Manny De Montaigne drinks single malts

Two Big Wins; What Does It Mean?

2012-02-12T14:57:00.000-05:00

Two big wins this week, over Georgetown and UConn; but instead of reassuring me, these two games have only reinforced my concerns. The Georgetown game was so frustrating, in fact, that I gave up watching at the end of regulation. I rarely second guess the coaching staff; after all Boeheim is now approaching 900 wins. How can you argue with that? However, the slowdown game the Orange played at the end of Georgetown regulation, with Deon holding the ball way outside until only 10 or 12 seconds remained on the shot clock, and then driving the lane, looking for a foul, but in the end failing to get off a decent shot – that offensive set is a disaster. I’m convinced that if a statistician looked at those possessions, he or she would discovery that Cuse is generating, on average, fewer than .5 points per possession. Matt tells me that we lead the nation in points per possession; but that can’t possibly be true of that slowdown set. And so if I’m right, their reguar offense is even better than tops in the nation. And if that’s true, why do that slowdown business? Do you understand what I’m saying? Why not just run the offense more patiently, more deliberately, running the clock down, but continuing to play our game?

The other problem here is that the slowdown set exposes the absence of a dependable go-to guy on the Orange. There is no one who can take control of the game, even for just a couple possessions. There’s no one who can take the ball down low and work for one shot. Everyone talks about how the depth and balance are assets for this team, and they are right. And over time, Cuse can succeed because it does not need the same guy to be on each night. Against Georgetown it was Kris Joseph who supplied the offense, scoring almost half of the Orange points. Yesterday against UConn, it was Jardine who took the game over in the final six minutes. Some nights it’s been Deon, and even Triche had a game or two when he led the O. But come tournament time, one bad game and the season is over. It doesn’t matter how teams did over the course of the season. When it’s one and done, there is only a single meaningful statistic: number of wins. So on the night when the outside shots won’t drop, who will step up and shoulder the burden of scoring? Could be Joseph, Jardine or Waiters. But it could also be no one.

Rebounding was much better against UConn, mainly due to the hustle of CJ Fair. He was all over the boards, all day long. Of course, there weren’t a lot of rebounds yesterday, primarily because so many shots were falling. Everyone now knows rebounding is a problem; and unfortunately, they also know it wasn’t simply a matter of getting Fab Melo back in the lineup. Because he played against Georgetown, and the Orange still got clobbered on the boards. I’m hoping yesterday was a sign that the entire team is aware of this shortcoming, and working hard to overcome it.

Yesterday may have been the best the team looked all year long. Defense was very good; they kept UConn in check, even though their guards, and Lamb, were shooting very well from beyond the arc. UConn as a team shot 42 percent from three-point range. However, that was twenty points lower than the Orange, who shot an amazing 62 percent from three point range, almost sixty percent overall. Clearly, if this team can hit fifty percent of its three-pointers, in fact anywhere close to fifty percent, they’re going to be hard to beat. But I’m not worried about the nights when they shoot well; I’m worried about the nights when they can’t buy a three. Then what happens? You know, after thirty-three minutes yesterday, with the Orange shooting great all game, they still led by only two points.

I spoke with John after the Georgetown game, and he chided me for being so critical of the team after they had just beaten a ranked Georgetown team. Why not just enjoy the win? And I guess my answer to that is to ask, who had a better season: the Packers or the Giants? The Packers were unstoppable for much of the season; Aaron Rodgers was on fire. And the Giants were struggling, on the verge of missing the playoffs. Yet today the Giants are Super Bowl champs, and the Packers are reminding themselves and their fans to ‘wait ‘till next year’. I recall too many great seasons ending prematurely, and I just don’t care whether they enter the tournament with a one seed, or a three seed, or whatever. If this team does not make the Final Four, I’ll be disappointed. It will be no consolation that they beat Georgetown and UConn in successive games. (In 2003, UConn beat the Orange twice, but who cares?) And the weak rebounding, and the absence of a go-to guy, make me nervous about their ability to perform consistently in the NCAAs. So yes, it was nice to see them run away from UConn yesterday, especially as it happened in front of a national TV audience, not to mention 33,430 in the Dome, some of them sitting halfway to Nedrow, apparently watching the game on their cell phones. But the wins I want to see are the wins in March. Those are the wins one can talk about years from now.

Anyway, now the Orange are off to Louisville. One thing I do like is the schedule. The level of competition has, in general, been increasing all year long. The end of the conference season is, for the most part, one tough game after another. Good preparation for March. And although I want to see them win in Louisville, I’d also like to see the rebounding effort continue, and I’d like to see the three-point shots stay on target. I want to see those things more then a win over Louisville, because I think those things give us a better chance of looking back fondly on this season.

Go Orange.

Back on Track?

2012-02-05T07:32:00.001-05:00

For the first time in almost three weeks, the Orange looked like a top ranked team yesterday. Of course, they were playing a young, much smaller St. John’s team, and playing in the Garden, where they always seem to shine, and they had Fab Memo back anchoring the zone, but beyond that, there were a few very encouraging signs.

First of all was the rebounding. Without Melo, the team had been getting pounded on the boards. Cuse outrebounded the Johnnies 42-31, a reversal of the past couple weeks stats. Funny thing was, though, that Melo only grabbed three boards. It was other guys who seemed to be working much harder than they had in recent games. Joseph had six offensive rebounds; the guards collectively grabbed a dozen boards. So it really wasn’t Melo so much as it was a team effort.

Second, the outside shooting touch seemed to return. They hit a third of their three point shots, and although that’s not great, it was better than we saw against Notre Dame or West Virginia, where they shot dismally. But midrange jumpers were falling as well. Fair was hitting that little baseline jumper he has. Guys didn’t seem to be missing lay-ups, as they had in the recent past. The offense was really productive, scoring 95, more than in any other conference game, and breaking the 90 mark for the first time since November. Most of the season they have not needed to score a lot, as their defense has held the opponents in check, and even generated offense, when the zone led to steals. Yesterday, the zone was effective – St. John’s hit almost fifty percent of their threes, yet still managed only 70 points – but there were not a lot of turnovers. The Orange don’t need to score ninety in most games, but they do need to be able to score ninety, as there will be games, especially in the tournament, when the opposition shoots well, or has a big man who can score inside against our centers, and the Cuse will need to put up points.

Third, I really liked what we saw of Michael Carter-Williams. He has not been getting a lot of minutes since the Big East season began. But yesterday, he hit some threes, had some nifty assists, and electrified the crowd with one monster jam. He’s also the tallest guard, and gets up on opponents trying to shoot over the zone. He reminds me in that way of Kueth Duany, who had that long wingspan and made it tough on anyone trying to shoot threes over the zone. I’d like to see coach give him more minutes as the season wears on. Remember, in 2003, our best tournament players were the three freshmen, Melo, G-Mac and Billy Edelin, who led the team in scoring in the first two tournament games, even though he did not start.

Still, St. John’s was not much of a test for the Orange; we’ll know better a week from now, after Cuse plays both Georgetown and UConn. If they look good against those two teams, then maybe the mid-season slump is a thing of the past. Let’s hope so. Go Orange.

A New Old Fashioned

2012-01-08T12:06:00.002-05:00

Of late, everyone in the family seems to be drinking the classic of all classic cocktails -- the Old Fashioned. The guys at Drink told us that the Old Fashioned was the original cocktail. Hence the name: “I don’t want one of those other cocktails; I want the old-fashioned cocktail." Sugar, bitters, and whisky are the essential ingredients, but then there are a million variations with fruit. Or no fruit.

John prefers the original recipe: muddle a sugar cube with bitters, and a little water, to put the sugar in solution. Then add ice, and two ounces of whisky, and stir. Which whisky, you ask. John prefers rye (as do I); Mike and Don Draper are partial to bourbon. You can even go with Irish whisky.

Mike found a video on the nola.com website -- some guy at the New Orleans Ritz Carlton teaching everyone how to make cocktails. He adds one wrinkle to the classic recipe. In addition to the sugar, bitters and water, he adds a shaving of orange peel to be muddled with the other ingredients. Not the fruit -- just the rind, to release some of the oils that then flavor the drink, mixing well with the sweet and the bitter flavors.

So here is a variation on that variation. First of all, I use simple syrup, not because it’s better, but because it’s easier. Make the simple syrup 2 to 1. Two parts sugar to one part water. The syrup is more viscous, and more flavorful. About a teaspoonful. And a shaving of orange rind, about the size of a postage stamp. And instead of Angustora, I use Fee Brothers Orange bitters. The bitters picks up the orange flavor, but retains the essential characteristic of bitters. Plus, Fee Brothers is a Rochester business, and it’s a good idea to support the local economy. Muddle all that, not so much that you distintegrate the orange peel, but just enough to release the oils. Then the rest of the mix is pretty much the same -- two ounces of rye, ice, stirred, served on the rocks.

So what do we call the new old fashioned? John suggested something along the lines of the Orange Fashioned, and maybe if we were a bar on Marshall Street, that would catch on. But I’d like something more elliptical, less obvious. And before settling on a name, I want other suggestions. The winner gets a free cocktail of his choice, whipped up right here on my new bar, and made with whatever whisky he or she prefers. Let’s settle on a name before March, because it strikes me that the new old fashioned will be the perfect drink for this year’s tournament.

The Defense

2012-01-03T17:14:00.003-05:00

Neither Seton Hall nor Depaul is expected to finish toward the top of the Big East this year. But both came into their SU games with winning streaks, the Hall sporting an 11-1 record. And in totally stifling both teams, while winning easily, the Orange looked like they might actually deserve the number one ranking they currently hold. I recently posted about their bench, and in both of these games the bench played a big role, particularly in the closing minutes of the first half, when Cuse pulled away as they other teams tired. Waiters, Fair and Southerland continue to make big contributions on the offensive end, all of them coming off the bench.

But as important a role as the bench has played, the real reason the team has dominated so far this season is the defense. This year the zone looks as strong as it has ever looked in Boeheim’s long tenure. And the big difference this year is that the D is generating turnovers, both from
steals, and from blocks. The numbers tell the story: Cuse leads the country in total steals, and steals per game. In the GW game I saw a few weeks ago, Waiters alone had six steals. Right now they are averaging over eleven per game. And they are third in the country in blocked shots per game, the big reason being the emergence of Fab Melo as a force inside. (This is such a dramatic change from last year, it deserves its own posting.) In the last two games alone, Fab has sixteen blocks. It’s tough for the opponents to score when they can’t even get a shot off.

And while we’re talking numbers, we’ll add one that is not just a defensive number, but it’s the turnover margin. Not only is the zone generating lots of turnovers, but the Orange guards are protecting the ball pretty well, and the result is a plus eight per game advantage in the turnover
department. And related to that number is their assist-to-turnover ratio, which is number eight in the country. This is really new territory for the Orange, because as good as their D has been in recent years, they weren’t always great at protecting the ball. But playing great defense, and not turning the ball over is a recipe for success. No doubt.

The other good thing about playing great defense is that it’s easier to be consistent. The Orange are going to have games this year when no one shoots well. In fact, they had that kind of game against Seton Hall. Against the Hall they shot under fifty percent, and only 15 percent from three-point range: they went 2 for 13 from outside the arc. But that hardly mattered when they held Seton Hall to fifteen first half points, and generated twenty-three turnovers on the night. Many of those turnovers led to easy scoring opportunities – layups or open jumpers. And in the end, no one cared that the outside shooting was so cold; the game was a blow-out. So on nights when there are guys hitting their threes, and the offense is clicking, they are going to be very tough. But even on nights when the shooters go cold, the defense can keep them in the game, and even generate the offense that the team needs.

So just like two years ago, there are high expectations for this team. Let’s hope everyone stays healthy, and that no more scandalous revelations pop up to distract the team and the coaches from the rest of the season. Go Orange.

Whisky Loving in the Berkshires

2011-12-31T09:57:00.003-05:00

Whisky lovers have gathered in Great Barrington for New Years. And G-Man has brought us a couple bottles for tasting. These are latest imports courtesy of his friends, the Careys, who continue to bring him exceptional malts from their visits to Scotland. The latest offerings are Ardbeg Alligator, and a 13-year-old Highland Park, bottled by Adephi.

Ardbeg Alligator is one of the most recent intense bottlings from the distillery responsible for the smokiest and peatiest whiskies known to man. According to the packaging, the alligator thing refers to the fact that Ardbeg chars the barrels until they have the appearance of an alligator’s hide. It could also be because the whisky has an aggressive reptilian character. It virtually attacks you right from the glass. Alligator is 51.2%, but like other Ardbegs, it really doesn’t want to be watered. So this is definitely not a whisky for the faint of heart. Along with the peat, one can detect vanilla and pepper. But there are lots of flavors here that one doesn’t ordinarily associate with food. Like leather. And the combination of all this leaves one with the sensation of moccasins smoked over a campfire, and then soaked in maple syrup. And that makes for a long sweet finish. All of the elements of tangy barbeque foods -- sweet, spicy, smoky, big flavor – are present in this whisky, which in the end, is sort of like alcoholic barbeque. And even though the intense peat is what we’ve come to associate with Ardbeg, in this whisky, the combination of peat and sweetness is most unusual and what makes this malt so interesting.

Highland Park 13, cask strength, 58.0%, Adelphi selection. We all love HP, so it’s no surprise that we love this bottling of the best all-around malt one can find. But we were knocked out to find such huge flavor in a thirteen-year old whisky. The nose is very sweet, vanilla or chocolate or maybe caramel. And tasting it at full strength, one hundred and sixteen proof, when one would expect the alcohol to overpower everything else, the malt has a distinctly sweet character. And buttery. It has a rich luxurious mouth feel that magnifies the sweetness of this malt. After the initial sweetness, there is a deep, rich malt flavor typical of much older whiskies, 18 and 21 year old scotch. Same for the finish. The finish goes on and on, and it’s hard to believe that this malt has spent only thirteen years in the barrel. We then drank it with a little water, which took the heat out of the glass, and thinned out the texture, although the rich flavor, and the long finish remained. It would be fun to figure out the perfect mixture of whisky and water, if for no reason other than the chance to sample glass after glass of this HP, until we had the ratios down. How much fun would that be? This is really a special whisky.

2011 is drawing to a close. So from Great Barrington, to all whisky lovers everywhere, all the best for a happy and healthy New Year.

The Bench

2011-12-18T16:29:00.001-05:00

Last night, in their first real road game of the season, and their first game since rising to the top of the rankings, Cuse beat a decent NC State team decisively. The big difference was the bench, or more accurately, Syracuse’s depth. According to the box score, the bench scored 46 of their 88 points, more than fifty percent of the offensive output. That’s not really true, however, because Christmas is purportedly a starter, but rarely gets more than a few token minutes. I’m assuming the coaches promised him that he could have Jackson’s place in the starting lineup, as a way to recruit him. (He’s another kid from Philly.) But either CJ Fair or Southerland should be starting, so really, the starters contributed more than half the points.

Still, the exact count hardly matters. What matters is that Waiters, Southerland, and Fair, all of whom come off the bench, have been making major contributions all season long. Last night, Waiters led the team with 22 points. Five guys were in double figures, and three of them were not starters. So that means that, when one of the starters is off his game, as Triche was last night, there is someone to pick up the slack, as Dion did. That’s really big this year, because although the team has depth and balance, they don’t really have a go-to guy. Kris Joseph may be the most consistent offensive contributor, but he can’t really create offense on his own. So they need to have a number of potential contributors, increasing the statistical likelihood that someone will be hitting from the outside if all else fails.

Their depth also allows them to outlast other teams. In both halves last night, NC State started hot. They led for more than two-thirds of the first half; but with about eight minutes to go, Cuse went on a monster run (23-0 before it was over), and took a big lead into half-time. Same thing in the second half. NC State was on fire coming out of the half, and erased the Orange lead. But then they tired once again, and Cuse ran away with the last ten minutes of the game.

That’s especially important because defense is the key for this year’s team – and not just at the defensive end. It’s the D that leads to fast break opportunities, and their offense is most effective when they are running. So the strength of this year’s team will be to harass the hell out of everybody in the zone; to chase down rebounds and loose balls; to get in the other guys’ passing lanes; and then to run as soon as they turn the ball over. So everyone needs to be fresh for forty minutes, and that’s the real reason they need the depth, or as ESPN kept talking about, their bench. What they need is a lot of guys with fresh legs, especially when other teams get tired.

I wasn’t happy when they ended up with the number one ranking, but I was pissed off when I read an ESPN column about when they would lose their first game, and a couple guys picked last night. I certainly don’t expect them to go all through the conference without losing, but suggesting they would lose their very first game as number one was way disrespectful. I’m tired of all these ESPN assholes talking shit on the Cuse this year.

The hell with ESPN; and Go Orange.

Single Malts Direct

2011-12-04T07:19:00.002-05:00

Exactly how did that Rosebank 21 find its way to my home in Rochester, New York? Think of all the trouble we’ve gone to over the past several years to find great whisky shops. We stop along the highway, driving north from Boston, on our way to see G-man in Portland, and pick up a few bargains at the New Hampshire state store. Or when we’re in Boston, we make a point of visiting Joe at Federal. That’s always a treat, because Joe ends up sharing some of his favorite malts, spreading the whisky gospel if you will. Couple years back we made a pilgrimage to some shop in NJ, where they sold Ballechin. It’s always fun to find someplace new, a shop with an interesting inventory, with some hard to find malts, with bargains on great whiskies. But then there’s always the difficulty of getting the whisky home. And in the end, there’s a limit on what we might find. After all, there just wasn’t any Rosebank to be found anywhere, in any of these shops on American soil.

So last weekend, while reading my current issue of Whisky magazine, I saw an add for singlemaltsdirect.com. And to my amazement, when I looked through their on-line catalogue, I found, not only the Classic Malts bottling of Rosebank, about which I have already posted, but two more Rosebanks. Are you kidding me? Three Rosebanks in one catalogue? I flipped out, and wanted to order. However, I was concerned. Single Malts Direct is located somewhere in Scotland (where else?), but was I going to be able to import whisky on my own? The website has a detailed chart for calculating shipping to almost anywhere on the globe, but then there is further information about customs, and duties, and importing, and some scary sounding disclaimers. So in my mind, I pictured myself ordering the Rosebank, but then the order would get stuck at the port of entry, and I’d have to drive four hundred miles to some bonded warehouse and pay a ton of duty, and then have to schlep the whisky home myself. Was it really worth it?

But before abandoning this idea, I sent an email off to singlemaltsdirect.com, and asked a bunch of questions about customs and duty and insurance and the like. And then, a day later, I got an email back from Sheila@singlemaltsdirect.com, who put to rest all my fears. The prices listed in the catalogue included duty; they took care of all the paperwork, including the customs declaration; my only responsibility was insurance against breakage, and although the website didn’t yet have a link for that, Sheila said they would take care of insuring my first order, free of charge. So I figured, what the hell? Let’s give it a try, and I ordered five bottles (yes, I know; that sounds excessive, but who knows whether they’ll have any of these Rosebanks a year from now, when I want to reorder. In fact, as it turned out, I got the very last bottle of one of the offerings.) On Tuesday, I received an email saying that my order had shipped, and then Friday afternoon, when I came home from work, there it was – a big box sitting on my kitchen counter with, you guessed it, five Rosebanks all wrapped up in bubble wrap, or Styrofoam boxes. So there’s two things to point out: 1) This was a turnkey order; I just placed the order, and the whisky came to my house; and 2) it took only three days for a box of whisky to get from the UK to my kitchen in holiday season, when all shipping seems to slow down. Three days --It takes the postal service longer than that to deliver a letter to Manhattan.

Just for the hell of it, take a look at their online catalogue. You’ll find an unbelievable inventory of hard to find malts, independent bottlings, and old age statements. Plus, the prices aren’t bad. I checked out the numbers on a couple whiskies that have gone up in price over the past few years – for example HP 18, or Bunnahabhain 18 – and found their prices to be very competitive. I’m a fan of local shopping; I like to know my purveyor; I like the experience of handling the product; I like the personal attention; and I like to support our local merchants. But for hard-to-find stuff, for malts that just cannot be located in the U.S., I recommend singlemaltsdirect.com. They were as attentive and responsive as any on-line merchant with whom I’ve ever dealt.

Rosebank 21

2011-12-03T15:57:00.003-05:00

We fell in love with Rosebank about six years ago. On a cruise with the boys there was a great whisky bar, called Maltings, and every night we ordered a round of some genre of whisky -- some nights exploring new malts; other nights we tried bourbons or ryes. There was a Rare Malts bottling of 18 year old Rosebank, about which we really knew nothing at all. Not yet educated by Jackson, knowing only those whiskies to which we had been introduced at tastings around town, we had never heard of this lowland malt, which was even then out of production for well over a decade.

But after the first taste, we were hooked. John loved it so much that regardless of what we had drunk earlier in the evening, before retiring each night, he would stop back at Maltings, and order a glass of Rosebank for a nightcap. To our dismay, however, once the cruise ended, and we were back on dry land, there was precious little Rosebank to be found. Keens had a couple offerings, but it wasn’t long before Rosebank disappeared from their list. The boys managed to find a bottle at Federal, and Ben tracked one down here in town, but aside from the sherry aged Gordon & MacPhail, which we have learned to appreciate, but which really tastes more like a highland malt than a typical lowland, there was none to be had. G-Man was given a bottle last summer by a friend returning from Scotland, but I came to doubt that any more Rosebank could be located, except perhaps at auction, here in the States.

Until last week that is, when I discovered that singlemaltsdirect.com will ship whisky into the U.S. I’ll talk more about that in my next posting, but suffice it to say that last night I opened a bottle of 21 year old Rosebank, cask strength, 53.8%, classic malts bottling. And to paraphrase Rudy, I’ve been ready for this whisky all my life.

Rosebank always has a beautiful floral bouquet, but whether from the age, or the fact that it’s cask strength, the nose here is more aromatic than any other whisky I can recall. I can never pick out all those fragrances – you know, lavender and citrus and cherry and all that stuff. All I know is that it smells delicious. And the taste – even more so. At full strength, the whisky is sweet; entirely lacking in smoke, almost no malt, just sweet, like honey. But because it’s Rosebank, there is a peppery bite underneath that sweetness, kind of like a drop of cayenne in the bottom of the glass. I preferred this Rosebank at close to full strength, maybe with a few drops of water, but not really diluted. That way, all the intensity of the flavor seemed to explode in my mouth, almost overpowering my taste buds.

Another nice characteristic of this whisky is the buttery mouth feel. Soft, luxurious, and a great compliment to the explosion of sweetness on the palate. Again, that texture was most noticeable at full strength, another reason why not to water this scotch too much. Lastly, there is a long gracious finish, always a sign of a great whisky. I mean, it just goes on and on. It doesn’t want to quit.

Rosebank is gone; a ‘grievous loss’ according to Jackson. And unlike some other mothballed malts, it’s not coming back. Some real estate developers have turned the distillery grounds into offices or residence, or maybe even a shopping mall. I don’t want to know. The upshot is that there has been no new Rosebank distilled for two decades, and whatever continues to exist in warehouses, or barrels, is slowly but surely disappearing from this world. But at least for the time being, I know that I’ll have the chance to enjoy this heavenly whisky for a little while longer here on earth.

Only About Basketball

2011-12-01T23:35:00.001-05:00

I went to the Dome Tuesday night to see the Orange dominate Eastern Michigan, and for two hours, it was only about basketball. There were no questions about what happened on Coach Boeheim’s watch; there were no new accusations about Bernie Fine; and there were no comments of any kind by Laurie Fine. There was a standing O for the Coach when he followed the players out of the tunnel, and again after the player introductions. The crowd made it very clear that, notwithstanding the prior week’s revelations, they still stood behind him.

Under the direction of new head coach, and former SU assistant, Rob Murphy, Eastern Michigan played the 2-3 zone most of the night, and for the first 15 minutes, that zone defense presented problems for the Orange. It slowed the game way down, allowing the smaller Eagles to stay even with the bigger, more athletic, and more talented Orange. It frustrated Cuse’s ability to run. And it exposed some weakness in the Orange offense. But eventually, SU solved the zone (one would think that Syracuse, of all teams, ought to know how to exploit the 2-3), and once Eastern Michigan began to tire, and stopped hitting their threes, the Orange pulled away and ended up dominating the second half.

There was certainly good news to report from Tuesday night: first of all is the depth of this team. Including the two freshmen, the team is ten deep. At one point in the second half, there were five bench players on the court, and the Orange were pulling away from Eastern Michigan. And it’s not just that the bench contributes; it’s also that the guys coming off the bench challenge the starters to play better. For example, Jardine played a lackluster first half, while Waiters looked great coming off the bench. So when the second half began, Jardine and Triche practically crawled up in the Eagles’ shorts, really amping up the intensity of the man defense, generating turnovers, and in general, playing with much more intensity. I think it happened because the bench had made the starters look bad in the first half.

Other good news is that this team has a number of scoring options from outside the three-point line. Joseph is probably the most consistent scorer, but when he’s on, I think Southerland is the best pure shooter on the team. However, Triche, Waiters and Jardine all have the ability to hit from the outside. In fact, it was Triche who supplied the offense in the first half, when everyone else was cold.

It was also encouraging to see very few turnovers -- only 6 for the game. In part, that was because Eastern Michigan played a pretty passive zone, and didn’t get up on our guards, didn’t challenge them the way Louisville or Nova would. Still, keeping the turnovers down is a recipe for success in any game. The big surprise for me was not that Cuse faced a zone, but that they played a man D for more than half the night. I’m not sure how good the man defense would be against a quicker, more athletic team, but one thing for sure: if Cuse can play the man effectively, even for short stretches, teams won’t be able to prepare for SU quite as easily. It won’t just be about the zone.

At the same time, there was some bad news to report. They still have no real center. Fab Melo may be better this year than last (not saying much) but he is still a work in progress. Keita’s the same. And this year they don’t have option of putting Rick Jackson in the middle to anchor the zone. This weakness was obvious in the first half, when Eastern Michigan kept sneaking inside for easy lay-ups. The Orange towered over the smaller Eagles, but neither Melo nor Keita could clog the lane effectively.

Worse, the Orange have no inside game. There is no one who can play with his back to the basket, no one to dump the ball into down low. Think of all the times over the past couple years, when the offense got cold, but the team could go down low to AO or Jackson. If teams didn’t double on those guys, they could easily score. And if teams did double, then someone was left open for easy jumpers. This year, the scoring will have to come from the outside, or on the break. On a few occasions, one of the guards would get into the lane, and then could dish to one of the big guys under the hoop. But I don’t see much of that happening in Big East play.

As good as they looked at times, I don’t think this is a top five team. I wouldn’t mind seeing them lose to Florida (as irritating as that would be) because they need to lose once or twice before the conference games begin. I always like when the team starts out unranked and disrespected, and comes into the season with a chip on its shoulder. I never like these unrealistic early season rankings.

But the best part of Tuesday night was that, for two hours at least, it was only basketball in the Dome. I’m not suggesting that people should ignore what may have happened, or that this thing should get swept under the rug. But I was glad, for one night, to think about hoops again. Go Orange.

Benriach 12

2011-11-28T23:08:00.000-05:00

It’s not easy any more to find a new single malt Scotch whisky. Whiskies are not like wines; there aren’t thousands of distilleries all over the world. More like a few hundred. And that’s especially true for Scotland. And let’s face it, as good as craft whiskies in the States have become, and as good as the Japanese have become at imitating malt whisky (last week we had a couple of very nice glasses of Yamazaki, the twelve year old offering from Suntory) there really is no place like Scotland for the production of malt whisky. After all, there’s a reason they call it Scotch. So how nice was it to taste a previously unknown, and surprisingly tasty highland malt at the Chophouse last weekend?

According to Jackson, Benriach is a companion distillery to Longmorn; its twin, so to speak. Jackson’s 2004 Complete Guide lists only a ten-year offering from Benriach. The distillery is owned by Chivas brothers, so I’m guessing the whisky has, for the most part been used in the production of blends. We tasted the twelve.

