I was planning on writing, basically, this article later on this week. Stop stealing my thoughts, Klosterman!
The Pitfalls of Indie Fame (from Grantland).
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Extra Curricular, Part 2
A round up of all the stuff i've written on other sites since when i last recapped, back in November. I'll try and do this every few months, for the .3 people who give a shit:
Podcasts:
The Hour Cosmic - a new comics podcast from Multiversity Comics that i'm a co-host on (with Chad Bowers and Matthew Meylikhov).
Music Writing:
The Waster Reviews: Big Wake - Big Wake
Comics Writing:
Features: James Robinson's Justice League of America, Multiversity 101: Out With the Old, In With The New? (with David Harper), Multiversity Lights the Menorah (Nights 4 and 8), Multiversity's Advent Calendar (Days 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24)
Reviews: The Shade #2, Justice League #4, My Greatest Adventure #3, Superboy #4, Supergirl #4, Batman Odyssey (Vol.2) #4, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents (Vol. 2) #3, Batwoman #5, O.M.A.C. #5, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #5, Penguin: Pain and Prejudice #4, Legion: Secret Origin #2, Red Lanterns #4
Mignolaversity (David Harper and I tackle all the new Mike Mignola-related releases): BPRD: Hell on Earth Russia #3, BPRD: Hell on Earth Russia #4/Dark Horse Presents #7, Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand #1
Podcasts:
The Hour Cosmic - a new comics podcast from Multiversity Comics that i'm a co-host on (with Chad Bowers and Matthew Meylikhov).
Music Writing:
The Waster Reviews: Big Wake - Big Wake
Comics Writing:
Features: James Robinson's Justice League of America, Multiversity 101: Out With the Old, In With The New? (with David Harper), Multiversity Lights the Menorah (Nights 4 and 8), Multiversity's Advent Calendar (Days 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24)
Reviews: The Shade #2, Justice League #4, My Greatest Adventure #3, Superboy #4, Supergirl #4, Batman Odyssey (Vol.2) #4, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents (Vol. 2) #3, Batwoman #5, O.M.A.C. #5, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #5, Penguin: Pain and Prejudice #4, Legion: Secret Origin #2, Red Lanterns #4
Mignolaversity (David Harper and I tackle all the new Mike Mignola-related releases): BPRD: Hell on Earth Russia #3, BPRD: Hell on Earth Russia #4/Dark Horse Presents #7, Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand #1
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
This is a Blackout - Don't Let it Go to Waste
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Monday, January 16, 2012
5 Song Shuffle, Vol. 19: MLK Day Edition
Track #1 - "Bread and Wine" - Peter Gabriel
This is from Passion, Gabriel's soundtrack to Martin Scorcese's The Last Temptation of Christ. This is Gabriel in full-on world music mode, with very few hints of his prog-rock '70s or MTV '80s. Lots of pan-flute and not-so-great-in-2012-sounding synthesizers. The record works incredibly well with the film (which, if you haven't seen it, is great, despite Harvey Keitel being the most Brooklyn Israelite ever), but not every track works without the visuals, this one included.
Track #2 - "The Ugly Organist" - Cursive
This is why this feature can be frustrating - this is the first track on this fine album, also called The Ugly Organist, but this is just sound effects and a little organ setting the stage for the record. No substance here folks, move along.
Track #3 - "Leisurely Poison" - Stephen Malkmus
A B-side from, I think, his eponymous debut post-Pavement. The synths are way in front of the mix, there are some nonsensical lyrics, acoustic guitar and a drum machine beat and a fade out. An extremely minor song in the Malkmus catalog.
Track #4 - "The Christmas Song" - Arcade Fire
I haven't done my yearly de-checking of Christmas songs in my iTunes yet, and damn it, I have to listen to this trying to be funny version of Mel Torme's classic Christmas song. This is obnoxious. In fact, I'm going to delete this from my library right now, there is no need to ever hear this again. Ugh.
Track #5 - "Nothing Was Delivered (Take 1)" - Bob Dylan
This is from the A Tree With Roots fan-made compilation of the famous "basement tapes" Dylan made with the Band at his Woodstock home (aka Big Pink). The actually released Basement Tapes are shit on by "real" Dylan fans for not being authentic enough, and A Tree With Roots is the raw, unchanged catalog of that time. I like this version, but you can't beat the Byrds' version on Sweetheart of the Rodeo, especially the drum beat change in and out of the chorus.
