Beautiful voices

For some reason I can't figure out, I got into singing late in life. I started in my 20's and, 30 years later, it's my favorite musical thing to do. I'm fascinated by how people can interpret songs and the technique of singing. I wasn't born with a great voice, but there are songs I just "get", particularly those that have a blues element. I like to think the feeling makes up, at least in part, for technical shortcomings.
But this isn't about me. It's about the voices that mesmerize me.

I don't evangelize about politics or religion. Or anything else...except Eva Cassidy. People who know me are sick of me hearing me talk about her. So maybe I'll get it out of my system by posting it on a blog. Eva was, in short, the greatest female singer of all time. No disrespect to Aretha, Sarah, Patsy or Billie, but when Eva sang, it was on a universal level. A level that said, "I'm singing about our lives. Not just mine, but yours too." At 33, she left us way too soon, in 1996. Melanoma took her.
Please go to YouTube at some point and type in her name followed by Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Make sure you pull up the clip of her at Blues Alley in her home metro area of Washington, DC. You'll see a live recording of her, a few months before she died. It is as close to musical perfection as anything you'll ever see. It's not easy to make a classic song a signature song. But she does it.

To make a baker's dozen, here are 12 more, in no particular order:

1: Bobby "Blue" Bland. He's retired but still with us. Pure Memphis soul.  He takes the technique of melisma to a new level. Half church, half secular, all grit and soul. Don't miss him. Honorable mention to Little Milton too, who is similar to Bland. Recommended listening, his definitive version of "Stormy Monday."
2: Gregg Allman: I don't understand why he's not more appreciated. He is, to be sure. But when you think of great blues singers, his name doesn't generally come to mind. Perhaps still in brother Duane's shadow. But the term "world weary" was meant for him. Recommended: Just about anything but I'm going to go with an obscure blues cover from the ABB Brothers and Sisters album called "Jelly Jelly."
3: Annie Haslam: Retired too. Former lead singer of the band Renaissance. First time I heard her, I could not believe anyone could sing like that. Remarkable technical skill. Give her the right song, something in a classical or folk genre, and there's none better, this side of Eva. Recommended song; Mother Russia.
4: Richard Manuel: One of three lead singers from The Band. Could sing in his natural baritone but also went effortlessly to tenor and just as easily to his falsetto. Never heard a singer glide between tenor and falsetto as easily as he could. He left us in 1986...suicide. I'm still pissed off. Recommended: Whispering Pines.
5: Otis Redding: Like Bland, pure Memphis. Probably nothing I could add that hasn't been written by rock historians. Recommended: His version of a song he co-wrote, "Respect."
6: Sinatra: Again, probably not a thing I can add. But when I hear him, I hear an attitude that I can completely relate to and internalize. Reinvented how to phrase a pop song. Recommended: Where to begin? "But I'll pick Fly Me To The Moon."
7: Marvin Junior: Lead singer of The Dells, the best R&B group you've never heard of. From Junior comes Teddy Pendergrass and every other great R&B baritone. Many rock baritones as well. Still active, as far as I know. Recommended : "Oh, What a Nite."
8: Dion (DiMucci): Another well known voice. Still active. Like Sinatra, an attitude I totally get. There are at least 4 Dions. There's early doo-wop Dion. There's mid, introspective, Dion. There's later, Christian contemporary Dion. And there's latter day, straight rock/blues Dion, with elements of the earlier periods still there. So much to pick from, but for vocal prowess, I'll go with perhaps his best known song "Runaround Sue." A template for what a rock and roll attitude should be. 
9: Bob Seger: Yet another superstar. And well deserved. The best purest rock voice ever. I've never met anyone who didn't admire Seger. After a long hiatus, back on the circuit. Recommended: Live version of "Katmandu."
10: Roy Orbison: Like Sinatra, nothing I can add. What a musical soul. Best known for ballads, but he could rock with the best of them. Like Seger, I've never heard anyone say a bad word about the big "O". Recommended: "Love Hurts." After hearing it, you'll appreciate the more popular Nazareth cover even more for their reinvention of it.
11: Wilson Pickett: The Wicked one did almost everything uptempo. Occasional ballad, but that was just a pause. Just pure grit and soul. I guess I keep coming back to best known songs by these artists, but I'll go with another one, "Midnight Hour." He co-wrote it but, interestingly, his version was a cover of the original by the Young Rascals. Rascals version is pretty damn good too.
12: Tom Waits: Odd choice to some, but as a sort of "anti-singer", he's as much a singer as anyone on the list. Like Dion, a singer with multiple personalities, too many to list. A growl, a croon, a yelp, Waits does them all, honestly. And a tabula rosa for interpretation. Recommended: "Tom Traubert's Blues."

