Secrets of the City

I’m going to see Going South tomorrow. My little brother is in it.

Next week I plan to see more shows, but haven’t mapped out quite what yet.

Hooray for Fringe!

Shamelessly, may I point out that we’re going to be blogging the Ivan deJesus out of Fringe in addition to print coverage by Quinton Skinner?

I may? Oh goody.

Whoa. Ivan DeJesus?! Interesting reference. You’re aware he was trade bait in one of the most lopsided and misguided trades in MLB history, right? This name-drop adds volumes to your comment, at least to the demographic of well-informed baseball fan who were cognizant during the mid-80s.

Good luck with the Fringe coverage!

You can’t imagine how happy I am someone got the Ivan DeJesus reference. I’m a total baseball junkie, and grew up watching the Cubs on WGN. That trade was my generation’s Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio.

The Cubbies are doing pretty well this year (as are the hated Sox), Jeff.

I used to watch the fuzzy, pre-cable signal of WGN from my parent’s home in Indianapolis.

Also TCDaily planet hosts five bloggers covering the fringe.

I was a young Dodger fan in the 70s-80s and saw DeJesus come up before he went to the Cubs. He showed initial promise, but wasn’t going to replace Bill Russell. I figured the fact that you used Ivan as your reference, instead of David, indicated either that your fandom went further back or that you were a Cubs fan, or both.
Hey, how are you on the Twins? Maybe we need to get together a TC-media-professional Twins gathering or something some day. That is, after all the Fringe coverage has dwindled…

The Cubbies are doing pretty well this year (as are the hated Sox), Jeff.

The hated Sox aren’t gonna be doing so well after the Twins’re done with ‘em this week!

The hated Sox aren’t gonna be doing so well after the Twins’re done with ‘em this week!

Let’s hope so. Last night’s come-from-behind victory was a classic.

Good old Joe and Justin and Joe and all the rest!

Ivan DeJesus for Larry Bowa and Ryne Sandberg. Depending upon your point of view, that was one of the greatest trades ever!

As a kid in Des Moines, still remember WGN Cubs games – about the only major-league TV ball we had outside of NBC Game of Week.

To completely date myself, I still remember the day Ernie Banks hit his 500th. This was Stone Age Graphics era. WGN flashed a big “500″ on the screen; made a block “5″ out of little 5s, and the two 0s accordingly.

Made a big impression on a little kid.

Indiana, like Iowa, has no major league teams, so we had to look to other states’ teams. Many of my friends liked the Reds, but was a Cubbies fan from the start.

Re: Fringe–anybody see anything they like in the showcases? I’ve had more misses than hits at the last 2 Fringes just going to things I thought looked interesting. It seems like “Fool for a Client” has a lot of buzz. Has anybody else seen or heard snippets of any upcoming pieces?

Iowa was 50-50 Cubs-Cardinals in those days because KMOX had a killer radio signal. Twins fans were rare, but I was one. Now it’s all Cubbies. It’s like the Shia ethnically cleansing the Sunnis.

When the Iowa Oaks (ChiSox farm team) became the Iowa Cubs, that pretty much sealed the deal on the Cubs. The Louisville Cardinals were in the same division as the ICubs, and they had to be hated.

Some of my fondest memories as a kid were watching Cubs game with my grandpa on WGN with Harry Caray and Steve Stone.

DougG -

Yes! When Cubs subsumed excellent, indigenous Oaks team name, I fell out of Cubbie love. We may be minor league, but we’re proud! (As it turned out, not.)

You may be younger than me, but the Oaks were a longtime A’s team before Whities. One year, Joe Rudi, Vida Blue, George Hendrick, Tony LaRussa and prolly a few others came through. The core of those early-’70s World Champs.

Now that you mention it, I do remember that being the case. However, when I was old enough to pay attention to those things, they were affiliated with the Sox.

I actually worked at Sec Taylor stadium during my college days. So, I saw a lot of the Cub greats (and not so greats) go through.

George Hendricks really didn’t do much with the A’s. He didn’t really hit his stride until he was with the Padres and then the Cardinals, where he was a monster. Did you see his potential when he was with the Iowa Oaks?

arthappy -

Probably not, but I remember the name because he eventually did great things. Had to look it up, but he was a pretty nothing-burger A.

Ah, sometimes one just sees the potential at that stage of player development. I’m sure Joe Rudi must’ve had it. Vida Blue too. I saw Ken Griffey Jr. play A-ball in his first season in organized baseball in San Bernardino (where I’m from). Course, everyone and his brother could see from a mile off that he had it!

Where’s the Rat when you need him?

Ah, well, it’s always good to remember that no matter how surrounded by Twins and Flubs fans we Sox fans are in Minneapolis, one truism remains:

CUBS=Completely Useless By September

how are we talking about pro sports on a thread about the fringe festival?
I went to a few fringe shows a few years back–the fat gay ‘comedian’ I witnessed made me want to stab myself in the eye. One of those acts where you stare at the floor because you are so embarrassed for the guy…

So how do you know which shows are worth going to? Is their an inside track on which shows to avoid, and which venues to consider firebombing to save everyone the pain? linky please.

Howdy baker,

Christopher O. Kidder has a ton of previews up on our Fringe Festival blog station, here and here.

Also, for all you baseball people, in Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper’s epic track “Where the Hell’s My Money?” Mojo describes Skid winding up his washboard to strike an evil club owner “just like Ivan DeJesus.”

I don’t think the implication was that he would miss the club owner, unfortunately. Although Mojo did pronounce it “Eye-van DeJeezus.”

thanks jeff.

baker – how do thread hijacks happen? It’s MnSpeak!

arthappy – the absolute, slam-dunk, no-doubt Oaks player was Vida Blue. 12-3, 2.17 ERA before going on to win 24 in his first full A’s campaign.

