Music & More

Dumb Baseball Rule 10.12(d)(3)

I like the new rule allowing teams to appeal calls by umpires regarding home runs. The umps check the replay to see whether a home run ball is fair or foul or above or below a HR line in some parks. While we don't want the games delayed unnecessarily, the goal should be to get the call right. Video replay is used in basketball and football so why not take advantage of the technology in baseball.

Changes in baseball should not stop with the replay policy. There are some rules that almost every serious baseball fan knows are dumb and should be changed. My biggest scoring pet peeve is the concept that you can't anticipate a double play. According to MLB.com Official Info, errors are dealt with by Official Rule 10.12.  Specifically, Rule 10.12(d) states that "the official scorer shall not charge an error against: ... (3) any fielder who makes a wild throw in attempting to complete a double play or triple play, unless such throw enables any runner to advance beyond the base such runner would have reached had the throw not been wild." (a comment follows that an error will be charged if a good throw which would have put the runner out is dropped.) So, as long as the batter/runner doesn't advance to 2nd base, no error is charged to the fielder making the wild throw in an attempt to complete a double play.

Hey, this is not little league, high school or college ball I'm talking about. Major League ball players are supposed to make all the routine plays. When they fail to, they should be charged with errors. I can understand not charging an error if the fielder was about to be taken out by the runner and had to rush his throw. But when there's plenty of time, an error should be charged if in the scorer's judgment the batter would have been out.

Situation: Runner on first with 1 out and slow runner at the plate. A hard hit ball just to the left of second base is fielded cleanly by the shortstop. He steps on second and, despite having plenty of time, throws wildly to first, allowing the batter/runner to reach safely. The runner on first base was not bearing down on the shortstop.The batter/runner would have been out by ten feet with a good throw. If the next batter hits a home run, the pitcher is charged with 2 earned runs even though the batter/runner should have been out. If the rule is changed to allow the official scorer to charge the shortstop with a throwing error, the pitcher is only charged with 1 earned run if the next batter homers.

In the above situation, if the shortstop's wild throw to first enabled the batter/runner to reach 2nd base, the shortstop gets charged with an error. This doesn't help the pitcher if the next batter hits a HR. Since the error was charged for allowing the runner to advance an extra base rather than for failing to get the out at 1st base, the pitcher still gets charged with 2 earned runs. Earned Run Averages are much higher than when I started following baseball in the mid 1950's. According to espn.com stats, after 45 games this season the A/L teams are averaging a 4.59 era while the DH-less N/L is at 4.39. The hitters haven't needed any more help since the pitching mound was lowered for the 1969 season. Since I don't believe there's any movement to restore the height of the mound, maybe some changes in official scoring rules would give some small solace to pitchers with soaring era's.

Another change that could help a bit would be to allow the official scorer to charge a  "team error" where a play should have been made but it's difficult to assign the error to one particular fielder. This concept has been proposed before and rejected but I still believe it has a lot of merit. A pitcher makes a great pitch that the batter pops up. The ball drops between 2 or 3 players, any one of whom could easily make the catch. If the scorer can't decide who to give the error to, he takes the easy way out and gives the batter a hit. Giving the team an error would solve the problem. It seems to me that in most cases, if there's a questionable call as to whether a batted ball is to be scored a hit or an error, the call usually favors the batter. 

 

Jo Dee Messina

Jo Dee Messina burst on the scene in 1996 with "Heads Carolina, Tails California", a Tim Nichols and Mark D. Sanders creation. It's a fast paced fun song that should be played as you drive down a highway in a convertible with the top down and the wind whipping through your hair. I say this even though I have never been in a convertible and have no desire to own one (and I don't have much hair for the wind to whip through anymore). That image pops into my mind whenever I hear the song, just as it did the first time I heard "Long Train Running" by the Doobie Brothers. Two Years later Jo Dee recorded another great riding in the car song "Bye-Bye", penned by Phil Vassar & Rory Michael Bourke and almost as good.

The first JDM cd I purchased was her "Greatest Hits", released in 2003. Of course it has the HCTC song and BB. My only objection to this great cd is that these two  uptempo songs are back to back. Put a slow song between them. There are great ballads like "Burn", "Downtime", "Bring On the Rain" (with Tim McGraw singing backup) and "I Wish" that would do nicely to space them. I probably would have opened the cd with HCTC and had BB in about the #7 slot of the 14 songs included, four of which were new at the time. The new ones are "Was That My Life", "Wishing Well", "You Belong in the Sun", and "I Wish".  Other hits included are "I'm Alright", "Stand beside Me", "That's the Way", "You're Not in Kansas Anymore", "Lesson in Leavin'" and "Because You Love Me".  