For a Speyside whisky, Benriach is noticeably clean and light. Those among us with the more sensitive and discriminating noses picked up vanilla, honey, crème brulee (crème brulee??) and a hint of citrus. I just thought it tasted like a mild highland malt. It’s perfect for that first whisky of the day, the one you have immediately after walking through the door, when things have been particularly aggravating all afternoon long. But I guess that the time for enjoying Benriach depends on your perspective. Jackson calls the ten year old, a “mid-afternoon malt.” After tasting Benriach at the Chophouse this weekend, and without having seen what Jackson had to say, John proclaimed it, “the perfect breakfast Scotch.” So five o’clock, mid-afternoon, breakfast, whatever…. It’s a good scotch to enjoy before the meal.

I was especially impressed with the long finish. Younger whiskies, particularly those with a light taste, don’t typically come with a long finish. But for such a mild malt, Benriach carried a surprisingly long and satisfying aftertaste. I went on-line to check prices (unfortunately, I did not see it listed at the New Hampshire store) and it appears to be very moderately priced -- consensus seemed to be somewhere in the neighborhood of forty dollars.

We have a number of lowlands in the cabinet, and I also like to stock one or two mild highland whiskies (Dalwhinnie at the moment). But I intend to add Benriach to the cabinet; and I recommend all of you consider doing the same.

Boston’s Best Bars

2011-11-25T11:18:00.002-05:00

The December issue of Whisky Magazine features an article about Boston’s Best Bars.(You mean to say you don’t regularly read Whisky Magazine? What? You prefer the New York Times, or the Economist? Keep in mind that there’s always good news in Whisky Magazine, and these days, rarely any bad news. It was bad news in the early nineties, when they reported that the Rosebank distillery was closing. And it was pretty bad news to hear that some folks may very well be mixing Highland Park with sweetened iced tea, which according to the same December issue, might be happening in venues located in the Far East. But on balance, it’s far more pleasant to read than most other print publications.)

In any event, the article about Boston’s Best spotlights seven establishments, three of which have been the subject of our postings. That’s a pretty good average, considering that I’m not a Boston resident, and have only a few days each year when I’m actually within the Boston city limits. And that means if you are one of the six or seven intermittent readers of this blog, you knew about some of these establishments long before they were publicized in Whisky magazine.

For instance, The Last Hurrah. Not only have we written about The Last Hurrah, but we’ve made it a regular stop on almost all of our Boston visits. John takes us to a variety of eating and drinking establishments, many of which now have terrific cocktail bars. One example would be Eastern Standard in Kenmore Square, where they are doing classic cocktails in a big way, with knowledgeable bartenders and a deep inventory of spirits, liqueurs, aperitifs and mixers. And they have a good selection of whiskies made remarkable by the fact that Hirsch is still available at an affordable price. But for variety of malt whiskies, and more importantly, for the opportunity to drink stuff that’s hard to find elsewhere, the place is the Last Hurrah. Not to mention that the owner, Frank, who is often found behind the bar, really, really knows his stuff. It’s almost impossible to duplicate the experience of talking whisky, drinking great hard-to-find malts, and even learning about new, previously unknown malts.

Unless of course, you walk a couple blocks down toward the waterfront and visit Joe Howell at Federal Wine and Spirits. Federal is not a bar; it’s a retail shop. Still, Whisky Magazine included Federal in its short list of great Boston bars. And maybe they did that because once Joe figures out that you love whisky, it’s hard not to taste a number of different malts before you figure out what to buy. I recall stopping in Federal to look for Rosebank, and being introduced to Bladnoch, the other great lowland distillery, which incidentally has reopened. More recently, Joe has been evangelizing about Glenfarclas, mainly because it is such a great value in today’s overpriced market. And that’s the right term for Joe -- he really is a whisky evangelist, doing his best to spread the good word about all the wonderful spirits he stocks in that tiny little shop.

Whisky Magazine also selected Drink, which is John’s favorite watering hole, in part because it’s only about two blocks from where he lives, but also because they are as fervent about cocktails as Joe and Frank are about whisky. It’s not just the recipe, nor the spirits in the drink, but the mixing technique, the glass, even the shape and quantity of the ice. Attention is paid to every detail, as a result of which, the drinks are fabulous.

Anyway, the point of all this is that you can learn all this important information, not just in Whisky Magazine, but right here in this blog. And you can learn about it much earlier. I know that at least one reader, who formerly resided on Hatherly Road, has been to Federal, and has received personal recommendations from Joe, and as a result has bought some great spirits for loved ones in his family, and he did this a couple years before he could have learned about it from the magazine. So stay tuned for other great whisky news. And also stay tuned for some postings about this year’s Orange crop, which seems to be promising, although it’s admittedly early in the season. More on that to come very soon.

Pasqualoni’s Revenge

2011-11-06T06:37:00.002-05:00

UConn came from behind yesterday to beat the Orange. It was the second road loss in a row, Cuse having fallen to Louisville last week. Now all of that sounds like it might have happened in the thick of the Big East hoops schedule, but the problem was that it was a football story. The Orange are rebuilding their football program, after it was demolished, not merely disassembled, but razed, destroyed, leveled, by the John Robinson era. Last year, a plus five hundred season led to a bowl invitation – the Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium, and SU topped K-State, who by the way carries a top-20 ranking this year, and narrowly lost to number three ranked Oklahoma State yesterday.

Anyway, after starting 5-2 this year, the Orange seemed destined to move up a notch, improve their ranking, and play in a more established bowl game. After all, they had decisively beaten then ranked West Virginia, in what was seen as the biggest home win for the program in half a dozen years. Only it turned out that neither West Virginia, nor the Orange were as good as reported, because both have struggled since then. After WVU, SU lost badly to Louisville; they couldn’t muster a touchdown until late in the game, when things were out of reach. And yesterday, they carried a seven point lead into the fourth quarter, but could not hold that lead.

I was surprised that ESPN downplayed the story, but UConn’s win brought a measure of revenge for its coach, Paul Pasqualoni. Remember when we thought Pasqualoni’s perennial 6-5 records were not good enough? Of course we were then unhappy because Pasqualoni had inherited a top-20 team from Coach Mac, and then had mediocritized that team. In the early nineties we went to a major bowl almost every year, winning six bowl games in a row at one point; but a decade later were struggling to play above five hundred. Still, we didn’t know how good we had it then; or rather, we didn’t really know how bad it could get.

For four years, SU was on average, the worst team in what used to be called Division I-A. (Today it’s FBS, meaning that anyone with a better than five hundred record gets to play in a bowl. That puts last year’s invite in prespective.) Now we’re no longer the worst, but by any major statistical measure, we’re bad, worse than more than half the teams in the country. We’re struggling for wins in a weak conference, and will be lucky if we end up in another low grade bowl game after the season.

Not to make any of my many readers feel bad, but I can recall when we were playing and beating the likes of Florida (Kirby DarDar returned the opening kickoff for a TD, and the Orange never looked back); a Kordell Stewart led Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl; Michigan, in their house; Texas; and even a then-number-one ranked Nebraska, the win that announced Syracuse’s return to big time college football in the eighties. Hard to imagine even playing any of those teams today. Forget about winning. How about even keeping it respectable?

Good thing the hoops season has begun. The Orange are over-ranked, but should be good nonetheless. And if they can get some decent play in the middle, and if someone can step up and shoot the ball with any consistency, well then maybe they’ll have a chance at road wins when they go to UConn and Louisville. Those will be ranked teams for sure, UConn being the defending national champ. So those road wins would count heavily when the RPI wizards are trying to figure out tournament bids and seeding. But losing to UConn and Louisville on consecutive weeks in the football season? It’s only a measure of how far the program has fallen.

Baseball Karma

2011-10-30T15:38:00.002-04:00

Game Six of the World Series, and the visiting team is up by two runs. In the ninth inning. There are two outs, and two strikes. And the visitors are one pitch away from winning their first Series…. Does any of this have a familiar ring to anyone? The difference was that in 1986, no one was on base when Calvin Schiraldi began to melt down. This year, there were two men on base, but still, the Rangers were only a pitch away.

Then it happened again in the bottom of the tenth inning. But in the tenth, by the time there were two outs and two strikes, the Cards had already scored once, and were only one run down. But there it was again; another pitch that could have meant the Rangers' very first World Series championship.

So what I’m wondering about is whether Rangers fans are more miserable than Sox fans? Right now—probably yes. They had a great run in September, and for much of October, but what’s it going to be like from November through March? I guess I would have rather melted down in September than to have waited until Game Six. The Rangers' bullpen, which had been so dominant against the Tigers, had a collective ERA over seven during the Series. That sounds familiar. Right?

The Cardinals, however, were the reason that Sox fans kept hoping, until the season’s very last blown save, for things to turn around. St. Louis snuck into the post-season on the very last day of the season, and only managed that with some considerable help from the Atlanta Braves. Of course, they fought their way into the playoffs, and that’s a much better harbinger of a successful post-season, than what the Sox were trying to do – back into the playoffs with a losing September by winning a couple games here and there. I can’t imagine that, even if the Sox had secured the wild card, they would have been able to make a run like the Cardinals did.

The Rangers all seem to be pretty good guys – Ron Washington especially. At times, I felt bad for them as Game Seven slipped inexorably out of their reach. But the problem was that whole high-fiving routine with George Bush in the owners’ box. I think that’s bad luck for the Rangers, and Nolan Ryan would be well advised to have the Bushes hanging out in some luxury box somewhere, behind tinted glass, and far from the spotlight. See, when Bush and Ryan started celebrating, there were so many haters who couldn’t stand to see that, and then those haters collectively summoned up just a smidgen of bad karma. The next thing you know, Nelson Cruz didn’t go all out after Freese’s line drive. Two runs scored; the game was tied; and there just wasn’t enough residual karma for the Rangers’ bullpen to hold off the Cards.

Oh well, as we in RedSox Nation are so used to saying…. Wait till next year. I’m just guessing about this, but there’s probably a lot of that going around Texas right now.

Hurricane Irene

2011-10-16T12:57:00.003-04:00

It was Saturday, August 27, and we were driving home, just ahead of Hurricane Irene. Even though we got caught in torrential rains on Route 128, the leading edge of Irene having reached New England that Saturday, the Sox still managed to play two complete games before the worst of the storm arrived. And they won both ends of that double-header, shutting out the Oakland As in the second game. Bedard, Aceves and the relievers held the As to only three hits. At the end of the day, Boston was thirty-one games over .500, and as any loyal reader knows, that’s the magic number. Thirty games over .500 leaves a team at 96-66 at the end of the season, and ninety-six wins gets a team to the post-season. Plus, from the time the Sox had ended their season-opening sleepwalk, they had compiled the very best record in all of baseball. As far as any of us could tell, 2011 looked more promising than any year since 2007.

But Hurricane Irene seemed to wreck all that. By the time the rains and wind had stopped, the Sox were as devastated as any area of New England, even if we could not see it quite yet. I’m not going to dissect the September swoon -- the errors, the bullpen meltdowns, the alarming September ERA of the starting rotation. What’s the point?

We went to the park on September 20 - a Tuesday - to see the Sox play the Orioles. When I got those tickets in August, it seemed a certainty that there would be a celebratory air in Fenway that night. Even if the Sox slipped to .500 ball, by September 20, they should have had the wild card wrapped up. And with all those games against Baltimore in September, while the Yankees and Rays had to play each other over and over, the schedule seemed to be smiling on Boston. As it turned out, by the time we got to Fenway, the lead had melted away, and there were consistent signs of an epic collapse. In fact,we saw pretty much the entire swoon in that one night:

In the third inning, Saltalamacchia dropped a third-strike foul tip, keeping Andino’s at bat alive; he then singled to start the inning. Later on, after one run had scored, Guerrero hit a line drive into right field that Reddick dropped. A run scored on that error, but two more scored later in the inning with two outs. That was five outs for the Orioles in that inning, and even the worst team in the AL manages to score runs when you give them five outs.

But even with that four-run third, the Orioles trailed late in the game. Until the eighth inning. That was when Bard and Pap loaded the bases, before Pap gave up a three-run double. I can’t figure Bard at all. At one point in the season, he went around 23 innings without giving up a run. But in September, his ERA was over 10, and he ended the season at 2-9. Pap too had a deceptive year. Even though he blew only three saves, he seemed to turn many easy save opportunities into heart-stopping, nail-biting dramas.

And as if all that weren’t enough, now we have the Boston Globe expose with tales about pitchers drinking beer and eating pizza in the clubhouse during games; Tito departing under peculiar circumstances; did management force him out? And now Theo is apparently leaving for the Cubs. Boston didn’t really have a bad year; all they had was one terrible month. So the response to that terrible month was to disassemble the team that had won two World Series championships after an eighty-six year drought? I mean, maybe Tito had a bad year, but it wasn’t Tito melting down on the mound in late innings. And it wasn’t Tito dropping line drives in the outfield. I’m mixed on Theo’s departure, because it’s still not clear he was anything other than lucky. The heart of this current RedSox team came up through the farm system -- Pedroia, Ellsbury, Lester. Papi was signed before Theo showed up. And for every good free agent signed -- Schilling and Foulke for example -- there were at least two high priced lemons -- J.D. Drew, Lackey (the worst starter in the AL this year) and Carl Crawford. So if Theo takes the Cubs to the world series, he’s a genius; and if they stay mediocre or worse, he was just in the right place at the right time.

Meanwhile, it sure looks like the Haters Ball gets hosted in Rochester for the foreseeable future. G-Man better keep his car tuned up, because he’s going to making that drive on a regular basis. And I didn’t even mention Cuse moving to the ACC. But that’s enough troubling news for one post. Is it any wonder I haven’t been able to write since August???

Back in First

2011-08-08T19:38:00.002-04:00

After last night’s comeback, the Sox having taken two of three, they were back in first place in the AL East, a game up on the Yankees, and nine games up in the wild card standings. Better than that, the series reminded the Sox of two important things: one, that they can hit Sabathia, the Yankees ace, who has been virtually unbeatable against the rest of the American League, but who has been a different pitcher entirely when he faces the Sox. I don’t think it’s because of the Boston lineup; they’ve had their problems against a number of AL pitchers. Look at the job Freddy Garcia did on them last night. No, I think it’s something in Sabathia’s head; for some reason he just doesn’t have the same confidence pitching against the Red Sox. And whatever that problem is, I hope he doesn’t get it fixed any time soon.

The second thing was perhaps even more important, and that’s that Mariano is mortal. I know that he blew a couple saves back in 2004, but that was a long time ago, and an almost entirely different lineup. These guys, the young guys, they have to know that even when Rivera is on the mound, they still have a chance. It’s hard to think of Dustin Pedroia having a crisis of confidence, even if he was facing Sandy Koufax. But Rivera has been so good for so long, you never know. So I was glad to see them not only win last night, but come back against Rivera to tie it up in the bottom of the ninth.

Still, nothing was settled last night, other than one game out of 162. Yes, they seem to have a lot of heart this year; there have been a number of walk-off wins over the past few weeks. And the lineup continues to look strong, top to bottom -- Scutaro getting the lead-off double in the ninth against Rivera; and Reddick getting the game winner in the tenth. The bullpen seems to have steadied itself. And if Buckholz can come back, then they’ll have their rotation again; Wake has really filled in great for a number five starter. But there are another fifty games to play before the post-season. So let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Go Sox.

Billy Collins

2011-08-07T13:11:00.001-04:00

He sounds like he should be playing second base for the Red Sox – Billy Collins. As it turns out he’s a poet. Now I have been a reader for close to five decades, ever since some kid lent me The Lord of the Flies. But in all that time, I’ve never really enjoyed or appreciated poetry. Even with the guidance of my man Bloom, who reawakened my interest in the classics, and who was clearly willing to take me step by step through the canonical poets, I never seemed to get much out of it. I did read Leaves of Grass, much of it aloud to John when he was an infant. Here he was, all of six days old, and I was reading him I Sing the Body Electric. But I only remember that poem because it had such a great title. And after much work, I guess I was able to appreciate Whitman’s masterpiece , When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed, but would I reread it for sheer enjoyment, the way I might watch Casablanca for the seventy-fifth time? I don’t think so.

Anyway, my friend Steve stopped by one night to have a couple scotches, and brought this little book of poetry, from which he read aloud. At first I thought that Steve was slightly off his rocker, because, really, Poetry? But after the whisky, and after Steve and the lovely Sheila had gone home, and I spent some time alone with the book – it’s entitled Sailing Alone Around the World, and is sort of a greatest hits volume -- I was amazed to find how much I enjoyed the guy.

Collins is at his best when his poems are about nothing much at all, just a different way of looking at things. There is a zany, absurdist element in many of the early poems that I found most enjoyable. And he tells us about his unpretentious approach in one of his earlier poems, entitled, appropriately, Introduction to Poetry:

………..

I say drop a mouse into a poem

And watch him probe his way out,

Or walk inside the poem’s room,

And feel the walls for a light switch.

…………

But all they want to do

Is tie the poem to a chair with rope

And torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose

To find out what it really means.

Later in life, whether he felt the weight of having been selected Poet Laureate, or just because he was older and saw life slipping away, his stuff became heavier, more serious, darker, less fun. I was making a list of all the poems I wanted to go back and reread, and I found that as time passed, I was adding fewer and fewer poems to the list. Maybe they were just as good, but I didn’t feel like reading about loss and death. Or maybe as a serious poet, he just didn’t feel like he could write about some dog barking his way through Beethoven’s Seventh, and ending up in the orchestra, in the oboe section. Maybe when you’re a serious poet laureate, you just can’t write that kind of goofy stuff any more.

Anyway, when this blog opened in 2005, one of its topics was supposed to be the essays of Michel de Montaigne. Over the years, whisky and baseball have pretty much squeezed literature off the page. But I’m glad to be able to return to that subject every now and then. And I was really glad to have found, at this advanced age, that there was something new and different for me to enjoy. Thanks Steve.

The Haters Ball

2011-08-06T13:23:00.003-04:00

As everyone knows, for the past few years the venue for the Haters Ball has been Keens Chophouse, where else? But with G-Man no longer living in Jersey, it became necessary to rethink the Ball. After much consideration, and through the kind of consensus-building that apparently can now occur only outside the Washington Beltway, we decided that the loser would host the Ball, but that the winner would have to travel. The result was, I’d like to think, a dinner every bit as good as Keens, and even if the selection of scotches wasn’t quite as broad, we still did pretty good in the whisky drinking department. Danny came up with the additional touch that the loser should also wear the winning team’s gear, in one fashion or another. And so here you have it; I am decked out in a Yankees cap, and receiving the affections of one of their fans, whether because I am wearing the cap, or just because this was after much red wine and malt whisky, I really don’t know. But this is the kind of thing that can happen at the Haters Ball.

Speaking of haters, the Sox and the Yankees are back at it this weekend in Fenway, and off to a bad start. The series opened with Lester on the mound for the Sox, and he had not previously lost to New York. The Yankees started with Colon, so one would think that the opening game favored the Red Sox. But New York’s bullpen shut the door on Boston’s lineup; Lester gave up three runs in the sixth inning; and the Yankees took game one, by a score of 3 to 2. The upshot is that New York now leads the AL East.

Later this afternoon, Sabathia faces off with Lackey, and on paper at least, that doesn’t even seem close. (It would be close if all they did was compare contracts; Lackey after all is the best paid five hundred pitcher in the universe.) So Boston will either need a miracle, or a strong outing from Beckett tomorrow night in order to prevent a sweeep. Carl Crawford was quoted this morning to the effect that the race will go down to the wire. That’s probably true; and it should also mean that one of these two teams will be hosting the first game of the ALDS, and the other will go on the road as the wild card. In either event, Go Sox.

Ellsbury

2011-08-04T12:27:00.002-04:00

How hot has Jacobi Ellsbury been of late? Last night, for the second night in a row, Ellsbury beat the Indians with a walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth. Tuesday night, it was a single with two men on base, Saltalamacchia sliding home around the tag; and last night, it was a two-out home run into the first row of the center field bleachers. Thank goodness no one paid any attention to the pundits who speculated that Ellsbury might be trade bait after his unproductive 2010. Those broken ribs look like ancient history right now. As soon as JD Drew's contract expires, I think that job one for Theo is to sign Ellsbury to another one of those long term contracts he used to lock up Pedroia and Youkilis. Boston should keep this guy at the head of their order for as long as possible.

In case anyone hasn't noticed, Ellsbury is among the American League leaders in a number of offensive stats. Fourth in stolen bases, but that's what every one would expect. Third in hits, with a .317 average, and that's what everyone would want from a lead-off guy in this lineup. Second in runs, and that's no surprise for a guy batting in front of Pedroia and Gonzalez. But how about fifth in doubles, and better yet, ninth in on-base-plus-slugging? Not bad for a speedy lead-off batter. After last night, he's got 18 home runs, and 65 RBIs, to go with all those runs. No wonder the Sox are leading the league in runs scored.

It was too bad Wakefield didn't get his 200th win, especially because he pitched pretty well. But at least he kept things close for Boston, allowing the team once again to walk off with a win. Wake will get that two hundredth before too long. Wakefield just celebrated his 45th birthday, so he's got at least another ten years to go before he thinks about hanging up his spikes and glove.

Despite having played great in July, and even with the best record in the American League, Boston has not opened up any room between them and the Yankees. As predicted, the pennant race has stayed neck and neck. Big series coming up this weekend that will determine who leads the AL East. It would be nice if Ellsbury stayed on fire all through that series. That, and some good outings from the starters. Go Sox.

2011 Whisky Lovers Ball

2011-08-01T20:04:00.003-04:00

It’s that time of the year. Every summer, at the height of the grilling season, when the days are long, and the evenings remain warm, the whisky lovers gather for smoked fish, red meat, good red wine, fellowship, and of course, lots of single malt scotch whisky. So last weekend, when G-Man was in town, we convened the whisky lovers for that mid-summer culinary celebration.

We began with the fish -- trout, sockeye salmon, and best of all, steelhead -- all of which had been smoked in the Weber Bullet. Naturally, everyone loved the fish. I hate to be tooting my own horn here, but it’s more a function of the Bullet, which allows one to smoke at low temperatures, keeping the fish moist, not overdone. And that steelhead especially absorbs the hickory smoke and comes out so tasty. We paired the fish with a selection of before-dinner whiskies. I made everyone taste an eighteen (see my earlier post) and then opened up the selection. The whisky lovers were just about evenly divided between Bladnoch -- a sixteen-year-old Signatory bottling that I found at Century a couple years back, and the new William Larue Weller bourbon that Mike had recommended. It’s 125 proof, so either it needs to be watered, or else drunk on the rocks. Either way, it was a big hit among those of us who might have preferred to drink an American whisky so close to the Fourth of July.

Next, we served grilled quail over a bed of greens -- the salad course. The quail had been marinated in red wine and spices for a couple days, and the trick was to cook those tiny birds through (served them about medium, not too well done) without charring the outsides. I’ll need more practice before I get this down just right, but all in all they came out pretty good, and were well received. At least nobody complained out loud. I know we should have served a light bodied red, or even a white wine, maybe a white bordeaux, with this course, but who among the whisky lovers wants to drink white wine? (Actually, I did purchase a chardonnay for a couple of the gals, who preferred a glass of wine instead of a cocktail before dinner.) Anyway, I opened a bottle of Bonny Doon, Le Pousseur, which was a big hit. More on this later in the posting. Bonny Doon is one of the Rhone Rangers, and this particular bottle came courtesy of John and Mike, whose contributions to the ball did not go unnoticed.

But as good as the fish and quail were, the whisky lovers come for their red meat. So after a decent interval, we grilled some big fat strip steaks, which had been rubbed with brown sugar and a nameless Israeli red rub. Spicy and sweet on the outside, tender and juicy throughout. We washed the steaks down with a 2007 Chateauneuf-de-Pape - very nice. But here’s the thing -- as good as the Chateauneuf was, the Bonny Doon was every bit as good, maybe even better. More fruit and less earth, as you would expect from a California Syrah. But rich full flavor, perhaps more complex than the French wine. This is a very nice Syrah at a pretty reasonable price. Highly recommended.

After dinner, out came the smoky scotches -- Ballechin for Tony; Bunnahabhain for Dr. Ron (and for Danny); Lagavulin and Laphroaig. And then, after everyone had enjoyed a dram or two, not to mention some of the two wonderful fruit crisps that a couple of the gals had contributed, we capped off the evening with a taste of Talisker 25. I’ve come to realize that these great whiskies taste best when they’re shared. And who better to share them with than the whisky lovers -- guys who really appreciate good malt whisky?

It was great having G-Man here for the ball, and there is yet another posting to come, because as it turned out, what with our schedules and everything, this evening had a dual purpose. Two balls in one, so to speak. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I love these evenings with the whisky lovers, folks who really enjoy good food and beverages. Sometime this fall, when Danny is back in business, we’re going to convene the whisky lovers at Good Luck for another long evening of eating, drinking, and good cheer. Maybe the leaves will have turned, and maybe there will even be some snow on the ground. But even if it’s cold outside, I know it will be warm and inviting around the table. And no one will go home hungry or thirsty.

Lester

2011-07-31T13:35:00.002-04:00

Regardless of how this afternoon’s game ends up, Boston has had a great July. At this moment, after snapping Chicago’s winning steak last night, the Red Sox are now 19-6 for the month. And the remarkable thing about that record is that they played so well with a patchwork starting rotation. With only Beckett to anchor the staff; with an inconsistent John Lackey, an apparently ageless Tim Wakefield, and some journeymen substitute starters, the Sox still managed to pull a couple games ahead of the Yankees, and more importantly, to put some real distance between themselves and the other wild card challengers.

The did this mostly by pounding the ball, by piling on the runs, so that mediocre pitching performances were often good enough to generate wins. In eight games in July alone, Boston scored ten or more runs. They often needed that run production -- for example, when they beat the Mariners 12-8, or the Royals 13-9. Ellsbury and Pedroia were on fire for most of the month. Ortiz and Youk hit well, and Gonzalez, even though he stopped hitting home runs, maintained his average and continued to knock in runs. Even the lower part of the order contributed.

So I was encouraged last night when Jon Lester returned to the mound, and pitched eight strong innings. He had eight strikeouts and a single walk (always a good indicator when that ratio is so high), and gave up only a couple runs on two solo homers. Lester’s ERA is now just a touch above three, and while that’s a full point higher than Beckett’s, it’s still a pretty good number for the AL. A healthy and dominant Lester means that the Sox rotation now features two strong starters, one righty and one lefty. And if they stay healthy, that’s as strong a right-left combination as any American League team. Meaning that, in any five or seven game series, the Nation can depend on good pitching in the first two games. After that, of course, the bats will need to heat up, as they did this past month. But now if Buckholz can get healthy..... OK, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

The priority right now is to stay healthy. The second priority is to find one more starter. Maybe Buckholz comes back; maybe Lackey becomes more consistent (I’m really dreaming now); and the third priority is for the bullpen to settle down. I’m not asking for a miracle here, just for them to pitch more consistently, as Bard did this past month. Then maybe their winning ways will continue in August. Go Sox.

Rosebank 20

2011-07-27T20:46:00.003-04:00

Several years back, before the origin of this blog, and before any of us knew much about malt whisky, we took the guys on a Carribean cruise. On one of the decks, there was an area with a series of bars, one right up next to the other. (It’s always useful to have a lot of bars on a cruise ship.) And one of the bars, called Maltings, was a whisky bar.

Despite our general ignorance, we knew enough to know that we liked good whisky, and we had already staked out our respective preferences. John and I were primarily Scotch drinkers; we were beginning to enjoy the pleasures of single malt Scotch whisky. Michael was more a Bourbon man. But that was fine, as Maltings had a fairly impressive listing of all whiskies. And so every evening, right after dinner, we would adjourn to the bar, and order a round -- a flight of whiskies for everyone to taste. And it was on that cruise ship that we first drank Rosebank. It was a Rare Malts bottling; I think it was eighteen years old. We took to it so quickly that every night, late at night, long after Susan and I had retired, John would return to Maltings and treat himself to one more Rosebank. I think they charged all of $8 for each pour.

