Food for thought: Beckett a Closer - Say What???

Now to completely contradict my previous post.... You heard it here first: The Red Sox are without a closer. John Lester may be healthy enough to return to the rotation in the beginning of the season. Should these two facts remain true come April, Josh Beckett will be put into the role of closer for the Red Sox. Why not? The Cubs are doing it with Kerry Wood. The Sox did it with Derek Lowe. It has worked, and could work again. Thoughts?

Rolling the Dice

With Matsuzaka onboard, the Red Sox now have, on paper, the strongest rotation in the AL East and arguably the strongest in the entire league. If Kenny Rogers was not turning 103, if Freddy Garcia was still in a White Sox uniform or Fransisco Liriano was slated to pitch a full season with the Twins, I might entertain other suggestion (If Clemens comes back to the Yankees, does an ancient rotation of All-Stars and Hall of Famers win out over the Sox?). But right now, the five toeing the rubber for the Boston are the best of the lot: Schilling, Beckett, Matsuzaka, Wakefield and Papelbon can all dominate opponents on any given day. And that's not counting on the flashes of brilliance we saw from John Lester, who may surprise us all with a speedy recovery from cancer and work his way into the '07 fold.

Of course, it remains to be seen where Barry Zito and his 12-6 curveball and 88mph fastball ends up, but should he land in the NL, the Sox have the potential to throw FOUR names into the Cy Young race right off the bat. That's right, four. Yes, Schilling is 40, but don't count him out of another big year for the Sox. If he is healthy (famous last words), Schilling could win 18 games. If Papelbon, who is the biggest longshot on this short list, dominates the league like he did so often last year, he could find himself starting the All-Star game. You get the sense that Beckett, he with his seemingly limitless potential, is one day going to turn into a '86 Roger Clemens and trample the American League en route to a 25-3 season. And then there is Matsuzaka, who appears to be ready to stick his gyroball and WBC championship to the AL. And with apologies to Tim Wakefield - his knuckler still baffles, but his 20-game seasons are well behind him.

Wishful thinking for Sox fans? Of course. When, if ever, do rotations like this actually live up to their collective potential? But what intrigues me in the addition of Matsuzaka is not just his impact not on AL hitters, but his impact on his fellow pitchers. Already, baseball analysts are calling him the ace of the rotation, which I would argue doesn't sit well with at least two other pitchers on the team. Schilling is not the type of guy to sit back and let some virtually unknown entity walk into Fenway and claim the throne he has enjoyed since the departure of Pedro. He will challenge this kid to be better than him, to work harder and prepare harder. And with Zaka Khan's relative unfamiliarity with the American League, that will be a significant amount of work.

And then there is Beckett, who has all the Texas fire inside him to someday explode onto the scene. I think all the pressure people have put on him since he was in high school will soon bear the kind of fruit everyone expects. It seems hard to believe, but Beckett is only 26 this year, the age where things start clicking for both hitters and pitchers, and eventually, he is going to want to become the ace so many people, himself included, believe he will become. He won 16 ugly games last year and Boston fans wanted to hang him from the Fenway gallows. I think that, not to menton Dice-K's arrival, will motivate him to prove to everyone that he, in fact, should be the ace of the staff.

Papelbon? Should he perform at even a fraction of what he accomplished last year as a closer, he will, by default, have to be looked on as a future ace. But that remains to be seen.

So what should we expect from Matsuzaka? In finding any comparisons, all roads lead to Hideo Nomo, the first major pitching import from Japan. In his first year in 1995, Nomo (who was also 26 at the time) went 13-6 in 191 innings, striking out an impressive 236 batters. More importantly, his ERA was 2.54. that was a typical if not off year for Matsuzaka, who finished last season at 17-5. Do we play it safe and call something in the middle, say 16-6? Or do we bounce in either direction - the league's unfamiliarity with his stuff projects him at 19-5 - or the opposite - that his unfamiliarity with the league drops him to 13-11?

I hate predictions, but I will land on this: 14-7, 202 innings pitched, 197 strikeouts and a 3.78 ERA. Yes, about he same as Nomo, and not a bad season at all. But again the question begs: will he be the staff ace?

