VAGUE SPACE

Phillies in Phirst After Shaky Phirst Half

2009-07-15T00:56:00-04:00

World championship hangovers are as frequent as my own hangovers when I mix liquor and beer, but the Phillies tried not to mix with the ingredients of their recent success too much in the offseason, hoping to come out of the gate stronger than they have in recent years, where they have relied on strong Septembers and Mets collapses to win the division. And this year, April was a lot stronger, but June was a disaster, and only a 9 of 10 streak at home in July has put the Phillies back in the position every fan hoped they'd be in -- back on top of the division, with the Mets way behind. How did they get there? Will it continue? Will the Mets rise from the ashes? Should I start worrying about Florida and Atlanta? Or is a third straight playoff appearance inevitable at this point and should we start thinking about repeat? Do we need Halladay to make that happen? These are a lot of questions, and I don't have all the answers. But come along for the ride.

What has gone right?

(1) Rauuuuuuuuuuuuul. Raul Ibanez was signed in the offseason to replace free agent Pat Burrell, a move that was derided by many, especially me. I didn't see the point in exchanging Burrell for a player that would put up similar overall stats but was a left hander in an already lefty-heavy lineup, and was at age 37 three years older than Burrell. I also worried about his defense, which had been a disaster in Seattle the last two years, arguably worse than Burrell's own shaky defense. Of course, none of that has happened. Burrell has been injured and mostly ineffective for Tampa Bay, while Raul was on an MVP pace before an injury derailed him the last few weeks. He still sits with 20+ HRs and 60 RBIs, and with an OPS that is third in the league behind Pujols and Prince Fielder. That kind of pace won't continue, but at this point, Raul was a huge positive signing for new GM Ruben Amaro and has masked over some of his shakier moves. And in the small left field at Citizens' Bank Park, Ibanez's defensive inadequacies have rarely been apparent. Plus, Rauuuuuuuuuuuuuuul!!!!

(2) Utley. Chase has been an MVP candidate again this first half and a stalwart on my first-place fantasy team -- and oh yeah, on the first place Phillies as well. Winning is just too easy these days for me. Not sure how to handle all this success.

(3) Werth and Victorino. Two years ago, the Phillies cobbled together a lefty/righty RF platoon out of two semi-veteran journeymen who weren't expected to ever be major league regulars. Then Aaron Rowand left for SF on a big free agent contract after a huge year at CF and the combo got split up -- Victorino getting the everyday CF job and Werth being moved to a new platoon, this time with very veteran lefty Geoff Jenkins. Jenkins struggled mightily which led to multiple cries from fans about how they'd lost the clubhouse presence and great bat of Rowand and not replaced it. Then, after the all-star break, Werth moved into the lineup full-time (with Jenkins becoming a pinch-hitting afterthought), and he and Victorino both got hot in their full-time roles, helping the team win the World Series. Less than a year later, both players are all-stars -- borderline all-stars, but all-stars nonetheless. I don't think it could have worked out better for either of them, and with Jimmy Rollins' yearlong struggles, it's been Vic's bat at the top of the lineup that's kept our offense chugging. Sometimes you need to get lucky to build a championship team. With Werth and Victorino, the Phillies struck gold twice. And now have an all all-star OF.

(4) Howard. Ryan Howard spent the off-season slimming down to a much more manageable figure and his effort has paid off with a light-years improvement in his defense, turning one of the only defensive liabilities on the team into an asset. And he's continued to hit the crap out of the ball, without suffering his usual April/May swoon (but without his typical "I'll carry the team" hot streak -- at least not yet). His clutch 3-run homer to tie the game in the 9th on Saturday was a thing of beauty (if in fact I had stayed past the 8th inning to see it and wasn't driving home listening to Larry Anderson make the call instead. Damn!)

(5) J.A. Happ. 6-0 with a 2.90 ERA in 10 starts isn't bad. It's probably not sustainable, but it's covered up very nicely for an injured Brett Myers and a struggling Cole Hamels. Pitching has been far from the strength of this team this year, but Happ has been a bright spot. Would I trade him for Halladay, though? In a heartbeat.

(6) Joe Blanton and Jamie Moyer. Blanton has been strong the last month after a shaky start and Moyer leads the team in wins. His ERA is also 5.99, so maybe not so much with the good, but he is 8-6 and the Phillies seem to hit the crap out of the ball every time he starts. So that's good. But yeah, we need a top-notch starter to really compete. We had two aces going into the playoffs last year - Hamels and Myers, who had been unhittable down the stretch. Myers will not be back. And we can only hope about Hamels. I have no faith in Moyer, who struggled in the playoffs last year, and Happ remains quite young. So you're looking at Blanton as your #2 in the playoffs right now, where he was a #4 last year. Big difference. Go get Halladay!!

(7) The Mets. Yes, a big reason we're in such good shape at this point this year is the Mets collapse. Usually they wait for September for their flame-out, but it came early this year in the form of injuries to Beltran, Reyes, and Delgado. Good times for Phillies fans. Another year of misery for Mets fans. Almost makes me feel sorry for them, if I hadn't heard everyone and their brother proclaiming the Mets as the favorites for the division this spring ahead of the defending champions. F the Mets.

(8) Pedro Feliz. .293/.338/.418 with 45 RBIs, some of the clutchiest clutch hits on the team, and Gold Glove-caliber defense. Basically, everything we need Jimmy Rollins to be, Pedro has been this first half. With the thought that Jimmy will improve, you also have to remember that Pedro will probably go the opposite direction. But it's been an excellent half season for him, certainly.

(8) The Fans. A ton of sellouts (34? so far?) and the highest attendance in the National League is what can happen if you win a World Series. With all the extra money, though, will Phillies management open up the purse strings for one of the best pitchers in baseball (Halladay)? I sure fucking hope so.

What's gone wrong?

(1) Cole. He's 5-5 with a 4.87 ERA in 17 starts so his hangover from a career-high innings load last season (including his performance as World Series MVP) was to be expected, but is difficult to watch. He's shown flashes at times, and a brief trip to the DL seemed to help, but he gave up 3 home runs to Pittsburgh in the first two innings of Saturday's game, sending me to McFadden's to drink and putting the Phillies in a big hole that required a miracle comeback to beat. No player is more important to the Phillies success in the playoffs right now. And no player on the team looks shakier, well, other than the one below him here.

(2) Brad Lidge. No one was expected a repeat of his perfect season last year. In fact, I was hoping he'd blow a save or two in April just so he didn't have the "streak" hanging over him during the tough part of the schedule. But no one expected him to completely fall apart either. He's been on the DL and has seemed a little better since coming back, but his velocity is not back up to last year's standards and he's been burned by the long ball. 0-4 with a 7.03 ERA and 6 blown saves is not exactly what you want to see out of your closer. Of course, his 2.3 HR/9 IP rate is as unsustainable as last year's minuscule 0.3 HR/9 IP rate, so his ERA should improve with less HRs allowed. But his drop in strikeout rate from last year's 11.9 K/9 IP and his career 12.4 rate to this year's 10.4 is very troubling.

(3) J-Roll. Jimmy no good this season to date. He's showing signs of life over the past month, but a .229/.287/.355 is not going to cut it, even with Gold Glove caliber defense, which he hasn't provided this year either. I still expect him to turn it around (he's only 30 years old, the same age as Utley, believe it or not) and we don't need him to be the offensive superstar he once was with the rest of the weapons on the team. Of the top 3 issues with the Phillies, he's the player I'm least worried about.

(4) The bullpen. Lidge fell apart. JC Romero was suspended for the first 50 games. And Chan Ho Park was inexplicably pitching in the rotation over Happ, getting shelled as expected. Madson was strong -- a few blown saves during Lidge's DL stint notwithstanding, but the Jack Taschner experiment ended badly (5.20 ERA) and Chad Durbin's shockingly good season in 2008 gave way to a more typically Durbin-esque 4.47 ERA in the first half. Clay Condrey and Scott Eyre were good in limited roles, but this was a major strength of the team during the championship season and they were nowhere near that in the first half. Fortunately, Romero is back (3.14 ERA in 17 appearances, control as shaky as ever) and Park has been good in relief for the most part. With Madson and a "normal" Lidge, along with Eyre and Condrey, that's a strong enough bullpen to be an asset down the stretch. But a lot of that will depend on Lidge.

