The Nuthouse

I’ll get to baseball in a minute, but first indulge me because I went to an Eagles concert in Tulsa last night and have to share my thoughts. I don’t think I’m overstepping my bounds because I’ve sort of become the Eagle’s (that’s the newspaper, not the band) unofficial official concert reviewer and I can pass off the following thoughts as just part of my job.

Five years ago during a concert I attended in Omaha, Don Henley’s voice cracked on a high note during “Boys of Summer.” After seeing him effortlessly hit such notes during six previous Eagles concerts, this came as quite a shock. In fact, I don’t think it was a stretch to say that I felt I was seeing the beginning of the end of the Eagles as a viable live band.

Still, I didn’t enter Saturday with lowered expectations. Though the Eagles — Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit — are all into their 60s, their new album was great. Besides, I enter every Eagles concert with sky-high expectations because seeing them live is still somewhat of a surreal experience to me, even after eight concerts. I still look down to the stage and can’t believe I’m seeing the band whose music I’ve been listening to since I exited the womb almost 26 years ago.

The Eagles still managed to exceed my expectations on Saturday night. From the opening strums of “How Long” to the final Henley-sung note of “Desperado,” the concert featured no dull moments and the Eagles even managed to keep the crowd into it during the nine probably seldom-heard songs off the new album, “Long Road Out Of Eden.”

The title track on the album was particularly a highlight for me, even though, at about 45 minutes long, it made up the entire second set. Just kidding. But with several innovative guitar solos, the crowd was on its feet from start to finish during that song, and of course many others.

The highlights for me were, “Witchy Woman,” “Waiting In The Weeds,” “The Long Run” … you know what? Every song was a highlight. And, even though my friend Joel and I were sitting up high where people came to sleep or sit on their hands or something, I had to stand up. I couldn’t sit still and finally had to stand before “Life’s Been Good” and then for the duration of the show. Who sits at a rock concert anyway? Is this acceptable behavior?

Thanks for allowing me the time to write about that. It’s probably fairly obvious that I could have written a lot more, but this is a baseball blog after all. And baseball does share first love status with the Eagles.

After exchanging some text messages with Kevin Cheppenko’s fiance, whom I met in St. Paul and affectionately refer to as “Cheppenko’s Girl,” I’ve decided that I’m going to write about Cheppenko’s status for next season.

An injury while he pitched for Sioux Falls eventually landed Cheppenko in Wichita, where he was a serviceable long reliever and spot starter. His numbers weren’t too impressive — 3-4, 5.85 ERA, but Cheppenko has the body type — 6-8, 235 — and a mid-90s fastball in his arsenal.

The numbers that stick out when looking at Cheppenko’s stats are the 70 hits and 44 walks he surrendered in 60 innings. High hit and walk totals usually means a pitcher lacks an “out” pitch that he can use when ge gets ahead in the count to retire a hitter. If a hitter can sit on a fastball, he’ll usually hit it hard or take it if it’s out of the strike zone. That’s where Cheppenko ran into trouble this season — too many pitches in the zone that got hit, too many pitches out of the zone that got taken and led to walks.

Still, Cheppenko will probably stick around. I see him as a guy who will have success with a defined role. I think he went through a lot this past season, but with a clean slate he’ll put up much better numbers. I see him as a starter, likely in the back end of the rotation, and I forecast a turnaround performance for him next season, when his roster status will be LS-3. Chances of return: 85 percent.

By the way, look for my review of the Poison show at the Kansas State Fair online on Monday morning. Talk to you all soon.

Here is a transcript of the 13-minute interview I had with former Wingnuts manager Kash Beauchamp shortly after he learned the team, led by general manager Josh Robertson, was not going to renew his contract.

What did (Robertson) tell you, because he told me you guys agreed on (your departure) and I’m not sure if I quite buy that.

I had a one-year deal, and when I took the job it was contingent that it would be renegotiated at the end of the season if they wanted to bring me back. Obviously, due to a lot of different things … I don’t know how much the thing on ESPN had to do with it. I know they’ve taken a lot of grief from the league about it, so obviously I think that had something to do with it. Another thing I think — I think it has to do with the fact that, I mean, I didn’t win, you know? And I came here to win and we were five games under .500. So obviously they think there’s somebody out there better for the job, and that’s the bottom line. And they’ve got to do … Because I love them and and I think they love me. And I don’t think the players like me, to be honest with you. And …

What makes you think that?

