Game 98: Twins at Cubs

Very good friends Steve Goodman and John Prine. (Photo by Tom Hill/Getty Images) | Getty Images Time: 7:05 CentralWeather: Slight chance of early rain, smoky/muggy, 93°Opponent’s SB site: Bleed Cubbie BlueTV: Twins TV. Radio: But they said it really loud, they said it on the airTonight’s Cubs starter is Colin Rea, a 35-year-old who’s been around the block a few times, as they say, including two stints with the Fukuoka Hawks of NPB.

Fiore throws a low-90s fastball, a slider and changeup, plus several junkball pitches. The slider’s his best one.When the Twins play at Wrigley, I do a Steve Goodman post.

Because I love the guy. And he loved the Cubs. And maybe, sometimes, somebody else discovers Steve Goodman’s music because of these posts.

That’s good enough for me.In the early 70s, singer/songwriter Steve Goodman had gotten an opening gig for Kris Kristofferson’s concerts in Chicago, but Kristofferson hadn’t really paid attention to what Goodman was doing. Until his band convinced him hey, this guy is really good, you should check him out.

So Kristofferson did, and was impressed. He told Goodman so. And Goodman said, hey you think I’m good, you REALLY gotta check out my buddy, he’s even better.

(How many friends have you ever had who would do that for you? I haven’t had many. A few.)

The buddy was John Prine, who was performing at a different Chicago club. Even though the club had closed for the night, Prine went ahead and played a few songs for Kristofferson. When he was done, Kristofferson asked him to play them again…

and anything else he’d ever written. It ended up being a long night… and led to both Prine and Goodman getting their first record contracts.

Now, if you don’t know who any of those three people are, that’s alright! I didn’t always, either. Yet it’s very possible you know some songs they’ve written.

Janis Joplin’s “Me & Bobby McGee,” Johnny Cash’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” those are Kristofferson songs. Bonnie Raitt’s “Angel From Montgomery,” that’s P