The Dreaded List

Here's what I liked in 2006: I loved Hot Chip, I didn't understand Joanna Newsom, and I thought the Hold Steady should go back to Minnesota and never come back. I like the Knife, but Silent Shout is too dense for my favortites. TV on the Radio rock, but I haven't heard the whole album yet. Here is a short list, in no particular order, of my favorite music of the year.

Bright Like Neon Love
Cut Copy

I think it was "Future" that I heard first, or maybe "Going Nowhere," but whatever it was, I loved it. The synths drive me crazy, the live drumming (what this song needs is more high hat!!) is awesome and the vocals are just weird enough to keep me interested. And hell yeah, you can dance to it. "Time Stands Still," "Twilight" and "Zap Zap" are also some of my favorites from the record, not to mention the electro funk of "Saturdays." Such a strong debut has me hoping that a follow up is on its way in 2007.

Future Retro
Various Artists

This compilation of reworked 80's hits is a surprising entry for several reasons, not the least being that I thought (sadly) that the whole retro 80's thing had come crashing down around us in 2005. Well, that may be true for Electro, but not for this collection of your favorite childhood bands retouched by some of the more interesting producers around. On this record, it seems impossible that it could work without being horribly cliche, overdone, played out, and/or simply boring. But with the help of the likes of Tiga, Static Avenger, and the Crystal Method, Alphaville, Echo and the Bunnymen, Howard Jones and Erasure have never sounded so current and danceable. While there are many solid mixes here, Adam Freeland's remix of B-Movie's 'Nowhere Girl" is, for me, the highlight. Freeland. whose Fabriclive 16 mix is one of my favs of that collection, drops his signature stomping beat, swirling guitars and swelling grooves all over this seven-and-a-half minute romp. If only people would dance to it.

Movements
Booka Shade

I first heard Booka Shade in 2005 on a compilation that mixed in the ubiquitous M.A.N.D.Y. vs. Booka Shade mix of "Body Language" and was immediately intrigued. It turns out that this German duo had plenty more to offer than just "Body Language." Issued by Get Physical records in April, Movements is chock full of good techno: Repeated listens to "Night Falls," "Darko," "Mandarin Girl," and "In White Rooms" make this album one of my most heavily played and consistently enjoyed of the year. Is it dark? Yes, and while that makes it harder for the masses to embrace it, the dim mood of this album should not detract from how good it is.

Fourteen Ghosts
Kahoots

Yes, I am friends with this band, but that does not mean Fourteen Ghosts is not a good album. Alternating between dual lead singers Elisha Weisner and Rob Myers, the best thing about Fourteen Ghosts is that no two songs sound alike. At worst, some songs border on uninspired, but at their best, songs like "Less Pride," I'll Be Your Coffin," "See Saw," "The Coroner Blinks Twice" and my favorite, "Your Blood," are snappy, catchy little pop/rock/punk songs. And I mean little: the songs, on average, last only about two minutes. Damn it, Elisha, give me something I can really sink my teeth into...

New Young Pony Club
New Young Pony Club

I am kicking myself for not going to thier show in Williamsburg last weekend. The more I hear, the more I like. They have DFA written all over them with their bass slapping, beat driven, in-your-face dance-punk. I thought "Get Dancey" was great, and "Ice Cream" is good too (despite it being nicked for a tv commercial), but hearing "Descend" - the third and final song from this EP - has me hooked. If anyone has a full-length or knows where to get one, let me know...

Everything All the Time
Band of Horses

From "Bass Song" to "Monsters" to "Weed Party" to the sweeping "The Great Salt Lake" and the epic "The Funeral," this is just an awesome record. Lyrics packed with emotion meet songs packed with echoed vocals and defeaning guitars. Ben Bridwell sounds alternately like Brian Wilson/Ozzie Osbourne/Jackson Brown/James Mercer depending on the song, which is to say there are some impressive vocals here. "The Funeral" is also on my short list of favorite songs from 2006.