Note: This might be the first time in doing this segment that all of these tracks were downloaded, and not a single one ripped from a CD. To be fair, I purchased all the tracks that are legally available to do so - the Dylan thing is a bootleg, and the Arcade Fire thing was a "gift" to fans. And I heard the Cursive album on CD when i was in college, but just purchased it a few years ago. Not that you care.
'Til next time,
Brian
Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Playing Catch-Up With...
When i recommitted to this blog last year, i promised a lot of regular features that have, frankly, fallen on their face. That is mainly because I have been writing music reviews for The Waster and comic reviews for Multiversity Comics, and not dedicating as much time as i would like to this blog. Well, a New Year is nothing if not an opportunity to make changes, and so i'm going to try to really bust my ass to do some more writing here. I have an interview tentatively set for this month with writer Ian Peel (author of The Unknown Paul McCartney) which will launch "McCartography," a look at all of Paul McCartney's solo albums/singles/weird one-offs, one or two at a time. I have a huge audio file of my chat with artist/musician David Heatley waiting to be turned into a two or three part conversation, and I plan on returning to the "You'd Be Surprised" and "Five Song Shuffle" series this week or next (don't quote me on that). But, last night i was inspired to start a new feature that i think will be fun for me and, hopefully, somewhat interesting for you guys.
So, i am pleased to announce the first of a new series called "Playing Catch-Up With..." - Playing Catch-Up with Black Flag.
In this feature, i will dive into a pop culture subject that i am not sufficiently knowledgeable in and take a month to really dig in deep and see what i've been missing. The first three i have planned are bands/artists, and then plan on taking three TV shows, then three film directors, and then three types of books, taking us through an entire year. Wonderful internet services like Netflix and Spotify make this much, much easier than before, as well as the wonderful public libraries in this great country. So, hopefully, this is something i can keep up with (ha!), and we'll all have fun. Or, i'll do it this month and that'll be it. Whatever, let's stay hopeful!
So, my first topic is Black Flag, the seminal hardcore band from Southern California. This month, i will:
(Finish) reading Spray Paint the Walls: The Story of Black Flag by Stevie Chick
Re-read the Black Flag section in Michael Azerrad's wonderful Our Band Could Be Your Life.
Listen to every Black Flag release - studio, live, demos
Re-watch American Hardcore by Paul Rachman/Steven Blush
Watch Penelope Spheeris's The Decline of Western Civilization Part I
Read Henry Rollins's Get in the Van: On the Road With Black Flag
Watch Chuck Dukowski's appearance on Tomorrow
Do some selected listening from the key members' post-BF musical careers
At the end of the month, I will give a report of what i liked/didn't like, what i would recommend to a Flag neophyte (like i was mere weeks earlier), and if i felt it was worth my time.
So, if you see me violently lifting weights to get in Rollins shape, or talking about anarchy as a viable means of social change, or spray painting the four bars/flag logo, you know why.
Rise above,
Brian
So, i am pleased to announce the first of a new series called "Playing Catch-Up With..." - Playing Catch-Up with Black Flag.
In this feature, i will dive into a pop culture subject that i am not sufficiently knowledgeable in and take a month to really dig in deep and see what i've been missing. The first three i have planned are bands/artists, and then plan on taking three TV shows, then three film directors, and then three types of books, taking us through an entire year. Wonderful internet services like Netflix and Spotify make this much, much easier than before, as well as the wonderful public libraries in this great country. So, hopefully, this is something i can keep up with (ha!), and we'll all have fun. Or, i'll do it this month and that'll be it. Whatever, let's stay hopeful!
So, my first topic is Black Flag, the seminal hardcore band from Southern California. This month, i will:
(Finish) reading Spray Paint the Walls: The Story of Black Flag by Stevie Chick
Re-read the Black Flag section in Michael Azerrad's wonderful Our Band Could Be Your Life.
Listen to every Black Flag release - studio, live, demos
Re-watch American Hardcore by Paul Rachman/Steven Blush
Watch Penelope Spheeris's The Decline of Western Civilization Part I
Read Henry Rollins's Get in the Van: On the Road With Black Flag
Watch Chuck Dukowski's appearance on Tomorrow
Do some selected listening from the key members' post-BF musical careers
At the end of the month, I will give a report of what i liked/didn't like, what i would recommend to a Flag neophyte (like i was mere weeks earlier), and if i felt it was worth my time.