Also for Vida: 165 Ks in 133 innings. No way a guy w/numbers like that would get 15 decisions in Triple-A today.

Ah, sometimes one just sees the potential at that stage of player development. I’m sure Joe Rudi must’ve had it. Vida Blue too. I saw Ken Griffey Jr. play A-ball in his first season in organized baseball in San Bernardino (where I’m from). Course, everyone and his brother could see from a mile off that he had it!

I played legion ball against Dave Winfield and his brother Steve. Everyone was in agreement that 1) I was the next Zoilo Versailles, and 2) Winfield was destined for stardom, perhaps even the hall of fame. Steve Winfield, that is.

Let’s hope so. Last night’s come-from-behind victory was a classic.

And it was the highest rated telecast of anything in FSN North’s history with a 13.7 share.

I played against a guy in high school who was first-team all-state in every sport he was eligible for in all four years of high school, recruited by D1 schools in baseball, football and basketball. Golden god. Played baseball and football at Stanford then got drafted by the Phillies. Never made it out of the minors. Another, less heralded baseball player is playing AAA for the Pirates. I just work for Republicans.

how are we talking about pro sports on a thread about the fringe festival?

SERIOUSLY. Sports? In a thread about the Fringe Festival?

[puts fingers in eyeballs]
LALALALALALALLAAAA – I’M NOT READING THIS – LALALALAAAA
[/fingers in eyeballs]

Annnnnd…since we were talking about Fringe blogging….I, too, will be doing a bit of that. Check it.

Oh, and Jerad – I also have been burned by the previews. So your better bet is to listen to conversations in line, or just start a conversation of your own. People LOVE to tell you what sucks.

AND – as a general rule (and I mean general, because there ARE exceptions) most of the out-of-town gigs will be good. The further out of town, the better. It’s not often that people will tour a show if it sucks…because that’s expensive, and no one wants bad press on a national scale.

Also for Vida: 165 Ks in 133 innings. No way a guy w/numbers like that would get 15 decisions in Triple-A today.

David, very good point. Excellent point, actually. No wonder Liriano is champing at the bit down in Rochester…

I played legion ball against Dave Winfield and his brother Steve. Everyone was in agreement that 1) I was the next Zoilo Versailles, and 2) Winfield was destined for stardom, perhaps even the hall of fame. Steve Winfield, that is.

Great story, Maz. I met a local St. Paulite who played ball around the same time. He said Paul Molitor also played city ball then too, along with the Winfields. Can you imagine? Two local future hall-of-fame-bound rugrats playing scrappy St. Paul city ball at the same time. Woulda been a great time to be playing here. Do you have any other stories, Maz?
Me, I played ball in So Cal a few years behind a couple of future major leaguers (most notably Mark McGwire, but also Sid Monge and Frank Pastore). And I went to college with Jeff Kent. None of em are Hall of Famers tho… (At least not yet…)

Jeff Kent is one of my favorite players. I think he’s only playing baseball so he can have enough money to live by himself in Montana and ride motorcycles. He almost looks annoyed at how great a hitter he is.

And if Livan Hernandez makes a start in the major leagues before Fransisco Liriano does, I’m going apesh*t.

SERIOUSLY. Sports? In a thread about the Fringe Festival?

[puts fingers in eyeballs]
LALALALALALALLAAAA – I’M NOT READING THIS – LALALALAAAA
[/fingers in eyeballs]

Leigha, I sorry! You know, I was there at many of the early Ministry shows with Matt and Leah and Mike, and all those exciting good times at the Bowl and with aluminum-foil space helmets and stuff I can’t hardly even rememeber. I was there, doing a couple of stints as a Fringe reviewer back in the day, putting in my time, loving the art, supporting the art, fighting the good fight. I’ve watched your career blossom, read testimonials by women from Canada, listened as people raved…

In a way, I’m totally there for you, and for Robin and all the other theatrical up-and-comers. And for art and goodness and the future of the culture and so on.

But, at some point, it just happens that one grows up, gains perspective, gets tired of the constant struggle, and just needs a little distance and perspective. And, yes, some peace and calm. And then, before one know it, one’s writing random nonsense on mnspeak about sports with people one doesn’t even really know. It’s true, I have no idea who these people are, but yet there I am, writing this stuff for reasons I don’t know…

I have no idea how any of this has come to be, but it just has. I am so terribly sorry. I will try to be better, I promise!

Break a leg!

Can you imagine? Two local future hall-of-fame-bound rugrats playing scrappy St. Paul city ball at the same time.

Then throw in Jack Morris, who played at Highland Park H.S. a few years later. He only pitched the greatest game 7 in world series history.

SERIOUSLY. Sports? In a thread about the Fringe Festival?

Favre for Chester Taylor and a third rounder? Yay or Nay?

Yay. I swore off the Vikings when they traded my favorite player – Randy Moss – but I would so jump back on the purple ship if they land Farve.

SERIOUSLY. Sports? In a thread about the Fringe Festival?

Like Favre doesn’t have more drama in his pinky than the whole Fringe combined.

I’d take Favre for CT and a second rounder.

I have a huge Tarvaris Jackson story I have to re-write if this happens, and I still want #4. Packers fans are terrified. This will be the talk of the convention. T-Jack for veep!

Favre for Chester Taylor and a third rounder? Yay or Nay?

no way in hell do I make that trade. Favre killed his team the last 6 years in a row…it’s you media types who’ve put him on a false pedestal. and besides, CT is a NFL starting quality RB and will get a lot of necessary touches.