Bartender Banter: Pete's Dragon and A-Rod's Haunts

So the Cubs have rattled off 3 straight. The last time they won 3 in a row was April 25th when they beat the Marlins. They have yet to win 4 straight this year, but I'm optimistic tonight, for one reason. We got Sean Marshall. The 6' 7" manchild has been lights out at home. In 5 starts at Wrigley, Marshall is 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA. Even better, the Cubs are 4-1 in those 5 starts. Next to Chaz the Bull, Marshall has become the most reliable starter in the rotation, and one I've become a growing fan of.

Despite that he still seems to be sort of an obscure name. When it comes to measuring a player's popularity I think the best tool is the "Google Search". A well-known player will usually come up at the top of the results on various sites (ESPN, MLB, Baseball-Reference, etc.). For example if you google Albert Poopholes, you see his ESPN player card is the first listing.

(Note: I actually googled his correct name to get that, but given Saloon Rules and Guidelines, staff are forbidden to call him anything other than Poopholes. If you google Albert Poopholes the first listing is some shitty blog.)

If you google Sean Marshall, the first two sites listed pertain to a Sean Marshall that starred in the Disney movie Pete's Dragon. Hey, maybe that could be Marshall's nickname? Sean "Pete's Dragon" Marshall. Its better than "Cat Power" right? Anyone? Still crickets? OK, I'll move on.

Look further in the Google Search and you'll find a fansite dedicated to Sean and his twin brother Brian. While Sean has cracked the rotation in the Show, Brian was let go by the Red Sox this spring. Brian now spends his days chilling with Ozzie Canseco and Craig Griffey.


A-Rod's Hangouts?

So I'm on msn.com last night and there's a link to their Windows Live Local site. This is a pretty cool site to look at, and being a huge geography nerd I've spent quite a bit of time on it. Anyway, this link was for Alex Rodriguez's favorite places in New York. (insert "map of gay bars" joke here) So I go to check it out and its nothing but a bunch of famous landmarks and main tourist spots in Manhattan. How lame is that? Wow, A-Rod goes to the Met? Who knew? At least the restaurants weren't major chains. If you look at Matt Leinart's favorite places, he picked a Cheesecake Factory in LA as one of the spots. Overall this just seems incredibly phony.


Break out the moonshine!

OK so I'm gonna take it upon myself to claim title to "resident hick" here at the Saloon. This past weekend, the wife and I caught some live music at an establishment nearby. We saw a group called the Woodbox Gang and a group called the Hackensaw Boys.

The Woodbox Gang are from Southern Illinois, and play Americana/folk music. Very cool band. They had one dude, who at different points during the performance, played a washboard, a mandolin, a banjo, a guitar, a harmonica, a kazoo, and, I shit you not, a didgeridoo.

The Hackensaw Boys are from Virginia and have more of a bluegrass sound. They put on a very entertaining show and their music is an infectious, non-stop romp. I mean, their banjo player goes by the name "Kooky-Eyed Fox" and their fiddle player looks like Jesus. What's not to love?

Anyway, if you have a chance to see either band I highly recommend them.