Rickstate

What is Sandlot?

The Drag got to play three fresh, fresh teams in an eight-day stretch.
All three teams bring a fun group to sandlot and we’re all happy to have them aboard.
Recaps below.

9.8.24 – Austin Drag vs. White Rock Mudbugs – Norbuck Park – 11am

Instagram post about the game.

Baseball is always better than “not baseball.” And the White Rock Mudbugs made baseball happen on this beautiful day. But, as we learned, Dallas sandlot, for the most part, is largely unofficiated.
I’ve previously written before that, be it pickup basketball, volleyball, or even the many years I played ultimate frisbee – self-officiated sports aren’t foreign to me. But baseball is different.

Regardless, we played ball. We had a great time. Norbuck Park was pretty darn nice. The Mudbugs were were good hosts and the weather couldn’t have been better.

The Mudbugs cycled through a series of pitchers all with their different styles and that made for unique looks each time up to bat.

The Drag took a nine-player skeleton crew up to Dallas and that allowed many of our Dragsters who aren’t accustomed to playing all nine innings, to gaming the entire way. And you know what? They were incredible. Tyler and Driver made an impact both offensively and defensively and it was exciting seeing them excel.

Final score —
Drag = beers
Mudbugs = pizza

*photos on a roll of film that hasn’t been developed yet. Will update as soon as they do.

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9.7.24 – Austin Drag vs. Dallas Sheeple – Churchill Park – 11am

Instagram post about the game.

This game was something.
Most of the Dragsters leisurely arrived coming direct from Austin that morning between 10:15am-10:40am. The Sheeple were able to find one of the Sheeple’s fathers to call balls and strikes for the game and, for that, we were grateful. As one of our catchers has phrased it, “Hell no, I don’t want to ump and catch at the same time. This is a recreational day off for me, I don’t to deal with both teams giving me shit.”

With a Sheeple dad as the man in blue, the game proceeded.
Keith was on the hill. Braden made plays at short. The lineup chugged and churned though.

Around the sixth, the Sheeple offered us some outstanding beers during our warmups and, coincidentally or not, the Sheeple mounted a good rally or two after that.

As it was, both teams had a good time. The weather couldn’t have been better and the post-game was even more fun as most of the Sheeple and Drag went to The Libertine and eventually a tiki joint.

Final score —
Drag = steak sandwiches
Sheeple = tiki drinks

Shout out to Brian Morris for leading the post-game hang.
Way to make Libertine, Swizzle, and Lakewood Landing happen.
We had a blast!

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8.31.24 – Red Bluff Cruiser vs. Austin Drag @ Govalle – 7pm

Instagram post about the game.

Right around his birthday, Keith was determined to go the distance on the hill and prove to Father Time that he aint done yet. He consistently threw strikes and only ran into a whiff of trouble a few times.
Our lineup kept the order moving and the defense, for the most part, was fairly sharp.

The Cruisers are a good group that are definitely finding their form, they bring the energy, and have talent for days.

Final score —
Drag = whiskey whiskey whiskey
Sheeple = bikes and bikes and bikes

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Quick observations that aren’t really that important, but hell, they’re worth having a conversation about.
Having just completed three consecutive games vs. “fresh” teams – the Sheeple and Mudbugs are in their second season, the Cruisers are in their first.

Many new teams (and sometimes not-so-new-teams) often have an infielder or two who, while on defense, will stand on or near the bag regardless of whether or not there’s a chance that they’ll be involved in the play. This can turn running the bases into a goofy American Ninja Warrior-like obstacle course. Especially if the defender has some size to them.

Watch any instructional video on baserunning (or any real games) and you’ll hear terms like, “catch the inside part of the bag” while making your turns. Regardless if it’s inside or right on top of the dang thing, it’s hard running the bases when there’s a position player just kind of meandering on (or very near) the base.

Not a big deal. Moving on.
I previously wrote about dekes and fake tags.
We saw a few of them over the past few weekends.
They are legal at the college and pro-level. And depending on how/when they’re implemented, they sometimes come with the penalty of “baseball justice” (being thrown at). They are generally illegal in high-school and below (for safety reasons); ruled as interference.

Nothing contentions took place across the past three games – just some simple notes to point out to newcomers. Can’t wait to play these teams again.

August 27, 2024 – My first week off from Rick’s Canteen.
Paul Arndt filled in and played a great show.
Info on Episodes 13 and 14 found below.

Episode 14 – 9.10.24

Show notes:
A request was made for more ladies, so this was my first attempt at a Rick’s Canteen Ladies’ Night. Other than a few man + woman duets, female vocalists dominated the show.