Highly honorable mention: Solomon Burke, John Fogerty, Steve Forbert, Lyle Lovett, Bryan Adams, Axl Rose, Carl Wilson (always wished Brian would have let him sing more), Rick Danko, Matthew Bellamy (lead singer of the band Muse), Patsy Cline, Janis Joplin, Luther Vandross

Happy listening, y'all.

Thanks

I try really hard to avoid cliches. If there's a trend, I'll do the opposite for no logical reason other than it's "just the opposite". As Groucho said "Whoever commenced it...I'm against it."

But I can't resist one cliche, and that's giving thanks on Thanksgiving.

My girlfriend, Valerie, told me this morning that she follows the idea of a fellow teacher of hers. She has these paper figures of turkeys. She scatters them around the Thanksgiving table, with pens, and asks all the guests to fill out things they're thankful for.
I keep a list of gratitudes on my refrigerator, in alphabetical order (sometimes more than one item per letter). So, here it is: (even without the paper turkey figures)
Al-Anon: My program is my bedrock
America: We're not perfect. But feet don't lie. This is where people want to live.
Andy: One of my best friends. We go back to 1980, Los Angeles, and we've been through an awful lot...together.
Baseball: More than a game. It's life, and some of my best memories.
Brian: My son. Somehow, despite every way I've screwed things up, he still turned into an amazing young adult.
Cindi: Along with Andy and Greg, my 3 best friends. Plus, she introduced me to Valerie (see below)
Cold weather: Walking in brisk weather is magic for my spirits, as is the first snowfall.
Depression: I deal with clinical depression. It's brutal when I'm in it, but a source of wisdom when I'm not. Fortunately, that's increasingly most of the time.
EFlat Major: I can hear musical keys and there's something magical about that key. As is also true for its darker companion, Bminor.
Empathy: I seem to have been born with it. Although prone to vacillation at times, it's served me well.
Eva Cassidy: Best singer I've ever heard. We lost her too soon. 
Faith: Even in the darkest hours, I still have it.
Greg: My conservative alter-ego. One of the kindest people I've ever known, and one of the best musicians I've ever met.
Health: Not perfect (hey, I'm almost 57) but I still have it.
Income: Not much at the moment. But I'm still better off than a lot of other people.
Introspection: Another quality I seem to have been born with. It's inspired some of my best songs.
Jeff: My bro. He's done so many cool things for me over the years, but topping the list is the CD mixes he makes for me. A real talent that I'm proud to be the beneficiary of.
(Uncle) Ken: He took me and Jeff in after our mom died. Probably saved my life. He turns 80 in April and we're still close.
Leaves: Since "A" wasn't used for autumn, this is the same thing. My favorite season.
Mom: I had her only for 13 years, but she took us to Broadway shows, paid for my piano lessons, and was a schoolteacher who went back for her masters degree while raising us. Some awesome examples.
Music:I may be the most musical person I've ever met. Music has saved my life. Everything is music to me. Too much to explain.
New York City: Where I'm from. I get OD'd on its energy, so I can't live there. But taking the train down a couple of times a year is major fun.
Old souls: They come at any age. But I know them when I'm with them.
Peaches: My favorite food.
Plattsburgh, NY: Where I went to school undergrad. 4 of the best years of my life. 
Quiet: Increasingly rare in our ADD/TMI society. But I do savor it.
Rivers:I love watching their personalities and moods. The rivers of my life; Hudson, "Harlem" (not really a river), Saranac, Congaree, Los Angeles (a bipolar wadi that is dry except during El Nino, when it becomes a holy terror), Cumberland, Housatonic, Quinnipiac.
Sunsets: Especially in winter.
Travel: Hope to do more, but grateful for where I've been.
Unitarian Universalism: Currently not on the path, but it's taken me a long way.

