First, third, and left

Batting second, number 19… first baseman Joey Votto.

He might not hit 30 home runs a year, but the 29-year-old Canadian can hit like few others.  As of this writing, Votto is a career .319 hitter, and since 2009, he’s posted an on-base percentage of at least .414 every single season.  He’s never slugged lower than .506 in a season, either.  Before injuring his knee last year, Cincinnati’s Votto could even be counted on to steal a few bags, too.  Factor in his very good glove, and he’s the ideal first baseman for this squad.

Batting third, number 24… third baseman Miguel Cabrera.

As good as Votto is, and Trout, and everyone else featured in this starting lineup… the best hitter on the planet, right now, is the Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera.  Keep in mind he just turned 30 as I lay down some statistical awesomeness:  332 career home runs, 1,170 runs batted in, a career slash line of .320/.396/.564, six top-five MVP finishes, and a Triple Crown in his back pocket.  Cabrera isn’t very fast, and he’s not very agile at the hot corner, but he has to be the Dreams’ third baseman.

Batting fourth, number 8… left fielder Ryan Braun.

He isn’t as popular as he was a couple of years ago, not with PED allegations (still) swirling around him.  However, the 29-year-old Brewers slugger warrants inclusion on the Dreams.  A career .314 hitter with speed, the converted third baseman averages (per 162 games, as per Baseball-Reference.com) 200 hits, 112 runs, 37 home runs, 118 RBI, and 22 stolen bases.  Braun’s also made himself a good outfielder – perhaps he’s not a Gold Glover, but Trout is out there to help him out, too.

Leading off, number 27…

In case you missed my previous post, I’m putting together a new MLB Dream Team.  Age, ability, handedness, and versatility make up the criteria for this very special team – just as it did for Sports Illustrated’s Steve Wulf when he wrote the story that inspired mine.  He put together a 25-man club that was much like a real team; a starting lineup, a bench made up of role players, a starting rotation, and a bullpen (as well as an entire coaching staff, front office, and so on).  Back in 1985, the Dreams’ bullpen was a five-man unit, unfathomable by today’s standards.

Here’s the breakdown of Wulf’s roster:

• 11 National Leaguers, 14 American Leaguers
• 4 NL batters in the starting lineup, 4 NL pitchers, 3 NL bench players
• 4 AL batters in the starting lineup, 6 AL pitchers, 4 AL bench players
• 16 teams represented:  3 from 1 team, 2 from 7 teams, 1 from 8 teams

I don’t want to deviate too much from those numbers.  For example, I want four hitters from each league in my starting lineup, and it’s making setting said lineup exceedingly difficult.  While I try to figure out who my last two hitters, I can, at least, tell you who leads off.

Leading off, number 27… center fielder Mike Trout.

He’s playing left in 2013, but really, he is a true center fielder.  He is lightning quick, big, strong, a Gold Glove-caliber fielder… and he doesn’t turn 22 until August.  A five-tool stud that should be in MVP conversations for at least the next ten years, the Anaheim Angels’ Trout is the ideal man to bat first for the new Dreams, and build the team around.

One down, 24 to go.  To be presented in a much quicker fashion, I promise.

Dream Teaming, 28 years later

I read the following article in Sports Illustrated back in 1985…

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1119352/index.htm

…and I think it’s the story that made me the baseball fan I am today.  I’m sure it made me the fan of the history of baseball that I am, and most likely contributed to my fantasy baseball obsession.

(Actually, there was one other news article I remember reading in my local newspaper sometime back then as well.  The writer wanted to create a 25-man team with that year’s free agents, and the only ones I can remember are Pete Rose and Bryan Little.  Sorry, but I can’t find that article.)

The SI article stuck in my head.  A few years ago, I found that issue, featuring a young Dwight Gooden on the cover, at a flea market.  It was still pretty cool, and I hoped that it would be revisited by the magazine at some later point.  To date, it hasn’t been.  I bet Tom Verducci or Jay Jaffe could do a great job with it.

Until they do, I’m going to give it a try over the coming days.  If you still didn’t click the link yet, the author put together the best 25-man team that he could, with age and overall skill being the key determinants.  No more than three “real-life” teammates were on the club, and it was as close to a real team as you can imagine; for example, the bench players were really reserve types.  Cal Ripken wasn’t the backup shortstop, Bob Bailor was.

In addition, there was a manager, coaches, trainers, executives, announcers… even a mascot.  The whole franchise was there in print, my impressionable mind and eyes taking it all in.  It was, for lack of a better word, really, really neat.

So just for my own amusement, I’m going to do the same project.  Click the SI link, it’s a cool time capsule if nothing else.

Presenting the 2013-14 Stage West Calgary show schedule!

A modern day twist on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, set in New York City.  A young, uptight greeting card writer’s life is changed when he meets a flighty photographer.  Along with their eccentric friends and siblings, they learn to love each other not in spite of their faults, but because of them.  Because it’s easy to say, “I love you anyway”, but hard and all the more rewarding to say, “I love you because.”

