Dave James

If you think it's such a silly comment, imagine Whiter Shade of Pale without the organ. I'm not necessarily saying that the ruling is correct or not, but that's the basis of the judgement. Up over and out.

You have to ask yourself which part of "Whiter" is the most memorable or which part could the song have least done without. On the basis of those criteria, 40% may not be enough. Up over and out.

There is going to be an ungodly amount of pressure on this kid. Nothing like he's ever seen before...not even close. Most Boston fans probably think he can walk on water. If he can, the Sox have scored a major coup. If he can't, man, I don't even want to think about it. This will clearly be one of the biggest and most fun stories of the 2007 season. With regard to Clemens, I don't see how the Sox can generate the kind of revenue they're going to need to justify pursuing him. Playing in that bandbox ballpark with all its inherent limitations has got to be limiting in some fashion. Wonder where the ticket prices are going to go next year? Up over and out.

Happy birthday, Jim. Your insightful and informative posts are clearly a highlight...something that keeps me coming back to this board. Up over and out.

What can you say? Of course I didn't know Steve in a personal sense and, like others, I really only recall him from his sobriquet, SEK. Nonetheless, reading through other's recollections and the personal interactions they had with him, it's clear he was a good and caring man. The world is certainly a lesser place when folks like this are called away. Thanks for letting us know, Chuck. Up over and out.

Al - Did you know that Ivan Rodriquez's favorite musician is Yanni? Even if he was a Yankee, I don't think I could root for him. Up over and out.

If current trends continue, the new Doors box set "Perceptions" will be close to the top of my listening list. I was a big fan of their first and last albums, but a lot of the stuff inbetween seems to have escaped me. Now that their entire studio output has been re-issued, I'm getting into some things I haven't heard much of before. Not only is the music great, but the sound is flat out awesome. Each slipcase has a CD and a DVD. The DVD is in 5.1. When I run this on my surround sound system, I'm hearing things I've never heard before. Ear boggling. The DVD's also include video footage and some alternate takes, studio chatter etc. Talk about stepping into a time machine. If your a Doors fan and don't have this, get thee to a nunnery. Up over and out.

Not to change the subject, but would someone explain to me why the Red Sox are so insistant on moving Jonathan Papelbon into the starting rotation? Now that Gagne has signed with Texas and Foulke appears to be headed elsewhere, why when you have a lights out closer would you not keep him in that role? Does this reflect some sort of gentlemen's agreement between Papelbon and the Sox as to his future, i.e. I'll close for a year and then I'm a starter? Up over and out.