Now it’s 2011, and it’s no longer possible to find any Rosebank; at least not from any of the usual sources. It’s gone from Keen’s menu; Joe rarely has any in stock at Federal. So imagine how excited I was when G-Man told me that a family friend had brought him a bottle when returning from Scotland. Not only that, but he was bringing that very bottle to Rochester, to share a dram or two.

It was another Rare Malts bottling -- this one twenty years old. Cask strength; 62.3%; distilled in 1981. As soon as the bottle was opened, we knew it was Rosebank -- that big floral nose. We tasted it first at full strength, and despite the high alcohol content, it was still light and fruity, a wonderful lowland malt. But with a little water to open it up, and then a little more water to put out the fire, I found it reminiscent of that first great Rosebank we had drunk while floating through the Carribean. The interesting characteristic of Rosebank is a spicy, almost peppery aftertaste. It’s subtle; one could almost miss it. But underneath the herbal, flowery flavor is this hint of spice, a little kick at the end of each taste. This twenty was also noteworthy for its rich, buttery texture, kind of a soft velvet mouth-feel. Very nice. And a long finish, as you would expect from a twenty year old malt.

We drank a lot of great whisky all weekend; there are many more postings to come. But this one malt was really something special. Thanks G-Man; what could be better than sharing a pour of this favorite malt with an old, old friend?

Drinking 18s for Danny

2011-07-26T19:59:00.003-04:00

G-Man came for a visit. And even though he was here for under forty-eight hours, there are so many things to post about. (So little time; so much whisky!!) But first things first.

Danny could not be here, even though G-Man’s visit meant that the Haters Ball, and the Whisky Lovers Ball were going to be held, simultaneously, in Rochester. And worse, Danny was not able to share in the many malts we sampled during G-Man’s visit.

So to make up for that, we tried to drink only whiskies that we felt Danny would enjoy. (I know what you’re thinking: what is the whisky that Danny would not enjoy? But what I meant was, that we wanted to drink whisky that Danny would really enjoy. Okay?) And we made a special point of drinking eighteens. L’Chaim.

Here you see Laphroaig 18, one of the newer offerings from Laphroaig -- that special combination of brine and peat, only made silky smooth and mellow by all that time in the barrel. Then we had the HP 18, always an excellent choice, if not the very best possible all around choice. I mean, how can you go wrong drinking HP 18? And of course, we drank the elegant and elusive Bunnahabhain 18. It’s Danny’s favorite, and really, it’s hard to find a whisky that tops this malt. That buttery texture, and that impossible-to-describe Bunnahabhain flavor, with some mysterious spice that lurks deep inside the flavor of the malt. Yum!

Anyway, Danny, I know you’re stuck in New York right now, but I want you to know you were here in our hearts. Every time we raised one of those 18s, we thought of you. Go Danny.

Neck and Neck

2011-07-21T20:23:00.002-04:00

Boston came out of the all-star break with a six day road trip. And while the Sox have had their road woes in years past, not so this year. They took two of three from the Rays, who recently were challenging for the wild card, and then two of three from the Orioles, who presumably were all fired up over the Ortiz-Gregg incident up in Fenway. They are now 28-12 against the always tough AL East. However, despite their road successes, they are still locked in a virtual dead heat with the Yankees, and it looks like things will remain that way for the foreseeable future.

The good news is that, what with Boston and New York beating up on Tampa Bay, the Sox enjoy an eight game cushion over the nearest wild card challenger, even if there is no visible space between them and the Yankees at the top of the standings. It’s always nice to have home field advantage in the playoffs, but they have won it all from the wild card position, as have other teams in the past decade. So really, the big thing is to make it to the post-season; if, and only if they are playoff bound should any of us be worrying about whether they also win the AL East.

Some other good news is that they have managed to maintain winning ways with a patchwork rotation. Andrew Miller won the last game for them, tossing shutout ball for almost six innings. Honestly, I could not have told anyone who Andrew Miller was a month ago; in fact, I still I don’t think I can say who he is. Only that he has bounced around both leagues for the past several years, and has filled in admirably for the Sox, what with most of the starters out with a variety of ailments. Another bit of good news is that Boston continued to win with Papi serving his three-game suspension.

More good news can be found in Carl Crawford’s return to the lineup; not only that, but he was productive in the Baltimore series. So that’s a definite upgrade. Ellsbury and Pedroia continue to play so hot that Boston has had to hire extra firefighters to hang around Fenway as a precautionary measure. And with Reddick playing well, JD Drew has been serving more time on the bench, another upgrade to the lineup. Addition by subtraction. (I can’t wait for his fourteen million a year to get freed up for signing other players, such as the aforementioned Ellsbury.) Anyway, next week, Lester is scheduled to return, and then all they need is a healthy Buckholz, and their rotation should return to normal.

I have been badmouthing the bullpen, but they pitched very well on this last road trip. Bard particularly has been looking good. So I would be more than happy to eat all my words on that topic.

The Mariners and Royals are coming to town, and although neither has been playing well of late --Seattle especially is mired in a long losing streak -- Boston has played poorly against a number of lousy teams this year. Not only that, but King Felix has a long history of giving everyone fits in Fenway. So they need to stay on their game; the bats need to stay hot; Papi needs to stay all fired up; and Lester needs to be healthy. That’s all. And as usual, in closing, let’s just say, Go Sox.

Beckett is Back

2011-07-18T12:56:00.002-04:00

He's back. And for the second time this year in the Trop, Beckett tossed a one-hit shutout. Last night, however, even though he went eight full innings, he didn't pick up the win, as it took Boston sixteen - and close to six hours - to push its first run across. And although the pen wasn't quite as good as Beckett, they didn't allow any runs in the eight innings they pitched. So, at around two o'clock Monday morning, Boston added another game to the win column, and left Tampa Bay having won another road series.

That last fact was a big one. The second half of the season opened with a road trip against two AL East rivals. Boston held a narrow lead over the Yankees; and they had to start the second half of the season with a journeyman on the mound. And then things didn't look so great when Andrew Miller gave up a bunch of runs in the first couple innings of the first game of the second half of the season. But thanks to the bats in game two, and then thanks to Beckett and the pen last night, Boston took two of three from the Rays, maintaining their lead over the Yankees. The same Yankees who must now play four games in the Trop; and let's hope they and the Rays split the series, two and two. Let's also hope they Sox play well in Baltimore, which promises to be an emotional series, what with the recent altercation between Papi and Gregg.

The other big news from last night was that Beckett appears not to have suffered anything serious from that hyperextended knee that occurred in his last abreviated outing. I like not only that Beckett shut down the Rays, but that he did not give up a single walk. I think one can tell alot about Beckett's overall performance just from the number of walks he issues. And all season long, he's had three Ks for every walk, with that ratio improving dramatically in his best outings.

Of course, the other key to last night's win was the bullpen, who collectivley performed well above my expectations. Special recognition should go to Aceves, who ate up three of the pen's eight innings, without surrendering a single hit. Even Morales was on for a change, retiring four straight.

So it's on to Baltimore, and the Sox not only want to maintain winning ways, but also take advantage of the Rays-Yankees series, by putting some more distance between them and the next eligible wild card team. The first game of that series is tonight, meaning most everyone will be tired. Except of course Pedroia, who seems to be some kind of incarnation of the Energizer Bunny. Like Ernie Banks, he'd probably like to play two. Go Sox.

Pimm’s No. 1

2011-07-17T07:01:00.003-04:00

With the late arrival of summer in western New York, we really didn’t get into the barbeque season until around the July Fourth weekend. But I am now pleased to report that the pit is fully operational, and that we have enjoyed a variety of dishes, both from the grill and the smoker. Plans are to post, somewhat retrospectively, on a few of these specialties, but for now, I want to mention a summertime cocktail that goes well with the barbeque season.

It’s the very old-fashioned, but recently revived Pimm’s Cup, the main ingredient of which is Pimm’s No. 1. Pimm’s has been around forever. (I recall Pimm’s from the old days; it was one of those esoteric drinks that my dad stocked, but sold only on rare occasions.) It originated in London in the early nineteenth century, developed by the owner of an oyster house, who created the drink in order to make gin, which was then apparently quite harsh and unpleasant, more palatable. Over the years its popularity waxed and waned, but it’s now enjoying a resurgence, part of the classic cocktails renaissance, but also perhaps because the brand has been acquired by our favorite spirits conglomerate: Diageo -- owners of Lagavulin, Talisker, and Johnny Walker. Its recipe remains a deep, dark, closely guarded secret, but it’s a light spirit (25%), with a tangy, slightly citrus flavor. Perhaps a touch of bitters in there somewhere.

The Pimm’s Cup, as I was introduced to it by John, and as it’s served most frequently in this country, is a shot of Pimm’s No. 1 in a tall glass, over ice with ginger ale, and a slice of cucumber to garnish. The British, and the official Pimm’s website, recommend mixing the Pimm’s with lemonade, but in honor of our independence, recently celebrated, we drink it our own way, although the ginger ale recipe is also recognized as an accepted variation on the drink. (I think some places serve it with a strong ginger beer, so there are more variations.) In any event, it’s really perfect for a hot summer day -- great cocktail to get things started, for when you’re thirsty, and likely to down the entire glass in just a couple minutes. When a straight whisky, even one chased by a glass of cold water, might be a bit too much. Think of it as a replacement for a cold beer. Now go get that Weber fired up; it’s going to be another hot day.

The All-Star Break

2011-07-14T09:50:00.004-04:00

Here is a pop quiz: What are the two days every year when there are no games played in any of the American major league sports? It's not Christmas, and it's certainly not Thanksgiving, a holiday that is now dedicated to watching football. It's not Valentine's day, nor even Purim. No, it's the day before and the day after Major League Baseball's All-Star Game, which everyone will agree turned out the wrong way this summer, giving the National League home field advantage come October. In any event, since today is one of those two days (disclaimer: I wrote this last night, but technical difficulties prevented me from loading it) and since no one has played since Sunday, that gives us a chance to look back on the first half of 2011. Actually, it's more than the first half of the season; we are already ninety games in, with only seventy-two more to play before the end of the regular season.

Right now, the Sox are sitting twenty games above five hundred, playing at just over a six hundred clip. If they can maintain that pace through September, they will certainly end up playing in the post-season. The biggest reason Boston's record is so good is that they have dominated the tough AL East, going 24-10 against their division rivals so far this year. But the funny thing is that, as well has they have played within the division, and as tough as that division is this year (like most recent years), they have underachieved against many of the lousier teams that they have played. They went 0-2 against the lowly Padres; 1-2 against Seattle; and 1-2 against the Pirates, although that may not be a good example, because the Pirates might not be that bad any more. But if Boston wants to end up playing in October, they will have to do better in the second half against teams with losing records. By year's end, I expect that their season series with the Yankees will even out, and to make up for those losses, the Sox have to beat the likes of KC, Seattle and Oakland. And by the way, it doesn't hurt that their road record is as good (actually a bit better) than their record at home this year. In years past, the Sox could dominate at Fenway, but then struggle on the road. This year, home or road, it doesn't seem to matter too much.

The other reason they have played so well is that, after the coldest start I can remember, with half the team hitting below two hundred for the first couple weeks in April, the bats have come alive. Boston is hammering the ball all over the place. They lead the majors in many batting stats: the most runs and hits; the highest batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage. How many games have they scored ten or more runs? So even if the pitching has let them down at times (see below) the bats have more than made up for that. I like that they have power from both sides of the plate. I like that they hit for average all up and down the line-up. If Crawford can get healthy again, I like that they have speed on the basepaths. Ellsbury is having a great lead-off season; Gonzalez and Youk are knocking in runs; Papi looks like the Papi of old. With one or two exceptions (there is an exception to all these observations), there aren't any easy outs in this lineup. One through nine can give opposing pitchers fits.

On the other hand, the pitching, which was supposed to carry the team this year, has been less than spectacular. In part, that's because there have been a number of little injuries, and really, they haven't had an intact starting rotation all season. But beyond that, even when they've had the starters healthy, guys have been inconsistent. Lester has looked great more often than not, but he's had some outings when he gave up a bunch of runs. Same for Buckholz. Both were pitching well, but neither was dominant. Lackey has been far more consistent-- but unfortunately, he's been consistently lousy. Last time out, however, he showed everyone the kind of pitcher he can be, and the kind of pitcher that Boston will need if they make the post-season; but he needs to show us that far more often. Beckett has been the real stopper this year; he is the only guy on the staff with an impressive ERA, and he has been the most dependable shutdown pitcher on the roster. I'm worried about that little knee injury he suffered in his last start. No one seems to be making a big deal about that, but little injuries have become nagging problems in years past. Let's hope that he, and Lester, and Buckholz come back healthy after the break. We don't really need shutouts, not with this line-up. (Not that anyone would kick a shutout out of bed.) But if the starters can just limit the opposition, say hold them to a few runs, on most nights the bats can win those games.

The biggest worry, however, is with the bullpen. Unfortunately, Boston does not have a single reliable reliever this year. Pap has looked good at times, but has also looked terrible at other times. How often has he given the Nation a collective heart attack, putting guys in scoring position before somehow managing to get out of the inning? Or how often has he been handed a nice cushion, only to allow a run or two before closing the game out? I don't see that inconsistency as a recipe for success in the post-season. (Think back to Keith Foulke in 2004. I don't think Foulke allowed a single earned run in the post-season until late in the Series, when it really didn't matter that much any more.) Bard has been the most consistent, and he sports the only respectable ERA among the relievers; but he has converted only one save opportunity this year, meaning that the team really can't turn to him as the closer. Not yet, at least. Albers looked great for a while, but has faltered in the last month or so. Aceves has occasionally looked good in middle relief, but has just as often looked lousy. Plus, there isn't a decent lefty in the pen. So that does not give me a good feeling for October. Remember how great the pen was in 2004 and 2007? Remember fourteen innings of shutout relief in Games Four and Five in the 2004 ALCS? How about Oki retiring seven straight in Game Two of the 2007 series, with Boston clinging to a one-run lead. Who's going to do any of that this year?

Okay. So here's what needs to happen in the second half of 2011. Crawford's hamstring has to heal. And the starters -- Lester, Beckett and Buckholz -- they have to stay healthy. No serious injuries either. And someone has to find some mojo for the relievers. Where is Austin Powers when we need him most? If the Sox can manage those few chores, then everyone in the Nation can enjoy the rest of the regular season. We'll worry about the post-season, and how the bullpen will perform, if and when we get there. Until then, let's just leave it as this: Go Sox.

The Fifteen Million Dollar Man

2011-07-10T16:43:00.002-04:00

Last night John Lackey went six and two-thirds innings, and did not give up any runs. It was only the second time all season that Lackey had held the opposition scoreless; and the first time that happened since April. It was an especially welcome performance, coming after he gave up seven runs in less than three innings, putting the Sox in a hole out from which they could not climb, even when they scored seven late runs. So last night, by keeping the Orioles off the board, he allowed Boston to win without having to put up double figures on the scoreboard.

Not that they haven’t been able to do that. They put up ten runs against Baltimore two nights in a row, to start this series. And they’ve managed to score ten or more runs in nine games since the first of June. With all that run production, the Sox have masked the fact that their pitching staff is all banged up right now. Dice-K gone for the season; Lester and Buckholz on the DL. Lackey had his own injury troubles earlier in the year, and Beckett, who has been this year’s ace, tweaked his knee the other night, although everyone seems to insist that he’s fine. So I guess, looking on the bright side, it’s an accomplishment that the Sox are leading the AL East, without a full rotation. And for the most part, notwithstanding Lackey’s nice performance last night, that’s a result of the bats coming alive, and not the pitching.

But this Lackey thing makes me wonder: Is Theo really as smart as everyone says, or could any one of Boston’s knowledgeable fans have done just as well in the free agent market? What’s Theo’s batting average? JD Drew -- five years for fourteen million a year -- that’s a strikeout. Gagne, Jencks, Matt Clement -- out, out, out. Dice-K? Maybe a single or a sac fly, but certainly not a big hit. Since he got Beckett from the Marlins, had Theo picked up a really good pitcher, either on the free agent market, or by way of trade? I mean, he could have hung onto Bronson and Derrick Lowe for a lot less money than he has shelled out, and got just as good a result. Better results I think. Right now Theo looks like a genius again, because Gonzalez is having a monster year, and Crawford had turned his season around, after a cold April. But unless Lackey suddenly turns things around, and keeps shutting down the opposition like he did last night, I’m not convinced.

But on the other hand, so what? Despite the makeshift lineup, Boston is twenty games ahead of five hundred at the All-Star break. If they keep that pace up, they will definitely be playing in October. And if their starters are healthy in October, I think they have a decent chance to play for much of the month. And if their starters are healthy, and Lackey pitches like he did last night...well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. For now, let’s leave it at this: Go Sox.

A New Leaf

2011-07-09T10:56:00.003-04:00

I plead guilty; I’ve been neglecting the blog. So I’m resolving to write more regularly. And really, there is lot to write about. The baseball season is approaching the All-Star break and there is much to discuss: the tight race in the AL East; Boston’s league leading offensive production; growing concerns about injury woes; our patchwork rotation; bullpen inconsistency; Papi’s re-emergence; Gonzalez’ monster year; and on and on. How about that fight last night? It reminded me in ways of the famous brawl that began with Tek and A-Rod jawing. And anything that reminds me of 2004 is, by definition, a good thing. So anyway, I should be writing more about the RedSox.

And there is whisky news as well. Susan got me a wonderful malt for our recent anniversary, but that deserves its own posting, and I won’t spoil the surprise. But the news is that this past spring, as we did some renovation work in the kitchen, we built a whisky bar for the family room. Now the malts have a classier and more comfortable place in which to reside. Check it out.

Also, as it’s finally summertime around here, we’ve fired up the bullet, and have been grilling regularly. Last weekend, when the boys were home, we smoked fish, and reaffirmed that steelhead is just about the best thing on the planet to smoke.

Lastly, I think I’ve got to begin posting about wine. I’ve been reluctant to do that in the past, with rare exceptions (for example, the mind-blowing Italian wine dinner last fall), because there are almost thirty million wine blogs already. Who needs another? But ever since Janine persuaded me that one can only drink good wine on this side of the grass, thus allowing me to escape from my life long aversion to pricey wine -- I’ll get into that one later as well -- we’ve been drinking some pretty special stuff. And so, even if millions of other wine-lovers are posting about their love affairs with Rhones or Bordeaux or Barbaresco, why not add my own two cents?

The blog has been around for almost six years. Manny is long gone; and it’s been ages since we were reading Montaigne. But I like the idea of keeping this thing going, and I’m hoping (pledging or resolving is probably too strong for right now; let’s see how I can do over the next month or so) to post more frequently. In the meantime, I’ve got some quail marinating, because I’m trying out a recipe for the upcoming whisky lovers ball. And that will deserve a couple posts in itself. So stay tuned.

What a Road Trip!

2011-06-19T08:36:00.001-04:00

Even after last night’s loss - Boston is playing at a six hundred clip, with the best record in the American League. They are fourteen games ahead of five hundred, a remarkable turnaround from April, when they were eight games under five hundred only a couple weeks into the season. By my count, that’s plus twenty two since then, or 40-18 overall.

At the start of June, there was no way I could have pictured this, as the current month had them scheduled for a potentially disastrous nine game AL East road trip, with successive series in New York, Toronto and Tampa Bay. Going into the Bronx about ten days ago, I would have been pleased with a five hundred record on that trip. But as we all know now, the Sox swept the Yankees, then hammered the Jays, banging out 35 runs in three games, and even managed to take two of three in Tampa, thus coming home to Fenway after having gone 8-1 on the road.

Boston’s recent success has mainly come via the offense. Gonzalez is still tearing up the AL, leading the majors in RBIs, and now batting almost three-fifty. (It will be interesting to see how he performs when San Diego comes to town tomorrow night.) Papi was a terror on the road trip, with four home runs and thirteen RBIs, while raising his average to three-twenty. Pedroia came back from his MRI with a smoking hot bat; Youk and Ellsbury had timely hits. In fact, the whole lineup was contributing, which was the main reason the Sox scored eight or more runs in seven games this month.

One downside has been that the pitching has been less than spectacular of late. Lester tossed eight strong innings in Toronto, and Beckett came very close to a perfect game down in Tampa. The Rays’ only base runner came on a slow grounder down the third base line that Youk could not get to in time. An infield single left Beckett with a one-hit shutout, on fewer than one hundred pitches no less. He’s been on fire this year, and I only hope he stays healthy. It’s funny, but Beckett’s great seasons have always come in odd-numbered years, and yes, 2011 is an odd number. And I guess Wake had a good outing in Tampa, but it came on the night that Shields shut the Sox out. Often though, the starters have allowed a bunch of runs, but were then bailed out by the bats. Only Beckett is carrying an impressive ERA right now. Even Lester is giving up about four runs a game; just like last night.

But speaking of staying healthy, the first game in the home stand was a reminder that teams need good luck in order to succeed in a regular season than runs for six months. In one game Crawford came up lame legging out an infield hit, and Youk got sick and had to leave the lineup. The same day, the Sox had placed Lowrie on the disabled list; he got banged up colliding with Carl Crawford (didn’t that same thing ruin Ellsbury’s season last year?) a couple weeks ago, and hasn’t healed. So any team, including the Sox, is always a couple freak accidents away from having their season go into the tank. Think about how everyone kept away from injuries in the championship years, and contrast that with last season.

Anyway, things are looking brighter right now. The gloom of April seems to have passed, and the team is playing up to this year’s high expectations. Let’s hope they stay hot as we move into summer. Go Sox.

Hospitality, New York Style; the Yankees Make the Sox Feel Right at Home.

2011-06-10T06:49:00.006-04:00

Let’s be clear about one thing: no one ever won a pennant in June. And this year’s pennant will be no exception; it’s going to be decided in September, or maybe even October. Still, it helps to be playing well in June, especially against division rivals. So that’s to say that the Sox helped their chances for 2011 by going into the Bronx, and for the second time this season taking three from the Yankees.

They won the first two games at the plate, by outslugging NY, and it looked like old times, with Ortiz hammering the ball into the right field stands. Even a less than spectacular outing from Jon Lester did not keep Boston from winning the opening game, a game that was highlighted by Papi’s two-run bomb, as he now calls them. This was one of those nights when the pitching wasn’t great, but was good enough to allow the bats to bring home a win. Been a lot of that lately. Game two featured Wakefield’s 196th win; another two-run bomb from Ortiz; and a strong performance from Aceves, who went three and two-thirds innings, saving the rest of the bullpen.

Last night was the third time that Sabathia and Beckett had squared off this season, and for the third time, Beckett got the win. CC looked like he was in control until the seventh, despite his slight lapse in the fourth, when he drilled Ortiz on the hip. There was no protest from the Boston dugout, because Beckett had already hit Jeter, not to mention that Lester drilled Texeira on the knee in the opening game, and a couple other guys had got hit along the way as well. But Sabathia may have picked the wrong guy to hit, as Ortiz started the seventh inning with a single; then came home on Lowrie’s triple into the right field corner; and then later in the inning, knocked in two more runs with a double to the base of the wall in left. A seven-run outburst in the top of the seventh was more than enough to get Beckett his win, and to insure a sweep for the Sox. And to allow Boston to escape NY atop the AL East.

So Boston leaves NY for Toronto ten games ahead of five hundred for the first time in 2011. They haven’t played well in the Rogers Center of late, so who knows whether they will return home with a lead in the AL East? But for now, it’s good to know the team can go into NY and play with confidence, because come October, they may find themselves playing in NY once again.

What’s Up With the Pitching?

2011-06-05T19:43:00.003-04:00

No sooner had I posted about May’s turnaround than the Sox went into a swoon and lost four straight. And the pitching, which had been the main reason for the Sox recovery from April’s woes, suddenly became completely unreliable. Even though they ended up going 3-3 for the week, getting swept by the White Sox, but then sweeping the Athletics, the Sox surrendered forty-one runs in six games. According to my calculations, that works out to be around seven runs per game. And when you think about it, it’s remarkable that they played .500 ball while giving up that many runs. I won’t dwell on it though; let’s just hope everyone had a bad week.

But it wasn’t all bad news. Gonzalez continues on his torrid pace, with Carl Crawford right behind. After today’s three run homer, Crawford has 23 RBIs since the start of May, not to mention around a .320 average in that same time. That’s pretty good production for a guy that was supposed to be a table setter -- get on base for the other guys to knock in. Plus, he’s had as many timely hits as anyone on the team this year.

Papi too has been real productive at the plate, batting around .300, and hitting the long ball once again. Remember that pinch-hit game winner against the Tigers last weekend? And all this run production has come with Pedroia in a slump, and Youkilis underachieving. Now I know that everyone isn’t going to have a hot bat at the same time, but all I’m saying is that there is still lots of room for improvement in the lineup. They look pretty good right now from top to bottom.

Which brings us back to the pitching. Beckett had a decent outing yesterday, not overpowering, but solid. And Lackey looked OK today. He surrendered three runs over five and two-thirds innings, and while that might not sound so great in the abstract, it’s a hell of a lot better than he had been pitching earlier in the season. He needs to pitch decent. Like today. Give up a few runs, maybe go another inning or so, and give the bullpen a bit more rest, but keep the score down so that a couple hot bats can bring home a win for the Sox. It looks like Dice-K will be out for the season -- that’s really a shame because he had those two fabulous outings back to back -- but if Lackey is half-decent, he and Wake can fill out the rotation, assuming no further injuries.

Big series this week, with Boston down in New York again. Not to mention the fact that they then travel to Toronto and Tampa Bay. That adds up to a nine game road trip against AL East teams. I’m amazed with the terrible start, and the recent losing streak, they are only two games out right now. I’d like to see them play .500 ball on this road trip; is that too much to ask for? Go Sox.

Warming Up in May

2011-05-30T14:05:00.003-04:00

After yesterday’s split in Detroit, Boston’s record for the month of May, with two games to go, is 19-8. They’re now seven games above .500, not quite on the pace they need to maintain, in order to assure a spot in the post-season, but not in bad shape considering the awful start they had in April. In fact, for the past couple days, they’ve been on top of the Al East, although the standings are less important right now than their overall record. Better to be playing well, and not worrying about where the Yankees and the Rays stand.

May’s turnaround was sparked, in large part, by a dramatic improvement at the plate. I can recall early in the season, when half of Boston’s line-up was batting under .200. Now they have four players right at or above .300. For a while in May they were carried by Adrian Gonzalez, who already has 30 RBIs for the month, and whose average has been among the league leaders much of the season. But now most of the lineup is producing hits, and knocking in runs. Ortiz has had a better start this year than any time since he injured his wrist. Nice to see that pinch hit home run yesterday that won the first game of their double-header. Ellsbury and Pedroia are getting on base, allowing the middle of the order a better chance to knock in runs. And pretty much everyone top to bottom in the lineup has been contributing.

But the most dramatic improvement has come from Carl Crawford, who started the season miserably, making everyone wonder if he wasn’t an even more expensive version of J.D. Drew. But as the weather improved, so did Crawford’s average. He ended up batting .311 for the month, so far. Then he started with the walk-off hits, at least three that I can remember. And this past week he exploded on the latest road trip, with back to back four hit games, and lots of extra base hits. Tito has him hitting sixth right now, and perhaps it’s also easier for Crawford not to deal with the higher expectations of batting lead-off or in the number two slot. Plus, with the way everyone else is hitting, six give him more chances to drive in runs.

I like too that they played well on the road this last week. Too often in the past Boston has played well in Fenway, but poorly away from home. It’s a good sign when they can win on the road, especially against decent teams. Cleveland had the best record in all of baseball before the Sox took two of three. (It could have been a sweep, if not for a mini-meltdown by Bard.) And the Tigers were playing above .500.

The bullpen is still suspect. Jencks is rehabbing at Pawtucket, and I’d like to think he was so lousy this year because of his injury. But I’m not holding my breath. The rest of the relievers --Pap, Bard, Albers -- have looked great at times, but really have been pretty inconsistent overall. If Dice and Lackey can come back into the rotation, then maybe Wake and Aceves can fill in for long relief when it’s needed. Although those two are doing great right now as starters, so maybe it’s better not to make any changes right this minute.

