About a year or so ago, I wrote my Shohei Ohtani chapter for WHY WE LOVE BASEBALL. The book is, loosely speaking, a countdown of the most magical moments in baseball history. There were so many magical Shohei moments to choose from, it was already pretty close to impossible to pick.
The caption under the Casas photo is pretty lame, but complaining about photo captions in Joe's articles is like sending back a perfectly grilled T-Bone steak because the garnish of parsley was a tad wilted.
I think the reason why Shohei Ohtani’s 2021 home run pace through the first 100 games didn’t register for me is that the Bonds/McGwire/Sosa barrages put the record essentially out of reach. Whatever one’s feelings on the PED element of that, the record is the record and 60 doesn’t have the magic it did before, at least for me. Doesn’t diminish his greatness, just seems a bit less important.
He is rendering me incomprehensible notwithstanding that aside from a couple Apple TV games I have watched every Angels game this year and should be surprised by nothing he does. Shohei Ohtani just hit a first inning 103.5 mph 397foot home run. I am still stunned from the two games I watched yesterday, and now this.
"Also, the Sox vets were dumb to yell at him about sunbathing and napping before games. Get over yourselves, vets."
This reminds me of these words of wisdom from Crash Davis: "You'll never make it to the Bigs with fungus on your shower shoes. Think classy, you'll be classy. If you win 20 in the Show, you can let the fungus grow back on your shower shoes and the press will think you're colorful. Until you win 20 in the Show however, it means you're a slob."
I remember Ohtani's two games against the Royals and it was amazing. I wish you had either left it in, or had time to put this year's moment in.
The Ohtani vs. Trout thing might be the most overplayed and overtalked about moment in recent sports. Yes it was the last out. Yes it was the first time they faced each other because they were on the same team. But did anyone really think Trout was going to hit a home run off of him to tie the game?
Maybe if the winning or even the tying run was on base, it might have felt more exciting to me. If the walked player had not been erased, but instead had moved to second somehow and the tying run was at 2nd, where a single ties the game and a home run wins it, it might have had more weight. If Trout had actually hit a home run to tie it, and the US team had gone on to win, that would have been a worthy moment.
It was fun, no doubt. But not worth the million breathless words with thousands of exclamation points (needed to make it seem bigger) that have been written (or said) about it since. There are probably moments in the book people have been talking about for decades. Decades from now, no one will remember this one.
As a Padres fan, I also find them perplexing. I think the problem is that there is a lack of depth beyond the 5 you mentioned, plus Cronenworth has been terrible at the plate. The Padres should probably trade a few players to build depth and plug holes at catcher, first and OF. I'd probably trade Soto, Snell, Hader.
I sometime do not get baseball marketing at all. Why would the Red Sox not go to Casas and make a Tshirt with him for charity. Have a guy swinging a bat with the sun shining or something and have a saying like: "All I like to do is get some sun and hit some dingers." I would buy one. Great way to build buzz for a new hometown player.
That should be the back. Bloom is supposedly a big workout guy. New joke going around is Legion of Bloom. Baseball even though they like to hide it, has some personalities. Just came back from South Korea and saw KBL game. American baseball could learn a lot.
"San Diego Padres, who have outscored opponents by 51 runs and are five games under .500. This team is utterly inexplicable to me."
I think maybe you've buried the lede a bit on this one. The Padres are as "bad" as they are because they have had absolutely atrocious luck (i.e. clutch hitting), which makes it look like they have a disproportionately ineffective bullpen. They're 6-17 in 1-run games, and are 0-9(!) in extra innings.
They've given up 22 runs in extras, but only 10 earned runs. Only the White Sox and Guardians have surrendered more unearned runs in extras. They're the only team in baseball that hasn't won at least ONE game in extras (the Diamondbacks, Royals, Astros and Pirates have each won one, but have lost an average of only 4.5 games in extras. No other team has lost more than 7 games after regulation play ended.
The Padres have the 7th lowest Save percentage in MLB, at 57%, which doesn't help, but because their hitters don't come through when they need it, they also have the fewest wins in relief in the majors, just 11-20, despite a respectable 3.81 bullpen ERA. So not only are they not great at holding a lead, they're completely inept at getting one back once it's lost.