So, if you see me violently lifting weights to get in Rollins shape, or talking about anarchy as a viable means of social change, or spray painting the four bars/flag logo, you know why.
Rise above,
Brian
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Ten Records From Eleven Worth Twelve Bucks From Your Wallet
I used to obsess over my year end list. This year, my other obsessions are taking up too much of my time to spend my usual time organizing and re-numbering and whatnot. So, instead, here are ten albums that I really love from this year that I feel are worth your time and money, a few pithy comments, plus one song to sample. This is not a definitive list, nor is it the best ten records released in 2011, or even necessarily my favorites from this past year - just ten records that I think should be heard. Be on the lookout for my 20-track "Best of 2011" mix to be posted here this week, possibly tomorrow.
St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
This album may have more ideas, instruments, and layers than the other nine albums combined, and those other nine albums are all brilliant. This is the fucking timpano of indie rock - everything you would expect, and more, is contained within. No record challenged my expectations or changed my opinion more over multiple listens than this one.
Wild Flag - Wild Flag
To call myself a fan of Sleater-Kinney would be fair, but i would never say that i was a superfan. However, i can say that i am becoming a superfan of Wild Flag, which features 2/3 of Sleater-Kinney. A record that nearly bursts at the seams from the enthusiasm, spirit, energy and melody contained within. I think it says a lot about how far i've come as a listener/feminist that it barely even registers that this is an all-female band. At one point, i'd have viewed that as novel, but i don't at all anymore. Just four great musicians making a devastatingly good album.
Danielson - Best of Gloucester County
This is the record on this list that will be the most decisive. Some people just can't get past Daniel Smith's voice. I'm not one of those people. To me, this is his best/most consistent record since Brother : Son (which is credited to Br. Danielson). And no, it isn't just here because it's a Jersey band.
John Vanderslice - White Wilderness
I am typically against records that feature a singer/songwriter and an orchestra - the idea is great, but the execution is never quite there. Except here; Vanderslice, a guy whose music many times i respect more than i like, nails this type of record - it still sounds like him, but it also uses the orchestra as more than just window dressing.
Yellow Ostrich - The Mistress
Always be weary of records that get a lot of hype before you hear them. I was set up to dislike this album because so many people seemed to really like it. But this is really, really good. The band uses their voices exceptionally well, and in unusual ways. This is the record i've spent the least amount of time with (despite having it for longer than many of the other albums on this list), and this has the potential to be a record that i forget about for years and years and rediscover at some point and kick myself for forgetting about it.
Mister Heavenly - Out of Love
This sounded too good to be true - Nick Diamonds from the Unicorns/Islands and Honus Honus from Man Man making a record together. When i heard the first song, i assumed i was right - however, move past that one song (and skip the reggae-ish one later on), and you have a fantastic record that harkens back to the late '50s/early '60s as easily as it does to the members' other bands. If only the album was also called Mister Heavenly, they could've had the rare band/album/song of the same name trifecta, Bad Company style.
TV Girl - Benny and the Jetts
I'm a sucker for great pop songs, and this EP is chock full of them. This is a band i can honestly say i have no idea how i found, but this EP has been one of the more constant records i've returned to this year when i just want to smile. In fact, the song below, from this EP, provided the theme music to the first episode of Expectations this summer...
The Roots - Undun
?uestlove can do no wrong in my book, and 2004 Brian would go apeshit if he knew that one day a Sufjan Stevens song would inspire a Roots record. The Roots keep getting better and better (which is almost unfair, as almost no peers try an eighth as hard as they do), and this concept album in reverse is stunning on listen #1 or #100.
Destroyer - Kaputt
When I first encountered Destroyer, I wrote the project off as a second rate Bowie wannabe. I was wrong. This album is by far my favorite by Dan Bejar (outside of his 2-3 songs per New Pornographers album, which, if collected, would probably be my favorite), and this is the definition of a "mature Brian" pick; if you had told me when i was 16 that i would love a record full of early-mid 80s cheesy synthesizers and saxophone, i'd have laughed in your face. But this set of songs really fits the style of production and is a really cohesive, great record.
Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
2011 was the year punk broke up (copyright some article i read about Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon splitting), but for me it was the year that i further dug my heels in the "punk" side of the field. This year i've refined my theory that everyone in the world is one of the three types of people: punk rockers, metal dudes or Deadheads. I'm a punk rocker, despite being totally not a punk rocker. What i mean is that i really value/love the sense of community, political awareness, DIY sensibility, and lack of fear that comes along with punk. And no record more so than David Comes to Life embodies all that is great about punk rock, nearly 40 years after it broke: this record is aggressive, intelligent, melodic, tells a story and doesn't let up. If i had to pick a best album of 2011, this would win.
Bonus Records/File Under "Full Disclosure:"
Unsung - The Paint
Steven Miller, aka Unsung, is a visual artist who makes music, and the sensibility of his painting bleeds through to his music in a way that makes it some of the most unique hip hop, or really any sort of pop music, that i know. Thought provoking, melodic, intricate, and unwilling to bend toward trends.
Reason it didn't make the main list - Steve is a friend, and i once tried to put out one of his records via my now-dead label.
Jeremy Dubs Presents Speak!
An album mostly made up of Harry Nilsson covers, produced using a vintage analog synthesizer. That alone should make your salivate and seek out this record. But the best song here is an original, and Dubs puts his own spin on each song to create this beautiful, dense, (almost) Christmas album.
Reason it didn't make the main list - i did some promotional work for this album via Dubs's label, The Bureau.
The Bishoffs - Head Caves In
Catchy as shit, completely un-self conscious, and simply fun, the Bishoffs debut EP pales only in comparison to their live show, the most fun i've had seeing a band in years. YEARS!
Reason it didn't make the main list - i interviewed David Heatley (guitar/vocals) earlier this year for a piece i still haven't finished/posted for this blog, and have since become friendly with him. NOTE: The video below is a Heatley solo joint, but is very similar in tone to the Bishoffs. Also, a Bergen County native!
Paley & Francis - Paley & Francis
It should surprise no one that a Black Francis release makes my list. However, his first collaborative album with, another Brian favorite, Reid Paley, finds him writing some of flat out great songs. But the best part of this album is that it, hopefully, serves as a bit of a coming out party for Reid Paley, one of the finest songwriters around. The songs that Paley takes the mic for here shine the brightest for me, and hopefully with having the Black Francis name attached to it, will get some more people to take notice of his three equally great solo records (and speed up the completion/release of his fourth record).
Reason it didn't make the main list - I've known/done some work for Mr. Francis for the past 6 years, and consider Mr. Paley a friend. NOTE: This is a live version, seek out the studio version as well - both are great in their own way.
Ten Records From Eleven Worth Twelve Bucks From Your Wallet
St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
This album may have more ideas, instruments, and layers than the other nine albums combined, and those other nine albums are all brilliant. This is the fucking timpano of indie rock - everything you would expect, and more, is contained within. No record challenged my expectations or changed my opinion more over multiple listens than this one.
Wild Flag - Wild Flag
To call myself a fan of Sleater-Kinney would be fair, but i would never say that i was a superfan. However, i can say that i am becoming a superfan of Wild Flag, which features 2/3 of Sleater-Kinney. A record that nearly bursts at the seams from the enthusiasm, spirit, energy and melody contained within. I think it says a lot about how far i've come as a listener/feminist that it barely even registers that this is an all-female band. At one point, i'd have viewed that as novel, but i don't at all anymore. Just four great musicians making a devastatingly good album.
Danielson - Best of Gloucester County
This is the record on this list that will be the most decisive. Some people just can't get past Daniel Smith's voice. I'm not one of those people. To me, this is his best/most consistent record since Brother : Son (which is credited to Br. Danielson). And no, it isn't just here because it's a Jersey band.
John Vanderslice - White Wilderness
I am typically against records that feature a singer/songwriter and an orchestra - the idea is great, but the execution is never quite there. Except here; Vanderslice, a guy whose music many times i respect more than i like, nails this type of record - it still sounds like him, but it also uses the orchestra as more than just window dressing.
Yellow Ostrich - The Mistress
Always be weary of records that get a lot of hype before you hear them. I was set up to dislike this album because so many people seemed to really like it. But this is really, really good. The band uses their voices exceptionally well, and in unusual ways. This is the record i've spent the least amount of time with (despite having it for longer than many of the other albums on this list), and this has the potential to be a record that i forget about for years and years and rediscover at some point and kick myself for forgetting about it.
