Mister Faded Glory | misterfadedglory.com

Intrepid readers of the site will realize we should actually be on Number 17. So, here it goes:

17. I Don’t Know Anything, Mad Season.

It’s almost amazing that the killer riff from IDKA still survives on superrock radio today (and was totally copied by Nixons on Baton Rouge, but doubtful you remember. )– assuming anyone still listens.

Occasionally between Enter Sandman, Black Dog, Jeremy, Stinkfist, or Would? some enterprising DJ (or robot DJ) will spin a cut from Barrett Martin, John Baker Saunders, Mike McCready, and Layne Staley‘s supergroup — even though the song was not a big hit at all first time around.

Rumor has it that McCready and Martin did most of the tireless work on the album’s arrangements and concepts, and a high and destructive Staley simply showed up for sessions, ad-libbing and wasted, yet still delivered his typical unique and resonant vocals. That’s not to say the album was put together before Staley, however — only Wake Up and River of Deceit were lying around. Still, as polished as the final version was, the songs all have a patchwork quality to them, bluesy grunge coupled with Staley’s shocking voice. Even on an album as great as Above, IDKA stands out.

I’m extremely proud of myself.

Last night, Cubs ace Carlos “The Famous Charlie Z” Zambrano (Give it time) squared off against the 4-A Florida Marlins, and a lefty rookie pitcher who had struggled so far this year, Jason Vargas.

Naturally, as the game began, I had a sinking feeling — this is just the type of game that the Cubs typically wash down their leg. Managers, coaches, players — none of them have mattered, this phenomenon dates back well before the millennium. When did Tony Armas Jr. debut? How about John Smiley?
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If there’s ever an easy time to be a Cub fan, Friday was not it. Nor Saturday.

However, after Cubs ace pitcher Greg Maddux averted a sweep at the hands of the Demon Birds in their new facilitiy — then, today, Sunday, it’s a little easier to breathe.

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I hesitated to give Bill Simmons’ recent Page 2 NBA Playoff Preview any sort of response (let alone one of my usual lengthy takes). Was it worth it? Do I need to fire back?

Now, you know that MFG considers itself a supporter of Bill Simmons. For all his corporate parent’s faults, he is a talented writer. I enjoy his columns, particularly his NBA work, which I think is precise, prescient, and diligently researched. Often, it’s overlooked among the landscape of bombastic or moronic NBA reporters.

His marriage of popular culture to his sports insight is still fairly unmatched and inventive. He’s linked movie quotes in the past (Rounders, Karate Kid) to preview or wrap-up columns; it’s a device, but it’s an inimitable one. I even enjoy Simmons’ personality, and recognize that his writing persona is eerily — fairly or unfairly, it’s what I’ve been told — similar to mine. I don’t consider myself one, but he has legions of imitators, yet still feels one of a kind (Replete with occasional recycled jokes, but we’re all human.).

In fact, Simmons’ taste in music and movies also occasionally syncs with mine. On more than one occasion, Simmons – who came of age in college during grunge’s rise to mainstream – has referenced Alice In Chains, Nirvana or Pearl Jam with a deeper understanding of the band’s discography than a passing reference to Ten, Nevermind or Dirt.

However, today Bill went a little bit off the deep end. He trotted out his usual NBA playoff preview, modifying his trusted device and assigning Pearl Jam quotes to requisite storylines. And, true to form, it’s not half-bad. Bill is on point with his NBA stuff, and didn’t screw up any lyrics too badly, and even tossed in Off He Goes and Wishlist, as if to prove he didn’t rely solely on Ten. He illustrates each quote further by relating it to his own life, which, with Pearl Jam, is astoundingly easy to do. As you know, if you’re reading this or have ever met me for more than four seconds.

That’s not the problem.

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Remember my post yesterday? Well, flush it down the toilet.

Derrek Lee‘s out for the year, and as much as I try and avoid doom and gloom and typical Cub-fan pessimism, it’s hard to shake that feeling. On the plus side, he hasn’t been completely carrying us this year. On the negative side, it’s hard to imagine any sustained offensive success in a lineup without him, and I mean no disrespect to Todd Walker or Jerry Hairston.

Are the Cubs cursed? No. Are they extraordinarily unlucky, recently? Yes.

Good things can still happen if they play the way they are playing. The Cards survived an injury to Scott Rolen last season. Other teams suffer injuries all the time. No one is going to feel sorry for the Cubs, and so it’s high time we refuse to feel sorry for ourselves.

CF Pierre
LF Murton
2B Walker
3B Ramirez
1B Barrett/Mabry
RF Jones/Hairston/Pie
SS Cedeno
C Hank White
Pitchers.

The Angels have made the playoffs with worse hitters up and down the lineup. So have the Twins. We built bullpen out, and that’s where we stay.