(5) The bench. Dobbs is back to crushing the ball like the past two seasons (after a shaky start) and Matt Stairs just keeps hitting key pinch-hit home runs, but that's about all she wrote for bench players. And they're both left-handed with a regular lineup that features 3 lefties + 2 switch-hitters, all in the first 6 batters. Right now, Eric Bruntlett (.139 average) and rookie John Mayberry (.184) are the only righthanders on the bench, after the release of steady veteran backup catcher Chris Coste, who sadly, was the best righty bat at the time. So if Amaro is looking for an area outside starting pitching where help is needed, this is it.

(6) Pedro Martinez. He's not yet signed, but he may be by the time this is posted. He went 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA in 20 starts with the Mets last season, with a 7.2 K/9 ratio that was well below his career average of 10.1 and a 3.6 BB/9 ratio that dwarfed his career 2.4 mark. He was a shell of a shell of his former famous self, and a shell of the 2006 version that posted a 4.48 ERA (in 2007, he only had 5 starts). We have to go all the way back to 2005 for his last good year and this is who the Phillies are counting on to shore up their rotation? No. I'm sorry. It's Halladay or bust. Will Pedro be better than Rodrigo Lopez, currently holding down the 5th rotation slot after two decent starts? Possibly. But that's nothing to write home about. If we get Halladay, it's a Halladay/Hamels/Blanton/Happ/Moyer rotation with Pedro in the minors in case there's an injury. Without him, it's Hamels/Blanton/Happ/Moyer/Pedro and all of the sudden, you're relying on two 40+ year olds at the bottom of your rotation, a rookie in the middle, and a struggling star at the top. That's ugly. And that's where things stand as of this moment.

In summary, 48-38 and 4 games up on 2nd place Florida, 6 1/2 on the Mets. I would have taken that on April 1st without hesitation and I take it now. But without a 9 out of 10 streak to end the first half (against a collapsing Mets team and two bad teams in the Reds and Pirates) the tone of this post would have been a lot more negative. The offense looks fine (actually, great, but that was expected). The defense has improved. The bullpen looks likely to recover to something approaching last year, assuming (and it's a big assumption) that Lidge gets right. But the rotation needs work. Fortunately, the Blue Jays happen to be willing to trade arguably the best pitcher in the game to a team willing to part with a bunch of high-level prospects, and we have a bunch of high-level prospects available. Trade now. I don't even care if he leaves after 2010. He can help us win the World Series this year and next. And once you've tasted the glory of a world championship, you really don't want to settle for anything less.

Vague Space All Time Playlist

2009-07-14T07:14:00-04:00

I've been keeping a spreadsheet total of every song played on my iPod (or iTunes) since I first purchased an iPod in March of 2004. And since 99% of the music I've listened to since I bought my iPod has been on my iPod(s) or iTunes, it's a pretty accurate representation of the bands that I've spent the most time listening to in the past 5 years. This may be interesting to no one but me, but hey, it's my blog. Maybe someone out there will like to see this. Without further ado, here is the list of every single artist played on my iPod since March 2004, in order.

1. Bright Eyes 4,569 plays
2. Mogwai 3,763
3. Sunset Rubdown 3,702
4. Okkervil River 3,608
5. Sufjan Stevens 2,941

Bright Eyes still holds a huge 800+ play lead based on the strength of 1000+ plays in each of 2004 through 2006 (1st, 1st, and 3rd in each year). Mogwai peaked with the most ever in one year, 1725 plays in 2006, but they haven't done much this year and are about to get caught by two bands that didn't even appear in 2004. Okkervil River first appeared on my iPod with 268 plays at the end of 2005, and have stormed up the charts ever since (they've had 1000+ in each of the past three years). Sunset Rubdown didn't appear until 2006! (with 654 plays) but they had the most in 2007 and are already at 1105 in 2009, definitely on pace to break Mogwai's single year peak and very much on pace to be the 2nd most played of any band by the end of this year. Sufjan had 1000+ years in 2005 and 2006, but hasn't done much since (he also hasn't released an album since -- what is he waiting for?)

6. Modest Mouse 2,557 plays
7. Grandaddy 2,232
8. Pavement 2,135
9. Wolf Parade 2,118
10. Explosions in the Sky 1,865

Modest Mouse have had between 200 and 700 plays each year since 2004, which is impressive for a band whose best album work was done before 2004. But of course, the need to get an advance copy of "Float On" in February of 2004 sparked my initial download of iTunes which led to my purchase of my first iPod a month later and the rest, as they say, is history. Pavement are perhaps even more impressive, having been broken up as a band since 1999, but they have had some wonderful "Deluxe & Re-duxe" versions of their classic albums that have filled up my playlists over the past five years, so it's not a big surprise. And Sunset Rubdown's lead singer Spencer Krug's "other" band Wolf Parade is my 9th most played over the past five years, which I think helps explain this blog's obsession fascination with all things Spencer over the past couple years (we'll see his "third" band later in the list).

11. Belle and Sebastien 1,811
12. Sigur Ros 1,777
13. The Mountain Goats 1,663
14. The Decemberists 1,608
15. Superchunk 1,578
16. Mono 1,519
17. The Arcade Fire 1,438
18. Morrissey 1,418
19. The National 1,403
20. Death Cab for Cutie 1,403

The Mountain Goats were the biggest surprise when I compiled this list. I hadn't considered John Darnielle's "band" as one of my favorite artists, but there they are, ahead of such highly touted indie rock legends as The Decemberists and The Arcade Fire and The National. Among them, only The Decemberists appeared in 2004, so for the life of my interest in the band, I've listened to more Mountain Goats songs than Arcade Fire and The National and I never would have ranked them in that order without this list. I don't know what it means, other than I need to appreciate Darnielle more (and Arcade Fire needs to step up their release schedule). Special notice to longtime favorite band Superchunk, the only one in the top 20 other than Pavement who I'd heard of before 2000 and a band that hasn't released a new full-length album since 2001. Somehow they still made #15 in the iPod era for me, and are one of only 4 bands in the entire list to have 100+ plays in each of the past six years (including this year to date). The others are Bright Eyes, Modest Mouse, and The Smiths.

21. Pedro the Lion 1,362
22. The Smiths 1,338
23. Portastatic 1,275
24. Swan Lake 1,228
25. Yo La Tengo 1,075
26. Destroyer 1,048
27. The Microphones 1,048
28. The Album Leaf 1,007
29. Neutral Milk Hotel 970
30. Saxon Shore 882

In this next ten we find four artists that appear elsewhere on this list. Spencer Krug's Swan Lake is his third appearance, at #24, giving him a grand total of 7,048 plays since Wolf Parade first appeared in late 2005 (about 1,880 a year, an average of 5+ songs played by me for a Spencer Krug band EVERY SINGLE DAY for the past four years). Yeah. I am obsessed. But Spencer isn't alone with multiple bands in the top 25. Mac McCaughan of Superchunk also places his "side project" Portastatic in at #23, which gives him a total of 2,800+ plays over five years. The legendary Morrissey appears with both his original band, The Smiths, and as a solo artist still churning out records at age 50, with 2,756 plays. And of course, Dan Bejar, of both Destroyer and Swan Lake (and The New Pornographers, who are on the next list) is the fourth singer in multiple places in the top 30. I guess you could say that I know what I like.

31. This Will Destroy You 857
32. Do Make Say Think 822
33. Guided by Voices 815
34. Final Fantasy 797
35. The Rural Alberta Advantage 787
36. Radiohead 775
37. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! 772
38. Stars 697
39. The New Pornographers 688
40. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone 670
41. Fleet Foxes 670
42. M83   640
43. Beirut 637
44. Low   616
45. Bonnie "Prince" Billy 615
46. Joanna Newsom   580
47. The Replacements   572
48. Built to Spill 571
49. Xiu Xiu 566
50. M. Ward 562

This Will Destroy You and Do Make Say Think make it 8 "post-rock" bands in my top 32, which is probably the biggest change in my iPod years. Other than Godspeed! You Black Emperor, I don't think there was a single post-rock artist that I ever listened to with any regularity back in early 2004. But they've been fully a quarter of my favorite listens since I bought my iPod. The Rural Alberta Advantage are the "newest" high entry, having just officially released their very first album this month on Saddle Creek. They'd self-released the same album last fall, but they remain less than a year old as far as I'm concerned. Very impressive start. And I'm going to finish the list with the final bands that have over 400 plays since 2004, including some big names that I haven't listened to nearly as much as I expected...

