If you're not a baseball fan, you'll just have to trust me. That headline is a good thing. Mrs. LTL knows I'm homesick for Chicago and, in particular, the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field, the home of my beloved Chicago Cubs. This current crop of Cubs is the best squad in my lifetime, and I sat down in front of the television this weekend with, dare I say it, optimism. This could finally be the year the Boys in Blue... never mind. I can't bring myself to say it. Anyway, the Cubs did well in their first two playoff games, and I want to thank Mrs. LTL for making these games extra special. On Friday afternoon, I received two deliveries from Chicago institutions 2,000 miles away. One was from Giordano's Pizza, and the other was from Eli's Cheesecake. Thanks to my wife's loving gestures, I couldn't have enjoyed these games any better if I had been sitting behind the dugout. I have one more pizza I'm saving for the World Series, and I have enough cheesecake for a slice each game the rest of the playoffs. What can I say? I'm blessed.
Forgive me. Obviously, this has little to do with music, but I'm just beaming tonight. Believe it or not, I do have plenty of Cubs moments on vinyl. I also understand you could care less. Please indulge me. Here are a few quick highlights from the 1971 album 'Jack Brickhouse Presents Great Moments in Cubs Baseball' and other jewels from the collection. When I listen to it I think about the fact when the album was recorded the Cubs hadn't won a World Series in 63 years. Little did the late broadcaster Brickhouse know we would still be waiting to win it all 45 years later.
"Hey Hey Holy Mackeral"
"Ernie's 500th"
"Just Read the Script"
"That's Baseball"
"Not Sure"
"Team Effective"
20 comments:
My understanding of baseball is probably on a par with yours of cricket, but I have to say that the cheesecake looks AMAZING! Is that actually pizza of the left of the photo? It's so deep. Looks more like a quiche.
I have to say, that album cover is so bad it's good! And the food in that photo looks so temptingly wicked it should surely be X rated... is that what you call a 'pizza pie'?
The homesick Scot's equivalent would be a square sausage and some Irn Bru
I'm with the Swede - that cheesecake looks good - strangest pizza I've ever seen though
Very thoughtful of Mrs LTL
I don't have any sports related albums but George does have a double or triple album entitled Arnold Palmer's World of Golf
More on the pizza: This is of the Chicago-style stuffed variety made famous by Giordano's and Nancy's. It is prepared in a pan that looks more like for pies. It's a crust, followed by lots of cheese and toppings, followed by another layer of crust and sauce on the top. Sometimes holes are poked in the top to keep it from exploding. It's a very heavy pizza and not for everybody.
Visited Chicago recently and taken out by some locals to try the pizza. Couldn't help feeling it was a quiche with ideas above its station
Hey I'm with you! Cubs were my first passion way before music so hopefully we have games to watch into late October gladly taking time from music listening and posts!!!
FORW, if you didn't have it in your life from an early age, I can certainly see how you could feel that way. That goes for most Chicago fare, including the Chicago-style hot dog.
Well Brian, I won't get into baseball with you, being a NY Yankees fan that comes from a NY Giants/NY Mets, family, I was even a Punk Rocker when it came to sports... Eli's Cheesecake rivals the best of NYC, certainly, but as you said, growing up on Queen/Brooklyn pizza all my life, the whole Deep Dish Pan Pizza has always been lost on me. Thankfully music is an area for shared delight!!
Howard,
This makes my day, and I hope you see this message. I stumbled on your twitter page a couple of months ago and absolutely love it. I have no social media accounts myself, but I thought about joining twitter just to let you know how much I appreciate what you do. I tried to add your page to my sidebar of blogs I read, but I guess you can't do that with a twitter page. As far as indie pop is concerned, we seem to have been separated at birth. Again, thank you.
So, not a Rangers fan? I have loved baseball since birth. I was born into a family of Cardinals die-hards, but I have a grandmother who loves the Cubs. She took me to Wrigley Field in the summer of '79, and I changed my allegiance. I am the oldest of four kids, and my father never let any of my younger siblings go to Wrigley with Grandma. "You got my oldest. You're not getting another one," he used to say to her. When I was about 11, I had a bulletin board in my room. One day I used a piece of dark tape and divided the board in half, decorating one side with my favorite Cardinals players and Cubs players on the other side. "Nope," said Dad. "Doesn't work that way. Pick a side." I have been a Cubs fan ever since.
