Strat-O-Matic Baseball 365

We've covered hitters for a bit, so it's time to give the pitchers some time. We'll start with greatest Right Handed Starters since WW II. For the second half of the poll/thread, we'll go back to the culture world. In our recent Greatest Rock Bands poll, many posters either chose The Beatles as one of their favorites or named them their favorite band, period. Every generation loves the Beatles. So, for the second half, everybody should pick their greatest and/or favorite Beatles songs. Since they have so many great ones, don't worry about only listing your favorites. Odds are they will be great anyway.

Greatest Right Handed Starters
1. Tom Seaver. Choirboy face belied a fierce competitor with a dominating repertoire and wicked command.
2. Bob Gibson. The Demon. Big, fast, smart, and mean. Only pitcher to intimidate MLB rule makers.
3. Greg Maddux. The Surgeon. Scalpel-like control and location and sublime pitcher's mind.
4. Pedro Martinez. Closest thing to a right-handed Koufax. Electric stuff dominated the roided era.
5. Jim Palmer. Smooth and unflappable. Aggravated batters as much as he did Earl Weaver
6. Nolan Ryan. Ungodly fast and fierce. The epitome of the Big Texan Righty...just ask Ventura.
7. Juan Marichal. Koufax's right-handed contemporary. Roseboro incident cost him deserved recognition.
8. Don Drysdale. Ornery cuss. Played the bruising Clydesdale to Koufax' electric thoroughbred.
9. Fergie Jenkins. Unfairly overlooked in most talks of the great ones.
10. Robin Roberts. 6 straight 20 win seasons. Terribly forgotten by most baseball media and fans.

Favorite Greatest Beatles Songs
1. A Day in the Life. Has everything that makes the Beatles music great, including John's best performance.
2. Something. George's masterpiece. Sinatra called it the greatest love song of all time.
3. For No One. Paul's best and darkest song. Sounds more like a Johnny Cash dirge than a McCartney tune.
4. In My Life. John's elegy is his best solo writing effort.
5. While My Guitar Gently Weeps. The Beatles, George's elegant writing, and Clapton in a meeting of the gods.
6. Across the Universe. Beautiful psychedelia that inspired much un-beautiful psychedelia
7. Happiness is a Warm Gun. John at his most beautifully snarky. Alt-rock masterpiece before Alt-rock
8. She Said, She Said. Signaled the start of their experimental era. Easily Ringo's best work.
9. If I Fell. Their best early song with tough guy John at his most vulnerable.
10. Strawberry Fields Forever. Another beautiful John elegy. George Martin's best production work.

Fun trivia, the subject/inspiration of your number 2 song has actually been the inspiration for 2 other very famous songs not by the Beatles or George Harrison.

Can you name the artist(s) and the songs?

"Something in the Way she Moves" by James Taylor (my favorite song of his)

and

"Oh, George" by the Foo Fighters (definitely not my favorite song of theirs)

So, what are your favorite Beatles tunes, Niners?

I was going to say Layla by Eric Clapton with no guess on a second song.

"Layla" was about the same woman, Patti Boyd. She was obviously quite the muse...

Mr Baseball World wrote:I was going to say Layla by Eric Clapton with no guess on a second song.

This is one of them, technically it's by Derek and the Dominoes, one of Clapton's bands, but he did write the song.

Both "Something" and "Layla" are inspired by George Harrison's ex wife Patti Boyd, whom Clapton was infatuated with at the time of Layla's writing.

After she left Harrison, Clapton and Boyd did get together and Clapton wrote the other song I was referring to, although it was seven years later.
Clapton's song " Wonderful Tonight" is also inspired by Boyd. The song was written about Clapton waiting for Boyd to get ready for a party thrown by Paul McCartney coincidentally. It was also the song my wife and i danced to at our wedding, although if you really listen to it, it's meant to be much more sarcastic than complimentary and probably wasn't the best choice for a wedding song. Chalk it up to the ignorance of youth.

As for my Favorite Beatles songs:

My absolute Number 1 is Eleanor Rigby, just love love love this song.

In no particular order:
Yesterday
A Day In the Life
Norwegian Wood
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Hello Goodbye
Get Back
She's Leaving Home
Oh Darling
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window/Golden Slumbers/Carry that Weight/The End ( I can't separate these as to me they should always be listened to together)
Here Comes the Sun
Revolution
Back in the USSR

As you can tell by my list I've always tended to favor Paul and George's songs a bit more, which is not to say I don't like John's songs.

By cheating this is a dozen, and I'm glad you asked me my favorites and not what I consider the best, cause picking the best Beatles tunes is kinda like picking from between the best Ferrari's, there isn't really a stinker in the whole batch.

I have a bad case of Pirates fever, so, it may be affecting my judgment, but, I'll give this a try....

1. Steve Blass. 7th game '71 series performance by this Pirate left Oriole hitters off-balance.
2. Jim Bibby. '79 pickup gave Pirates an unexpected lift on their way to '79 championship
3. Vern Law - Two victories over storied Yankees in '60 series solidified his place as one of the all-time great righthanders
4. Edison Volquez - Matching Bumgardner pitch-for-pitch in one-game playoff, his 2-1 victory lifts Pirates to 2014 division series.
5. Bert Blyleven - Probably the greatest right-handed curve-ball in the modern era.

Greatest Beatles Songs
1. In My Life - simple and elegant
2. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) - Always liked the looseness of this segue to A Day In The Life
3. And Your Bird Can Sing - The only Harrison guitar riff that seemed genius to me.
4. I Wanna Hold Your Hand - the low and high harmonizing by John and Paul really clicks.
5. Nowhere Man - John Lennon was a great writer who knew how to use small, simple words.

Fergie does get overlooked, winning twenty six years in a row for the Cubs, then they trade him the year he fails to win twenty and he wins 25 for the Rangers. Also, loved watching the Mets and Seaver while listening to Kiner when the Mets came to Boston on cable.

[quote="l.strether"]

Greatest Right Handed Starters
1. Tom Seaver. Choirboy face belied a fierce competitor with a dominating repertoire and wicked command.
2. Bob Gibson. The Demon. Big, fast, smart, and mean. Only pitcher to intimidate MLB rule makers.
3. Greg Maddux. The Surgeon. Scalpel-like control and location and sublime pitcher's mind.
4. Pedro Martinez. Closest thing to a right-handed Koufax. Electric stuff dominated the roided era.
5. Jim Palmer. Smooth and unflappable. Aggravated batters as much as he did Earl Weaver
6. Nolan Ryan. Ungodly fast and fierce. The epitome of the Big Texan Righty...just ask Ventura.
7. Juan Marichal. Koufax's right-handed contemporary. Roseboro incident cost him deserved recognition.
8. Don Drysdale. Ornery cuss. Played the bruising Clydesdale to Koufax' electric thoroughbred.
9. Fergie Jenkins. Unfairly overlooked in most talks of the great ones.
10. Robin Roberts. 6 straight 20 win seasons. Terribly forgotten by most baseball media and fans.

Good list. I might even put Maddux #1 but really you could flip a coin on the top 4 and Marichal, who I'd move up to #5. Roberts was great, but I'd replace him on the list with Blyleven and put him 7 or 8. Jenkins was a master who knew how to pitch in a band box...don't walk anybody!

As for Beatles songs, it's just too hard to list only 10 or twelve.
"A Day in the Life" is probably their best song
I agree with Paul on "And Your Bird Can Sing" I've always loved that guitar riff!
"Strawberry Fields" would be up there
"Here Comes the Sun" as well
and many many more