The relievers are doing a reasonably good job of preventing runs, but their hitters are simply not hitting in the late innings (3rd worst OPS in Late & Close in MLB), so when they don't have a lead in the late innings, they almost don't have a shot at victory. Houston, by contrast, has almost the same collective bullpen ERA (3.84) in almost the same number of appearances, but is 20-16 in relief instead of 11-20, like the Dads.
They're hitting just .222 with men in scoring position overall, tied for last in MLB with the A's, worse than the Royals, Yankees and Detroit, for crying out loud. They're second to last (to Oakland) with just a .235 BA with men on base. They're third worst in MLB in OPS in extra innings, and in the bottom 6 or 7 in MLB for 7th, 8th, or 9th inning and later. Basically, if they don't build up a big lead early, they can't get it done later.
I dunno if that means they "can't get out of their own way" since I'm not sure, practically speaking, what that means anyway, but I can see where they're falling short in the numbers.
The obvious fix, if there is one, is to upgrade the offense where they can, specifically at DH and especially at first base, where Jake Cronenworth and Matt Carpenter have gotten most of the at-bats and have both been god-awful, killing any rallies they might have hoped to get in the late innings. The Padres' first base corps have the worst OPS in MLB at just .604, and are tied for last with the Nationals with just 7 homers from that position.
They could, perhaps, try to pry Paul Goldschmidt away from a flailing St. Louis team, or even get the Yankees to eat half of Anthony Rizzo's contract. Both would be an upgrade on the execrable Cronenworth, especially if Rizzo's recent 4-for-4 night with a homer was a harbinger of better days for him. Andrew McCutchen is probably available from the Pirates for a song, and there must be no shortage of rental OF/DH types available from the also-rans.
The only other out-of-the-race team with a firstbaseman worth trading for is the Mets, and I don't see them giving up three years of arbitration on Alonso for anything less than a huge bunch of prospects. Unless the Cubs falter over the weekend, then maybe Bellinger becomes available. He's both better and likely cheaper to acquire than Alonso, since he's just under contract this season.
But the key here is not to assume that the Padres are just doomed to this fate or that their character as people is somehow lacking because they have failed in the clutch so many times. The key is to get them enough offensive pieces to allow them to make those mistakes in the late innings. As good as their talent is, for all those stars, they're still just 16th in MLB in Runs/Game, because of those two albatrosses dragging the rest of the lineup down. Swap out either or both of those for even a league average bat at the position, much less a good one, and maybe the Padres have what it takes to make it back into the playoffs.
Great comment. I personally believe "clutch hitting" = "blind luck" so I would be tempted to continue to run the same Padres line up out there and assume their luck will even out.
Clutch hitting may be blind luck. For one player. Over one season. When an entire team is doing it, this late in the season, it is usually indicative of a bigger problem. The idea that their "luck" will even out, or even become positive over the last third of the season is something that does not historically happen.
Though the Padres are not the worst at clutch hitting this year (Thanks, Royals!) they are still really, really bad.
Major league average in high leverage is .254/.330/.413 with 25.59 runs scored per 100 high leverage PAs. The Padres are hitting .187/.275/.314 and scoring 21.27. (actually pretty high for that triple slash)
Clay Davenport's third order winning percentage has them at 8.2 wins below where they should be. If they started playing to that winning percentage right now (and, again this is rare at this point) they would get 32 more wins and finish 82-80. That probably does not get a third wild card spot.
The guy above with the long comment is somehow looking to pry answers from team that are more in the playoff race than his own team is. New flash, these teams are not sellers. The Padres are 6 games out of the 3rd wild card spot with 58 games to play, and 4 teams to leapfrog over, and another 3 teams behind them closer to them than they are to the wild card. This year is just not going to happen. Best to look to next year.
Oh, my Cubbies. I remember writing about this in spring training.
* In 2022, they had a disastrous first half, but a pretty decent second half; something to build on.
* They have a lot of talent at AA and AAA, but it's all a year or two away. Hence, they let Willson Contrearas go.
* Off-season, they made a huge upgrade signing Dansby Swanson to a long-term contract (in a year with a glut of shortstops to tamp down any bidding wars).
* They also signed a bunch of veterans (Barnhart, Bellinger, Hosmer, Mancini) to short-term contracts, to A) plug the gaps until the kids were ready; B) help nurture those kids into their big-league roles; and C) be deadline trade bait.
So, how's that working out for them?