Veterans: My life's work. That I can write and speak without fear of retribution is due to their efforts and their lives.
Weather: I am a proud weather freak.
Xmas: Magical season, regardless of theology.
Young minds: The "yang" to the "O" above. Again, they can be any age.
Zero: An ongoing search for zero judging, zero intolerance.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all...gp

My 2 election cents

First, a plug for a good friend of mine, Andy Ancel, who posts a wonderful blog called Navigating Life. Andy and I used to do beach walks. Not so much these days. But his blog reminds me of things we might say as we go walking. Check it out at http://navigatinglifestories.blogspot.com

What a juxtaposition of events we've had here in the northeast. In one week, we had Sandy, an election, and a noreaster. (If you're a Romney supporter, one could argue that it's 3 devastating events in one week). Long time meteorologists have said they've never, ever witnessed a hurricane followed a week later by a noreaster.
Since I'm not devastated, I've just been in a reflective mood all week. As have many of my friends, particularly those in the GOP. (My GOP friends are not in the Karl Rove/denial camp. They're hurt but have their feet solidly planted in the real world)

I remember how I felt after the 2004 election. In short, I was devastated. I thought, "This horrific unnecessary war, and Bush gets 4 more years? What the hell is wrong with this country?" I remember getting out my guitar and playing George's (that's Harrison, not W. Bush) "All Things Must Pass" to some like-minded people. Later that night, I was watching the Daily Show because I was curious to see what Jon Stewart would do. He didn't disappoint. His guest was Bill Kristol, the conservative commentator. And, I might add, a friend of Stewart's. Kristol says to Stewart, "Don't worry, Jon. The worm always turns." Stewart responded by saying, "That's OK. Nothing that some porn tapes and a brick of hash can't fix."

That response was so hilariously pathetic (done intentionally, of course), that it managed to lift my spirits a bit.
I have one friend in particular who's a solid, bleed GOP red, conservative. He was also devastated last week. He's more or less come out of it but still in a funk. I said the same thing to him that Kristol said to Stewart.
Because, indeed, the parties always come back. It's happened numerous times just in my life. And I hope the GOP DOES come back, but in its retro, "fiscally responsible, socially moderate, foreign policy-no-neoconservatives-need-apply" mode. Closer to the one I grew up with, not the one that's been hijacked by those in denial and in the stone age....You know the names already.
Arrogance and denial don't get us anywhere. Each party needs a counterweight. Something to drive the party to the middle. I don't know what'll come out of the GOP over the next few weeks. I've heard those who got some religion, so to speak. I've heard others who, incredibly, say the party was too moderate. This is when they're taking a break from their research trying to find the gene that terminates a pregnancy upon rape.
I don't have a sense of what they'll do but I can only hope both sides will sit down and hammer something out that moves us forward. I'm not taking any bets, that's for sure. 
I'm a registered independent who voted for Gary Johnson. Yeah, a protest vote. To protest the stranglehold 2 party system we live in. Had I lived in a swing state, it would have been Obama. But because I live in CT, I have the luxury of going 3rd party.
That's why I plan on contacting my state reps and others so that we in CT can elect the president the same way Maine and Nebraska do...by congressional district, not winner take all. In a poll last year by Gallup, 62% of voters want to get rid of the EC. I've also joined the site www.nationalpopularvote.com. Which is my real goal...Prez elected by popular vote.

And finally, we have a 4th event, one that we can all agree on. My father, who died before I was born, was  in the Air Force in WW2. His father lied about his age to serve in WW1. I'm not a veteran but feel an increasingly stronger obligation to honor our veterans.
I can't write anything that's not cliched, so I won't. But I will say that I'm going back to school (if accepted) to become a full time student, working toward my MSW. And then my LCSW, hopefully starting a private therapy practice specializing in veterans issues. And hopefully using music in some capacity as part of the healing process. Until then, if you see a veteran, a sincere "thank you for your service" or "welcome home" does a lot more good than you might think. So DO it. And (have to add one cliche here), that I can post this blog and have friends across the aisle is a tribute to our country. And that's because of veterans.Thank you to those who've served and kept us safe.

Catch you later, y'all.