51. Interpol 539
52. Broken Social Scene 525
53. Animal Collective 502
54. My Morning Jacket 484
55. Plants and Animals 475
56. Magnolia Electric Co. 467
57. Arab Strap 465
58. Pixies 455
59. New Order 451
60. The Notwist 401

Tour de France Settles Down in Pyrenees

2009-07-13T07:20:00-04:00

After a super-exciting first four stages of this year's Tour de France, the riders came to the first mountain stages in the Pyrenees and ... did nothing. Three stages this weekend in the high mountains on the southern border between France and Spain saw a lot of fireworks among lesser riders but very little fighting among the overall Tour contenders. In fact, besides Alberto Contador's somewhat controversial attack on his own Astana teammates (including Lance Armstrong) on Friday that gained him 21 seconds on his rivals, no other contender took any time from the others this weekend. Andy Schleck made an attempt on Saturday's mountain, and Cadel Evans made a very early attack (before the mountains) on the same stage, both of them perhaps trying to lure Astana out into a fight that might fracture the team or at least put them in the position of defending the yellow, but alas, nothing came of either attempt and Sunday they didn't even try. In fact, Sunday's stage was won by Frenchman Pierreck Fredrigo over Giro d'Italia third place Franco Pellizotti, but only 30 seconds behind was a big enough peloton that sprinter Oscar Freire took third. When Freire is still with the peloton after a long mountain stage, you know that no one was really trying. Admittedly, the course was set up on both Saturday and Sunday with long stretches after the last mountain, which makes it difficult for any break to stay away (Pellizotti and Fredrigo were over 5 minutes up when they crested the Col du Tourmalet, but barely held on at the finish) but I was still hoping for some fireworks. Alas, we're going to have to wait for the Alps, which are still a week and a half away.

Everyone feared that this tamer course would result in this kind of weekend in the Pyrenees and we unfortunately got what we feared. Friday's stage was fairly excellent, but even Contador's attack only gained him a few seconds. And Saturday and Sunday were ultimately disappointing, at least if you're not Luis Leon Sanchez (Saturday's winner) or Fredrigo. Or Rinaldo Nocentini, the little-known Italian from the small French AG2R team, who held his yellow jersey through the weekend after claiming it on a breakaway on Friday's stage. In fact on Sunday, Nocentini rode right up at the front of the peloton during both big mountains, surrounded by AG2R teammates, which proved that the pace was very, very slow, but also that the yellow jersey does in fact bring out greatness in its wearer. He will probably try to hold the jersey right on to the Alps, which would be a major feat for a French team in the Tour, capping off a week in which they've won 3 stages now in their home Tour -- Tommy Voeckler on a flat stage earlier in the week, young Brice Feillu on Friday, and veteran Fredrigo today. Feillu in particular has looked relatively impressive in these mountains and is, along with Nocentini, early jersey holder Fabian Cancellara and double stage winner Mark Cavendish, the star of the first week of this year's Tour.

As for the real contenders, here's how they shape up going into the 2nd week (with my pre-race rankings in parenthesis):

1. Alberto Contador, Astana (1)

Still looks unbeatable, but has a certain famous teammate breathing down his neck. Currently 2nd overall behind Nocentini, 6 seconds behind.

2. Lance Armstrong, Astana (6)

Has done absolutely nothing wrong in the first week, and although Contador was faster in the opening time trial and took off ahead of him in Stage 7, Lance has yet to show whether he can hang with his younger, presumably better teammate if he needs to. We will see in the Alps. And there is about a 0% chance that Lance will play the "good teammate" to Alberto if he in fact thinks he can beat him in those mountains. He's currently in 3rd, 8 seconds back of Nocentini.

3. Andy Schleck, Saxo Bank (2)

Andy has had a relative rough first week, losing time to Bert and Lance in both the individual and team time trials, but he said in an interview today that he's feeling great and wasn't really planning to be on top form until the final week in the Alps, where he was definitely the strongest man in last year's Tour (not ridden by Lance or Bert). Andy unfortunately finds himself in 9th place, 1:49 back, so he does have a lot of time to make up in the Alps. It's not impossible, and I don't expect him to sit idly by and wait.

4. Levi Leipheimer, Astana (7)

Levi currently sits in 4th, just 39 seconds off the pace, and with his time trialing skills, if he can somehow hang with Bert and Lance in the big mountains, he could theoretically beat them on Stage 18's ITT and win this whole thing. More likely, he's another weapon that Astana can use if Saxo or Sastre or Evans give them trouble in the mountains. But he's also likely a good possibility for 3rd in an all-Astana top 3 podium at the end of this Tour, a domination I haven't ever seen in my 20 years of watching the Tour.

5. Carlos Sastre, Cervelo (4)

The defending champion is way back right now, but he hasn't started racing yet and he was pretty far back last year going into the final week only to find himself winning it all with such an impressive display on L'Alpe d'Huez (helped by then teammate Andy Schleck). Carlos will be alone this year, but he will attack, and hard, the entire last week, so that's why I think he has a chance to possibly break Alberto. Unlikely, but maybe he could sneak onto the podium instead. He's currently 16th, 2:52 back.

6. Tony Martin, Columbia (n/r)

After an impressive 2nd place in the Tour de Suiss this year, many were calling him a future overall Tour contender. But I think the future is now. Martin stands in 7th place overall, just 1:00 back, and can definitely time trial with Lance and Bert and Levi (it's his strength). But the white jersey leader for best young rider has shown through the Pyrenees at least that he can climb with the big boys as well, showing no spots of bother at any point. He did look very impressive in the smaller mountains of Switzerland as well. Can he do it in the Alps? Unlikely. But we'll see.

7. Bradley Wiggins, Garmin-Slipstream (n/r)

You can say the same thing about the time trial and mountains for Wiggo as I said for Martin. He's a great time trialer and looked great in the mountains of the Giro (in the first week at least) and in these Pyrenees. But the 3-time gold medalist in track cycling was never known as any kind of mountain guy before this year and although he's re-made his body and training to gain some sort of mountain chops, it seems unlikely that he'll come anywhere close to the leaders in the Alps. But he does sit in 5th place, 46 seconds back. So you can't count him out, at least not for a top 10 finish overall.

8. Christian Vandevelde, Garmin-Slipstream (16)

Last year's 3rd place (after Bernhard Kohl was subsequently found guilty of doping) entered this Tour after a horrendous year filled with injuries and no one really thought he could compete. But here he sits in 8th place, just 1:24 back. He didn't look as strong as teammate Wiggins in the only tough Pyreneean stage on Friday, but he did hang onto the back of the leaders at the summit. So he's still fighting for a top 10 overall.

9. Cadel Evans, Silence-Lotto (3)

Oh, Cadel. A devastating team time trial has left him in the dust, 18th place, 3:07 behind. He cannot make that up, since he remains a marked man that Astana will chase down with a vengeance. He doesn't have the attacking speed and strength in the mountains as someone like Sastre, either, so although I'm sure he will attack this year (as he did in the Giro), his attempts will not come to much effect (as happened in the Giro). Two straight 2nd places will give way to a finish much further down in the top 10 this year, I fear.

10. Vincenzo Nibali, Liquigas (12)

Nibali has proven to be the best of the three-headed Liquigas monster in this year's Tour, currently sitting in 10th place, 1:54 back. He could move up a place or two in the Alps, but he's really not going to challenge for a podium I wouldn't think. Liquigas has to be considered among the biggest team disappointments so far, even as Pellizotti's shot at glory on Sunday's stage got nipped at the line by a Frenchman.

Other contenders:
Frank Schleck, Saxo Bank, 13th, 2:25 back. Andy's brother may prove useful in a dual-pronged attack, but at this point, Saxo seems a shell of last year's dominating team. Perhaps they shouldn't have spent the first week defending Cancellara's yellow.

Andreas Kloden, Astana, 6th, 0:54 back. Klodi got dropped on one of Sunday's mountains, but made his way back to the pack with the slow pace. He clearly looks the worst of the big four Astana boys at the front, despite a very impressive time trial on Stage 1. I have a strong feeling that he will be asked to help Bert and Lance in the Alps and not race for himself, which will kill his overall standing.

Luis-Leon Sanchez, Caisse D'Epargne, 12th, 2:16 back. After Saturday's stage win, he clawed himself back into the overall picture, at least for a shot at top 10 glory.

Roman Kreuziger, Liquigas, 14th, 2:40 back. Roman looked strong through much of the first week but disappeared on Friday's stage and finds himself well back. If he couldn't hang on in the Pyrenees, I don't see him having much chance in the Alps.

No longer contending:
Denis Menchov, Rabobank, 27th place, 5:02 back. If Liquigas has had a bad first week, Rabobank has had a nightmare. Menchov suffered on the first stage and then crashed on the team time trial and his team finished with one of the worst times. He's even lost some time in these mountains, even at the slow pace. The Giro d'Italia winner may have spent all his gas in May. And no one else on Rabobank is higher in the overall standings. Other than Oscar Freire's 2nd and 3rd on two stages in the first week, the Rabo boys have been completely silent in the Tour so far. And Bobo Gesink had to retire with a broken bone. Just devastating.