From Peter Gammons: Of course it helps to have the Yankees' revenues to take on Bobby Abreu's $15 million salary when the Phillies want him out of town and pay Andy Pettitte $16 million off a 14-13, 4.20 ERA season. Andy Pettitte gives the Yankees three healthy, reliable starters along with Chien-Ming Wang and Mike Mussina. Though Yankee Stadium in the late 1980's was about the last place this side of a West Virginia coal mine that anyone wanted to play, what Gene Michael and Buck Showalter turned around and Brian Cashman and Joe Torre have cultivated is a place players want to go to and win. Oh, winning is part of it, and so is never having to argue over 10 bucks. But Torre is a man players implicitly trust and respect, and when the Brothers Hendricks couldn't make a deal in Pettitte's hometown with Drayton McLane, it didn't take 72 hours for Pettitte to go home -- no longer than it did for Johnny Damon to make an emergency landing in New York last season. Look at the Yankees' offseason. When they were bounced out of the playoffs by the Tigers and George Steinbrenner was so outraged that he was ready to fire Torre, he was returned to rational earth with this thought: "The Tigers thought they had to have home-field advantage and lost it by being swept by the Royals the final week of the season. Would you have fired Jim Leyland?" Two decades ago, Torre would have been gone. Cashman, who with president Steve Swindal got the organization refocused on development (ask their scouting people what it's like in the new Cashman World), not only refused to trade off Philip Hughes and gave Melky Cabrera a chance, but has also moved Gary Sheffield and Jaret Wright for four young pitchers, two of whom, Humberto Sanchez and Kevin Whelan, could be major parts in the second half of the 2007 season. He also signed Kei Igawa for depth and inventory. Pettite may not be the dominant top-of-the-rotation guy he once was, but as he turns 35 in June he gives the Yankees a third proven starter with Chien-Ming Wang and Mike Mussina. Mussina was fourth in the AL in quality starts with 23; Wang sixth with 20; Pettite had 20 in Houston -- albeit far from the AL East. Now there is less pressure on Randy Johnson to rush back and no pressure as they spend half the season figuring out who will be the 4-5 starterts down the stretch between Carl Pavano, Igawa and Hughes. Now Scott Proctor can remain in the bullpen. Then there's the whole Roger Clemens issue. If he decides to leave Houston, he doesn't need a video to sway him -- Torre is good enough. Pettite is a great signing on a one-year deal, even with the player option for 2008, and at the end of the season Johnson, Pavano, Jorge Posada and Abreu come off the books as Vernon Wells, Torii Hunter and Andruw Jones come onto the market. The next year, they can have Mark Teixeira at first base in their new stadium. The Yankees have won the AL East nine straight years, and since Cashman gained control last fall, they are in better shape to make a run at the Braves' incredible record than they have been in a couple of (baseball) generations. I was there when Rick Rhoden DHed, remember the "Mr. May" line and the releases from "Ken Clay spit the bit" to the apology for losing the playoffs. It's very different, now, and a lot more difficult for the Blue Jays, Red Sox and Orioles. Red Sox get offensive The team the Red Sox should put in the field in 2007 is a far cry from the one that was 11th in the league in runs after the All-Star break. If, as expected, Manny Ramirez returns, a lineup of Julio Lugo, either Kevin Youkilis or Coco Crisp, David Ortiz and Ramirez could make J.D. Drew a 125 RBI guy, particularly with his left-center field power in Fenway. More important, it will be a lot easier for Drew to adapt to Boston as a complement to than a replacement for Manny. Time is winding down for the Red Sox to strike a deal with Daisuke Matsuzaka. But the Red Sox Have two major unresolved issues -- signing Daisuke Matsuzaka and finding a closer. And getting Matsuzaka may be more difficult than finding a closer. 1. Matsuzaka. Scott Boras insists he does not have to bring the 26-year-old right-hander to Boston this week. Boras claims that he is "arguably one of the five best starting pitchers in the game and should be paid accordingly, especially coming off of this market." In Boras's mind, that fair market price is $20 million, not that he's asking for it because of the posting system. But Boras also claims that Matsuzaka can get $15-18 million pitching in Japan, that Seibu can get a lot more than $51.1 million next year and that Boston can write off most of the posting costs with marketing and the exclusion of the luxury tax. While Boras remains adament in asking for close to a Jason Schmidt average annual value, Red Sox officials feel that the superagent prefers to keep Matsuzaka in Japan for two more years, then get $140 million for seven years after 2008. Boston essentially needs to get the Matsuzaka agreement done by Tuesday night so they can get him in Wednesday for a physical prior to the Thursday deadllne. One GM Friday said "it would be a shame for Matsuzaka and baseball to hold him out to try to force a change in the posting system." Boras has a very strong relationship with Theo Epstein, but he is willing to hold out players when necessary, such as Boston's current catcher and right fielder. Will it get done? No one knows. But one can assume that the Red Sox are a far better team with Matsuzaka than without him, although he has never thrown a pitch in the AL East. 2. Closer. The Red Sox would not guarantee Eric Gagne 60 percent of his $10 million 2006 salary because of the fear that there's as much chance that he's Rob Dibble as he is Trevor Hoffman. Washington asked for Craig Hansen and Clay Bucholtz for Chad Cordero, which isn't happening. Essentially, there's nothing on the market except for Tony Armas, which has been discussed, so if spring training were to open Monday, 28-year-old Devern Hansack, the Nicarauguan veteran who threw a five inning no-hitter the last day of the season, would be the first choice as closer. The Red Sox believe that if and when Hansen remembers that his 95-98 mph four-seamer is a complementary, hittable pitch, goes back to his 92-95 mph sinker and regains consistency with his Brad Lidge slider, then he can eventually close. So can Bryce Cox, their third-round pick out of Rice who blew through the system. But they need a veteran or two to get them to midseason, and thus far have had no luck trying to acquire Derrick Turnbow, Cordero, Jesse Crain, Chad Qualls, Cameron Loe, et al.

