tonight in Chicago
He’ll be playing at Constellation.
Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet) with John Edwards (bass), Mark Sanders (drums), live, Latvia (Riga), 2014
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lagniappe
art beat: yesterday at the Art Institute of Chicago
Henri Matisse (1869-1954), The Geranium, 1906
more
Tristan Murail (1947-), Les Courants de L’Espace (The Currents of Space), 1979; Argento Chamber Ensemble, Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players, Tristan Murail (ondes Martenot), live, New York, 2009
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lagniappe
baseball: Chicago Cubs
It no longer defies imagination, but assaults the senses, wondering how sheer and utter fantasy could become reality.
How in the world could a baseball player spend six months just learning to walk again after a devastating knee injury, not playing in a single game, and lead the Chicago Cubs to their first World Series victory since 1945, with a 5-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians, evening the Series at 1-game apiece?
“It’s the ‘Legend of Kyle Schwarber,’ ” catcher David Ross said.
***
“I can’t even describe what he’s doing right now,” said left fielder Ben Zobrist, who’s hitting .625 this series and is like a back-drop to center stage. “No one’s ever seen anything like it.”
There has never been a position player in baseball history whose first hit of the season was in the World Series until Schwarber came along. He doubled off Cleveland ace Corey Kluber in Game 1, and then went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a walk in Wednesday’s victory.
***
This is a guy who had no hits in four at-bats in April before he blew out his left knee. He had one hit in eight at-bats in the Arizona Fall League. Now, on baseball’s greatest stage, he is hitting .429, reaching base five times in nine at-bats, with a double, two singles and two RBI.
***
“Baseball’s a crazy game,” Schwarber said. “It will do crazy things to you.”
So crazy, that he went along with the Cubs’ narrative, that he would be out for the season. When you tear two knee ligaments, no one expects to see you until next season. If he had only sustained the injury earlier, maybe in spring training, he’d have a chance, but not during the season.
And even if he was physically able to return before the end of the season, there would be no time for a minor-league rehab assignment, no time to get down his timing, no time to see major-league pitching.
“That’s why we’re calling it ‘The Legend of Kyle Schwarber,’ ” Ross said. “That’s who does this. It just blows my mind what he’s doing. He’s doing things that are unheard of.”
Yet, on baseball’s biggest stage, in front of millions on national TV, Schwarber is turning the World Series into his own reality TV show.
Watch Schwarber become the Cubs’ first DH in World Series history. Watch Schwarber hit. Watch Schwarber run. Watch Schwarber drive in two runs.
Oh, and if you need to tug at the heartstrings too, watch Schwarber become emotional talking about his 10-year-old friend, Campbell Faulkner of Cave Creek, Ariz.
Faulkner, diagnosed with a rare form of mitochondrial disease, has a team of 13 doctors. He struggles to stand and walk for extended periods of time. He needs two feeding tubes in his stomach just to provide him with nutrition. He missed nearly 100 days of school last year because of his illness and doctor appointments.
Schwarber met him in spring training and saw him last weekend before meeting the Cubs in the World Series. Faulkner is his friend, and Schwarber wears a bright green wristband in his honor to make those aware of the disease.
“Really young, smart kid, and he’s just always got a big smile on his face,” Schwarber said. “You know, that draws your attention to him. He’s living life to his fullest, even though he’s got something to overcome.
“He’s just a good kid. How could you not like him?”
***
Stay tuned. The sequel is Friday, the first World Series night game in Wrigley Field history.
“They are going to go nuts,” Ross said.
two takes
“God Has Smiled on Me” (I. Jones)
Don Pullen (piano), George Adams (tenor saxophone), live, Italy (Perugia), 1984
***
Rev. James Cleveland, Oh Happy Day, 2004
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lagniappe
baseball: Chicago Cubs
“There’s a favorite saying in Chicago,’’ [Billy] Williams said, “I hope they do it in my lifetime.’ So everybody who’s living today, got to witness this.”
***
“I can’t put this into words,’’ said [Kerry] Wood, whose team was five outs away from the 2003 World Series, only for the city to be introduced to Steve Bartman.
“It’s epic. It’s amazing. What this team has done, and what they’ve done for the city and for the organization, it’s a mind-blowing experience.
“These guys come out, unaffected by the history, and we’re in a place we haven’t been in a long time.
“Now, they’ve set themselves in history, and they’re going to be linked forever.’’
***
[T]he average age of the Game 6 starting lineup was 23.
***
“There has been so much emotion over the years from this fan base,” Cubs outfielder Ben Zobrist said. “It’s not just Chicago. It’s not just Illinois. It’s all over the country. It’s all over the world.’’