Kim Kirchen, Columbia, 19th place, 3:16 back. Kim was the other big loser in the opening time trial and last year's top 10 finish looks to be a distant memory with the way he's been climbing so far.

Rounders

2009-07-09T08:00:00-04:00

With four games left in my team's softball season, the Rounders are an inexplicable 10-10, by far our best record this late in the season in the decade or so since the team was originally formed by Rudnick and me and some guys from our office who had never held a softball mitt in their lives. The team has obviously dramatically improved from the days when we had a soccer player roaming the outfield because at least he had the speed to chase down the long smashes and hold home runs to triples, but we do have basically the same exact team that we've had for the last several years and yet we're finally competing on a level basis with almost all our opponents. Is it truly the "new" Rounders as our erstwhile manager likes to claim? Or is it just a weaker league/easier schedule than we've faced in years past? Let's go to the videotape...

The lineup this year is largely the same as last year's, when we won about 5 or 6 games on the whole season. I think I've played more regularly than in any year in recent memory (despite coming off ACL reconstruction surgery), but that couldn't have helped, and we lost our catcher combo from last year's squad, but other than that, it's the same players. Brunner and Cheese have been hitting well in the middle of the order, but they did so last year, and I don't see any huge improvements in our lineup otherwise. We do seem to have strung together several two-out rallies and have won a number of close games, so perhaps -- even though it's not a major league skill -- we have been more "clutch" than in years past. Certainly our manager was about as clutch as he's ever been when he hit a grand slam in the 7th of a tie game on Monday, but perhaps the steroids are just finally kicking in. Either that, or he wisely gave up on his strategy to emulate his hero Derek Jeter in everything he does, including aiming for right field with every at bat.

So we might be getting some more clutch hitting, possibly, but overall the lineup's the same. How has the defense been? I think this has probably been an area of bigger improvement. Admittedly, we've had a couple games where the defense has looked like its shabby old Rounders self (and we got killed in those games), but for the most part our defense has been solid, and dare I say, even strong. I will agree with Jan that moving Lenny to first has been a big help. Not that Shawn didn't do a good job there, but he wasn't as -- let's just say "attentive" -- as maybe you'd like your first baseman to be, especially in the area of cut-off throws and backing up the catcher and covering the base at all times. As a result, we haven't had nearly as many "ball rattling around the backstop while the runners circle the bases" incidents this year as in years' past. In fact, I think handling the "don't let runners take extra bases" part of the game has been one of our biggest improvements this year. Plus, Lenny's presence at first -- and Jan's confidence with him -- has had a HUGE impact on our shortstop's play this year. We all like to make fun of Jan's defense, and admittedly, he really should have stopped playing short years ago (we just had no one to replace him), but this season, especially in recent weeks, he's been excellent. This week he even made the double play pirouette that he's tried many times and never, ever, ever come close to achieving before. So if Lenny at first has helped Jan play better (especially in the "throwing to first" part of his game), then it's been a big move. We have had trouble filling in the third base spot with Cheese missing several games (and sick this week), so that is a concern. But the infield D has been much improved with basically the same players, just rearranged a little.

Freeing Shawn from first base has also been a boon to our OF defense. We threw Shawn out there last year on an emergency basis (and had some players not nearly as good on an emergency basis as well), but this year, he's turned into a very strong outfielder, who we can safely put in RC and expect him to make all the plays. He's also probably our second or third fastest player (which is saying something), so having him in the OF makes a lot of sense. Plus, he likes crashing into the fence every once in a while, so as long as he doesn't get hurt, that helps. And with Shawn and/or Brunner in RC, we've had our most consistently strong OF in... well, probably ever. Rich makes at least one diving catch in LF a game. Bones is solid in LC. And RF rarely gets any balls, but whoever has been playing out there has done a fine job. All around, the OF defense has turned from a liability in years past to a team strength.

The pitching performance has also been strong this year, but I'm not sure it's any stronger/different than in years past. Tice has pitched in more games probably, and I think the idea of switching pitchers between games is a good one since hitters can get in a groove against a pitcher (most of our opposition seems to be doing the same thing). But Matt and Tice were our pitchers last year, so that's a bit tougher to evaluate. Pitching and defense are obviously inextricably linked in either case. And our run prevention overall seems to have improved, although I'd have to check the stats to find out for sure.

But is that why we're 10-10? Or is there a larger, more obvious reason? (insert Switsky joke here, Lenny). For reasons I don't remember (I think maybe I had class), team manager Jan went to the pre-season league meeting instead of me last year. According to Switsky (and I 100% believe him), Jan waited until the end of the meeting when everyone wanted to leave and go home, and accosted the head of the league with a request for 38 or so dates that the Rounders couldn't play on, which were almost all related to his own personal conflicts, Jewish holidays, or days in which he planned to worship Jeter in the privacy of his home. The head of the league can't stand Jan, by the way, because he once made a minor umpiring mistake in our game two years ago and admitted fault, and Jan has reminded him of that every time he's seen him since. Way to get on the head of the league's good side, coach. So anyway, when the league schedule came out, the Rounders (one of the worst teams in the league the year before) were scheduled consistently against the toughest teams, including all four teams in the "B" (upper) division. We went on to win 5 or 6 games, but on the bright side, due to the scheduling prowess of the Manalapan rec league, Jan didn't have to miss a single game (god forbid). This year, I went to the meeting, alone, and ignored Jan's pre-meeting request of 38 dates he couldn't make (he doesn't know that I never gave it to Simon, so I hope he doesn't read this!) As a result, we suddenly ended up with a schedule facing all the lower quality teams in our league (like ourselves). And now we're 10-10. We could have Ozzie Smith playing short and Torii Hunter in our OF and we still wouldn't be 10-10 with last year's schedule. So is it the "new" Rounders? Or the same old Rounders with an easy schedule? Well, no one can say for sure, but perhaps the playoffs will tell. We did win our first playoff series in the history of the Rounders when we beat the Young Guns in a best of three in the fall league two years ago in 40 degree temperatures. We'll see if we can beat a similarly skilled team in the playoffs at the end of this month. If not, same old Rounders. If so, same old Rounders with a playoff victory! Which is definitely worth something. I guess. I'll just be happy to rest my knee when the season is mercifully over.

New Music Tuesday

2009-07-08T08:19:00-04:00

Ok, I know it's not Tuesday but this got pre-empted by my Tour de France coverage yesterday, so here it is one day late...

Jonsi and Alex are releasing their first album of ambient/instrumental rock July 21st on XL Recordings in North America, titled Riceboy Sleeps. You can get a download of a song from the album by putting in your email address at their website (or below). "Riceboy Sleeps" was the original name of the band formed by Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi Birgisson and his partner Alex Somers, but they've chosen to rename themselves Jonsi and Alex for the album release. The song I received through email is "Boy 1904" but the song I'm providing below appeared on the Dark Was the Night compilation in the spring and is quite representative. Check it out.

Scott Kannberg, aka Spiral Stairs, aka the key member of Pavement not named Stephen Malkmus, aka one half of my 2nd favorite band of all-time, is releasing his first solo album on his own name (or fake name) this fall on Matador. He had two releases as Preston School of Industry, but I wasn't really a fan of those, so here's hoping this version of Kannberg's music is better. And of course, we'll all keep praying for Pavement to get back together.

Download Spiral Stairs - "Maltese T".mp3

Spoon recently released a new single to tide us over before their next album release.

Download Spoon - "Got Nuffin".mp3

Mt. Eerie has a new track available off its upcoming release, courtesy of Stereogum, which describes the new album as closest to a sequel to The Glow, Pt. 2 yet. Let's hope so.

Download Mount Eerie - "Stone's Ode".mp3

Japandroids are neither Japanese nor droids but are in fact two white guys from Vancouver, BC, who happen to make some pretty loud, catchy rock music. The new album is titled Post-Nothing.

Download Japandroids - "Young Heart Spark Fire".mp3

Fleet Foxes sung a new song at Glastonbury that is recorded here. Here's hoping a new album is in the works for the band that lit up last year's indie charts.

Download Fleet Foxes - "Blue Spotted Tail".mp3

And finally, everybody's been talking about the Dirty Projectors album Bitte Orca, but I have to admit that I can't quite appreciate its charms. The following is the final track on the album and is pretty decent.