It’s a long season. There are four more months of baseball, and a million things can happen between now and the end of September. But I’m glad to see them playing well; and it’s certainly better to see them atop the division, than hanging out in the cellar. Let’s hope the winning ways continue back at Fenway this coming week. Go Sox.

Balvenie 15

2011-05-24T22:45:00.003-04:00

Boston went into Cleveland this week, to play the team with the best record in all of Baseball. And if not for Daniel Bard having given away last night’s game, after Tito had inexplicably pulled Buckholz in the eighth inning, they would have taken the first two from the Indians, and maybe with that, the lead in the AL East. But never mind, because that’s not what I planned to post about. Instead, tonight I want to get back to the common ground for all readers of this blog -- single malt scotch whisky.

Balvenie is a well known, and well regarded highland malt, but one that probably doesn’t get its due. I seem to recall learning that Balvenie remains family owned and operated, which in itself doesn’t mean that it’s a great whisky, but does merit some credit in today’s world, where many of the distilleries have been gobbled up by the big beverage conglomerates. It’s nice to know that some whiskies maintain their independence, for whatever that’s worth.

Another distinctive thing about Balvenie is that their different age statements are actually different whiskies; so the twelve is not just two years older than the ten, it’s also finished in sherry casks, giving it an entirely different finish, and a noticeably different taste. So the thing with the fifteen, the subject of tonight’s posting, is that it is bottled from a single cask. Which means of course, that every time they bottle their fifteen from a new cask, it’s really a new whisky, one that will taste different from the last bottle of fifteen you drank.

Jackson calls Balvenie voluptuous, a word I like, and one we don’t often hear any more, especially as we all lurch inexorably toward illiteracy. Anyway, voluptuous -- rich, full bodied, soft around the edges, not harsh, zoftig. And that describes the fifteen very well. It is a rich, malty full bodied highland whisky. And it’s surprisingly smooth and easy drinking for such a strong malt; this bottling came out at almost 48 percent, 96 proof as we would have once said. But it really drinks no sharper than a 43 percent whisky. It only needs a drop of water to open up, and to release the caramel malt flavor. Long finish too -- one of the clearest characteristics of a good whisky in my opinion. It reminds me of the Macallan Fine Oaks -- there is nothing other than the malt whisky here. The flavor isn’t muddied with sherry, or port, for example. Now I know that Balvenie finishes their twenty-one in port casks, and that’s a very nice after dinner malt. But I prefer the simpler and more honest flavor of a pure malt whisky, one that is not contaminated with any other flavors or tastes.

One other thing: this fifteen is very affordable. I can’t remember the exact price, as it’s been in my cabinet for a new weeks, but I’m fairly certain that it was under sixty dollars. And today, when the world market is bidding many malts up to stratospheric levels, this whisky remains a pretty good buy. So there you have it: voluptuous but affordable. What more could a man want?

Back in the Thick of Things

2011-05-23T21:48:00.003-04:00

Last night, forty-four year old Tim Wakefield threw almost six innings of one run baseball, allowing the Sox to win two of three from the Cubs, in the teams' first inter-league play of 2011. Not only that, but Wake stepped in to fill a hole in the rotation, caused by Lackey and Dice-K ending up on the disabled list at the same time. Lackey I didn’t much care, because really, he hasn’t shown anyone much of anything all year. That is aside from his enormous paychecks. How did that happen? But Dice had pitched a couple great outings earlier in the season -- two consecutive starts where he gave up no runs, and managed to go deep into those games, giving the bullpen some rest. But now that he has this elbow problem, who knows when he’ll return, and how effective he’ll be when he does return? But if Tito can get six or seven decent innings from Wake; and if he can also rest the pen, so that Pap and Bard aren’t taxed every night; and also, if Wake can keep the Sox in games, just keep things close enough to let the resurgent bats break through and plate some runs, what a boost that will be for the team. Especially if Beckett, Lester and Buckholz can continue pitching well. I know everyone wants a five man rotation these days, but I’ll be happy with four, especially if three of the four are Beckett, Lester and Buckholz.

Now on to hitting, where, on most nights recently, it’s been the Adrian Gonzalez show. Here’s a guy who has made Theo look smart once more. (Dumb to spend all that money on Lackey, but looking pretty wise for having shelled out to get Gonzalez.) He’s leading the majors in RBIs, and right now his average is among the league’s leaders. Add to that the fact that Papi is hitting close to .300, while hammering some balls deep to right; that Youk has knocked in over thirty runs; and that even Carl Crawford has raised his average to the low end of the respectable range. And that adds up to a lineup that has begun producing in the manner that everyone predicted, before the terrible start in April. And so if the bats remain lively, and if just three of the five starters can give the Sox solid outings when they take the mound, then maybe the RedSox will stay in the midst of the pennant race, where they currently find themselves, notwithstanding their worst start in modern history.

We’re not all the way through May just yet, and it will be telling to see how the Sox do on their current road trip, particularly as they start things off in Cleveland, where the Indians have the best record in all of the American League. But I like the current standings much better than I did in early April, when they Sox had the worst record in all of the Major Leagues. At least now there is room for optimism. At least now we can dream once more about them playing in October, and maybe even November. Wouldn’t that be nice? Go Sox.

My First Time

2011-05-17T20:05:00.003-04:00

On a lark, I decided to look back and figure out exactly when I first saw baseball played in Fenway Park. Here’s what I remembered: I had showed up in Boston for my freshman year at college. And back then, before freshman orientation, before registering for classes, before anything else for that matter, the MIT freshmen were treated to five days of partying, known as rush week. You see, they did not have enough dormitory housing for all the freshmen; and at least one-third of the class had to find fraternities in which to reside. (Hard to imagine such a half-assed system at so sophisticated a school, but in truth, it was a good thing for me, because I never would have stuck it out for a full year in any of the dorms.) So after arriving on a morning flight, and killing the day wandering around Cambridge and Harvard Square, I attended some brief assembly in Kresge Hall (where a couple years later we saw Richie Havens play). The next thing I knew, I was in a car with a bunch of Sammies, riding over to their house on the Fenway, and not long thereafter was sitting in the bleachers at Fenway, which was only a short walk from the Sammy house. But this isn’t really a posting about college, or fraternity life, but rather a reminiscence about baseball.

I recalled a few details from that night in early September 1967, the year of the Impossible Dream: the Sox beat the Yankees; Yaz homered; Mickey Mantle got a base hit; and Sparky Lyle pitched in relief for the Sox. So using those few facts, with the help of baseball-reference.com (which apparently has every single baseball fact from the time of the Mayflower until today) I quickly figured out the following. It was a Saturday night, September 9, 1967. In only a few months that will be forty-four years in the past. The final score was 7-1 Boston. Dave Morehead started for the Sox and got the win. (Truthfully, I have no recollection of Morehead.) Lyle tossed two innings of shutout ball. (Today, there is no way Tito would pitch a star reliever in a six run game, let alone for two innings.) Both Yaz and Rico Petrocelli homered. Over 32,000 were in attendance that night. The game took only two and a half hours.

It was love at first sight. I had been a Giants fan, really a Willie Mays fan, but how hard was it to stay in touch with the Giants in those days, when only one game was broadcast each week? So walking into Fenway that night, with the Sox in the middle of a pennant race, with Yaz on the way to winning the triple crown, and with all my enthusiasm for life in Boston, I was ready for someone new. Plus, how cool was this park, where even out in the right field bleachers (we were only a few rows up from the bullpen, very close to where John sat in July 2004 when the Sox walked off, with Mueller homering off Rivera) it felt like you right in the middle of the action? Later on, on warm spring nights, we’d head to the park, where admission was only a dollar, and where Schaeffer beer was fifty cents, often for no reason other than to drink a few.

Three weeks later, on the last day of the season, the Sox won the American League pennant for the first time since 1946. That night Back Bay was a sea of humanity, with apparently all of Boston out in the streets celebrating. It wasn’t that way ten days later, when the Sox lost Game Seven to Gibson and the Cardinals. But forget about it, by then I was a die-hard RedSox fan, and although I might not have known it at the time, this was an allegiance that would last a lifetime. Not only that, but one I would pass down to the next generation, who also had the good fortune to spend their college years in Beantown. You’d think I’d have the ticket stub, or maybe a program, but no, all I have are some memories made all the foggier by the week that followed. Still, that’s enough for me.

The Lakers Sweep Brightens up a Dreary Spring

2011-05-15T09:27:00.005-04:00

It’s been a dreary spring, with the RedSox unable to play .500 ball, and the Celtics making an early exit from the playoffs. The latter was especially disappointing because it’s unlikely that the big three will have another chance at a championship. John felt that Danny Ainge closed the door on this year’s playoff run when he traded Perk away mid-season. But Perk was not going to add any offense those last two games against Miami, when the Cs just could not score in the fourth quarter. (Of course, Perk gets to play later today for another chance to go to the conference finals, while all the Cs get to sit home and watch on TV.) I didn’t like the Perkins trade either, and I agree that it was dumb to break up the starting five that had won in 2008, and had almost won again last year. But the sad truth was that, all year long, the Cs were vulnerable in the fourth quarter. Too often they played that fourth quarter like they were old. And that’s certainly how they looked in the final two games against the Heat.

Plus, because they still relied so much on the big three, and those guys just haven’t gotten any younger since 2008, I’m afraid they will get worse before they get better. And unfortunately, Danny Ainge is not Red Auerbach. Other than Rondo, the team doesn’t have any young stars, so it’s probably going to be a few years before they have a championship caliber team again.

Still, the playoffs gave Boston fans one thing to cheer about - the Lakers’ meltdown. Not just that they lost; not that they got swept; and not even that they lost so badly, getting thoroughly embarrassed in Game Four against the Mavs. But wasn’t it great to see the Lakers’ true character revealed in that final game? Artest always plays like a bit of a thug, although I’ve never hated on Artest; I’ve actually liked the way he plays tough D, and contributes occasionally on the offensive end. And, I didn’t think his flagrant was all that flagrant. But Andrew Bynum distinguished himself with a punk-ass cheap shot that will define his career, at least in the near future. Plus how do the Lakers seem to end up with all these bitches? Remember Sasha Vujacic in 2008? He even has a girl’s name. And now, Pau Gasol. Who doesn’t hate Pau Gasol? There are rumors about Gasol or his wife stirring up trouble on the team, so maybe the rest of the Lakers hate him as much as we do. Hate; Hate; Hate.

That’s one of the fun things about being a sports fan. First, you get to root for your own team. But then, regardless of how your team does, you get to root against your rival. So this spring, I was pulling for anyone who played the Lakers. For a week or so, I was a New Orleans fan, although I really know no one on the team other than CP3. Then I became a Mavs fan. And then, I got to watch the final episode, where the Lakers got blown out, and everyone in the country, even including Magic Johnson, trashed them. As good a player as Kobe is, he’s never been likable, and has always appeared to be a punk at heart. And they seemed to get a bit of a pass in my mind, because Phil Jackson is supposed to be the Dalai Lama of basketball, staying all zen while his players whine and cry on the floor. But now the truth has been exposed for everyone to see: the Lakers have no class. Even if the summer stays dark and dreary, we can always think back to the end of their season, and remind ourselves that the Lakers suck.

Adios April

2011-05-01T12:23:00.002-04:00

April ended almost as poorly for the Sox as it had begun. After seeming to recover from their early season slump, and having won six of seven on a west coast swing, the Sox reverted to early season form by dropping four of five. First, they lost twice to the Orioles at Camden, once when Bard gave a game away after the Sox had rallied to tie things up in the eighth. Lester closed out the series in Baltimore with another strong performance, and the Sox avoided a sweep.

But then they returned to Fenway to face the lowly Mariners, who came to town with the worst record in the AL West, and proceeded to drop the first two games of the home stand. Last night, they wasted a pretty good effort by Lackey, who gave up only two runs over six innings, but got no support from the bats. Nothing; nada; zip; zero; bupkiss. And today they have to deal with King Felix, who too often has had their number (along with most everyone else's number the past couple years). A mariners' sweep? In Fenway? What a thought.

So anyway, Boston closed April four games under five hundred, or nine games behind the pace they need to make it to the post season. It's not yet time to panic, as the west coast swing demonstrated. This is a team that can string together a bunch of wins. But unfortunately, so far in 2011, it's also a team that can put together a very impressive losing streak. Let's hope, however, that it was just a bad month, a real bad month, and that May will bring us better results, and a chance to get back on track this summer. Go Sox.

Dice-K

2011-04-25T06:35:00.002-04:00

Can you believe it? Two consecutive quality starts by Dice-K; two consecutive starts without giving up a single run! After going seven shutout innings against the Jays on Patriots Day, Dice-K returned to the mound Saturday night, and threw eight shutout innings against the Angels, in their park. Tito had pulled Dice after seven innings and only 89 pitches against the Jays. But on Saturday, he allowed Dice to go eight complete, and to toss 115 pitches. The result was nine Ks, three walks, and best of all, a single hit. I don’t think there was a baserunner beyond second base all night. As a result, his ERA plummeted to around four, having been up in the stratospheric range only a week previously. What a turnaround!

In truth, these are the kind of numbers everyone had hoped for, when Dice first signed back in 2007. And even though he occasionally showed some brilliance over the past four years, too often, even when he had his good stuff going, he had to come out of games early. His pitch count would get away from him; or he would walk too many guys at critical stages of the game. (Think of Game Three in the 2007 Series.) I know that two great starts don’t mean he will have a great season; and I know there remains some concern about his durability over the course of the entire season - with thirty some starts. So maybe Tito will have to give him some rest occasionally. Or maybe we won’t worry about durability right now; maybe we’ll just be glad that he is helping the Sox dig their way out of that deep hole in which they found themselves at the start of the season. Everyone can worry about how strong Dice will be in September, once we get to September. Hopefully, it will matter in September. But let’s worry about it then, not now.

Yesterday, the Sox completed their sweep of the Angels with another outstanding start, this one from John Lackey, who for some reason, hadn’t shown us much of anything before yesterday. But Lackey continued the string of great performances by the starters, going eight shutout innings. Over the past nine games, including six on the road, Boston is 8-1, and no starter has given up more than two runs. Their collective ERA over that stretch is around one.

As this string of good pitching continues, it appears to confirm John’s theory of contagious pitching. It all started with Beckett and Lester, and then spread next to Dice-K. If yesterday indicates that it was spread to Lackey, and really Buckholz has been close this year, even if he’s off his 2010 form, and the pitching bug spreads to the entire staff, that will certainly help the Sox live up to their 2011 potential. Right now, they want to get their heads above water, the water level being .500. If they can get back to .500 after their atrocious start, then we can being to reassess this season. But first things first; right now let’s just continue the good pitching against the Orioles this week. Then we can think about the rest of the season. Go Sox.

Pitching is Contagious

2011-04-23T07:16:00.001-04:00

A week ago, as the Sox sat 2-10, with nothing going for them in 2011 other than Josh Beckett, John suggested that pitching was contagious; that really Beckett and Lester had been pitching well, even though Lester wasn’t getting any wins; and that soon enough, the other starters would catch on, and we’d be getting good performances from the entire rotation. But whether that was true or not, I was still worried that the home stand was coming to a close, and that the Sox would soon embark on another road trip, this one including two series on the West coast, where they rarely perform well. And I know they’re in the midst of that road trip, and still in the AL cellar, but for now it’s worth noting that John’s prediction was right on.

The last trip through the rotation, every starter pitched well, and Boston dropped a single game, when they were shut out in the opener at Oakland. But even that night, Lackey pitched well, going six innings and giving up a single run. In fact, the only starter to surrender more than one run this past week was Beckett, who gave up two to the Angels, when he made a single bad pitch, which Tori Hunter sent over the center field wall for a two-run homer. Still, Beckett went eight innings; the bullpen was solid that night, and the Sox scored twice in the eleventh to pull out the win. Beckett’s ERA remains under two; Lester’s is only around two and a half; and over the past seven games, the starters’ collective ERA is barely above one. Big turnaround.

The pen has been performing better as well. Pap has picked up saves in the last three games; he now has five for the year. But more important was the fact that last night he actually looked stronger, and threw more efficiently, than he had in his previous two outings. Pap needed only twelve pitches to get through the ninth, even though he had thrown over twenty on each of the previous two nights. Bobby Jenks still looks shaky, but he had a couple decent appearances over the past week. He threw a scoreless inning in the first game against the Angels, when the bullpen kept Boston in the game until they could score a couple in the top of the eleventh. Bard too has pitched well during this stretch; and if those three can stay consistent, Boston will have a better chance to hold leads, especially when the starters can go seven or eight, as three of them did during the past week.

It’s too early to get overly excited; and who knows how they’ll perform in the five remaining road games before they return to Fenway. But right now, a .500 record is within their sight, and even with the atrocious start to the season, they’re only five games out of first. I know that baseball is a streaky game, but I’m hoping that this week’s trip through the rotation was not an aberration, but an indication of how the starters can perform in 2011; and if that’s the case, maybe they’ll be able to put this lousy April behind them. And maybe the rain and snow will stop as well, and we’ll even get to see the sunshine. And then we might have a summer we can enjoy after all.

Beckett

2011-04-18T23:55:00.002-04:00

There’s not much to be excited about this April. As of this Monday, even after their huge three game win streak, the first winning streak of more than one game in 2011, the Sox are still in the cellar of the AL East, with about the worst record in the American League. But despite all the team’s problems, there has been one bright spot – Josh Beckett looks as good as he’s looked since his overpowering post-season in 2007. Remember how he single-handedly kept the Indians at bay until Boston’s bats came alive in Game Five of the ALCS? And how no one, not the Angels, not the Indians, not the Rockies, could get anything going in the post-season against him? Back then, when Beckett started, you could mark it down as a W.

The best indication that Beckett is on his game is the strikeout-walk ratio. Last two games he has 19 Ks, and only three walks. As a result, in his last two starts, he’s gone fifteen innings with a single earned run. And he kept the Sox from opening 2001 with a dozen losses.

Sunday, Lester got his first win. He’s actually pitched pretty well, and just didn’t get run support. But if Lester remains consistent, it looks like the Sox have at least a two-man rotation. And if John is right that the good pitching is contagious, then maybe we’ll see Buckholz, who really was their best pitcher last year, return to form, and then they’ll have three decent starters. I still think Wake can contribute – can step back into the starting rotation and win games for the Sox. And I was about to say that I don’t hold out much hope for Lackey and Dice-K. But then, on Patriots’ Day, when the Sox usually play well, Dice went seven shutout innings, one hit, only 89 pitches. It would be an understatement to say I was surprised. Shocked would be closer to the mark. Still, three consistent starters, if they can stay healthy, one inconsistent starter who occasionally throws a dominant game, along an occasional strong outing from Wake, can perhaps get Boston back into the race for the AL East. (By the way, has anyone noticed what Masterson is doing for the Indians? What would this rotation look like with Masterson instead of Lackey?

But hold on, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. As I said earlier, even with their three-game winning streak, Boston still finds itself in the cellar. So first off, let’s just win a few games, then maybe win a couple series, and also try to avoid any more four and six game losing streaks. And then we can begin to think about who’s ahead in the AL East. Go Sox.

An Even Uglier Start to the Baseball Season

2011-04-10T16:12:00.001-04:00

Before the season opened, pundits seemed to forget all about last year, as so many of them picked Boston to win the Al East, or the AL pennant, or even the World Series. And then, of course, the Sox went to Arlington to open the season against the team that actually played in last year’s series, and got swept. Bad start.

What was worse, was the fact that they opened 2011 just as they had played most of 2010, without an effective bullpen. Bard blew a save after Boston had rallied on opening day. Then in game two we were reminded that the starters hadn’t given the pen much of a cushion last summer. Lackey opened 2011 pitching worse than he had most of last year, and that means he was awful, because he was typically pretty lousy throughout 2010. His first start this year, he couldn’t get through four innings and let in close to ten runs. Game three Buckholz looked bad, Pap gave up a run, and the Boston bats went to sleep, as the Rangers got out their brooms. Bad.

OK, so Texas was hot, and they did win the pennant last year. But then, the Sox went to Cleveland and without going through all the gory details, let’s just sum it up by noting that they got swept again. By the Indians! That’s worse. Way worse. And so 2011 opened with the Sox going 0-6, and generally looking pathetic. There were a couple optimistic notes hidden deep inside this losing streak. One- Lester pitched a great game in Cleveland – seven shutout innings, but the Sox could not managed to support him with even a single run. Two – Papi looks better in April than he has for the past couple years. So I hope that’s an indication that he will not need until August to warm up. Three – Pedroia is back, hitting well and serving as the team’s sparkplug. Except there is no gas in the engine right now, so the spark plug has nothing to ignite.

It’s a long season, and I figure that the bats will come alive at some point. But what about the pitching, especially the bullpen? Is there any indication that they will round into form? It’s particularly troubling that the two highly paid free agent signings – Dice-K and Lackey – look like they should be throwing down at Pawtucket. I mean, why not just hang onto Lowe and Arroyo, and save a couple hundred million bucks?

Early indications are that the Haters Ball will be hosted in Rochester for the foreseeable future. Speaking of which, the Ball is scheduled for the third weekend in June, so readers need to make their plans now. The present plan is to hope that the Cs are still playing ball late into June, so we can ignore the Sox for the next couple months, and give them time to get their act together. If that fails, there’s always whisky.

An Ugly End to the Hoops Season

2011-04-05T21:47:00.003-04:00

No, I’m not talking about last night’s game, when UConn and Butler combined for 41 points in the first half. Everyone kept talking about how great UConn’s defense was, and they were intimidating Butler in the lane, but how many open shots did Butler miss? Still, it was a bit of redemption for the Big East, and it’s odd to think that we beat the national champion on their own court this year. Of course, it would have been better for the Orange to have played like that in March, and not in February.

In any event, the ugly game to which I refer was the Sunday night debacle against Marquette a few weeks ago. That was the game when the Orange shot 55 percent from the field and still managed to lose. Perhaps it was their 18 turnovers, most of which were unforced, just sloppy ball handling or inattentive passes, that kept them away from New Jersey. Or maybe it was just that they had struggled like this too often all through the winter. In fact, we all knew this night was coming; from November on we could see that the team lacked the consistency they would need to get deep into the NCAAs. I figured all along that the logical end to the season was either the second round, or at best, the sweet sixteen. And I preferred them to lose a close game to Marquette, than to get blown out in the sweet 16 by someone like Carolina. At least now we can tell ourselves that with only a few less turnovers, or maybe with a couple more threes, we could have seen another game or two. And if we feel that way all summer, then it’s easier to look forward to next fall.

What also didn’t help on that Sunday night was that Jackson was neutralized, scoring only seven points, and even more surprisingly, grabbing only four rebounds. All season he had been a rebounding machine, but in neither tournament game did he get his double double. He did score 23 in the opening round, and I recall that Indiana State had no answer for him. However, on Sunday night, he was taken completely out of the game. Last year, that would have left Rautins and Wes open on the perimeter, and they could have done major damage, but we had no one to fill that role this year. In the end, aside from Jackson, we really had no consistency and no leadership.

What about next year? The backcourt remains the same, unless Waiters transfers. Rumors have it that he is on the outs with Boeheim, although his tournament minutes do not give any indication of that. And although they’ll miss Jackson, there will be another year of experience for CJ Fair (who so reminds me of Josh Pace), Joseph and the explosive Southerland. In addition, DeShonte Riley returns, and there is another highly touted recruit at the center position, but based on this past year’s disappointments down low, let’s reserve judgment on how much of a difference that will make.

Of course, I won’t be in Section 108 to cheer them on, nor will the guys on either side of me. I will have almost three grand more in my pockets, which ought to allow me to buy plenty of good whisky to enjoy while I watch the games at home, or at the bar in the Chophouse, or who knows where else. Just not behind the bench. Sorry folks, but even for a life-long fan like me, there was a breaking point. Anyway, that’s all the Orange news you’ll get to read for a while. And like we used to say in the Nation, wait till next year.

PS: we’ll return to whisky news and baseball in the next postings.

Whisky Lovers Live Large

2011-04-03T18:23:00.004-04:00

Every summer, the Whisky Lovers gather in our back yard for the culinary high point of the season: the Whisky Lovers Ball. Red meat; red wine; some smoked seafood from the Bullet; cigars; and of course, good whisky. But Friday night, for the first time, and one hopes the first of many such occasions, the Whisky Lovers gathered for a wintertime Ball. Scheduling difficulties had postponed the Wintertime Ball until the first day in April, but even though the calendar suggested springtime, here in Rochester, it still felt like winter.

Where else to convene the wintertime Ball other than the Chophouse? And why confine ourselves to a couple courses, when Janine and the Chophouse staff could whip up seven courses with wine pairings? And so, we sat for five hours, through the aforementioned seven courses, and tasted a selection of wonderful wines to accompany what can only be described as a spectacular dinner. I know I’m going overboard with the superlatives here,but really, there’s no other way to describe the meal we had.

Let me hit the high points for all my readers. The second course was a grilled quail and smoked duck breast salad, accompanied by 2005 Hitching Post – Highliner Pinot Noir. This was the pinot about which the movie Sideways made such a fuss. And, I’m pleased to report, with good reason. We have become fans of Carneros Pinots, but Hitching Post comes from Santa Barbara, an area well south of Napa – in fact, as far as I can tell (and I know almost nothing of California geography) close to LA. But what’s the difference? This pinot was excellent. More earth, more character than most Californians; closer to the taste of a Burgundy.

The best pairing of the evening was a pan seared foie gras, with poached pear, served with an outstanding Gewürztraminer. We’ve always been a fan of Gewurtz, which I find more interesting than most whites, but this wine was unquestionably the best we had ever tasted. Apparently Gewürztraminer translates as sweet and spicy, and this combined more of those two tastes than the usual offering. We found the spicy lingering in the finish of the wine, just like a good lowland scotch; and the sweet came from the particular vintage, when according to Janine, a touch of botrytis had developed, causing the grapes to shrink; the sugar content to grow; and the wine to have a bit more sweetness. It may not sound as though it was appropriate for the foie gras, but in fact, the pairing was spot on. The best of the night. And that’s saying a lot for a table full of red wine lovers.

The entrée course was veal three ways, hash, osso bucco, and chop, accompanied by two vintages of Beaucastel Chateauneuf-de-Pape. 2005 and 2008. The latter was a bit green and tannic, but the 2005 was terrific, big and earthy, a deep rich Rhone, my favorite region on the planet. The Chateauneuf was excellent with the rich flavor of the osso bucco, which in my opinion needs to be added to the Chophouse menu. It’s not a summertime dish, so I may not persuade them to do that until the fall, but I plan to work on it.

We had a dessert course paired with a sweet wine from Chianti, something different for sure. And then we polished off the evening with some scotches from my own collection. Chophouse has good whisky, but I thought this dinner merited something other than the usual offerings. So I Ballechin #2, Bladnoch, Talisker 175, and Van Winkle 20 for Dr. Ron. Janine put out a tray of cheeses, chocolates, candied nuts, and who knows what else. By then, I was on a liquid diet.

Today, it feels like spring, so our thoughts will soon turn to the barbeque pit, the Bullet, and the many opportunities we’ll have all summer to fire up the grill. But for the end of winter, what better way to celebrate than five hours at the Chophouse with fabulous food and wine? It almost enough to make me look forward to next winter’s lousy weather.

On the Morning of Selection Sunday

2011-03-13T08:25:00.002-04:00

My takeaway from Friday night’s loss to UConn is bad and good. Bad first: this loss once again exposed the team’s inconsistency. Take Brandon Triche for example – he led all scorers with 22 in the quarterfinal win over St. John’s, but then disappeared on Friday. Against UConn, he scored only four points, on 2 of 9 from the field. Last year, someone (Bilas? Kellogg?) described the strength of the Orange as their go-to-guy being whichever guy was open, making it harder for teams to defense them. But that worked well only because several players were consistent offensive performers. Teams could not leave Rautins or Wes open at the three-point line; if they did, those guys could hit open threes, and could do so consistently. Inside, teams could not cover AO with one guy. Against most teams, if AO could catch the ball down on the block, it was an easy two.

