[Posted Sunday evening from Beirut, Lebanon]
Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves Quiz [1953-present…not including
Boston Braves years]: 1) Who was rookie of the year in 1971?
2) Name the five players whose uniform is retired. 3) Name the
two to win batting titles in the 1970s. 4) Who is the only pitcher
to win 24 since 1953? 5) Name the two with the most homeruns
in a single season, 47. 6) Who is the all-time leader in games
pitched? 7) Who was the manager in 1969 when the Braves lost
to the Mets in the NLCS? Answers below.
Beirut
I’ll try not to repeat anything I wrote in “Week in Review.” A
lot has happened since I penned that piece anyway. For those who
didn’t read it, I arrived in Beirut on Thursday and really didn’t
start exploring the place until Saturday (yesterday) due to other
obligations.
But let’s just say that today was a day I’ll remember forever.
While I have to leave most of the commentary for the next WIR,
I took a bit of a chance and hired a car to take me to the town of
Baalbek (spelled here as Baalbeck), a drive of a little less than
two hours where one can take in the spectacular Roman ruins.
It’s also where the last Syrian troops departed on Tuesday and
where Hizbollah has a presence. Just how much of one,
however, I didn’t know until today.
So I hopped in the front seat (I wanted to blend in as much as
possible) with my driver Haitnam El chaar. He spoke decent
English but was a quiet sort. Oh, but what a ride it was. I had no
idea how mountainous Lebanon is but it’s May 1 and there are
still a ton of snow-covered peaks.
The first 45 minutes out of Beirut is straight up…seriously…and
the highway is the most dangerous one I’ve ever been on. Four
lanes but no center divider and the cars are constantly crossing
the double-yellow line. Haitnam was very cautious, however, so
that put me somewhat at ease.
After reaching the peak you descend into the Bekaa Valley and
then about 20 minutes outside Baalbek you start seeing
Hizbollah’s flag, a fist and a Kalashnikov. Then you are greeted
with big banners of Ayatollah Khomeini and Sheikh Nasrallah,
the latter Hizbollah’s current leader.
It was very spooky, sports fans, especially since Americans have
been told by our State Dept. not to travel here. Of course I knew
this, but I didn’t come all the way to Lebanon to sit in my hotel
room.
When we arrived in Baalbek, after clearing many military
checkpoints manned by the Lebanese army (having taken over
from the Syrians), I really began to wonder about visiting ruins,
let alone getting out of the car to stretch. At one point there was
an accident ahead that stopped traffic and that’s when I made my
decision. We weren’t stopping the car once we got moving
again. About 20 men were staring at me from either side of this
narrow street and I thought ‘If they find out I’m American, there
could be trouble in Baalbek.’ “Back to Beirut,” I said softly.
Haitnam didn’t reply. I could tell he wasn’t real fired up himself
about waiting for me here while I played tourist / tourist victim.
Five minutes outside of town I finally spoke up. “I probably
shouldn’t have been there.” “Your government doesn’t want you
here,” Haitnam said. He then went on to explain that the people
see so few Americans in these parts (read zero) that I surely
would have been viewed as European. Nope, I look American.
After I got back to Beirut, and boy was I glad to see it again
(kind of ironic, isn’t it?), I went to visit Rafik Hariri’s shrine and
a superb photo display of his assassination on February 14 and
the aftermath, as well as an exhibit on the civil war. You can’t
believe how parts of Beirut looked like Warsaw following the
Blitz. Hariri is the force that brought this city back.
And one other thing. My hotel room faces the place where Hariri
and 17 others were blasted to bits. 10 weeks later, the crushed
cars are still there as it’s an active crime scene, now turned over
to the U.N. My hotel suffered extensive damage but you’d never
know it. The famous St. Georges Hotel wasn’t as lucky.
Welcome to Lebanon. And if you are at all politically inclined,
read the 4/30 edition of “Week in Review” as well as the next
one.
[For those who did read it, I changed rooms after posting that
column and it was then I discovered why I may have been placed
on the other side. Some may not have wanted me to see the
bomb site from a PR standpoint.]
Stuff
–I have been to a lot of museums in my travels and seen more
antique pots and jewelry, as well as ancient statues, to last me six
lifetimes. [Paintings, on the other hand, I can’t get enough of.]
Nevertheless, I heard the national museum here in Beirut was not
to be missed. This is Phoenicia, after all, and now I can
definitely recommend it. [It also requires less than an hour of
time to get the full effect.] I mean think about it. They have
items here from 1500 B.C., for crying out loud. Some goes back
to even before then. They had these little gold birds that were
over 3,000 years old. How do you put a value on something like
that? [I’d still try and sneak in a bid for $49…just to see what
happens.]
[By the way, since I’m sure most of you forgot, as I had, the
Bronze Age was 3200-1200 B.C.]