Download Dirty Projectors - "Fluorescent Half-Dome".mp3

Astana Wins Team Time Trial, Spartacus Keeps Yellow

2009-07-07T12:33:22-04:00

After what has been the most exciting race I have ever watched this early in a Tour de France, there is a virtual tie at the top of the standings between Fabian Cancellara, who has held yellow since the opening stage, and an unknown rider who we've never seen before named Lance Armstrong. By fractions of a second, Fabian "Tony Spartacus" Cancellara (pictured at right showing his margin of lead "00") kept the yellow jersey just ahead of Lance, but it was an absolutely wonderful stage today after a wonderful stage yesterday and we're just getting started. Team Astana -- the super-team of Lance, Levi Leipheimer, and pre-Tour favorite Alberto Contador - won today's team time trial in Montpelier by 18 seconds over Garmin-Slipstream and 40 seconds over third place Saxo Bank, which just so happened to be the exact margin that Cancellara held over Armstrong going into the stage. As a result, the race officials had to take hundreds of seconds into account from the first stage and Cance ended up on top. For today at least. Overall, it's looking like an Astana domination...

1. CANCELLARA Fabian 33 TEAM SAXO BANK 10h 38’ 07"
2. ARMSTRONG Lance 22 ASTANA 10h 38’ 07" + 00’ 00"
3. CONTADOR Alberto 21 ASTANA 10h 38’ 26" + 00’ 19"
4. KLÖDEN Andréas 23 ASTANA 10h 38’ 30" + 00’ 23"
5. LEIPHEIMER Levi 24 ASTANA 10h 38’ 38" + 00’ 31"
6. WIGGINS Bradley 58 GARMIN – SLIPSTREAM 10h 38’ 45" + 00’ 38"
7. ZUBELDIA Haimar 29 ASTANA 10h 38’ 58" + 00’ 51"
8. MARTIN Tony 76 TEAM COLUMBIA – HTC 10h 38’ 59" + 00’ 52"
9. ZABRISKIE David 59 GARMIN – SLIPSTREAM 10h 39’ 13" + 01’ 06"
10. MILLAR David 56 GARMIN – SLIPSTREAM 10h 39’ 14" + 01’ 07"
11. PAULINHO Sergio 26 ASTANA 10h 39’ 23" + 01’ 16"
12. VANDE VELDE Christian 51 GARMIN – SLIPSTREAM 10h 39’ 23" + 01’ 16"
13. LARSSON Gustav 34 TEAM SAXO BANK 10h 39’ 29" + 01’ 22"
14. MONFORT Maxime 77 TEAM COLUMBIA – HTC 10h 39’ 36" + 01’ 29"
15. KREUZIGER Roman 93 LIQUIGAS 10h 39’ 38" + 01’ 31"
16. ROGERS Michael 79 TEAM COLUMBIA – HTC 10h 39’ 39" + 01’ 32"
17. HINCAPIE George 74 TEAM COLUMBIA – HTC 10h 39’ 43" + 01’ 36"
18. POPOVYCH Yaroslav 27 ASTANA 10h 39’ 43" + 01’ 36"
19. NIBALI Vincenzo 95 LIQUIGAS 10h 39’ 43" + 01’ 36"
20. SCHLECK Andy 31 TEAM SAXO BANK 10h 39’ 48" + 01’ 41"

Yes, that's 2 through 5 for Team Astana, and Cancellara, no matter how much he is loved in the world of cycling, is not a mountain climber and will not be competing once the road turns upwards. So it's four Astana teammates -- all four with serious Tour de France repertoires -- in the top positions for the overall win. Their closest GC competitors are Christian ValdeVelde in 12th (1:16 back), Roman Kreuziger in 15th, Mick Rogers in 16th, Vincenzo Nibali in 19th, and Andy Schleck (my pre-race 2nd favorite) in 20th, 1:41 behind. Defending champion Carlos Sastre is 2:44 back, in 29th place, seemingly out of the race (although he could shock us in the mountains), while two-time defending 2nd place Cadel Evans is in 35th, 2:59 back. It seems like he is definitely out of this race.

So the drama on Team Astana will play out for the rest of the week, at least until we get to the mountains of the Pyrenees on Stage 7 (and perhaps for longer than that). In yesterday's exhilarating flat stage 3, Armstrong made the front of a split in the field caused by Team Columbia's pressing pace and a massive crosswind that caught the main peloton out and unable to regain the wheels of the Columbia train. Lance and Cancellara were among the 27 men who made the break (including all 9 Columbia riders), while Astana team leader Contador did not. According to George Hincapie (Lance's former teammate), Columbia were pissed that for the second straight day, they were doing all the work by themselves to help bring back an early breakaway, with no other sprinters' teams helping them. As a result, they decided to put the hammer down and see if they could punish the other teams, which they did. But in the end, Lance was in the right place, right time, and ended up with a huge advantage, one that almost put him in yellow today.

The interesting thing is that Columbia was still doing all the work at the front of the break yesterday and had the lead on the peloton out to 30 seconds, but the gap had dropped to 22 seconds when all of the sudden, the Versus cameras caught Lance Armstrong himself helping at the front. Then we see Lance waving for his teammates Yaroslav Popovych and Haimer Zubeldia (who both made the break) to come to the front and help him. Popo, a long-time Lance teammate on those champion USPS/Discovery Channel teams, came up immediately and started pulling at the front with the Team Columbia boys. Then Lance disappeared, perhaps to go yell at Zubeldia, and eventually you see the Spanish rider (and long-time Euskatel-Euskadi team leader, in his first year with Johan Bruyneel's Astana boys) come to the front. He didn't do as many turns as Popo and seemed reluctant (Contador is a fellow Spaniard) but their work along with Columbia helped stretch the margin back out to 30 seconds and break the spirit of the chasing peloton. Mark Cavendish (pictured at right) ended up winning the stage (his second in a row) over Thor Hushovd (the only other premier sprinter who'd made the break) to make Columbia's efforts pay off. But Lance and the group gained 41 seconds on everyone else in the field, pushing Armstrong up to third, 19 seconds ahead of his Astana teammate Contador. All of the sudden, the divisions in the team which seemed silenced by Contador's impressive 1st stage performance were back in full force, no matter how diplomatic everybody is being in interviews. Armstrong is here to win the Tour. And Contador knows it. And at this point, the two of them have to be considered the prohibitive favorites, given the time gaps they've put on everyone else. I don't think Armstrong can keep up with Bert in the mountains, but I do think that Lance thinks he can. And maybe that's all that matters. This is shaping up to be one of the great battles in Tour history, even as only teammates are involved. Sadly, I fear Schleck, Sastre, Kreuziger, and Evans will be battling for third. Along with Levi and Kloden. And anyone else Astana throws out. A very impressive display today. Very impressive indeed.

Cancellara and Cavendish Dominate the Weekend

2009-07-05T19:11:52-04:00

On the first stage of the 2009 Tour de France Saturday, Fabian Cancellara overcame a 6 second deficit to Alberto Contador at the halfway point of an exhilarating 15K individual time trial and stormed down the streets of Monaco for a blistering second half to win his fourth career Tour de France stage by 18 seconds over the yellow jersey favorite. The Beijing Olympic time trial champion did not disappoint in the opening battle of this year's Tour, going off fourth from last but passing defending Giro d'Italia champion Denis Menchov -- who started 1:30 ahead of him! -- on the road leading up to the finish line to beat leader Bradley Wiggins by 19 seconds and then wait and watch Contador try to challenge but not come close to surpassing the Tour de Suisse champion's time. Fabulous Fabian or "Fabu" as he's known in his home country of Switzerland (where his first ever Tour de Suisse victory captivated the crowds less than a month ago) took over the yellow jersey as leader of the Tour and hopes to defend it through the entirety of the first week of this year's Tour, right up until the Stage 7 mountaintop finish in the Pyrenees on Friday.

On Sunday's stage, cycling's best sprinter equaled what cycling's best time trialist had done a day earlier as Mark Cavendish won a disjointed bunch sprint behind a great leadout from Mark Renshaw and George Hincapie and his other Columbia teammates to take home the fifth Tour de France stage win of his career. Cav was the heavy favorite going into the stage and he likewise did not disappoint as he used the power of the Team Columbia train to hold off all potential contenders other than Garmin's Tyler Farrar and then held off Farrar by a full bike length at the line. Thor Hushovd came in fourth, but his expected green jersey and sprinting challengers Tom Boonen and Oscar Freire were nowhere to be found at the end of this stage, perhaps simply conceding the race to the superior British sprinter or to the superior American-based team. Cancellara held onto the yellow jersey (and his team, Saxo Bank, put in the hard work during the stage to keep touch with a four-man break that was caught at the 15K mark) and the overall standings didn't change.

