Patrick

Playoff teams in the AL are set (Bos, Cle, LAA, NYY). It's just a matter of seating now.

Another interesting night so far in MLB. The pesky Nats take care of Mets again--Phillies tied in StL with a chance to cut NYM division lead to 1.5. SD and Zona both winning their games early. And Milwaukee draws even in the Central with the Cubs again! Meanwhile in the AL, Gagne blows a 2-1 lead in the 8th at Toronto in a bad way--after retiring the first two, gives up walk, single, walk, walk, double. Should he have faced all of those batters? Yankees take care of the walking dead from Baltimore. They really are the fountain of youth: Moose soaks in the Baltimore lineup and pitches 7 innings, 3 hits, no runs, 1 walk, 6K. Red Sox Nation: expect zero help from the O's. Tribe beats Detroit for the second night in a row to reduce their magic number to 5. Chicks dig the long ball--Indians score 7 runs all off of Verlander on 6 hits (4HR, 2 Lofton singles), while Detroit has 12 hits (11 singles and 1 double). Jake Westbrook "scattered" those 12 hits (plus 2 walks) over 5 innings and gave up all 4 Tiger runs. Rookie Jensen Lewis then pitched 3 impressive shutout innings (0 hits, 1 hit batter), striking out 4, and got the win. Borowski had a rare 3 up/3 down ninth for his 41st save. Perhaps more importantly, coupled with the Bosox loss, the Tribe (and LAA if they beat TB tonight) are only 1/2 game behind Bos for the best record in the AL (and no games behind in the loss column). Come on DRays...

Haven't been in a Borders in a long time. Agree that the only time it's worthwhile is with a 30%+ coupon and a sale (...or mid/late January when the calendars are on clearance). Thought about trudging in with a recent 30% (or 25%) coupon and the lower-priced Monterey Jazz Fest titles. But the branch near work didn't have them in stock (or so said Bordersstores.com), so I didn't use it. I'm actually quite surprised it took them this long to police coupon use more. If there ever is another reason to enter one, I may have to have the spouse use one copy of the coupon (or pretend that she has), while I use a second copy. Now they wouldn't want to ruin any surprise gifts would they? --"What? This coupon has already been used? It must have been my wife. Did she get me that new Monk MJF disc after I spent the whole day looking at wallpaper patterns with her? She is so sweet and thoughtful! ...But now that surprise has been totally ruined by you! Thanks alot dude for patrolling the Borders!" ...feel free to use this strategy or something similar, and report back...

Yes, extremely exciting at the Jake Monday night. Kenny Rogers was dealing. Paul Byrd was above average/adequate but got done in by errors from Jason Michaels and Jhonny Peralta. Peralta had two blasts, and Casey Blake hit his second walk off HR this week (I think it might be only his second or third HR of the second half). Tribe has now gotten to Zumaya twice since his return. Magic number is down to 7. Tomorrow is "Dollar Dog Night" with Westbrook v. Verlander. Wednesday afternoon is Sabathia v. Robertson. I thought Carmona would get a shot at Detroit, but apparently he'll pitch next in Oakland on Friday. O's had their chances against NYY tonight. In separate innings Mora and Millar struck out with the bases loaded and two out. While O's have had past success against NY, I think Red Sox Nation will be fortunate if Baltimore gets one in NY. [Remember no Bedard nor Guthrie, nor several bullpen arms (though the latter absences might be a good thing)] At least Daniel Cabrera didn't get tossed... Now if only the DRays could get a game or two out in LA... Big Hurt was a big hurt for Boston tonight. As a non-fan of Bos or NYY, gotta say that that series pretty much lived up to the hype. There's a little crispness in the air, it's getting dark a bit earlier, and you sense that every at bat (or pitch) matters. NYY needed to sweep and they didn't, but they had some success. Both teams demonstrated that the strength in their bullpens is not infallible. Shilling and Clemens pitched comparably well (though Shill was out there longer). Beckett really outpitched Wang on Saturday. Besides the psychological mumbo-jumbo which can be fun to talk about (provided its not in large doses--especially for the rest of us), I call that series basically a push. NYY got two, but they really needed to sweep to do more than get the mojo thang workin'. Exciting stretch run. And yes, GO CUBS! Now I gotta stay up til midnight to see the Tribe highlights on Baseball Tonight.

other than possibly the victims of the alleged crime (and their loved ones), who really cares???

