(Clearly, they’ll let anybody in the Cell and they still can’t sell out the place)
In a do-or-die bid, Mark Buehrle did. He smothered the Tribe for the Sox’ first win in six games to try and force a tiebreaker with the Twins. Tomorrow the Pale Hose must face the Tigers at home to make up a Sept. 14th rainout. A Sox victory over the Tigers will put them in a tie for the AL Central with the Twins and force a one-game playoff on Tuesday, also at home. As of this writing, the Tigers may start former South Sider Freddy Garcia, which would force the Sox to light up the winning pitcher of their own 2005 World Series Game 4. There could be worse prospects given that Garcia was shelled by KC last week in his second start since shoulder surgery in 2007.
During today’s final trip to the Cell for the season, I couldn’t help but be floored by the 39 years of consummate professionalism provided by Sox organist Nancy Faust. Take the following quiz for a trip into the musical mind of a national treasure.
Match the Cleveland Indian with the Nancy Faust musical tag. Answers are below.
| No. | At-Bat | Ltr | Nancy Plays |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ben Francisco | A | John Barry "The Magnificent Seven" |
| 2 | Travis Hafner | B | Frank DeVol "The Brady Bunch Theme" |
| 3 | Kelly Shoppach | C | Kinks "You Really Got Me" |
| 4 | Jamey Carroll | D | Smokey Robinson "Shop Around" |
| 5 | Kelly Shoppach | E | Quincy Jones "Sanford & Son" Theme |
| 6 | Grady Sizemore | F | Shelly Fabares "Johnny Angel" |
| 7 | Pickoff of Guitterrez | G | Menard's Jingle |
| 8 | Jhonny Peralta | H | Ray Anthony "Bunny Hop" |
| 9 | Kelly Shoppach | I | Todd Rundgren "Bang On The Drum" |
| 10 | Jamey Carroll | J | Adams/Strouse "All In The Family" Theme |
| 11 | Asdrubal Cabrera | K | Cory/Cross "I Left My Heart In SF" |
| 12 | Travis Hafner | L | J. Geils "Centerfold" |
| 13 | Kelly Shoppach | M | "Cabaret" (musical) |
ANSWERS: 1K 2L 3D 4A 5G 6E,B 7C 8F 9D 10J 11M 12H 13I*
* There should be some kind of award handed out for Ms. Fausts’ incredible stretch in this one for the Cleveland catcher tying in the 1973 Robert DeNiro star turn in Bang The Drum Slowly, the story of a troubled backstop not named Jeff Torborg.
Unbelievably, I will be in mexico this week and NOT able to see the Sox/Tigers game. I only like seeing the cubs beat the sox, so I’m backing the south siders – until further notice.
Magnanimity like that is indeed both rare and welcome, Ben. Given recent events north of the (Wisconsin) border, are you sure Mexico is the best venue for your diplomacy?
On Monday’s game, my favorite Nancy Faust moment was when Inge came up to bat and she played Bus Stop by the Hollies. How many folks will make that literary connection?