I’ve been so caught up in Winter Meetings nonsense this week that I’ve been totally remiss in weighing in on non-baseball nonsense.
Mark McGrath, in case you’re unfamiliar, is Sugar Ray.
You might argue that technically Mark McGrath is just the lead singer of the band Sugar Ray, but as my colleague Dave Tomar has pointed out at the Perpetual Post, Mark McGrath is quite obviously Sugar Ray. It’s pretty much indisputable.
You probably remember Sugar Ray from cheesy pop-rock hits like “Fly” and “Every Morning,” intolerable songs your high-school girlfriend made you listen to over and over again that one summer until you finally broke up with her because you couldn’t take it anymore.
OK, she dumped you because you didn’t look enough like Mark McGrath, but whatever, the songs sucked.
Anyway, one mildly interesting thing about Sugar Ray is that apparently before the breakout success of “Fly,” they made some pretty decent music. I didn’t listen to it, so I can’t really vouch for this, but my former roommate was a big pre-“Fly” Sugar Ray guy and used to defend them all the time, citing their debut album Lemonade and Brownies. I’m pretty sure he even played it for me, and though I can’t say I remember it, I support it in principle.
And apparently “Fly” was the only song on that album that sounded like “Fly.” Then the next album came out and every song sounded like “Fly.”
Whatever. So they sold out. A lot of bands sell out. It’s far from the most interesting thing about Mark McGrath.
By far the most interesting thing about Mark McGrath is that Mark McGrath knows absolutely everything about music. Seriously. Mark McGrath was on VH1’s celebrity Rock and Roll Jeopardy! a bunch of times and was completely dominant.
If I recall correctly, one time he was up by so much that they had to randomly award 500 dollars (I believe they were actually “points” in this case, because the proceeds were going to charity) to each of his opponents so they could even hold a Final Jeopardy!. Otherwise, it would have been just Mark McGrath, alone on the stage for the end of the show, because the other two guys were both in the red when Double Jeopardy! ended.
Also — and this is hazy — I’m pretty sure at one point the correct answer was actually the name of a soap opera that one of McGrath’s opponents was on at the time, at which point McGrath turned to the guy and said something like, “I think you better take this one, buddy.”
Then the guy still got it wrong before McGrath chimed in and got the points.
Honestly, I watch Jeopardy! in every form whenever it’s on, and I’ve never seen a contestant as outstanding as Mark McGrath was on celebrity Rock and Roll Jeopardy!.
And yet Mark McGrath chooses to make songs like “Someday.”
He knows about Stevie Wonder’s back catalog and the Buzzcocks’ greatest hits and the pioneers of New Age music, and he chooses to make bland adult contemporary radio pop.
I can’t determine if that’s depressing or hilarious or damning or what.
If the Mets are really looking for a right-handed bat to complement Daniel Murphy at first base and are unwilling to give Nick Evans a shot, Garko might be a nice fit.
The Rule 5 Draft is often meaningless and I am far from an expert in the subject, but it is a reasonable place to find a low-cost role-player, provided you’re willing to keep him on your 25-man roster. If not, you must send him back to the team from which you’ve taken him. That’s how it works.
Ticket sales are lagging and fans are screaming for the Mets to make a meaningful acquisition.
Tedquarters 