A recording of the broadcast is available for you here–

Provided your device’s media player treats you better than WordPress’s above player, the Rick’s Canteen google folder has been updated (this is always the first thing to be updated).

The Spotify playlist is below.

Episode 13 – 9.3.24

Show notes:
The focus of this show was “albums not available on streaming.” And in many cases, these LPs never found any post-vinyl format (8-track, cassette, cd, etc).
Back in 2009, long before I watched this incredible vimeo video about Paul C. Mawhinney’s life’s work entitled The Archive, I knew I wanted to collect vinyl. Considering that records create such an onerous task when transporting, I knew I wouldn’t be able to start a collection in earnest until I, more or less, settled (which kind of happened around 2014).

There are many, many reasons to collect vinyl. One reason often overlooked is the fact that so many recordings weren’t converted to a post-vinyl format (8-track, cassette, cd, mp3, etc). In the above video, Mawhinney claims that the Library of Congress estimates that, of his collection (over 1 million LPs and 1.5 million 45s), and, specifically with recordings made between 1948-1966, only 17% of that music was converted into a digital format.

This doesn’t just apply to artists that were overlooked in their time or for the stars whose fame lost its shine over time, but also includes artists still considered important who jumped across different labels (resulting in contract disputes) or whose estate decided to not allow certain records to be reproduced for whatever reason (resulting in other contract disputes). Not to be forgotten are the countless compilations pressed on vinyl over the years that never got digitally converted.
You don’t have to collect long before you come across records & 45s by artists like Ray Charles, Dee Clark, The Ink Spots, and so on before you realize even if you wanted to purchase a particular album in another format, you couldn’t. They don’t exist.

Regardless, I’m of the opinion that the music that commercially failed (and succeeded) in the middle of the 20th century is far, FAR better than our contemporary music. So, that’s where the search for that 83% comes from. And who’s to say how much of the 83% that was never converted is still in good shape, available, and not degrading in some landfill?

Side note: While in Dallas, I went to a highly-rated record store and found it didn’t have a used section (nor were used records mixed in with the sealed records). Every single records was a new pressing. So, the point I just made about finding music that had never been digitally reproduced, a strong motivation for some collectors, was moot in that store. That’s a rare occurrence. Dallas, I tell ya.

Anyhow, to get back to the actual “show notes” –
We focused on many records (the images of a few selections are found below) that you can’t find online.

A recording of the broadcast is available for you here –

Provided your device’s media player treats you better than WordPress’s above player, the Rick’s Canteen google folder has been updated (this is always the first thing to be updated).
Because you can’t find them on streaming, there isn’t a spotify playlist for this show.

See you next week.

What is Sandlot?

On August 3rd-4th, the Austin Drag visited sunny San Diego and played some Southern California Sandlot. I was unfortunately unable to make the California trip (no recaps on my end).
Coincidentally, the Cap City Cobras were playing ball in Oakland + SF at the same time.

Much like the ’58 Giants and Dodgers, both the Drag and Cobras organizations considered relocating to more agreeable climates, but stadium and municipal disputes proved too troublesome to overcome, leading both organizations to return home to the beloved East Austin Govalle Park and compete in a “Welcome Home” game.

8.16.2024 – Austin Drag vs. Cap City Cobras @ Govalle – 7pm

Instagram post about the game.

For the Drag, the game very much felt like a case of “deja vu all over again.”
It felt very similar to our last Yardbirds game (7.27).
Our offense stagnates while Steven Carrizales impressively stifles the opposition. Carrizales went three clean innings before an infield error helped the Cobras get on the board.
After four innings, the score was knotted up at 1-1.

As it goes, if you give a good team an inch, they’ll take a foot. That’s exactly what the Cobras did. The Drag made our pitching change and, as soon as Carrizales departed the mound, all those previously beady cobra eyes got big. They put together some tidy rallies in the fifth and sixth leading to a few runs.

Hey, how’d the Drag do offensively?
Well, Thomas “Cy Young” Slanker simply carved us up. Topping that off, with the exception of two or three hits, when we did catch a barrel, the Cobra defense covered ground and made plays.

For the most part, Slank was inducing soft contact by grooving all his pitches, including the kitchen sink, for strikes. He controlled counts and got comfortable serving up a variety of breaking balls that our lineup was mostly unable to square up.
On the Drag’s side, Carrizales kept his fastball down at bottom of the strike zone while effectively mixing in his lefty hook.

Did anyone else play besides those two pitchers?
Sure, Reid Meyer came in after Slank and exhibited a completely different way to carve our lineup up.
Marc Segal, of the Drag, came on in relief and threw a very sharp 7th inning. With the clock closing in on 10pm and with the game already in hand for the Cobras, it was agreed to play a lil bit of meaningless bonus baseball as I got to pitch the bottom of the eighth.