This year, however, even though a number of different guys have the ability to score, no one performs with predictable consistency. Even Jackson lacks a dependable finish down low. And as good as Joseph or Jardine can look on one night, they can look just as lousy in the next game. So to go deep in the post-season requires an offensive consistency that the Orange haven’t really shown all year long.

On the other hand, I was pleased to see the comeback in regulation – the fact that even down six points with under thirty seconds to play, they did not give up, and as inconsistent as they had been all night, Scoop managed to hit back to back threes to close that gap and force overtime.

And the other good news, of course, is that they will be playing in the NCAAs; and they should end up with a decent seed (As of this morning, Joe Lunardi predicts a four); and there were times this year when I questioned whether they would even make the post-season. Look at Michigan State, who lost in last year’s championship game; who came into the season ranked number two overall; but who melted down (should probably stay away from that metaphor right now), and will end up playing in the NIT. Cuse played so poorly early in the year, they were lucky to beat William & Mary. And they went into such a deep tailspin in January that I thought it possible they might never recover. Remember how dismal the Seton Hall game was?

So all things considered, especially their inconsistent nature, I’m as pleased as I could be on the morning of selection Sunday. My prefernce is that they play on Thursday and Saturday – so I won’t miss the opening game on Friday while traveling. And sometimes the committee tries to give teams who play late in this week an extra day of rest. For example, I fully expect UConn to open up on Friday, after having played on five days in a row. Pretty good tourney for them. But losing in the semis in NY has worked out for the Orange in the past. And for this year’s team, I like that they received one more dose of humility before the tourney opens. And as things worked out, they got a pinch of self-confidence in that recipe as well. So, humility, hard work, determination to play forty minutes, a touch more consistency in the outside shooting, and self-confidence if they fall behind in the second half. That’s the recipe for getting to the sweet sixteen. After that it would have to be luck. But for me, a trip to the sweet sixteen after all they’ve been through will be a successful season. Go Orange.

Melo

2011-03-10T22:37:00.002-05:00

G-Man wrote me earlier with this remarkable statistic: Fab Melo has scored 22 points over the past two games. He had ten in the regular season finale against DePaul – then a career high. And today in the Garden, twelve points against St. Johns, another career high. Those twenty-two points were more than his total point production in all the Big East conference games before DePaul. And I have to agree with John – the Orange don’t win today without Melo. Rebounds, some key blocks in the first half, a beautiful pass to an open Rick Jackson late in the game, leading to an easy bucket. Help at both ends of the court.

Tomorrow night, Cuse plays UConn in the semis. Everyone kept talking about the six overtime marathon from two years ago, but what I remember is that in 2003, Cuse ended the regular season on a hot streak – six in a row to my recollection, including a couple tough road wins -- but then lost to UConn in the Big East semifinals. At this point, I don’t think it matters all that much whether they win any more Big East games. I think today’s win cements a three seed, and while it’s always nice to beat UConn, I’d rather they get one more dose of humility before the NCAAs start.

A couple more observations about today’s win. The biggest difference between the two halves today was, in my opinion, the turnovers. A dozen turnovers in the first twenty minutes, and it’s hard to beat anyone when you’re giving the ball away that much. But after intermission, only three turnovers in the final twenty minutes. And that was the biggest reason they outscored the Johnnies by double digits in the second half. Plus I can remember at least three blown lay-ups in the second half – two after nice feeds from Jardine. Meaning, of course, that they could easily have put up more points in the second half. Always room for improvement.

Another big factor were the blocks. Cuse gets a lot of credit for the two-three, for forcing turnovers when teams try to sneak the ball inside; but even when the ball gets inside against this zone, there aren’t a lot of easy buckets. Cuse had ten blocks today, to St. John’s one. Rick Jackson led the way with four, and wasn’t it nice to see him get some credit for the great year he had? Really, he deserved first team Big East, in addition to defensive player of the year. All the first teamers were big scorers, but what about all those rebounds Jackson pulled down all year long?

I continue to be amazed by this late season surge, and I hope they carry it over, not so much in the remainder of the Big East, but next week, when the NCAAs start. I’d be the happiest guy who ever had to eat his own words. Go Orange.

Ten Deep

2011-03-06T18:08:00.002-05:00

Late in the first half of yesterday’s blowout win over Depaul, the Orange had only bench players on the floor. Mookie and Waiters at the top of the zone, Fab Melo in the center, and Southerland and C.J. Fair playing the wings. And the best part was that by half-time, all of them, along with all five starters, had scored. Now I know Depaul is the only truly bad team in the conference, and that the Cuse had an easier time of it yesterday than in almost any other game this year. Still, it was encouraging to see so many guys contributing.

Fab Melo bounced back from his meltdown of a couple weeks ago, and scored a career high ten points. Actually ten points was more than I think I’ve seen him score in all the other home games I have attended this year, combined. Not only that, he grabbed a few rebounds, and came up with a steal and a block. He still managed to commit four fouls in 15 minutes, but I have to admit, he showed some decent low post moves. Good footwork.

Because Depaul chose not to play defense, the Orange shot over seventy percent from the field. Seven for nine from beyond he arc. They were hot. They missed only one free throw all afternoon. And the zone generated a number of turnovers that led to easy baskets. So that’s a good formula for a win – solid shooting from the outside, plus fast break points. Rick Jackson was good for 14 in the paint; some of those came off extra passes. It seemed like the team was trying to give him a great sendoff , it being his last game in the Dome and all. He got a great ovation wen he was introduced before the game, and once again when Coach took him out with a few minutes to go. It was a nice touch. He’d been on the bench for several minutes, and the game was out of reach. But with about four minutes to go, Boeheim put Jackson back on the floor, so that he could take him out and let the fans show their appreciation.

And speaking of last games in the Dome, it was my last game in the seats. Section 108, Row K, Seats 110 and 111. My dad, my uncle Joe, and I have been there for thirty one years, by my count. But no more. It was a nice way to go out – a blowout win, the most points of any game this season, in fact, the biggest margin of victory in Big East history.

So the regular season has ended with twenty-five wins; with the Orange ranked number 12 in the polls; with a double bye for the Big East Tournament and another day of rest before the post-season; and with Joe Lunardi picking them right now as a three seed. I think they keep that three if they win their first game in the Garden, and fall no further than four if they lose. But to play deep into March, they’ll need that combination they showed yesterday – defensive intensity in the zone, and good outside shooting. Go Orange.

Clynelish

2011-02-27T19:45:00.002-05:00

The very first scotch tasting I ever attended was with Danny, a couple years before the birth of this blog. So let’s say about 2003. It was sponsored by Diageo, and they had a guy all dressed up in a kilt, speaking in a Scottish brogue (although, as I recall, he was originally from Brooklyn), and we tasted about five malts, and a couple of the higher end Johnny Walkers. At the time we went, Danny and I had just begun drinking malts with any dedication, but didn’t know much of anything about anything. Pretty much everything we tasted that evening was a new experience. And, the very first whisky we tasted that night was Clynelish, so it’s funny that in all the years I’ve been writing about malt whisky, I have never taken the time to write about Clynelish. That’s clearly an oversight, and one which I intend to remedy this very evening.

Clynelish is a highland whisky, but the distillery is located to the north of most other highland distilleries. Plus, it’s right on the water, on the east coast of Scotland. So even though it’s a highland malt, one can taste a bit of the sea in this whisky. Not really peat, more of a peppery bite, with a touch of brine lurking somewhere in the background. In truth, although it doesn’t get a lot of attention, Clynelish is one of those whiskies that’s distinctive, with a character different from all other malts, including the much more popular highland labels. I like that.

I also like the simplicity of its offering in the market. There is a single Clynelish from the distiller, 14 years old, 92 proof. It’s not matured in sherry or Madeira casks, and really, I’m getting fed up with the whiskies that are finished in fourteen different kinds of wine casks. I mean, I love wine and all, but if I want to drink tawny port, or Chateauneuf-de-Pape, I’ll drink the wine; I don’t need it mixed in with my whisky. So there’s none of that with Clynelish; it’s just malt whisky in a bottle. One age statement, old school presentation, nothing fancy. As I said, just whisky in a bottle.

Another thing: it’s reasonably priced. I have noticed that the 18 year old whiskies have all gone stratospheric in their pricing. Apparently, the deal in China is that everyone wants to drink only the best stuff. If they’re going to drink wine, it’s got to be first growth Bordeaux, or maybe one of the DRC Burgundies. And if it’s going to be whisky, it’s got to be the best that the distiller has to offer. So I guess over there, it’s 18 year old whisky or nothing. The Macallan 18 has been crazy expensive for years, but now the HP 18, the Bunnahabhain 18, certainly the older age statements from Bruichladdich, all of them are an arm and a leg. But the 12 year olds, which I’m guessing don’t have much cache in the Asian market, are still reasonably priced. Aberlour, HP, Bunnahabhain, you can pick up the 12s for forty dollars, or even less. The same is true for Clynelish at 14 years of age. I got a couple bottles from WhiteHouse for just that - forty dollars.

So if you’re in the mood for a distinctive malt, affordably priced, and not the same old same old sherry matured highland whisky, give this Clynelish a try. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Another Big Road Win

2011-02-26T17:34:00.002-05:00

I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t see this coming. A week ago, driving into Syracuse for the Rutgers game, I was expecting the season to end 2 and 2, and thought it would have given the Orange a nice late-season boost to steal one of the road games. But two big road wins, both against ranked teams? No way.

How mercurial has this team been all season? I don’t need to revisit the early season doldrums, when Boeheim christened them the most overrated team he had ever coached. Nor the mid-season swoon that seemed destined to leave the Cuse with their first five-game losing streak in Boeheim’s long career. The real question, from now until sometime in March, is what team will come to play in the two tournaments? Will it be the guys who won six conference road games, against the likes of UConn, Nova and Georgetown? Or the guys who surrendered ninety points to Seton Hall? The team that seemed to sleepwalk through many home games? Or the one that played great defense on the road?

Some interesting stats from today’s outing: Cuse was outrebounded by Georgetown, yet still managed to put up more shots. In part that was thanks to the turnovers. The Orange, uncharacteristically, protected the ball well, committing only 9 turnovers, at the same time they forced 16 from the Hoyas. That number included nine steals; plus, they had five blocks. It really was a defensive win. And if they’re to have any success in the post-season, it will have to come from the D. The offense remains too inconsistent.

The best news from today’s win, as far as I’m concerned, was the reemergence of James Southerland. Somehow, Southerland got in Boeheim’s doghouse, and has hardly played over the past month. Today, he keyed that run late in the first half that gave the Orange enough of a cushion to protect against the run Georgetown had coming out of halftime. He even looked pretty active in the zone, coming up with a couple steals and one nice block. With Southerland in the rotation, the Orange have seven players aside from the two freshmen centers. And with Southerland on the floor, they have another threat from the outside, and you know they’ll need that in March, as teams pack their defense in the lane to prevent Jackson from getting easy buckets.

Well, they have a week off before Depaul, and then another four days or so before Big East tournament play will start for them. So barring some catastrophe, and we know all about those, they should be healthy and rested for the post-season. Go Orange.

Lucky to Win, and Leaving Us Uneasy

2011-02-20T10:55:00.003-05:00

Driving home from the Dome yesterday, after the overtime win, I spoke with John and we told ourselves that the OT win was good preparation for the tournament. But after re-watching the end of regulation, I’m not so sure.

First of all, the Cuse went up seven with about six minutes to go when Kris Joseph hit his third three. They got three consecutive stops down at the defensive end, but could not add to the lead. Triche threw the ball away on an ill-advised full-court pass; then he missed a J; and then he had the ball stripped away. So with the crowd behind them, and momentum apparently in their favor, the Orange squandered an opportunity to add to their lead.

Next thing that happened was that Jackson drew his fourth foul and had to sit. As soon as Keita replaced him in the middle, Rutgers starting going inside on every possession, and chipped away at the lead. With under three to play, Cuse was down two. So that’s the second vulnerability; there won’t be any post-season wins if Rick Jackson can’t play the full forty minutes. And in the NCAAs, you never know how the game will get called. We get accustomed to these games where everyone bangs around underneath, without many whistles – Big East style. But what if they find themselves in a game where all those pushes and shoves under the boards become personal fouls? And will Jackson get the benefit of the doubt which he now enjoys as a result of his seniority?

Anyway, the Orange played good D, held a one-point lead with 25 seconds to play, and then made two complete bonehead plays that really should have cost them the game. First, Joseph left his feet in response to a ball fake from one of the Rutgers guards, who was at least 25 feet from the hoop. Totally unnecessary foul. We were lucky however, because the kid didn’t even pretend to throw up a shot, and it was only two foul shots, not three. So then the Orange bring the ball up court, down one, twenty seconds to play and Jardine attempts a bounce pass to one of the forwards, I think Joseph. For only the umpteenth time in the game, his bounce pass doesn’t get up above the knees. There was no way it could have been handled, but luckily, someone on Rutgers dove for it and knocked it out of bounds. One final possession led to Jackson’s second foul shot, which hit the front rim, bounced off the back rim, and somehow dropped through. Miraculously, Cuse had survived to play OT, where they finally pulled away, mostly thanks to their D, and the fact that fatigue kept Rutgers from hitting its threes.

But making those bonehead plays late in a tournament game, not just a home-court regular season game against a team at the bottom of the Big East standings, will probably result in a loss. And as much as I have liked Scoop in the past, I have to admit that he is not playing with a lot of sachel of late. Errant passes; poor spacing on the break; not shooting well; often not finding the open guy. He has not looked like the point guard who will steady this team as they play close games – think of Lazarus Sims. He’s shown that ability in the past, but seems distracted or unsure of himself this year. We get that steady play from Jackson, but he’s not playing the point.

Yes, I know that Pitt and Notre Dame lost; and that Nova barely escaped; and that every conference game is a battle. But here’s my prediction for the post season- regardless of seed. One and one; losing in the second round. The sweet sixteen this year will be an accomplishment; it’s possible though they are one and done. Sorry fans, but I just don’t have much confidence.

And speaking of predictions, I don’t think Fab Melo returns next year. The box score says he played one minute, but actually it was only five seconds. Boeheim put him in on the defensive end. He was totally flatfooted, and Rutgers blew by him for a lay-up. To compound the error, he committed a foul, so it was a three point play. But here’s the real issue. Coach pulled him immediately, and Melo did not leave the court without waving his arms to express his disgust with the coach. After the half, he didn’t return to the court with the rest of the team, but came out of the locker room about two minutes later. The kid is toast. And really, he just isn’t ready for D-1, certainly not for the Big East. He should have taken another year at prep school, or gone to a D-3 program. Next year, we have Keita and Riley returning, along with a highly touted recruit. But I don’t think Fab Melo will wear Orange in 2012. Too bad; there seemed to be so much promise.

We’re Number 18.5

2011-02-15T00:12:00.001-05:00

I like the ranking. No way this team should be in the top five, or even the top ten. They’re way too inconsistent, and they struggle too much offensively. Plus, I want them to feel disrespected. I want them to go into the post-season with something to prove. I want them to be motivated.

Tonight Danny and I watched the Cuse come back from a stagnant first half, overcome a six point deficit late in the first half, and end up beating a good West Virginia team by double digits. The Orange out rebounded the Mountaineers, even though it seemed like they were giving up a lot of second chance baskets. And they played great D in the second half, holding West Virginia to 22 points after intermission. In fact, even though W. Va. shot fifty percent from three-point range, hitting eleven of twenty-two, they could only muster six baskets within the arc, thanks to an active zone that disrupted many of the Mountaineers’ interior passes. Cuse had thirteen steals on the night, many of them leading to fast break opportunities.

And even though the offense was out of sorts in the first half, they scored enough after intermission to pull away. Foul shooting was not great, and there were several fast break opportunities that they failed to capitalize on. Guys missed some lay-ups, or seemed to wait too long before giving up the ball. But with the D holding West Virginia to just over fifty, the offense didn’t have to be spectacular – just good enough.

Every Big East game is a struggle, and this was no exception. West Virginia pushed the Orange around in the lane, made it hard for Jackson to score down low, and played an aggressive man defense all night. But their guard play was as good as it’s been over the last couple months. Triche led the scoring, and played with confidence all night. Scoop was aggravating, turning the ball over too often, and shooting poorly from the outside, but in the end, he made enough good plays to make up for all that. I especially liked his no look pass to Jackson underneath – a second half dunk that energized the crowd and the team.

So on Valentine’s Day, Danny and I had a good time at the Dome. No one had to buy flowers or chocolates. And the Cuse came away with a nice win. Let’s hope we see more of those over the next couple weeks leading up to the Big East Tournament. I don’t see this team going deep into the post-season, but they have enough talent to surprise folks, if they keep their game together. And can the tournament be any tougher than the Big East Schedule? I don’t think so. Go Orange.

Two Road Wins

2011-02-06T18:02:00.002-05:00

A confession: I did not watch the UConn game live. If I had picked a single game on the schedule that I did not expect the Orange to win, it would have been that one. And after the four-game slide, and the defensive meltdown against Seton Hall, no way I was even dreaming of a win. Plus, good guard play is the key to handling the 2-3 zone, and UConn’s guards have historically eaten up the zone. So with Kemba Walker in the lead for Big East player of the year, I gave them little chance up in Storrs. That game may have salvaged the entire season. For now, at least it stopped the slide, and kept the Orange from losing five in a row for the first time in Boeheim’s tenure. How often did those ESPN nincompoops bring up that fact during Wednesday’s game? I think they were disappointed they didn’t get that lead on SportsCenter.

In any event, aside from the two road wins, here is the good news from the past week. The defense is back to early season form. That’s the obvious point. Maybe more important than the defensive numbers were the rebounding numbers. Cuse grabbed ten more boards than UConn. How often has that happened, ever? And yesterday, they did even better against USF, which despite their lousy record, is one of the conference’s better rebounding teams. Another good number was the contribution off the bench. The freshmen contributed 19 points against UConn, and 17 against USF. Considering that both were low scoring games, those are pretty significant numbers.

On the offensive end, notwithstanding what I just said about the bench, the best news from the last week is the same news from all season long – which maybe means by now that it isn’t news at all. In any event, Rick Jackson is carrying this team. He was the only starter who shot above .500 up in UConn, and he was just about unstoppable yesterday. If he would learn to use the glass, I think he’d be scoring thirty points a game. As it is, his double doubles are the only reliable offensive option the Orange have had of late. Yes, I know Triche hit some big threes in the second half against UConn, as did Waiters against USF. But there is no reliable offensive performer aside from Jackson. If we do have a couple shooters on any given night, and if the defense plays hard, this team can continue to win, but they’ll continue to struggle as long as the guards struggle with their three-point shooting. And that reminds me, what happened to James Southerland? How did he fall from grace so quickly? (He started against Seton Hall, and had almost no minutes during the past week.)

The schedule doesn’t get any easier. Every game from now until the close of the Big East tournament has the potential to put an L on their record. Let’s hope that things have turned around, and that the good D we saw this past week carries them through the rest of the Big East schedule, and into the tournament. Or as Buzz Lightyear would say: To Infinity and Beyond. Go Orange.

Defense Returns to Form

2011-02-02T23:12:00.000-05:00

Just when I was about to give up on the season, and consign the team to a quick exit in March, the Orange beat the seventh ranked, and universally hated Huskies, on the road no less. That will do wonders for their RPI, probably undoing much of the harm that was caused by the unspeakable Seton Hall loss.

This team is the most inconsistent, unpredictable, and generally hard to figure bunch I can ever recall. In the Garden last month, they ran all over St. Johns, embarrassing the same Red Storm that later beat Duke by fifteen. Not long thereafter, they gave up ninety points to a Seton Hall team that came into the Dome having lost six straight. How does that happen? How does the defense surrender that many points to a team that isn’t playing five hundred, and then shut down a top ten team that had beaten the likes of Kentucky and Michigan State on consecutive nights?

I think this team needs a psychologist as much as a coach. When Brandon Triche is hitting his threes, he exudes confidence on the court; but after a couple turnovers, or if his shot isn’t going down, he starts moping, and you can just see that the kid is second guessing everything he does. Same for Kris Joseph, another mercurial personality who sometimes checks out of games if things aren’t going right. If everyone could just maintain his self-confidence, and avoid making bonehead plays, I think they could play up to their ranking. But as we’ve seen, they can just as easily play as though they don’t even deserve a bid to the NIT.

Assuming they get a road win at South Florida, and play well against the Hoyas when they return to the Dome, maybe it was a good thing to let go of the top five ranking. They were overrated at that level, regardless of how many games they had won. They need to have a chip on their shoulder; they need to feel like they have to play hard for forty minutes. In fact, forget about how they feel; they need to play hard for all forty minutes. There will be no more nights off for the remainder of the season. Every Big East game will be a struggle, or can easily become a struggle. Let’s hope they’ve plugged the holes in the defense, so that their inconsistent offense will at least have a chance to win, even when Triche and Joseph are moping. Let’s also hope they have no more four-game losing streaks. Go Orange.

Mostly Bad News, but a Bit of Good News

2011-01-23T16:33:00.002-05:00

Let’s start with the bad news, considering there was so much of it. For the first thirty-five minutes of yesterday’s Villanova game, pretty much the entire Syracuse team seemed to be sleepwalking. Jackson’s missed dunk early in the first half was a harbinger of the afternoon’s sloppy play. How often did the Orange dribble the ball off their feet, or allow passes to go right through their hands? And although it was a good idea to try and get the ball inside to Jackson, our guards kept telegraphing these lazy passes that would immediately get picked off. Most of the Cuse turnovers were really unforced, just gift-wrapped deliveries for a Nova team that really didn’t need any assistance.

Second, our backcourt play was just awful. Jardine and Waiters went a combined three for twenty, with a single three-point shot all afternoon. Eight points total. I don’t know if this had anything to do with the Philly connection, but both of those guys are Philadelphia natives, and maybe they were pressing. Maybe they wanted to show up the hometown team, who knows? But in the end, Nova’s guards ate them up at both ends of the court. Not only could they not hit anything, but Jardine especially kept making bad choices with the ball – playing selfishly even though he couldn’t manage to score; driving into the lane when Nova was collapsing inside, giving him nowhere to go; trying to force the ball into teammates who were completely surrounded by Nova’s defenders.

Third, until the last five minutes of the game, the Orange were consistently getting out-hustled by Villanova. On several occasions, they had two or three guys under the boards, yet one of Nova’s big men would manage to come down with the rebound. And late in the game, on those few occasions when they seemed to get a stop because Stokes or Fisher finally missed a three-ball, they’d fail to come up with the rebound, giving Villanova yet another chance to score, but worse, giving them another thirty-five seconds when time was running short.

Fourth, the zone was largely ineffective for the first time this year. That had something to do with the fact that Villanova’s guards seemed to be hitting everything they threw up. In the first half, they shot over sixty percent from three point range. Partly that resulted from patience – many of those shots went up with only a few seconds left on the thirty-five second clock. But it also resulted from the Orange not extending the zone – not getting out and challenging those three-point shots. Of course, Nova’s guards seemed a step quicker than the Orange guards, and were able to get into the lane almost at will. Our zone often suffers when the opposition has real quick guards who can penetrate and cause havoc. So the zone was vulnerable outside and inside, and surrendered forty points in the first half.

And because the zone was ineffective, there were almost no fast break opportunities. Their most productive offense all year has been the fast break; the team plays well in the open court, but seems to go stagnant in the half court. Yesterday was no exception. The offense looked static much of the afternoon.

Let’s stop counting, but another weakness was the failure of the freshmen centers to show up. For a couple games, it looked like Fab Melo might be coming around, and even though he won the opening tip for one of the few times this season, he and Keita were not a factor. As a result, Syracuse could not take advantage of its height. In fact, all afternoon it seemed like Nova’s big men were more of a presence inside than any of the Orange big men.

So if the Orange got outplayed on offense and defense, and if their guards had their worst game of the season, what’s the good news? Well, despite all I’ve said, Syracuse was within four points late in the game. Give Jackson his dunk, and eliminate just a couple of those sloppy turnovers, and it’s a tie game. We don’t put Nova’s guards on the foul line late in the game, and the whole thing comes down to the last couple possessions. Or to state all that another way, even playing their worst game of the year, the Orange still managed to keep it close against one of the nation’s top teams. So even though they can’t beat good teams when their guards take the day off, I think that when the team plays well, they can play with anyone.

The other good news, as far as I’m concerned, is that they won’t be ranked in the top five, and probably not in the top ten, come Monday. That’s a good thing. They need a chip on their shoulder. They need to feel that everyone has lost respect for them. They need to know that they must bring a sense of urgency to each of the remaining Big East games.

One final observation. In the second half, when they began to come back, when they cut the lead to single digits, and then to six, and later to four, I thought back to the championship team in 2003. On more than a dozen occasions that year, the team fell behind early, and then stormed back to win. On several occasions, they came back from double digit deficits. I recall the last home game of the season against Rutgers, when the Dome was packed to the rafters, when the crowd, over 33,000, set the record (since broken several times) for on-campus attendance. The team trailed by around twelve points early in the game. They came back, and that sent the crowd into a frenzy, raising the decibel level to the danger zone. In the end, those Orange won by more ten points, and the huge crowd went home happy. But yesterday, every rally seemed to stall. At one point in the second half, they cut the lead to six, and held Nova to a single point for almost four minutes. But on three or four straight possessions, the Orange couldn’t manage to score, couldn’t even manage to get off a decent shot. Soon they were again trailing by ten points. I know it’s unfair to compare this team, or any current team, to the mythical 2003 team. But wouldn’t they have a better chance in the tournament if they had the ability to come from behind – if they had the confidence to know they could rally from a big deficit?

This week they play Seton Hall, and before anyone gets too sanguine about that game, keep in mind that the Hall did not have Hazell in the lineup when they narrowly lost to the Orange earlier in the month. I’d hate to see three losses in a row. Let’s go Orange; let’s wake up, and get back to winning ways.

Dear Dr. Gross -- One Last Time

2011-01-17T17:09:00.001-05:00

Dear Dr. Gross,

I knew this day would come, especially once Doug Marrone turned the football program around. I knew you would renew your efforts to change my seats from “B” to “A”, notwithstanding the fact that they have always been “B”, ever since my dad first signed up for season tickets when the Dome was first open. And I knew that there would come a day when you raised the cost of those seats to a level I was simply unwilling to pay. And that day has come. I am not renewing, even though my dad and I have been in these same seats for over thirty years, even though I’ve been a Syracuse sports fan for longer than you could possibly recall. I’m done, and you can sell the seats to someone else.

I was going to write a long letter, but then I reread the letter I had written in the spring of 2009, when you first jacked me from “B” to “A”. That letter says enough, so I’m enclosing another copy for you to reread, even though I know you don’t intend to read either of these missives. I’m writing not because I expect you to do anything; I just feel better getting all this off my chest. It’s cathartic.

I have only a couple things to add to my previous thoughts. First, the inoffensive way to accomplish your goal would be to grandfather existing ticket holders until they surrender their seats. When I give them up of my own accord, then you can change to “A”, without offending anyone. But to punish me after loyally supporting the University for so many years seems indefensible. Second, since we last went through this in 2009, you have raised the cost of my seats by another 30%, even aside from the change from “B” to “A”. Other than health insurance, what else has gone up 30% in the past two years?

