Count Five: The Baseball Project's Ballpark Memories

While the Major League Baseball playoffs start this afternoon, an All-Star roster of musicians have been plying their trade in rock clubs from Chicago to Kentucky to Manhattan all summer. The Baseball Project, Scott McCaughey's national-pastime-themed collaboration with Steve Wynn, Linda Pitmon and R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, just finished touring for the first time since the release of last year's 'Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails, Vol. 1.' Below, Wynn, McCaughey, Pitmon and Buck take a little Spinner batting practice, sharing diamond memories and offer October playoffs speculation.

1. McCaughey Witnesses Marichal's Bat Incident: I had the fortune of seeing my first favorite team, the San Francisco Giants, play a very important game in late August of 1965. The Giants and hated rivals the Los Angeles Dodgers were battling for the top spot in the NL, and the two best pitchers in the game, Juan Marichal and Sandy Koufax, were facing off at Candlestick Park. When my father and I arrived we found the game was sold out -- not surprising given the circumstances, but something that didn't happen often at Candlestick. We ended up getting two centerfield bleacher seats -- face value, $1.50 each -- for $20. This was a lot of money for us at the time.

Early in the game, third inning I believe, Marichal was at bat, and he suddenly turned around and clubbed Dodger catcher John Roseboro over the head with his bat. A melee quite naturally ensued. I couldn't tell much of what was happening from center field, but there was a great spread in Life Magazine later, with a black and white photo of Willie Mays bending over the bleeding Roseboro, offering help. When the game finally resumed, Mays hit a three-run bomb in the bottom of the inning to put the Giants in the lead for good.

My dad and I, quite exhilarated, found our 1960 VW van in the vast parking lot and realized he had locked the keys inside the car. After trying and failing at various methods of getting a door unlocked, my dad found a rock and smashed in one of the windwings. It had been a costly day, but I'm sure my dad agrees that it was worth it.

2. Buck on the "Bastards of Old": I don't pay attention to baseball much but I've read a great Ty Cobb biography. The game now seems to lack men of his unique "character." Baseball needs more bastards. That would spice things up a lot. What baseball player today will have an incredible, insane biography written about him in the future? Chipper Jones? J.D. Drew? I don't think so.

3. Pitmon's Night at the World Series: I paid a friend of a friend face value -- $27, I believe -- for a ticket to Game 1 of the 1987 World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals against my beloved Twins. Having cried myself to sleep with my transistor radio for a pillow through most of the '70s, I think karma was at work with that lucky break.

The Twins had the worst win percentage of any World Series team in history at that point (a record later broken by the Cards themselves in 2006) and were expected to fold with little resistance in straight games. Instead, the Twinkies fans turned the Metrodome into "Metal Machine Music," their cheers and jeers layering into white noise at jet engine levels. They took the stunned Cards down 10-1. Favorite moment? Dan Gladden's grand slam in the 4th inning. The guy looked like a mechanic, but he really came through in the playoffs that year!

4. Wynn's Championship Prediction: I've been enjoying the redemption, reinvention and possibly revenge of Joe Torre and am hoping for a Dodgers/Yankees series. I consider myself more of a Yankees fan at this point -- 15 years in New York will do that -- but I think I would be rooting for Torre to get his last laugh after being unceremoniously dumped by the Steinbrenners two years ago.

5. The Band's PED Use: McCaughey: We have been linked to performance enhancing, performance enabling and performing mangling substances. I can't tell you what all of them are, but one is hummus.

Pitmon: (wagging finger) I have NEVER .....I RESENT the implications.....I...I...hey, Steve - could you pass the Red Bull? All this denial takes a lot out of a gal.

Wynn: Red Bull, Doritos, Maker's Mark, carnitas, triple shots of espresso, bacon-wrapped hot dogs, PBR and Jolt Cola. Luckily, our profession has yet to ban any of these items, nor have they called for mandatory testing, which means that my streak for consecutive gigs without a cancellation remains firmly intact.