* Some of the kids (Morel, Madrigal, Amaya) have already stepped in to every day roles. Some (Mervis, Young, Mastruoboni, Wesneski) have had their moments, but probably need a little more time. Some (Davis, Crow-Armstrong) haven't been called up yet, but could be soon.
* As for the vets, Hosmer's already gone; Barnhart has been a bust; Mancini's been no better than average; and Bellinger has been having an absolutely classic bounce-back year. We also have some other guys with expiring contracts who are doing reasonably well.
So, obviously, trade Bellinger and Gomes, maybe Stroman and Smyly; cut the others; call up some guys from the minors, and ride that learning curve to get ready for next year.
Except: nobody expected the Cardinals to implode. Nobody expected both the Mets and the Padres to struggle. The Cubs may be on the edge of contention, but they are in contention. They have a path to both the wild card and the division. Which makes it very tempting to hang on to various pending free agents, or even trading some prospects, to make a run for it.
I am very much in the "Don't Do It" camp. The odds of us even making the playoffs are slim; the odds of us getting past the Braves or the Dodgers are negligible. Don't mortgage the future -- don't even mortgage the present. Trade what you can and focus on '24.
Is anyone suggesting "mortgage the future"? But they have a decent (not good, just decent) chance of making the playoffs after the hot streak. Their run differential suggests they're actually a good team. Their second-half schedule is soft as cream cheese.
It's worth acquiring a decent (maybe even cost-controlled for a couple years?) third baseman and possibly a lefty reliever, without giving up any top prospects, to see what happens. The recent runs by the Braves and Phillies show that just getting in the playoffs gives you a chance. Go for it!
Nobody has suggested anything specific to my knowledge. But then, until 2 minutes ago, nobody expected the Cubs to be buyers.
A third baseman and a lefty reliever would be great, for sure. But they're going to be expensive. Being a buyer in a sellers' market means you have to give up something of value. I don't think that's the smart move.
If I were Jed Hoyer, I'd stand pat. If the Cubs can make a run with what they've got, great. If not, no harm, we're well-positioned for next year. In the off-season, they can try for a repeat of the Dansby Swanson story. The 2022 Cubs were no great shakes, but they were able to convince one of the top shortstops in the game to sign, in part because they could see a window of contention opening up soon. Well, that window is pretty much here. Bellinger, Stroman, Hendricks, Smyly and others will certainly test the free-agent waters. But the Cubs have the position, the bankroll, and -- with the expiration of the Jason Heyward contract -- the payroll flexibility to pursue anyone they desire.
JOE! Any chance for a signing in Raleigh or Charlotte?? I am a transplant and actually seeing you with Costas would be awesome! I wonder if the restaurant “who’s on 3rd” is still there? That would be an added bonus! Can anyone out there confirm?
If Casas really only has 21 runs and 21 RBI in 35 starts that have come to a 1.057 OPS, those are low numbers. If you multiply them by 4, you're looking at 84 of each in 140 starts.
Unfortunately, the buzz about "How We Love Baseball" surely has more to do with the impression "The Baseball 100" made than the inherent appetite for the book. And I guess this blog has grown pretty big, and people are wise to how delightful Joe is.
I'm not sure Ohtani can top yesterday's moment or his strikeout of Trout, which, while less "impressive" than his game on Thursday, certainly worked for more drama and a better narrative. And I REALLY don't think he can top this season. In my mind, that's why we have to appreciate it. It is true that his collective moments will ultimately define a great and an even more special player, but there can only be one top for the great and the mediocre alike, however high it is. Much like with Posnanski and his writing, you set your own standard, for better and for worse.
I saw David live about 5 years ago, he is pretty much blind but his voice and guitar skills were top notch. I saw him back in his heydey in the late 80s, such an awesome performer.
Maybe axe the descriptions on the photos in your articles? They don't add anything. Credits alone are enough.
The caption under the Casas photo is pretty lame, but complaining about photo captions in Joe's articles is like sending back a perfectly grilled T-Bone steak because the garnish of parsley was a tad wilted.
I'm not sending the steak back. I'm asking them to remove the wilted garnish, which the cook probably had nothing to do with anyway.
Touché
To both of you: well done
I think the reason why Shohei Ohtani’s 2021 home run pace through the first 100 games didn’t register for me is that the Bonds/McGwire/Sosa barrages put the record essentially out of reach. Whatever one’s feelings on the PED element of that, the record is the record and 60 doesn’t have the magic it did before, at least for me. Doesn’t diminish his greatness, just seems a bit less important.
