I understand that trying to preview these NLCS games through musical analysis may be beyond some Townspeople’s comfort zones. Before we contine to offer the opportunity for pregame musicoathletic analyses, let’s first review the at-bat intro music forces that went into yesterday’s 7-2 Dodgers win.
The big, flashy story was the dugouts emptying thanks, mainly, to Dodgers catcher Russell Martin‘s whining over his pitchers not backing up he and Manny Ramirez following a flurry of knockdown pitches from tough Phillies pitchers. So that we get it out of the way, we’ll start here.
After Martin played peek-a-boo behind slumping Phils sparkplug Jimmy Rollins, begging pitcher Hideki Kuroda to hit him, Martin finally got his wish, when Kuroda unleashed a fastball over the head of Rock Town Hall reader Shane “The Flyin’ Hawaiian” Victorino. Shane quickly refreshed the Dodgers battery mates on the unwritten code that applies to this situation before both benches emptied and we nearly got to see pesky former rivals and now turncoat coaches, Larry Bowa and Davey Lopes, square off for real while Ramirez asked a couple of teammates to make it look like they were holding him back while he feigned outrage. We reviewed Martin’s at-bat intro song the other day, and like Kanye, the guy’s a lot of hot air. It’s one thing to avoid flinching when Jamie Moyer hits your knee with a 72 mph curve. Don’t dig in too hard against Brett Meyers and Clay Condrey, my man. And listen to what Shane has to say!
As I mentioned last night, Dodgers manager Joe Torre made the first of a couple of moves I’d feared he’d make involving veteran, Classic Rock-themed bench players, inserting OCD-afflicted, former juicer Nomar Garciaparra into the starting lineup. For all of young first baseman James Loney‘s gifts in the field and at the plate, as we learned in our comparison of first basemen’s intro themes, Loney’s song can’t bring it like Nomar’s use of War’s “Low Rider”. The fact that Torre was able to sit on that intro theme for little more than a pinch-hitting appearance in the first two games of the NLCS speaks to both Loney’s baseball abilities and Torre’s restraint. Nomar was 2-3 with an RBI and a fine snag of a smash down the first base line.
Late in the game, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel countered with his own Classic Rock-schooled veteran off the bench, backup catcher Chris Coste, who stroked a typically professional base hit worthy of – and surely inspired by a tune that is sure to make Coste a favorite of Townsman Hrrundivbakshi:
Of course, the once-33-year-old rookie’s first appearance in the NLCS was too little, too late, but beware!
Phillies’ nearly 46-year-old starter Jamie Moyer was rocked from the git-go, not surviving the second inning. The story behind his intro song, Foo Fighters’ “Overdrive”, is that he couldn’t care less. He left the choice in the hands of Mark Wyatt, the sound guy at Citizens Bank Park. Moyer is baseball’s consumate professional, but in times like these, perhaps he should get his priorities in order.
The young Dodger who rocked Moyer the hardest was tiny Blake DeWitt, on whom I can tell you Townsman Sammymaudlin has a wicked mancrush. Down in the count with Moyer seeing relative daylight in his rocky first inning, DeWitt crushed a 3-run double. As I watched this at bat and felt confident on a baseball level that the old man would outwit the rookie, I couldn’t shake tune that serves as this guy’s at-bat intro musis:
Blake DeWitt’s at-bat intro music
Although the official word of DeWitt’s starting at second base over seasoned veteran and copstache-adorned Jeff Kent is that Kent’s not 100% following a recent arthroscopic procedure, I think Torre, probably a knowledgeable Sinatra enthusiast, decided he could only take so much of Kent’s at-bat intro music:
Jeff Kent’s at-bat intro music
What’s really interesting, in terms of the greater implications of each team’s positional, musicoathletic matchups, is how DeWitt’s tune compares to that of George Bush’s favorite player, Phillies second baseman, the stoic, old school Chase Utley.
