The Stones, The Four Tops, and The Boss… Definitely cool enough for a 52-year-old baseball lifer, but what’s filling out his playlist? My sources tell me he’s also a fan of Green Day and Pavarotti. Come on, this is starting to verge on Midlife Crisis-Stemming Coffee Table Rock. Is Maddon one of those guys who’d tell you at a party, when music tastes come up, “I like everything!” or is he one of those guys who’d try to impress you with something along the lines of, “Yeah, I’m really into Hank Williams, Zappa, and Funkadelic,” meaning he owns more than one Was (Not Was) album. Either way, I’d look for a quick escape from that music conversation.
That could be an unfair characterization, however, one only the most uptight of rock snobs might make. The song he says he plays to get cranked up for a big series is The Stones’ “Start Me Up”. He’s probably a sincere fan of The Boss – probably even saw him play Hershey in the late-70s. After 9/11 I bet he bought up the back catalog of U2. Joe’s Good People. I’m a bad man for thinking otherwise. I just want my Phils to find every competitive edge that’s out there. These musicoathletic analyses sometimes uncover darkness on the edge of town.
The more I think about it, Joe Maddon’s musicoathletic perspective is probably best represented by these guys:
Note the effect Baldelli has had on this game.
Eric Bruntlett?!?!? What were the odds that he’s get the Phils on the board with a solo home run? Definitely this series’ best whiskers. Tvox made a good call on Werth’s conquistador Look, but it has not played well to date.
RTH Philly-ites: Game 6 from 1980 is on Channel 57. First inning about to start now.