It looked like they already had one tractor trailer full of stuff and were about to fill another. Something tells me they were going to break their previous effort of 45 tons. Rick said when they opened his car they were like "we've got a computer lab in here!". Well, that's probably not far from the truth since I got those computers at a school surplus auction. Anyway, I was glad to get rid of what I did because it was completely useless. Yeah, I do stupid stuff like buy broken computers at an auction. Yes, I've learned my lesson.
Ali sent me another good band name, unfortunately RIMBoy.com email is on the fritz so I cannot get at it. However, I think I did a nice job on today's band name.
Needless to say I woke happy this morning on the heels of the Cardinals win last night. Despite the fact Isringhausen had to make it interesting Carpenter did a good job. Still not sure how Edmonds misplayed that ball, but in the end it did not make much difference. Sanders ripping one in the first inning did the damage. It was good to hear Ernie Hayes' organ in the background. What a great performance by Abraham Nunez. Here's what I had to say to my friend EMH about Nunez:
:I was also glad to see the White Sox beat Boston... mainly to shut people that said the WS were not a real team or a contender. They did what the Cardinals did all year long... played good ball from the start. The Cardinals did it with some interesting lineups, granted. With Rolen out I'm a bit concerned but the others seem to be stepping up. Still can't fathom Nunez... I saw him play numerous times last summer in Nashville for the Sounds. Now? Starter on a contender. Goes to show the Pirates have no clue how to run a ballclub."
Nunez did not only step up, he made a case for himself. No, he won't be at third when Rolen comes back. However, I'm sure a few people took notice of his gutsy play on both offense and defense. The toss home for the tag out was insipring, his hitting and baserunning sharp. this article pretty much sums up how well things have gone for him.
So Taguchi made an appearance on field in the 9th, mainly for defensive purposes, give him some playing time, and to rest Larry Walker. So re-signed for less than they paid him last year and by some accounts, the Cardinals were right to think it was not a wise investment. He could either play in the minors for another team or sign for less and have a chance on the team. He signed for less and has proven himself this season. Hopefully the cardinals will reward that loyalty.
I forgot to mention in my last post I'd like to see the Cards take the World Series so Larry Walker can go out on a high note. Reggie Sanders is getting up there as well. Walker was a bit of a gamble in terms of his attitude. He's paid off though. So has Julian Tavarez. They've managed to keep his temper more or less under control (dugout phones excepting) and when he's on his game he's a menace. He's no Big Lee Smith, but I think being in a positive environment has helped him.
Sorry for all of the baseball talk. It's the one time of year that I get really excited, especially since it's the Cardinals. Did I mention this is the last year for Busch Stadium?
Finally, the Angels got robbed. Guess they've got their version of Don Denkinger. And in true blown called fashion, the team hurt by the blown call blows it.
Tonight begins what hopefully will wind up being another Cardinals World Series appearance. This year we already know that there will be no idiots dancing around on the waning days of the turf at Busch Stadium. For that, I'm thankful. Edgar threw away a great career with the Cardinals to be with a bunch of idiots and by all accounts, he played like one. At this point STL is saying Edgar who since Eckstein has proven himself, just shy of the backflips Ozzie used to dazzle STL with. Of course, for all this to happen they have to get by Houston. They did it last year at this time and consistently did it this year. Fingers crossed.
Presuming the Cardinal do make it then it's going to be the Angels or White Sox. Both are appealing matchups. I really wanted to see the Cardinals go toe to toe with the Angels in 2002, it would have been a great matchup and it would have been the 20th anniversary of the 82 World Series. It was also the summer both Daryl Kile and Jack Buck passed away. Unfortunately the Giants got in the way though the Angels took it. So I'm hoping 05 will be what 02 should have been, a good matchup.
That's not to say the White Sox would not be a bad matchup either. There's already rumblings of an I-55 series (it runs from STL to Chicago) and to see two teams from the Midwest go at it is nothing short of American. There's already a big enough rivalry between Chicago and STL with the Cub/Cards and Blackhawks/Blues it'll be a classic matchup. And all the start times would be in Central time! No goofy start times to satisfy mountain time.
What would be ideal though is for the Cardinals to finish off what they should have done last season and send Busch Stadium off with one final great farewell. I'm not looking forward to seeing the place torn down, but it'd be nice for it to go out in style. They just have to get around Houston first.
Finally got around to seeing Fight Club. I have to concur, they completely screwed up the advertising for it. It looked like it was nothing but testosterone pumping action when in fact it was intellectual. The fighting just as much intellectual as it was, well, fighting.
Spent Saturday at Oktoberfest in Nashville. Though the Germantown area of Nashville is small (where I grew up there was an entire town called Germantown, nevermind Darmstadt, Millstadt, New Baden, and a host of other German influenced towns) it was good to see an event that was well attended, enjoyed by all, and for living in the south: serving beer.
Made up Band Name of the Day: Homogenized Brains