Thursday, April 30, 2009

Hello Willie

Today, April 30th, is Willie Nelson's 76th birthday. Everyone knows Willie's persona as a country music outlaw, the Redheaded Stranger who likes to smoke some pot now and then and be his own man. But, there is a side of Willie that has been somewhat forgotten over the past 30 years or so. That is Willie Nelson the songwriter. Prior to making it on his own as a performer, Willie provided hit songs for a multitude of country performers. Willie wrote "Crazy" which Patsy Cline turned into an all time classic. In fact, "Crazy" is thought to be the most played song in the history of the juke box.

One of my favorite Willie compostions is "Hello Walls", which Faron Young had a monster hit with in 1961. The story behind Young's recording of "Hello Walls" is fascinating. In 1960, a broke Willie Nelson brought the song to Faron Young, offering to sell the songwriting rights to Young for $500. Young refused to buy the song off of Nelson. Instead, Young pulled out $500 and handed the money to Willie telling Willie it was a loan Willie could repay after Young made the song into a hit. A few months later, Young followed thru on his promise. "Hello Walls" was #1 on the country charts for nearly two months, beginning in May 1961. The song also reached #12 on the pop charts. In his 2002 book The Facts of Life and Other Dirty Jokes, Willie tells this story and then goes on to say he made over $1 million in royalties from "Hello Walls" over the years since 1961. It's a good thing for Willie that Faron Young refused to buy it.. Here is Faron performing the million dollar song.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

It's Official, Jim Bowden is an Arse

Normally, if I heard that someone compared the Washington Nationals to the Washington Generals, those lovable losers who have lost 10,000 or so straight games to the Harlem Globetrotters, I would find it sort of amusing. But, I don't find it amusing when the person making the comparison is the man who is one of the primary reasons the Nationals are in the shape they are in, former general manager Jim Bowden.

Since "resigning" as GM of the Nationals in March, Bowden has been making appearances on a sports talk radio station in L.A. It seems he had quite a bit to say about the Nationals during his first appearance back on April 1st, including the Washington Generals comparison. You can read more details about that appearance in this column by Thom Loverro from today's Washington Times.

I'm trying not to get too worked up about Bowden's comments. I know it's just a matter of time before he gets arrested for operating his segway under the influence while on the way to meet up with an undercover cop who posed as a teenage boy on the internet.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Quickies

This week's Quickies post is a day or so late, so let's get to it.

First, my friend Steve Tuttle has this essay on Newsweek's website on the trying times he and his family had when his father lost his job in the late 60's.

Second, according to The Washington Post, Fox is refusing to air President Obama's upcoming prime-time news conference. But, although you may think the decsion is politically motivated, it appears the decision is not. According to the Post article, the four major networks have lost $10 million in advertising revenue since the Obama administration came into office because of airing prime-time speeches and news conferences as requested by the White House.

Finally, I read in today's Washington Post "matchmaker" Tommy Curtis is reviving his Yacht Club nights at the Doubletree Hotel in Bethesda. You can read the piece here.

I'll readily admit I never attended any of these events aimed at the 35 & up singles crowd, nor did I want to, during their heyday back in the 90s. I was younger and just seeing Curtis and listening to his annoying voice on the late night TV commericals shot at his events were enough to make me want to b*tch slap him. But, there was one thing I always found curious about these events. The dress code was upscale, suits & ties for men and nice dresses for women. I had a co-worker at the CPA firm where I worked in the early 90s named Cheryl who attended these events most every week. Some of my co-workers and I just called her 70s woman because she always wore clothing that looked like she had purchased it in the 70's (I assume she had). Plus, she had long, straight hair that was parted right down the middle. She definitely was in need of a visit from the crew of What Not to Wear. Yet, she was always going out with guys she met at these events. Of course, I'm thinking that was because, under the 70s wardrobe and hairdo, was a very nice body. Go figure, no matter the times or the setting, some things never change.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Friday Frolics, Volume 10: Jones Good A** BBQ

I really wish I could take credit for finding this, but I can't. It came from Shedd's Spot's Richmomd correpsondent, "J.D.". There is not much I can say about this other than you have to watch it.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Midweek Time Killers

Here are a couple of items that may help you pass the time here on hump day and one TV viewing item for hump night. (Geez, that came out the wrong way!)