Contador was the other big story of the weekend as his impressive effort paced four riders from Team Astana that made the top 10 on Saturday's important opening time trial, proving to any doubters that he is completely on form and the leader of the team. Of course, Andreas Kloden and Levi Leipheimer, who finished 4th and 6th on the stage (or 3rd and 4th among overall contenders if you remove Cancellara and Wiggins from consideration) had excellent races themselves and probably cannot be counted out yet from their own personal ambitions, which may conflict with Contador's ambitions. And Lance Armstrong, who finished a disappointing 10th after a very early start (and times seemed to improve as the day went on) is still only 22 seconds back of Contador, proving he may have a little left in him after 3 years out of the sport. Some (including me) expected a little more from Armstrong, but 22 seconds is a blink in the mountains and I still have a feeling it will be every man for himself for Team Astana on the final week of the Tour in the Alps. Of course, Contador is almost definitely still the best among his teammates, but I have hope that someone will be able to compete with him, perhaps from his own team.

Cadel Evans was the other story of the first stage, finishing just 5 seconds behind Contador and 5th overall on the stage, cementing his place as Bert's biggest contender again in this Tour. And young Andy Schleck acquitted himself relatively well in a time trial that is far from his specialty, finishing only 42 seconds back of Contador, although way down in 18th overall. Defending champion Carlos Sastre was another 6 seconds further back, but still within shouting distance.

Tuesday's team time trial is the next major stage of the Tour, and it may prove to be an all-out war between Astana, Saxo Bank, and Garmin, with Rabobank and Liquigas and Team Columbia having outside chances at the stage. Astana had four of the top 10 riders in the opening time trial, so they have to be considered the favorite, but Saxo Bank has Cancellara and Gustav Larsson (11th on the opening stage) and will be trying to move Schleck closer to Contador by beating Astana on this stage. Meanwhile, Garmin -- filled with time trialing specialists (4 of the top 17) will be trying for 19 precious seconds over Saxo Bank to push Bradley Wiggins into the overall yellow jersey. It should be one hell of a race. And we can't count out Liquigas, whose dual team leaders Roman Krueziger and Vincenzo Nibali both finished in the top 10 of stage 1, or Columbia, with Tony Martin, Maxime Monfort, Mick Rogers, and George Hincapie all skilled time trialists who finished in the top 30 on the first stage. Rabobank is a question mark, though, as both Stef Clement and team leader Denis Menchov had disappointing first stages and then Clement was part of that lengthy 4-man breakaway in Sunday's stage that had to drain him of energy but provided no decent result. I'm not sure what the hell is going on with that team, who seemed to shed its perennial underachieving tag with Menchov's win at the Giro in May. I'd actually pegged Menchov as an early yellow jersey recipient after the opening time trial and then the trip to the Pyrenees next weekend (which he excels at). But he finished 1:31 back of Cancellara (who passed him near the finish), and 1:13 back of Contador. I don't see him making that up. The team may have to switch to plan B Robert Gesink already. At least Gesink finished within a minute of Contador.

The team time trial will also be hugely important for the two major contenders who are not on any of the teams mentioned above - Cadel Evans and Carlos Sastre - whose teams will be hard-pressed to keep pace with Astana and Saxo Bank and in fact, will be just looking to limit their losses. The Tour has changed its rules since the last time they had a TTT (I think in '04?), which gave out time gaps based on overall finish in the race rather than actual time. This year, it's actual time, and Sastre and especially Evans could lose upwards of 3 minutes to Contador if their teams cannot keep up. Sastre already starts nearly a minute down on the fellow Spaniard, so dropping 4 minutes back after the 4th stage is not exactly a great way to defend his championship. Of course, maybe that would allow him to escape up the road without being marked on a mountain stage, so perhaps all will not be lost. But I think my preview overestimated his and Evans' chances when I didn't consider the team time trial. In fact, after Cadel and Jurgeon Van den Broeck, you have to go all the way down to Charlie Wegelius's 92nd place to find the next Silence-Lotto rider in the first stage standings. That's not exactly a good sign for their team's time trialing ability. Heck, Cadel might be lucky to keep Contador's lead at 3 minutes after Tuesday. And I don't see how he can make that up. We could pretty much be down to a two team overall race after Tuesday -- Astana, with 4 riders going for the Tour title, and Saxo Bank, with Andy Schleck. It could be very interesting indeed.

Standing	Rider	Rider number bib	Team	Time	Gaps
1.	CANCELLARA Fabian	33	TEAM SAXO BANK	4h 49' 34"
2.	CONTADOR Alberto	21	ASTANA	4h 49' 52"	+ 00' 18"
3.	WIGGINS Bradley	58	GARMIN - SLIPSTREAM	4h 49' 53"	+ 00' 19"
4.	KLÖDEN Andréas	23	ASTANA	4h 49' 56"	+ 00' 22"
5.	EVANS Cadel	11	SILENCE - LOTTO	4h 49' 57"	+ 00' 23"
6.	LEIPHEIMER Levi	24	ASTANA	4h 50' 04"	+ 00' 30"
7.	KREUZIGER Roman	93	LIQUIGAS	4h 50' 06"	+ 00' 32"
8.	MARTIN Tony	76	TEAM COLUMBIA - HTC	4h 50' 07"	+ 00' 33"
9.	NIBALI Vincenzo	95	LIQUIGAS	4h 50' 11"	+ 00' 37"
10.	ARMSTRONG Lance	22	ASTANA	4h 50' 14"	+ 00' 40"

July, July!

2009-07-03T12:36:55-04:00

Happy 4th of July, readers!

Download The Decemberists - "July, July!".mp3

there is a road that meets the road
that goes to my house
and how the green grows there
and we've got special boots
to beat the path to my house
and it's careful and it's careful when i'm there

and i say your uncle was a crooked french Canadian
and he was gut-shot runnin' gin
and how his guts were all suspended in his fingers
and how he held 'em
how he held 'em held, 'em in

and the water rolls down the drain, the water rolls down the drain, oh what a lonely thing! in a lonely drain!

july, july, july! never seemed so strange (x2)

this is the story of the road that goes to my house
and what ghosts there do remain
and all the troughs that run the length and breadth of my house
and the chickens how they rattle chicken chains

and we'll remember this when we are old and ancient
though the specifics might be vague
and i'll say your camisole was a sprightly light magenta
when in fact it was a nappy blueish gray

and the water rolls down the drain
the blood rolls down the drain
oh what a lonely thing
in a blood red drain

july, july, july! it never seemed so strange (x2)

.....................................................................................................

We drove the car to the top of the parking ramp on the 4th of July.
We sat out on the hood with a couple of
Warm beers and watched the fireworks explode in the sky.
And there was an exodus of birds from the trees,
'Cause they didn't know we were only pretending.
And the people all looked up, and looked pleased,
And the birds flew around like the whole world was ending.

And I, I don't think war is noble, and I don't like to think love is like war.
But I've got a big hot cherry bomb and I want to slip it through the mail slot of your front door.
Now you can't leave me here, I've got your back now you better have mine.
'Cause you say the coast is clear, but you say that all the time.

Download Ani DiFranco - "Independence Day".mp3

"What's the day?" "Whats you doing?"
"How's your food?" "How's that song?"
Man it passes right by me it's behind me, now it's gone
I can't lift you up cause my mind is tired, it's family beaches that I desire
That sacred night where we watched the fireworks
They frightened the babies and you know they've got two flashing eyes
And if they are colorblind, they make me feel, that you're only what I see sometimes.

Download Animal Collective - "Fireworks".mp3

I was driving up from Tampa
When the radiator burst
I was three sheets to the wind
A civilian saw me first
And then there was the cop
And then the children standing on the corner
Your love is like a cyclone in a swamp
And the weather's getting warmer

I was getting out of jail
Heading to the Greyhound
You said you'd hop on one yourself
And meet me on the way down
I was shaking way too hard to think
Dead on my feet about to drop
Went and got the case of vodka from a car
And walked the two miles to the bus stop

Got on the bus half drunk again
The driver glared at me
Met up with you in Inglis
Thumbed a ride to Cedar Key
If we never make it back to California
I want you to know I love you
But my love is like a dark cloud full of rain
That's always right there up above you
Hey!