I'm not remembering how good the Mariners were supposed to be at the beginning of the season. Were they picked to seriously contend for the Division? If they were, then I can see how the swan dive can be particularly disheartening. On the other hand, if they weren't supposed to seriously contend, then you had an enjoyable rollercoaster ride that ultimately will end up about where you thought they'd be, but had some exciting highpoints in between.

in the clarinet section in the university wind ensemble...

I had no problem with how Francona used his bullpen, and I don't think he's suffering from paralysis. The best pitchers pitched, and they didn't succeed (an infrequent occurence among that collection of arms). It was exciting, it was a meltdown. It happens. And it's not obvious that Papelbon would have also pitched the ninth. Red Sox will still win the division comfortably, and the Yankees probably will win the wildcard comfortably. Then we'll see how those goliaths do against those other division winners...

Agreed that giving Gagne a batter or two with a 5 run lead may have been a reasonable approach. As far as length of game, does Dice K work really slowly, esp. with guys on base? Seemed like it was taking forever, even early in the game when NYY was not scoring.

No, he wasn't watching it....after he destroyed his TV.... Well, now we know how much confidence Francona has in Gagne -- none. I mean isn't the whole reason they brought Gagne to Boston was to have him pitch the 8th, then bring in Paps to shut the Yanks in down in the ninth? I thought Francona managed in panic mode last night, now, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Yankees sweep. But in retrospect, would you have put Gagme out there last night? The guy has not done much yet to instill any confidence in his ability. If EG had pitched the eighth and given up a run or two, we'd be all over Francona for putting in that chump. ...Or at least I would. Maybe Gagne will get it together before the end of the regular season, but I wouldn't count on it. And I'd run him out there a few times against TB, Tor, Bal... Meanwhile, for the first time in 10 starts CC Sabathia has a bad inning and gives up more than 2 runs in a start (while striking out a career high 13 against KC). Outpitched by Brian Bannister who deserved more than a no decision. Fortunately, ex-Indian David Riske was there to serve up a game-tying HR to Victor Martinez in the 8th and a game-winner to Casey Blake leading off the ninth. Coupled with a White Sox victory over the Angels, the Tribe and LAA are now tied for the second best record in the AL (2.5 games behind Bos).

This jazz sales event also includes a large number of OJC's at $8, in case you haven't already gobbled up all that you desire from Concord/J&R/Newbury/.... I ordered 3 ECMs (Rava: Easy Living, Tati; Stanko: From the Green Hill), and 7 OJC's (Miles: Collector's Items; Lacy: Soprano Sax; Dickerson: To My Queen; Byard: Here's Jaki; Dameron: Mating Call (RVG); Adderley: In SF (RVG); Rollins: Freedom Suite).

Happy Birthday Dan. Life is still good. ...And Beckett will handle Wang on Saturday...no problem.

After 26 straight game days and a ten game/day trip, Tribe gets a day off after going 19-7 (7-3 on the just concluded road trip). Magic number is 11, and only one game behind the Angels for the right to host the Yankees instead of travelling to Fenway. [Angels' schedule looks especially soft the rest of the way, so in all likelihood Tribe will be in Boston. Will Becket/Dice and CC/Fausto duel to 1-0 games then/there??] Wedge should get serious consideration for manager of the year, and Sabathia should be a/the frontrunner for AL Cy Young. After three against KC, they host Detroit one last time (Sabathia, Carmona, Westbrook). Nice to see LAA and NYY lose. K-Rod is definitely having issues now. Orioles announcers think he is seriously overthrowing. And while playing in Chicago, Tribe surrendered only one HR to Jim Thome, so they got out of town before he hit #500 (...he's now at 499).

I have an order number but haven't yet received any email from these guys. This is my first order there. Is this typical--do they not bother with email until they ship or cancel?

yeah...tell me about that Blue Jay snake bite against Detroit...

I gotta question about Wake. He's always struck me, perhaps based on my limited exposure, as being very iffy late in the season and post-season. The impression I have is that it is either total mastery of the opposing lineup, or total BP for him. Almost like you have to warm up another pitcher from the start just in case it is the latter. Is this correct?