Dan, I bet you'll whistle a different tune if The Rocket comes along for the ride. At this point, I'd say this is more than idle speculation. Assuming The Unit's back surgery is successful and he's better than he has been as a result (I know...a big assumption) that would make for a fairly formitable starting rotation. Up over and out.

Both the Chet Baker live recordings featuring Dick Twardzik are now available on e-Music. "The Koln Concert" from October of 1955 and it's partner, "The Lost Holland Concert", also from 1955. The sound is surprisingly good considering these are live recordings from the mid-'50's. Recommended. Up over and out.

Now if they could figure out a way to export this no grunting rule to women's tennis, they might be on to something. Up over and out.

Frankly, I'm not at all convinced that hockey is better on TV than it is on the radio. If there was ever a game that was not meant for television, it's this one. What's really strange is that this is, arguably, the best game to see live, especially if it's at the level that's played in the NHL. I have not yet gone into youtube to see how they're doing this, but I'd guess they are focusing on the stuff that make sense visually, the big hits, the big saves, and scoring. You really don't need to "see" the puck to appreciate this kind of thing. Up over and out.

This is a man who is singularly desperate for money, or, perhaps, just singularly desperate. Up over and out.

A golfer and a hockey fan, how good is that? Not too many of us around. Happy birthday to a kindred spirit...well, in most respects anyway. Up over and out.

I can't believe the Yanks couldn't get at least one major leaguer for Sheffield. Dan, I agree with you, those three guys they got had better be the real deal. I know the Yanks are making a concerted effort to rebuild their minor league system, but I'm not interested in guys that will only be, at best, marginal big league ballplayers. One other thought. If the Yanks lose out on the Japanese pitcher, I'd have to think Barry Zito comes squarely into their crosshairs. Up over and out.

What was wrong with the old one? It worked fine for me. Change for the sake of change has always sucked. Up over and out.

From the ESPN website: Tim Kurkjian thinks the winning bidder for Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka will pay about $25 million, and if he had to guess right now, Kurkjian would say the Yankees will be the big winners. Up over and out.

I had a dog once by the name of Beanbag. Best dog I ever had and the smartest, but he had a neurotic side that would put the cast of Seinfeld to shame. One weekend I went down to an concert in Salem (I think it was The Animals) and Beanbag, who really liked to go for rides but didn't get to go that night, decided to take out the oversight on my vinyl collection. When I got home, all my records and their covers were strewn about the front room. The records were mostly OK, but the covers were shot...all chewed up. I still have the copy of The Stones "Sticky Fingers" but the front flap (and the zipper) is gone. I was so pissed I didn't talk to the Beaner for days. He also pulled over a Christmas tree once to get at the cookies I'd hung as ornaments, but that's a story for another time and another place. Up over and out.

I agree with Paul. The R&R HOF is the popular music equivalent of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Up over and out.

Dan, I had not seen that. I'm sure the Yanks will do everything in their power to accommodate his wishes...NOT. Personally, I'd much rather see him back in the NL. That makes sense too from the standpoint of his ego. I think he believes he can still be an everyday right fielder. No full time DH'ing for Sheff. Regardless of where he winds up, this should be pretty interesting. Up over and out.

Time to refocus away from the ad hominum attacks. The Yankees announced today that they intend to pick up Gary Sheffield's $ 13 million option and trade him. Should be interesting to see who the suitors turn out to be. I know he's no spring chicken, but the guy can flat out hit the ball. Up over and out.

Who'd have thought the Cowboys could turn into this kind of a soap opera and T.O. would have almost nothing to do with it. I'm loving every second of this. Up over and out.

I've found that recordings on the Japanese Venus label, as a rule, boast exceptional sound quality. Especially the piano trio sessions. Up over and out.

Does Carrot Top count? Up over and out.