The season moves on. On the other plus side, in 2003 I was sure the season was over after Corey Patterson‘s July ACL tear. He carried the Cubs in early 2003 — I daresay moreso than Lee’s done this year (Granted, it’s early.) However, everyone else jelled and the Cubs improved as the year went on. I’m not saying the same thing will happen, of course, but, well, stranger things have occurred.

You play to win the game. That’s how the Cubs have been playing, and here’s to the continued streak.

Is it ever too early to celebrate a win like this?

The Cubs offense struggled mightily in Chavez Ravine this week, aside from Greg Maddux‘ masterful dispatch of the Dodgers on Monday. Sure, the Cubs had plenty of hits, and didn’t play badly — they just had trouble stringing together any sort of rally against the Dodgers’ pair of Cub-killers, Brad Penny and Derek Lowe — and the Dodgers’ middle relievers.

However, the Cubs did something rare in the last two years — on the road, even after a (gulp) scary injury to Derrek Lee and Scott Eyre, Chicago strung together a rally in the eighth inning — finally solving an LA bullpen pitcher, and plating three runs — with TWO OUTS against supposed (and hugely overrated) closer Danys Baez.

Baez gave up a hit to The Neifi (Ouch!) and misplayed a weak Jacque Jones grounder (The Strap comes through!) and Mike Barrett broke free with a single to left, scoring The Neifi, and Mike advanced on an error. Enter otherworldly shortstop Ronny Cedeno with a bleeder base hit that scores two. Just like that, after 17 agonizing innings over the last two days — the Cubs were up. And all of this — with TWO OUTS! I can’t stress that enough. We haven’t seen a legit two-out rally since 1989. Three runs? This has been the pattern all year, whether it’s Murton, Mabry, or Barrett, someone’s always getting a clutch hit. Clutch hitting! We thought it didn’t exist!

Bobby Howry came on in the eighth to make quick work of LA, and Ryan Dempster was a little bit adventurous (as per se) in his first one-run save of the year — with our friend Ronny Cedeno making a dazzling catch of a Jeff Kent lineout to end the game. Wow! We do have a bullpen! Who knew?!

Just like that, a series win, instead of a series loss. Just like that, we’re going into the Lion’s Den — New Freaking Busch Stadium — on a 4-2 road trip instead of coming off two frustrating losses. This was a biggie – a huge win. You can’t win a pennant in April, but you can’t afford to lose any battles like this one, throughout the year, at any time.

This was easily the most encouraging night of the year. The Cubs proved their mettle – with each and every player contributing, and finding a way to win in the eighth. I can’t stress how important this is — the ability to manipulate an inning and shift the momentum away from nothing. Each special season, it’s easy to look back on but a few games – some are early, some are late, some are wild – and this one may be no exception, should the Cubs keep rolling.

And so far, it appears Jim Hendry and Dusty Baker have found something here. I’ve gone on and on in previous posts about the need for the Cubs to take pitches, work counts, and play fundamental baseball. Time and time again, I’ve lauded teams such as the Angels and Twins, who use speed, fundamentals, shifts, and concepts to their advantage. Under Dusty Baker, the Cubs will always be aggressive, and he’s not the best tactical manager.

But when you can put pressure on the defense, with speed from Pierre, Cedeno, and Jones, when you can slap-hit in a pinch like John Mabry, when you can run on any catcher like Pierre and Lee have done so far (12 stolen bases!), when you can settle and draw a walk in key situations, or come through with a hit, taking what they give you — Todd Walker and Matty Murton — then you force the issue — and instead of aggressiveness resulting in overswinging and miscues, you’re manipulating a game that rests nearly completely on luck, chance, and happenstance. The illusion of control is a powerful thing — it inspires confidence, relaxation, and gives the players a chance to succeed in the clutch. They feel empowered. It’s not unlike going for it on fourth-down in the early part of the game. Empower your players, and they will reward you. Conserve your efforts, and you will fall short. Life’s a gamble, and of course, baseball is no different.

And no stats can account for that, no matter how useful they may be for other things. Stats are just one tool in which managers may rely on — along with hunches and talent — to hedge their bets. The Cubs have so far, decided their best gambles lie within-the-game instead of through player and roster evaluation studying probabilities and trends. And so far, it’s worked. Give Dusty some credit. Players will run through a wall for him, and with a team like this, he may be able to turn that quality into a positive rather than the thickheaded negatives of 2004 and 2005.

There’ s more evidence, in case you don’t buy into on-field manipulation, clutch hitting, and luck creation. If you’re still worried about IsoP, slugging percentage, and BABIP, regard three of the last four World Champs — the patient and furiously fast Marlins, the aggressive and pesky Angels, and the always-moving, roving, and defensive stalwart White Sox — you realize that maybe, maybe assertiveness, speed, and chance is more powerful than we give due. Did any of those teams look that good on paper? No. But they were tough outs, and didn’t give anything away. And they had luck — but they were always seeking a better, winning position.

