tkeith

You mean Fred Savage and George Stephanopoulos' love child?

Berigan, maybe you can help me out with something on Skip. What was the bad blood between he and Don Sutton? I was watching a broadcast years ago (pre-marriage, so at least 10) and there was a pitcher who had played with Sutton on the mound (opposing team) who had been accused of throwing a spitter. The exchange went like this: Skip: You played with him, didn't you? Don: I did, I know where you're going and I don't like it, so just say it. Skip: No, I was just wondering... did you maybe show him some tricks-- Don: No! And I don't appreciate what you're suggesting. [a few minutes later] Skip: Are we still friends? Don: We're not friends, we just work together. I've never heard such a contentious exchange in the booth -- not even during Orsillo's first year. My favorite two Skip-isms On 3-Comm park: "Who were the three Com's, anyway; Trotsky, Lenin, and Kruschev?" And just giggling, mute-the-mic laughter from both he and Don when the new park opened. One of the first games, the camera shifted to the bullpen to show Mike Bielecki getting ready to get loose... only he wasn't there yet -- he was pissing in the corner of the bullpen. As for the other bloke -- I didn't like Simpson as a player, but compared to what he brings as an announcer, he was Stan Freakin' Musial as a player!

Damn she was cute! No Diana Rigg, though.

Man! Was it that bad?

I don't doubt that it happened and I do doubt it was the first time. I don't see anything illegal in it; if a player has any decency, he'd tell said agent to get fucked. Clearly, Manny has spoken to his decency. Imagine Cal Ripken sitting on the advice of an agent. Gorman Thomas? Rick Burleson? Tony Oliva? Teddy F. Ballgame? Not going to happen, for *ANY* of them. This guy is an ass, and I can stress enough how happy I am that he's gone -- the last vestige of the Duquette nightmare finally laid to rest.

All of the above. Really, I know you don't want this answer, but you either hear it or you don't. That's not a cut, (neither is your original question, I don't think) it's just the truth. It's bigger than can be explained by words; it's a connection, full and total. If I could explain it, it might not be so. Perhaps Trane was the Messiah.

Yanks were stupid to give up Farnsworth -- that *will* come back to haunt them. I'm okay with the Bay trade, even if they overpaid. Moss is a solid fourth outfielder, but I'd like to see what Carter can do (and he can play 1B). Also, Dan, check out the squad at www.seadogs.com -- there are plenty of solid players coming through the pipeline. Hansen -- good fucking riddance! Pirates did pretty well on this one, their typical get players, develop them, then trade them because we're broke strategy. Dodgers did well for a piece that doesn't really fit. Man Ram can hit and will to try to prove something, now that he's playing for a contract (had to drop his options). I'm pissed that the Sox are *paying* for that, but it's worth it to be rid of his ass. I'd have liked to see Wilson included, but, c'est la vie. I'll second that Sox fans, if they shut up and watch the games, will appreciate Bay -- he's a ballplayer. Unfortunately, the bean-brains in the bleachers will make it difficult if he doesn't bat .450 with 3 2-homerun games the first week. Nothing to be done about that -- comes with the territory. I can only imagine what sort of revenue would be generated by Boston's workforce if WEEI went of the air and those idiots (hosts, callers, listeners) all got jobs.

Good luck with that. Those OFs who can hit ain't going nowhere. My figuring is if you guys hate Manny that much, unload his ass on SF. He's gone, you're happy. Otherwise, I think the BoSox fans/front office/his agent need to STFU....or are full of shit. Or you are using him to get to the playoffs. Either way, the BoSox are either myopic or moronic. Always a pleasure trying to have a conversation with you.

Goodspeak, give us an OF that can hit in return and he's yours. My guess is he's going for a player that will get us an OF who can hit. The McCann incident has me dyspeptic. He's my binky on the fantasy squad. I've had him 3 years running, but didn't draft him till this year. He's a keeper for next year -- sure hope he's okay. On a brighter note, I did what Theo would love to -- traded Man Ram and reacquired Han Ram (also cost me Reyes, but worth it!).

I'll just keep my shithole and continue dropping money into it. No need to upgrade to a Halle Berry house without provocation.

The point being? The point being that any man with Marylin in his sig should post as frequently as possible -- in all threads.

Sent you a message through the system here because I don't have access to your e-mail. you can e-mail me direct at: thom [at] thomkeith [dot] com

Back to the original topic, I think the advice about avoiding prescription drugs bears repeating. My Dad recently had angioplasty and they put him on Plavix. He was in constant pain with low energy, but they told him he had to stay on it at LEAST a year. After waking up from a nightmare and working hard to convince himself for 30 minutes not to do himself in, he researched Plavix and its side effects. After finding others with the same problem, he stopped taking it. He told his doctor he had stopped taking it and wasn't going to start again. Get this, the doctor says, "Okay." Dad says, "What do you mean, 'okay?' You told me I *had* to take this stuff for at least a year, and I tell you I stopped two weeks ago, and now it's fine?" It went further, but basically, the prescription had more to do with their worries about being sued for malpractice than the actual utility of the medication. What a bunch of shit. Stay away from prescriptions. Find some herb that settles your stomach. Order some quality organic tea. Figure something out for the reflux, but avoid those goddamned medications and the quacks that prescribe them.