Chase Utley’s at-bat intro music
Utley had a relatively quiet night in the boxscore, going 1-3 with a run scored and a walk. He was called out on his first-inning steal of second base, but everyone beside the ump and the Fox broadcast team saw that the chest-high tag was applied well after Utley’s foot jammed into the bag. Utley didn’t complain. He dusted himself off and got ready for the bottom half of the inning. The guy’s all about perserverence, and perhaps no song better represents the epic qualities he brings to the game.
Excellent theme song, young Blake DeWitt – and one to be pitched around – but I’ll jump out on a limb and predict that Chase’s tune will conquer at-bat intro songs in this series.
Finally, every baseball fan knows that pitchinig is vital in the playoffs. Tonight’s starters are Joe “Heavy B” Blanton for the Phillies and fragile veteran and Game 1 loser Derek Lowe for the Dodgers. Let’s hear who’s intro song promises more prowess on the mound.
We’ll see how Torre can spin this clear disadvantage in the later innings. I know he’s got at least one guy with a kick-ass intro song in the pen. It didn’t help him in his first appearance in the series, but we’ll see if the song brings more mojo the second time around.
Wow, Billy Gibbons was young once upon a time!
Not sure I get all this crazy baseball nonsense (seems pretty close to one of those ALL CAPITAL LETTER screeds you see on the sidewalk sometimes), but land sakes! That ZZ Top performance is pretty freaking great! Now I see why they were a legendary live band in their prime. You gotta get past the first couple of minutes, but once Billy G heats up, watch out!
Mach schau, indeed!
HVB
HVB, even I have to give it up for ZZ Top in that clip.
This doesn’t bode well: Phils have runners on first and third with two outs. Charlie Manuel calls on Geoff Jenkins and “Kiss Kiss” by Chris Brown to pinch hit for Heavy B. Torre calls for his indie rock lefty, Joe Beimel, whose entry music is White Stripes’ “7-Army Nation”, or whatever the title of that song is. Ooh, a counter move! So Taguchi pinch hits for Jenkins. What’s his song??? Nevermind. Tremendous catch by Either, whose at-bat music will be reviewed later this week.
Shit! Teams should bunt on Howard nonstop. The guy’s got Steve Sax disease.
Good LORD. That Stairs geezer hit that thing a freaking TON. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such an authoritative, “take THAT, you little shit” kind of home run.
Matt Stairs, Professional Hitter! He’s gotta have a Classic Rock intro song. I’m thinking something like “Free Ride”, although he’s from Canada. Maybe he goes for some Rush.
Oh “Matt Stairs”. I thought that was Keenan Wynn.
I’d rather lose big than the way we lost tonight. That hurt.
Honestly can’t stand Victorino. He reminds me of this little guy in college that used to shove his face in yours when you were high and ask “are you fucked up?”
And you guys have a dude named “Bruntlett”? That’s like slang for something that gets tangled in your rat’s nest after a long night at an October Fest.
Sour grapes.
I like Utley though.
Matt Stairs — “Taking Care of Business.” And working overtime.
Mod, as a fan of not just baseball in general but the pointless trivial aspects of baseball that make it what it is in particular, I’m definitely enjoying this feature.
One important musical distinction in this discussion is to note that the key to a great batter theme is a powerful riff that can be distilled down to about 5-10 seconds. I think this is why AC/DC excels in the field. Pitchers, particularly closers, get a little more leeway, since they have travel time to allow a longer song clip.
They should get Howard to switch up to that ominous Hendrix opening from “House Burning Down.” That or some simple foghorn blasts.
Re: Zeppelin and today’s poll, are we talking the songs in general, or as batter songs? “Kashmir” is (or at least was, in the pre-Diddy/Page era) the better song, but “Immigrant Song” the better batter entrance music. The opening of “Communication Breakdown” would be the ideal Zep batter music though, wouldn’t it?
If Moyer wants to get his stuff together, I would recommend for him the soothing, age-appropriate, healing power of Seger’s “Still The Same”. That would turn him around.
Still The Same? I dunno, he’s all about changing speeds. No Aerosmith, since in Moyer’s case, Jamie doesn’t have a gun.
How about Down On The Corner by CCR, he’s got to stay there to be effective.
Of course, if he doesn’t then the next line is “out in the street”.
