Evonce

I don't hold anything against the W.Sox for last night. For all anyone knows, they would have won in the 10th inning. But I will hold it against the umpire. I'm not actually rooting for either team, but you just hate seeing stuff like that decide the game, no matter who's playing.

They say the ball had "movement", which it did - inside the mitt. And I don't know how the home plate ump is supposed to see any of this anyway. It's standard practice for officials to look at controversial, errant calls after the fact and deem them "inconclusive". If it's that goddamn inconclusive, it shouldn't have been called in the first place. Good article from Jim Caple on ESPN about this. Typical Ozzie response: he didn't even want to see the replay.

So who's for video review in baseball? What an embarrassing way to "win" a game - like snatching a purse and finding a winning lottery ticket inside. I know I've stood up for nitpicking calls in my last couple posts, but that's because they were the correct calls. The Sox were handed an extra out and a baserunner in the bottom of the motherstuffing 9th inning. I'm sure there was synchronized wall-punching all over LA last night. That's a truly horrible abortion to what could have been an exciting extra-inning finish. I know the arguments for not having video replay for baseball, but I also know that last night was a clear argument FOR it. Everyone at home saw what happened, and anyone who's ever worn a catcher's mitt knows that he had the ball caught in the web of it. If it's "inconclusive" as one authority had it, then why do we award the baserunner and extra out to the team that struck out? Tie goes to the loser? I don't envy the Angels having to move on from that call. I'm just a schlub sitting at home and I can't even watch any more. For some reason, the '99 Stanley Cup Finals come to mind....

Totally. I'm not into the "neighborhood" business, because once you operate on that, the game disappears. We may as well have neighborhood catches, grand slams, lineups ("Well, I meant to say he was batting fourth."), etc. It doesn't matter who the teams are. I wouldn't want my team to gain advantage from a bad call, nor would I want an opponent to gain an advantage. Some folks say, well, it's just a foot on the base, he would have been out anyway. And that's precisely the point - it's just a foot on the base. If you can't manage that, the runner is safe. When I saw that aforementioned play (NY at Fenway) where Matsui took two flagrant steps out of the basepaths (into the diamond grass, my goodness), and it wasn't called, I just turned the TV off. I was no longer watching a baseball game, apparently. Sorry this is all old, petty news, but I'm a stickler for the basic rules.

And of course Posada is bitching about that Cano-basepath-interference call from last night. I remember Matsui taking a Sunday stroll on the infield grass whilst running to second base against the Red Sox, and that WASN'T called, when it was plain as day. So for the Yanks to bemoan their "bad luck" is ree-duckolous. Cano, meanwhile, should get a Whoops Award for the last week or so of the season. I think the reason they're calling this kid on his flubs is because he does flub up. There was that play at second in an earlier Angels/Yanks game where his foot was off the bag before he caught the ball, and the Angel runner was called safe. Which he was - it's the simplest rule in the game. Was that bad luck, or just the umps sticking to the rules? (ESPN Commentator Joe Morgan saw that replay and noted that Cano's foot wasn't on the bag, and yet the runner should have been out anyway. (??) Another arrow from Morgan's sling of idiocy.)

Well, I'm in tears. That is hilarious. The fairy-slap made Immortal. BTW, congrats to the Angels. They didn't flinch, not even when NY was threatening to come back last night. Suck it, Steinspender.

I love Columbia Monk (and BN, and Prestige, and Riverside...). I'd say Monk's Dream is the best place to start, and then Underground. The simply-titled Monk is short on original compositions but full of excellent piano playing - it's worth it for "Liza" alone. From the live stuff, I'm partial to Monk in Tokyo. But you can't go wrong with Monk's Dream. It's one of his most joyous albums.

Shadow fits the music as well as any other Monk drummer, but what's wrong with Dunlop? Monk's Dream? Monk in Tokyo? I think he's right in the pocket on those - great feel, judicious commentary.

Too true. It's a bold exclamation point at the end of the first sentence, but it's not the whole paragraph (yet). I remember the Yanks absolutely crushing the Red Sox during one of the first games of the ALCS last year, and then....

I Sing the Body Electric is easily one of my favorite albums ever. It's also the first WR album I heard, so that early period defines the band for me, on up to Mysterious Traveller. I enjoy the albums that came afterward, but not nearly on the same level.