As the regular readers know, I signed up on Facebook about the same time I started this blog. Since then, I've tried to include stories and links, both good, but mostly not-so-good, here about Facebook. The latest Facebook item comes from today's Washington Times, which reports some members of the Capitol Police are using Facebook to promote a group called the "Make-it-Rain Foundation for Underprivileged Hoes". If that piqued your curiousity, you can read the entire story here.

Some of you may have heard D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty is involved in a squabble with the city council over control of the city's tickets at Nationals Park. I think this is hilarious considering Fenty was an outspoken opponent of building the stadium when he was a member of the council. Of course, now he's out at the stadium mugging for the camera everytime he gets the chance. Here's a recent Washington City Paper column on the squabble.

Finally, seeing that I have bad habit of falling asleep with the TV on, usually tuned to the History Channel, I often wake up in the wee hours of the morning to an informercial called "Is Colon Detox Hype?". I'll spare you the details of the infomercial that have permeated my brain. But, let's just say the first few times I woke up to the infomerical, I thought I was having a nightmare. I don't know if "Is Colon Detox Hype?" will be a subject of the CNBC special "As Seen on TV", but I plan on setting my DVR tonight to record the special which is set to include pieces on infomerical "stars" Billy Mays and Vince Shlomi. Maybe the two of them will square off in an old fashioned wrestling cage match with Geraldo Rivera as guest referee.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Frank Goes Nuts

I wanted to save this post subject until June when the fourth anniversary of it comes around. But, the Nationals are off to an awful start and I'm thinking reminiscing about one of the true highlights in Nationals history may help change the mojo.

On Monday, June 13, 2005, the Washington Nationals rolled into Anaheim for a three game series with the Angels. And, I do mean the Nationals rolled in to Angels Stadium. The Nats had a ten game winning streak going and had won 13 of 15. The Angels walloped the Nats in the first game of the series, 11-1. But, the Nats returned to their winning ways the following night in a game where manager Frank Robinson showed he was afraid of nothing.

The Nationals were down 3-1 in the top of the 7th when Angels manager Mike Scioscia called in pitcher Brendan Donnelly from the bullpen. Before Donnelly ever fired off his first pitch, Nationals manager Frank Robinson asked the umpires to check Donnelly's glove for a foreign substance. The umpires ejected Donnelly after finding pine tar on the heel of Donnelly's glove.

Immediately after the ejection, Angels manager Mike Scioscia began jawing at Robinson and a fierce arguement ensued with Robinson being restrained several times by the umpires. Robinson was quoted in USA Today as saying:

He took me by surprise when he came over to me and I took it as a threat. He told me that he was going to have every one of my pitchers undressed when they came out there to the mound — no matter who it was.

If you've ever seen a replay of the incident, you can plainly see Scioscia didn't want to tangle with the then 69 year old Robinson. But, Scioscia was talking a big game while the umpires were between him and Robinson. Robinson went on to say:

I lost a lot of respect for Mike tonight — as a person and as a manager. And there's nothing he can say to me now, nothing. I don't even want him to approach me, I don't even want him to apologize to me. I would not accept it or have anything to do with it.

If you're wondering how all this started, it wasn't because Frank Robinson was a mind reader. Nationals outfielder Jose Guillen had played for the Angels in 2004. As that season wound down, Guillen was suspended by the Angels for the remainder of the season, thus leading to his departure from Anaheim. After the Nationals-Angels game, it was widely assumed Guillen tipped Robinson off to the pine tar in Donnelly's glove. During the melee that followed Donnelly's ejection, Guillen had to be restrained and forcibly taken back to the Nationals dugout. But after the resumption of play, Guillen hit a two run homer to tie the game. The Nationals went on to score three more runs before the game was over en route to a 6-3 victory.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find video of the incident anywhere on the internet because I would have loved to email it to Manny Acta as a reminder that a manager needs to show a little fire now and then.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Quickies

First off, a few weeks ago a friend told me about the website Fool's Night Out. The website features a pretty extensive calendar of roots music related concerts and festivals in the D.C. area. Plus, it lists some events the site's creator, Scott Mitchell, deems worthy of travel. Check the site out when you have the chance.

