A Pilgrimage Playlist (With Reflections)

I finally finished my final game synopsis tonight. And also did a cute little run-down of my Pilgrimage "by the numbers."

But I also put together a commemorative song playlist on iTunes. A "Pilgrimage mix tape" to play on rainy days to remind me of my epic adventure. Here is how it rounded out...

1.) "Centerfield" by John Fogerty

I don't know what it does for you, but this song just gets me all geeked up for baseball. And I believe it should be played before the first pitch of every baseball game. I would institute that if I were Commissioner for a day...

2.) "The Gregarious Raconteur" by Theocracy

You have to be a faithful listener to the ESPN Bill Simmons podcast to understand this song. And it brought me a great deal of laughter & entertainment on the opening stretch of the trip.

3.) "Pork and Beans" by Weezer

Because its awesome. Because it just came out. Because Weezer has written the latest anthem for non-conformists everywhere. And because when I explained this pilgrimage to people, I always heard feedback like, "You're going on a trip just to watch baseball games?" -and- "You're going on a trip like this by yourself?" YES. I AM. And I did. Because I like baseball, dang it. And because I can meet cool people along the way & hang out with old friends in big cities. And it turned out to be quite awesome... haters...

4.) "So Afraid" by Bebo Norman

If there was one thing that I discovered & recognized about MYSELF on this trip -- for the first time -- was how afraid I was at seemingly every turn. I am a total weeny. No, really -- I am. I was afraid of all these big cities, of leaving my rental car in parking lots, of riding subways, of how bad my knee was when I first hurt it. Real, exhilarating-and-brings-a-rush-of-adrenaline fear. But I faced & conquered each of these fears one by one. Sorta proud of myself for that. I reflected on it in my considerable amount of time on the road, happened upon this song one day in my iPod's shuffle mode, and grew a new appreciation for the lyrics.

5.) "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" by Dropkick Murphys

Boston's best-loved Irish folk-rock band. Papelbon's tune. Watching Sox fans dance an Irish jig in the stands when Papelbon came in. I'll think of these things whenever I hear this song from now on...

6.) "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond

I haven't felt THAT much peace, joy, good-will toward my fellow man, et. al. warm fuzzies since I don't know when. Singing this song at Fenway was a warm experience that is difficult to describe. Part "fanhood rite of passage" & existential becoming mixed with part "Strange sense of Homecoming to a place I'd never been" (in a way that "this must be sorta like what Heaven will feel like one day" -- homecoming even though I've never been there) sensation. I know it sounds corny to say, but Fenway was sort of a religious experience for me. And I miss it. This even borders on sounding sacrilegious, but there's a yearning to experience that again, and a dull ache when I realize that it may be a long while. You know that line "I don't care if I never get back" (speaking of not returning home from the ballpark) from Take Me Out to the Ballgame? I feel that way about Fenway...

7.) "New York Groove" by Hello

I played this song as I was driving into NYC on Monday the 9th. I'll admit: it was an utterly cheesy moment as I sang along. But I was having fun with my first visit to NYC. And this cheesy sing-a-long song fit the moment.

8.) "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" by Bruce Springsteen

You just have to visit a big city on a hot day in the summer time to understand. Wow! If the word "eyeful" ever applied...

9.) "Your Hand In Mine" by Explosions in the Sky

I played a lot of Explosions in the Sky on my day driving through Pennsylvania. If you've never heard of them, they are the instrumental band that does the music for the television series "Friday Night Lights." You could listen to their music doing literally the most mundane thing in the world -- like, say, pooper-scooping after your dog -- and yet feel a melancholy sense of heroism. Great music.

10.) "Into the Fire" by Bruce Springsteen

Russert was apparently a big fan of The Boss, so they were playing his tunes in the background during MSNBC's coverage on that Friday in St. Louis. Especially this song, which is sort of a spirited dirge. So I downloaded it, and immediately clung to it. And I'll always think of Russert & St. Louis when I hear it.

11.) "Rise Above This" by Seether

When the Cards were getting blown out, and were bringing in a reliever, they blared this song over the speakers. I was intrigued, so I looked it up & downloaded it when I got back to the hotel. A fantastic rock tune! I sense some spiritual undertones, too; though, I had to download a "Clean" version since there is also apparently a "Restricted" version. A great song to sort of bring you back to a right frame of mind from depth of sorrow. I'll always think of Busch Stadium & the positive Cardinals fans when I hear this song.

12.) "Willow" by James Horner & The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

This is a rendition of all the songs from the score of the film, "Willow," fit into a tidy little three minute & fifty-three second piece. I was in a soundtrack mood at one point on Saturday, my 12-hour driving day home from St. Louis. And I got stuck on this song for a little while. For one, it is a GREAT movie -- an epic tale of a little man who goes on a great adventure, plays a big surprisingly big role in the outcome of a great battle, only to return home again to his loved ones. Second, this was the first movie I ever went to see at the theater, and it was my Mom who took me -- just she & I. And, third, this was a GREAT, totally-underrated movie score that covers a wide range of emotions. And its a great song to end a playlist on.