2011′s Motown Gold brought you the music that was specifically recorded under the Motown label and its stable of artists.  This time around we bring you Love Train – a journey through the music of soul and R&B.  It celebrates the songs recorded under such influential labels as Staxx, Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound”, Atlantic Records, and even more from Motown.  Featuring the incomparable genius of stars such as Aretha Franklin, Chuck Berry, the Drifters, Etta James, James Brown, Ike and Tina Turner, and Percy Sledge, just to name a few.  The soul and R&B legacy of these great artists has been passed on to a new generation which include Prince, Beyonce, Boys2Men, Mariah Carey, Bruno Mars, and Whitney Houston.

“This laugh-out-loud comedy has everything one can hope for in a modern-day farce: two likable cops operating way out of their league, a supposedly crooked mayor with impeccable timing, his innocent-acting wife, a shy accountant with a penchant for dropping her drawers, a nervous double agent who’d like to get in those drawers, a Scottish hitman whose brogue gets thicker the angrier he gets, two adjoining motel rooms, simmering sexual tension, and eight doors a’slammin’.” – Donald V. Calamia, “Between the Lines”

Two cops.  Three crooks.  Eight doors.  Go!

In the little village of Anatevka, Tevye, a poor dairyman, tries to instill in his five daughters the traditions of his tight-knit Jewish community in the face of changing social mores and the growing anti-semitism of Czarist Russia.

Rich in historical and ethnic detail, Fiddler on the Roof has touched audiences around the world with its humor, warmth, and honesty.  The universal theme of tradition cuts across barriers of race, class, nationality, and religion, leaving audiences crying tears of laughter, joy, and sadness.

Avenue Q is a gut-bustingly hilarious modern musical focusing on a group of unique 20-somethings making their way in the big city, seeking their purpose in life.  Although the show addresses humorous adult issues, it is similar to a beloved children’s show; a place where puppets are friends, monsters are good, and life lessons are learned.

Winner of the Tony “Triple Crown” for Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Book, Avenue Q is part flesh and part felt, and packed with heart.  Avenue Q is a laugh-out-loud musical that tells the timeless story of a recent college grad named Princeton who moves into a shabby New York apartment all the way out on Avenue Q.  He soon discovers that although the residents seem nice, it’s clear that this is not your ordinary neighborhood.  Together, Princeton and his new-found friends struggle to find jobs, dates, and their ever-elusive purpose in life.

Chicago – the musical, in pictures

Yes, you COULD go to the Stage West Calgary Facebook page (by clicking here, for example) if you want to see some pictures of the amazing cast in action…

Or, you can just keep scrolling down.  Whatever’s easier for you, of course.

What are YOU doing during the Calgary Stampede this year?

It’s coming soon, faster than you can imagine.  The greatest outdoor show on Earth.  Ten days and nights of partying and celebrating Western heritage.

The Calgary Stampede.

I am acutely aware that there are no lack of entertainment options in Calgary in early July.  Personally, as long as I get a corn dog, a beef on a bun, and a few beers, I’m good.  Last year, I saw Garth Brooks at the Saddledome, and that was a nice bonus.

However, if you don’t have simple tastes like I do, or if you are looking for an event that you can share with your friends, co-workers, clients, and/or business partners, please let me make a suggestion.  Stage West Calgary is presenting a musical revue called “Uptown Country Girls”, and it will run from June 27th to September 1st, 2013.  The buffet at Stage West is second to none, the service and hospitality will blow you away, and the show itself is the cherry on top.  Our group rate varies with the time of day or day of the week you come out, but if you organize a group of 30 or more people, you will get a discount.

Whether it’s a corporate event, a teambuilding function, or simply a way to get out of the office on a hot July day and do a little “yah-hooing”… Stage West Calgary has you covered.

“CHICAGO”. Stage West Calgary. Be there.

No hyperbole needed.

Opening Thursday evening, April 18th.  Scheduled to run until Sunday evening, June 23rd.  If you’re a Calgary-and-area-based company looking for an excuse to get together as a group – call me.  If you want to entertain clients, vendors, customers, or anybody else – call me.  If you’re a club, organization, or league that is looking for something new and fun – I think you should call me.  (403-243-7077, ask for Jason.)

See this show.  It will be awesome.

The Washington Dilemma

Alright, time to get back to the blogging grind.  And with a title like “The Washington Dilemma”, you might think I’m writing a crime novel.  I’m not.

I’m referrring to the Washington Nationals.  I was – and am – a Montreal Expos fan.  Yes, I’m that old.  When I first starting following the international pastime, my guys were Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Tim Raines,and Al Oliver.  For some reason, I was also a big fan of Doug Flynn and Terry Francona (in fact, I can still remember Francona’s career-altering knee injury, watching it on CBC).  Later on, after Gary Carter was traded to the Mets, my allegiance to les Expos went with him.  I was young, don’t judge me.