Second, the Flatlanders (Joe Ely, Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore) played a two night stand at the Birchmere last week. I didn't catch either of the shows, so I don't have a review. But, you can read a Country Stanard Time article about the Flatlanders and their latest CD here.

Finally, over the past few days, the Washington Nationals have been the best eight inning team in baseball. They've blown ninth innning leads in three stright games, leading to the bullpen being blown up after yesterday's game. Read all about it on the Washington Post's Nationals Journal here.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

The Big Bad NCAA Is At It Again...

Some of you may heard Delaware is considering legalizing sports wagering. New governor Jack Markell and the state legislature are formulating a plan to have a bill passed by the end of the year. According to this Philadelphia Daily News article, the Delaware plan for sports wagering will not allow for single bets. All bets will have to be part of multiple bet parlays.

It should come as no surprise to anyone the NCAA wants to have a say in this. The Sports Network reported in March the NCAA is threatening to prohibit the University of Delware, Delaware State and Wesley College from hosting any NCAA playoff games if the state legalizes sports betting. This is another case of the NCAA attempting to throw its weight around in small states and markets, much as it did when started its effort to get the University of North Dakota to end its use of the Fighting Sioux nickname (while large schools such as Florida State go largely unscathed). Generally, the NCAA's effort against sports betting will only effect the University of Delaware, which has hosted 14 Division I-AA playoff games over the years. It has been a given in I-AA football that if Delaware gets a playoff bid, the school will host at least one playoff game because the Blue Hens consistently are among the leaders in attendance in Division I-AA (I still refuse to call it the Football Championship Subdivision). So, it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Personally, as a JMU alumnus and season ticket holder, Delaware being prohibited from hosting playoff games would make me quite happy. But, I'd still think the reasoning behind it is asinine.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Friday Frolics, Volume 9: The Farting Footballer

I could write on this subject, but it wouldn't be as funny as reading this piece from accross the pond. Good thing Mark "Stink" Schlereth was never penalized for wetting himself during games in his twelve year NFL career with the Redskins and the Broncos. He may not have those three Super Bowl rings.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Yankee Fan Goes Afoul During "God Bless America"

A couple of years back, 40 friends or so and I celebrated Independence Day the red blooded, all American way by attending a Nationals game. What more could you ask for on July 4th than tailgating, eating brats, drinking PBR and watching baseball while hitting on a member of the fairer sex who a friend happened to bring along? By the time the seventh inning stretch came along, I was in fine form. After all, it was about 2:30 p.m. and I had cracked open my first PBR around nine a.m. As the P.A. announcer asked everyone to stand for "God Bless America", I made a smart a**, flirty comment to the woman I had been hitting on. With a straight face, she replied "Don't you know it's inappropriate to flirt during "God Bless America"?". I immediately broke out laughing and then she did too.

So, in D.C. you might get a reprimand for flirting during "God Bless America". But in New York, you can get kicked out of the stadium for attempting to make your way to the restroom during "God Bless America". Bradford Campeau-Laurion is suing the NYPD and the New York Yankees, claiming a NYPD officer would not allow him to leave the seating bowl to go to the restroom during a Yankees game last summer. He claims he tried to walk past the officer and the officer put him in an arm lock and forcibly removed him from the stadium. According to the suit, the Yankees have a rule which prohibits fan movement during "God Bless America" and Campeau-Laurion is claiming the rule violates his civil liberties. I'd better make a mental note of all this in case I am ever sitting next to a hottie at a Yankees game. If heading to the restroom during "God Bless America" gets you forcibly removed from a game, flirting during the song may get you 30 days.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

A D.C. Tribute to Allen Toussaint

In 2004, BandHouse Gigs began producing concerts where various D.C. area musical performers come together to pay tribute to a well known national or international artist, with the proceeds often going to area charities. A few of the concerts BandHouse has produced were tributes to Nils Lofgren, Nick Lowe and Bob Dylan. The latest concert in this series was last Saturday's tribute to Allen Toussaint.