Download The Mountain Goats - "See America Right".mp3

I want to pledge allegiance to the country where I live
I don't want to be ashamed to be American
But opportunity, no, it don't exist
It's the opiate of the populace
We need some harder shit now
The truth is getting around
Each public school is a halfway house
Where huddled masses sober up and up
Enough?
There's not enough to fatten the cows and feed all of us
It's just a rationing of luck
What can't be bought gets raffled off
Oh god, good god
Shed greed on thee
Your shining sea turned a dirty green from the industry
Off the shores of New Jersey

I got a letter from the army, so I think that I'll enlist
No I'm not brave or proud of nothing, I just want to kill something
Too bad that nowadays you just point and click
Swing low satellite, hot white chariot!
In the computer's blue glare, the bombs burst in the air
There was a city once - now nothing is there
Our freedom comes at their expense
Makes sense, doesn't it?
Dollars and cents
They're stretching barbed wire across the picket fence
That is surrounding your housing development
Just in case you lack the confidence
Oh god, my god, give strength to thee
These amber waves, purple majesty
Is nothing but backdrops for Disney

Well, look up close
It is superimposed on a blank blue screen
Yeah, it's fantasy, fucking magical
The dream floats like a chemical through each snapped synapse
Our television past that is beautiful no more, no more

Download Desaparecidos - "The Happiest Place on Earth".mp3

Tour de France Preview

2009-07-02T00:32:00-04:00

Contador. Armstrong. Competitors. Rivals. Teammates. Enemies? Yes, Lance is back to the Tour de France after a 3-year absence and although his comeback season has been far from successful due to injury and perhaps too long of a layoff, on Saturday he will be back on his favorite racing turf -- the streets and mountains of France, where he won a record 7 straight titles before retiring from the sport in 2006. But since he's been gone, a young Spanish rider has taken over and dominated cycling, having won three of the four Grand Tours that he entered, including the 2008 Tour de France. Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong are on the same Astana team that promised to dominate the cycling season but instead has been a disaster and nearly folded from lack of funds; they do come to the Tour with easily the most powerful team in years. Will the teammates get along? Will Lance be able to keep up with the young star, or somehow even surpass him? What of Levi and Kloden and Haimer Zubeldia, all leaders of other teams for years, now working for Contador and/or Lance on Astana? And how will team manager Johan Bruyneel keep these egos in check, especially after pissing off Contador by not selecting fellow Spaniard climber Benjamin Noval for the Tour and Lance by not selecting fellow American climber Chris Horner as well (and for picking a token Kazakh rider by Astana instead)? No one knows, but this could prove to be the most exciting Tour of the decade and one in which drugs do not play a role at all thanks to super-strict testing and standards by the French authorities (Alejandro Valverde isn't riding due to probable -- unproven -- involvement in a scandal over three years ago, and Tom Boonen has been banned due to probable -- and seemingly questionable -- cocaine use, not a performing enhancing drug). If the Tour is simply fought on the streets and mountains of France and not in a beaker in a lab somewhere in Paris, we will all be a lot happier.

The course is heavily back-loaded into a grueling final week, but overall doesn't seem as difficult as Tours past, which may allow some riders to keep up with heavy favorite Contador, although none of the major contenders can really be expected to keep up with an on-f0rm Alberto in the mountains. And the way he's been time-trialing lately, even TT experts like Levi and Denis Menchov and Cadel Evans won't be able to put in much time on him. I'd hate to say it, but I think the only one with the skills to beat an on-form Contador is Lance -- or at least the Lance of three years ago. But Armstrong has been far from his prime this season and unless he's found his ability in the six weeks since the end of the Giro d'Italia, I'll be surprised if he can truly compete. He says that if cannot keep up with Alberto that he will change his focus and work for his teammate for the overall victory. But make no mistake, he's here to win. And if he talks all about how happy he is to help Bert get the victory, that just means he couldn't keep up. Lance wants to win as badly as ever. He's just not as good as Contador I don't think. I don't think anyone is.

Here are the contenders for the Tour:

Alberto Contador, ESP, Astana: Bert is the heavy favorite, and he's geared his whole season around the Tour de France. His time trialing has improved dramatically since his 2008 Tour victory and he wants revenge on the tour organizers for excluding his team from last year's race, even though none of the Kazakh riders responsible for the doping in 2007 were part of last year's team. The only thing that hurts him, though, is that the first two weeks of the Tour provide only a single mountain finish and only a small individual time trial, so there's not many opportunities for him to rack up any time on his rivals before the 3rd week. I'd be shocked if he's in yellow at the start of Stage 17, but that monster stage will be where he makes his move. After three weeks of racing, will anyone be able to stay with him? And will he have enough left for the long time trial to follow and then the Stage 20 assault on Mont Ventoux? And of course, will the Lance drama be too much of a distraction to overcome? I'd say he will win. But anything can happen in a bike race.

Andy Schleck, LUX, Saxo Bank: Schleck is younger than Contador, I believe, and will be racing his first Tour de France for himself, as he spent last year helping CSC teammate Carlos Sastre to the victory. But Sastre is now on Cervelo and Schleck is free to see if he can start his future now. He hasn't shown himself yet to be able to dose his effort over three weeks of glory, but he's also probably the best contending climber not named Contador and as such, has the best chance of shaking him in the mountains -- or at least staying with him. His Achilles heel is that he isn't the greatest time trialer, but neither was Bert when he won in '08. Of course, Bert didn't have to battle a superstar like himself back then, so Andy is still a major underdog. Even if I have him pegged as the having the 2nd best chance of winning.

Cadel Evans, AUS, Silence-Lotto: Evans has finished in 2nd place in the last two Tours de France, and lost by less than a minute to Contador in '08. He's got a somewhat stronger team than his disastrous support in previous years, and he's as motivated as ever to finally win one of these Tours. Of course, motivation won't help him keep up with Contador and Schleck in the mountains, and as we've seen over the past few years, he just cannot keep pace with the elite mountain riders when the road turns up. But we have also seen that his is quite capable of riding at his own pace to limit his losses, and he usually has a time trialing advantage over the mountain guys (maybe not on Contador anymore). This year's race doesn't have a lot of time trials (one of the ITTs was replaced by a team trial), but there are only three mountain top finishes and I could see Evans contending at least for a podium spot, if not beating Bert for the title.

Carlos Sastre, ESP, Cervelo: The defending champion was a monster on the decisive Stage 17 last year, which peaked on L'Alpe d'Huez. He beat Sammy Sanchez (not racing this year) by 2:03 and Cadel Evans by 2:15 to take the overall lead of the Tour, which he held through the end. This year's big stage is also Stage 17 and Sastre is a notorious mountain goat in the Alps (where we're spending the 3rd week this year) and a notorious third week star. He's hurt by time trials, but as I mentioned, they are limited this year, and if anyone on this Tour can be expected to keep up with Contador in the highest mountains, it's Sastre. So why isn't he higher on this list? Well, for one, he's old. I think he won last year's Tour at age 33, which is pretty over the hill for cycling. But for another, his victory last year was almost entirely due to the excellent team performance by CSC. His teammate Frank Schleck actually held the lead of the tour going into Stage 17 and drew out Evans with an early attack on d'Huez. So when Sastre, who had been lying in wait for over two weeks, took off at that point, Evans could not respond. And Frank's brother Andy was further up the road already and helped Sastre through the toughest parts of the climb. Make no mistake, Sastre rode a great race, but if weren't for CSC and team manager Bjarne Riis's brilliant tactics, Evans probably would have won that Tour. And Sastre left Riis to go for the bigger money of the new Cervelo team, which has had a stunningly strong year of racing (in sprinting mostly), but is not remotely built for this Tour, or for supporting Carlos. We'll see how he does, but I have a feeling he'll be all alone on Stage 17 while Contador (or Lance) has an army of Astana helping him and Andy Schleck has Sastre's old teammates (and his brother Frank) helping him. Maybe he and Evans can work together?

Denis Menchov, RUS, Rabobank: Menchov just beat Evans and Sastre in the Giro d'Italia, and Rabobank, although much weaker than Astana or Saxo Bank, is a pretty strong team in its own right, one of the big four Tour teams this year, along with Liquigas. Plus, Menchov now has three Grand Tour titles to his name, second to only Lance among competitiors. But he's never won a Tour de France, and these mountains are much higher than those used in Italy and Spain. He should be competing for a podium spot and probably is most likely to have an early lead after the Stage 7 mountaintop finish. But I'd be shocked if he won. I'd actually be thinking he's doped if he won. Even though he's never been under suspicion, as far as I know. And it's actually refreshing that of the top 5 contendors, none of them has actually been suspected of any doping offenses (well, Contador hasn't been connected to any, but the way he climbs makes everyone suspicious). But suspicions without evidence are better than the opposite, which brings us to...

