Sunday Potpourri No. 27

Positive Signs

Last night my beloved Kansas City Royals played the middle game of a three-game series with the Minnesota Twins. Despite not having so much as a base-runner over the first three innings, the Royals cruised to a 7-0 win to capture the series with their second straight victory. They'll go for the sweep later this afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.

"How do you like me now?"

Newly-acquired RHP Ian Kennedy was masterful in his Royals debut, allowing no runs on only five hits and a walk in his 6 2/3 innings of work. He also struck out seven.





To this point in the season, Royals starting pitchers have a 1.59 ERA, a very encouraging start considering the starters' struggles last season.

"BOOM!"

Until Saturday night, the Royals had not hit a home run, the only major league team not to have done so.







Back-to-back solo home runs by 3B Mike Moustakas and CF Lorenzo Cain in the 4th inning and another solo shot from DH Kendrys Morales leading off the 6th put that story line to rest. Of course, power hitting is not the Royals' strong suit, but it was good to get off the schneid.

"I like when they win a blowout because you're a lot less grumpy afterward."

Grumpy? Me???

Wild Kingdom Bed & Breakfast Update

"Did you miss me?"

As the weather warms up, more and more bird species are showing up on the patio. This morning was the first sighting of a Northern Cardinal at the B&B since last fall.

"Nice little joint you got going."

I also note with interest that the Mourning Dove I first saw a few days ago seems to have become a daily visitor, although just the one. Whether any of his pals will ever follow him to the B&B remains to be seen.

Managers Take Classes, Too

From the comic strip Dilbert, by Scott Adams, which you should read every day, as I do.

Until Next Time...

I've always been fond of live concert recordings, especially as mobile recording technology has improved over the years. Some of my all-time favorite albums are live recordings. As a general rule, though, live albums don't usually become best-sellers or even cultural phenomena.

In 1976, British rocker Peter Frampton released Frampton Comes Alive!, a double album recorded at some New York and California dates on his 1975 U.S. tour. It took awhile for the album to build momentum, but eventually it vastly exceeded the success typically achieved by a live album, and become one of the most celebrated recordings of the '70s.

On April 10, 1976 Frampton Comes Alive! hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, an unusual feat for a live recording. It got knocked out of
the top spot the following week, but hit No. 1 a second time on July 24, more than three months later, which was definitely unusual, live album or not.

After being knocked out of the top spot a second time, the album hit No. 1 for another three-week stretch beginning August 14, and after a two-week absence hit No. 1 for yet a fourth time on September 11.

This time the album held on to the top spot for five consecutive weeks, making a total of ten non-consecutive weeks as the top-selling album in the country. It finished 1976 as the year's best-selling album.

Frampton Comes Alive! spent a total of 97 weeks on the Billboard 200, and sold well enough in 1977 to finish No. 14 on that year's best-selling album list. It remains one of the best-selling live recordings in history.

Today's send-off is "Show Me the Way," from the 2001 25th Anniversary remastered version of the album. The studio version of the song from Peter's 1975 album Frampton didn't chart, but the live version hit No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, Frampton's second-highest charting U.S. single in his career. It features Frampton using the "talk box" technology that was a big part of his sound at the time. Enjoy...