In the history of American popular music, there are several legends who have worked primarily behind the scenes. But, their contributions to music are just as important as any of the performers who are front and center in the public eye. Allen Toussaint is one such legend. Toussaint is a New Orleans native who began writing songs, performing and producing records in the 1950s. By the early 60s, Toussaint had written and produced hits by numerous artists, including Ernie K-Doe ("Mother In Law"), Lee Dorsey ("Working In The Coal Mine"), Irma Thomas ("It's Raining" & "Ruler of My Heart") and Chris Kenner ("I Like it Like That").

Throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s, Toussaint continued to write, produce and record with artists as diverse as Jerry Garcia, Gladys Knight, Robert Palmer, Glen Campbell and the Meters recording his songs. In 2006, Toussaint recorded The River in Reverse with Elvis Costello.

Saturday's Toussaint tribute concert at the Barns of Wolf Trap featured more artists than I can list here, so I'll hit some of the highlights. (Not that there were any lowlights. And, to clarify, Toussaint was not in attendance.) The show opened with the Nighthawks, before moving onto acts such as Junior Cline, the Grandsons, Mary Ann Redmond and Tommy Lepson. Caz Gardiner made her first appearance of the night with the Grandsons. Gardiner was a real treat and the best pure singer on the bill.

Early in the second set, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members the Orioles hit the stage and fired up the crowd with a version of "Mother In Law". Other second set performers included Eric Scott and Jon Carroll. The Junkyard Saints delivered a high energy mini-set that gave way to the entire cast coming back to the stage to wrap up the show.

This is the second BandHouse Gigs show I've attended. (Last year, I attended the Nick Lowe tribute.) Both shows have been very good, with some of the performances being near classic. You can't go wrong attending one of these tribute concerts, particularly if the artist who is the subject of the tribute is one of your favorites.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Quickies

First off, a crazy woman in Germany gives new meaning to "joining the polar bear club". (Hmmmm...maybe she had just been at the 420 Club.) Obviously, these aren't the friendly polar bears from the Coke commercials aired at Christmas.



A while back in a follow up post about Facebook, I mentioned how a game day employee, Dan Leone, at Lincoln Financial Field was fired after someone with the Philadelphia Eagles discovered Leone had posted this status on Facebook after safety Brian Dawkins signed with the Dnever Broncos:

Dan is [expletive] devastated about Dawkins signing with Denver. . .Dam Eagles R Retarted!!

Dawkins himself has come to Leone's recscue for at least one game. Dawkins is giving his two tickets for the Broncos-Eagles contest this coming season to Leone. Dawkins told the Philadelphia Daily News:

I thought it'd be a good gesture. Had I not ... signed with Denver, that guy would still have his job. Obviously, he made a decision and out of emotion said something. He was one of probably thousands and thousands of Eagles fans who felt that way. That didn't surprise me, that someone said that on their Facebook. It did surprise me that he was let go, though ... I felt it would be a good thing, to reach out to that individual and just let him know how much I appreciate it.'

In my opinion, the borderline "retarted" Leone came out ahead on the deal.


And finally, it's good to see CMT (Country Music Television) hates my friend Steve Tuttle. A while back Steve wrote this article for Newsweek's website lamenting the state of modern country music. In short order, the piece was dissed here and here on CMT.com. At least the folks at this website liked what Steve wrote.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

The Godfather Winds Up the Crowd at Wolf Trap

Throughout the years, a lot of the institutions that are truly D.C. have faded from the scene. A fact I've lamented on these pages for a few months now. But, one D.C. hometown institution that's still going strong is Chuck Brown, the Godfather of Go-Go.