A Response to Bob

A buddy, Bob Turner, got fired up recently in a blog entry ("They Might Not Be Giants For Long"). No doubt, and understandably, that story of Plaxico Burress touched a blue-collar-rooted nerve. But I have a different perspective, and thought I'd re-print it here.

I definitely understand where you're coming from. But I see things a little differently.

Plaxico's "six year" contract is only binding on his end. If Plax breaks his neck tomorrow, the Giants can drop him & not owe him a dime. And that is exactly what they would do. This is not true in MLB, where teams owe a player at least half the value of his remaining contract. But in the NFL, contracts are meaningless from the team's perspective.

Not only that, but in said broken-neck scenario, the NFL's retirement comp. program is a joke. Johnny Unitas was bitter & angry at the NFL in his later years because they cheated him out of his comp. with some loophole. He had to go hat in hand & get help from fellow NFL players (which included Terry Bradshaw, as I understand it) to have some surgeries to keep his quality of life at a decent level in his post-NFL days.

So, if NFL teams can void a contract & re-sign a player to a lesser amount of money, why can't a player do the same thing? The labor structure of the NFL is SO weak. They have about the least powerful union in the world, much less professional sports!

Plus, we fans are biased. If a player gets underpaid for his performance for whatever reason, we say that our team got a bargain. And we don't think about paying him the next year to make up for the previous year's under-compensation. If a player gets overpaid for his performance, we say that said player is a leach on the franchise. But as much as we care about a player's performance meeting how much our team pays him, we never seem to care about the players' fair compensation. We are completely disloyal to players. And we wonder why they are so disloyal to franchises and fans these days...

Anyway, the NFL does a good job of keep that under wraps like any other powerful corporation or business. The common man may not be able to relate with NFL player, and vice versa. But that doesn't mean that corporate NFL isn't taking advantage of their labor like other corporations do with the common man.

Biggest Homer Call of "His or Any Other LIFE"

I was listening to the Dan Patrick Show podcast today, and they were cutting up about Yankee broadcaster John Sterling. You may remember that A-Rod started off last season scorching hot. Well, he had a walk-off homerun, and here was the call from Sterling:


So there you go. GREATEST month ever.

Sorry Jesus: A-Rod just trumped Passion week.

The Pilgrimage is in Full Effect

Finally made it to Fenway (code name: "The Holy of Holies") in Boston tonight. I go back for one final game tomorrow. And then visit the Hall of Fame (code name: "Mecca") on Sunday, the Day of our Lord.

God may just smite me for that last paragraph...

Read all about that & my other adventures at The Pilgrimage

The Three Levels of MLB Druggies

I was listening to a podcast of Max Kellerman & Brian Kenny's radio show on ESPN Radio in NYC. And Kellerman mentioned that he had 3 levels of suspicion when it came to alleged steroid users.

I thought that that was an interesting concept. Here's my list, using his categories:

Level 1: "You juiced, I'm saying it, Sue me if you don't like it" [...] "I'm not accusing them -- I'm saying it as a matter of FACT"

Barry Bonds
Mark McGwire
Jose Canseco
Sammy Sosa
Rafael Palmeiro
Chuck Knoblauch
Bret Boone
Roger Clemens
Jason Giambi
Eric Gagne

Level 2: "I'm not saying as matter of fact that they did it, but I am saying that I'd like to play prosecutor in a case against them."

Lots of red flags around these guys, including radical weight changes, radical statistical changes, ridiculously amazing statistics, total career turn-arounds, and the like.

Ivan Rodriguez
Manny Ramirez
Miguel Tejada
Nomar Garciaparra
(Career went downhill with a wrist injury -- something about a split tendon & damage to the tendon sheath.)

David Ortiz
(Just hit the DL with a split tendon sheath in his wrist. Did they have this injury back in the 1960's?)

Mike Piazza
(Freakish numbers for a guy who played a rigorous position in pitcher's parks, and was originally drafted in like the 60th round of the MLB draft.)

Travis Hafner
(Great numbers one year, falls off the map the next year)

Level 3: Not saying they did it as a matter of fact, and not sure one could prove it in a court of law

Alex Rodriguez
(Canseco may be a snake in the grass, but he has a decent record when he points the finger.)

Pedro Martinez
(Had an awfully amazing fastball to come from such a scrawny body. And originally had a hard time getting MLB scouts to notice him.)

Who am I missing? I'll add them to the list.

'Hi. I'm in Delaware'

Along my pilgrimage, I am traveling through states that I've never set foot in before. One of them today (on my way from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia) was Delaware.

I know literally nothing about Delaware. In fact, I often forget that it exists. The only thing that is remotely memorable to me about Delaware is this scene from Wayne's World:

The Pilgrimage Has BEGUN

As soon as this post hits the blogosphere, I will have embarked from Panama City onto my bold adventure to visit some of the cathedrals of America's pastime.

If you wish to follow my adventures, check my synopsis at:

The Pilgrimage