There was a ton of stuff from Alexander the Great’s time, the Big
Guy having defeated Persian King Darius Rucker III in 333 B.C.,
while the Roman Period was 64 B.C. – 395 A.D.
Here’s something I didn’t know. In 551 an earthquake, followed
by a tidal wave, destroyed Beirut; something to keep in mind if
you’re investing in Mediterranean-front property here.
But the one object that really captured my attention in this
museum was a 10-foot limestone statue dating back to 500 B.C.
or thereabouts titled “Colossus.” Man, this thing was creepy, but
I kept going back to it. No wonder I had a nightmare that
evening where I was devoured by it.
So I was thinking. 1,000 years from now, you know what will
make for a great exhibit of our times, especially the 20th century?
Baseball cards. That’s why here at Bar Chat we recommend
parents pass them down, officially, so as to establish this
tradition.
Lastly, on the subject of the national museum, picture how this
was closed at the start of the civil war in 1975 and obviously
remained shut during the entire conflict. They didn’t start
rehabilitation until 1995 and completed it in 1999. Most of the
small objects were moved to protect them while some sculptures
were “poured in cement screed.” The museum building itself
was largely untouched, but a storage shed was hit, destroying
many objects.
–Beer drinking: I suppose you’re wondering just what I’m
quaffing over here. [The ever popular “Beer Count” was banned
after last year’s Singapore adventure. The family wasn’t real
thrilled, you understand.] Well, the beer of choice in Beirut is
Almaza, a super smooth Pilsener first brewed in 1933…
“Brasserie Almaza S.A.L. Lebanon.” Mmmmmmm.
However, on two occasions I have had to drink Heineken and let
me explain. You see, the sidewalk café attached to my hotel is
running a promotion on the beer and my very friendly Saudi
waiter told me my first night that I should really have the
Heineken, not the Almaza. I had already had an Almaza from
my mini-bar and liked it but when traveling in foreign lands the
last thing I want to do is upset the waiter. “Sure, I’ll have a pint
of Heineken,” I smiled. Some special…it was still like $7.
[Food and drink isn’t cheap here.]
Well, as my dinner wore on and I ordered #$#$ more Heinies
(the total is purposefully scrambled so loved ones don’t know
exactly how many) I hit the jackpot. Ding ding ding! I won a
Heineken CD holder…made in China, of course. Hey, bet you
don’t have one. Boy, my waiter, whom I assume was making
about a dollar on each one I drank, was fired up. You never saw
a grin that large.
OK, day two I ate at a café in Martyrs’ Square and drank Almaza
while eating “the meats.” There are 30 or so cafes lined up in the
vicinity of the place and I just randomly picked one. The first
words out of the waiter’s mouth after I said “I’ll have an Almaza,
please” were “How would you like your meats done; well-done,
medium-well…?” You see, there was no choice here and when
in Beirut, don’t insult your hosts. Always go with the flow, I
say.
The meats were delicious. They start everyone off with a superb
garden salad and then you get strips of lamb, smothered in gravy
with good French fries. And without asking you get seconds!
Night three I was back at the hotel café. The weather is
spectacular here; 70s, sunny and low humidity…perfect for
eating outdoors. Had the same waiter who was even friendlier
than the first night. And super kind. It was Saturday, late, the
place was packed and he still let me use a table for four outside,
even as others waited. [To be fair, those in line were not giving
me bad looks…unlike in New Jersey where I would have been
assaulted for eating alone like this.]
Well, it was back to Heinekens and the ongoing promotion.
What could I do? After #$#$ pints the Heineken girls showed
up. Now I had to drop a bottle cap through the contraption and
land it on the star. Could your editor skillfully place it there? Of
course! Ding ding ding! This time I won another beer.
Then my waiter, with whom I had been having a great chat about
the country and the issue of the February bomb blast across the
street, said he insisted on buying me a drink. Now where else
could you go and have the waiter (not the bartender, mind you)
buy you one? Baby, you gotta love it. “I’ll have a Zambuca”
and for my part I insisted on giving up the table as I moved
inside to the bar area….whereupon I proceeded to watch a Saudi
soccer game on Orbit. By the end of the match the two Saudis
next to me, with whom I had been trying to get details, included
me in their analysis of the contest, a thrilling 1-0 affair.
Day four, today, found me back at Martyrs’ Square and the
House of Meats. I told the waiter here earlier I’d be back and he
seemed authentically pleased to see me return. It’s also the best
way to get information from them, having built up a little trust.
And it was also back to Almaza.
So there you have it. Travels with the editor. One more day, but
definitely not as exciting as today. At least I hope not.
But wait, there’s more Bar Chat!
As part of the Heineken promotion the menu had the following
kind of gross sounding recipes.