In the history of American music, very few genres can have their origins traced to just one person. Go-Go is one of those genres and Chuck Brown is the person. Chuck Brown started the Go-Go sound back in the 1970s when he had the drummer in his band keep the beat going between songs to keep people on the dance floor. From there, his sound got more funky with more bass, percussion and hooks and call and responses that involved the crowd. But, all the time a constant beat was kept to keep the people groovin'.

Chuck started his Friday show at the Barns of Wolf Trap with his version of the "Love Theme from The Godfather". From there, Chuck and his band, the Soul Searchers, played Chuck's takes on several jazz and r&b standards, including "It Don't Mean a Thing" and "Run Joe", before getting the crowd going with the call and response of "Wind Me Up Chuck" and giving some front time to Little Benny and KK, Chuck's daughter. In what seemed a matter of a few minutes, the band had played an hour and the break was upon us.

During the break, I was talking to my friend "Vern" who brought up a good question. Chuck Brown's son, Nekos, plays football at Virginia Tech and Chuck has been quoted several times as saying he never misses a home game. "Vern" wondered if Chuck dressed the same way for Tech football games as he does for everything else, fine clothing with a hat and gold sunglasses. (A Roanoke Times article about father and son is here.)

After a twenty minute break, Chuck and the band hit the stage again. He wasted no time getting the backsides shaking, running through several of his best known songs including "Woody Woodpecker" and "The Party Roll" before turning the mic over again to KK. KK rapped for several minutes before taking the band into "Chuck Baby" and it's famous call and response line "Chuck don't give a f*ck". By this time, a couple of dozen women or so from the audience had decided it was time to do some rump shaking on stage. One of them looked surprisingly like Rick James, if James wore an argyle sweater.

With the groove of "Chuck Baby" intensifying, more of the crowd headed up on stage to dance with the band. One of the dancers was an elderly white man who looked a little like Santa Claus on a cross country vacation. He had a bright red shirt on over his ample belly and was wearing an Indiana Jones style hat. As the song went on, Santa on vacation inched closer to Chuck before he finally got close enough to take off his Indiana Jones hat and place it on Chuck's head on top of Chuck's hat. Chuck's expression was one of disapproval and Santa quickly reclaimed his hat and backed away. I'll give Santa credit for one thing. At least he had the good sense not to swap hats with Chuck.

Not too long after the hat incident, Chuck called for the band to "gimme the bridge", indicating it was time for "Bustin' Loose". "Bustin' Loose" was a #1 R&B hit for Chuck in 1978 and has been his show closing number for years. The audience, including the 50 or so folks now on stage, had one last chance to shake their backsides. After a few more minutes of grooving, the band wrapped up "Bustin' Loose" and the gig.

After the show, Chuck stayed in the bar area of the Barns, greeting fans, posing for pictures and signing autographs for quite a while. One of those fans was Santa. Chuck happily posed for a picture with Santa, sending Santa on his way with a smile on his face. It's good to see, that now in his 70's, Chuck still knows how to please the crowd, on and off the stage.
_______________________________________

A 2007 NPR interview with Chuck Brown can be heard here. The above photo of Chuck Brown was taken by me at a 2005 benefit concert for the victims of Hurricane Katrina at the State Theater in Falls Church, Va.

Friday, April 10, 2009

John Daly, Businessman

By now, you've probably heard John Daly has parked his RV near Augusta National where he's selling memorabilia and his line of clothing to those attending The Masters. (The Fox Sports story is here.) Two years ago he did something similar when he set up shop in the parking lot of the Hooters just down the street from Augusta National.)