Her 2005 cd "Delicious Surprise" was a very pleasant surprise, from the opening track "Not Going Down" (which reached #28 according to wikipedia) to the powerful 12th track "You Were Just Here" which was not released as a single. Of course it includes her sassy #1 hit "My Give A Damn's Busted", written by Tom Shapiro, Tony Martin and Joe Diffie, plus outstanding songs like "Someone Else's Life", "It Gets Better" and "Love Is Not Enough". The title track was actually one of my least favorite songs. Better ones to me were those mentioned above as well as the remaining tracks, "Who's Crying Now", "It's Too Late to Worry", "Life Is Good", "Where Were You" and "I Wear My Life". I was disappointed that the lyrics were not included with this cd but you can find them on www.jodeemessina.com, along with info on her current tour and earlier cd's.

Devil in the White City

Erik Larson's "The Devil in the White City" deals with events surrounding the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, officially called the "World's Columbian Exposition", celebrating the 400th anniversary of Columbus's discovery of America. The subtitle is "Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America". I found out about this book on the back cover of another book, Charlatan by Pope Brock (see post of April 29th).  Someone from the Chicago Tribune wrote "begs comparison with Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City." The title is seductive and I doubt that many readers will be disappointed. The author alternates chapters dealing with the fair and the murders, moving both stories forward at just the right pace. Check out some of the many reviews online for this non-fiction page turner. 

The main characters were architect Daniel Burnham and Herman Webster Mudgett, the latter operating under the name Dr. H.H.Holmes near the white city (the buildings on the fairgrounds were painted white). The cast of characters also includes the fair's landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmstead, Buffalo Bill, who had his Wild West show set up next to the fair and George Washington Ferris, the inventor of the Ferris Wheel - the U.S.'s response to the building of the Eiffel Tower for the Paris exposition of 1889. Mr. Larson provides interesting tidbits such as Walt Disney's father Elias was a carpenter/furniture maker working on the fair and products such as Cracker Jacks, Aunt Jemima's Pancake Mix, Juicy Fruit Gum, Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer and shredded wheat made their debut. Great read - makes you want to get hold of his other books.

Bring Back Doo Wop

I got an email a few days ago with a "Doo Wop 30 Oldies Quiz". There were questions about Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife", the Everly Brothers, Annette Funicello and the Chordettes' "Mr. Sandman"- not exactly Doo Wop. The quiz raised a few questions for someone lucky enough to be retired and not burdened with a lot of responsibilities - me. What exactly is Doo Wop? Is it defined by some aspect of the song itself like the background vocals? When did Doo Wop begin? What was the first Doo Wop song? These questions have been answered before. Just google Doo Wop and have a ball. Maybe check out some performances on YouTube.

Here are some of my favorite Doo Wop songs, the ones I like to sing along to or occasionally chime in with a deep "Yeeaahh". These songs are indisputably Doo Wop. I'll start with the "Night" songs: "Tonight, Tonight" by the Mello Kings, "In the Still of the Night" by the Five Satins, "Tonight I Fell in Love" and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by the Tokens, "One Summer Night" by the Danleers, "Tonight (Could be the Night)" by the Velvets, "Long, Lonely Nights" by Lee Andrews and the Hearts, "There's a Moon Out Tonight" by the Capris and "Goodnight Sweetheart" by the Spaniels. (The last song was used to close each show of the Sha Na Na TV Series.)

Some other favorites of mine include "Till Then" by the Classics, "Little Darlin'" by the Diamonds, "Earth Angel" by the Penguins, "I Wonder Why" by Dion and the Belmonts, "Heart and Soul" by the Cleftones, "The Great Pretender" by the Platters, "Remember Then" by the Earls, "My True Story" by the Jive Five, "At the Hop" by Danny and the Juniors, "Teardrops" by Lee Andrews and the Hearts, "Hey Baby" by Bruce Channel, "Pretty Little Angel Eyes" by Curtis Lee, "Come Go with Me" by the Del Vikings, "To The Aisle" by the Five Satins, "I Only Want You" by the Passions, "The Book of Love" by the Monotones, "Little Star" by the Elegants, "Blue Moon" by the Marcels, "The Angels Listened In" by the Crests. "Fools Fall in Love" by the Drifters, "Ram a Lam a Ding Dong" by the Edsels, "When You Dance" by the Turbans, "Silhouettes" by the Rays, "Denise" by Randy and the Rainbows, the "Duke of Earl" by Gene Chandler, "Sixty Minute Man" (one of the songs in Bull Durham) by Billy Ward and the Dominoes, "Story Untold" by the Nutmegs, "Could This Be Magic" by the Dubs, "The Ten Commandments of Love" by Harvey and the Moonglows, "What's Your Name" by Don and Juan and "Barbara Ann" by the Regents.

