Quincy

PM sent on the Lee Konitz, “Motion” (Verve).

(Facebook mode)

While I'm extremely disappointed the series is ending, at least the Season 2 finale acted as finale for the series as long as you don't mind a bow not being put on it. It's easy enough to imagine simultaneous struggle & satisfaction for Terry and all of them. I mean, you didn't really want or need to see a wedding for Terry did you? But coming one day after the Friday Night Lights finale...I guess I have more time for reading now.

I leave the AL East talk to others, esp. w/ correspondents Paps & Dan. Me, I'm all about the Central Divisions. I'm hoping for an Indian/Pirates World Series! (Barring an offensive explosion out of Seattle of course which takes them to the top. )

I'd wouldn't be opposed for the Crime Dog getting in too eventually, as one who believes the B+ students of the game should be in the Hall and not just "the Willie Maysessess." If "Big Doggie" Tony Perez is in so should McGriff. (Aside from his being a nice guy I've always been jealous of his small waist size.) He may have had Alomar & Olerud in front of him for a few years, whereas Perez had 3 Hall of Famers w/ Rose, Morgan, Bench. Delgado is very close to McGriff, but the problem for both is their "black ink" is so low. I think you throw Duke out of the comparisons as he played CF, and if you make a list of great hitters who could field the position it's very short. Whereas guys who can hit at first, well just think of recent ones. As long as Pujols doesn't have sex with a dead boy while on steroids, he's getting in. Frank Thomas - he should get in, as it takes Pujols to exceed his insane total number of .300/30/100 seasons. Mattingly isn't there, neither is the crosstown crossword lovin' Keith Hernandez. Yet if the standards allow Cepeda or Perez or Rizzuto or Hunter, a case could be made. McGwire isn't in because of 'roids, but doesn't it seem like he would have hit 400+ without them? Bagwell - He should be a slam dunk HOF despite the career ending injuries (just because it's not the eyes like Puckett) but he was muscular, and there were only 2 reporters who covered the Astros during those years, so nobody really knows if he was jacked. Raffy did 'roids and worse pointed with his finger at members of Congress which is so impolite. But those 3000/500 totals far exceed either from the mostly from Toronto 1st basemen. Dick "Richie" Allen - If Cepeda is in so should he, even if he was a flake. That drunk Harry Carey said he was the best he ever saw, and Harry was drunk while watching Mays, Aaron, and Jo-dee Davis. Whatcha gonna do with Todd Helton? Isn't his lifetime Coors average .700 or something? Andres Galarraga comps to Cepeda, Rice, Joe Carter & Stargell. Should he be in? (No, although I loved listening to the French-speaking announcers say his name.) Will Clark, Jack Clark, Tino, Garvey, Gil, Ryan Howard, hey what the heck, Cecil Fielder (his black ink is 24)…I think Carlos is closer to most of these guys than the above. And hell, David Ortiz on "folk hero status" alone probably exceeds a few of those guys. Since there's sort of a quota by position, I don't see Carlos getting in because of all the other names mentioned. And frankly I'd rather see Barry Larkin or Ron Santo, even Dave Parker get in before Carlos. But Carlos will be in my Hall Of The Very Good.

Nothing like a road trip to Seattle for Jim to quietly feel better about his team. The post All-Star Game M's offense gives me flashbacks of last year (2 runs in 4 games - yee haw.) I was reminded today that the '95 M's were 13 back on August 2nd, so just you wait! (Uh huh.) Oh well, at least the Pirates won again. Now that he's done with Jetes, the greeting ghost of Roberto is high-fivin' his fam-i-ly.

The only shot is if a bunch of Canadians end up electing players to the Hall. And even then...Given how it looks like it will take a Vets Committee down the line to get Fred McGriff in I don't see Carlos getting in without a struggle. Other the year that Delgado had the massive 145 RBI season he didn't win any other major batting leader titles. He made it to 2 All-Star games (Fred to 5), won 3 Silver Sluggers (Fred the same). McGriff had more top 10 MVP votes (6 to 4 - although Fred neatly was 10th twice for this presentation. ) Face it, 1st base tends to be crammed with sluggers, and in the end he was rarely the best playing there, despite the fact he was an impressive hitter. Winfield's numbers were hurt by playing at Jack Murphy and being right-handed at Yankee. Stargell had to play against the raised mound pitchers of the '60s. Ballparks mostly became more hitter friendly as Delgado played as well as watered down play due to expansion (although the others mentioned had expansion diluted competition too).

