{"id":8779,"date":"2014-04-17T09:31:30","date_gmt":"2014-04-17T13:31:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=8779"},"modified":"2014-04-17T09:31:30","modified_gmt":"2014-04-17T13:31:30","slug":"nationals-2014-walk-on-music-review-part-2-pitchers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=8779","title":{"rendered":"Nationals 2014 Walk-on music review Part 2: Pitchers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=8744\">Part 1 was the Hitters<\/a>. \u00a0Here&#8217;s the pitchers.<\/p>\n<p>Note: I&#8217;m going solely on the research of others here; I&#8217;ve only been to one game so I cannot personally confirm the walk-up music of all these players. \u00a0Here&#8217;s the team official\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/washington.nationals.mlb.com\/fan_forum\/ballpark_music.jsp?c_id=was\">list of each player&#8217;s 2014 walk-up music<\/a>, and here&#8217;s\u00a0<strong>Cheryl Nichols\/<\/strong>DistrictSportsPage&#8217;s research on this year&#8217;s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/districtsportspage.com\/washington-nationals-walk-up-music-2014\/22487\">walk-up songs<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Relievers have historically had some memorable walk-up songs;\u00a0<strong>Trevor Hoffman<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>Mariano Rivera<\/strong> both came to be known for their music and the songs became anthems for the players even before they emerged from the bullpens. \u00a0Somehow I don&#8217;t think any of our current relievers are headed that way; our closer has a rather &#8220;unique&#8221; song (story below) and isn&#8217;t nearly as dominant as these two hall-of-fame bound guys.<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here we go. \u00a0As with part 1, my non-scientific\/tongue-in-cheek opinion of each guy&#8217;s song is listed.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Starters<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Stephen Strasburg<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/0J2QdDbelmY\" target=\"_blank\">Seven Nation Army<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by The White Stripes. \u00a0Great choice; this song was the unofficial anthem of a recent European Championships soccer tournament and its somewhat chilling to hear an entire crowd hum the intro notes. \u00a0Lets hope this happens with Stras. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Grade: A<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Gio Gonzalez<\/strong>: unknown? \u00a0Nichols only has his batting music (<em><a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/zZhn2gS3vjE\" target=\"_blank\">Trophies<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by Young Money &amp; Drake). \u00a0Last year he was\u00a0\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/m4R-nKF9xVw\" target=\"_blank\">House Party<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(feat. Young Chris) by Meek Mill, which I&#8217;m ambivalent over. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Grade: Inc<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Jordan Zimmermann<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/jMveFLOetwg\" target=\"_blank\">Hell On Wheels<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by Brantley Gilbert. \u00a0Country, blech. \u00a0Plus how am I inspired to cheer after hearing this song? \u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Grade: C<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Taylor Jordan<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/_TDZjVxTWi0\" target=\"_blank\">Collide<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by Skillet. \u00a0Good sound, kind of like a newer Linkin Park. \u00a0 But, not very obvious to the masses. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Grade: C+<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Tanner Roark<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/CmXWkMlKFkI\" target=\"_blank\">Kickstart My Heart<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by Motley Crue. \u00a0Like it; old school, not an obvious Crue selection either. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">\u00a0Grade: A-<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Relievers<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Rafael Soriano<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/1ex8W5RpgPQ\" target=\"_blank\">El Rey de Monticulo<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>\u2014\u201dThe King of the Mound\u201d by Ediseuri Concepcion Mejia\u00a0(<a href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10001424052702303962304577509122495071152.html\" target=\"_blank\">Story behind song<\/a>). \u00a0Nichols links to a WSJ article explaining this song, which has custom lyrics just for Soriano. \u00a0Understandable why he uses it. \u00a0 <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Grade: B<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Tyler Clippard<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/aIXyKmElvv8\" target=\"_blank\">Ready or Not<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by The Fugees. \u00a0Eh. \u00a0Sorry, he&#8217;ll never beat\u00a0\u00a0&#8220;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wvAnQqVJ3XQ\" target=\"_blank\">Peaches<\/a><\/em>&#8221; by the Presidents of the United States of America. \u00a0Never should have gone away from it. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">\u00a0Grade: D<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Drew Storen<\/strong> \u2013<em>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/W9LnrSGyqBc\" target=\"_blank\">When the Lights Go Out<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by The Black Keys. \u00a0This as opposed to what the official team site believes he&#8217;s playing for himself (&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=u_VsvZmIWxY\"><em>Bad Company<\/em><\/a>&#8221; by\u00a0Five Finger Death Punch). \u00a0I&#8217;m not as big of a fan of the Black Keys song, but I like the Bad Company remake by FFDP. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Grade: C<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Craig Stammen<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/btPJPFnesV4\" target=\"_blank\">Eye of the Tiger<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by Survivor. \u00a0Classic sports anthem, how can you beat it? \u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Grade: A<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Aaron Barrett<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/KuOWinD7BAE\" target=\"_blank\">This Is What It Feels Like (W&amp;w Radio Edit)<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by Armin van Buuren Feat. Trevor Guthrie. \u00a0Wow, never thought I&#8217;d see a major leaguer going deep into techno\/trance and pulling AVB out. \u00a0Excellent. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Grade: A<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Jerry Blevins<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vBecM3CQVD8\" target=\"_blank\">Sympathy for the Devil<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by The Rolling Stones. \u00a0Another great, classic song, appealing to the older crowd. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Grade: A-<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Ross Detwiler<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/cwPg8gJq_Kw\" target=\"_blank\">Wherever I May Roam<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by Metallica. \u00a0 My kind of music; he had to stay away from songs from the same artist made more popular by other guys. \u00a0This is kind of a unique Metallica offering, a deeper cut but still has recognition. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">\u00a0Grade: B+<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Blake Treinen<\/strong> &#8211; unknown; he hasn&#8217;t returned home yet. \u00a0Can&#8217;t wait to see this guy throw .. and hear what song he&#8217;s listening to. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Grade: Inc<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I seem to be a bigger fan of the pitcher&#8217;s walk-up music than our hitters. \u00a0Biased? \u00a0Probably.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m inspired by the AVB choice from Barrett. \u00a0If I was doing a song right now i&#8217;d probably pull from the same genre. \u00a0Check out:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MSv3Oez4O-4\">Ready, Steady, Go<\/a>&#8220;<\/em> from Paul Oakenfold; try not to be thrown off by the incredibly weird video; this song was used in one of the Bourne movies (played during a car chanse scene) and the beginning of the song would be perfect for a walk-out.<\/li>\n<li><em>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5rAOyh7YmEc\">Where&#8217;s your Head At<\/a>&#8220;<\/em> from Basement Jaxx: you may have heard this before; it did get some play domestically. \u00a0Basement Jaxx is a UK-based band that almost never comes to the states: my brother and I once flew to London for a weekend to see them play at Wembley arena. \u00a0Ah, the days of being single \ud83d\ude42<\/li>\n<li><em>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_kE0pxRkMtQ\">Superstylin<\/a>&#8220;<\/em> from Groove Armada; a band you&#8217;ve probably never heard of but they rock. \u00a0Saw them at 9:30 club a decade ago and I don&#8217;t think they&#8217;ve been back to the states since. \u00a0You&#8217;ll recognize another of their hits, &#8220;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=T_ZYKy-Utig\">I See You Baby<\/a>,&#8221;<\/em>\u00a0a remix done by Fat Boy Slim that was sampled by the inveterate show\u00a0<em>MTV Cribs<\/em> for years and years. \u00a0I could pull this song off too.<\/li>\n<li>Lastly, perhaps i&#8217;d figure out something to play from DC-based Thievery Corporation to get the home-town angle, but their stuff is mostly so down-tempo that it&#8217;d be hard to find a sample that made sense for walk-up music. \u00a0 Click here for an example; &#8220;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nq0ESlJhvBM\">Lebanese Blonde<\/a>&#8220;<\/em> from their 2000 album <em>The Mirror Conspiracy<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ok, that was a serious tangent from baseball. \u00a0\ud83d\ude42 \u00a0Maybe i&#8217;m trying not to think about some looming storm clouds for the team right now. \u00a0You know, a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fangraphs.com\/leaders.aspx?pos=all&amp;stats=sta&amp;lg=all&amp;qual=0&amp;type=8&amp;season=2014&amp;month=0&amp;season1=2014&amp;ind=0&amp;team=0,ts&amp;rost=0&amp;age=0&amp;filter=&amp;players=0&amp;sort=15,d\">5.00 ERA<\/a> for our starters, a ton of injuries, the most errors in the league, getting our hats handed to us by Atlanta so far &#8230; and the Cards and their rotation coming into town for a potential 4-game beat-down unless our guys can figure out how to keep runners off-base. \u00a0Last night&#8217;s win over\u00a0<strong>Jose Fernandez<\/strong> and his sick stuff was a great help though; if they can get to Fernandez for 3 runs, they should be able to hang with St. Louis&#8217; hurlers. \u00a0Lets see.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Part 1 was the Hitters. \u00a0Here&#8217;s the pitchers. Note: I&#8217;m going solely on the research of others here; I&#8217;ve only been to one game so I cannot personally confirm the walk-up music of all these players. \u00a0Here&#8217;s the team official\u00a0list of each player&#8217;s 2014 walk-up music, and here&#8217;s\u00a0Cheryl Nichols\/DistrictSportsPage&#8217;s research on this year&#8217;s\u00a0walk-up songs. Relievers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[916,1693,1628,98,52,385,2123,43,171,1398,51,38,77,24,563,128],"class_list":["post-8779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mlbpitching","category-natsgeneral","tag-aaron-barrett","tag-blake-treinen","tag-cheryl-nichols","tag-craig-stammen","tag-drew-storen","tag-gio-gonzalez","tag-jerry-blevins","tag-jordan-zimmermann","tag-mariano-rivera","tag-rafael-soriano","tag-ross-detwiler","tag-stephen-strasburg","tag-tanner-roark","tag-taylor-jordan","tag-trevor-hoffman","tag-tyler-clippard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8779"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8793,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8779\/revisions\/8793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}