Writer's Block
Peter Bjorn and John

Another song that makes my short list is "Young Folks," PB&J's sweet little ditty with that unshakeable whistle that sticks in your head long after you hear it. Which is not to say the song is annoying. The slick production gives the song an antiquated feel, and hearing it for the first time is like thinking you have discovered something from the 60s that should have been big then but got lost in an attic somewhere in Sweden. But the song has a distinct freshness to it too, as does the rest of the album, which I have only been able to hear on KEXP or online (not released in the US yet). But even 30-second clips on iTunes reveal enough to know that this is certainly one of the most complete and satisfying albums of the year. With songs like "Objects of My Affection," "Let's Call it Off," "Up Against the Wall" and the killer, stomping "Amsterdam," Writer's Block soars higher than even the best releases of the year.

The Warning
Hot Chip

"Over and over and over and over and over, like a monkey with a miniature cymbal, the joy of repitition really is in you..." FINALLY, someone is singing about the joys (as opposed to the boring qualities) of repetitive music! Even if that means I am am monkey with a miniature cymbal, I say thank you, Hot Chip. I kinda stumbled onto this album weeks after John Pareles gushed over them in the New York Times while covering SXSW. For once, the hype stood up, and then some. I can't count how many times I have shaken my ass to "Over and Over" or "Boy From School" or "Not Fit Shape" or... just a great record. It has also stood the test of time (so far): a bartender played The Warning at while I was playing pool this week and it sounded just as fresh and interesting as it did the first time I heard it. Seeing them at the South Street Seaport only cemented The Warning as my favorite album/record/cd/downloaded file of the year.

Dreams
The Whitest Boy Alive

All you have to really know is that I have the biggest fucking man-crush on Erlend Oye and will love ANYTHING this spindly, mop-heaeded Norwegian-turned-Berliner releases. I loved Unrest and his DJ Kicks submission still gets them out on the dancefloor. This new project (a live band, mind you) is a pop explosion of thumping drums and jangly guitars set underneath Erlend's voice. "Fireworks" is one of the best songs of the year. "Above You," "Done With You" and "Burning" are gems. Face it: he is the fucking coolest. Norwegians are the fucking coolest!

Fabriclive: 29
Cut Copy

As Andrew will tell you, anticipation of the monthly delivery of Fabric CDs is always excitement slightly tainted with anxiety. Will it impress, or will it suck? There is nothing better than pulling the CD out of the sleek tin package and putting on a mix that introduces you to new music that blows you away. But there is nothing worse than opening that cool little case and putting on something that is either A) boring B) old or C) just sucks. Luckily, the folks at Fabric have, for the most part, good taste and are looking to expand people's minds by offering music that is just a step ahead of current and mixed by some of the best talent in the world. Cut Copy got my attention with Bright Like Neon Love (see above) but solidified my trust in them with this great mix of unremembered 80s weaved together with modern carbon copies. Exhibit A: Moving from Who Made Who right into New Young Pony Club and then to In Flagranti before "sliding" into DFA's remix of Goldfrapp - and that's not even mentioning Daft Punk, Mstrkrft, Soulwax or the Presets! A real solid CD - one of my favorites in the entirte collections - and even more impressive considering it was done live.

The Back Room
The Editors

I really didn't like these guys all that much, but thanks to KEXP, their stuff was burned onto my brain and I started to take a shine to their power chords and Interpol-like vocals. And that is the key for me: they sound like Interpol, especially "Munich," which could have been a lost B-side to Antics save for the speed drumming. Either way, there were enough interesting singles ("Bullets," "All Sparks," and "Lights," which sounds JUST like an early U2 track) to get lodged in my head and stuck on repeat. Plus, you have to love a band that gets its fair share of Echo and the Bunnymen comparisons.

Some songs I really liked: Wolf Like Me, TV On The Radio; Someday Baby, Bob Dylan; Alala, CSS; Young Folks, Peter, Bjorn and John; 55566688833 (The Field Mix), James Figurine; Under the Sun, Junior Boys; When She Said Goodbye, ScSI 9; Abu Ghraib, Deadbeat; Let Down, Easy Star All-Stars; Alphabet Man, Blufoot; Sommeil, Outputmessage; The Loving Sounds of Static (Junior Boys Remix), Mobius Band; The End of It All, John Tejada; Sandwiches, Detroit Grand Pubahs; Heard 'Em Say, Kanye West and Left Side Drive, Boards of Canada.