As I soon as I heard this, I thought of the scenes in East Bound & Down where Kenny Powers, the baseball equivalent of John Daly, is selling his wares out the back of his truck in the school parking lot and where he has the pod container of goods in his brother's driveway. I was all set to post a blog entry comparing Daly and Powers, but this blog beat me to it! (As an added note, the blog I'm including the link to has links to pix of several scantily clad women. Maybe Shedd's Spot should follow the lead on that one

Friday Frolics, Volume 8: Junior's Used Car Lot

Today, April 10th, would have been Junior Samples' 83rd birthday. For better or worse, they don't make comedians like Junior anymore. Here he is hawking used cars in a regular skit from Hee Haw.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Hank Aaron Flashback

On this day (April 8th) 35 years ago, Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run, breaking Babe Ruth's long standing career home run record. Aaron went on to finish his career with 755 home runs. That record has since been broken by 'roids boy Barry Bonds. But, today let's remember the real home run king, Hank Aaron. A brief video about the record breaking night can be seen here.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Brief Follow Ups to March (Marketing) Madness and Today's Quickies Post

The April 6 issue of Sports Illustrated had a short piece entitled "NCAA Approved" that was along the lines of last Friday's "March (Marketing) Madness" post here on Shedd's Spot (without the smart a** comments of course). The piece focuses primarily on the visual changes the NCAA mandated at the Boston Garden and the Greensboro Colisseum. But, it does throw in one very interesting fact about the NCAA's dealings with its sponsors. Spectators on the press rows at tournament venues this year must drink from Vitaminwater cups because corporate partner Coca Cola owns the Vitaminwater brand. It's tip time.....

The same Sports Illustrated page that contained "NCAA Approved" had this review of Sugar.

Quickies

First off, I've been giving a lot of space to minor league baseball here lately. But, I think this piece of information might be the most interesting. The movie Sugar is being released in New York and Los Angeles on April 3rd and nationwide on April 24th. Sugar tells the story of a young minor league player from the Dominican Republic as he makes his way from a Dominican baseball academy to the beginning of his professional career playing for a minor league team in Iowa. MinorLeagueBaseball.com has an article about the filming of the movie on location in Iowa here. The page also has links to an interview with film's directors and excerpts from the movie. A review, from after the movie's screening at the Sundance Film Festival, is here and the trailer is here. I am very curious to see how the Dominican baseball academy system is depicted in the film now that the Smiley Gonzalez debacle has hit the headlines.

A while back, Shedd's Spot west coast bureau sent in this link to a recent New Yorker article on Neko Case. I've been meaning to post it ever since. God love a woman who has the nerve to talk about camel toe on stage.

On this day (April 6th) in 1973, the American League began using the designated hitter. Crash Davis' speech from Bull Durham in which he states there should be a Constitutional amendment outlawing the desiganted hitter is here.

Merle Haggard turns 72 today. Here he is singing "Are the Good Times Really Over For Good" from his early 80s appearance on Austin City Limits. It's funny to think the line about building a Ford or Chevy that will last ten years still rings true today.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

The Official Shedd's Spot 2009 Washington Nationals Preview

No matter what win-loss record the Washington Nationals end the 2009 season with, the club will be in far better shape than it was at the end of the 2008 season. The single most important happening of the Nationals' 2009 season has already occurred. It was the March 1st resignation of General Manager Jim Bowden. Many media outlets have already reported how the front offices executives of other clubs are saying how much more faith they have dealing with acting GM Mike Rizzo than they had dealing with Bowden. Although the Nationals have a long trek back to respectability, the team's front office is no longer the laughing stock of baseball. And, that is a huge first step.

As for the what the Nationals will do on the field this season, there are a lot of "ifs" involved. Personally, I believe several of these "ifs" will have positive outcomes. The law of averages tells me there is no way all the disasters of 2008 can repeat themselves this season. But, before we examine the "ifs", let's review the "givens".

After losing out in the Mark Texiera bidding, the Nationals signed outfielder Adam Dunn to a two year/$20 million contract. Dunn has hit exactly 40 HRs each of the last five seasons. Yes, he strikes out a lot and he's not good on defense in the outfield or at first base. But, he walks a lot leading to a great on base percentage. I'll say it's a given Dunn hits 35 HRs, drives in 95, and scores close to 100 runs.

