// Talkin’ baseball with Stephen Malkmus…//

I interviewed Pavement/Jicks frontman Stephen Malkmus on Wednesday. We happen to be in the same fantasy baseball league, so naturally the conversation drifted to a little diamond chatter. Here’s an excerpt…

Stephen: …I picked up Asdrubal Cabrera, and then I dropped him, ’cause I was like, “I got Hanley Ramirez, I don’t need Asdrubal Cabrera.”

Steve: I ended up picking him up when you dropped him.

Stephen: (laughs) That was smart.

Steve: One of my few good pickups. I had a shitty draft with my hitters. I concentrated more on pitching, which turned out to be a bad move.

Stephen: Generally, there are so many pitchers you can find. You just gotta go for the big hitters at the start, especially this year. … I was pretty confident when I started this year, but it only takes a couple bad players [to blow it] if you’re lazy.

Steve: The most important thing is just putting your lineup in every single day. If you don’t do that, you’re fucked.

Stephen: I know. I’ve kind of given up on that, though. … I’m in four leagues.

Steve: Yeah, I’ve got another one, too.

Stephen: I’m leading in one, in two I’m in the middle of the pack, and in ours, I’m last.

Steve: It’s just so much shit to keep up with.

Stephen: Yeah, but it’ll be fun to see what happens this year.

Steve: So who’s your team, man?

Stephen: I like Milwaukee. I kind of just pick teams. I liked the Dodgers when I was a kid, but they’re sucking it up, so, yeah, I’m rootin’ for the Brewers right now. And Arizona, I’d take them over San Francisco. … I’ve got a bunch of friends who like [San Fran], but I really don’t.  … I don’t like their general manager all that much. … What about you, though, [who’s your team]?

Steve: I grew up in Massachusetts, so I was a huge Red Sox fan, but I’ve been in Atlanta for like 20 years now, and it’s hard to not be a Braves fan when you’re living here.

Stephen: I don’t mind the Braves. I just wonder what the fuck’s up with Jason Heyward—he can’t get it going.

Steve: You’re telling me. I’ve had him on my fantasy team all year. He’s supposed to be the future of the organization, and the guy’s hitting like .210.

Stephen: I know. He’s out of the lineup half the time. But that dude [Jose] Constanza is kind of cool. He seems like a fan favorite. 

Steve: Yeah, definitely. The Braves have been on fire the last two nights—extra-inning wins against San Fran.

Stephen: That’s good. … I like Brandon Beachy. I got him on my NL-only team. And I like Tommy Hanson, too, but he’s hurt right now.

Steve: They’ve got a great young team—they’re gonna be good for a while.

Stephen: I think so, too. Jair Jurrjens is good—he’s even outperforming what I thought he would do, which is amazing. He’s coming back [off the DL] today. I’m gonna keep an eye out for him.