Ohmygod he's done it again.
He is rendering me incomprehensible notwithstanding that aside from a couple Apple TV games I have watched every Angels game this year and should be surprised by nothing he does. Shohei Ohtani just hit a first inning 103.5 mph 397foot home run. I am still stunned from the two games I watched yesterday, and now this.
"Also, the Sox vets were dumb to yell at him about sunbathing and napping before games. Get over yourselves, vets."
This reminds me of these words of wisdom from Crash Davis: "You'll never make it to the Bigs with fungus on your shower shoes. Think classy, you'll be classy. If you win 20 in the Show, you can let the fungus grow back on your shower shoes and the press will think you're colorful. Until you win 20 in the Show however, it means you're a slob."
I remember Ohtani's two games against the Royals and it was amazing. I wish you had either left it in, or had time to put this year's moment in.
The Ohtani vs. Trout thing might be the most overplayed and overtalked about moment in recent sports. Yes it was the last out. Yes it was the first time they faced each other because they were on the same team. But did anyone really think Trout was going to hit a home run off of him to tie the game?
Maybe if the winning or even the tying run was on base, it might have felt more exciting to me. If the walked player had not been erased, but instead had moved to second somehow and the tying run was at 2nd, where a single ties the game and a home run wins it, it might have had more weight. If Trout had actually hit a home run to tie it, and the US team had gone on to win, that would have been a worthy moment.
It was fun, no doubt. But not worth the million breathless words with thousands of exclamation points (needed to make it seem bigger) that have been written (or said) about it since. There are probably moments in the book people have been talking about for decades. Decades from now, no one will remember this one.
As a Padres fan, I also find them perplexing. I think the problem is that there is a lack of depth beyond the 5 you mentioned, plus Cronenworth has been terrible at the plate. The Padres should probably trade a few players to build depth and plug holes at catcher, first and OF. I'd probably trade Soto, Snell, Hader.
Don’t read too much into the Cubs’ great week. Four against the Cards, who are lousy this year, and two against the White Sox, who are truly wretched.
From an article someplace: "After the trade deadline, the Cubs will play the White Sox, Royals, Tigers, Pirates and Rockies 21 times."
I sometime do not get baseball marketing at all. Why would the Red Sox not go to Casas and make a Tshirt with him for charity. Have a guy swinging a bat with the sun shining or something and have a saying like: "All I like to do is get some sun and hit some dingers." I would buy one. Great way to build buzz for a new hometown player.
Chaim Bloom has a t-shirt that says "All I want Casas to do is spend more time on his conditioning and glove work and less time getting a tan."
That should be the back. Bloom is supposedly a big workout guy. New joke going around is Legion of Bloom. Baseball even though they like to hide it, has some personalities. Just came back from South Korea and saw KBL game. American baseball could learn a lot.
"San Diego Padres, who have outscored opponents by 51 runs and are five games under .500. This team is utterly inexplicable to me."
I think maybe you've buried the lede a bit on this one. The Padres are as "bad" as they are because they have had absolutely atrocious luck (i.e. clutch hitting), which makes it look like they have a disproportionately ineffective bullpen. They're 6-17 in 1-run games, and are 0-9(!) in extra innings.
They've given up 22 runs in extras, but only 10 earned runs. Only the White Sox and Guardians have surrendered more unearned runs in extras. They're the only team in baseball that hasn't won at least ONE game in extras (the Diamondbacks, Royals, Astros and Pirates have each won one, but have lost an average of only 4.5 games in extras. No other team has lost more than 7 games after regulation play ended.
The Padres have the 7th lowest Save percentage in MLB, at 57%, which doesn't help, but because their hitters don't come through when they need it, they also have the fewest wins in relief in the majors, just 11-20, despite a respectable 3.81 bullpen ERA. So not only are they not great at holding a lead, they're completely inept at getting one back once it's lost.
The relievers are doing a reasonably good job of preventing runs, but their hitters are simply not hitting in the late innings (3rd worst OPS in Late & Close in MLB), so when they don't have a lead in the late innings, they almost don't have a shot at victory. Houston, by contrast, has almost the same collective bullpen ERA (3.84) in almost the same number of appearances, but is 20-16 in relief instead of 11-20, like the Dads.
