Terrific Tigers
Searching for Caleb, Bulldog's Cheesesteaks, JD Souther, Tarik Skubal, Lost Leg
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. This week’s issue includes the best BBQ near me, a different kind of Anne Tyler novel, an influential singer/songwriter/actor, the best pitcher in baseball, and a dangerous sign. I hope you like the picks and pics.
This year my brother David is celebrating his 50th year in music. He turned 68 on Friday. The day before, on my friend John Bommarito’s Song Break show on WEMU, John featured an interview he did with David. You can listen to the recording and read the transcript. If you will be in the metro Detroit area on October 12, you can catch David in an intimate setting at the Trinity House Theatre in Livonia.
Roger and Cristi were in Michigan over the weekend to attend a friend’s wedding in Grand Rapids. We were fortunate to have lunch with them on Friday (at York in Ann Arbor) and Sunday (carryout from Leo’s Coney Island in Plymouth). At York, we enjoyed food and drinks from York, Ricewood BBQ (located inside at a separate window), and Bao Boys (located outside in a trailer). From Leo’s, we had the delicious chicken lemon rice soup and Greek salad with chicken.
The Tigers finished their incredible season by clinching a playoff spot on Friday. Yesterday they beat the Astros in the first game of the Wildcard Series behind the shutout pitching of this issue’s sports star, Tarik Skubal. One more win today or tomorrow and they advance to play the Cleveland Guardians in the next round. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press offers 3 reasons why the Detroit Tigers can win the World Series.
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Fave Five 104: Terrific Tigers
Peck-Proud (Searching for Caleb), Cheesy Comestible (Bulldog's Cheesesteaks), Souther California Songwriter (JD Souther), Triple Crown Tiger (Tarik Skubal) and a Lost Leg.
Fave Five List: Best Local BBQ
We enjoyed great brisket, chicken, pork, and sides at Ricewood on Friday. Here is a list of my five favorite barbecue joints located near me.
Ricewood Ann Arbor
Bad Brad’s Livonia
Woodpile BBQ Shack Clawson
Satchel’s Ann Arbor
Smoke Street Milford
Book Best Bet
Searching for Caleb by Anne Tyler
Anne is one of my five favorite authors. I previously featured Redhead by the Side of the Road and French Braid. This one was not up to her usual high standards. I found the characters to be interesting, but the plot came up short. Still, any Anne Tyler novel is well-written and worth reading.
From Amazon: Through the syncopated rhythms of the ragtime era to the thumping, rocking beats of the 1970s, generations of Pecks have maintained a determined steadiness. Adamantly middle class—Peck-proud, as the family slogan goes—they are quick to sweep under the rug those members who do not live up to their standards. Maybe that’s why Caleb Peck took off with his violincello as a boy? Sixty years later, his brother Daniel is still wondering. No longer willing to live without answers, he turns to his daughter-in-law, Justine, another Peck family eccentric. A studied tarot card reader, Justine comes across one message over and over in the cards: change is coming. With Daniel’s help, she’s hoping to find the courage to embrace whatever happens next.
An unlikely pair struggling against a stifling family, Daniel and Justine believe they’ll find freedom in just the right mix of magic, music, and mystery.
The lives and secrets of four generations of the Peck family of Roland Park intertwine as forty-year-old fortune teller Justine accompanies her deaf, ex-judge grandfather in search of his maverick half-brother Caleb, who vanished in the spring of 1912.
Restaurant Recommendation
Bulldog's Cheesesteaks 33171 Grand River Ave, Farmington, MI 48336
I met my friend Lee Romero here for lunch last week. When I ordered a Big Cheese, I told the owner, Ali “Bulldog” Abdallah, that I would need a box to take home half of it. When he delivered it to our table, he did not bring a box and told me that I would not need one. He was right — I finished it off, enjoying every bite. He proudly told me about the quality of the meat and the rolls which he has delivered from the Philadelphia area. I am particular about cheesesteaks, preferring the ones I get in Philly, but this was a very worthy local offering.
The Big Cheese: 3/4 lb. Steak, Grilled Onions, White American Swiss Cheese, Provolone, and Cheez-Whiz
From the restaurant: We pride ourselves in using only the highest quality meats and poultry. Our steak subs are made of choice steaks, freshly sliced in-house and our chicken is hormone/antibiotic-free. Our sandwiches are served on rolls from Liscio's Bakery known for having some of the best sub rolls in the country!
Marvelous Musician
JD passed away on September 17, 2024. One of my Clayton High School friends attended a James Taylor concert in 1970 and mentioned not caring for the opening act, John David Souther. I later heard JD’s solo hit and his duet with James Taylor on the radio and liked both.
Barb and I were big fans of thirtysomething, and we thought JD was excellent in his role as John Dunaway. I was surprised by his low speaking voice, in sharp contrast to his high singing voice. I also took note when many years later he appeared in Nashville as producer Watty White.
Singer/Songwriter/Actor John David “JD” Souther Passes
John David “JD” Souther, a Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee known for his hit collaborations with the Eagles, James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt, passed away peacefully in his New Mexico home at the age of 78.
The Detroit, Michigan-born Souther, raised in Amarillo, Texas, was known for his longtime partnership with the Eagles’ Glenn Frey, whom he met in Los Angeles after moving there in the late ‘60s, briefly forming a band called Longbranch Pennywhistle, with an album recorded for Jimmy Bowen’s Amos Records. That would last through collaborations on some of the Eagles’ biggest hits, including “Best of My Love,” “James Dean,” “New Kid in Town” and “Doolin-Dalton.” He also co-wrote “Heartache Tonight,” with Bob Seger, Frey and Don Henley.