Heineken Iceland…Heineken, vodka, tequila, gin, lemon
Heineken Hurricane…Heineken, vodka, kahlua
Heineken Cooler…Heineken, mint leaves, drambuie
Two things. I’ll let one of you try these and send me a note if it
was any good. Second, I don’t expect you kids out there to try
these at home unless under parental supervision. That way your
parents get in trouble for serving it, not you.
[The editor…always looking out for the children.]
Top 10 countries by volume of vodka consumption in 2004, liters
per capita. [Source: Euromonitor / Wall Street Journal Europe]
Russia…14.3
Ukraine…6.6
Poland…..6.5
Finland….3.8
Bulgaria…2.3
Slovakia…2.2
Czech Rep. …1.9
Ireland…..1.7
U.S. …….1.4
Romania…1.4
Attention guys and girls…every 4th billboard in Lebanon is for
“Engine Jeans”. Can’t say I ever bought a pair, though I like the
female model on the billboard.
On my ride to Baalbek my driver put on an English station that
for whatever reason featured a lot of Supertramp.
I met an Aussie gentleman at the hotel bar in Paris the first night
of the trip, a layover before flying on to Beirut, and I was asking
him to plan the best itinerary for a two-week journey to his
country. I’ve been to Sydney and Melbourne, but generally
speaking you’d have to include Darwin and the Great Barrier
Reef, though that would leave off the west coast and Perth.
Heck, Australia is as big as the U.S., so I got to thinking, if you
were telling a foreigner, as I attempted to do, how to spend two
weeks in America, what would you recommend? 3 nights (two
full days) in New York, 3 nights (two full days) in Washington to
see the museums and really learn about our country, 1 night Las
Vegas, and 7 nights in California between San Francisco,
Yosemite or Sequoia, and L.A. / San Diego. So you’re leaving
out Philadelphia, Boston, Miami, Chicago, Denver, Texas (doh!),
let alone my own favorite, Deadwood, South Dakota..…you get
the picture. Don’t even try.
Due to my travels last week, I had to write Bar Chat early and
thus missed a few things we need to note for the archives, if
nothing else.
–Like A-Rod’s 3 HR, 10 RBI effort last Tuesday. The A.L.
record for RBI in one game is Tony Lazzeri with 11 (1936). The
N.L. single game record is 12 held by Mark Whitten, 1993 (St.
Louois) and Jim Bottomley, 1924. A-Rod was just the 11th to
have 10 or more.
–Former Detroit / Boston pitcher Earl Wilson died at the age of
70. Wilson was a favorite of those of us growing up in the 1960s
and just learning the game. He was 121-109 in his career,
including a 22-11 mark in 1967 for Detroit, but he swung a mean
bat, twice hitting 7 homeruns in a season and 33 for his career as
a pitcher, plus another two as a pinch-hitter. Which means that
Wilson ranked right up there with the best hitting pitchers of all
time, at least in the homer category.
Wes Ferrell, 37
Bob Lemon and Warren Spahn, 35
Red Ruffing, 34
Wilson, 33
–Former New York Jets defensive back Johnny Sample died at
67. He had a big interception in the Jets Super Bowl win which
was also his last game in a solid 11-year career. But I’ll always
remember him for his book “Confessions of a Dirty Player,” his
1970 memoir that was one of my first sports reads.
–Carnie Wilson had a baby girl and her father, Brian, was in
attendance. “Pet Sounds” played in the background. There are
some depressing songs on that album. Hope the kid isn’t
screwed up like her dad.
Top 3 songs for the week of 5/1/71: “Joy To The World” (Three
Dog Night) #2 “Put Your Hand In The Hand” (Ocean) #3
“Never Can Say Goodbye” (The Jackson 5…featuring Debbie
Rowe!)
Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves Quiz Answers: 1) Rookie of the
Year, 1971: Earl Williams, catcher…33 HR, 87 RBI. Again,
another whose best season was his first. [He had 28-87 #s his
second.] 2) Retired uniforms: Dale Murphy, #3; Warren Spahn,
#21; Phil Niekro, #35; Eddie Mathews, #41; Hank Aaron, #44.
3) Batting champs in the 70s: Rico Carty, 1970 (.366); Ralph
Garr, 1974 (.353). 4) Only pitcher to win 24 since 1953: Tony
Cloninger, 24-11, 1965. [Cloninger was better known for his
hitting, clubbing 5 homers in 1966 and 11 overall. It was in 1966
that he had two grand slams in one game and had 23 RBI on 26
hits that year.] 5) Most homeruns single season, 47: Eddie
Mathews, 1953, and Hank Aaron, 1971. 6) Phil Niekro is the all-
time leader in games pitched, including the Boston Braves, 740.
You might be able to win some coin on that one. 7) Lum Harris
was the manager in 1969, 1968-72 overall.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday….this one may be posted a bit late.