Alexmagic, I’m glad you appreciate this series and are willing to expose yourself as a double-nerd. I know this delicate mixture of sport and rock is challenging for some and even threatening for others. I can assure those of you scratching your heads that it’s all in good fun and all makes a lot of sense.
What you say about the importance of at-bat intro themes being distilled to a short burst of riffs is key. Howard’s theme goes nowhere in that short time. As one might realize, having this opportunity to listen to these players’ songs in their entirety, the songs as a whole might have more meaning to the player than we get from the snippet we hear in the stands.
As for the poll, I purposely left the question open ended so that Townspeople could come at it at whatever angle is most relevant to their lives at this moment.
A Seger tune would be PERFECT for Moyer, but I agree that “Still the Same” is a little too mellow. We need to tap into Moyer’s True Grit. I’m thinking the part in “Night Moves”, right after the sensitive breakdown, when Seger’s about to get into that “Workin’ and practicin’!” coda. We need to contact that Citizens Bank Park soundman should the team have an opportunity to give Jamie another start this year.
I wonder if the artists ever get any royalties from this and how much it might be. Randy Newman was asked about the Dodgers’ use of I Love L.A. when he was on This Week in Baseball, and he said he thought he only got paid if the song was broadcast on TV, not necessarily if it was just played in the ballpark.
If you were a musician, wouldn’t it be cool if a player picked your song as his at-bat music (unless it was player you didn’t like)? And wouldn’t it be cooler to get paid?
Since Moyer has played in several regions of the country- how about K-K-Kat Mandu?
I was going to post just this sentiment. Immigrant has the tempo and jumps out of the gate with a howl and scream perfectly timed for stepping into the box. And if that isn’t enough…”Hammer of the Gods.”
The last time Mod visited the west coast back office, we discussed at-bat songs. I cited Immigrant as the penultimate at-bat song long before DeWitt arrived on the scene.
If Immigrant Song is the penultimate at-bat song, which one is the ultimate?
I think “The Immigrant Song” is perfectly suited to a short series, but “Kashmir” has what it takes to finish the marathon that is the MLB season. Each song is a theme worthy of a postseason warrior.
Not sure about batting songs, but I would think “Highway to Hell” would make a good pitcher’s theme. The bullpen gate opens and you hear those opening chords. By the time he’s tossing the first couple of warm-up pitches, the drums have kicked in and you hear the words:
Livin’ easy… livin’ free… season ticket on a one-way ride
Askin’ nuthin’… leave me be… takin’ everything in my stride
Talk about a lyric for the goateed, lone-wolf, fireball-throwing closer!
I can’t remember if anyone uses “Highway to Hell”, but I like the concept and your description of the closer who’d use it! Doesn’t Trevor Hoffman use an AC/DC song, or was it the late Rod Beck?
BS: I prefer to not speak in absolutes as I don’t believe that anything can be truly known.
The future is uncertain and all.
And Mod. There is no marathon. The past is gone and the future does not exist. There is only now.
I’m working up some thoughts on how Torre might want to play his hand in what could be the final game for the 2008 Dodgers. I hope those of you following this series have appreciated the fair-balanced analyses. Tomorrow night, Torre’s got to stack the lineup with his most potent musicoathletic forces. Stay tuned!
Hoffman used “Hell’s Bells” and it was a truly awesome bit of baseball pageantry. Ideally, a closer’s song will have a little bit of build-up at the start, to get the crowd primed, and then the big moment where the main riff kicks in and the closer can emerge from the pen in full force.
“War Pigs” has major closer potential. And I would argue that a Canadian-born closer or a closer pitching for the Blue Jays would be able to pull a major closer entrance experience if they went with Sloan’s “Money City Maniacs”.
I’d still like to see someone think outside the box and go with “Mars, Bringer of War” or Morricone’s “Ecstasy of Gold” or “Man With A Harmonica”, though you’d have to be some kind of grizzled old badass with a slow walk in from the pen for that one.
Once the coarsening of society makes profanity OK in the ballpark, “Hair of the Dog” will take its rightful spot as the ultimate batter/closer music. What could top “Now you’re messin’ with…a sonovabitch!” and some serious cowbell?