Mister Heavenly - Out of Love
This sounded too good to be true - Nick Diamonds from the Unicorns/Islands and Honus Honus from Man Man making a record together. When i heard the first song, i assumed i was right - however, move past that one song (and skip the reggae-ish one later on), and you have a fantastic record that harkens back to the late '50s/early '60s as easily as it does to the members' other bands. If only the album was also called Mister Heavenly, they could've had the rare band/album/song of the same name trifecta, Bad Company style.
TV Girl - Benny and the Jetts
I'm a sucker for great pop songs, and this EP is chock full of them. This is a band i can honestly say i have no idea how i found, but this EP has been one of the more constant records i've returned to this year when i just want to smile. In fact, the song below, from this EP, provided the theme music to the first episode of Expectations this summer...
The Roots - Undun
?uestlove can do no wrong in my book, and 2004 Brian would go apeshit if he knew that one day a Sufjan Stevens song would inspire a Roots record. The Roots keep getting better and better (which is almost unfair, as almost no peers try an eighth as hard as they do), and this concept album in reverse is stunning on listen #1 or #100.
Destroyer - Kaputt
When I first encountered Destroyer, I wrote the project off as a second rate Bowie wannabe. I was wrong. This album is by far my favorite by Dan Bejar (outside of his 2-3 songs per New Pornographers album, which, if collected, would probably be my favorite), and this is the definition of a "mature Brian" pick; if you had told me when i was 16 that i would love a record full of early-mid 80s cheesy synthesizers and saxophone, i'd have laughed in your face. But this set of songs really fits the style of production and is a really cohesive, great record.
Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
2011 was the year punk broke up (copyright some article i read about Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon splitting), but for me it was the year that i further dug my heels in the "punk" side of the field. This year i've refined my theory that everyone in the world is one of the three types of people: punk rockers, metal dudes or Deadheads. I'm a punk rocker, despite being totally not a punk rocker. What i mean is that i really value/love the sense of community, political awareness, DIY sensibility, and lack of fear that comes along with punk. And no record more so than David Comes to Life embodies all that is great about punk rock, nearly 40 years after it broke: this record is aggressive, intelligent, melodic, tells a story and doesn't let up. If i had to pick a best album of 2011, this would win.
Bonus Records/File Under "Full Disclosure:"
Unsung - The Paint
Steven Miller, aka Unsung, is a visual artist who makes music, and the sensibility of his painting bleeds through to his music in a way that makes it some of the most unique hip hop, or really any sort of pop music, that i know. Thought provoking, melodic, intricate, and unwilling to bend toward trends.
Reason it didn't make the main list - Steve is a friend, and i once tried to put out one of his records via my now-dead label.
Jeremy Dubs Presents Speak!
An album mostly made up of Harry Nilsson covers, produced using a vintage analog synthesizer. That alone should make your salivate and seek out this record. But the best song here is an original, and Dubs puts his own spin on each song to create this beautiful, dense, (almost) Christmas album.
Reason it didn't make the main list - i did some promotional work for this album via Dubs's label, The Bureau.
The Bishoffs - Head Caves In
Catchy as shit, completely un-self conscious, and simply fun, the Bishoffs debut EP pales only in comparison to their live show, the most fun i've had seeing a band in years. YEARS!
Reason it didn't make the main list - i interviewed David Heatley (guitar/vocals) earlier this year for a piece i still haven't finished/posted for this blog, and have since become friendly with him. NOTE: The video below is a Heatley solo joint, but is very similar in tone to the Bishoffs. Also, a Bergen County native!
Paley & Francis - Paley & Francis
It should surprise no one that a Black Francis release makes my list. However, his first collaborative album with, another Brian favorite, Reid Paley, finds him writing some of flat out great songs. But the best part of this album is that it, hopefully, serves as a bit of a coming out party for Reid Paley, one of the finest songwriters around. The songs that Paley takes the mic for here shine the brightest for me, and hopefully with having the Black Francis name attached to it, will get some more people to take notice of his three equally great solo records (and speed up the completion/release of his fourth record).
Reason it didn't make the main list - I've known/done some work for Mr. Francis for the past 6 years, and consider Mr. Paley a friend. NOTE: This is a live version, seek out the studio version as well - both are great in their own way.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Farewell, Sweet Prince
It is official - the Miami Marlins have signed Jose Reyes to a six year, $106 million dollar deal. I have long threatened that while Erin is still in a "recovering from birthing a human" state, i will sign the birth certificate for our child, male or female, reading "Jose Reyes Salvatore." Well, those plans are out the window now (how does R.A. Dickey Salvatore sound to you guys?), and i have extremely mixed feelings about this whole business.