Reason #8,321,534 why Scandanavia rules: Peter Bjorn and John

The video for Young Folks. Why aren't these three dudes famous yet? And why won't they just release the goddam album in the US!

Read all the pamphlets...

And Watch the Tapes! New LCD Soundsystem single has landed, albeit illegally. Thanks Little White Earbuds/Idolator.

UPDATE: Well, it seems DFA is none to happy with the dude that put the song up on his blog (to which Idolator then linked to) or with having the album leaked this early and James forced him to remove the song. Too bad, because it was good and I wanted to hear it again. Anyway, it is kind of a funny thread worth reading.

Life is a Carnival, Believe it or Not...

Or at least so sang The Band. And I have always felt that life is a much better carnival with a soundtrack. Maybe that is why I love music so much, because the songs we come to love and listen to have, in usually unknown but profound ways, shaped who we are. So where am I going with all this bullshit? Today I came across a fun little game to play for all those whose iPods and iTunes are an essential part of their day. Courtesy of the peeps over at The Assimilated Negro, I present a little game you can play to draw up the soundtrack to your life (and I usually hate this kind of crap).

IF YOUR LIFE WERE A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?

Here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question below, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool...

Here is the list (followed by my answers).

Opening Credits: Safari (James Holden Remix) - Andre Kraml
Waking Up: Come Back to You - Tony D.
First Day at School: Bomb the Place - Dealer’s Choice
Falling In Love: '75 AKA Stay Wth You - Lemon Jelly
Fight Song: Insight - Scott Lark
Breaking Up: Wolves of Miami - Mylo
Prom: I’d Rather Dance With You - Kings of Convenience
Life: Hold On, London - Chemical Brothers
Mental Breakdown: 9-M-E-T-H-O-D-M-A-N - Method Man
Driving: Can’t Knock the Hustle (live) - Jay Z
Flashback: Look After Me - Hot Chip
Wedding: Just for a little peek - Afrilounge & Chardronnet
Birth of Child: Miss Teardrop - Felix Laband
Final Battle: The Talk - Erlend Oye
Death Scene: Heiden - Michael Mayer
Funeral Song: Yeah (Pretentious Mix) - LCD Soundsystem
End Credit: California Dreamin’ (SFaction Mix) - Mamas and Papas

While this is a totally random exercise, some of my responses jump out immediately. Waking Up is hysterical. The Tony D. song sounds like an AM Radio song from the 70's - perfect to wake up to! First Day of School is ironic in the name, but not very fitting musically. Falling in Love is great, too (the chorus is, "I want to stay with you for the rest of my life.) I love the Prom song too - perfect. I don't know about the Driving song or the Wedding song, but I got a kick out of my funeral song - nothing like mourning me to 11:05 of funk! And yes, I could have a mental breakdown to Method Man.

(As a postscript, I found it amusing that Ladytron's "Cease2xist" was only several songs beyond Michael Mayer's "Heiden." That would have been fitting...)

Try it out for yourselves and post me your answers...

Drew Deal Done: 5 years, $70 mil

The deal everyone said was so imminent was finally agreed to last night, and the Red Sox new right fielder is...J.D.Drew. And while big signings like this are usually fodder for delirious ravings and speculation for future successes, I am not feeling this one at all, for several reasons.

First of all, is he worth more - way more - than Johnny Damon (who only wanted something in the range of 4 years, $50 million)? What does he bring to the table that Johnny doesn't that is worth so much of a commitment?

Second, I wonder who it is we really just signed. Much has been made of his attitude, his lack of desire and, of course, his health. We all remember his disastrous signing with Philadelphia (where he now wears a hard hat when he patrols the outfield), we have all seen him spend more time on the DL than Robin Williams in rehab, and we have all heard the rumblings that he is a selfish player motivated only by personal goals. Are we getting a solid, productive ballplayer or an injured crybaby?

Third, I question whether we are looking at a real star or a slightly less bulky/balky Trot Nixon. Was this that much of an upgrade?