It's been a long time been a long time been a long time...the Pittsburgh Pirates are tied for 1st!

Time Machine certainly makes it easy. I'd also suggest using Dropbox for some key files & documents as it works better than emailing things to an account. This way if a calamity happens that takes out one's computer(s) and backup external drives at least there are copies away from the abode. Not that I have everything documented, but Dropbox works well for photos for home/renter's insurance purposes.

All episodes are available for streaming at TNT's website too. The fact that I'm 48 has nothing to do with my love for this show.

Yes, OBP is the modern gold standard for hitters, as opposed to BA. And there's long been a strong correlation between winning & OBP (and SLG) as opposed to BA. Look at the Yankees. They were 10th (when I last looked on Sat.) in BA but 2nd in OBP. For all of the complaints about Swisher there are few teams that have someone who gets on base as often as he does when he hit's lower in the lineup. As for the M's although they've dipped out of contention (as I expected), I'm extremely happy about how things are going. Ackley looks to be the real deal. He has a great eye, some pop in the bat and can steal. He has the balance to bat anywhere from 2nd to 5th, and for now 3rd is very sweet spot for him, and to get all of that out of 2nd base is fantastic. Smoak has been up & down and more of the latter of late but he's only 24. And now they've called up Kyle Seager to play 3rd. He began an awesome 1 for 12 so the All-Star break was beautifully timed for his slump. So it's great to see the youngsters given the chance rather than patching it up with fading vets. The starting pitching has been terrific and isn't just an illusion of the ballpark. Having had one of the most putrid offenses in baseball history last year it's remarkable to have any amount of hope at all, so I'm grateful for the progress made.

The I.R.S. could have fun with this if it chooses.

$4.99 for the 4 hour Peter Bogdanovich directed Tom Petty documentary Runnin' Down A Dream which comprises 2 DVDs. Also an additional DVD of a 2006 concert, plus a CD with 9 songs mostly from the late '70s to early '80s. Available at Best Buy.

Attendance for MLB was 40 million in 2010. Given that many people I think the safety record is remarkable. The greatest danger in attending sporting events is if you are driving to & fro, and most likely the trip leaving the ballpark because of the drunk & tired drivers.

I'm enjoying Wakefield's fluttering (sorry) march on 200 wins. 198 picked up yesterday.

And I think a couple of the Wilson remixed/remastered 40th Anniversary King Crimson discs are coming out around this time too, as far as not-quite-as-modern. I'm onboard for all of it!

Thanks to my dad I knew the lyrics to this at age 4. As he finally entered the DVD age this was the first one I bought for him.

Happy birthday! Although I didn't take part those sure were kind prices on your recent sale here.

Keep on plugging, keep on chooglin', keep the faith...

I'm smoking winkies. And just trying to provide some humorous optimism amongst some of the drama from fans of the front running teams. Young Ackley continues to hit. In fact he has a hit or a walk (and mostly hits) in all 12 of his major league games. Why if he keeps that pace up and eats his Wheaties, he'll easily break Pete Rose's hit record.

The way things have gone in recent years it'll be a surprise if the 2 best regular season records face each in the World Series. Excellent. Then the Red Sox might have a chance. And by extension then the real World Series preview is happening between my team & Berigan's right now. Aye-yi-yi, another 1 run loss to a NL team for the not-so-mighty-M's. Hey, I haven't really expected an AL West title out of these guys but it was fun to be moderately threatening in a low scoring way for awhile. It's weird how they performed better vs. the Phils than the other NL East teams they've faced.

The way things have gone in recent years it'll be a surprise if the 2 best regular season records face each in the World Series.

A fine sweep by the Nats over the M's. Oh but for the difference of a run. Repeat. Repeat. Thanks to U2 the M's now get to play the role of visiting team at Safeco for the Marlins. And so the gaslighting of Jack McKeon begins.

And since he started the All-Star game a couple of years later, obviously it was a great trade for the Cards.

You sure get some sexy bday wishes on FB! Hubba happy birthday!