Thanks for the recs. Who knows, maybe some of this stuff will be too out there for my ears. Worth experimenting at this price. I pullled the trigger on McPhee, Eskelin, Ortega, Konitz, Grossman, Portal, Harrison, Lloyd, Shipp and Jorgensmann (Snijbloemen). Anyone familiar with this Shipp (By the Law of Music), and how it compares to other items in his catalog?

All tied up after the Pedroia blast in the 6th. You've got the great bullpen. No problem.

Any recs from this list for someone that has never tried a Hat on?

When does Wolverine hoops start?

The Red Sox have to be the favorites at this point, but it's understandable if Red Sox Nation is not breathing easily right now. Dan, quite clairvoyant regarding tonight's disaster at Camden Yards. I watched that long third inning. Dice K couldn't get a fastball over to save his life. He looked completely gassed in the third inning. It was hot and humid (I think 90 degrees at first pitch), but based on his recent string, would it make sense to skip him once (or give him an extra day) and let Buchholz spot start? Life is still good (...though not as good as it could be). Meanwhile after two losses in LA, including a tough extra inning affair in which Ryan Garko hit a ninth inning homer to send it into extras, C.C. Sabathia pitches a complete game 5-hitter (5 singles, one walk, 4 double plays). Bullpen gets a night off before the rookie Laffey goes tomorrow night. Given Laffey is a 5/6 inning guy at most, this is good. Hopefully Tribe bats will get to Weaver and they will get out of LA with a respectable split. Would have been nice to close some ground on LA, though they're only two games apart right now. Tribe will need every game of their current 5 game lead over Detroit. Besides a 3 game series at Cleveland, Detroit only plays one game against a team with a winning record the rest of the way (Toronto). Tribe still has a 4 game series in Seattle.

Fine to place a marker there, but they oughtta also have a classic hardbop CD vending machine nearby. Gotta move product. Bu wouldn't want it any other way...

Forgot about Drew--he would be at the very top of a short list of under-contributors (though he did make a great catch in the corner last night). I would be inclined to give him a few days off as well when Manny is back. In Cleveland, they finally gave up on platooning Trot Nixon in right, and are letting the kid Franklin Gutierrez play every day. I think it finally dawned on decision makers that Trot does not cover much ground in right, does not have much of an arm, isn't exhibiting much power or average, and won't be around much longer. At this point, he supposedly contributes clubhouse leadership, and is the main instigator of the pie-in-the-face for whichever Indians hero gets interviewed by the tv announcers post-game. [i know, extremely valuable...] Gutierrez average has dipped from around .300 down to .260 with a very large home/away difference, but he's great in right field, reasonably fast, and has excellent upside.

I don't read the NYT much, but this opening is lame. From the notes for Abbey's great You Gotta Pay the Band: "Bird Alone", which has nothing to do with Charlie Parker, was found by her [Lincoln] in Japan in 1973: "I was hanging with Miles Davis for a minute, and I heard this song. At first I thought it was about him, but it was about me. I was truly alone over there. Sometimes you get a chance to show how big and bad you are, and then sometimes you fly low where everybody else is, and those who fly low are the ones who sing in the night." Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Does big and bad apply to portions of NYT??

Given what Peter Angelos did to block DC getting a team (after DC allowed the Orioles to move to Baltimore way back when), I'm not too upset about their lack of success. Great ballpark but I'm not sure I need to go back there for a game anytime soon. And maybe Leo Mazzone is not quite the genius he once was--ton of Indians retreads there (Danys Baez, Paul Shuey, Jaret Wright, Jeremy Guthrie, now Fernando Cabrera). Only Guthrie has performed well. And he probably should be shut down. Forgive me if I'm a little less enthusiastic about cheering for the Tigers just now, though all props to Granderson for hitting 20 doubles, 20 triples, and 20 homers in one season. But I am sympathetic to the anyone-but-NYY-vibe. I know you have to remain more than slightly paranoid about things, but man the Red Sox are really deep and really playing well. [Of course, I'm watching local broadcasts against the O's.] Pedroia will be ROY, why does Jacoby need to be so good? Papelbon is awesome, why is Delcarmen solid (does he get more innings while Okajima rests some?)? Lester, Buchholz, ...Getting contributions from just about everywhere (except maybe not so much from Captain Curt). Not really missing Manny that much (of course they need him back, but...). Life is good.