tkeith

Nice! Thanks for posting. Loved both those cats. I have something that qualifies as 'as strange' as this: Sammy Davis, Jr., covering Theme From Shaft. I love Sammy, but that's a little tough for me to 'dig.'

Use book stores, my friend. I'm only missing two in the series at this point, and also discovered FLYNN and SKYLER. I didn't realize he had been the author of the books when I "discovered" him. I was looking for books by John D. McDonald (Travis McGhee series) and Ross McDonald (Lew Archer series that became the HARPER movies, starring Paul Newman), and happened upon the Fletch books. Loved the movie, the books may even be better (tough to be better than the first Fletch movie, though).

I didn't know it in my heart, because I was in bed -- I work for a living. Still, he did his thing in the 14th-inning; your rant fails to address the anemic offense throughout the game, which was my point. Shows what YOU know - that was the same prognosis for Nomar, before he was lost for a season. Swinging a bat isn't Ortiz biggest problem, swinging the fork is. Toronto does not have the staying power and has not all season. They are NOT going to recover this much of a gap in the remaining 2-1/2 weeks; will not happen. They could sweep us, and they're STILL not going to catch us. Hate to rain down positive vibes on your parade of negativity, but the only team to worry about is Minnesota, and I don't think that's a "worry" situation. Nomar had a full tear, this was a partial. HE WILL NOT HAVE SURGERY. And if swinging the fork is a bigger problem than swinging the bat, why are you ranting that he must have surgery as soon as practicable? Say it with me AGAIN: HE WILL NOT HAVE SURGERY. Toronto has won 19 of their last 27. They can't keep it up? They have the best pitching staff in the league, and as you yourself noticed, the bats were anemic, and have been that way since they left behind the worst pitching staff in Texas. You expect the bats to bust out against them? What if they drop eight of the next ten? That is far from impossible, given who they play and where they play them. Tell you what, we've both stated our cases; I'm content to shut up and let them play and see how it pans out. We'll have time to gloat at each other later pending results. I'm confident; et tu, Bruté?

Thanks, big oil!

I didn't know it in my heart, because I was in bed -- I work for a living. Still, he did his thing in the 14th-inning; your rant fails to address the anemic offense throughout the game, which was my point. Shows what YOU know - that was the same prognosis for Nomar, before he was lost for a season. Swinging a bat isn't Ortiz biggest problem, swinging the fork is. Toronto does not have the staying power and has not all season. They are NOT going to recover this much of a gap in the remaining 2-1/2 weeks; will not happen. They could sweep us, and they're STILL not going to catch us. Hate to rain down positive vibes on your parade of negativity, but the only team to worry about is Minnesota, and I don't think that's a "worry" situation.

Rays grew up a little the past two nights, which is good for baseball. I'm not prepared to throw Timlin under the bus when the offense couldn't muster any activity for 14 innings. Yeah, the umps royally fucked two calls, but so what. Ortiz needs to get surgery the day after the season ends and get that wrist healthy. While he's at it, he could back away from the table and save his knees a little, too. Toronto is not to be feared, this is a ridiculous overreaction. Tampa Bay *IS* at least the second best team in baseball this year, so I'm not surprised it was a tough series. What we'll tell me more is what happens when we visit their house. I'm far from panicking. Now, the Matt Cassell issue is another story.

Closer is an overrated position.

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. That's cold. A wrong-winged red-neck who uses the f-word to call out teammates in a press conference? Who wouldn't love a guy like that on their team?

Wanna *really* impress me? Find a similar story about a guy named Mitt Romney!!!!

Gotta say, I'll be grabbing this the second it's available on Netflix. Stiller makes me laugh (the way Woody Allen once did) and frankly, all the BS that's been created by the PC Police with regard to this movie makes me want to give them my money that much more. More importantly, my raging movie-on over what's coming this Friday is starting to cause me back pain. I usually won't go to the theater (hate the other people -- passionately), but I just have to see Righteous Kill in the first 12 minutes it's out!

That's okay, Al; they just came through for you today. Out of curiosity, can anybody explain what the hell is going on with Baltimore? I understand yesterday was rained out, but today, on my fantasy live scoring page, it just says "cancelled." But you think ESPN or MLB.com would have the story? No! Baltimore Sun? Uh-uh. WTF?

Of course, he *is* facing a brutal offense in a ridiculous hitter's park, in conditions that will likely lead to a knuckleball doing *nothing*. But then, I'd never want to suggest Dan is prone to overreact.