After Carter won his World Series championship in 1986, and his knees started to crumble, and his playing days wound down with stops in San Francisco and (the ultimate slap in the face!) Los Angeles, he ended his Hall of Fame career back in Montreal.  Hello, new favorite team.  Like the squad ten years earlier, this club was competitive, and stacked with young talent.  My favorite (active) player became Larry Walker, and he, along with Moises Alou, Marquis Grissom, and Delino DeShields formed the core of a promising squad.  Soon after, they were joined by Cliff Floyd, John Wetteland, and Ken Hill.  DeShields was traded to the still-hated Dodgers for a skinny pitcher named Pedo Martinez.

In 1994, they vaulted ahead of the pack in the National League.  Still young, balanced, and very talented, they surged to a 74-40 record before a work stoppage killed the season.  No more games were played.  No World Series championship was handed out.

And just like that, baseball was dead in Montreal.

Not technically; the Expos stayed in Quebec until 2004.  But it wasn’t pretty.  Just three more winning records in that ten-year span, primarily due to the fact that the Expos couldn’t retain their great players anymore.  Walker, Martinez, et al became too expensive to keep, so they were traded or left via free agency.  The pipepline didn’t dry up, though - they were replaced by Vladimir Guerrero, Jose Vidro, Javier Vazquez, and Orlando Cabrera, who were all All-Stars.

Unfortunately, various off-field factors conspired to push the Expos out of Montreal.  Olympic Stadium was literally falling apart, but it was never going to be replaced.  The miserly consortium of owners (who purchased the team from Charles Bronfman in 1991) sold the club to Jeffery Loria in 1999, and he did little to satisfy the home crowd.  He only owned the team for two years, after which he purchased the Florida Marlins… taking most of the Expos’ front-office staff ,scouts, and computers with him.  His legacy in Montreal will never be compared to, say, Rocket Richard.  (And if you can believe it, he might be even less popular in Miami.  The Marlins are a trainwreck right now.)

The Expos limped into the 2002 season owned and managed by Major League Baseball itself.  The vultures were circling a once-proud franchise.  Despite still having a modicum of talent on the field, they were on a bare-bones budget, and considering that they were, in essence, owned by every other owner in MLB, it was nearly impossible for the team to make transactions to get better.  They were playing games in Puerto Rico, they were on the verge of contraction… their manager were allegedly prone to falling asleep on the bench… it was all rather embarrassing.

The Expos played ther last home game on September 29, 2004.  They were reborn as the Washington Nationals in 2005, and were still owned by MLB until the following year.

And I hated them.

They weren’t the Expos.

But now I’ve seen the light.

Look, don’t accuse me of jumping on the bandwagon.  They are a really good team, young, loaded with a great offense and great pitching, and they have an ownership group that is willing to invest in the club.  All great, but they wouldn’t compel me to cheer for them; after all, I’ve cheered for other less-than-successful teams in other sports for years.  (Go Raiders!)

But I’ve realized that my anger was misplaced.  It was never the players’ fault that the team left Montreal.  Furthermore, it wasn’t the fans’ fault they left – yes, attendance plummeted those final few years, but hell, imagine how bitter and frustrated they were.  Montreal was always a great baseball city, and with the league and the national economy both faring far better than they were a decade ago, I’d like to think that it could be again.  Did you know that former Expos star Warren Cromartie is leading a group exporing the viability of bringing major league baseball back to Montreal?  It’s true.

The Washington Nationals are not the Montreal Expos.  They will never replace the Montreal Expos in my heart and mind, nor in the hearts and minds of so many other Canadian baseball fans.  But I think from now on, I’ll consider the Nationals to be my new favorite expansion franchise; just like the Expos, ten years after coming into existance, they’re hitting their stride.  No sense holding that grudge any longer.

Testing, one, two…

Don’t mind me… just trying out this new (to me) WordPress site. I will let you know how it goes after I type this sentence.

So far so good.

More sentences, paragraphs, and blogs to follow in the coming days.

The results are in – "Two Hit Wonders" was awesome

Of course, you already knew that, if you attended “Two Hit Wonders” at Stage West Calgary during its three-month run.  If you didn’t - well, you should have.  It was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen at Stage West, and certainly the best musical.  It’s gone now, and if you decided to stay home and play video games or watch bad television or go out to see lousy movies at your local theatres… that’s all on you, my friend.

It’s gone, and it won’t be back.  That said, “One Hit Wonders” was a huge success back in 2008, and as you’ll see below, “Two Hit Wonders” was extremely popular… so maybe you should be on the lookout for “Three Hit Wonders” sometime in 2016?

Well, I think it’d be only right to finish the trilogy.

Here are some survey results to you to consider, taken from over 550 respondents.  Keep them in mind the next time someone recommends a show at Stage West Calgary.