Well, I don’t know. Just the way I am. The funny thing is, Josh thinks I’m a players’ manager, and I’m really not. I’m really not a players’ manager. I’m a guy that doesn’t like to lose, that says things when he loses that probably shouldn’t be said sometimes. I think, when all that comes out and people find out how I am when we lose — I mean, you’ve been around the locker room, you know how I am. And I don’t think a lot of players like that. It doesn’t matter if players like me or not, as long as they respect me. You know, I’ve always said that. And I think for the most part, players do. If one or two players don’t, fine. And I don’t know who’s said what to the front office or whatever. I think it’s a players thing, honestly. And I’m good with that. I’m good with that because I want players who want to play for me. I guess the unfair thing is I may be unfair in the realism that I expect players to play like I played. And I just don’t think that that is a realistic thing to ask from a player these days. And that’s why I think I’ve got to reevaluate whether I want to manage anymore.

Here’s why I think Josh would say you’re a players’ manager: Because I think it’s another way of saying you’re a people person. You’re definitely a people person, and I think being a players’ manager is just an extension of that.

I am. Let me say this: My relationship with that front office and my relationship with these fans here is the best that I’ve ever had anywhere I’ve been. So that’s the way I look at it — I look it as, my relationship with the front office — I love every person in that front office like they’re family, dearly. From Sally to Kay to Amy — everybody in that office. Josh, Joel, all of them. I love them dearly. I love the fans here dearly. I think the fans have had my back all year. I think the fans like me — I think there’s always going to be a few fans that think, because of the thing on ESPN, that I’m …. It’s like this, and Josh said this to me. He goes, ‘Off the field, in the public, everywhere — you are a great guy. Something happens when competition starts.’ And I don’t know, it’s been a tough year all around for me. My dad dying, my grandmother falling ill during the season — it’s been a very tough year. And my emotions were probably more raw than they’ve ever been because of that. It’s just a factor that I despise losing. I don’t handle that in the right way a lot of times. I say things — I’ll blow up and say things. And I’ve said some things that I regret saying. But, at the time — I’ve never lied, I don’t think. I don’t think I’ve ever lied. But a lot of guys want to be coddled. It’s just, I was never coddled as a player and that’s why maybe my time is passed, I don’t know.

What will that evaluation process entail? How will you know or not know if you’re going to keep managing?

It would be if I can ever accept failing, accept failure. It’s not accepting it as much as it is dealing with it. There’s a reason why I have five minor league — even though there in the minor leagues — there’s a reason I have five minor league championship rings. I know what it takes to get them, and when I see that not happening I get frustrated and I get angry and I’m an ass. And it rubs people the wrong way. So that’s kind of it — that’s going to go into the evaluation process. Or I’ve just got to find a bunch of guys like me. And that’s very difficult to do in this day and age and that’s the bridge that I’m at right now.

Would 25 Kash Beauchamps win or would they just play really hard?

I’ve got five minor league championship rings; I’d like to say they’d win — if they had the talent to go with it. You know what I’m saying? There’s a talent level there, as well. What do you think?

I agree.

What do you think? Do you think 25 Kash Beauchamps would win?

Well, that’s a good question. Because you don’t like guys like Manny Ramirez. Would you take a guy — what if he was a showboat and he hated losing and he hit 40 homers? What if he was everything you want except for that one thing?

That one thing — the other stuff has to override that one thing, you know? You know what I’m saying? I draw the line when you disrespect the game. That’s where I draw the line, disrespecting the game of baseball. What I’m seeing in baseball is that the players have more power than the manager, and it’s even filtering down into independent ball. That’s one thing that I see. I look at (Sioux City manager) Les Lancaster. He’s probably disliked in his locker room more than I am. And he wins and he’s got a job. He’s disliked by clubbies, he’s disliked by a lot of people. And Les is one of my friends — that’s just his style. That’s the way he does things, and he won this year. I guarantee you this — if I had gone 52-38 or whatever and we had made the playoffs, it would be interesting to see what would happen. I didn’t do that, and that’s what I’m here to do, and that’s why I don’t have a job right now.

Were you feeling the heat at any point this year or did this come as a surprise?

I feel the heat and I put that heat on myself. I didn’t feel it from anybody else. I put enough heat on myself for everybody. So I never felt the heat from the organization. I always felt like they had my back. I felt like the organization had my back as far as that. I told Josh this — I said, ‘You and I are a lot alike. You hate to lose about as much as I hate to lose.’ And I said, ‘Whoever you bring in here ain’t going to hate to lose as much as me.’ I said, ‘That’s the only thing I can tell you about the guy that’s coming in here.’

Do you think (the next manager) will be (Kevin) Hooper?

Oh, probably. I would almost bet my life on it. And it should be. It should be Hooper. He’s ready and, like I’ve said all along, he’s the best player I’ve ever coached. As far as knowing the game from a mental standpoint and a fundamental standpoint, he’s probably one of the best major league manager prospects out there in my opinion.

How good of a start is independent league baseball if you want to move up and be a major league manager?