But would they sell more if they were RVGs? Lower price, more readily available? If anything deserves a stamp of approval (from the label), it's Fuchsia Swing Song and Contours. If Andrew Hill is considered popular enough for RVG, then so should Rivers. Actually, I'm getting ahead of myself there, because Hill has gotten both RVG and Connie treatment, just like Jackie McLean and others. I haven't yet figured out the logic behind the designations. Speaking of which, I just popped in the new ANDREW!!! Connie. Sounds great so far...

This is hard to predict. I like Boston's offensive edge over Chicago, altho who knows how Guillen's squad is going to play in this postseason. I'll pick Boston, though. As for the Angels, I think they're hot enough to put down NY, but the Yanks have done enough crazy things this year that edging by the Angels is certainly not improbable. After this past weekend, I don't think I can stomach another Boston-NY series, and besides, my Jorge Posada dartboard is down to its last ragged holes, and I forgot to buy a widescreen TV to see all of Giambi in action. I also forgot to send A-Rod a 'good luck' purse. But I'll root for the Red Sox - I like their idiot underdog chances.

I just used the office paper cutter to slice Baraka's page right out of the booklet. It feels cleaner now.

Currently enjoying Judgement and Oblique. Used to own both of these, so it's a nice sense of deja vu. Thumbs way up on both.

I don't think the O's will mind giving Sosa some time off. Heaven knows, as a Cub fan, I was ready to give him the rest of his career off. That really sucks about Rafi. Just when I was hoping Baltimore could turn it around and get back in the thick of it. They still might, I guess, but their momentum has been vaporizing. BTW, if you Google "Joe Morgan" "Jealous" "Ryne Sandberg" (or try "Petty") you'll see at least some recent articles on that whole deal. But it's been pretty obvious from various interviews and comments over the years that Big Red Morgan doesn't like sharing the love. Except his man-love for Barry Bonds or Pujols, but that's another story.

Morgan's distaste for Sandberg is pretty well known. I'm certainly not the first person to observe that JM's absence from this year's ceremony was, er, convenient.

Congrats to Boggs and Sandberg, two very worthy players. I was reminded yesterday of Ryne's greatest game when ESPN Classic showed the infamous 6/23/84 Cubs-Cards matchup - a great ballgame by any standard. I remember seeing that very game as a kid. Anyway, Sandberg went on to be a great team player, so eat your heart out Joe Morgan. Hope your petty no-show was worth the time spent with family. Congrats also to Peter Gammons. I think Kruk's induction will take a little longer...

The first ones that come to mind are: Pursuance But Not For Me Flamenco Sketches Blues Minor I'm sure I could list a few other faves upon further reflection.

I saw on a release-date site that a 3CD set from Jarrett entitled "Concerts" is due in August. Anyone know what this is? Perhaps a full release of the Bregenz/Munich sets?

This is right near the top of my desert island list. Subpar sound, wot? This is the best sounding of the trio's recordings, to my ear, full of details. And the music is outstanding, all six discs worth.

It strikes me as odd that we've now got the initially rejected Passing Ships AND a Mosaic box of other passed ships, but some of Andrew Hill's proper albums are still in hiding. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate the unreleased Hill tapes, but surely we'll get up to speed with the proper titles as well, either through RVGs or Connies? Also, since we're spitting out requests, how about finishing up the Sam Rivers line? Fuchsia and Contours are way too good not to have company.

I was not much of a Blakey fan until last year, when I got the Free For All RVG and loved it. So I went and bought the rest of the albums with Shorter. (I already owned Night In Tunisia.) I find it really hard to choose between Free For All and Buhaina's Delight. And there's some great tunes on INdestructible as well!

Traneing In was mentioned earlier as a rare K2 disappointment, and I totally agree - I returned it within 24 hours. The recording was awful - sounded like the instruments were behind a veil, or down the hall. To be positive, I've been 99% thrilled with every other K2 upgrade.

I bought the cube when it first came out, and it was/is hands down the worst box set packaging I've ever dealt with. When the long box came out, a local record store had a 'promo' copy - shrinkwrapped, no cut outs, perfect condition - for thirty bucks. So I traded in my cube and it was an even swap. Ha! The music goes from one extreme to another, but that's Herbie in the 70s/80s for you. I think it's a decent overview.

Problem is, some of the Milestones released individually sound better than their counterparts in the boxset. I'm thinking of In Japan, especially, with its more recent remastering. However, I'm keeping the Milestone box until all the albums are available by themselves - the last two titles are only in the complete set, if I'm not mistaken. My favorite of the Milestone years is Tetragon, BTW, altho In Japan is very strong. And I have a fondness for Multiple (Tress Cun Deo La....)