On most clubs, pitcher John Lannan would be a solid third starter. But, with the Nationals rebuilding their starting rotation with youngsters, Lannan is thrust into being the team's number one starter. He didn't get many wins last year to show for his 3.91 ERA. This year will be different with the Nationals improved offense. I'll say it's a given Lannan wins 14 games with an ERA a little lower than last year's.

The Nationals made two acquisitions in the offseason that effect their starting rotation. They signed former Oriole Daniel Cabrera and traded to acquire Scott Olsen from the Marlins. Cabrera frustrated Oriole fans for several seasons by looking unhitable one time out and then getting shelled or having control problems for several outings afterwards. Olsen had no problem taking the ball every fifth day for the Marlins and eating up innings. But, he has never had a full season ERA under 4.oo or won more than 12 games. Unfortunately, I think it's a given neither Cabrera nor Olsen do any better this season than they have in the past. And, I wouldn't be surprised if a friend of mine's prediction that Cabrera is out of the rotation (and thus probably released) by the All Star break.

Now, let's look at some of the "ifs"....

If third baseman Ryan Zimmerman stays healthly with Adam Dunn hitting behind him, he should hit .280 with 25 HRs and drive in 100 while playing stellar defense.

If Lastings Milledge stays healthy and adapts to the leadoff spot, he should hit .265 with 20 HRs and steal 25 bases.

If catcher Jesus Flores stays healthy, he should hit 15 HRs and drive in 70.

If rookie pitchers Jordan Zimmerman and Sharron Martis have the make up of John Lannan, they should win 11 to 14 games each with ERAs around 4.00.

If Nick Johnson stays healthy (and isn't traded), he should hit .285 with 20 HRs, drive in 85 and have an on base percentage of close to .400. But, this is the biggest "if" of all. Johnson has only played more than 131 games in a season once.

There are some other questions that aren't exactly "ifs", but they are very important to the outcome of the 2009 season. How will manager Manny Acta and the front office handle the glut of outfielders and first basemen? With that, how will Josh Willingham and Elijah Dukes handle reserve rolls? How will the reconstructed bullpen perform?

Maybe I'm drinking the kool aid, but I believe 2009 is the year the Washington Nationals surprise some people. This isn't a playoff team, but I do think the team will flirt with .500 for a good part of the season. And, I don't think they will finish in last in the NL East like all the experts are predicting because one of the other NL East teams is going to be surprisingly bad.

Everyone knows the baseball season is a grind and one week does not make a season. But in my opinion, the first week of the season will be a good indication of what lies ahead this season for the Nats. They open on the road at Florida and Atlanta, the two teams predicted to finish just above them in the standings. The Nats showing in those six games may be a good indication of how the season will go.

Shedd's Spot's official prediction for the 2009 Washington Nationals is a 77-85 record and a fourth place finish in the NL East.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

So Long Cerphe

As I was heading to last night's Gourds show at the State Theater, the friend riding with me told be about the demise of D.C.'s classic rock radio station, WTGB The Globe. The station is switching formats and with that comes the end of DJ Cerphe Colwell's run at the station. I'll readily admit I didn't listen to very many of the stations Ceprhe worked at, other than WHFS back in its classic no format days. But, Cerphe not coming accross the airwaves signals yet another window to D.C.'s rich musical heritage being shut. Just the other day, I was listening to the Nighthawks' Ten Years Live CD. The album was recorded live at the Bayou in December 1982 and Cerphe made the band introduction that marks the beginning of the album. This front page article from today's Washington Post appropriately summarizes Cerphe's career here in the National Capital Area.

Friday, April 3, 2009

March (Marketing) Madness

A few thoughts as we enter Final Four weekend....