I don’t know, because it’s never happened before. It’s kind of uncharted territory as far as that’s concerned. One thing about, when you get into independent baseball, you hope major league baseball doesn’t put a label on you as being an indepdendent guy. Becuase there’s a little bit of, not controversy, but there’s a little bit of — I don’t know if it’s jealousy. I don’t know what word to use, exactly. Because independent baseball sometimes infringes on major league baseball’s territory. Even in this situation here. You don’t think the Royals are thinking right now, ‘Why couldn’t we get 3,000 people at (Wranglers) games?’ So there’s a little bit of probably, territorialism may be the best term. Territorialism.

The Wingnuts on Tuesday announced that the one-year contract of manager Kash Beauchamp will not be renewed and the team will be looking for a new manager for the 2009 season.

Wichita just wrapped up its inaugural season, in which Beauchamp guided the team to a 45-50 record. The Wingnuts finished the first half of 26-21, good for second place in the American Association North Division.

“My experience in Wichita was nothing but a pleasurable one for both me and my wife (Jennifer) and I look forward to remaining a part of the community,” Beauchamp said in a team-issued press release.

Wichita was the seventh independent league managerial stop for Beauchamp, 45, who was drafted No. 1 overall by the Toronto Blue Jays in January 1982. He won the Northeast League championship with the New Jersey Jackals in 1998, his first season as a manager.

Wichita closer Byron Embry said there were rumors that Beauchamp could be on his way out but was still surprised he was let go after one season.

“I know Kash really, really well and that’s why I went to play there,” Embry said. “It takes a special type of player to play for Kash. I guess they kind of thought they wanted to go in a different direction.”

Beauchamp drew national attention for a tirade on July 9 in the second game of a doubleheader against Sioux Falls. Beauchamp removed his shoe and stuck it near the face of home plate umpire Blake Felix then did the same with his armpit. The incident was captured by local television cameras and later displayed on YouTube, and several ESPN shows.

Beauchamp was criticized for being slow to apologize for the incident, though he did send a lengthy letter of apology to the American Association office about a week after it occurred.

” “In retrospect, I don’t think I’d do anything different,” Beauchamp said during a radio interview shortly after the incident. “I’ve had three or four confrontations with umpires that were better than that. People see a clip all over the country of me getting in an umpire’s grill and they don’t know what led up to it. It was simply another way to motivate your ballclub.”

Beauchamp had a fiery managing style that rubbed some players the wrong way and could have created division in the clubhouse. His biggest challenge was balancing his charming, outgoing off-field personality with the intensity he brought to each game.

It went both ways. First of all, everybody loved him as a guy, as a person,” center fielder Chris Colton said. “But as a coach, with his body language and stuff like that, people didn’t like that. I think Kash was a great coach, but sometimes his body language was a little bad at times.”

General manager Josh Robertson said pitching coach Luke Robertson (Josh’s brother) and hitting coach Chris Mileham would return and that letting Beauchamp go was “one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do.”

“Kash is a friend of mine and will be a friend of mine for the rest of my life,” Josh Robertson said. “He’s a guy you want to go out to dinner with, a guy you want to go golfing with, a guy you want to have a beer with. He’s a friend. He’s a very well-spoken person and I would definitely say his passion for the game of baseball and his will and want to win are right in line with mine.”

Have you noticed that as the season comes to a close, my blog titles have gotten a lot less creative? I swear that’s just a conicidence — I’m not mailing it in or anything. There are two games left and I’m going to bring everything I have for both of them.

I need your opinion on what I’m looking at right now. The Lincoln radio guy is down on the field taking throws at first base. He took off his “work attire” — jean shorts and a Lincoln Saltdogs polo — in favor of athletiic shorts, a t-shirt and a hat. He’s a lefty. Big guy. Always needs help getting his window up. Oops, he just missed one. I’m not laughing though. Just giggling heavily.

Now I know that most (if not all) radio guys in the American Association work for the team, but if I knew it was OK for media members to warm up with the team, I would have been shagging balls in center field three months ago. As much roster turnover as there has been on the Wingnuts this season, maybe they would have signed me up. My No. 7 jersey recently became available with the injury and release of Felipe Del Rosario. Chalk that up to a missed opportunity.

Just an update on the Lincoln radio guy. Because I really can’t stop watching this guy. I’m absolutely mesmerized. He just did one of those glove points to the shortstop, indicating a good throw. Because I’m sure all professional baseball players are looking for this guy’s approval. Also, he just missed a ball in the third and swiped his glove at the ground in an “I should have had that” motion. High comedy.