As what’s becoming all too common, I was wild. Again. I think I threw to five hitters. Issued 2-3 walks. Converted one or two outs before Studebaker had seen enough and called the game due to time + home team was already in the lead + he was tired of watching the ball wildly fly out of my hand.

Defensive highlights include:
In the fourth inning, with a few Cobras on base, there was a drive to the left centerfield wall that the Drag relayed perfectly to nail a runner at the plate. Harrison Davis (CF), Nick Stillman (SS), and RJ (C) combined to execute a damn-fine relay. That was our defensive highlight.
For the Fangs, shortstop Hunter Ward made a few great plays. Same can be said for second baseman Tom Ligh.

Offensively, Steven Carrizales (Drag) hit the ball to the wall that he felt, considering he’d been pushing so hard and carrying such a heavy load on the mound, should only be limited to a John Kruk/Mo Vaughn single.
Stillman (Drag) caught a barrel or two.
Tom Ligh (Cobras) got a barrel.
Grace Coronado (Cobras) hit an RBI liner up the middle.

And that’s about all she wrote.
Final score —
Drag = 1 lonely run scored in the top of the first
Cobras = a 6-pack of Ice Cold Cobra Brews

Post-game reports:
The following remark is true – the Cobras have been playing very, very good baseball recently.
The following remark is less than true – during a recent booze-fueled discussion with a contingent of high-ranking Cobra officials at Kinda Tropical, the Cobras are decidedly taking a hiatus from dumpster diving the dregs of the sandlot world. For their next series, they are considering reaching out to the Boerne Little League team so the Fangs can get an opportunity to face some real competition.

Game photos below.
Older sandlot photos (album link here).

8.20.24

Show notes:
The jazz hour consisted of the usual suspects: Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Johnny Hodges, Sinatra, Basie, Louis Prima, and more.
The soul and “mixed bag” hour included tracks by Clyde McPhatter, Solomon Burke, Shirley Ellis, Barbara Lewis, Bo Diddley, Ray Charles, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Little Richard, Leon Redbone, and many more.

A recording of the broadcast is available for you here–

Provided your device’s media player treats you better than WordPress’s above player, the Rick’s Canteen google folder has been updated (this is always the first thing to be updated).

The Spotify playlist is below.

As always, the short, repeated instrumentals serve as the “bed” music (the background music that plays while the DJ chats about… whatever).

Playlist note* – the show’s recording cut out just before I aired C.W. Stoneking’s “We Gon’ Boogaloo”.

8.13.24

Show notes:
The jazz hour consisted of the usual suspects: Milt Jackson, Errol Garner, Miles Davis Quintet, Ramsey Lewis Trio, Sinatra, Basie, Bill Evans, Sarah Vaughan, and more.
The soul and “mixed bag” hour included tracks by Sugar Pie DeSanto, Rosco Gordon, Betty James, Slim Harpo, Ray Charles, and many more.

A recording of the broadcast is available for you here–

Provided your device’s media player treats you better than WordPress’s above player, Rick’s Canteen google folder has been updated (this is always the first thing to be updated).

The Spotify playlist is below.

As always, the short, repeated instrumentals serve as the DJ “bed” music (the background music that plays while the DJ chats about… whatever).

Playlist note* – the show’s recording cut out just before I aired Nina Nastasia’s “Late Night”.

8.6.24

Show notes:
As always, the jazz hour had plenty of Duke, Dizzy, and Louis.
For the 9 o’clock hour– I played some soul standouts and some tracks that I unfortunately had to leave out from my Friday guest DJ spot on Study Hall.
The final 20 mins of the program was a bit of a grab bag of Barry White, Bob Wills with New Orleans brass, contemporary New Orleans brass, and a final song by the expat Micah P. Hinson.

A recording of the broadcast is available for you here–

Provided your device’s media player treats you better than WordPress’s above player, Rick’s Canteen google folder has been updated (this is always the first thing to be updated).

The Spotify playlist is below.

8.2.24

Instagram post.
I’ll actually deliver some sort of a write up late Sunday (8.4).

Provided your device’s media player treats you better than WordPress’s above player, Rick’s Canteen google folder has been updated (this is always the first thing to be updated).

I’ll add more content to this post tomorrow.

Notes on spotify playlist:
Smokey Robinson’s “Tracks of My Tears” was the show’s final track. The remainder of the songs were overflow (they weren’t aired).

7.30.24

Show notes:
The jazz hour had plenty of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.
The 9pm-9:20pm soul block hit pretty well. The soul bled into the next 20-min block that ended with some hard-hitting funk. The final 20 mins of the program was a bit of a strange collection of soundtrack + score numbers that have been on my mind.

