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Saturday, October 30, 2004 |
Pickoff Moves, Monster Of Love Edition
OT: Sparks
I seem to remember Elvis Costello at one point saying that New Wave was just a stylistic pretention with a short shelf-life. Maybe so, but damn if a trip to Tower Records didn't yield one of my favorite early-80's unpretentious bands, Sparks, and in particular, Angst In My Pants. It hearkens to a day when KROQ wasn't just a tentacle of a megacorporation, the DJs played whatever they damn well wanted to, and you could tell; there was a real joy on the airwaves, a visceral reaction to the overproduced corporate rock of the 70's. (Of course, this generation also would get coöpted by Infinity Broadcasting et al., in their turn.) Meantime: songs about an anthropomorphicized cigarette, the importance and coolness of moustaches, Mickey Mouse as a special mouse -- no, really! -- and being Eaten by the Monster of Love, all bubblegum as an antidote to the ponderous self-importance of Pink Floyd, Styx, and the late-career Eagles. (Not that I don't like all those bands for different reasons, but they have a strange marble statue feel for an idiom famous for its transience.) Also an antidote to the gray hairs I find on the barber's bib... stuff that makes you want to sing with the top down on the freeway.A's Fans Can Dream, Can't They?
Now that Larry Ellison has looked into buying the next LA NFL franchise (what would they be called? The Media Ho's?), A's fans allow themselves to dream that Ellison might buy their team. Angels fans, meantime, wonder what happens once the A's have to pay retail for their starting rotation...Who Was That Masked Man?
The Angels website now has the same story the Times carried earlier today about Glaus leaving the Angels. Quoth Bill Stoneman:"Plus, when a guy's ready for the Major Leagues, you give him the opportunity," Stoneman said of McPherson, who hit 40 homers in the minors in 2004, then hit .225 with three homers in 40 at-bats and struck out 17 times after he was called up late in the season. On Tuesday, McPherson was named the winner of the 45th annual J.G. Taylor Spink Award as the Topps/Minor League Player of the Year.Who was that "somebody"? In 1998, Dave Hollins manned the hot corner for the Halos, and, unsurprisingly, his 10.5 VORP was 11th in the majors. Glaus, in his rookie year, hit .218/.280/.291 in 165 at bats. I'm not surprised by this, but what it does tell me is that there's no telling how good -- or bad -- McPherson will be in his first full year in the majors, but the chances of him being really bad for a long time are pretty high."That's what's held the Angels in good stead," Stoneman added. "Six years ago, somebody made room for Troy Glaus. Same with Darin Erstad, Tim Salmon and Troy Percival. The healthy way to handle it is that you give good players room to play when they're ready for the Major Leagues."
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