Third, and most importantly, I have learned something from this whole experience, and after all, the University is an educational institution, so it’s appropriate that I do learn, even at my advanced age. I have a football signed by the 1959 championship team. My dad was friends with one of the assistant coaches, who gave it to him shortly after the Cotton Bowl. I had intended to give it back to the University during the 2009 season, on the 50^th anniversary of the national championship. But of course, that was the year when you first tried to change me from “B” to “A”, so I was in no mood to do the school any favors. But now, after giving thought to what has happened here, I have learned that, in the end, all that matters is money. That’s the lesson you are teaching. Loyalty has no value; past support means nothing; the fact that I kept my tickets through the four miserable Robinson years – that’s less than nothing.That only showed what a sucker I was. So if money is the only important thing, I’ll hang onto the signed football and eventually sell it on E-bay. Now if you’re old fashioned, as I am, that’s a sad coda to this whole story. But if you’re all about money, and that seems to be the new perspective in the Athletic Department, then I have learned from this experience, and it’s a fine ending to the whole episode. Especially considering that I’ll save three thousand dollars next year. By the way, did you know that the games are broadcast on TV? I don’t have to drive down the Thruway in a snowstorm; I can watch them on a big flat screen here in Rochester, enjoying a beverage and a sandwich without having to pay twelve bucks to park my car.

Don’t bother calling. This time I’m not renewing, even if you return me to “B” for another two years, as you did in 2009. The way I’ve been treated, I just don’t care any more.

Very truly yours,

David Rothenberg

Glenfarclas

2011-01-02T13:56:00.002-05:00

After posting about whisky for over five years -- yes, MannyMontaigne is over five years old -- it’s always fun to write about something new. Or more accurately, something old, that we are posting about for the very first time. In this case, it’s Glenfarclas, and old school Speyside malt, which for some reason doesn’t seem to get the respect it deserves.

This posting originated when John recently visited Federal Wine and Spirits in Boston. One can’t visit Federal without talking whisky with Joe Howell, and during their recent conversation, Joe told John that he thought Glenfarclas was a vastly underrated malt-- that especially with the higher age statements, one could acquire a great bottle of whisky at less than half the cost of many better known labels. And although I trust Joe’s advice, and don’t ever recall being steered wrong by him, just for the hell of it, I checked out Michael Jackson to see what the great whisky critic thought. And I learned that Jackson and Joe are of like minds. Jackson gives good reviews to most Glenfarclas. He claims it’s the most independent of all scotch distilleries, independently owned, unaffiliated with any other distillery or distributors, and also family owned for the past 150 years.

So last week, when I was driving from Andover north to Portland, to visit G-Man, I stopped at the New Hampshire liquor store, where, apparently in celebration of the holidays, much of the whisky was being given away for next to nothing. I picked up a bottle of Glenfarclas 12 for only $31, tax included.

First of all, the Glenfarclas packaging tells you that this malt will have to stand or fall on its merits, because no one is going to pick up a bottle because of its clever marketing. The case for the bottle is as unattractive a blue color as one could possibly find. Ugly. The shape of the bottle, and the design of the label look like they haven’t been changed for fifty years. I can’t attest to that, obviously, but something tells me that the distillery didn’t hire any clever marketing firm to design an old school look for this malt. Instead, it just is old school.

When G-Man and I tasted the whisky in Portland, we compared it to a sixteen year old Longmorn, and didn’t find the flavor as rich, nor the finish quite as long. But having retasted it back home a couple times now, I think that was an unfair comparison. The twelve year old is uncomplicated malt whisky. It’s not finished in any wine barrels, and doesn’t have any of the sweet characteristics of the malts that are aged in, for example, sherry casks. Instead, it has a clean but robust malt flavor. Jackson thinks there’s a hint of peat in there, but I can’t find it. It reminds me of the fine oak Macallans, where one tastes whisky, and only whisky. And although I think I’d prefer to try a Glenfarclas that had spent a few more years in the barrel, and rounded out somewhat, I think that this is a very drinkable malt, and a particularly good value at this crazy price New Hampshire is currently asking. Nice long finish for a twelve year old too.

There are a number of very nice highland malts that are making their presence known these days. (For example, we have yet to post much about one of John’s recent favorites, Benromach.) And that’s good news for whisky lovers, because even as the eighteen year old prices are climbing into the stratosphere, probably because of the Asian market, the tens and twelves have stayed very moderately priced. And, just as Joe says, it would be very hard to find more whisky for the money that this old school Glenfarclas.

The Last Glass of Rosebank

2010-12-31T07:41:00.002-05:00

The other night, on our way to dinner at Meritage in the Boston Harbor hotel, we looked into the Rowes Wharf Bar and noticed that, among their single malt scotch whiskies, there was a listing for Rosebank. Rosebank! How often does one find Rosebank anywhere these days? It's gone from the enormous listing at Keens; Federal occasionally picks up a bottle or two, and if we get heads-up from Joe, maybe we have a chance to stop by before they're sold; and aside from the Gordon Macphail bottling, which was finished in sherry, and which tastes quite different from most lowlands, I don't think I've seen it anywhere over the past couple years. So we immediately planned for a nightcap at the Rowes Wharf bar, once dinner had concluded.

Just for the record, the dinner at Meritage was great. The restaurant is planned around wine pairings; the menu is structured, not by course, or food category, but again by pairings -- i.e., dishes that go with sparkling wines, dishes that go with fruity reds, and so forth. Not surprisingly, they have a superior wine list, and a knowledgeable sommelier, name of Tanya. Back in the day, one would have been surprised to find a sommelier of Tanya's gender, but of course we are used to that, as we are regularly guided through the wine world by Janine at the Chophouse. The thing that was surprising about the wine list was how reasonably wines were priced. We ended up with a 2001 Guigal Hermitage for under a hundred dollars, and were knocked out, just as we hoped we would be. But I didn't set out to post about wine; I wanted to tell you about our favorite malt, the long gone lowland -- Rosebank.

The reason Rosebank has become so hard to find, is that the distillery has been closed since 1992. And unlike Bladnoch, the other great lowland distillery, it has never been reopened. So the world's supply of Rosebank is disappearing -- what Jackson calls a grievous loss. We first tasted Rosebank on a family cruise when the ship had a whisky bar called Maltings. They had an 18 year old Rare Malts bottling, for around $8 a pour. It was love at first taste. So much so that, regardless of what else we drank all night long, John stopped by the bar late each night, for a Rosebank nightcap.

The Rowes Wharf bar offered a nineteen year old Connoisseur's Choice that reminded us of the original Rosebank we had tasted way back when. It had that delightful floral nose characteristic of the good lowlands, and a light malt flavor with hints of citrus or fruit. And even though the malt had become silky smooth after nineteen years in the barrel, there was a hint of pepper behind each taste. For me, it's the pepper that distinguishes Rosebank from Bladnoch, and that, in the end, makes this lowland whisky so special.

But when we arrived at the bar after dinner, and ordered a round of drinks, we learned that there was only a single pour of Rosebank in the bottom of the bottle. They offered to look in back and see if there were any more bottles, but John and I knew how futile that search would be. And in fact, we were thrilled to be able to split a single pour, considering just how infrequently one finds Rosebank anywhere other than in our own private stock. And so, on December 28, 2010, John and I shared the last glass of Rosebank at the Rowes Wharf bar. I'd love to be proven wrong, but I don't think anyone will ever duplicate that experience. So next time we visit Meritage, perhaps we'll share a bottle of dessert wine. And in the meantime, we'll keep our eyes open for other food and beverage establishments that still have a dram or two of this disappearing lowland whisky behind their bars.

Pinch 15

2010-12-27T11:20:00.003-05:00

Greetings from New England. More precisely, from Boston, from the Ames Hotel, looking out on the State Street meeting house, in the midst of what all the New England media are calling the blizzard of 2010. From our vantage point, it just looks like a winter storm. We’ll find out how bad it was in a couple days when we attempt to drive north to Andover and then Maine. The governor has declared today some sort of snow emergency, and only essential travel is permitted. We are planning to have lunch at the Last Hurrah, only a couple blocks away, and all of us agree that the Last Hurrah is always an essential destination in Boston. So we will be making the hike a little later. Another essential trip is a visit to Federal, only a block away, but that’s on tap for tomorrow.

One of the themes of this blog is single malt scotch whisky, and although we may enjoy other spirits, we rarely post about them. That goes for blended scotches as well. But today is an exception. We stayed a night with my sister Jill in Cambridge, and she happened to have a bottle of 15 year-old Pinch, which became our whisky of choice for a couple days. Pinch has been around forever, but I don’t recall seeing the 15 previously. So this was a new taste. And, I’m pleased to report, a very enjoyable one.

I can’t compare this Pinch to other offerings from that label, as I’m really not familiar with their standard blend. But I can tell you that the Pinch 15 had more flavor than almost any other blend I recall tasting. And it had a remarkably long finish for a blend. Most blends really don’t have much of a finish, the taste disappearing after the whisky is off the palate. But not this Pinch, whose taste remained with me long after the sip was swallowed. The only comparable blend I can think of is Johnny Walker Green, a blend of malt whiskies only (i.e., no other grains), all of which are 15 years old. To me the Pinch tasted of highland whisky, in fact, Speyside highland whisky, but when I went on-line to find out more, the postings I found claimed its backbone was Glenkinchie, a lowland. They also mentioned Linkwood, a whisky that I’m just not familiar with. So who knows? And who knows what this scotch sells for, my sister having bought it a couple years ago for a purported scotch lover who was visiting. I say purported, because according to Jill, her previous guest did not care for the Pinch, preferring his regular blend. John and I were not so critical; or perhaps we were more critical, and thus appreciative of the full-bodied flavor of this whisky. Whatever the case, we are pleased to report that there is yet another great whisky out there for all you readers to enjoy. You may have some trouble finding it, but if you do find it, you won’t be disappointed.

It’s now time to bundle up, venture out into the snow, and wind, and cold, and make the essential trip up State Street to the Last Hurrah.

A Quality Win

2010-12-24T06:26:00.002-05:00

The preseason is over. The Orange bring a perfect record into conference play, and are currently ranked fifth in both of the national polls. I’ve been complaining about that for two months, ever since they barely beat William & Mary. But as it turns out, Cuse got to their number five ranking, not purely through any popularity contest, but also by virtue of their record. The omniscient RPI also ranks them number five in the nation. And while their strength of schedule is not among the leaders as yet, they already have six quality wins, and one high quality win -- that being Wednesday’s dominating victory over Drexel.

Drexel came to the Dome with an 8-1 record, and some gaudy stats. They were outrebounding their opponents by 14 boards per game. They were allowing only fifty-some points per game. They had held Louisville to 46 points. But by the time everyone went home for the Christmas break, and the pre-conference season was over, Cuse had put up 93 points, twenty more than any other team had scored against Drexel; had out rebounded them 35-24; and had run them out of the Dome and back to Philly by an impressive margin -- 93-65. The Orange offense looked like it had finally come together, and had done that against a team that was touted for having one of the toughest man defenses in the nation.

Ever since the Michigan State game, the team has looked pretty good. They’ve averaged over ninety points per game; they’re outside shooting has improved; and most importantly, they are sharing the ball well. Against Morgan State, the Orange had 34 assists on 39 baskets. And even though the number of assists declined against Drexel, I can remember a couple of occasions when the fast break ended with an extra pass, meaning that someone gave up a chance to score, to reward a teammate. That’s a good sign.

The Orange start the conference season with two home games -- Providence next Tuesday, and Notre Dame on New Year’s day. They’ll have to keep up the good play of the last couple weeks if they want to have any chance in the Big East. That means continue to improve in the 2-3; keep rebounding; hit some outside shots; and make free throws late in games. Over the last couple weeks they’ve shown they can do that against lesser teams, but will they be able to keep it up against the Big East schedule? We’ll find out soon enough.

Laphroaig 18

2010-12-19T13:13:00.003-05:00

This posting is way overdue. Last summer, when G-Man was coming back to upstate NY, he stopped at the New Hampshire store and brought yours truly a couple malts. One was the new offering from Laphroaig, the most distinctive of all Scotch distilleries, their 18 year old. I had always been a fan of their fifteen, which had all the peat and brine for which Laphroaig is known, but was smoother around the edges, a touch sweeter, and in my opinion, one of the very best after dinner malts one could find. So I was disappointed to learn that Laphroaig was killing their 15, and planning to introduce an 18, as a replacement.

Speaking of introductions, we broke out the new 18 age statement at the Whisky Lovers Ball, which has become the social event of the summer around here. Everyone at the Ball loves good whiskies, so we make sure to offer a slection of finer malts. The after-dinner lineup is pictured above. Nothing for the faint of heart, and not much for rookies either. All these whiskies were chosen for the select group of whisky lovers who attend each summer’s ball.

Here’s the good news: the eighteen did not disappoint. It’s unquestionably Laphroaig -- what Jackson called the most medicinal of all malts. It has Laphroaig’s big flavor, that unique combination of smoke and sea -- peat and iodine. And curiously, even though it’s three years older than the 15, it is not as soft, nor as sweet. If anything, it’s more like the ten, but with more flavor, a little less fire, and a longer finish. Also, it’s more buttery on the palate than the younger Laphroaigs.

But here’s the bad news. Even though G-Man found this 18 at an affordable price, somewhere in the low 70s, I have only seen it on the shelves in Rochester at stratospheric prices -- upwards of $130. This appears to be a new marketing strategy for many distilleries. Their 10s and 12s remain reasonably priced, but the prices of older malts, especially 18s, are up through the roof. I always liked to keep a number of 18s in the cupboard, so we could break them out when other whisky lovers were over -- the Whisky Lovers Ball being the perfect occasion for these 18s. But $140? I don’t think so. My guess is that nouveau riche philistines all over the globe are buying up these eighteen-year-old malts in order to impress their colleagues and girlfriends. And who knows, probably pouring them over ice. So as much as I liked this Laphroaig, when it’s gone, I’m picking up the reliable ten, full of fire, and saving close to a bean. Until then though, I’ve still got half a bottle to enjoy. Plus, maybe the New Hampshire store will put it on sale once again.

Orange, Green, Red

2010-12-16T21:58:00.002-05:00

As of this moment, Cuse is ranked fifth in both of the basketball polls, and as if that weren’t crazy enough, ESPN places them in the number four spot in their power rankings. The number four team in the country? This is the same team that barely beat William & Mary, a well-known basketball powerhouse; that led Canisius, another hoops powerhouse, by only three at the half; that trailed Detroit by three at the half; I think you get the point. Their zone has kept them in games, and in fact, enabled them to beat Michigan State. But will the 2-3 zone be enough in Big East play? Especially on nights when no one can hit an outside shot? Although the zone has rounded into form, there still isn’t anyone who can consistently hit from the outside. Perhaps the Orange are better than I first thought this year, but at number four or five in the country, they still are in the running for Coach Boeheim’s most-overrated-of-all-time award. Either that, or he is doing the best job ever of motivation, by giving them something to prove at all times. They still have another couple weeks before the conference season begins, and they’ve had some quality wins away from the Dome, wins that will help their RPI later in the season. But I’m still really nervous about the conference schedule.

The C’s, on the other hand, look about as good as anyone in the NBA, and that’s without a center on their roster. KG is healthy again, and the team D is solid as a result. Plus, that means the big three are all scoring, especially with Rondo finding the open man at every opportunity. Shaq has looked good, in those minutes he’s played; and I’d like to think that had he been on Boston’s bench last season, when K-Perk went down in the finals, the C’s would have managed to hold on and win Game Seven. The big thing for this year is to stay healthy. Rondo in particular. Doc is sitting Rondo now for a couple weeks, or more, to heal his ankle, and his hamstring, and whatever else might be bothering him. So Nate Robinson, and Daniels will have to fill in, to play good D, and to distribute the ball to whomever among the big three seems to be hot that night, or open at that moment, or whatever. And then come springtime, if Perkins is back, and if one or both of the O’Neal brothers is able to fill in, to give Doc a dozen or so quality minutes off the bench, I think this bunch can do better than last year. In fact, right at this minute, after a tough game just last night in the Garden, and without Rondo, the C’s are about to beat Atlanta, a pretty good team in its own right. Six guys are in double figures, and no one has more than twenty points.

And while Boston’s hoopsters are playing this well, the RedSox front office has been hard at work trying to plug the holes that appeared in last year’s team. Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford are two great additions, both in the field, and at the plate. Assuming Ellsbury is healthy next summer, Boston could have the fastest duo in baseball leading off every game. It’s hard to picture the Sox as a running team, but that could very well be the case next year. Plus, putting those two guys in the lineup ahead of Pedroia, Youk, Papi and Gonzalez creates the potential for a lot of runs. But of course, everyone has to stay healthy. No more freakish injuries. The other weakness last year was the bullpen, and Theo today picked up Bobby Jencks, in an effort to shore up that part of the roster. The big question remains Papelbon. Did he have an off-year in 2010, or is Pap’s career in premature decline? I’d like to think the former. And with free agency on Pap’s horizon, I’d also like to think he’ll have a great year, if for no other reason than to enhance his market value. But if Pap returns to form, with Bard and Jencks working set-up, the bullpen could be solid once again. And how important is that? Everyone recalls Papi’s clutch hits in 2004, and Beckett’s dominating post-season in 2007. But Boston doesn’t win either of those championships without their bullpens. Foulke, Okajima, Papelbon. Those were the guys who made sure that the trophies ended up in New England those two years.

So there you have it. Skeptical about the Orange; confident about the Green; and hopeful for the RedSox. That’s how 2010 is coming to a close.

Eating My Words

2010-12-08T09:01:00.003-05:00

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. That's the sound of me eating my words. Last night, as the Orange thoroughly dominated Michigan State, I could not believe I was watching the same team that barely squeaked by William & Mary. Or the team that scored only 34 points in the final 30 minutes against NC State. They did not look overrated. They looked like they could play with anyone.

Perhaps it was the zone, which seems to be improving with each game. So if the defense can keep teams from scoring 60 points, even teams from major conferences, even Big East teams, that will make it easier for the Orange to win games. Or perhaps it was the mystique of playing in the Garden. Cuse always seems to play well in the Garden -- their home away from home. Or maybe what we'll see as the season progresses is that the Orange will play to the level of their competition. Let's see how things go Saturday night against Colgate; will the Orange keep it close, or will we finally see a blow-out this year? Or maybe it was the fact that they kept the turnovers down.

Who knows? But whatever the reason, they have probably locked up that top ten ranking until the conference season begins. We'll see in a couple months whether that's a good thing or not.

Bad, Good, but Mostly Ugly

2010-12-05T14:22:00.004-05:00

It was not artistic, and as I left the Dome I thought that the Orange really didn’t deserve to win, but in hindsight, I was wrong. Beating a credible NC State team, even by playing ugly, was a big step ahead of where this team was only a couple weeks ago.

Let me start by discussing why I was dissatisfied as I walked down to Irving Avenue. The Cuse had scored 31 points in the first quarter of the game (I know we don’t have quarters in college hoops, but I’m referring to the first 11 or so minutes of the game.), but then managed to put up only 34 points in the final three quarters. That works out to only about one point per minute. Not a very productive scoring rate. Similarly, Scoop hit two threes early in the game, but otherwise, the Orange were zero for fourteen from beyond the arc. What that means is that they did not hit another three all night long.

So that exposes one of the key weaknesses of this year’s team. Ever since Gerry McNamara arrived in the fall of 2002, Cuse has had at least one dependable three point shooter. G-Mac, Devo, Rautins, Wes Johnson. Not this year. Right now, against the softest part of their schedule, the Orange have been shooting under thirty percent from long range. Only 43% overall. Remember when AO had the highest shooting percentage in the nation? So from this point on, expect other teams to pack their defense into the lane, keep the Orange from getting easy baskets inside, and challenge them to hit from long range. Dion Waiters has to start playing better on D, so we can have at least one credible outside threat on the floor.

Now here’s the weird thing. Even though the team is shooting poorly from the outside, too many guys are throwing the ball up the first time they touch it, no matter how many seconds are left on the clock, and without ever trying to create opportunities for easy baskets. So even though the team looked good for the first 11 minutes, they then reverted to early season form, and everyone resumed playing one on five -- no movement on offense, no real team play. No movement away from the ball. Nothing on the offensive end.

But as I said above, it wasn’t all bad news. First of all, the freshmen centers began contributing.

Between Melo and Keita, they had eight points and eight rebounds. Now that’s not great, but it’s clearly better than the double zeros they were threatening to put up at times. If they can collectively, and consistently, contribute ten and ten, a double-double for the center position, the Orange will stand half a chance in some conference games. Plus, the team played the small lineup for about ten minutes, with Jackson in the post, and CJ Fair playing the other forward. That makes them vulnerable in the middle on D, and potentially exposes Jackson to foul trouble, but it makes them quicker, and upgrades the offense a bit.

The only time the offense looked good was on the fast break. Scoop runs the break well, far better than he runs the half court offense. (There really isn’t any half court offense yet.) Joseph gets up and down the court well, and scores easily in transition, even though he really can’t create in the half court. Same for Triche. So really, there are two keys to scoring this year. One:rebound well, so they can get out on the fast break. And two: hit some more shots from the outside.

But the most encouraging sign last night was the D. NC State stayed in the game early, even when Cuse was playing well, by shooting so well from the outside. Partly, they were hitting their jump shots. But the other part was that they were getting open looks. Guys were missing assignments in the 2-3. Coach was throwing fits on the sideline, and in pact pulled Waiters out of the game for leaving his man wide open on consecutive possessions. But late in the game, the zone was more effective; there were no open shots, even from long distance; and Cuse kept NC State from scoring much at all. In fact, NC State scored three points over the last nine plus minutes - nothing over the final five and a half minutes. The turning point was when the Orange went into the press with about ten minutes to play. A couple turnovers led to easy baskets; the team erased a five point deficit; then the zone shut down the Wolfpack’s outside shot; and Cuse manged to pull out an ugly win.

I don’t think they can do this against a ranked team, and we’ll get to find out during the coming week. If I’m right, they will have trouble against all the better conference teams. Can they manage to go .500 in conference play? I would have said no way a couple weeks ago, but now I think the answer should be : Who knows?

Encouraging Signs

2010-12-01T21:46:00.005-05:00

I know it was Cornell, and not the same Cornell that made it to the sweet sixteen last year. With none of the seniors that made last year’s team so tough, Cornell was smaller and slower, and really no challenge for the Orange. So it’s hard to get overjoyed when they beat Cornell by twenty points. But even so, there were some encouraging signs in last night’s win. At least in the first half of last night’s win.

The most noticeable change was that, for the first time this season, Fab Melo actually did something. He ended up with eight points, and seven boards. One would think that a seven foot kid playing against opposition that was several inches shorter ought to end up with some rebounds. But having watched Fab Melo do nothing against comparable teams, I had pretty much given up on the kid. So I was glad to see him fill the lane, score on assists from Scoop, slam home an alley oop, and actually look like he was starting to figure out what to do on offense. Maybe it’s just a learning process.

More encouraging was the fact that, at least in the first half, Cuse had almost as many assists as buckets. Last year there were assists on an overwhelming percentage of baskets, but not so in the early games this fall. Everyone seemed out of sync; each guy seemed to be playing one on five. But last night, there was lots of passing to the open man, both underneath and at the three point line. I recall a couple real nice passes by Jackson, who has been the team’s MVP in the early going.

I also thought the team ran the break real well last night. That’s actually been their strength all season. As bad as the half-court offense has been, they have looked good when they have rebounded and gotten out on the break. And, that’s where Joseph is at his best. He’s not Carmelo; he really can’t create off the dribble. But he can run the floor well, and can usually take his guy when he’s in the open court.

Lastly, I was encouraged by the play of Dion Waiters. For one thing, he was the only guy hitting from outside the three point line. Scoop went scoreless, even though he had seven assists; Triche missed all his three pointers; but Waiters ended up with double figures off the bench. Getting that kind of contribution from him and Fair will make up for the offensive vacuum in the middle.

Two big games are coming up. NC State is not ranked, but anyone from the ACC is a worthy opponent. And then Michigan State in the Garden, which we be the first chance really to measure this year’s team. After the William and Mary game, I was convinced that Michigan State would win by 45 points. But Cuse has looked much better in their last three games, and while I’ll be shocked if they beat the Spartans, I’m hoping they can avoid humiliation. Maybe it will end up being one of those ugly low scoring contests - a preview of Big East play.

And one more thing, a loss to Michigan State would drop them out of the top ten, which in the long run, will only help. No way in hell the Orange deserve their number seven ranking right now. A little disrespect might do away with a lot of complacency. Let’s get that chip back on the shoulder, just like last year.

Sublime No. 4 - All Good Things Come to an End

2010-11-27T11:08:00.002-05:00

By the time the intermezzo was served last Saturday night, I had already downed seven glasses of wine. Now they were short glasses, under three ounces a pour, but still, I have to admit that from this point on my judgment was impaired. I have only the most general recollection of what transpired from this point of the evening on.

Our fifth course was braised short ribs, which have made an interesting transition from immigrant food, something my grandmother might have prepared, to haute cuisine. The pairing was Barolo, the prestige wine from Piedmont, made also from the Nebbiolo grape. The aforementioned article, discussing the six most exclusive wines of Italy, led off with Monfortino, a Barolo that is not produced every year, but only when the vintage is good enough to justify making the wine. Thus, so said this article, all Monfortinos are exceptional. And for the beef course, our host served up three Monfortino Barolos, 1934, 1978, and 1997. The ’34 was way past prime, thin, light pink, and really tasting more like a digestif than a dinner wine. Interesting, and noteworthy for its age. Susan thought it got better as it aired, but for me it remained a novelty. I thought the other two were great, but our host proclaimed the ’97 too young, too green. Apparently Barolos, especially great Barolos, need a long time for the tannins to soften. He thought the 78 was just great. Who was I to argue? Another exceptional wine.

Lastly, we tasted the wine for which I had waited all evening, Amarone. Amarone is made from Valpolicella grapes that are left to dry out before pressing. The result is a juice that is concentrated, in flavor, in texture, and in higher alcohol. The conventional wisdom is that Amarone is so strong that it overpowers anything, with the one exception of strong cheese. So we drank a 1995 Quintarelli Amarone with our cheese course. Quintarelli is one of the two most famous producers of Amarone, so once again we had the chance to drink the very best, the most exclusive wine of this variety. I found the Amarone to be unique, in a sense unlike any of the other wines I have ever tasted. It was thick and concentrated, but not at all sweet. It had the rich texture of a dessert wine, but it was dry, clearly a food wine. I think there must be dishes that can stand up to Amarone – rich meats with strong flavored sauces or glazes. Osso Bucco for example. But it will be hard to discover these pairings, because one does not often find Amarone on wine lists. Let’s consider it a project for the future.

So there you have it. In one evening we drank the mythical Fiorano, four different 100 point wines, three Gajas in one perfect course, the best Brunello and Barolo that Italy has to offer, and an exceptional Amarone. I can’t imagine I’ll have the opportunity to duplicate this experience, unless of course, our host chooses to open his cellar for another charity auction. Speaking of that, he took us on a tour of the cellar after dinner, but that’s another story altogether.

Sublime No.3 - The Perfect Pairing

2010-11-25T09:11:00.002-05:00

So back to the wine dinner. If you will recall, we had just finished the third course, had compared the Brunello with the Masseto, and had noticed that the places were now being set with not one glass for the next course, but three. One of the ideas behind a dinner like this is that you have small glasses of wine with each pairing, so that even though you are sampling a different wine with each course, you are not getting blasted. But how does that work when you are served three glasses with a single course? Really, by now, who cared? One wine, three wines, how many fabulous wines could we drink in a single evening? Bring it on.

The next course was paired with Barbaresco, one of the two prestige wines from Piedmont. The grape is nebbiolo, which we’re told is a fussy grape, and one that only grows only in a narrow area of Piedmont. Apparently, vintners have tried to raise this grape elsewhere, but never with any success. And the Barbaresco for last Saturday was Gaja, one of the most recognizable and prestigious of all the Italian winemaking names. And the reason we were given three glasses each was that we were tasting three different Gaja Barbarescos, all single vineyard wines. The names of the vineyards are Costa Russi, Sori Tildin, and Sori San Lorenzo. These names don’t really mean much of anything to me in and of themselves, but I’ve seen these wines on wine lists, and the prices are always huge. Not quite astronomical, not necessarily Lafite or Petrus; but way above my price range, that’s for sure.

The Barbarescos were all great, in my opinion. We tasted and compared, everyone expressed their preferences, our host declared that while two were excellent, one was disappointing; but I have to confess that although I could detect differences among the three wines, I was unable to say which one I liked most, or least. That’s partly because all three were so great that I found the question irrelevant.

