https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/the-baseball-digest-archives-6fc?r=8r1ca&utm_campai...
The Baseball Digest Archives - Tending The Herd
December 1976 Joe Morgan was a pretty obvious choice for player of the year in 1976. He followed up his 1975 MVP season with a 1976 year that was almost as spectacular. WAR did not exist yet at this time, but retroactive calculations of his WAR totals were a sight to behold. I always found it sadly ..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/greatest-song-evah-52424?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&...
Greatest Song Evah 5/24/24 - Tending The Herd
Hey Hey What Can I Do Hey Hey What Can I Do is somewhat of an anomaly in the Led Zeppelin catalog in that it did not appear on a Led Zeppelin album. That’s not unusual in and of itself, most bands of that era have plenty of classic songs that were non-album singles, or as it was in this case, B-side..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/wednesday-newsletter-dc6?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&...
Wednesday Newsletter - Tending The Herd
The 50 Game Update About a week or so ago, I figured that this would be a good day for some sort of State Of the Mets report. We’re almost 1/3 of the way through the season, so enough time has passed that sample sizes are becoming more meaningful. I can’t do that without being overly nihilistic, thi..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/the-auto-racing-digest-archives?r=8r1ca&utm_campaig...
The Auto Racing Digest Archives - Tending The Herd
January 1981 Since the annual Greatest Day In Racing (Monte Carlo, Indy, Charlotte) is this Sunday it’s a good week to set aside my pile of old issues of Baseball Digest and look at an old Auto Racing Digest instead. Back issues of magazines can provide a fascinating snapshot in time and that is cer..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/greatest-song-evah-51724?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&...
Greatest Song Evah 5/17/24 - Tending The Herd
Two Of Us The way that listeners absorb a song doesn’t always match the intentions of the songwriter. Two Of Us, the leadoff track from the final Beatles album to be released (although NOT the last that they recorded as a group) sounds like an upbeat coda to the Lennon/McCartney relationship. With t..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/wednesday-newsletter-2c0?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&...
Wednesday Newsletter - Tending The Herd
It’s OK To Enjoy Things There’s nothing wrong with having a healthy skepticism towards hype. Where it goes wrong is if one essentially stands stiffly with arms angrily crossed, essentially saying “prove yourself!” That sounds like an existence that’s both miserable and exhausting. It’s a wonderful e..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/the-baseball-digest-archives-fe5?r=8r1ca&utm_campai...
The Baseball Digest Archives - Tending The Herd
October 1980 This particular issue was branded as a World Series Special and as such there were a lot more articles looking back in history than would be found in a standard issue of Baseball Digest. The article about Tony Kubek touches on the ground ball that struck him in the throat in the 1960 Se..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/greatest-song-evah-51024?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&...
Greatest Song Evah 5/10/24 - Tending The Herd
Good Rockin’ Tonight As time has passed Elvis Presley has become a terribly polarizing artist & personality. In short, it’s almost impossible to have a rational conversation about him, with his defenders (a particular segment of whom are so devoted that it’s practically a cult) and detractors bo..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/wednesday-newsletter-2ad?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&...
Wednesday Newsletter - Tending The Herd
NBA Playoff Check-In The play-in and first round are both out of the way, and now the tension is really about to ratchet up. I find it tough to follow this opening portion of the postseason too closely. As much as I love the excitement and stakes of playoff action, two full months is a lot of basket..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/the-baseball-digest-archives-395?r=8r1ca&utm_campai...
The Baseball Digest Archives - Tending The Herd
March 1979 This is the sort of issue of Baseball Digest that I get a real kick out of revisiting. The issue that offers predictions of who will be the top rookies of the upcoming season is tailor made for second guessing. Let’s take a look at their preseason all-rookie team.
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/greatest-song-evah-5324?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&u...
Greatest Song Evah - 5/3/24 - Tending The Herd
Hurt In what has become a famous quote, upon hearing Johnny Cash’s cover of Hurt, Trent Reznor said “this song isn’t mine anymore.” It wasn’t said out of bitterness, more out of a recognition that Cash had completely recontextualized the song in such a way that people will forever think of the song ..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/may-day-newsletter?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&utm_me...
May Day Newsletter - Tending The Herd
Classic SNL Recap - Season 3 Finale Season 3 ends with Buck Henry hosting; now that he has hosted 2 consecutive season finales it’s officially become a tradition. This was his 6th stint as host, the sketch that introduced the concept of the Five-Timers Club was still a decade away, so Henry did not ..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/the-baseball-digest-archives-776?r=8r1ca&utm_campai...
The Baseball Digest Archives - Tending The Herd
June 1976 The feature story in this month’s issue discusses the premiere center fielders of the era. That makes it a bit fascinating that the editors chose Rick Manning of all people for the cover photo. Not just because even at the time he was nowhere near as big of a star as some of the others who..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/greatest-song-evah-42624?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&...
