Western Front: Scrappy Rain, Scrappy Rain by Geoff Young

Ever since I was introduced to Bill James’ works in the mid-'80s, I have wanted to learn as much as possible about baseball so that I can better understand and appreciate it. If you're reading this, you're probably wired the same way. It might be easier to watch without thinking so much, but we don't know how to do that. I have a similar problem with music. I started playing guitar at the same time I started reading James (correlation does not equal causation), and although I'm a bit of a hack, I've earned enough over the years from my efforts to attract the U.S. government's attention. My perspective as a listener tends to be informed by my experience as a performer. As with baseball, I find myself asking how things work. What is the melody? What are the chord changes? Sometimes I can turn off that part of my brain. It helps if I'm listening to a style of music I'm not adept at playing, like jazz or ambient/chill. These are easier to ab...