But the real reason I couldn’t discern any defects in any of the wines, was that the pairing for this course was the most perfect pairing of wine and food that I had ever tasted. Tony served up a guinea hen with a fois gras sauce. It went so well with the Barbarescos that every taste was a trip to sensory paradise. Really, every taste of this dish, washed down with any one of those Gaja Barbarescos, sent me off on some kind of ecstatic fit. As great as the other wines had been, and maybe on their own they were better than these Gajas, nothing yet had matched the sensation of this perfect pairing of food and wine. We’ve got two great wine courses yet to go, and more amazing and memorable wines to taste, but this was the high point of a spectacular dinner for me. Not only that, but considering the price of these exclusive wines, I doubt I’ll ever have the chance to duplicate this experience again. I’m just glad I didn’t pass out or have a conniption at the table. Anyway, time for the intermezzo.

Sublime No. 2 - Twice One Hundred

2010-11-23T06:37:00.002-05:00

I would be hard pressed to say exactly what was the highlight of last Saturday’s Italian Wine Dinner. In fact, it’s probably no more possible for me to pick out any one wine, or any one course, any more than I could say that the 2003 Orange victory over Kansas was more gratifying, or more enjoyable, than the following year’s October sweep of the Yankees and the Cardinals. Both were fabulous, and what’s the point of picking one over the other? All I can tell you is that the two wines about which I will post tonight were both unbelievable. In retrospect, I’m amazed I didn’t pass out from pure sensory overload.

We had the chance on Saturday to taste four different wines that had been scored 100 points by Wine Spectator. I would have settled for one. I would have been happy with a few in the mid 90s. But never mind what I would have settled for; this was not a night for modest expectations. Our second course was a white truffle risotto, paired with a 1957 Soldera Reserva Brunello de Montalcino. So let’s do that one at a time. Brunello de Montalcino has become one of the glamour wines of Italy. There are no inexpensive Brunellos; and the whole DOCG thing imposes strict requirements on wineries who produce Brunello. So we’re starting off from a pretty high level. Then it just so happens that, in preparation for Saturday’s dinner, I went online to read up on Italian wines, and came across an article about the most prestigious, the most select wines of all. What was the most exclusive Brunello of all? Soldera. Now I can’t pretend to know anything about 1957, but all I know is that this was one of our 100 point wines.

Before I describe the Brunello, though, let me move ahead to our next wine, the only Super Tuscan of the night. Ornellaia Masseto, another 100 point score from WS. The Super Tuscans are the category of wines which were grown outside the boundaries of the old rigid Italian winemaking rules. For example, in Tuscany, one was supposed to raise Sangiovese, and make Chianti or Brunello or Montepulciano. One was not supposed to grow cabernet, or merlot, or God forbid, blend Sangiovese with one of those French grapes. But vintners began doing that; everyone loved the wines; and the Super Tuscans became so popular, and eventually so prestigious, that the wine bureaucrats relented. Good thing too, because this Masseto was fantastic. It’s 100% merlot, and has become known as the Petrus of Italy, or so says our host. I know some of us are not merlot lovers, but this is the second time in very recent memory that I have tasted a spectacular merlot. Rich, luxurious, infinitely long finish. A really decadent wine. And it was paired with veal roulades, served in a rosemary olive sauce. Fabulous.

Here’s the really interesting thing, however. The Masseto was the most luxurious wine we had all night; and if we had to drink only one wine, I would pick the Masseto. But, despite that, the Brunello went better with food. I think that’s really the key to the great Italian wines. This Brunello was much more austere than the Masetto. It was drier, more understated. But it accompanied its dish better than the bigger and plusher merlot. Now keep in mind, both of these wines were completely spectacular. At this point in the evening I was having trouble concentrating; I couldn’t make small talk, as one is supposed to do at dinner parties. I couldn’t think about anything aside from the sensory explosions that were happening inside my mouth. And this minute distinction between these two wonderful wines was nothing more than an observation, not by any means a critique. It was interesting, however, because it shed light for me on the virtues of Italian wine, and their comparative merit as an accompaniment to good food.

Anyway, if I was in heaven after the first course and the Fiorano, now I had made it up to the fifth or sixth circle of Paradise. Except of course, Dante would not have had anyone in paradise enjoying the pleasures of great wine and food. Only who cares where Dante would have placed us on Saturday night? I only know that the evening wasn’t quite half over; I had tasted one incredible wine after another; and as I was finishing my Masetto, the servers came around and gave each of us three glasses for the next course. Holy moly.

The Sublime to the Ridiculous

2010-11-22T08:46:00.001-05:00

This is a whisky blog, not a wine blog, of which there are hundreds, maybe thousands. So I have refrained from posting about great wines we have enjoyed, some of which have been quite memorable. But Saturday night, Susan and I had a chance to drink a number of truly incomparable Italian wines, many of which can no longer be found on the open market. And so I’ve decided to make an exception, mainly so that I can record my recollection of these wonderful wines, while they are still fairly fresh in my memory.

The setting was an Italian Wine Dinner, seats at which were auctioned at a charitable fund raiser; Dr. Ron and Trudie purchased four seats, and then were kind enough to invite us. When they first mentioned it, we thought we might be out of town this weekend, but our plans changed, and we accepted. Lucky for us that happened. I don’t feel comfortable disclosing our hosts, but suffice it to say that he has a most impressive cellar, with a particular interest in Italian wines. Dinner was seven courses, each paired with one or more wines.

Before dinner, we had a glass of a sparking wine made from the same grape as Proseco, but with the French champagne method. It was dryer and crisper than most Italian sparkling wines I’ve tasted – light and crisp.

The dinner started off with a bang, as we were served a 1990 Fiorano. I had only heard of Fiorano in the most general sense, a kind of mythical white wine, of very limited production. Online, I’ve learned that Fiorano was made on a tiny vineyard by an eccentric prince, who apparently followed few of the traditional winemaking rules, who refused to commercialize his wines, and who eventually plowed under the vineyard where the white Malvasia and Semillon grapes were grown. The wine has been out of production since 1995, and only about 14,000 bottles were ever made. Readers will know that I’m no fan of white wines, but this white was unlike anything I’ve ever drunk. Most white wines are drunk young, because they don’t age well, but what was distinctive about this Fiorano was that it aged so well. Apparently, the older the wine gets, the fruitier it becomes. In any event, it was gold in color, and tasted rich and complicated. Think of all the layers of flavor in a great ice wine, and then try to imagine that in a dry white. Every taste seemed to have a new surprise for me. It was paired with sea bass served in a garlic and grappa infused seafood broth. (Tony did the cooking.) So the first course ended, and I was already in heaven. And I’d got there from drinking white wine. Imagine that. And imagine where we’re headed with all the reds waiting to be poured.

Before posting about the remaining courses from Saturday night, let me digress to mention Sunday afternoon, when the Orange barely managed to beat William and Mary. When this game started off well, and Cuse ran out to a 12-2 lead after five minutes, I thought that we might get to see one early season game where they performed as predicted. After all, they had played well in the second half of each game; the problem had been the slow starts. However, once W&M shook off their jitters, and started hitting threes over the zone, they climbed back into the game, aided by the fact that the Orange went cold. It was two or three points at the half – the usual. In the second half, they came out of the locker room all energized, ran up a double digit lead, but then went cold again. Just like the first half, W&M began hitting from outside, closed the lead, and then suddenly, with two minutes to go, the Orange trailed by four. It would have been a hell of a game if we had been playing Georgetown, but William & Mary? Somehow, things fell our way at the end. Twice their guys stepped on the end line and turned the ball over; we hit some foul shots, and got a key putback; and in the end, won by three. Maybe it was good preparation for those close conference games, but honestly, I can’t envision any conference team being as small and slow as W&M. We still had no inside game; we had no flow in the halfcourt offense; we ran well when we got turnovers, or long rebounds, but we weren’t able to get out in the break as much as previous games. Melo sat more than he played. Moussa Keita looks like he might contribute on D, or under the boards, but not on the offensive end. It’s still 4 on 5 when either of the freshmen centers are on the court. Coach is playing more and more with a smaller lineup, Jackson in the post and Joseph along with either Southerland or CJ Fair at the forwards. We give up size, but at least it’s 5 on 5. And he also had an entire lineup off the bench in the first half – Moussa Keita, Southerland, Fair, Mookie and Waiters. Those guys played well I thought. They hustled; they rebounded; Waiters had a couple decent drives, one off a steal. No one shot lights out, but in the first half, they played better than the starters. Coach needs to develop more confidence in these guys, and then at least we are ten deep. So from a statistical perspective, it will be easier to find someone, anyone who can hit his jumpers.

They need work. I only hope they improve; that the zone functions better, so they keep opponents’ scores down. They’ll need that because many games they’ll find it hard to score. And maybe they’ll learn to play together better; instead of playing five individual games, maybe guys will look for their teammates cutting underneath. And maybe coach will hire a hypnotist for Fab Melo who will put him under a spell. He’ll wake up with this desire to get his hands on the ball when he’s under the hoop, and instead of watching little guys scramble for boards, he’ll box someone out, and then go grab the ball, not when it’s on the floor, or in an opponent’s hands, but when its above the rim, where his seven foot advantage allows him to be the only rebounder. Right! That will happen next game, I’m sure. Speaking of the next game, on Friday, we play Michigan, then NC State, Cornell (a tournament team these past couple years) and then number 2 Michigan State.

That will be an interesting, and telling stretch. I hope we can win two of those four games. We’re not going to dominate anyone this year, but if we can hang in with a decent team, and play well at the end, as we did on Sunday, who knows? Maybe we can go 500 in the conference. From where I’ve been watching, that would be an accomplishment this year. Oh well.

Overrated?

2010-11-14T21:47:00.002-05:00

Last year, the Orange entered the season unranked, when they really deserved to be ranked in the top ten. This year, the opposite is true. Although they are ranked as high as ten in one of the polls, it pains me to say that they really should be unranked. In Friday night’s opener against Northern Iowa, we all gave them the benefit of the doubt, as N. Iowa had been a tournament team, reaching the Sweet 16, so it didn’t seem so bad that the Orange were offensively challenged in the first half. But today, against a modest Canisius squad, the Orange looked very little like a top ten team.

I think the chief reason everyone had such high expectations was that they believed Fab Melo was going to be the second coming of his namesake. Forget about it; that’s not going to happen, at least not this year. Melo, and the other freshman center, Moussa Keita, are both going to be projects. No way either one will have much of an impact this year. In each of his first two games, Melo had more fouls than points or rebounds. And although I had heard about him being a huge defensive presence during practice, he has yet to block a single shot this season; Canisius guys were shooting over him all afternoon. The most effective lineup in my opinion was Jackson in the middle, and one of the young guys, either Southerland, or CJ Fair, at the other forward spot. At least that puts five players on the floor.

The other big problem was a complete absence of half-court offense. For the most part, the offense today consisted of guys either firing up three-pointers, or trying to create a shot for themselves off the dribble. Last year we were among the leaders nationwide in assists per game. In the first half today, we had six assists. I think the biggest difference is that they miss Rautins, who created movement for the offense away from the ball. The best we could do today was to have one of the guards get into the lane, and then try to dish to someone underneath. But if this offense couldn’t score consistently against Canisius, how is it going to work against the likes of Pitt and UConn?

Scoop does a good job of leading the break, so in the second half today, when Canisius cooled off, and we began collecting rebounds, and getting out on the break, then the offense began to click. The team ended up with 18 assists; and ran up 54 points in the second half. So I guess that was good news, although I can’t see that happening quite so easily against Big East teams. The other good news is that there are a number of decent outside shooters, so for the second straight game, we had good production from three-point range. Other than Joseph and Southerland, who couldn’t hit from the outside today, the rest of the team shot 50% from three-ball range. There are about five or six genuine threats from the outside, and I’d like to think a couple of them will be hot on any night. But what happens when no one can hit from the outside?

That exposes another weakness on this team; there is no go-to guy. Certainly no Melo; and not even someone like Wes Johnson, who couldn’t take the game over, but who could at least be counted on to provide some offense when everyone else cooled off. Rick Jackson, who admittedly looks much improved over last year, and who has played steadily at both ends of the court, isn’t really a creator with the ball. I read somewhere that Kris Joseph was picked as a second team all-american by someone, but that’s a stretch, in my mind. He likes to get in the lane and try to create, but unless he can hit from the outside more consistently, teams are going to play off him, clog the lane, and keep him from doing much of anything except drawing charges. There’s really no one who can carry the team through a dry spell.

I was encouraged by the play of two of the freshmen, Waiters and Fair. I think they’ll be able to contribute off the bench; to give the starters a rest; and to help the team get up and down the court for forty minutes. This team is going to need that; they’re going to need to run a lot, and to have fresh legs in the game. Boeheim hasn’t sounded real optimistic about these two, but I liked the way they played.

Anyway, I hope I’m wrong, but right now, I’m not certain this team will make it to the tournament. I know that’s heresy, and maybe they’re just rusty. But I saw last year’s bunch in November, down in the Garden, and they killed Cal and Carolina. This year’s squad struggled to beat an undersized and unimpressive Canisius team. Sorry to say it, but right now, there is really no comparison.

Something to Like in the Season for Hating

2010-10-31T18:48:00.002-04:00

Last night the Rangers did more than prevent a sweep in this year’s World Series. And assuming that Cliff Lee can return to form when he next appears on the mound, they probably insured that the series will go back to San Francisco. But of greater significance, at least from the perspective of this publication, they staked out their claim to Red State loyalty in this year’s fall classic. By inviting W and Laura to sit in the owners’ box, Nolan Ryan guaranteed that die hard Democratic haters will now root against the Rangers, regardless of baseball loyalties. I wasn’t watching closely enough in Games 1 and 2, but I hope Nancy Pelosi was sitting close to the Giants dugout. Pelosi has about the same effect on Republicans that Bush has on Democrats. So even though the Hating season is over for all the known readers of this blog, I’m glad to see that this year’s Series still has the capacity to inspire player-haters across the land. Not only that, but next Tuesday ought to give this year’s Haters even more reason to get worked up. Hate. Hate. Hate.

Speaking of hating, I’ve had to take anti-nausea medication this weekend as the political ads descend to the absolute nadir of sleaziness and repulsion. Remember in Network when Faye Dunaway discovers that news is really just a form of entertainment? The medium of television, a/k/a Invasion of the Body Snatchers, has reduced political discourse to the level of name calling and hucksterism. We elect our political leaders using techniques developed for the sale of toothpaste. We probably make better decisions when we buy toothpaste.

But enough of that discouraging news, here’s something we can all be grateful for: the Syracuse football program, which had threatened to devolve into a Division III team, has won three consecutive road games in the conference; is now 6-2 for the season; and with a couple more wins, will be bowl eligible. I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, but yesterday’s workmanlike victory in Cincinnati suggests that this team could very well be playing on New Year’s Day. The most remarkable thing about this turnaround is, of course, the defense. That defensive genius who had been purportedly coaching the team for four years, consistently led them to the bottom of the D-I statistical rankings in every defensive category. (Have you followed the Michigan Wolverines this fall? Have you seen their defensive stats? I feel bad for Denard Robinson, who can’t run fast enough, or throw far enough, to make up for his team’s lack of defense.) Anyway, in recent years, the Orange had been so lousy that I just assumed the players lacked the athletic ability to compete on the Division I level. Turns out that was all wrong. Many of the same kids who were so ineffective two years ago are this fall making plays, now that they are part of a creative and intelligent defensive scheme. And if Marquis Spruill is indicative of the kind of recruits Marrone is bringing to the Dome, this defense is only going to get better in the years to come.

And yesterday, the offense looked much more effective. It helped that Carter was healthy; he and Bailey make up a great inside outside combination. Nassib was better than he had been in the ugly wins at USF and West Virginia, and the team capitalized on all of Cincinnati’s turnovers.

I know that the Big East isn’t the SEC; the conference is a shadow of what it was in the late 80’s and early 90’s. And it will take time for the Cuse to rebuild this program so that it can compete on a national level. But if Boise State and Oregon can dream of a national championship, why can’t the Orange do the same?

Yankees Go Home

2010-10-24T11:38:00.002-04:00

That’s not a political slogan. That’s a fact. And from the perspective of all true Haters, the season is effectively over. None of us has to endure the indignity of watching the other play in the World Series, let alone win the thing. Instead we can watch simply for the enjoyment or entertainment or drama, without having any nervous breakdowns; and we don’t have to stay up until dawn, should one or more games go into extra innings.

I think the theme of this year’s classic, no matter how it turns out, will be redemption. The whole Josh Hamilton story is grounded in redemption. And while the Giants can’t quite match Hamilton for the extremes he’s encountered, there is an element of redemption for all the cast-offs who were picked up by San Francisco, whose careers seemed to be ending, and who are now playing for a championship.

Long time ago, I was a Giants fan, really as a result of being a Willie Mays fan. I always thought Mays was the greatest ballplayer of all time. He could do everything, and do it better than most everyone else. Think about the catch. And then think about his numbers from this perspective. He missed two years in his prime, when drafted for the Korean war. 1951 he was rookie of the year; 54 he was MVP; but he missed most of 52 and all of 53. Then consider that he was playing in the Polo Grounds, with a short porch down the left field line, and after 57 moved to Candlestick, where it was close to impossible to hit home runs. In 1954, when the Giants won it all, at the all-star break he was on a pace to break Ruth’s single season home run record. But Durocher told him instead, to hit for average, and he ended up winning the batting title. So if you give Mays those two years, and delay his move to Candlestick for even half a decade; everyone would have been chasing Mays with 800 home runs – not Ruth, not Aaron, not Bonds. Forget about it.

So for old times sake, I suppose I’d like to see the Giants win, although before the NLCS, I couldn’t have named anyone on their roster aside from Lincecum. At the same time, I like the Rangers. Not just because they beat up on the Yankees, but because they have an exciting lineup, with an landsman at second base. I like Vlad Guerrero, another guy who seemed like his career might be over, and who now is playing in his first World Series. For my money, I’d like to see a seven game series, with games decided in the late innings. But as for who wins, even though the Giants are a sentimental favorite, I think the season will have a happy ending for many folks, no matter how it turns out.

Speaking of happy endings, how about Cuse stopping West Virginia on that last drive, preserving a road win against a ranked team? How about an exciting defense, with guys blitzing from all over, and different schemes in the defensive backfield? I know the offense has been pretty unexciting of late, although the running game produced some good numbers yesterday before Carter got hurt. But the defense really stepped it up; and that was a huge change from the Pitt game. Wouldn’t it be nice if the coaching staff could figure out what the team’s deficiencies were, and make adjustments that corrected the problems? Wouldn’t that be a switch from the past decade, when we seemed to get out coached in every single game? I don’t know exactly how the team turned things around so dramatically in one week, but I’d like to think that the coaches had something to do with that turnaround. (And by the way, don’t you think that the guys who hired Robinson as defensive coordinator in Michigan are feeling pretty stupid right about now?)

If the Orange keep this up, before too long the Dome will be full for something other than the Nova game. Only thing is, if that ever happens, Dr. Gross will go nuts, and then I’ll be faced with a real dilemma: whether to pay the jacked up prices, both for my seats, and for the tickets? Last time they tried to jack me, I held out, didn’t renew, and eventually got my seats back for the old B level price. Actually, it was for the new B level price, which had already gone way up; but at least I didn’t get changed to A. But now, if football becomes exciting, will I really be willing to throw in the towel? I guess I’d rather be faced with that question instead of whether to attend the last game of the season, or try to sell my tickets on stubhub for seventy-five cents each. Go Orange.

Cold October

2010-10-19T21:45:00.000-04:00

It’s already getting pretty cold in upstate New York. Take Saturday, for instance. We went to the Dome to see SU’s surprising football team take on the Pitt Panthers. The Orange came to this game with a 4-1 record, and a road win to open their conference schedule. Now I know that they had been beating the likes of Maine and Colgate, but four wins was the most we ever saw during the entire John Robinson era. Plus, Pitt came to town with a 2-3 record, so 40,000 Orange fans, including all the alums who came back for homecoming, were optimistic about the team’s chances.

Forget about it. It might have been sunny outside, but it was cold in the Dome. Pitt’s lines, both of them, pushed the Orange around all day. Carter and Bailey, who had been averaging over five yards a carry, were ineffective. After the team fell behind in the second quarter, the passing game came alive, but Nassib was picked off twice, one of those returned for a Pittsburgh TD. And the pass defense looked particularly inept. Pitt’s receivers were open all day, and twice turned short passes into long gains; one going for an 80 yard TD on the first play from scrimmage.

We left when it was 35-14, and by the time the bus had arrived at Skytop, the Orange had surrendered 45 points. Big East teams have struggled against all other BCS conferences this year; the conference has the stature of a mid-major as far as football goes. I recall back in the late 80s and early 90s, Cuse was playing the likes of Ohio State, and Florida, and Texas. We saw SU totally dominate Florida; Kirby DarDar ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown, and they ran up over 30 points in the first half. But can you imagine the Orange taking on one of those teams today? Worse, I’m afraid that as weak as the Big East is this year, we’re still going to struggle to find conference victories.

One thing that’s not cold is the pitching in this year’s post-season. Halliday, Oswalt, and Cliff Lee. Hot, Hot, Hot. I expected Lincecum to be hot, but Matt Cain? Who is Matt Cain anyway, aside from the guy who shut out the Phillies earlier today, giving the Giants a lead in the NLCS? Every championship team has an ace, or someone who steps up and helps bring home a World Series title. But I don’t recall any recent year with so many aces throwing so many blanks in one post-season.

I expect it will stay cold through the rest of October, and even in early November, but I’m hoping things start to heat up thereafter, mostly in the Dome. High expectations for this year’s hoops season. I’m hearing encouraging reports about Fab Memo, about Triche’s jump shot, about a big front line, even about James Southerland. It’s a little bit like when we heard two years ago about how Wes Johnson was eating everyone up in practice. Let’s hope the rumors are true. If so, maybe it will be a warm winter after this disappointing cold fall.

Malts and Monument Mountain

2010-09-27T20:26:00.003-04:00

What’s the fastest thing on the planet? Someday soon, the answer to that important question will be found on the slopes of Monument Mountain in the Berkshires. But since we don’t have time to address that important philosophical question in this posting, let me turn instead to a couple of malts about which I don’t recall having ever posted before. (It’s always nice to find some new whiskies to taste, and to describe.)

At the Haters Ball, John and I tasted the ten-year old Arran Malt, but without the benefit of notes, I couldn’t recall much of anything when we got around to writing a couple weeks later. This time, G-Man and I sat down, in Andy’s living room, and with the assistance of some whisky novices, who nonetheless had discerning palates, took careful notice of this recent offering from the Isle of Arran. This distillery is one of Scotland’s newest, having opened in 1995. Several years ago, when looking for a mild tasting malt, something without the peat characteristics of Islay whisky, I purchased an Arran without any age statement. Came to find out that it lacked an age statement because the distillery was so new. They really didn’t have much aged product at that time. Well, now they have released a ten-year old malt, at a very moderate price, and I’m pleased to say that it made a very favorable impression on me.

Arran is a clean, light-bodied malt, in many ways reminiscent of lowland whisky. The nose is floral (someone detected chamomile, but that’s way too subtle for me). The color is light gold; think of Bladnoch here, both in terms of appearance and nose. There is a bite to this malt, but that may be because Arran bottles at 46%, to avoid chill filtering. And it’s still a tad bit sharp, but pretty much what you’d expect from a ten-year old whisky. Let’s give it another six years in the barrel, to mellow out, and for the flavor to fill out, and this just might become a very impressive malt. For now, for under $40, it’s a great buy, and an excellent before-dinner drink. You know, the kind of whisky you reach for when walking in the door after an aggravating day at work, or maybe just the whisky you have in the middle of the afternoon, on a warm fall day, in the middle of the Berkshires, hanging out with old friends. Old old friends.

We also tasted some Scapa 16, thanks to G-Man. Scapa hails from the Orkney Islands, in the way north of Scotland. I guess that HP is the only distillery found at a more northern latitude. In any event, this was a very pleasing malt. Here are the notes: Nose was soft, with hints of citrus and vanilla. (That’s courtesy of Peggy and Susan; no way I can find those smells.) The taste is not unlike a highland malt, with a hint of peat and pepper. The best feature of the whisky, however, was its long satisfying finish. I think the most telling feature of a great whisky is the finish, and Scapa’s finish clearly gives it points in my book. I know I tasted it once before, but can’t remember where. I guess from reading Jackson, that one of the problems with Scapa is its irregular production, which may explain why it’s not typically found on shelves, or behind bars, in upstate NY. In any event, thanks G. This was a fine malt, and I’m glad you brought it up to Great Barrington.

By the way, you may have noticed that I have refrained from posting about the baseball season this last month. And really, what was there to post about, other than the recurring theme this year -- the collapse of the bullpen? This past weekend, the Sox were prevented from a sweep of the Yankees, in the stadium no less, by another Papelbon blown save. I know he only surrendered a single run; it wasn’t one of those complete meltdowns. But how many games has the bullpen single-handedly lost this year?? Oh well, looks like the Haters Ball 2010 will be hosted by the Red team, not the Pinstripes.

Great Scott’s 2010

2010-08-26T21:38:00.006-04:00

Our recent weekend in NY was, not surprisingly, a perfect occasion for visiting one of the family’s favorite overeating and drinking establishments, Keens Chophouse. The general theme of an evening at Keens is – everything in excess. The hell with moderation. And to enable us to do that more effectively, more definitively, we met our cousins, the Rothenbergs – Steve and Marsha, Delilah and Spencer, and Tiffany & Matt.

Naturally, we began the evening in the bar, but only John and I partook of before-dinner malts. I had an Arran, ten year old, and John had a Benromach. Honestly, without tasting notes, I can no longer remember much about them, other than we were both pleased with our choices. Arran is one of the youngest distilleries, and when I first began drinking malts, I recall buying a bottle without age statement, that tasted a lot like a lowland malt. Light, grassy, a bit floral even. This malt was more full bodied, but still light for a highland. I think it’s a good choice for 5 pm, or even earlier. I’ll let John fill in with a comment on his Benromach.

Because there were twelve of us, Keens couldn’t accommodate us downstairs and we ended up at a round table in the back of the second floor. It was the first time I had ever sat upstairs at Keens, and I have to say we were not at all disappointed. The room was full; in fact all the upstairs rooms were full. The place was packed, which surprised me, it being a summer Saturday, and nothing was on at the Garden. Returning to the theme of excess, we promptly ordered a couple of those huge seafood medleys, loaded down with littlenecks, crab meat, oysters, mussels, you name it. They disappeared in a hurry. Then we followed with two enormous porterhouse (what else?) cooked to perfection, a mutton chop, every side that we could think of, and a big plate of tomatoes for Delilah, who abstains from eating meat. Poor thing. Cousin Steve was worried that there would not be enough to eat, but in the end, even the twelve of us could not quite polish off the meat. We noticed that after carving the steaks, Keens throws the bones back in the broiler, so the meat we later carved off the bone might have been the best thing anyone ate all night. We washed it all down with three bottles of a Ridge zinfandel blend; Ridge now being a sentimental family favorite, because we drank it with Helen at her last birthday bash, another steakhouse extravaganza at the Salt Rock Grill in St. Pete’s.

Anyway, and here’s the point of this rambling post, after dinner we shared a flight – the new Great Scott’s. That’s always been an interesting flight for a few reasons. One, they pick malts from different regions, so there is good variety in the flight. Two, they usually stray off the beaten path, allowing us to drink obscure whiskies. And lastly, they like to include a couple old malts on this flight. The new twist was that most of the flight was cask strength whisky.

