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Williams: Baked Alaska

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In March of 2016, Grammy-winning producer, performer, and songwriter Pharrell Williams held a Masterclass for students at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

During the session, Williams sat down with a young musician by the name of Maggie Rogers. A student at NYU, Rogers presented a song titled “Alaska”, which instantly blew Pharrell away, as you can see in his reactions throughout the video below.

“Wow,” said Williams to Rogers at the end of the song. “I have zero zero zero notes for that.”

He quickly explained why.

“It’s because you’re doing your own thing,” Williams told Rogers. “It’s singular. It’s like when the Wu-Tang Clan came out, no one could really judge it. You either liked it, or you didn’t.”

As Pharrell points out, the ability to do your own thing is a special quality that all of us possess. He notes that in music, you need to be willing to seek, and be deliberate in your choices and what you’re making.

“Most of the time people will say ‘I’m going to make this kind of song’ so it ends up sounding like something we’ve heard before, felt before,” said Williams.

In the years since, Rogers has released two albums. Her debut — Heard It in a Past Life — reached number two in the US and number one on the alternative charts. Her follow-up in 2022, Surrender, reached second on the alternative charts, and was one of the best of the year in the ears of this writer. She’s also had three number one singles in her young career. All of the accolades highlight her unique sound.

This is evidence of what Pharrell saw during that Masterclass. It’s not like Maggie Rogers became a true artist after that meeting. She became a true artist when, as mentioned in the song Alaska, she “learned to talk and say whatever [she] wanted to.”

And I walked off you
And I walked off an old me

The Pirates look like a team that has learned how to say whatever they want to on the field.

It doesn’t matter if the opposing team likes it or not.

Just like a well-crafted song, this team has what it takes to keep you smashing the replay button night after night.

They have the veterans providing a stability from start to finish, providing the underlying beat loop needed to allow all of the accompanying sounds of the song to shine through.

Tonight, as Jack Suwinski rounded the bases to put the Pirates up 4-0, the camera showed Andrew McCutchen standing tall and proud in the dugout, arms crossed over his chest. McCutchen didn’t pick up a hit tonight, but he was there moments earlier sword fighting with Connor Joe, playfully getting sliced in the face after Joe’s three run homer.

Hitting a Major League home run is one thing. It’s another when you get to return to the dugout and goof off with a Pittsburgh Pirates icon.

McCutchen and Carlos Santana have had their moments producing for this team in the young season. McCutchen has a .943 OPS in 62 at-bats this year, with four home runs. Santana has a .769 OPS and two homers, while providing a stabilizing defensive presence at first base. That was shown with his scoop at the end of the double play started by Ke’Bryan Hayes tonight.

The Pirates came into this season with a different approach than their previous three years under Ben Cherington. They entered this season looking like they were actually trying to craft a real team.

It didn’t look like a they were following any established model, beyond the timeless “Sign players who can play.” If the Pirates are going to eventually win it all in Major League Baseball, they will need to do things their own way, by solving their own unique problems, and playing to their own unique strength.

The first problem that seems to be solved is the vibe in the clubhouse. There was a lot of talk over the years about changing that atmosphere, and the Pirates may have finally figured it out. It started with the stable presence of the veteran additions.

And then there are those accompaniments.

Tonight, it was Suwinski and Joe being the heroes. Early this season, we’ve seen Ji-Hwan Bae come up with some big plays on both sides of the ball. Rodolfo Castro has stepped up in a big way in the absence of Oneil Cruz. On any given night, if McCutchen or Santana go hitless, you still have a good shot of one or more of these guys breaking through.

It’s early in the season. A lot can happen in the next 142 games. We’ve certainly seen the injuries in both the majors and Triple-A this year. Players can slump. Baseball is not a song or an article where you can control the total outcome.

And yet, what the Pirates have right now is the recipe for a winning season. On any given night, it feels like you’re going to see this team step up. You never anticipate the specific individual who steps up, but you’re never really surprised by who emerges. It all sort of fits in to this overall feel, which can’t really be described yet as more than a vibe.

Like a song, once you can match words to the feelings, that’s when you have a hit.

I’d imagine by the end of this season, there will be better words to explain what is happening in the singularity that is the Pirates’ 2023 season.

Thus far, it’s looking like a hit.

And now, breathe deep
I’m inhaling

PIRATES SCOPE

I featured MLB players in tonight’s Pirates recap, so I’ll focus on the minors today.

*Tsung-Che Cheng is probably going to end up with some of the best numbers in the minors by the end of this month. One of the best pure hitters in the lower levels of the system, Cheng had an OPS of .890 heading into tonight’s game. That was mostly on the road, as Greensboro is just starting their home schedule. They’ll be home for the remainder of the month. Cheng picked up two more hits tonight, which might be a recurring thing over the next week-plus.

**Cody Bolton is looking great in his move to the bullpen. The 2017 6th round pick has a 2.61 ERA in seven appearances, with a 13:2 K/BB ratio in 10.1 innings. Tonight, he struck out the side in a scoreless eighth inning. The Pirates have been getting reliable outings from their bullpen in the majors. The emergence of Bolton in the minors adds some reassuring and promising depth this year. Check out Ryan Palencer’s article earlier in the month, talking with Bolton about the new role.

***There were some great pitching performances from Jared Jones (5 IP, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), Bubba Chandler (5 IP, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K), and Alessandro Ercolani (4 IP, 0 R, 4 BB, 4 K) last night. The control got worse the lower you went, but each pitcher had shutdown results. Jones was the most encouraging, as he’s been the lower level guy with the control red flag raising suspicion about his results in the last few years. For the younger pitchers, it’s good to see them doing well, even with control problems. For Jones, it’s good to see him start to have success without the control issues. Anthony Murphy talked about these guys more in Pirates Prospects Daily, linked below.

TODAY ON PIRATES PROSPECTS

The Pirates now have ten quality starts on the season. Anthony Murphy highlighted this run, along with a further breakdown of the action throughout the minor league system.

Pirates Prospects Daily: Pitching Continues To Be Strength Of the System

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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