My grandmother was a snow bird that lived in Mesa, Arizona, during spring training for decades. I started going down there every March in 1996 and continued to do this until 2005. That last year my wife and I had our newborn with us. Wasn't quite as fun. So, we stopped. That son's middle name is Buckner, named for my favorite Cub as a youngster. Grandma waited a long time to win a World Series. Unfortunately, she is 92 now and doesn't remember the Cubs or anything else. There are so many stories of old-timers that never got to see a winner. Now I'm getting old and am starting to wonder whether I'm going to see one. It's time. Let's do it right now!
Echorich,
I would never turn down a slice of pizza from your old neighborhood. I have a great New York baseball story I'll share with you someday. As you say, we always have the music. Looking forward to your next installment of New York stories with JTFL at JC's place. Best posts I have read this year!
Brian
I'm going to get round to catching up on your recent postings tomorrow. The title of this one drew me in....I'll absorb it better when I'm less nervous and excited about the upcoming Jays v Rangers match-up in 45 minutes time. I'll be watchimg till the very early hours and going to work with minimum sleep.....much the same as last week's nailbiter in the Wildcard with a 4.45am finish for me.
Never thought we'd be looking this good when I watched them close-up blow games at the Rodgers Centre last month (I was there on the night of the Yankees brawl with a seat adjacent to the away team dugout).
Who knows. Maybe a Cubs/Jays World Series isn't such a longshot after all......
Planned to get in touch last week but thought better of it because I didn't know whether you would be watching the Blue Jays live or the next day. Was sure I would end up spoiling it for you. Best of luck tonight. Could be a quick ending for the Rangers. Not sure I saw that coming after the rough September for your boys,
I'm up for trying that Pizza. As for baseball, I know nothing about it but I wish all of your teams well.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I saw the title of this post.
Drew, From your Friday posts summing up your football team for the weekend, I know you love sport. Whether you know baseball or not, I'm sure you understand the sentiment.
Adam, Sounds kind of cheeky, doesn't it? I guess that's why I did it. Got you to click, anyway.
The Mets.
Brian,
Thanks for the nice IPSML comments. I'll sometimes tweet the link to your blog post when it's really hits right in my musical wheelhouse (which is often to tweet, heh). Too bad no social media for you but that could be a good things is some ways.
LTL is a bookmark item for me that I check every few days. So keep the great writing and music coming!
We're probably both on short sleep after last night's game. Let's close this in 4.
While I've been in TX a while, I grew up in NY in Mets house in a Mets neighborhood in Queens. Every other major league sports team I root for is the "born and raised" generational bequeathed NY team -- Jets, Knicks, NYRangers. But for some reason, and I think the day games was what did it, I latched onto the Cubs in elementary school. This was pre ESPN, cable etc. so the only baseball highlights on the local evening news were from Wrigley since the Mets and Yankees were typically playing night games. And those were some awful mid-70s Cubs teams. It wasn't easy but I never deterred.
What a championship starved quartet of teams. The Rangers Stanley Cup was the pinnacle in 1994 and i was too young to remember Jets in Super Bowl III and just barely recall Knicks in 73. So this Cubs team can be the topper for the bunch.
Well, we did it, Howard. I'm ashamed to admit I went to a dark place in the middle of game 4. Not sure I could have watched if there had been a game 5. As an aside, Mrs. LTL has been in San Francisco all week for work and stayed at the same hotel as the Cubs. Saw just about everybody, including Jake Arietta about an hour after we lost game 3. She kept her distance.
I fell for the Cubs the same way you did. Summer afternoons and after school on WGN. My town got cable in '79, the same year I went to Wrigley for the first time.
Hey Kevinpat. The Mets have broken my heart more than once in my life, and the best part about realignment was when the Cubs left the East Division and we didn't have to see you guys as much. There have been some great teams though, I'll give you that.
In just over an hour, there is every chance that my baseball dreams will be shattered for another year.
The Tribe look very good Brian. They have a stupidly talented bullpen. If the Cubs do get past the Dodgers it will be a big ask....
JC, You have survived another day. Baseball is a crazy game, and the Jays have certainly run hot and cold this postseason. You're right about those relievers, especially Miller. Striking out 13 of 15 batters in these playoffs is insane. As for my boys, they can't buy a hit. Eighteen innings and counting without a run. Even perfect pitching won't help you there, and Arietta looked very ordinary tonight. I expected us to be on the right side of an Arietta v. Hill showdown. Starting to get that sinking feeling. Kershaw is expected in Game 5, meaning if we don't win the next one you can forget about it. It was fine last year, but if we only get as far as the NLCS after the season we had, well it's is more than I can bear, really. Yes, I said "we." Pathetic. Best of luck in Game 5.
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