To my ear, there is no bad Frank Lowe. I'll second the recommendation for Vietnam: The Aftermath, especially Frank's solo on Saigon Phunk. He was a really thoughtful player, but never betrayed the blues.

That's terrible. These guys have no clue. Last I looked, the Yankees had a winning record. They're giving paper-bag headgear a bad name! The bags are because they're afraid to walk around displaying their Sox caps in the Bronx.

In defense of south Florida, nothing happens in a vacuum. 11K tickets were sold to that game, a day game, in a very hot climate at an outdoor stadium. A game featuring one of the worst teams in baseball this season. And, there is the matter that all of Florida is contending with tropical storm season. While they may have had nice weather that day, a lot of people had to prepare for the impending storms. It's abysmal, but there are also militating factors. I don't ever recall calls for contracting Pittsburgh (the "c" word was used earlier in this thread in regards to the Marlins), though I attended some late-season games at 3-River Statdium where the attendance was probably not more than 2000.

Fair enough. I'll just offer what I remember about Vaughan. I remember a guy who K'd better than 150 times (160, I think), didn't hit for as much power with guys on base and/or in late inning pressure situations. I also remember that he couldn't field his position (back then, Albert could) particularly well. Mo was a nice guy and a good community guy, but whenever things didn't go his way, it was "the team's out to get me." I don't mind Belle not winning so much as I do Mo getting the nod. He just wasn't that spectacular, in spite of his inflated stats (and as I said earlier, I actually liked Mo -- reminded me of Boomer).

Belle had better stats and was more important to his team (making all around him better). I realized when I typed this it didn't fit my argument that well, but it's one that always rubbed me. Let's call it the "vote-for-the-good-guy" mentality. Belle was, is and always will be a prick. Likewise, he was, is and always will have been more valuable between the lines than Mo, but Mo was likable. I retract the example on the grounds I gave, but open up this new avenue of analysis. Mo sure did look good slidin' into second on those steals, though... only, uh, not. I hate to throw him under the bus, because he's one of my all-time favorites, but Andre Dawson winning for the 6th-place Cubs is a good example. AD had a monstrous year, but really one the award because of a lack of viable competition. The MVP can't possibly play for a last-place club; it just doesn't make sense.

I think Barry Larkin. Joe was in the 3-hole most of the time during his MVP years, as I recall. I forgot they have the splits on Retrosheet. In his MVP year (there was only one) he batted 2nd 63 times, 3rd 49 and 1st 19. I assume you're talking about Larkin here; Joe won in consecutive years.

Doubtful. He should, but I think Youk having a career year will cost him votes. Unfortunately, too many sports writers confuse "Most Valuable Player" with "Greatest Offensive Season" (see Ripken, Cal vs. Fielder, Cecil and/or Belle, Albert vs. Vaughan, Mo). Nonetheless, it'd be a helluva finish to the season (you know, *after* they win the series).

I think Barry Larkin. Joe was in the 3-hole most of the time during his MVP years, as I recall.

Don't believe so. But the Brewers' appeal has been denied, according to ESPN. Wow! Mark the date -- Olney got one right!

I agree. It certainly is hard to argue that it was a "clean hit," and it probably should have been scored an error, IMO, but it wasn't, so ... too late now. I wonder how long is appropriate to wait? Given Dan's argument above, would it have been appropriate for the scorer to change it to an error in, say, the ninth inning? Or the eighth? It's a slippery slope. I'd say it's perfectly acceptable to change a score by the start of the next half inning, certainly. ... Would you agree the window has closed now? The window is far from closed -- an official protest of the scoring has been filed with the league according to Buster Olney. He doesn't expect it to be overturned, which means it's likely that it will be. As for an in-game scoring change, the scorer can use the whole game if he wishes. Folks might not think to highly of it if the change were made in the 9th inning, but he'd certainly be within the rules. Whether people want to asterisk this thing if it happens is one thing, but bluntly, the correct calls should be made -- end of issue. Been a busy weekend and I haven't seen much -- has the instant replay been given a trial yet?

Very strange after the whole team was hitting right after Manny got there..... Not so strange... it's the curse of the Manbino.... still glad he's yours.

Heck no, Al... just the crickets. Perhaps the majority share your take but don't want to hurt my feelings. I'll say this much: I didn't set out to create the great mix-tape to end all tapes (didn't think that was the point). This compilation is truly about being a *blindfold* test, and I intended it to be a bitch. How'd I do? :bwallace2:

According to Olney and Gammons, they are talking to him about his no-trade clause. Certainly wouldn't bother me, if the cost isn't significant. I certainly hope not. 6 HR, 37 RBI... he's basically Coco Crisp with less speed.