We started with a 20 year old Bladnoch – cask strength. We love Bladnoch, so a great way to take off on this flight. I recall that the nose wasn’t quite as floral as some Bladnoch we’ve tasted, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a full strength Baldnoch previously. This was followed by a 14 year old Bruichladdich. Laddie being another family favorite, we were hitting two for two at this point. Now here’s the problem: the last two malts were again cask strength, and after all that wine and whisky, and without tasting notes to refresh my recollection, I can’t really recall much of anything about these two. With one exception. Unbelievably long finishes. The third whisky was a 26 year old Glen Mohr. What we didn’t know at the time, was that the Glen Mohr distillery was closed in 1986; and not just closed, but demolished. How many extinct malts have was sampled at Keens? And why didn’t we know this at the time we drank it? Oh well. We finished the flight with a 35 year old Longmorn. What I remember here was that, as I mentioned earlier, the finish went on and on.

But alas, even if the finishes on these malts went on forever, the evening eventually drew to a close, unless one was young. John, Amanda, Tiff and Matt went out afterward, I think to the Flatiron Lounge, for classic cocktails. We walked back to the east side, and fell unconscious into bed. It’s funny: we were in NY for no special reason other than to spend time with the kids, even though Susan and Steve cooked up this fairy tale that we were celebrating my birthday. Everyone knows I don’t give a shit about my birthday, but the fact is that any evening at Keens somehow turns into a special occasion. And where else could you find that many Rothenbergs in one locations?

A Cold August

2010-08-23T23:34:00.002-04:00

It’s late in August; there’s a chill in the air; in fact it feels like fall tonight. But it’s feeling like it will be a fall without the RedSox in the post-season. There are fewer than 40 games left in the regular season; and the Sox trail both the Yankees and the Rays by six in the loss column. Too much ground to make up, I’m afraid.

Boston had a chance to make up ground on their recent road trip. Both NY and Tampa Bay faltered. But they blew two leads in the late innings, and instead of going 7-3 on that road trip, they came home 5-5, no closer to either the Yankees or the Rays. Now some times going five hundred on the road is OK, but not when they need to make up ground in a hurry. The worst game was up in Toronto a week ago last Thursday, where they took a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth, and then surrendered four runs. That loss was made even more painful by contrast with the Yankees come from behind win in Texas. They made up five runs, on the road, right about the same time the Sox were blowing that lead in the Rogers Center. Teams that can do that - that can come from behind, especially on the road - are teams that end up playing when the weather turns cold. And teams that give away leads in the late innings; they don’t get to play much in October.

It would be convenient to blame this year on injuries. After all, Cuse couldn’t get past Butler in the sweet sixteen because they missed AO in the post. And the Cs lost game 7 to the Lakers because they didn’t have Perkins anchoring the D, and keeping LA off the boards. But the injuries didn’t make the big difference this year. I know the Sox rarely had their starting lineup on the field all year long. But the bench played pretty darn well. Bill Hall has 17 home runs, one more than J.D. Drew. McDonald, Nava, Kalish -- they’ve all had timely hits. Despite all the injuries, the Sox have scored more runs than every team in Major League baseball, except the Yankees.

It wasn’t the injuries; it was the bullpen. With the exception of Bard, the bullpen has been inconsistent at best, and MIA at worst. I know Pap has his 30 saves again, and he’s worked his ERA down of late; it’s now hovering around 3. But he really hasn’t been the same guy as in past years, which is really weird, considering that he’s about to become a free agent. But never mind that. Look at the rest of the pen. Either Oki has lost something, or else the rest of the AL has figured him out. Whatever, his ERA is up around 6. Delcarmen is pretty much of a disaster; Ramon Ramirez is gone; Wake is 3-9; and the rest of the pen is occupied by journeymen who weren’t really wanted by anyone else. If you think back to 2007, when Oki and Pap were virtually unhittable in the post-season, there was no way the Sox won without their bullpen. Same thing for 2004. Remember 14 scoreless innings of relief in Games 4 and 5? Remember Foulke not giving up an earned run in the post-season? So even if Boston made a run, what could they do in the playoffs with only Bard and an inconsistent Papelbon? Meanwhile, Mariano Rivera, who now collects social security, carries an ERA of only 1.18. You need a microscope to see his ERA, and the guy is older than dirt.

In 2004, I remember the Sox went on a tear in August, winning 20 of 21 or something like that. They were sweeping everyone. And from around August 7, a week or so after the big trade, they played .740 ball through the end of the World Series. I kept waiting for that to happen this year. I kept telling myself; wait till they get healthy. Beckett will come back; V-Mart will start hitting; Pedroia will rejoin the lineup. Well, all of that happened, but the streak never happened. That .740 stretch is just a fading memory.

Probably, they’ll tease us a little before it’s over. They’ll close the gap on one or both of he teams that are now tied atop the AL East. But when October rolls around, I expect it will be ‘wait till next year’ once more. There really is a chill in the air.

Modifying the Minion Method for Fish

2010-08-08T10:35:00.003-04:00

I’m pleased to report that I have discovered a new and almost foolproof method for smoking fish on the bullet. Couldn’t be easier. The problem with fish is that the temperature climbs too high, too easily. So I decided that a smaller firebox would be useful.

Instead of filling the entire ring with briquettes, I took two of the half-moon shaped briquette holders from my Weber grill. These are the little basket like contraptions that hold the coals when grilling on the Weber. I placed the two baskets within the ring, in the firebox. I placed a layer of briquettes, and a chunk or two of hickory on the bottom of the baskets; then I sprinkled a layer of hickory chips; and then another layer of briquettes, and by then the baskets were not quite full. Then I used the chimney to light about 25-30 briquettes, and when the coals were good and hot (visibly glowing) I covered each basket with hot coals, using around two dozen total. Then put the water pan in place, and immediately loaded the fish.

On the lower rack I had a couple pieces of salmon, one nice bluefish fillet, and a few scallops. The top rack held two trout fillets, and more scallops. Initially, I had very little air-flow, but after 20 minutes, when the temp was only 115, I opened the vents to about half-way. The temp climbed to 150, and stayed there. The chips continued to generate smoke for almost two hours.

I have learned that the lower rack cooks more, even though it’s right above the water. It’s proximity to the firebox apparently means that the food cooks hotter on the lower rack. Anyway, as the top rack was not getting the brown glaze that always develops, for the last 45 minutes or so, I opened the vents even more, to around 2/3, and the temp increased a bit, to around 160.

The fish smoked for around 2 hours, 40 minutes. And was great. With the temp that low, the fish never dried out, but stayed moist and tender. I couldn’t find Corvina for this latest batch, but I have a feeling that Corvina cooking that slowly would be just fabulous. Salmon was as good as it’s ever been in our smoker.

So from now on, when I don’t need temperature above 200, and when I don’t need to run the bullet for more than four hours, I’m using this modified Minion method.

July - Big Step Backward

2010-08-01T11:15:00.002-04:00

G-Man was right; July was telling. Only thing is I don’t like what it told us. Sox played under .500, going 12-13 against mediocre opposition, while the Yankees and Rays both caught fire. Yankees played .730 ball, and the Rays did them better, going .740 for the month. All this while they played each other five games. So as July came to an end, Sox found themselves six games out of the wild card, perhaps not an insurmountable lead, if not for the fact that in order to make the wild card, they have to overtake one of the two hottest teams in baseball. And in truth, no one is overtaking either of them if they continue to play at a seven hundred clip.

Having said all that, I can remember August 2004, when the Sox caught fire, winning 21 of 22 at one point. And who wasn’t pleased to see Beckett return from the DL in good form; to see Lackey take a no hitter into the eighth inning; and to see Papi hitting well in the late innings?

Soon Pedroia, and maybe Ellsbury will return to the lineup, and maybe for just about the first time this year, the Sox can put their starting lineup on the filed. Of course, even in the most optimistic scenario, there is still one big problem: the bullpen. Aside from Bard and Papelbon (whose numbers have declined significantly this year, but never mind that for purposes of this little illustration), the bullpen is maintaining a robust 5.5 ERA. That would be OK if they were pitching for the home run derby, but in a pennant race it’s not so good.

The trade deadline has passed, and Theo didn’t make much in the way of changes, which makes sense if you figure that just by getting healthy, the Sox will have a new team for the remainder of the season. But the trade he really should have pulled off was to get us out of the AL East. If we were playing in either of the other divisions, we’d be in good position for the stretch run. Unfortunately, that seems to have been beyond Theo’s reach, and so we’re stuck with having to chase the Yankees and the Rays. Oh well. What do you expect from a year in which the Lakers and Duke have already won championships? At least Germany didn’t win the world cup. Hate. Hate. Hate.

Back in the Day

2010-07-31T12:35:00.002-04:00

No baseball worth reporting on. July a major step backwards. Will post on this past month’s developments in a day or two. Right now, I have a more enjoyable topic for this post.

I have a friend in town, another lawyer, SU grad in the 60s, lived in the Sammy House, who is a collector. Has old newspapers hanging in his office, pictures of JFK, New York sports memorabilia. We were talking the other day, and I came to learn that he has an extensive collection of LPs and 45s from the 50s and 60s. One thing led to another, and I got a call from him informing me to stop by his office and pick up two records which I have longed to add to my I-Tunes collection: Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket, by Otis and the All Night Workers; and Give Me One More Chance, by Wilmer and the Dukes. I raced home, and used my turntable gizmo to turn them into MP3s, so I could load them into my I-Tunes library. And now, I can report, that as I compose this post, Wilmer is in the background, asking over and over for just one more chance.

In return for his kindness, I told my friend that I would make him a playlist from his days at the Sammy House. He told me they partied to 60s R&B, Motown and the Atlantic stars, so I began to put together a playlist from that era. Only I couldn’t locate one particular song, my favorite Supremes song, Back in My Arms Again. I have thousands of songs on I-Tunes, no exaggeration, including albums from all the great Motown artists, but somehow I didn’t have this song in the library. So I went searching through the house, because I absolutely knew I had it somewhere. Sure enough, I found a Supremes Greatest Hits double album from 1967, in good condition, with Back in My Arms Again, along with a couple dozen other early Supremes songs. And I uploaded it, along with a few other songs that weren’t otherwise in I-Tunes. So the playlist was finished, and delivered to my buddy, and it’s now available for publication.

But here’s a weird detail. When I opened the old Supremes album, it had a name inside. In fact, the name was written not only on the inside of the jacket, but on the two record labels as well. Probably to preserve ownership in a dorm or other residence, because one never knew exactly where the album might end up at the end of the night. Only thing is, the name in this album wasn’t mine; it was Prissy Rambar’s. I can’t figure out what I’m doing with Prissy Rambar’s Supremes Album. My best guess is that it was in the Matlows' basement, and was offered to me, free for the taking. Maybe when Hattie was moving south. Who knows? It’s not like I could ever figure this out any more.

Anyway, when I returned the records, and delivered the play list, we reminisced about those times. Back in the Day, when we had dances at the Brookside; when we had Otis play at one of the Aronian parties - I think it was at Drumlins; when you could get everyone up and dancing at a mixer just by putting Midnight Hour on the stereo. My buddy was under the misimpression that this occurred some forty-four years ago, but I told him that was impossible. Forty-four years? You’ve got to be kidding. Oops, have to run now. All Night Workers starting to play, and I need to find someone to dance with. Later.

An Even Better June

2010-07-03T11:19:00.002-04:00

Last night, with only four starters in the lineup, the Sox squeaked out a win against the Orioles, who may have the worst record in all of baseball, but have been playing Boston tough all year. When the Yankees and Rays both lost, the Soxfound themselves only one game out, playing .600 ball, with the second best record in all of baseball. Pretty remarkable, I’d say, considering how poorly they started this year, and also considering that they have been winning with a patchwork lineup.

By my count, Boston went 18-9 in June. That was nine games above five hundred, allowing them to reach 15 plus before this weekend, the pac they need to make it to the playoffs. Yet, in all of June, Beckett never took the mound. Ellsbury did not play a single game. Cameron played about half the month. And Mike Lowell barely played. Instead, Boston got good contributions from the journeymen who have been called upon to plug these holes in the lineup. Darnell MacDonald has already reached career highs in most offensive categories. Bill Hall has filled in admirably both in the outfield, and now at second base, with Pedroia out of the lineup. Daniel Nava had a game winning bloop single last night.

Another remarkable thing about June was that the bullpen continued to give away leads with regularity. Papelbon has been getting his saves, but many are nailbiters, and his ERA continues to hover near 4; that’s a bad number for a closer. Bard has better numbers, but he too has had a tendency to give up big hits in key situations. The rest of the pen remains way too generous.

Either Oki has slipped, or the rest of the league has figured him out. Ramon Ramirez carries an ERA just under five, more than two points higher than last year. Delcarmen is on the DL, but that’s no great loss because his numbers have climbed steadily the last two years. And none of the veterans whom Theo acquired have done much of anything. This is really the biggest problem, in my opinion; worse even than all the injuries. Because without a dependable bullpen, there is little chance of going deep into the post season.

The recipe in June was equal parts of quality starts and resurgent bats. Lester and Buckholz, occasionally Dice and Lackey, have had a number of games where they pitched well enough for long enough that the pen needed to hang in for only an inning or two. At the plate, Papi, Beltre, Youk and, before he was hurt, Pedroia, were all contributing. Not to mention the games where the journeymen made big contributions. Last night, Drew had two solo home runs, enough to keep the Sox in the game thanks to Wake’s seven innings.

G-Man is right - the next month will be telling. If Boston can keep it together without Pedroia, V-Mart, and Tek (that’s a tall order), they should be poised to make a run for the wild card. I think the AL East is unlikely, unless the injury bug bites the Yankees again.

Still, thinking back on how bad things looked in April, who in RedSox nation couldn’t help but be pleased to see them near the top of the standings a week before the all-star break? What fun it is to see Papi banging the ball out of the yard once more. And how about those home runs where Beltre ends his swing down on one knee? If the team is still contending at the end of July, Theo need to find a reliable set-up guy. That’s one ingredient that remains missing from the recipe. That and a healthy lineup.

The Marvelous Hater

2010-06-29T00:02:00.003-04:00

I was forced to read Dickens as a kid and, of course, I hated him. Today, I couldn’t possibly say whether that was because I couldn’t get past all the Victorian sentimentality, or because I couldn’t figure out what Dickens was all about, or even if I just hated him because they made us read him. Really, they had us reading the likes of David Copperfield and Silas Marner (yes, I know that wasn’t Dickens) when what we wanted to be reading was Lord of the Flies and The Catcher in the Rye.

But much later in life, with the assistance of Bloom, I came to appreciate the virtues of Dickens. How his books encompass more of humanity than almost anyone else; and how the characters tell us more truthfully about human nature than almost any other writer. Almost.

After starting again with Great Expectations, which I read along with the boys, and vicariously with Mrs. Barrett (we’ll overlook her secret identity for the time being), I have been proceeding chronologically through Dickens and am now in the later books, written in Dickens’ darker and more disquieting years. Most recently, I read Little Dorrit, whose title suggests another melodrama along the likes of the Old Curiosity Shop, but which is really a broad indictment of Victorian England. However, the England skewered by Dickens in Little Dorrit is not all that different from the world in which we now live: There is a huge and impenetrable government bureaucracy that stifles and eventually smothers innovation and creativity; there are the idle rich, self-important, pretentious, and ultimately vacuous; and there are the respected captains of industry, commerce and finance, who in the end turn out to be schemers, fraudsters and forgers on an enormous scale. The only real difference from Dickens’ world is that his England still had debtors’ prison, which features prominently in Little Dorrit, but which we somehow managed to do away with.

Most importantly, from the perspective of this blog, in reading about Dickens and this latest novel, I came to understand one reason why I find now find him so engrossing, and so true. Irving Howe writes that by this time in his life, Dickens’ humor had developed a “ferocious bite”; Howe then describes Dickens as a “marvelous hater” A hater! Imagine that. Anyone with even a passing familiarity with this blog knows that we’re not only enthusiastic haters in our own right, but also admirers of great haters.Famous haters like Buck Nasty, Silky Johnson and Charles Dickens. The pantheon of haters. Now if I had only known that as a kid, I might have been enjoying Dickens at a much earlier age.

Four Minutes Too Long

2010-06-20T08:05:00.002-04:00

When Kendrick Perkins wrenched his knee under the boards early in Game Six, and crumbled to the floor – Perkins who is usually so durable, so strong, often immovable, now grimacing and pointing to his knee—how familiar was that to Orange fans? The Orange season fell short of expectation the moment that AO was injured in the Big East tournament. AO also came down awkwardly under the boards, banged around by Georgetown, our most hated rival. Three weeks later, when Butler took Duke to the wire in the championship game, the same Butler team that Cuse had led with under four minutes to play, but against whom, without AO in the paint, Cuse could not hold the lead, all Orange fans felt that, with AO we would have been as good as, perhaps better than, every other team in the tournament.

Now think about Game Seven in LA. The Cs were badly out rebounded by the Lakers; LA had 23 offensive boards. Would that have been possible with Perk in the paint that night? Would Boston’s defense have surrendered 30 points in the final period? Perk would not have helped Ray Allen or Paul Pierce sink any of those many open jumpers they missed (until the final two minutes, when they had staked LA to a six point lead, and suddenly found their range, but too late). But what Perk would have done was what he had done all year – anchor the defense- block a few shots- and push Pal Gasol out of position so that LA’s rebounding advantage would have been greatly diminished, perhaps even eliminated.

I know that other teams have risen to the occasion, and won big games without their big men. The 1970 Knicks won their Game Seven over the Lakers without Willis Reed, even though Willis made an emotional appearance, started, and even made the first two buckets of the game, but then disappeared. Clyde Frazier took over and single-handedly delivered New York a championship. Ten years later, when the Lakers were playing the Sixers for the title, Kareem went down, leaving LA with no real center to match up with Darryl Dawkins. But Magic stepped up, and not only played center for the Lakers, but played brilliantly, scoring 42, grabbing 15 rebounds, and bringing the Lakers another ring.

Although the Cs played well without Perk, and led for much of the game, and held the Lakers to only 83 points, all of which should have allowed them to bring home an eighteenth banner, it never happened. Allen and Pierce missed a ton of open jumpers; everyone seemed to go cold for the first ten minutes of the fourth quarter; and no one came off then bench to ignite the offense, as Nate Robinson had done in Game Six of the Eastern Finals, or as House and Posey had done in 2008.

And in the end, for the second time this spring, I was left feeling, what if? What if we’d only had a healthy Perk for those two games in LA? And what if we’d had AO in the paint against Butler, with no one guy able to stop him, and Butler’s D having to collapse into the lane, and Rautins and Johnson having a few open looks from the outside. Tell me the team in that tourney who looked like they could beat a healthy Cuse? What if Bill Russell had suited up for Game Seven? I’ll bet that white haired Russell, all 79 years of him or whatever, wouldn’t have let Gasol get all those easy boards.

Still, it was a great run, and one that was hardly expected. Who would have figured back in the dead of winter, when the Cs were regularly losing in the Garden, that they’d dispatch Bron and the Cavs, and then dominate Howard and the Magic, earning the right to play for another championship? Not many, and not even the author of this blog. I kept saying, wait until they’re all healthy, but did I really believe they could turn a mediocre season into a playoff run? It’s a bit like the 1987 NCAA tournament. The season, and Game Seven were just a bit too long. If they’d only play 44 minutes that night….Oh well.

A Better May

2010-06-06T10:09:00.003-04:00

A month ago, after a dismal April, it began to look like the Celtics were Boston’s only hope this year. But while we are still watching the Cs as they pursue an 18th banner (very big game tonight in LA), the Sox have come to life, and have given the Nation something else to look forward to in the coming summer months.

The first sign of life was Papi’s return to the lineup. He had a terrible April, almost as if he hadn’t shown up for spring training. But in May he batted .363 with ten homers and 27 RBIs. Good enough to earns player of the month plaudits from someone. More importantly, good enough to resume knocking in runs when Pedroia or Youk got on base ahead of him. Other bats who had started slowly, Beltre for example, also came to life in May. Baseball more than any other sport lends itself to peaks and valleys of performance. Even Albert Pujols is slumping this year. But Papi’s slump was particularly troubling as it lent itself to speculation about his age, and the possible decline of his skills, or even worries that his prowess in Boston had somehow been linked with Manny and PEDs. It’s fair to say that no one ever knows for sure anymore, but I think Papi’s May gave the entire team a psychological lift.

The other key to Boston’s turnaround was the young starters. Lester was expected to assume the mantel of team ace, but began slowly this year. He too needed a couple weeks more in spring training. But over the past nine starts, he is 7-0. His ERA is around 2.7, and opposing batters are hitting under .200. That’s the best in the league among regular starters. And Lester is not alone this year, as Clay Buckholz has finally shed his sophomore slump, and has begun to live up to the promise he showed when he first came up in 2007. Buckholz actually has the lowest ERA of any of the starters, in fact second in the AL, under 2.4. Of late, these two guys have made it easy for the team to win, because they’ve gone late into games surrendering very few runs, giving the bats time to put some numbers up, and giving the bullpen some much needed rest. Now all we need is for Dice-K to pitch consistently. He has had a couple great outings this year. He no-hit the Phillies for eight innings; and he went seven against the Blue Jays with nine Ks and no walks. That’s the key for him. If he could just cut out the walks, he’d go much deeper into games, and cut down on the earned runs significantly. Lastly, we need Beckett to get healthy. If those two things happened, our starters could match up with any staff in the league. I know - wishful thinking. But at the same time, not impossible.

That leaves the bullpen, which remains a big question mark. Pap is having his worst year, and that’s weird, because he is soon to become a free agent, and one would expect the opposite as the chance for big contracts becomes more imminent. Oki is no longer as effective; it seems like the rest of the league is finally figuring him out. His stuff was never overpowering, just very different. Bard has looked good with the exception of a couple outings; some think he may be the closer in waiting, if Pap sells himself on the open market. And Delcarmen, although inconsistent, may become the new Mike Timlin. A fastball throwing righty, dependable, reliable, even if not spectacular.

The upshot of all this is that the Sox have gone 22-10 since early May, playing tough teams, including everyone in the AL East over that stretch. They closed what looked like an unbridgeable chasm between them and the Division leading Rays and Yankees. They’re still in third place, and I’d rather see them in any other division in all of baseball. But if they continue to play well; if the big bats keep knocking in runs; if Lester and Buckholz and even one more starter keep shutting down the opposition; they won’t have to worry about anyone other than themselves. So let’s hope June looks more like May, and that April fades into the distant past.

Back to Basics on the Bullet

2010-06-02T22:50:00.002-04:00

We fired up the bullet for Memorial Day; opening day for the smoking season, so to speak. And I wanted to do something new. I’ve done brisket, but it takes forever. Same for ribs. I find that ribs take maybe ten hours start to finish, what with shopping, prepping -- tearing off that membrane on the back-- making the rub, and then smoking for around six hours. So after all that time, when the ribs are served, everyone rips into them, and they’re gone in ten minutes. Ten hours of work for ten minutes of feasting. And because of that, lately, when we want ribs, I stop at the Dinosaur and get a couple racks to go. That way the prep time and the eating time are about the same.

My favorite stuff on the smoker is all the fish, but the thing is that Susan is allergic to most fish. And what fun is it to smoke stuff but not have anyone to share it with? So I wanted to try some new stuff -- things we both could enjoy, and maybe things that one doesn’t ordinarily associate with smoking. Here’s what we tried -- sausage, chicken, duck breast and pork chops.

The sausage was very good; we used John’s technique of making big fat logs of sausage meat with no casing. He calls that a fatty. The meat didn’t dry out and instead remained tender and moist. I used Italian sausage and a garlic and herb poultry sausage -- the latter tasting better with the smoky flavor. For the chicken, Susan filled the cavity with orange wedges, and she put a sweet glaze on the outside. It cooked up crispy on the outside, but tender and juicy inside. But the thing was that, even with a smoky flavor, it really wasn’t all that much better than barbequed chicken.

The duck breast was marinated overnight in apple juice and spices, and then cooked around 90 minutes to medium. Not quite as rare as one would serve it off the stovetop. I expected it to hold more of the smoky flavor. Once again, although the duck was good, it wasn’t appreciably better, or even more distinctive than usual. And considering that it seems best when medium rare, I think my preference would be for grilling, not smoking.

So that takes us to the big surprise of this recent effort: by far the best meat off the smoker was the easiest thing to prepare -- the pork chops. I did them two ways: we marinated one overnight using the same apple juice recipe as the duck breast; and I did one with red rub and a touch of sugar. Both were fabulous. I guess I should have expected the chops to be delicious, because it’s the same meat as ribs. But I was surprised how much smokier they were than the chicken. And we used a kosher chicken, figuring that all the fat would be good for retaining the flavors. (Yes, I know. Pork chops and kosher chicken. It’s an incongruent combination.) Anyway, while it didn’t happen for the chicken, the chops were great. Plus, they were easy. Either recipe, the rub or the marinade, requires a minimum of prep time, and little or no worry on the bullet. In fact, I never checked temp or anything. When they looked good, I pulled them out. And with the bone, you get the full barbeque experience.

One more thing. We also slow cooked a small pot of Susan’s famous baked beans in the bullet. They were the perfect compliment to the chicken and chops. So there you have it -- pork chops and baked beans. Back to basics.

Pitching

2010-05-23T19:40:00.002-04:00

This year the Sox were supposedly rebuilt around the pitching. Instead of having to bash home runs over the monster, they were redesigned to keep opponents off the scoreboard. And with six potential starters, the team had a margin for error. Which they needed immediately, when Dice-K promptly found himself first on one of the disabled list, and then in Pawtucket, throwing to minor leaguers. But these restructuring plans went all awry when the starters began the season in inconsistent fashion, and the bullpen, although rather consistent, was consistently bad. April was a disaster.

Things have been looking up of late, however, even with Josh Beckett replacing Dice-K on the DL. Lester seems to have settled down, and has replaced Beckett as the team’s ace. He’s 3-0 in May with an ERA of around 2.3. Pretty good numbers. Buckholz has been the most consistent starter all year long, seemingly regaining the form he displayed when he first came up in 2007. Lackey has been hot and cold, but I’m hoping that as the rest of the staff improves, that will become contagious, and will rub off on Lackey, who, after all, used to give us fits when he pitched for the Angels. But the best turnaround has been engineered by Dice-K, who had almost been written off by team and fans alike. Dice had fallen so far on the depth chart, and had seemed to have lost favor among the Nation, ever since he wore himself out pitching for Japan in the WBC. Dice took a no-hitter into the eighth last night, but that start wasn’t as good as a couple games ago against Toronto, when he went seven shutout innings, with nine Ks, and no walks. He’s still apt to give up big innings; his ERA is still close to 6. But if Dice settles down, and pitches like he did in 2008 (when he went 18-3, with an ERA under 3), the Sox really have another ace on the staff. (Assuming, of course, that he can go seven or eight, and not tax this bullpen.) And today, Wakefield baffled the Phils with his knuckler, tossing eight shutout innings, and yes, resting the bullpen.

Which brings us to the real weakness in this year’s staff: the pen. I have no idea what has happened, and I’m sure Tito and Farrell don’t either. With pretty much the same staff they had the past couple years -- a bullpen staff that often seemed unhittable -- suddenly no lead is safe. In the first game against the Yankees last week, the Sox came from 5 down, and handed Pap a two run lead. Last year-- automatic. This year -- two home runs and the Yankees walk off with the win. Even today, Ramon Ramirez was given an eight run cushion, but still managed to give up three runs in the bottom of the ninth. Fortunately, eight is more than three, and Ramirez was unable to blow the save. Of course it wasn’t a save, but you get the point. I watched last weekend, as he walked two batters in the bottom of the twelfth, the last with the bases loaded, on only four pitches, giving the Tigers a come from behind win.

So now that the starters seem to have righted their ship, the pen has to do the same. Pap, Oki, Bard, Manny Delcarmen, even Ramirez, all of them need to settle down, to stop serving up late inning home runs, and to get back to protecting leads. Put that together with a resurgent Papi, eighteen RBIs in sixteen games this month; and with Ellsbury back to stealing bases; and maybe the Sox can make up some ground on the Rays and Yankees. If that’s the case, there’s still some hope for a post-season. But right now, I’m happy to settle for two out of three on the road against the Phils.