Back to whatever I was talking about before. No, I didn’t get to suit up for the Wingnuts this season, but my contribution was made in suggesting an audio clip to be played before Dustin Yount, son of Hall of Famer Robin Yount, came to bat. Remember that interview Bobby Knight did a while back with Jeremy Schaap, where he told Schaap, “You’ve got a long way to go to be as good as your dad (Dick Schaap)?”

I jokingly told GM Josh Robertson to have his people find that clip. This was a long time ago, way early in the season. But I guess they found it, because they played it three times for Dustin last night. Of course, no credit for me though.

The Wingnuts are wearing pink tonight, not because manager Kash Beauchamp ordered it after last night’s 10-2 loss, because it’s Pink at the Park night, which has to do with breast cancer awareness. It would make sense if Beauchamp called for the feminie look because Wichita definitely had an uninspired performace on Thursday.

Finally, speaking of pink and girly stuff and femininity, I have to get this off my chest — it’s worse than even the Kid Rock admission. Only a select few people know this, but I need to put it out there for public consumption so I don’t have to live in shame anymore. But one of my favorite shows in the world, probably No. 2 all-time, is Gilmore Girls.

Yes, Gilmore Girls. I mention this because I recently started watching the final season on DVD and, just like in watching the first six seasons, I am absolutely hooked. Again. I realize several of my “Man Cards” were just taken away, but I’m OK with it. I guess this would be a good time to also mention that the song playing on my computer is “What Am I To You?” by Norah Jones.

Wow. I feel much better.

Tomorrow I’ll have a blog of substance, as I’ll be going over my American Association postseason All-Star ballot and talk somewhat in-depth about a lot of baseball players that you’ve never heard of. Today, though, it’s just your typical Jeffrey Lutz fare — Olympics, a few lame jokes and of course some Wingnuts talk.

But apparently I need to step up my game — my last blog entry didn’t even get a mention from the Douglas and Main site. I must really be slacking because I seem to always get some run over there. I’ll try harder this time.

You won’t see many playoff scenarios weirder than the one the Wingnuts could have found themselves in last night. Wichita did its part by losing to Sioux Falls, but for the bizarre scenario to have materialized, Sioux City would have needed to beat Pensacola. If that had happened and the Wingnuts had followed their loss last night with a win today, they would have eliminated themselves from playoff contention. Yes, with a win.

How is that possible? Well, ask Wingnuts radio guy Steve Schuster, who’s far more up on playoff scenarios than I am and usually has to explain them to me. But since Sioux Falls has to win the second half to give Wichita a shot at the second-best overall record and the second North Division playoff spot, Sioux Falls has to keep winning to catch Sioux City for the second half championship. If the Wingnuts had beaten Sioux Falls today, Sioux Falls couldn’t catch Sioux City and the Wingnuts would be out of it.

Got all that?

Yeah, me neither.

In case it wasn’t obvious by Vic Davilla’s and Kash Beauchamp’s quotes after the game last night, the Wingnuts really don’t like Pat Mahomes that much. The ex-Major Leaguer is a little too animated for the Wingnuts’ tastes, and you can imagine how that act goes over with Beauchamp, who is as Old School as they come. But definitely, quotes like that make my job quite a bit easier. In case you missed them:

Davilla: “He was just being a baby.They beat us three games in a row and he’s complaining about not getting a strike call and complaining to the umpire about it. And I had to be the one to tell him to be quiet and get back on the mound. For me, (the home run) was good but I wish we would have won.”

Beauchamp: “For me as a player, I’d have some animation back at him, but this is a different day and age. I would relish facing a guy like that, to be honest with you. He better hope I never hit a home run, because I’d pimp him worse than he pimps us every time he makes an out. When he shoves it up people’s butts, I guess he can do what he wants.”

Fun stuff.

Did you see the USA’s Olympic game against China? One of the USA’s players bowled over China’s catcher, and China responded by drilling Indians stud prospect Matt LaPorta in the head with a pitch. Classy stuff. Then later that catcher hit a bomb and pimped it worse than anything I’ve ever seen. USA had the victory in hand, but he went around like Kirk Gibson then stomped on home plate. Nice.

And finally, I’ve yet to mention, even though it happened about 10 days ago, the death of one of my favorite entertainers ever, Bernie Mac. I caught on to Mac when I went to see The Original Kings of Comedy back in 2000. I went to see the three others in the movie — Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer and D.L. Hughley, but Mac was awesome in that show and I’ve been a big fan ever since.

So I’ve decided that the ultimate tribute to Mac would be for my Indians to finish in third place in the AL Central. Mac was in one baseball movie, Mr. 3000, when he played a superstar Brewers player. He put his individual goals behind him and focused instead on helping the Brewers finish in …. third place. So when the Indians catch Detroit for third in the Central I’ll say, This One’s For You, Bernie.