So far, the Cubs’ efforts echo that philosophy. It’s fun to watch, fun to root for, and the whole cycle, winning, confidence, and hope — is completely contagious. As Cub fans, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

A great win tonight, tempered by the questions on Derrek Lee‘s wrist and Scott Eyre‘s bruise — but guess what? The Cubs have been dealt injuries to key players for four years now. (2003 – Patterson, 2004 – Prior/Wood/Borowski, 2005 – Nomar, Prior/Wood). And guess what else? If they keep moving, running, slapping, and fighting — they’ll survive this as well.

Good to be a fan tonight. Good win, and we’ll look forward to seeing the boys in blue against the Demon Birds. Meet the New Busch, Same as the Old Busch — the devils still reside there. Eamus Catuli.

I’m sitting here, not really doing anything, not really knowing what to talk about. It would be fitting if today’s grunge countdown entry was Nothing to Say.

However, it isn’t, and before we go any further, I want to convey that songs that I reference all the time, namely Porch, Lounge Act, Got Me Wrong, Zero Chance, and even the inimitable Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns — none of them will be No. 1 on this countdown. Wow, talk about your mind blown!

Wait — excuse me — current Cubs diary: In a tie game, Dusty Baker just brought in David Aardsma, who has potential, but only five appearances at AAA Iowa. Of course, he’s wild and all over the place, and he’s not facing his own team, so the Dodgers are taking every pitch they can. Way to go, Dusty. We pay billions of dollars for seasoned relievers who are eager to fill these late inning roles — and Dusty brings in an untested rookie for no reason whatsoever. Sigh.

Anyway, we’re up to No. 19.

Here She Comes Now, Nirvana.

Here She Comes Now is a grinding, slow, catchy, pained track from our favorite Seattle trio. There’s not much more to say about it. Nirvana‘s genius is their simplicity, and they adapted this Velvet Underground cover without losing any of its angst or fury. When this song shows up on the Ipod, I stop. And I guess that’s the ultimate test, isn’t it?

Update: Aardsma almost got out of the inning, but gave up a run-scoring single to Sandy Alomar Jr. Straight from the nursing home to the Dodgers’ backup catcher. Geez.

What good is having a good bullpen if you’re committed to spreading out the workload evenly, no matter who’s in the pen? Cripes, let’s have Cedeno learn to pitch. No, this does not count as a negative comment on the College of Clown Coaches, because they’ve been better this year. Still, you know. The Cubs are about to waste two great pitching performances by The Famous Charlie Z (Like that one?) and Sean Marshall’s Plan.

Well, except for today.

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Shhh!

Tonight I’ve somehow managed to retreat safely in front of the computer until 1 a.m., listening to Pat and Ron call the Cubs’ west-coast tilt with the Dodgers, reveling in my favorite obsessions. Unbeknownst to anyone, as a matter of fact.

(However, DBF just went yard, so I let out a few loud thunderclaps.) So I may be found out already.

I’m a little bit despondent, because I just found out about Tool‘s club tour, arriving in KC on May 11 before the band embarks for Europe. (Seriously, what is with Europe? How do they get PJ, Tool, AIC — in one summer? Meanwhile, the closest Pearl Jam will be to my territory is an opening gig for Tom Petty at the Pepsi Center. WTF?)

Anyway, it’s doubtful that I’m going at all (Sigh. I’m getting old), and will instead have to live vicarious - ly (hee) through others. I’ve seen Tool twice — both times they were magnificent. As free-flowing as a PJ show is, Tool is as much choreographed, each precise note echoing the albums’ tracks almost perfectly. It’s a great time – and Memorial Hall would be a great place to see them. Regardless, I’m standing firm. Pearl Jam or Alice In Chains over Tool, says my wallet. Well, for now.

By the way, Tool‘s Vicarious is now on rock radio — somehow I heard a snippet well before the release date of April 17 — but check it out (No link, you’ll have to find a station). It clocks in at more than seven minutes, but is a sign that 10,000 Days won’t disappoint.

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Are these cathartic? They might be. Anyway, get Cincinnati out of town, do away with them, I don’t care to see them ever again. Assuming Adam Dunn played the Cubs each and every game, his line would be — .768, 187 HR, 675 RBI. Ridiculous. Did I mention Eric Milton inexplicably always has the Cubs’ number?

Regardless, we have a tie at No. 19 in the Grungedown.

19. Hey Hey My My (Into the Black), Neil Young.
19. My Only Fan, Malfunkshun

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