Let's bring back Doo Wop. Imagine that you want to write down all the lyrics and background vocal sounds of an old Doo Wop song so that each member of a new Doo Wop group could accurately sing their parts. You can find most of the lyrics online but it's hard to identify all the sounds. No matter how many times I listen to the song, for some I'm still not sure what they are saying. As I type I ask myself did I include enough "o's" in the ooh ooh oooh's? One problem is that I lose my concentration because I start to just enjoy the song. According to wikipedia, some singers were imitating instruments when singing the nonsensical syllables that mark the Doo Wop style. This makes sense since when they sang on street corners, it was a cappella - no instruments. The article says the term "Doo Wop" did not appear in print until 1961 and that the most accurate description of the music was simply "vocal group hamony". Barbershop is vocal group harmony. Wiki also says that the first songs to use "doo wop" in the refrain were "When You Dance" by the Turbans in 1955 and "In the Still of the Night" by the Five Satins in 1956. In 1961 "Tonight (Could Be the Night)" by the Velvets had the doo wops in the background throughout the song. What was the first song to have the "wop" without the "doo"? 

Up tempo Doo Wop songs are the most fun to sing along with and I can't think of any better than "Little Darlin'", a hit in 1957 by a Canadian Group, the Diamonds. The song starts out "ai yiyiyiyi ..." , throws in some "bump, bump di wadi wadi's"?, has a spoken part in the middle, a style made famous by the Ink Spots in the 1930's and 40's, and ends a lot of words with "a" - "a-hoop-a, hoop-a, hoop-a, well-a" and "my dear-a, I was wrong-a", et ceter-a. The song was on the jukebox at the "5 & Diner" restaurant in Cool Springs" (just south of Nashville), a restaurant my wife and I liked for the food and music. "5 & Diner" was one of a fifties style chain of diners that started out in Arizona about 20 years ago and has since spread to other states. Unfortunately, the Tennessee diner proved to be a weak link and went out of business.

My other favorite sing a long Doo Wop song is the answer to my question "what was the first song to have the wop without the doo. Without further ado, it's "I Wonder Why" released in 1958 by Dion & the Belmonts. In the middle of the song they sing "wop  wop  wopwop wopwopwop" not doo wop - and this from an Italian American group. I once sent an email comment to the Tennessean and spelled out Doo Wop. They wouldn't publish my comment online because of the word "wop". I resubmitted my comment making it one word, doowop, and it was accepted. "I Wonder Why" begins something like "din din din din da din din din ...", does some "da da da din din do wah", a lot of "oooh oooh a oohs", "dom dom da didi's", then the "wops" and more of the "din din da dins". What a song. 

I do like a lot of slow Doo Wop songs. "To the Aisle" by the Five Satins is my favorite even though the line "My darling please put me on trial" is a bit hokey. The Satin's "In the Still of the Night" is one of the most famous Doo Wop songs of all time with its "shoo doo shoo be do's". "Till Then" by the Classics (not to be confused with the Classics IV with Dennis Yost, known for hits like "Traces", "Stormy", etc.) sounds like a World War II song. "Teardrops" and "Long, Lonely Nights" by Lee Andrews and the Hearts are also great slow Doo Wop songs.

I remember listening to Bruce Morrow - Cousin Brucie, Alan Freed, Scott Muni and Peter Tripp, who called himself the "curly headed kid in the third row". Cousin Brucie used to call "Tonight, Tonight" by the Mello Kings the greatest song ever written. The early Doo Wop songs were all "golden oldies" by the time I started listening to music on the radio, stations WABC, WMGM, WMCA, etc., and buying 45's.

Unfortunately, I never got to see any of these acts when they originally appeared and I have yet to go to any of these Doo Wop revival shows. I've only seen them on PBS specials. Doo Wop was done in by 1964 by the Beatles led British invasion and the first rock concert I attended was probably Jay & the Americans at Iona College around 1985. After that I saw the Beach Boys, Donovan and a few others at St. John's Alumni Hall. I did get to see a few Doo Wop groups later on like the Tokens and the Crests at the World Trade Center (see post of September 21, 2008). Lead singers Jay Siegel and Johnny Maestro, respectively, still sounded great. I also saw Larry Chance and the Earls back in the 1980's. These old Doo Wop acts sure have provided a ton of listening pleasure, even the groups who turned out to be one hit wonders.

Does Doo Wop have a future? I think it could. It's fun music, uncomplicated and great to sing along to (and dance to for those who dance). A cappella group Straight No Chaser could do Doo Wop. Imagine Doo Wop out of Indiana? SNC's Christmas album was outstanding. They have a new album in the works but I'm not getting my hopes up because who knows what material they'll choose. As I mentioned in my post about Hal Ketchum last September, his 2001 song "You Can't Go Back" has a Doo Wop flavor to it with its "shak a lak a boom boom" background singing toward the end. In a more recent post, I mentioned Ronnie Milsap's "Lost in the 50's Tonight", which includes part of "In the Still of the Night". Ronnie and Hal would have been great at Doo Wop.