Last year, I was lucky enough to be able to attend the first two rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament at the Verizon Center in D.C. It was great to be one of 18,000+ people pulling for Belmont as they came close to upsetting Duke in the first round. And personally, it was even better for me when West Virginia eliminated Duke two days later. The first thing I noticed when I entered the Verizon Center seating bowl last year was that all the banners representing the accomplishments of Georgetown's basketball team, the Washington Capitals and the Washington Bullets (the Wizards have accomplished nothing) had been taken down. The next thing I noticed was all the advertising signs located in the seating bowl had been taken down or covered over. It was a quick lesson in the NCAA's grand advertising scheme...if you're not an official partner or sponsor, you're not going to get a free ride during March Madness.

Earlier this week, I heard on the radio the NCAA now has an official ladder for the tournament. No joke, the Werner Ladder Company is now the official ladder and ladder accessory provider for the NCAA. (Wouldn't be great if Strickland Propane became the NCAA's official provider of propane and propane accessories? TV ads with Hank Hill as the spokesperson would be classic.) Werner even makes a special model for the NCAA, a ladder which is nine feet tall because that height is deemed perfect for cutting down nets after a victory.

All this leads to me to ask "what's next?". Is an official pair of scissors for cutting down the nets soon to follow? How about an official antiperspirant so the coaches pits aren't dripping when they're up on the official ladder with the official scissors in hand cutting down the nets? And while I think of it, is there an official NCAA net?

I know I'm going a little overboard. But, CBS paid the NCAA $6 billion for the rights to broadcast the men's tournament from 2003 thru 2014. So, does the NCAA really need to charge Werner to be its official ladder provider? Wouldn't the raggedy ladder Joe the janitor uses to change light bulbs in the arena bathrooms be sufficient? Oh wait, the NCAA would stick it to Joe to be an official janitorial partner of the NCAA before they'd ever let him near a camera.

Friday Frolics, Volume 7: The Earl of Baltimore Revisited

With Opening Day right around the corner, it's time salute one of the greatest managers ever, Earl Weaver, with one of his great tirades. (Be warned this clip is definitely R rated.)

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Just in Case You Don't Understand the Jesco White Thing...

This news piece appeared on the The Nashville Network in the early 90s. It is probably the best explanation you'll get of the Jesco White cult craze that followed the release of Dancing Outlaw. By the way, Dancing Outlaw, produced and directed by Jacob Young, won an Emmy Award in 1992 for Best Public Television Program.

Now This Is a Schedule Filled With Promotions!!!

Here's an entry that includes several topics discussed in recent Shedd's Spot posts: West Virginia, minor league baseball, the Dancing Outlaw and Barbie.

The West Va. Power, a member of the Class A South Atlantic League, recently announced it's 2009 game promotion schedule. You'll remember, that in this prior post, I mentioned the Power was conducting an online poll to determine which West Va. celebrity fans would most like to see on a bobblehead doll. The results are in and the Power decided to put several celebrities, including some non-West Virgnians, on bobbleheads throughout the season. The list of bobbleheads to be given to fans includes former WVU football players Pat White and Owen Schmitt, the Exalted Cylops himself, Senator Robert Byrd, President Obama and Jesco White, the Dancing Outlaw. Supposedly, the Jesco White bobblehaed won't actually be a bobblehead. It will have bobbling feet instead in order to mimic Jesco's dancing. Also supposedly both Whites, Pat and Jesco, have agreed to appear at Appalachian Power Park on the night of their bobblehead giveaways.

Also on the schedule are appearances by the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, Mr. T and Mr. Belding from Saved By The Bell. (I wonder if Mr. Belding will be bringing any special pictures he may have taken during the days Saved By The Bell was in production?) A Barbie night is also in the works to play off the recent publicity the state has received due to a member of the state legislature seeking to outlaw the sale of Barbie dolls in the state. (See this prior post.)

One final note on the West Virignia Power. This year, the Power will be a minor league affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. To commemorate the glory days of the Charleston Charlies, a Class AAA Pirates affiliate in the 1970s, the Power introduced an alternative logo. The logo combines the Charlies derby wearing baseball with the Pirates swashbuckling look. Of course, in today's age of political correctness, the original Charlie cigar was left off the logo. A picture of the new logo on a baseball is shown above.