Greatest Song Evah 4/26/24 - Tending The Herd
Everlong I probably wasn’t alone in my thoughts after the initial shock of Kurt Cobain’s suicide wore off. I felt that Dave Grohl is an exceptional drummer, I sure hope he’s able to find a new band that showcases his talents. As it turned out there was no need to worry, I think he turned out OK.
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/the-class-of-2024?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&utm_med...
The Class Of 2024 - Tending The Herd
Expanded Thoughts On The New Class It says a lot about the way the Hall prioritizes categories by the fact that the announcement banner lists all of this year’s honorees in alphabetical order. There is no differentiation based on which category an act is entering under. The Hall looks at each new in..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/the-baseball-digest-archive-2bc?r=8r1ca&utm_campaig...
The Baseball Digest Archive - Tending The Herd
March 1980 What stands out for me in this issue is much more than just the cover subject - yes, Gary Carter was in fact the NL’s. best young catcher in the spring of 1980. It’s the two last articles listed in the table of contents. In March of 1980 Satchel Paige and Rube Marquard were both still ali..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/greatest-song-evah-41924?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&...
Greatest Song Evah 4/19/24 - Tending The Herd
Welcome To The Jungle What a breath of fresh air Appetite For Destruction was. I’m not a huge fan of hard rock, so take my comments for what they are worth, but the late 80’s were a pretty dreadful era for that genre. It was the age of hair metal, and being that this coincided with my college years ..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/wednesday-newsletter?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&utm_...
Wednesday Newsletter - Tending The Herd
Prediction Time? The announcement of the newest Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction class will take place during this Sunday’s episode of American Idol. Makes sense; nothing screams Rock and Roll! quite like American Idol. I kid. Disney+ is the current streaming partner for the induction ceremony..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/the-baseball-digest-archive-with?r=8r1ca&utm_campai...
The Baseball Digest Archive - With A Twist
March 1977 I know what you’re thinking. Wait a minute, this isn’t a cover from an old issue of Baseball Digest! As it turns out my box of old issues of Baseball Digest also contains issues of Auto Racing Digest. So why not dive into one of these? Similar to the value of Baseball Digest in a pre-cabl..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/greatest-song-evah-41224?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&...
Greatest Song Evah 4/12/24 - Tending The Herd
Children’s Story This week’s selection comes from one of the earliest major figures in hip-hop. Slick Rick was the featured rapper on Doug E. Fresh’s classic track The Show. He had a very distinctive style; he hit that sweet spot between rapping and singing, and his British accent gave him a very di..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/post-eclipse-newsletter?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&u...
Post-Eclipse Newsletter - Tending The Herd
Science Is Awesome I envy those of you who were in the totality path on Monday. Here in New York City the eclipse was only a partial one, so it was cool, but nowhere near as impressive as it was for those who were able to experience complete darkness for those few minutes.
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/the-baseball-digest-archive-8fb?r=8r1ca&utm_campaig...
The Baseball Digest Archive - Tending The Herd
June 1978 Garry Templeton pretty much dominated this month’s issue. In addition to being featured on the cover & in his own profile article, he was also one of the players listed as a future star of the 1980’s. That appeared to be a good bet in 1978, but his stardom did not last.
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/greatest-song-evah-4624?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&u...
Greatest Song Evah 4/6/24 - Tending The Herd
A Day In the Life There are occasional selections that I make for this segment which makes me ask myself if I need to even bother writing about it. I know how great the song is, you know how great the song is, it’s been written about countless times, what can I possibly add that hasn’t already been ..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/whats-on-my-mind?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&utm_medi...
What’s On My Mind - Tending The Herd
Believe The Hype Monday night’s regional final game matching up Iowa & LSU completely lived up to the hype and then some. And once the rating numbers came out they measured higher than even the most optimistic ESPN executives could have hoped for. It was the most watched college basketball game ..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/the-baseball-digest-archive-110?r=8r1ca&utm_campaig...
The Baseball Digest Archive - Tending The Herd
November 1984 One big thing that I’ve noticed when going through these old issues of Baseball Digest is that so many of the discussions and/or arguments that crop up in the sport are perennials. Look no further than the very first article in this issue, which deals with the epidemic of injuries in t..
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/greatest-song-evah-32924?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&...
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/2024-mlb-preview?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&utm_medi...
2024 MLB Preview - Tending The Herd
The Power Rankings Last week in Seoul we learned that contrary to popular belief the Dodgers will NOT finish with a record of 162-0. Now it’s time for the other 28 clubs to get serious. Opening Day is today. Time to polish up the crystal ball and put together my power rankings.
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/wednesdays-newsletter?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&utm...
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/the-baseball-digest-archive-d7d?r=8r1ca&utm_campaig...
https://open.substack.com/pub/herdsman19662003/p/greatest-song-evah-32224?r=8r1ca&utm_campaign=post&...
Greatest Song Evah 3/22/24 - Tending The Herd
At My Most Beautiful This week’s selection can accurately be described as the greatest song that Brian Wilson never wrote. Honestly, you could sneak this one on side 2 of Pet Sounds and it would fit right in. It’s hard to imagine Murmur era R.E.M. being able to come up with something like this. It’s..