First of all, giving 6 years to a shortstop is sort of ridiculous - especially one who defensively has been trending downward over the past few years. In addition, Reyes has had a fair share of leg problems - not as bad as many would lead you to believe - but still more than i would feel comfortable with, when signing to that length of a contract.
And contracts like that are precisely why the Mets are in the position that they are in this morning. David Wright signed a very fair extension a few years ago, and has been worth the money spent on him. But, let's focus on the other big free agent contracts the Mets have given out lately:
4 years to Jason Bay
7 years to Johan Santana
4 years to Oliver Perez
4 years to Luis Castillo
3 years with a vesting option to K-Rod
Each one of those deals has come back to bite the Mets in the ass for one reason or another. And, invariably, each one is too long. That was the general plan for the Omar Minaya-led Mets - guarantee more years that the competition. And for Minaya, that sort of worked - especially since now it is his predecessor, Sandy Alderson, who has to deal with those problems.
So, i get why the Mets wanted to limit their years on Reyes. However, it is Jose Fucking Reyes - maybe the most exciting player i've ever had the privilege to watch play baseball. Reyes hitting a triple is one of the most beautiful sights in the world. If i live to one hundred, i may never see another player have as much fun on the field as Reyes does. He was not only one of my favorite Mets of all time, but one of my favorite players of all time (along with Ken Griffey Jr in his original Mariners years and Keith Hernandez pre-Indians).
If there was one player that i would be fine with eating 2 years or shit for, it is Reyes. And i think that is exactly what his six years are going to look like for Reyes - two years of dominance, two years of above-average production, and two years of a sad shell of his former self. 2014 is the year that a lot of Mets fans throw out as when the tide will turn in our favor, so when the Mets are hitting their stride, Reyes will be starting his decline. But instead of being able to pull for him in his declining years, i will now have to either root against him or, as the brilliant Patrick Flood put it, "wish Reyes well 144 times a season and nothing but bad hops the other 18." It used to be every day during the baseball season, i knew i'd be able to watch Reyes and, even when Mike Pelfrey was starting, that made the game worth watching.
And now, he will be wearing this every game:
Both the thought and the image make me want to puke.
First of all, giving 6 years to a shortstop is sort of ridiculous - especially one who defensively has been trending downward over the past few years. In addition, Reyes has had a fair share of leg problems - not as bad as many would lead you to believe - but still more than i would feel comfortable with, when signing to that length of a contract.
And contracts like that are precisely why the Mets are in the position that they are in this morning. David Wright signed a very fair extension a few years ago, and has been worth the money spent on him. But, let's focus on the other big free agent contracts the Mets have given out lately:
4 years to Jason Bay
7 years to Johan Santana
4 years to Oliver Perez
4 years to Luis Castillo
3 years with a vesting option to K-Rod
Each one of those deals has come back to bite the Mets in the ass for one reason or another. And, invariably, each one is too long. That was the general plan for the Omar Minaya-led Mets - guarantee more years that the competition. And for Minaya, that sort of worked - especially since now it is his predecessor, Sandy Alderson, who has to deal with those problems.
So, i get why the Mets wanted to limit their years on Reyes. However, it is Jose Fucking Reyes - maybe the most exciting player i've ever had the privilege to watch play baseball. Reyes hitting a triple is one of the most beautiful sights in the world. If i live to one hundred, i may never see another player have as much fun on the field as Reyes does. He was not only one of my favorite Mets of all time, but one of my favorite players of all time (along with Ken Griffey Jr in his original Mariners years and Keith Hernandez pre-Indians).
If there was one player that i would be fine with eating 2 years or shit for, it is Reyes. And i think that is exactly what his six years are going to look like for Reyes - two years of dominance, two years of above-average production, and two years of a sad shell of his former self. 2014 is the year that a lot of Mets fans throw out as when the tide will turn in our favor, so when the Mets are hitting their stride, Reyes will be starting his decline. But instead of being able to pull for him in his declining years, i will now have to either root against him or, as the brilliant Patrick Flood put it, "wish Reyes well 144 times a season and nothing but bad hops the other 18." It used to be every day during the baseball season, i knew i'd be able to watch Reyes and, even when Mike Pelfrey was starting, that made the game worth watching.
And now, he will be wearing this every game:
Both the thought and the image make me want to puke.
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