--Sure fun watching Singer when he's on, and lately he's been a lot more ON.
--Just when I am sure Witt should be moved to 3rd (as in first game), he shows what he can do at SS (2nd game). That ball he got to, the spin and the soft toss to start the double play? Just wow.
--Fun watching all the Baby Royals play, and Matheny kind of has little choice. I think Dozier is getting in there because the lineup is so lefty heavy. I'd rather see more of Eaton, and with his versatility he could play 3rd, too, I think. Wonder if he has much experience in CF? Has looked terrific in right.
I posted my Buck O'Neil story several months ago at The Athletic. But with Buck O'Neil going into the HOF recently, it seems appropriate to post it here as well. I hope folks enjoy reading it at least half as much as I enjoyed living it.
I was a musician performing at the Blue Room at 18th & Vine when we got word that Buck had passed away. It was no secret that Buck, being a jazz lover, had spent MANY hours at that place over the decades. Our lead singer was so overcome with emotion that she had to leave the stage for a while.
That left the four of us in her backup band standing there on stage, wondering what to do. We almost began playing a nearly-obligatory slow, sad, mournful blues. Fortunately, somebody said, "Wait a minute. What would Buck want right now?" We all looked at each other and immediately knew the answer.
So we jumped feet-first into an insanely up-tempo Charlie Parker tune, and blazed away at that thing for probably 8 or 9 minutes, maybe longer. Great fun for the band and I think (hope) for the audience as well. Buck would not have wanted us to mourn his death, he would have wanted us to celebrate his life and to have as good a time as possible while doing so. So that's what we did.
Normally we kept things pretty low-key in the first set, and waited until the second set to really crank up the energy. But this was no ordinary night. I promise you, less than 3 minutes into that tune every guy in the band had broken a nice thick sweat. Just as Buck (and Charlie Parker) would have wanted!
I'm still convinced today that that would have gotten the Buck Seal of Approval. And it remains one of the most memorable moments in my 40+ years as a professional musician. I've been on TV many times, and I've performed in front of many, many thousands of people in some pretty big venues. But none of that was better than this one song, performed on an otherwise-ordinary Friday evening at 18th & Vine.
An evening that started out as "just another gig" ended up being something very, very different. Thank you, Buck.
Great point on the traditional doubleheader, and I'm right there with you. One of the worst things that MLB has done in recent years is making the split doubleheader far more prevalent.
I understand the desire to sell more tickets and parking passes, but I kinda think they've shot themselves in the foot with the split doubleheader. I can honestly say I don't know anyone who's a big fan of it.
Nice stuff, Craig. Quick thoughts:
--Sure fun watching Singer when he's on, and lately he's been a lot more ON.
--Just when I am sure Witt should be moved to 3rd (as in first game), he shows what he can do at SS (2nd game). That ball he got to, the spin and the soft toss to start the double play? Just wow.
--Fun watching all the Baby Royals play, and Matheny kind of has little choice. I think Dozier is getting in there because the lineup is so lefty heavy. I'd rather see more of Eaton, and with his versatility he could play 3rd, too, I think. Wonder if he has much experience in CF? Has looked terrific in right.
I posted my Buck O'Neil story several months ago at The Athletic. But with Buck O'Neil going into the HOF recently, it seems appropriate to post it here as well. I hope folks enjoy reading it at least half as much as I enjoyed living it.
I was a musician performing at the Blue Room at 18th & Vine when we got word that Buck had passed away. It was no secret that Buck, being a jazz lover, had spent MANY hours at that place over the decades. Our lead singer was so overcome with emotion that she had to leave the stage for a while.
That left the four of us in her backup band standing there on stage, wondering what to do. We almost began playing a nearly-obligatory slow, sad, mournful blues. Fortunately, somebody said, "Wait a minute. What would Buck want right now?" We all looked at each other and immediately knew the answer.
So we jumped feet-first into an insanely up-tempo Charlie Parker tune, and blazed away at that thing for probably 8 or 9 minutes, maybe longer. Great fun for the band and I think (hope) for the audience as well. Buck would not have wanted us to mourn his death, he would have wanted us to celebrate his life and to have as good a time as possible while doing so. So that's what we did.
Normally we kept things pretty low-key in the first set, and waited until the second set to really crank up the energy. But this was no ordinary night. I promise you, less than 3 minutes into that tune every guy in the band had broken a nice thick sweat. Just as Buck (and Charlie Parker) would have wanted!
I'm still convinced today that that would have gotten the Buck Seal of Approval. And it remains one of the most memorable moments in my 40+ years as a professional musician. I've been on TV many times, and I've performed in front of many, many thousands of people in some pretty big venues. But none of that was better than this one song, performed on an otherwise-ordinary Friday evening at 18th & Vine.
An evening that started out as "just another gig" ended up being something very, very different. Thank you, Buck.
Great point on the traditional doubleheader, and I'm right there with you. One of the worst things that MLB has done in recent years is making the split doubleheader far more prevalent.
I understand the desire to sell more tickets and parking passes, but I kinda think they've shot themselves in the foot with the split doubleheader. I can honestly say I don't know anyone who's a big fan of it.