The cost of (electoral) college

Twas the night before the election and all 'cross the USA
The people were anxious...tomorrow's the day
Some will wait for hours to step into the booth
Some will stay home with their gin and vermouth

But for 38 states, some blue and some red
The Electoral College had rendered them dead
The 2 candidates had treated these states
Like tuberculosis on a first date

The founding fathers, some centuries ago
Believed that voters should not bestow
The presidency via popular vote
Instead, they compromised; here's what they wrote

"The leaders of states shall elect a committee
From various towns, villages, and cities
This committee shall vote in early December
To reflect the will of the votes in November"

Does anyone know how this process takes place?
Who gets to decide, and in such a close race
When the winner can be so strangely determined
By a ghost of a Daley or a Long or Strom Thurmond 

And in some states, this isn't always true
By law, they can vote for whoever they want to
Add to it, long lines and machines that are mysteries
Election fairness? That is history

I guess it makes for good conversation
But this Electoral College is an abomination
One hopes this is the final nail in its coffin
But until then..."vote early; vote often"

Stormy Monday, and Tuesday and Wednesday

Most people who know me know that I'm a weather freak. I studied it as part of my ill-fated academic coursework in geography. My favorite thing to do was drawing weather maps. Isobars, highs, lows, wind direction. All that stuff.
Which is why I'm simultaneously fascinated and frightened by what will probably happen the next few days. Here in Connecticut, and many hundreds of miles in many directions, we're about to get pummeled with a storm the likes of which have never been seen.
First, some meteorology 101. (By the way, why is it called METEORology? What do meteors have to do with weather?)
But I digress...Here are the facts:
1: Sandy is a borderline category 1 hurricane/tropical storm. Doesn't matter, really.
2: It's moving at a snail's pace. That's not good.
3: Most importantly, there are 2 separate storms inland which act basically as magnets. That means that Sandy, which would normally hook east and out to sea, will instead hook west and hit the northeast.
4: Once the storms meet, it'll intensify big time. This means more rain, snow, higher winds, flooding.
5: It's also hitting during a full moon and its slowness means it'll cover many tidal cycles, including four high tides. Yet more flooding.
6: Its swath, when its over, may extend literally from Maine to western Ontario, and as far south as Tennessee and the Carolinas. That's an area the likes of which have never been seen.

Am I scared? Answer: Damn right I'm scared. Am I prepared? Answer: As best I can. Got my provisions. I want this thing to get here already, and stop dawdling at 10 or so MPH. Get a move on. Get here, blow through, and get the hell out.

I live in a small apartment in the top half of a house. It's maybe 10 miles inland...so the flood surge shouldn't affect me. However, my place is maybe 20 yards from a river, which rises even in moderate rain. I can't imagine it rising high enough to affect my place. Then again, I have a very vivid imagination. But I suspect I'll be OK.


This storm has got me thinking in Biblical terms. I'm not conventionally religious and I don't know if everything that happens is some kind of sign from God. But I've been asking myself if, just maybe, this storm is God's way of saying, "The presidential campaign is the least of your worries. I'm sick and tired of you Americans fighting, name calling, and behaving like children. Yeah, yeah,  you're ALL my children. That doesn't mean you have to be infantile about it. So maybe you should consider working together instead of at cross purposes. (God's aside; sorry...I mean "cross" here in a generic sense). And that election next Tuesday? Yeah, get out and vote. If you can. But first, take care of yourself and your neighbor."
Speaking of neighbors, I have this neighbor whose car is festooned with right wing bumper stickers. Most of them I'm fine with. There are a few that are preachy and even hateful. When I chat with her, she comes across to me as angry and very stressed out. At the same time, she seems like a basically decent person. Like she's just had some bad breaks and is in pain. I want to remove her pain but I can't. I suspect after the storm, she'll regale me with every inconvenience she's gone through. As if she's the only one in America who was inconvenienced. When this happens, I'll tell her that I'm also in a tough place. She'll be too self-absorbed to hear me or even care. And she'll continue venting on about her own misery. And I'll try to get away from her as politely as I can. And eventually our lives will all get back to normal. And whoever's in the White House at that point will play the art of politics, peripherally affecting our lives.
Will we learn anything from this? Maybe to get along and be pleasant to each other? I don't think it's impossible but if I was a betting man, I'd say no. In the meantime, I hope everyone potentially affected is safe and takes this thing seriously.

Courtesy and Cowardice

Can't say I'm a Jane Austen fan, but I'm not above riffing off of one of her titles.

That's because this blog will be about one of the two above topics. Don't know which yet. I never know where these blogs end up. I don't work off an outline. I just sort of let it flow and see where it goes. Maybe it'll end up being about Thai food...which has nothing whatsoever to do with the subject matter.

