Dave James

Here's a random thought as to why that might be the case:

Kenton can be an acquired taste that many never acquire.

Manny Ramirez is expected to clear waivers without a claim. The two teams thought have interest in him are the White Sox and the Rays. All that matters to me is what happens in the AL East, so If he eventually winds up in Chicago, I couldn't care less. If he goes to the Rays, I won't know whether to laugh or cry. He could make all the difference one way or the other. You just don't know which. If they get good Manny, watch out. If they get bad Manny, watch out.

The newly released Ahmad Jamal. Great stuff. Marc Myers at jazzwax.com had the perfect description of his sound. "He plays piano like someone just dumped a sack of mice on the keyboard." Perfect.

I listened to a couple of the samples. OMG. I'll tell you what defines optimism. It's the guy who has a used copy on sale for $12.95.

Ever heard of Steve Dalkowski? Steven Louis "Dalko" Dalkowski (born June 3, 1939 in New Britain, Connecticut is a retired left-handed pitcher in minor league baseball. He is sometimes called the fastest pitcher in baseball history and had a fastball that probably exceeded 100 MPH. Some experts believed it went as fast as 115 MPH, others that his pitches traveled at 110 MPH or less. As no radar gun or other device was available at games to measure the speed of his pitches precisely, the actual top speed of his pitches remains unknown. Regardless of its actual speed, his fastball earned him the nickname "White Lightning". Ted Williams faced Dalkowski once in a spring training game and that was enough. "Fastest ever," said Williams. "I never want to face him again." Perhaps Dalkowski's greatest legacy is the number of stories (some more believable than others) surrounding his pitching ability. One story states that he once threw a pitch that tore off part of a batter's ear and observers believe that this incident made Dalkowski even more nervous and contributed further to his wildness. Another story says that in 1960 at Stockton, California he threw a pitch that broke an umpire's mask in three places, knocking him 18 feet back and sending him to a hospital for three days with a concussion. Dalkowski once won a $5 bet with teammate Herman Starrette who said that he couldn't throw a baseball through a wall. Dalkowski warmed up and then moved 15 feet away from the wooden outfield fence. His first pitch went right through the boards. On another bet, Dalkowski threw a ball over a fence 440 feet away.

Reminds me of driving between Tacoma and Seattle.

As this interesting article points out, baseball has a long history of pitching flame-outs: http://joeposnanski.si.com/2010/08/24/all-too-familiar/?eref=sihp

Arguably the most ill-advised album cover photo in the history of recorded music. Who knew that Herbie Mann had a Will Farrell-like need to expose himself.

It gets more complicated when the value of the "gift" exceeds $5,000. At that point, the IRS requires an independent assessment of the value of the "gift" and the beneficiary must acknowledge receipt of the donation and substantiate its value. I don't think at any point an itemized listing is required. As is always the case, it's best to consult a tax professional before you get too far along in the process.

99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer...

According to ESPN, this move by the Red Sox is intended to keep Damon from going to the Rays, not New York. I thought and continue to think that letting Damon walk last year was a big mistake on the part of the Yankees. There's something to be said for intangibles.

Further evidence of the decline and fall of Western civilization.

Here's a nice take on Charlie Barnet's Skyliner with actual footage of the Elgart brothers band. I really like this arrangement. And just for compartitive purposes, I threw in Barnet's original, and quite different version. Talk about great section playing.

I listened to the clips. Oddly compelling music. The next number will be all skate in reverse.

Yes, you're right of course. Farther east. :blush2: I knew there had to be an obvious reason. That's one of those geographic anomalies that don't seem right. It's like finding out that Reno, Nevada is further west than Los Angeles.

If Mosaic is able to put together a deal with Mr. Schoenberg, I'm hoping there's enough material from some of the more obscure artists on these discs to make up a set. While I'm excited about hearing guys like Hawkins, Young and Goodman playing in a looser, less constrained environment, I already have plenty of their work. It's the B-level guys I've not heard before that really pique my interest.

Clemens to be indicted for perjury: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/20/sports/baseball/20clemens.html?_r=1&hp

I received the Thad Jones box on Monday. It's in perfect condition and, as was the case with kh1958's Jacquet set, the CD's were still sealed. If I was rating this transaction, it would be an A+.

While this discovery doesn't quite rise to the level of the missing Buddy Bolden cylinders, it's about as close as we're likely to get. The idea of these recordings winding up in a series of Mosaic releases is almost to sweet to contemplate. Those audio clips in the Times triggered a near-Pavlovian response.

On the wall of my music room hangs a B&W picture of Bobby Thomson and Ralph Branca taken immediately after the playoff game. Branca is in a suit and Thomson is still in his game uniform. Branca is choking Thomson. The picture also includes individual autographs of both players as well as their 1951 Bowman baseball cards. I had this professionally framed and mounted several years ago. It's one of my favorite things.

A couple more interesting tidbits: In his 2009 book Miracle Ball: My Hunt for the Shot Heard 'Round the World, Brian Biegel & Pete Fornatale explore the mystery of the actual baseball involved in this historic sporting event (the ball has never been recovered). They determined that a Franciscan nun attended the game, recovered the ball, and kept it in a shoebox with her modest worldly possessions for more than half a century, before bequeathing that shoebox to her biological sister. Her sister then deposited the shoebox in a landfill, forever dooming the mystery of the "Miracle Ball" to an unresolved status. In the movie The Godfather, Sonny Corleone (played by James Caan) is listening to Russ Hodges' commentary of the playoff in his car just before he is shot dead, half an inning before Bobby Thomson hits the home run. This is an anachronism, as Corleone was killed in 1948.

That's a weird name for a woman.

David, Don't look now, but Billy Gardner is leading off tonight against the Tigers. Yanks up 2-1 in the 2nd.