Souther started out recording with a local Amarillo group called The Cinders, traveling to nearby Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico, where Buddy Holly’s producer shopped their recordings to Warner Bros. for a single release under the name John David and the Cinders.
Souther was also a successful solo artist, recording his self-titled debut in 1972 before forming The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band with former Byrds member Chris Hillman and Poco’s Richie Furay. A second solo effort, Black Rose, produced by Peter Asher and released in 1976, includes a duet with his one-time girlfriend Linda Ronstadt, “If You Have Crying Eyes.” JD scored his biggest solo hit with “You’re Only Lonely,” from the 1979 album of the same name, peaking at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Other songs penned by Souther include “Run Like a Thief,” for Bonnie Raitt, and several songs for Ronstadt, including “Faithless Love” and “White Rhythm and Blues.” He also recorded several duets with her, among them “Prisoner in Disguise,” “Sometimes You Can’t Win” and “Hearts Against the Wind,” the latter featured in the 1980 film Urban Cowboy. A collaboration with James Taylor, “Her Town Too,” reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
JD contributed as a singer to artists such as Don Henley, Christopher Cross, Dan Fogelberg and Roy Orbison, among many others. He also appeared as an actor in TV’s Thirtysomething, Nashville and Purgatory as well as the films Postcards from the Edge, My Girl 2 and Deadline.
Souther was declared “a principal architect of the Southern California sound and a major influence on a generation of songwriters,” upon his induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013. His final original album, Tenderness, was released by Sony Masterworks in 2015, with Uncut magazine describing it as connecting “L.A.’s ‘70s golden age with the Great American Songbook.” An expanded edition of his 1979 album, You’re Only Lonely, was released in July Omnivore Recordings, who also released expanded editions of his first three solo records.
He was about to begin a tour with Karla Bonoff on September 24 in Phoenix, through the new year, which will be cancelled.
From Wikipedia: John David "J.D." Souther (born November 2, 1945 in Detroit; died September 17, 2024 in Sandia Park, New Mexico) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He wrote and co-wrote songs recorded by Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles. Souther was known for his songwriting abilities, especially in the field of country rock. He co-wrote some of the biggest hits for the Eagles, including "Best of My Love", "Victim of Love", "Heartache Tonight", and "New Kid in Town". "How Long", which appeared on the Eagles' Long Road Out of Eden, was written by Souther and originally recorded on his first solo album in 1972. Souther recorded two major hit songs in his solo career: "You're Only Lonely" (1979) and "Her Town Too" (1981), a duet with his longtime friend James Taylor.
You're Only Lonely
Her Town Too
My Playlist
Cowrites and Covers
Sports Star
Tarik Skubal won the pitching triple crown this season, leading the American League in wins, strikeouts, and ERA. He was joined by Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves, who won the pitching triple crown in the National League.
He is the only real starting pitcher Detroit has. He won the first game of the playoffs yesterday against the Houston Astros. Today’s game is a bullpen game for the Tigers, in which they are using a parade of relievers.
Tarik gives the Tigers a fighting chance to compete in the postseason. Go Tigs!
From Wikipedia: Tarik Daniel Skubal (born November 20, 1996 in Hayward, California) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. He made his MLB debut in 2020 and was an All-Star in 2024.
Skubal attended Kingman Academy of Learning in Kingman, Arizona. He played college baseball for the Seattle Redhawks of Seattle University, which was the only NCAA Division I school to offer him a scholarship. Skubal missed most of the 2016 season and all of 2017 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Despite the injury, he was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 29th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign and returned to Seattle. The Detroit Tigers selected Skubal in the ninth round of the 2018 MLB draft, and he signed with the team.
Skubal began the 2022 season in the Tigers starting rotation. After posting a 7–8 record with a 3.52 ERA, 111 ERA+, 1.16 WHIP and 117 strikeouts in 117+2⁄3 innings, he was placed on the injured list August 3 with left arm fatigue. On August 17, the Tigers announced Skubal had undergone flexor tendon surgery, which ended his 2022 season.
On March 14, 2023, the Tigers moved Skubal to the 60-day injured list, stating that he wasn't expected back until the summer. He was activated for his season debut on July 4.[20] He was named American League Pitcher of the Month in September, finishing his final five starts with a 4–0 record and 0.90 ERA. In 2023, he pitched 80+1⁄3 innings over 15 starts, posting a 7–3 record with a 2.80 ERA and 102 strikeouts.
Skubal started for the Tigers on Opening Day of the 2024 season. On April 28, Skubal became the first pitcher in Tigers franchise history to strike out 40+ batters through his first six starts with fewer than nine walks (he had 41 strikeouts and only six walks to date). In a May 5 game against the New York Yankees, Skubal became the first Tigers pitcher in over 100 years to strike out 12 or more batters without issuing a walk. The last Tiger pitcher to do so was Eric Erickson (in a 16-inning complete game) on May 24, 1918.
On July 7, Skubal was selected to represent the Tigers in the 2024 All-Star Game being held July 16, along with teammate Riley Greene. At the time of his selection, Skubal had a 10–3 record, 2.37 ERA, a league-best 0.90 WHIP and 132 strikeouts in 110 innings. He pitched a 1-2-3 second inning in the All-Star Game.
Skubal finished the season with 18 wins, a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts, and became the first pitcher to win the Triple Crown since Shane Bieber in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. He was the first pitcher to earn the Triple Crown in a full season since 2011, when both Justin Verlander (AL) and Clayton Kershaw (NL) earned the distinction.
Tarik Skubal Throws 6 Shutout Innings in His Playoff Debut vs Astros
Picture Pun
Unfortunately, Peg Leg Pete believed this sign.