So here's what happened. I'm in a "fairly rapid" food restaurant...Five Guys Burgers. (Their food isn't ready immediately, so to call it fast food would be an exaggeration.) This guy, maybe 20, walks in wearing a faded yellow t-shirt with black letters, which read "F&%K Smooth Vocals", or something similar. I'm just remembering the 1st word. A word I use all the time, probably more than most people. But always in company that I perceive is fine with it. I was in fact tempted to print the word without special characters, as everyone knows what it is. But you never know...kids can read the site (not that I anticipate a wave of kids to head over here) and I'm feeling self-conscious.

The bearer of said shirt wasn't burdened, as I was, with any inhibitions about language. Nor did his female companion, who apparently didn't care. Maybe this is a step up for her in the class department, assuming her last boyfriend was Jerry Sandusky. There are kids of all ages here, and the parents either don't notice, don't care, or prefer not to confront "X rated shirt" guy.
This is where my cowardice kicks in. I'm embarrassed to say this, but I did nothing. Oh, I came close. I seriously considered it. I had all kinds of scenarios.
1: I confront the guy, who looks to be around 5'-9", maybe 170 pounds. I'm considerably bigger. He takes a swing at me. I respond by flattening him. Someone calls the cops. Someone else puts it up on YouTube. I have my 15 minutes of fame.
2: I confront the guy. He comes to his senses, asks for a lift to the nearest clothing store so he can get a decent shirt and we become best friends. His life is immeasurably changed.
3: I confront the guy. We have a heart to heart and he apologizes out loud to everyone in the place.
4: I DON'T confront the guy but he comes up to me and says, "Hey, I was just wondering. You look like a smart guy. Do you think my t-shirt is offensive?"

Of course, none of that happened. No one confronted or spoke to the guy. I thought long and hard about it. I truly wasn't going to be high and mighty about it, because nothing good ever comes out of that attitude. I was picturing a conversation like,
Me: Listen, I need to ask you a question. I don't mean this disrespectfully, but I have to ask you about the shirt.
F-Shirt Guy: What about it?
Me: "It's that phrase on the front. I use the F-Word all the time. I don't have a problem with the word itself. But you HAD to know there are kids in here. How come you're wearing that particular shirt?"
F-Shirt Guy: Eyedohno... (Pronounced phonetically...I'm perceiving the guy as having a 3 word sentence maximum). 
Me: (I explain something about what it's like to be a father and that I'm concerned about kids. I'm figuring his attention span is already maxxed out)

Who knows where it would have gone. Perhaps it would have led to any of the 4 scenarios above. Perhaps he was armed. But at this moment, I'm royally angry with myself for not doing anything. If my son, now 24, was with me and younger, I truly wouldn't have let it go. I have trouble understanding why the parents didn't say anything.
I then thought, "Are parents that overwhelmed? What would possess someone to wear that shirt in public? Is this typical of society?" At first, I thought of the cataclysmic decline in manners. But then I thought that Socrates often complained about the same thing. And that the overwhelming majority of people DO practice courtesy and manners. It's like seeing litter on the highway. It pisses me off, but I then realize that it only takes one person to spoil a highway and that the litterer represents probably less than .05% of the population.
And then I thought about narcissistic behavior and where I was when I was his age. When I was 20, I was narcissistic too, although I don't recall doing anything at that age that would have drawn that kind of attention. Late teens? Definitely. I'd pick fights when I was drunk. Laugh incredibly loud. Especially after toking up. Raise my voice whenever I thought I had something clever to say, which was probably 75% of the time. Ignore advice...especially if it came from someone over 40.
But would I wear a shirt like that? Absolutely not.

What if it happens next time? I really believe, I WILL talk to him, even if he looks like an escaped convict who'd kill me as soon as look at me. I really mean it. If I sense danger, I'll walk away and say, "No disrespect. I just needed to say it. Sorry if I offended you." (And I will not look him in the eye. I know the rules of the road) If/when it happens, I'll post the results.

If I'm alive. Because I hate feeling chicken-(you can fill in the last word).

Talkin' baseball, and autumn

I'm a fallphile. And especially October. There are all the classic reasons...foliage, pumpkins, the first seasonal smells of cold weather, fireplaces, apples. All of it magnified here in New England.