They're hitting just .222 with men in scoring position overall, tied for last in MLB with the A's, worse than the Royals, Yankees and Detroit, for crying out loud. They're second to last (to Oakland) with just a .235 BA with men on base. They're third worst in MLB in OPS in extra innings, and in the bottom 6 or 7 in MLB for 7th, 8th, or 9th inning and later. Basically, if they don't build up a big lead early, they can't get it done later.
I dunno if that means they "can't get out of their own way" since I'm not sure, practically speaking, what that means anyway, but I can see where they're falling short in the numbers.
The obvious fix, if there is one, is to upgrade the offense where they can, specifically at DH and especially at first base, where Jake Cronenworth and Matt Carpenter have gotten most of the at-bats and have both been god-awful, killing any rallies they might have hoped to get in the late innings. The Padres' first base corps have the worst OPS in MLB at just .604, and are tied for last with the Nationals with just 7 homers from that position.
They could, perhaps, try to pry Paul Goldschmidt away from a flailing St. Louis team, or even get the Yankees to eat half of Anthony Rizzo's contract. Both would be an upgrade on the execrable Cronenworth, especially if Rizzo's recent 4-for-4 night with a homer was a harbinger of better days for him. Andrew McCutchen is probably available from the Pirates for a song, and there must be no shortage of rental OF/DH types available from the also-rans.
The only other out-of-the-race team with a firstbaseman worth trading for is the Mets, and I don't see them giving up three years of arbitration on Alonso for anything less than a huge bunch of prospects. Unless the Cubs falter over the weekend, then maybe Bellinger becomes available. He's both better and likely cheaper to acquire than Alonso, since he's just under contract this season.
But the key here is not to assume that the Padres are just doomed to this fate or that their character as people is somehow lacking because they have failed in the clutch so many times. The key is to get them enough offensive pieces to allow them to make those mistakes in the late innings. As good as their talent is, for all those stars, they're still just 16th in MLB in Runs/Game, because of those two albatrosses dragging the rest of the lineup down. Swap out either or both of those for even a league average bat at the position, much less a good one, and maybe the Padres have what it takes to make it back into the playoffs.
Great comment. I personally believe "clutch hitting" = "blind luck" so I would be tempted to continue to run the same Padres line up out there and assume their luck will even out.
Clutch hitting may be blind luck. For one player. Over one season. When an entire team is doing it, this late in the season, it is usually indicative of a bigger problem. The idea that their "luck" will even out, or even become positive over the last third of the season is something that does not historically happen.
Though the Padres are not the worst at clutch hitting this year (Thanks, Royals!) they are still really, really bad.
Major league average in high leverage is .254/.330/.413 with 25.59 runs scored per 100 high leverage PAs. The Padres are hitting .187/.275/.314 and scoring 21.27. (actually pretty high for that triple slash)
Clay Davenport's third order winning percentage has them at 8.2 wins below where they should be. If they started playing to that winning percentage right now (and, again this is rare at this point) they would get 32 more wins and finish 82-80. That probably does not get a third wild card spot.
The guy above with the long comment is somehow looking to pry answers from team that are more in the playoff race than his own team is. New flash, these teams are not sellers. The Padres are 6 games out of the 3rd wild card spot with 58 games to play, and 4 teams to leapfrog over, and another 3 teams behind them closer to them than they are to the wild card. This year is just not going to happen. Best to look to next year.
Oh, my Cubbies. I remember writing about this in spring training.
* In 2022, they had a disastrous first half, but a pretty decent second half; something to build on.
* They have a lot of talent at AA and AAA, but it's all a year or two away. Hence, they let Willson Contrearas go.
* Off-season, they made a huge upgrade signing Dansby Swanson to a long-term contract (in a year with a glut of shortstops to tamp down any bidding wars).
* They also signed a bunch of veterans (Barnhart, Bellinger, Hosmer, Mancini) to short-term contracts, to A) plug the gaps until the kids were ready; B) help nurture those kids into their big-league roles; and C) be deadline trade bait.
So, how's that working out for them?
* Some of the kids (Morel, Madrigal, Amaya) have already stepped in to every day roles. Some (Mervis, Young, Mastruoboni, Wesneski) have had their moments, but probably need a little more time. Some (Davis, Crow-Armstrong) haven't been called up yet, but could be soon.