Lance Armstrong, USA, Astana: No one, probably including Lance, has any idea what he will do in this Tour. He finished in 12th in the Giro, only a few weeks after a broken collarbone and with very little training, which is a positive, but he couldn't come close to hanging with Menchov, Evans, and Sastre in the mountains, and they weren't even very high mountains. That was six weeks ago, though, so you never know. I loved the Lance story when it started and rooted hard for the American from 1999 to 2001, but I quickly grew tired of the way he dominated the Tour and I know I was pulling for Joseba Beloki to dethrone him in 2002 and 2003 and for Ivan Basso in 2004 and 2005. Hell, I even think I rooted for the once hated Jan Ullrich in those later years (even though he never actually came close to beating Lance). But since Lance retired, I've found myself become a fan of his again. Obviously, his work on behalf of Livestrong for cancer research is laudable, no matter how poorly that organization is rumored to be run. The Livestrong bracelets were a brilliant idea and I'm sure some large amount of money was raised as a result. Plus, Lance embraced my favorite participatory sport - running - and ran two NYC marathons in his absence from cycling. And his return has boosted the profile of the sport dramatically, at least here in the States, with Versus giving extended coverage of a bunch of early season races and Universal Sports showing the Giro in its entirety. So for all those reasons, I'm rooting for Lance this year. Especially since he's an underdog. And because his effectiveness will likely undermine Contador's efforts and make the race wide open for everyone. Of course, it's much more likely that he's helping Contador up the climbs in Stage 17 before giving way to his teammate and eventual champion. But we can hope.

Levi Leipheimer, USA, Astana and Andreas Kloden, GER, Astana: Levi's had many many chances to win Grand Tours and hasn't and this is the toughest Grand Tour there is (his third in 2007 behind teammate Contador as the protected team member was his best chance at a Tour de France). He's not getting any younger and he has not one, but two, teammates ahead of him in the Astana pecking order. I don't think he'll be asked to help Contador, but I also don't think he'll keep up with the much younger Spaniard. Just like in '07. It won't be nearly as close this time. Kloden has a second place Tour de France finish from back in 2004 (Lance's 6th victory) on the drug-riddled T-Mobile team ahead of protected teammate Ullrich. But he hasn't really had a result like that since and he's third or fourth in the Astana pecking order, depending on how Levi does. He might be fighting for a top 10 finish if he's on form, but really, his purpose on this team is awfully redundant. If Contador and Lance have a fight to the death on the team bus sometime around stage 5, though, Bruyneel will be quick to throw the team support behind Andreas and Levi and maybe then he has a shot.

Frank Schleck, LUX, Saxo Bank: Frank is option 1A in Bjarne Riis's grand master plan, behind brother Andy, and he actually finished ahead of Lil' Bro in 6th place in last year's Tour. But he's definitely playing second-fiddle to the more talented youngster this year and will only be racing for himself if Andy is not going well. If that happens, though, Frank will be the recipient of the full force of the Saxo Bank team, much like Sastre last year, and having Jens Voigt, Fabian Cancellara, the Sorensons, Kurt Asle-Arveson, Stuart O'Grady, and his own brother helping him could very easily push him to a podium spot. Jens! and Fabian alone are worth at least a few minutes each for a teammate.

Roman Kreuziger, CZE, Vincenzo Nibali, ITA, and Franco Pellizotti, ITA, Liquigas: This Italian team sends its strongest team in history, even without Ivan Basso making the cut (I'm not sure the Tour would have let him race) and have at least two and possibly three contendors for top 10 positions, if not podiums. Kreuziger is coming off a 12th place finish in the 2008 Tour at age 22 and was third in the recently completed Tour de Suisse. He is an excllent mountain climber, much like his two teammates, and can put in a solid ITT, as evidenced by his 7th place in the Tour de Suisse time trial stage, ahead of Andreas Kloden. Nibali is only a year older and coming off a 20th in last year's Tour, while Pellizotti is a veteran support man who is coming off a 4th and 3rd in the past two Giro d'Italias and may have the mountain strength to surprise in this Tour, which I don't believe he's ever ridden before. Liquigas could make things interesting, at least in the lower stretches of the upper Tour standings.

Other riders with chances at top 10 spots, if not actual podium finishes include Kim Kirchen (Team Columbia-High Road), 8th last year, Michael Rogers (Team Columbia-High Road), Robert Gesink (option 1A for Rabobank), Christian VandeVelde (Garmin), 5th last year but injured all this year, David Arroyo (Caisse d'Epargne) -- the team leader of Spain's biggest team in the absence of Valverde -- and Linus Gerdemann (Milram), 25th in '07 but out with injuries last year.

And for those readers who do not understand or care about the Tour de France, thanks for reading so far, and here's the money that's available for the winners (by tradition, all individual rider awards are pooled and shared by the team and it support staff). I guess that's in Euros. No idea what the conversion is.

	Team name	Prize money
1	Team CSC Saxo Bank	€621,210
2	Silence-Lotto	€233,450
3	Gerolsteiner	€192,370
4	Rabobank	€154,250
5	Team Columbia	€113,450
6	Cofidis	€91,460
7	Garmin-Chipotle	€82,570
8	Ag2r-La Mondiale	€71,060
9	Caisse d'Epargne	€59,510
10	Crédit Agricole	€55,450

11	Euskaltel-Euskadi	€53,130
12	Liquigas	€49,220
13	Française des Jeux	€45,780
14	Team Milram	€35,490
15	Agritubel	€32,540
16	Quick Step	€31,470
17	Bouygues Télécom	€24,900
18	Barloworld	€22,480
19	Lampre	€9,840

Top Songs of 2009 So Far

2009-07-01T00:38:07-04:00

As we hit the halfway point of 2009, I've compiled a Spencer Krug-heavy list of my favorite songs of the year to date. Obviously, Dragonslayer has played the biggest role in my musical enjoyment this year, but there have been a number of other highly worthy tracks, and not just from Spencer-related bands. Yes, the toughest decision was which Sunset Rubdown track would top the list, but this has been a strong year for Superchunk, Asobi Seksu, Mono, The Decemberists, Saxon Shore, and the Spencer and Spencer-adjacent bands Swan Lake and Handsome Furs as well. Hope you enjoy the included tracks if you haven't heard them. And come back in December to see how many make the final top 100 list of the decade.

Silver Moons - Sunset Rubdown
You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II) - Sunset Rubdown
- Download Sunset Rubdown - "You Go On Ahead".mp3
Dragon's Lair - Sunset Rubdown
Familiar Light - Asobi Seksu
- Download Asobi Seksu - "Familiar Light".mp3
Learned to Surf - Superchunk
- Download Superchunk - "Learned to Surf".mp3
Radio Kaliningrad - Handsome Furs
Nightingale / December Song - Sunset Rubdown
Warlock Psychologist - Swan Lake
Nothing Changes - Saxon Shore
Idiot Heart - Sunset Rubdown
Transparence - Asobi Seksu
The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid - The Decemberists
- Download The Decemberists - "The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid".mp3
All We Want, Baby, is Everything - Handsome Furs
- Download Handsome Furs - "All We Want, Baby, Is Everything".mp3
Ashes in the Snow - Mono
Ex-Girl Collection - Will Sheff
- Download Will Sheff - "Ex-Girl Collection".mp3
Harm and Boon - Balmorhea
Apollo and the Buffalo and Anna Anna Anna Oh! - Sunset Rubdown
Jim Cain - Bill Callahan
Harmless Lover's Discourse - Odawas
- Download Odawas - "Harmless Lover's Discourse".mp3
So Far Around the Bend - The National
Misfits & Mistakes - Superchunk
Coming to at Dawn - Sunset Rubdown
Settle on Your Skin - Swan Lake
The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All) - The Decemberists
Heartswarm - Swan Lake
Seaside - Kestrels
Cello Song - Jose Gonzalez and The Books
- Download The Books and Jose Gonzalez - "Cello Song".mp3
The Rake's Song - The Decemberists
Paper Lace - Swan Lake
Hey, Snow White - The New Pornographers
Ghost of My Old Dog - Jason Lytle
I Let It Go - The Thermals
- Download The Thermals - "I Let it Go".mp3
A Hand at Dusk - Swan Lake
- Download Swan Lake - "A Hand at Dusk".mp3
Settler - Balmorhea
Air Lines / Land Lines - Bell Orchestre
Young Adult Friction - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
- Download The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Young Adult Friction".mp3
Sunday St - Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
People Got a Lotta Nerve - Neko Case
Summertime Clothes - Animal Collective
Something Is Squeezing My Skull - Morrissey