Big Al

PM coming re: Giant Box, Sona Libre, and Workin' Out

Thanks, Ghost. You've got more faith than me right now; I feel like I'm watching the Rangers of old right now.... I mean, not to take away from the Giants efforts. Hell, Cain silenced the Rangers bats completely and convincingly. There's a damn good reason these guys are playing for the Championship title. But geez, of ALL the times for the Rangers to hit the skids..... NOW????

I saw that when it happened, and all seemed so right with the world at that moment. I think I may have to watch it again after this inning!

I don't know, Ghost: two straight bullpen meltdowns? It's gonna take a lot to bounce back from this one. Honestly, we are seeing the simultaneous high point AND low point in the Rangers history in this inning. This is more than painful: this is fucking embarrassing. You look at this bunch and wonder, "Just how DID they become the AL champs with this bullpen?" If I was a fan of any other AL team right now, I'd be pissed that this sorry bunch is representing my league! Reality is a bitch. (Looks like Sangrey & Deeley posted while I was typing!)

It's a 2001 release, but I couldn't find anything to indicate it was a remaster. That's the one. PM coming.

I never thought I'd say this about any Rangers team, but I believe this team will. I will be more surprised if they DON'T than if they do. They've already proved they can throughout this playoff run. Whether or not that translates into a world championship remains to be seen, but I fully expect this Rangers team to bounce back up, dust themselves off and come out swinging again tonight. A-FUCKING-MEN!!!!!!!!!

Hubert Laws RITE OF SPRING: is that the remaster that came out a few years back?

Does the GIANT BOX CD come with the booklet that was included with the LP set?

Drat!!! Well, still lots more baseball to be played. But.... six errors combined by these two teams? Yeesh!!!

Thanks, Dave. I don't care what anyone says: the Yankees played tough throughout the series. A series doesn't go six games with only one good team. I'm eternally grateful Colby Lewis shut 'em down last night, because if this had gone to a game seven, this shit woulda gotten real ugly real quickly. Not saying Cliff Lee wouldn't've been able to do the job, but nobody's perfect as CJ Wilson proved in game five and I didn't want to take a chance that the fourth time would NOT have been the charm! And to hell with any Yankee fan (and especially media) who's second-guessing Joe Girardi right now, because I've seen the same kinds of calls from Ron Washington for the last three years, enough to make me tear the rest of my hair out, and make me wonder how the hell we even finished in first! Was our division really that bad? Or were the Rangers better than I thought? I think it's like a Yankee-fan friend of mine said after game 1, when I was ready to fire Wash in the middle of a playoff series: look at all the teams who *didn't* make the playoffs this year or any year, and you realize just how amazing it is that your team or my team is in the playoffs at all. I've always said, post-season Yankees is a completely different monster than regular season Yankees and when they easily dispatched the Twins in the first round (the team with the best record in the AL, don't forget), I was all set for yet another replay of the previous years playoff woes. I'll tell you straight up: I'm still in a state of shock. And I know that, to Yankees fans everywhere, our giddiness must look rather silly from the standpoint of fans of a team holding 27 world championship rings. That's alright. I'd feel the same way. So, I appreciate the class and graciousness shown by you and all the other Yankee fans on this board. Your guys put up a helluva fight, AFAIC, which makes the Rangers finally, FINALLY, look that much more legit.

Congratulations Giants! This should be one heckuva World Series!!! My goodness, is it possible there could be NOVEMBER BASEBALL in Texas??? The mind absolutely reels! I would love it if this series goes 7 games, just to keep Jerry out of the spotlight that much longer. Because once this series ends, all attention around here reverts back to the Cowboys and the Super Bowl which will be held in their stadium but of which they will not be a part. How sweet it would be if Jerry could be suspended in the same way Steinbrenner was suspended.... A lotta great discussion since my last post and rather than try to respond to every post, just some random thoughts: 1) I think the only people who think the Yankees are the heirs apparent to the World Series are the NY media. That said, the ESPN channel I watched last night was hosted by three very agreeable gents who had NOTHING but praise for the Rangers and offered zero excuses for the Yankees loss. They simply said the Rangers outdid the Yankees at every turn. 2) As much as I "hate" the Yankees, there's quite a few good guys on that team (i.e. I like 'em): Joe Girardi, ex-Cub Kerry Wood, local boy FINALLY reaping the rewards of years of toil Robinson Cano, who scared me to death every time he came to the plate, and proved why I should've been scared damn near every time he came to the plate OK, maybe not the biggest list. It's late, and I should be asleep but not smart enough to be. 3) Jim, remember when Tony Romo gave that kind of answer after the Cows got humiliated by the Eagles to end the season a couple years ago? He was exactly right. He also got torn a new one by the local media. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. 4) I've seen a lot of classy Yankees fans who've been nothing but gracious, not only in losing, but throughout the entire series. I've also seen asshole Rangers fans, despite having nothing they can compare with to the Yankees, the Mets, the Sox (either color), the Cubs, etc. Team loyalty is a weird thing sometimes. 5) When I saw a guy in a three-piece suit at Yankee Stadium NOT named Nolan Ryan, I figured something was VERY wrong with this picture. 6) Speaking only for myself, my hatred of A-Rod has nothing to do with him leaving Texas for New York. Hell, were used to that. It was his parting shot that forever earned my ire: Playing with the Rangers is like playing with a bunch of kids. Yeah, and those kids just froze your ass on national TV. Suck it, chump. Play ball indeed, and may this be one of the greatest World Series ever, regardless of the winner! That said, however, GO RANGERS!!! :party: :party:

Interesting indeed! Yet another chapter in the CTI saga, I s'pose. Y'know, I've never really liked the live tracks you just mentioned. For that matter, and now that I think about it, I've never been a big fan of live CTI albums in general. The tracks just seem to go on fooooooooorrrrrrrreveerrrrrrrrrrr!!!!! The studio tracks, OTOH, are finely polished gems, IMHO.

"Cosmic justice" is PRECISELY what that third out was. I was riding back with three other dads from the high-school football game where all of our kids were playing in the marching band. When A-Rod came to the plate, I screamed "OH PLEASE LET A-ROD BE THE THIRD OUT!" A-Rod got rung up and we went apeshit! It still hasn't sunk in yet! And as much as I'd love to take credit for not jinxing the Rangers by staying away from this thread all year, the simple fact is: after 50 years, this franchise has finally, FINALLY, got its shit together: someone with his head not only NOT up his ass but also who genuinely KNOWS the game of baseball is running this team. These guys play as a TEAM, no prima donnas or superstars to get in the way. A manager who sticks to his guns (despite me yelling at the radio/TV "What the hell are you doing, Wash?") even after it cost him dearly in a previous game. And finally, something to play for. Not even in what were the last glory days of this team (96-99) were all these pieces in place. I said it after the Rangers beat Tampa, continued saying it throughout this series, and I'll say it regardless of the outcome of the World Series: this is the best Rangers team, ever. Period. End of story. No, not end of story: I believe there's still so much more to come, even beyond this season! And I've NEVER, in all my years of rooting for the Rangers, NEVER felt this optimistic about their future! So here's to winning it all and hoping that I didn't just jinx their chance at a championship! FWIW, when the umps blew that call, I had a hunch that would actually work out in the Rangers favor because, even though the run scored, Swisher's still batting and he's been in a horrible slump this entire series. Sure enough, Swisher grounded out, but then the next batter doubled. Had that call been reversed, instead of a tie game, it's a 2-1 game and the Yankees would still have been batting. So, AFAIC, the umps made the right call.

Surely you can't be Sirius!

Thanks, Daniel! And I agree on all counts regarding the reissues.

I wondered that myself. I just figured it was a different version than the one that's on SALT SONG. I like it, though.

Man, those pictures bring back memories. Thanks for posting those! As for music, you didn't miss anything. The shops I went in had mostly bootleg legit-looking CDRs, although I did buy Sonic Youth's RATHER RIPPED simply because it had a bonus track not on the US CD (which I'd already bought). It's certainly buyer beware, but overall nothing you'd really want to get in the first place.

A download for me, please! Who knows? I may actually get to listen to this one!

TTK likely beat me to it, and though I no longer have a copy, I see it from time-to-time around here. When I see it again, I'll post here.

All I know is this is the longest baseball season I've ever had the pleasure to enjoy as a Rangers fan, or even a baseball fan (if the Rangers can finish off the Yanks, they'll have gotten further than the Cubs have in the last 40 years)! If anyone had told me at the beginning of this season that there would be a Ranger game on October 22, I woulda laughed my ass off. The laughing would've subsided a bit, though, once Nolan & Co. took over and kicked that crook Hicks outta the picture. Now every day is gravy! Win or lose (although a win would be SO much more enjoyable), this has been the best season ever for me, and there has never been a time in my life when I've felt this positive about the future of the Rangers. Especially if Lee stays, but if he jumps ship, I still feel pretty good about this team's future. Still, I like what my wife said the other night when A-Rod came to bat: "Must be nice to be the only player on the field getting paid by BOTH teams."

Very nicely done, Jeff, and thank you once again for taking the reins so splendidly! Eventually, I hope to be able to participate more actively again (I still haven't listened to 78 or 79, but I'm signing up for 80 anyway!)

Got "Morning Star" yesterday and I really dig how warm and deep it sounds. I'm gonna pick up the rest as well. Seems like SUGAR is a good deal just to have "Gibraltar" on there. Hopefully this reissue campaign continues past January.

A ton of apologies for not participating beyong guessing the Goodman track. Lots of good stuff on here, now to start diggin' deeper!

Always had a soft spot for that record he did with his dad, "Standard Time Vol. 3" I think. It's the one where they do an absolutely stunning "Where or When." (After typing that, I did a Google search to make sure I was ID'ing the right record and clicked the link to the official Marsalis website. The page has a self-congratulatory blurb describing the album, and (as an addled bonus) a reprint of Stanley Crouch's liner notes. Make of that what you will, but there've been better ways to start a morning....)

Interesting. Thanks, Claude! Knowing, that, I now feel that much better about getting the new edition, but not ever giving up on my search for the vinyl (which has as much to do with watching the red Columbia label spin around as it does for listening to the music)!