A recording of the broadcast is available for you here–

Provided your device’s media player treats you better than WordPress’s above player, Rick’s Canteen google folder has been updated (this is always the first thing to be updated).

The Spotify playlist is below.

As always, the short, repeated instrumentals are used as the DJ “bed” music (the background music that plays while the DJ chats about… whatever).

Announcement–
This Friday (8.2.24), I’ll be filling in for the talented DJ Rob Gordon Wainwright of Friday night’s 7pm-9pm Study Hall program. I was given strict instructions (jokes) to play straight soul.
I’ve got double duty at KLKT this week and I’m excited to go 120 straight minutes of classic soul.
Tune in live on KLKT.org or catch it here a day or two later.

What is Sandlot?

7.27.2024 – Austin Yardbirds vs. Austin Drag @ Govalle – 7pm

Instagram post about the game.

Yardbirds are a good team. They swing lumber. They put the ball in play. If you’re going to beat them, you’ve got to have arms (pitchers), and you can’t make mistakes in the field.
Our starting pitcher, Steven Carrizales, once again showed that he can compete against their tough lineup, but our fielding wasn’t sharp and our bullpen struggled with their command*.

The game remained tight after four innings, but the Ybirds opened things up in the fifth, and The Drag did our best to climb out of the hole we got ourselves in.

[*Here’s the asterisk*]
Everyone, more or less, knows what they’re getting and what to expect when Umpire Studebaker is plopping around Govalle. To be clear, an “ump” is better than “not an ump,” but it is fair to say that, as the game progressed, his zone got tighter. Just before sundown, I was pretty damn close to home plate taking photos and I had a front-row seat observing Stude ringing up a few hitters on pitches that were well out of the zone and off the plate.

Not to come across as whiney here (regardless of the strikezone’s size, we would’ve lost this game– that’s not the point), but as soon as that sun set, the zone did shrink (which didn’t affect the game’s outcome but it did prolong an inning or two). But, hey, who cares? That’s sandlot. And I’ll repeat this time and time again– I’m all for having a big strikezone. A big zone encourages hitters to be aggressive and keeps innings moving. Both good things.

Enough complaining. Baseball is baseball. Sandlot is sandlot. And Stude calling balls and strikes is still better than volunteer umps or player-umps, so, we’ll take what we can get. Even if some situations/calls look and feel a little strange, a little goofy (which, if I’m not mistaken, A Little Strange, A Little Goofy is the title of Stude’s memoir).

All in all, the game was a good natured, good spirited, good time. It’s a drag that The Drag didn’t play well, but that’s alright. We haven’t been able to put a complete game together vs. the Ybirds… ever, but maybe we’ll figure out how this fall?

Final score —
Yardbirds = 1.5 dozen
Drag = <1 dozen

Post-game Notes: I don’t care what RJ says, fernet is just a gussied up, rich man’s Mediterranean answer to Jagermeister. “Go ahead, it’s a digestif. It’ll help your tummy” says the bartender.
I was unaware that “digestif” meant that it functions as an ejector button for my organs.
My god, just a terrible idea to end the evening with fernet chunked on top of however many IPAs I consumed that day. I’ll take whiskey any day over fernet. Lesson learned.
Perhaps RJ’s in depth descriptions of his “morning constitutionals” and “scha-poopies” contributed to the ejector button activating? Regardless, the ejector button was activated. Never again.

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Other sandlot photos (album link here):

7.23.24

Unlike most other “live” music engagements– community radio doesn’t do “sound checks.”
What I mean by that is, with dozens of people (DJs, programmers, volunteers) constantly rotating through the studio, the equipment is constantly being set and adjusted to each person’s preferences. And with the 77 seconds we have to swap out shows (and whatever equipment and materials DJs bring), that can sometimes make the first block of any show be… less than smooth.
But, I feel like I’m running into a single, easily solvable issue with each show and I’m confident that will turn into zero issues soon.

Dinner Hour (Jazz) = 8pm – 9pm
Cocktail Hour (Soul, Blues, Funk, Mixed Bag) = 9pm – 10pm

Show notes:
The middle 20-minute block of jazz (Dinah Washington, Nina Simone, Allen Toussaint, Duval Timothy) and the first block of the 9 o’clock hour (Tammi Terrell, Dee Clark, The Dominoes, Solomon Burke, Nat King Cole) were the show’s two best blocks of tunes.

A recording of the broadcast is available for you here–

Provided your device’s media player treats you better than WordPress’s above player, Rick’s Canteen google folder has been updated (this is always the first thing to be updated).

The Spotify playlist is below.

As always, the short, repeated instrumentals are used as the DJ “bed” music (the background music that plays while the DJ chats about… whatever).