Two Guitars, Bass and Drums / Yeah, Our Lineup Was the Same Then

Greetings, Leatherheads!

I had a visitor from the Left Coast last week, which was an enjoyable time, as we drank a few Siberian Nights. He also smuggled several Oregonian, Washingtonian and Californian beers onto the plane, which were all quite excellent. We also got to watch one of the worst baseball games I've ever seen, where a fan was ejected for trying to use the restroom during "God Bless America".

Anyway, more to the point, he also alerted me to a recently released album, Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails by a group called The Baseball Project. As this is supposedly a baseball blog, I think it is probably appropriate to do a quick review.

The album runs the gamut from sad melodies like "Sometimes I Dream of Willie Mays" to basic grooves like "Gratitude (For Curt Flood)" to the Latin "Fernando." Aside from its obvious appeal to baseball fans, this album stands on its own as a great rock record. For baseball fans, especially fans of baseball history, the album is a must-listen, with tracks about Ed Delahanty, Harvey Haddix, Curt Flood, Ted Williams and Jackie Robinson, amongst many others.

The album begins with "Past Time," sort of an introduction to baseball and the importance of its interweaving with America history. The next song is "Ted Fucking Williams," which takes a potshot at the great slugger's well-known arrogance. "Gratitude (For Curt Flood)" is all about the plight of the gold glove centerfielder. "Broken Man" is sort of a jangly song, which belies its cynical, biting lyric.

"Satchel Paige Said" is probably the best crossover-type song on the album, as it is simply a great song about a famous American hero that isn't just about baseball. "Fernando" is a sad Latin tune (sung in Spanish) about Fernando Valenzuela. "Long Before My Time" is another nice crossover-type song, that really isn't exactly about baseball so much as it is about aging, but I don't like it as much as "Satchel Paige Said."

"Jackie's Lament" is spun from Jackie Robinson's point-of-view. Most people think of Jackie as more being in the right place at the right time, but that's not how it was, and this song does a good job of telling, at least what I think, was going through his head as he broke the color barrier. "Sometimes I Dream of Willie Mays" is about watching your heroes grow old, but remembering them in their prime. "The Death of Big Ed Delahanty" is an ode to a great, but often forgotten, Hall of Famer, who lived hard and died young.

"Harvey Haddix" is a great song that pays tribute to one of the most impressive pitching performances of all time, but the only problem is that more people probably know about Haddix's than half of the others mentioned. It's also a great testament to those of us who've come up just short, through no fault of our own -- as they say, "A perfect game, if nothing else, 'cause perfection's always flawed."

"The Yankee Flipper" is about a pitcher I haven't thought about in years, Jack McDowell, who I didn't realize was also a big rock music fan (apparently, he loved the Replacements). Unfortunately, his career went downhill pretty quickly, but at least he lives on in song. The album ends with the appropriately titled "The Closer," a song about the mentality of relief pitchers (as I write this, the Arizona Diamondbacks just tied the score in the bottom of the ninth . . . let's see what Adam Dunn does . . . he doubled, game over D'backs win. Also, I was just informed that Adam Dunn was traded for "some jackass [my aforementioned visitor] went to high school with"). I'm not a big fan of closers in general and this is probably my least favorite song on the album, though it really may be more of tongue-in-cheek look at them and how they're probably taken way too seriously.

Anyway, if you got through this, you might as well check out the album. If you're a fan of baseball (and you probably are if you're reading this) and rock music (and if you're not, you should be!), it's really kind of essential.

Rank: A-