But trumping them all is post season baseball. Baseball is my life. I can associate every major event in my life with baseball. (At least those that happened from April to October) I'm sure there are some unpleasant things that happened to me on the diamond. Maybe childhood incidents from my days in Little League or just playing with my friends. But I can't remember a single one. Only pleasant memories. My coach, Mr. Germain, gently prodding me to become a catcher rather than the motionless second baseman I was. Becoming an OK (not great) catcher, where I learned I still couldn't hit but I COULD play defense and call a game. Watching my brother launch some prodigious home runs. (A talent I never had) Hitting a bases clearing double when I was 14 off of Lenny Destro, a very tough, good, lefty pitcher. (The offensive highpoint of my life)
But the greatest memory was watching the Mets turn the country upside down in 1969 by winning the World Series. I was 13, and obsessed with normal adolescent thoughts, of which there are only 3. Sex, rock and roll, and sports. I had zero chance of taking the first two beyond the fantasy level. So I reveled in the 3rd obsession. And I was amply rewarded thrice, when the Jets shocked the football world in January of 1969 by winning Super Bowl III. As mentioned, the Mets did the same to the baseball world and beyond in October of 1969. (Each time, the city of Baltimore was on the losing end. Too bad...I always liked crabcakes) And finally, the Knicks would start the season in October and finish it in May of 1970 by winning the NBA championship. (The one title that wasn't a shock).
Since sex was out of the question, I considered these three combined events a "sportgasm", if you will.
My fondest baseball memories, not surprisingly, are of the "fall classic", i.e. the World Series; played in October. Over the years, I've conducted extensive research on what makes a great World Series. (In other words, I've thought about this a lot)
As I write this, the 4 contending teams for the 2012 World Series championship are the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals in the National League. And the reviled New York Yankees against the Detroit Tigers (my pick from April to win it all). All teams are mid to major market teams. But whether the World Series will be a true classic or a snooze fest has nothing to do with market size or much of anything else. A great World Series has to have the following 8 elements:
1: It has to go the distance; 7 games, although there have been some 6 game affairs that have been superb. But that's rare.
2: A dominating MVP player. When it's a team effort, the series just isn't as memorable.
3: A Cinderella player, i.e. someone who had a so-so regular season but suddenly morphs in to Reggie Jackson. He can also be the MVP, but doesn't have to be.
4: Good umpiring. An umpire's blown call should never affect the outcome of the game.
5: Very few errors. As with umpiring, the game should be decided by the winning team, not someone else's mistake.
6: Low scores. I may be in a minority among baseball fans but I find slugfests boring, for the most part. (Game 6 of 2011 a definite exception)
7: Many close games. Again, one sided games are boring after the 5th inning.
8: Iconic moments, such as walk off home runs, amazing catches, etc. 

Based on the above, my favorite 6 World Series of all time: (all 7 game affairs)
6: 1982: Cardinals (there they are again) beating the Brewers with classic fundamental baseball, led by the great "Wizard", shortstop Ozzie Smith.
5: 1980: The forlorn Phillies, owner of more losses than any franchise in the history of global sports, finally get it done by beating the Kansas City Royals.
4: 1979: The "We Are Family" Pirates coming back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Baltimore Orioles. What a way for the great Willie Stargell to end his career. (As much as I despised disco, I have to take my hat off to the series)
3: 1975: The mighty Cincinnati Reds beat the upstart Boston Red Sox. Carlton Fisk's iconic "body language" home run.
2: 2011: If not for a rather one sided 7th game, this would be the best Series of all time. It truly had everything else, including perhaps the greatest single World Series game in history, the amazing game 6 when the Cardinals were down to their final strike 3(?) times and crawled off the ledge. 
1: 1991: To have a World Series meeting all 8 points above is a rarity. This showdown, in which the Minnesota Twins beat the Atlanta Braves in 7 meets all 8 points. In the series, 5 games were decided by one run; 4 games were won in the final at bat, and 3 games went into extra innings.

It just doesn't get any better than that.

By the way, the Braves have had more than their share of misfortune in post season over the years. I believe it's because they have an Indian name. Indian names are curses for the poor franchise cities. Proof? Only time the Braves have won in recent memory was 1995, when they beat (wait for it) the Cleveland Indians.
I have other theories on winning and losing...ugly uniforms and stupid nicknames. But I'll save that for later.

PLAY BALL, y'all!