Hard to believe that four years ago, these Cubs were 100-game losers, and a laughingstock.
Today, they are champions of the National League, with hopes of bringing home their first World Series title since the Teddy Roosevelt administration, back in 1908.
***
“I came here because I wanted to win in Chicago,’’’’ said Cubs starter Jon Lester, who shared the NLCS MVP award with second baseman Javier Baez. “It’s unbelievable to be part of it. We still have a little ways to go, but we can celebrate.
“We’re going to have a good time tonight, get drunk a little bit with everyone else, and then we’ll get ready for Cleveland.’’
***
“To stand on that platform afterwards,’’ Cubs manager Joe Maddon said, “and you’re looking at the ballpark and the fans and the “W’ flags everywhere. I think about the fans, and their parents, and their grandparents, and great-grandparents, and everything else that’s been going on here for a while.’’
***
This game really wasn’t about suspense, but inevitability.
It was over in the first inning when the great Kershaw – who pitched seven scoreless innings here in blanking the Cubs in Game 2 – gave up two first-inning runs for the first time in 44 starts.
Kyle Hendricks, the major league’s ERA leader, who was acquired four years ago from Texas for Ryan Dempster, suffocated the Dodgers’ lineup. He gave up a leadoff single to Andrew Toles in the first inning, and went 86 pitches until he gave up another one.
By night’s end, the Cubs had outscored the Dodgers 23-6 since falling in a 2-1 hole in L.A.
“They were relentless,’’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “You hate to have sour grapes, but the better team won the series.’’
***
“I love being in a city that’s playing October baseball where you can feel everybody captivated by the ballclub,’’ [Theo] Epstein said. “Everybody is tired from staying up late, prioritizing baseball above anything else.
“You look around, you smile, you soak it all in, and it takes your breath away.’’
The Cubs are in the World Series.
This I could listen to all day.
Morton Feldman (1926-1987, MCOTD Hall of Fame), Three Voices (1982); Sonya Holowell (live and recorded voices), Australia (Sydney), 2016
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lagniappe
reading table
Absolutely unmixed attention is prayer.
—Simone Weil (1909-1943)
*****
baseball: Chicago Cubs
Greg Maddux on tonight’s starting pitcher, Kyle Hendricks:
If it was a radar contest, then why play the game, right? Velocity is nice, but command and movement are better.
***
He has the ability to throw a two-seam fastball to both sides of the plate. Most pitchers are four-seam to one side and two-seam to the other. If you can throw your two-seamer to both sides of the plate, that’s an advantage to the pitcher.
***
He has the ability to recognize when a hitter is sitting on a certain pitch and throw something else.
***
He relies on the low fastball that sinks pretty good. Very good at trying to keep the ball in front of the outfield with that pitch. That’s what it’s about—locating your fastball, changing speeds and keeping the ball in the ballpark.
***
He’s fun to watch.
sounds of Chicago
Common (with Robert Glasper [keyboards], Bilal [vocals], et al.), “I Used To Love H.E.R.,” “Letter To The Free,” “The Day The Women Took Over,” “Little Chicago Boy,” live, Washington, D.C. (White House Library), 10/3/16
more
Jürg Frey (1953-), 60 Pieces of Sound (2009); a.pe.ri.od.ic, live, Chicago, 2013
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lagniappe
reading table
a solitary
crow on a bare branch—
autumn evening—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
Bob Dylan, “High Water (For Charley Patton)” (B. Dylan)
Live, Irvine, Calif., 2013
No matter how often he changes styles, he keeps coming back to the blues.
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lagniappe
baseball
Javy Baez (Chicago Cubs infielder), defensive highlights
voices I miss
Tenor saxophonist Von Freeman (1923-2012, MCOTD Hall of Fame), “Footprints” (W. Shorter), live, Minneapolis, 1996 (Live at the Dakota);* Dead of Summer (Jean Seberg), 1970
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lagniappe
reading table
Autumn weighs upon me
but tomorrow will come
and I will miss tonight—Yosa Buson (1716-1783), translated from Japanese by W.S. Merwin and Takako Lento
*****
*With Bobby Peterson, piano; Terry Burns, bass; Phil Hey, drums.
old school
Boyd Rivers & Ruth May Rivers, “I Done Died One Time (Ain’t Gonna Die No More),” Canton, Miss., 1978
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
Kerry James Marshall (1955-), The Lost Boys, 1993 (Kerry James Marshall, Mastry, through today)
music clip of the day 