(For those of you out there like me, Nick Cafardo has some words of wisdom for us).

It seems that Drew is still living in the gigantic shadow of that detestable word that has trailed him since he played in college: potential. Weren't we looking at the next Mickey Mantle? Not that Drew is a complete slouch. In the past five years, he has slowly developed into something close to the kind of player scouts drooled over when he played at Florida State. Now at 31, Drew had one of his most productive and, more importantly, healthy seasons last year with the Dodgers, batting a respectable .283 with 20 homers and 100 runs batted in. He hit 31 home runs three years ago in his only season with the Braves, the only year he has reached that 30+ mark. He played in 146 games - also a career high - and topped triple digits in RBI for the first time.

If he brings those numbers to Fenway, Drew will be a noticeable upgrade from Nixon. However, in a rather humorously ironic twist, the great people over at Baseball Reference.com have noted that through his career up to this point, the one player Drew resembles the most, statistically speaking, is... (Just scroll down to the "Similar Batters" section. Consequently, Vernon Wells is third on that list, and somehow I would MUCH rather have his bat in the lineup). So, goodbye Trot and your aging knees and hello J.D. and your "questionable desire."

Or maybe I am just being overly pessimistic here. Maybe he could be the next Mickey Mantle. But for me, on this cold morning with the first flurries of snow forecast for later this week, something just doesn't feel right here. And don't get me started on the Lugo news.

And I haven't even mentioned what would happen if Manny goes...

Winter Meetings - Day 1: ZZZZZZZZZZ.....

Day One is done, and sadly, no big news and very little action. That is unless you believe a decidedly mediocre pitcher is worth roughly the same amount per year as a Cy Young winner. All of this "throwing money at adequate pitchers" insanity is probably the biggest story from Monday, as Jayson Stark notes. But if this trend continues, what will pitchers like, say Barry Zito and Daisuke Matsuzaka take home? By the way, isn't there some sort of deadline appraoching? (9 days, 14 hours left, if you are following at home...)

As for the Manny saga, no movement, except for what we already know: Theo wants the world, chico, and everything in it. Now, it seems a closer is the top priority in what returns the Sox yield from any trade. Wait, wasn't it a shortstop? Or was it another bat to protect Papi? The world, chico, and everything in it...

Observations and predictions based on pure uneducated speculation as of 8:47 AM on Tuesday morning.

1. Barry Bonds has no friends and I predict will remain with Giants, despite the current uncertainty, because they are the only team who knows what to do with him. Felipe, uncle Willie, his pop's legacy - he should just stay put until his career is over.
2. Barry Zito is about to be rih-hich, biatch! Reports say Texas has offered over $100 million for 6 (!!!!!!) years, and that the Cubs are trying to follow suit. Makes you wonder what the Mets will offer? Let's hope for the sake of whoever gets him that he isn't the second coming of Matt Clement (except, of course, if he ends up on the Yankees...)
3. Speaking of the Yankees, it looks like Bernie's days patrolling the Stadium are coming to an end. Maybe he is the bat the Sox are looking for to protect Papi if Manny is traded.
Kidding.
4. Peter Gammons is getting another award.
5. Best story to come out of Disneyland so far? My vote is this, which seems to me like poetic justice. What do you mean there are no second acts?

Winter Meetings: Flurry of rumors means blizzard of deals on its way

Will Mike Piazza land in Oakland, and can he come close to filling Frank Thomas' massive shoes? Will Jason Schmidt end up in Chicago, who this fall has taken on the role of Big $$penders? Will the Sox really deal Manny, and if so, will the Pads really give up Peavy for him?

Oh, so many questions spinning around the baseball universe. But the good news is many answers will be evident this time next week, after the frenzy that has become the Winter Meetings conclude at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando, FL. SI's John Heyman has an interesting piece in today's Daily Scoop, but disappointingly, ESPN has nothing up in advance of next week, which seems glaring in its absence. Somehow, the Reuters story about Bud Selig retiring in three years doesn't really cut it.

Regardless, next week should be pretty interesting, and potentially very entertaining. Right now, it seems like things are hinging on the Manny trade/no-trade, so if it happens, you can bet the dominoes will start to fall.