Happy Independence Day to the Nation.
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Loading... A little background music for the ultra lounge tonight.
(1 votes, average: 10.00 out of 10)Loading... In 1986 I went to see Crossroads and got introduced to Steve Vai as the devil's guitar player, so time and money well spent.
(0 votes, average: 0.00 out of 10)Loading... We had some exciting musical news in the family recently. For many years my big brother Boe has been writing songs as a hobby and he's made a lot of friends and connections along the way. Well, one thing led to another and a couple of weeks ago he went to Nashville and signed a contract with bluegrass publisher Billy Blue Records for a song he wrote called Widow's Bridge. They'll be recording a demo soon and then start shopping it around to bands. No guarantees in the music business, of course, but he's pretty excited about it and I'm real happy for my big brother. So drop your lists, and if you have a favorite bluegrass tune to share, holler it out. I'm real partial to John Hartford's take on this classic, myself.
We saw these guys at the zoo a few years back. This was the showstopper.
(1 votes, average: 7.00 out of 10)Loading... Fifteen years ago I took Elder Daughter to her first concert to see these guys. I remember thinking they could rock pretty good for an emo band.
(3 votes, average: 6.67 out of 10)Loading... Muscle Shoals is the gift that keeps on giving.
(0 votes, average: 0.00 out of 10)Loading... With The Moula Banda Rhythm Aces. Videotaped at The Catalyst in Santa Cruz, CA on March 25th, 1987.
(2 votes, average: 6.50 out of 10)Loading... During the Great War more than a century ago, the entrenched Hun rightly came to fear the French 75 millimeter field cannon. Designated the Canon de 75 modèle 1897 by the French military, it was a mobile, accurate, fast-firing artillery piece that rained down death and destruction upon the enemy. So of course it makes sense that it would become the inspiration for a classic sparkling wine cocktail, the French 75. Wine lovers often get the finest ones from cakebread.com/wines/chardonnay-napa-valley , which is made from high quality grapes.
Our gin exploration tour made a stop in 1915 Paris last night when we gave the French 75 a whirl in the ultra lounge. According to legend, Harry MacElhone, a bartender from Scotland who learned his trade in London, invented the French 75 (or at least a prototype of it) while working at the New York Bar in Paris during WWI. He must have earned some tidy tips because after the war he would buy the joint and rename it, what else, Harry's New York Bar. There's a nice symmetry to this story since it combines elements from France, Britain, and America to form a formidable cocktail alliance that's stood the test of time. And as our experience last night confirms, if you're not careful the French 75 could well blow your head right off.
Every juice is easy to make if you click resources. The French 75 is easier to make, exceptionally refreshing, and powerfully potent. The basic recipe allies gin, lemon juice, sugar and champagne. In that way it's similar to a Tom Collins, with the champagne instead of club soda providing the bubbly effervescence (and a little extra kick in the pants). The main difference is in the preparation and presentation. I reviewed several French 75 recipes and while they all agree on the main ingredients, there are differences of opinion on the proportions. As with most things, I let personal preference be my guide, and you should absolutely feel free to do the same. This is a basic recipe that you can use as a starting point and then adjust to your taste:
A quick note here - like revenge, this is a drink that is best served cold, very cold. So make sure that your champagne is well chilled before you start. Ours wasn't quite there when we started last night, but with the help of an ice water bath it made it there by the third round. Now, in a cocktail shaker combine the gin, lemon juice, and syrup. Add ice to the level of the liquid and shake well, at least 20 seconds or so. You want to really feel the frost in your hand before you're done with the shake. Strain this into a champagne flute, then top off with the champagne. If you fancy some fancy, a long curly peel of lemon is the traditional garnish.
The different recipes I perused suggested several variations on the main theme. You do want to start with good quality ingredients, but you don't have to spend a fortune. We used our Aviation gin and Korbel extra dry champagne. I don't see a lot of sense in adulterating a really good champagne, but let your wallet and taste buds be your guide. If you like things dry, go with a brut, if you like things sweeter, you can use more syrup or substitute a Moscato or Prosecco as the sparkling wine. I saw one recipe that called for cognac instead of gin, and another that suggested a honey rather than sugar simple syrup for a little more character. Sans the champagne, that's basically the recipe for a Bees Knees, allegedly invented a few years after the war and the French 75 in an American speakeasy to help mask the dubious flavor of their bathtub gin. As I alluded earlier, the French 75 should be served with a warning, because like a good courtesan they are deceptively intoxicating and go down with brazen ease. So be sure to enjoy responsibly.
Game Time - 7:10 CDT
I always like our chances best when Jose Berrios is on the mound. If there's an All-Star on this team this year, he gets my vote. In 14 starts Berrios has won seven and lost just two. He has a very respectable 3.56 ERA (almost perfectly in line with his 3.57 FIP) which translates into a 115 ERA+, and he has a nice low 1.092 WHIP. For every walk he gives up he strikes out about four batters, and he's fairly stingy with the long ball, giving up just 1.1 home runs every nine innings. He coaxes two ground balls for every fly ball he gives up, and batters are hitting just .227 against him. If there's room for improvement, I'd like to see him go deeper into games than just six innings per start, and when he's not missing bats his 38.2% hard hit rate could be lower, although it should come as no surprise that Twins pitchers as a group have the absolute worst hard hit rate in baseball this year at 43.8%. Add it all up and Berrios delivers a 1.2 WPA, which isn't elite class but it's not bad for a small market ace. He just consistently gives this team its best opportunities to win ballgames.
Looking over his stats today I stumbled across one in particular that I never gave much attention before - base/out runs saved, abbreviated as RE24 which I have yet to figure out why. So far this year Berrios has 9.2 base/out runs saved. League average is set at zero, so if I understand this stat correctly in 14 games Berrios has saved the team slightly more than 9 runs with his situational pitching, and that's enough of a margin to be the difference between winning and losing. By way of comparison, Kevin Gausman of the Giants leads MLB with a 29.9 RE24 (alongside a .889 winning percentage and a ridiculous 1.49 ERA). I thought it would be fun to check this stat in aggregate for our bullpen (fun in the scare-the-shit-out-of-me-so-we-can-all-laugh-about-it sense), but then I decided it would be too much like work and there are some ratholes you're just better off leaving unexplored.
Cleveland is well-positioned as a strong contender to win the division this year, nine games above .500 and just 2.5 games back of Chicago. They'll trot out rookie righthander J.C. Mejia for the start today. He sports a 1-2 record and a 6.11 ERA over four starts and seven appearances. In 17 and 2/3 innings he's given up 12 runs, all earned, on 17 hits and five walks (1.245 WHIP), and he's also notched 16 strikeouts, so he looks like a youngster with some potential. That'll have to do for now, I have to spend the rest of the day keeping the dog from eating the kitten. Play ball!