I dunno, Allen... are you Korean? A friend of mine who *loves* Sade had tickets, front and center, about $360 for the pair. He was here in New England working, but was going to fly back to the Bay area just for the show. The show was the week of September 10, 2001. Needless to say, he missed the show and ate the tickets. I realize that's minor in the grand scheme, but you have to feel for the guy, ya know? Really? I spent years trying to convince her that 4-1/2 inches was 7!

I've been a baseball fanatic since 1964-the Cards' miracle season-I was 10- and consider myself fairly knowledgeable about the game. This situation sounds like a great challenge. BTW I do read Baseball America so I keep up with MLB prospects, a plus down the stretch and if the team carries over from year to year. In that case, welcome aboard, I'll send you a formal invite.

Yeah... the guy that pitched himself out of the American League and the guy that can't seem to hold a starting OF job. Up, over, and huh? Huh to you too.... Nady is batting .330 with 13 home runs and 57 RBIs. Marte is 4-0 with a 3.47 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings. Still sounds pretty good to me. Up over and out. We'll see. I'll say this much: Cashman, once again, fleeces a team for a package of luncheon meat. Why do other teams continue to deal with the Skanks getting *nothing* in return. I'm not overly concerned -- Nady is one of those Daryle Ward guys... the more you see him, the less he impresses. Hitting .330 in Pittsburgh with zero expectations is one thing -- we'll see how he does in the Apple. Same for Marte. He couldn't take the heat in Chicago, not sure how he'll fare in New York.

Yeah... the guy that pitched himself out of the American League and the guy that can't seem to hold a starting OF job. Up, over, and huh?

Justin (Joba) is a fucking moron, but he can pitch. All the more reason why Youkilis had *every* right to be pissed off. Tito's first mistake: using that stupid goddamned shift. Tito's second mistake: you know Beckett is coming out of the game, you know the team needs to be inspired; put Becket in the game and let him drill the first batter, get tossed, get the team riled, then maybe win a game. Post-game, Tito came as close as I've ever witnessed to throwing a player under the bus (useless Manny). Think Atlanta would take him in the Teix deal? All I'll say about the umpiring (other than full agreement with Dan -- that guy sucked both ways; Beckett had a few strikes 3 inches off the floor) is, I've *never* seen Lowell lose it like that. That ump flat out sucked. Post-game part 2, moronic Boston reporters don't talk about the game, don't ask about the ump, the shift... none of it. All the talk about is Manny. Fuck Manny! I'm tired of his act and hearing about it. Good riddance.

Used almost exclusively PCs (some UNIX) for 15+ years. Then tried a Mac. I use both, now, but I'll never turn back. Once the PC dies (may have done so this week, I haven't cared enough to reboot it to find out), it'll be replaced with the far superior Mac. The PC is dead, and if you don't believe me, try booting your Mac as a PC and see what a PC is *supposed* to run like.

Motherfuck Manny! If that MRI doesn't come back with something major, DROP HIS ASS NOW!!!!!

Track one is a swinging G minor quasi (no IV chord) blues from here. My man Sonny Clark has an early momentary lapse in concentration in his third bar, hitting a major third, but corrects himself immediately. Well done. Perhaps my choices of tunes were too long?

I'm also glad to see them back off the Cora trade. I like AC a lot -- does the little things. On paper, it's got a lot of upside for Boston, but paper be damned -- I keep Cora. Now... can we pry Atlanta's cold, dead hands off of Gonzalez to help our pen?

Nice to have a witness. Saw him at the 1369 when I was about 13-14 with my Dad. He went in in front of me and they almost didn't let me in. Rhythm section didn't bring much that night, but then, Griff rarely needed help.

JG at Regattabar: "That was called JAMF's Blues, JAMF's Blues... you know what a JAMF is? It's a Jive-Ass Motherfucker... look like we got some in the house tonight." For that alone, a special spot in my heart.

Brett was interviewed around that time, and somebody on the bench has asked him, "What are you gonna do if they call you out?" His response was, "I'm going to gonna go out and kick their ass!" The only thing that suggests staged was that he didn't actually punch out somebody, which I see as a positive -- other than that, I agree with Dan's response. Also, regarding the role of the evil empire and Billy the good Yankee, did anybody happen to catch Gammons' (whom I don't care for, btw) comments on the ESPN broadcast about the PTI (pine tar incident)? He called around and got... damnit, I don't have the name right now, hated cheapskate owner... argh... this is going to make me nuts... anyway, just to find how what the point of the rule had been in the first place. The guy had been on the rules committee that created that rule and stated that it was created because players were using too much pine tar and teams didn't want to incur that expense. That sort of speaks to Brett's comment at the time about being a lifetime .320 hitter (seems high, but that's the number he used) and not needing the 'help' of extra pine tar. Billy was a great strategist (I believe it was the same year that he told Willie Randolph, with a 3-2 count, to dive out of the way as though the ball were at his head, no matter where it was. He did, on a pitch down Broadway, and drew the walk. I'll bet Billy manages a great team in hell.