* As for the vets, Hosmer's already gone; Barnhart has been a bust; Mancini's been no better than average; and Bellinger has been having an absolutely classic bounce-back year. We also have some other guys with expiring contracts who are doing reasonably well.
So, obviously, trade Bellinger and Gomes, maybe Stroman and Smyly; cut the others; call up some guys from the minors, and ride that learning curve to get ready for next year.
Except: nobody expected the Cardinals to implode. Nobody expected both the Mets and the Padres to struggle. The Cubs may be on the edge of contention, but they are in contention. They have a path to both the wild card and the division. Which makes it very tempting to hang on to various pending free agents, or even trading some prospects, to make a run for it.
I am very much in the "Don't Do It" camp. The odds of us even making the playoffs are slim; the odds of us getting past the Braves or the Dodgers are negligible. Don't mortgage the future -- don't even mortgage the present. Trade what you can and focus on '24.
I seem to be in the minority on this.
Is anyone suggesting "mortgage the future"? But they have a decent (not good, just decent) chance of making the playoffs after the hot streak. Their run differential suggests they're actually a good team. Their second-half schedule is soft as cream cheese.
It's worth acquiring a decent (maybe even cost-controlled for a couple years?) third baseman and possibly a lefty reliever, without giving up any top prospects, to see what happens. The recent runs by the Braves and Phillies show that just getting in the playoffs gives you a chance. Go for it!
Nobody has suggested anything specific to my knowledge. But then, until 2 minutes ago, nobody expected the Cubs to be buyers.
A third baseman and a lefty reliever would be great, for sure. But they're going to be expensive. Being a buyer in a sellers' market means you have to give up something of value. I don't think that's the smart move.
If I were Jed Hoyer, I'd stand pat. If the Cubs can make a run with what they've got, great. If not, no harm, we're well-positioned for next year. In the off-season, they can try for a repeat of the Dansby Swanson story. The 2022 Cubs were no great shakes, but they were able to convince one of the top shortstops in the game to sign, in part because they could see a window of contention opening up soon. Well, that window is pretty much here. Bellinger, Stroman, Hendricks, Smyly and others will certainly test the free-agent waters. But the Cubs have the position, the bankroll, and -- with the expiration of the Jason Heyward contract -- the payroll flexibility to pursue anyone they desire.
Just stay the course, that's all I'm asking...
Replace “Cubs” with “Red Sox” and you have described Boston’s season. It’s the curse (or blessing) of the third wildcard-mediocre teams have a chance.
In that case, in my best Emily Litella...never mind :)
Kerry Carpenter politely acknowledges your disrespect, hits a 430-foot bomb to right-center, apologizes.
Hey Joe. No to be picky, but the Cubs took 3 out of 4 from the Cards. Cards won Thursday nite game 7-2, I was there. Cubs played like single A team.
Cubs won 4 from the Cardinals in Joe's Friday to Thursday week, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and last night.
Yep. But that was last week.
JOE! Any chance for a signing in Raleigh or Charlotte?? I am a transplant and actually seeing you with Costas would be awesome! I wonder if the restaurant “who’s on 3rd” is still there? That would be an added bonus! Can anyone out there confirm?
If Casas really only has 21 runs and 21 RBI in 35 starts that have come to a 1.057 OPS, those are low numbers. If you multiply them by 4, you're looking at 84 of each in 140 starts.
Unfortunately, the buzz about "How We Love Baseball" surely has more to do with the impression "The Baseball 100" made than the inherent appetite for the book. And I guess this blog has grown pretty big, and people are wise to how delightful Joe is.
I'm not sure Ohtani can top yesterday's moment or his strikeout of Trout, which, while less "impressive" than his game on Thursday, certainly worked for more drama and a better narrative. And I REALLY don't think he can top this season. In my mind, that's why we have to appreciate it. It is true that his collective moments will ultimately define a great and an even more special player, but there can only be one top for the great and the mediocre alike, however high it is. Much like with Posnanski and his writing, you set your own standard, for better and for worse.
AND you love David Wilcox!? I didn't think I could like you any more, Joe, but you keep topping yourself.
I saw David live about 5 years ago, he is pretty much blind but his voice and guitar skills were top notch. I saw him back in his heydey in the late 80s, such an awesome performer.