Quincy

I know it from Buffy, which is mentioned in the article Big Wheel linked to. To this day it's easy to spot people loved the show as Buffyisms will pop up when they speak.

They more or less are written. A book came this month on the subject, and there were already at least 2 released in the previous 5 years. So I guess we'll need some unwritten unwritten rules, unless no one bothers to read the books.

Again the '94 strike fades from our memory, but he was averaging 7 innings a start through 24, so he would have easily passed 200 IP had the season gone 162 (though obviously he'd need to stay healthy.) He was on his way to having an excellent season that year (as was Dwight Evans, who probably lost more as far as a legacy from the strike.) The wins weren't there but he led in ERA+. I don't think he was. However when a pitcher has more K's than IP it's still a hell of a twilight. But given the huge amount of money Clemens was demanding and as you point out, some worrisome signs of decline, I think it was rational to let him move on. Plus they had a better option to replace him. No Cys for Blyleven or Morris. I don't think anyone who has won 3 (by that point) has been denied. And the MVP is a cherry on top, though Denny McLain had one and didn't come near Cooperstown for his own problems. Who knows how Clemens would have finished his career "organically," but what may have kept him from being a first ballot pitcher was his playoff reputation. Getting ejected from the game vs. the A's, along with his less than knockout performance in the '86 World Series may hurt him. But had he puttered out without the aid of his medicine, he's still over 3000 K, perhaps 230 wins or so, and the past hardware. If Drysdale and Hunter are in with less than that, he's likely in as well*. His comps by age from late 20s thru mid-30s before the 'roids go Seaver, Gooden and back to Seaver. We're not talking about Dave Goltz here. *Though given the history of Hall of Fame voting, who knows!

I'll admit he wouldn't have had as strong of a case, but don't forget the shortened seasons of '94 & '95 with 115 & 144 games respectively that had an effect on counting stats. Also funny to see you mentioning pitcher's wins. The Red Sox were a sub-.500 team except for '95. He was cruising along w/ about a K per inning and a 2.85 ERA in '94 when the strike ended the season. His last year for Boston he led the league in Ks. Clemens may be a megalomanic asshole but when he left Boston he was 410 Ks away from 3000 and so even if he had faded away like an change up aging trickster he would have hit that mark which would have helped nudge into the hall. And pre-"bulk" he already had 3 Cy Youngs, 1 MVP, 4 ERA titles, and was a 5 time leader in shutouts. (And some lousy playoff appearances.) To me it looks like he could have faded out and still made it.

I grew up 550 miles away from Detroit, but on certain nights I could pick up Tiger games on the AM radio, listening with an ear piece and yes, I was the stereo typical kid, so sometimes under the covers. I rarely saw Al Kaline on TV but he came to live on via those broadcasts. R.I.P. Mr. Harwell, if I may use the royal "we," we loved ya!

Today PMS Buddy warned it was that time of the month for my significant other. I didn't realize my sig other was organissimo. Okay, now I've pissed off the 2-4 female members...

Get well soon Coltrane. These times are tough for you as Coltrane & Gracie never took the time to fully understand English or time, so "Don't worry, we'll be back in a couple of hours" means nothing to them. Lazy dogs, start studying these subjects!

That's a brutal list.

Great pictures of Baby there. I'm so sorry for the ache you must be feeling. Don' t take this as cheapening the memory of your cat but I'd highly recommend adopting another cat or kitten sooner than you may think of doing. We had almost a year without one and it was far too long. Discovering a new individual, even if it likes to shred LP spines that aren't safeguarded, is a beautiful thing.

Have an impossibly great birthday!

Can't speak for Big Al, but the Rangers have a fine 2nd baseman in Ian Kinsler who was a 30/30 guy last year. Though uh, he has had some injury troubles and has yet to play this year.

Saw a fine game at Busch on Tuesday. Got there early enough to catch the Braves bp (unfortunately missed the Cards turn). I was close to where Hanson and Heyward were shagging flies and I just missed on a couple of foul bounces my way. I was struck by how many kids shouted out "Mister" and then the player's name anytime a ball was caught in hope that the player would toss a ball in their direction. One guy looked to be just a few years younger than Hanson but politely called out "Mr. Hanson, Mr. Hanson…" It was all kind of charming. In my honor La Russa batted the pitcher 8th for the first time since July. He also had one of his patented let's-use-4-pitchers-to-get-3-outs innings. Oof! Heyward just missed a monster HR to right. I think he'll work out just fine for you Beri. Ludwick was the one in the zone that night with a homer & a double. That Cardinal outfield is most impressive, and other than Pujols Colby Rasmus gets the heartiest applause. Perhaps it's because at 6'2" he's the little guy. It had been a long time since I was in that sea of red and it was a great atmosphere. I think I'll make of habit of taking in a ballgame for myself when making these trips to visit my parents.

Happy birthday Erik!

He's been charging hefty prices for several years now, in fact he was something of a pioneer with the CSN&Y reunions. I'm glad I got to see him a bunch in the '80s for around $15 (or less than $50 in today's dollars.) I can't remember where I read it but I recall an Onion-like jokey article about fans taking out 2nd mortgages to see him in concert.

Are you fucking kidding me? "Saw the light"? You were six years old and you saw a winner. What the hell was he supposed to do, pick the closest team geographically? In 1954 that was the St. Louis Cardinals! (Dang Dave, you're old! ) The Cardinal radio network was powerful as they had fans out in Nebraska, Colorado & even Wyoming, but I don't think the reach extended to Orygun. The flip side of "front-running" is picking a team because of its losing history. Some people love wallowing in "whoa is me, my poor team has never won." That crap that gets old really fast if that's all there is to the fandom. Having grown up on the Mason-Dixon line of Cub-Cardinal country I find a certain flavor of Cub fan along with many of the "persecuted" pre-2004 Red Sox fan to be even more insufferable than front-runners (which I saw plenty of around here w/ 49ers fans when they were winning. Now homeless people wear those jackets & shirts.)

Late with the praise but mercy, well done! I never had the pleasure of seeing y'all in person but it's a mighty fine sounding substitute. (I'm waiting for a day to crank it 8 and "feel" the music vibrations thump through the ribcage.) While I'm a "music first" kind of guy the sound quality really is something else. Someone should start a thread over at Hoffman about the superior sonics of Alive & Kickin'. You'll get people who normally only buy gold discs Air Supply's Greatest Hits buying this just to hear the high fidelity.

The show has a great pedigree though I'll have to wait until it's on DVD. That's okay as I lag on these sorts of things. It's probably been mentioned here before, but I always thought Wendell Pierce at least had the appearance to play Thelonious Monk.

Ghost & I had similar Midwestern upbringings at roughly the same time (I'm pretty sure I'm a wee bit older, based on his card memories ) and I must say if you're a kid who has read about the great New York Yankees, but open up a pack of cards and this is the starting 2nd baseman you are not a front runner but you're getting in at the floor. Though I must say, Horace looks pretty rad in that card. The card from the year before is more woeful.

Congrats! Baltimore can keep their record.

Hey, he sang he 'hoped the Russians loved their children too." He never said he cared a twat about the Uzbekian children. Let 'em pick cotton, he needs his money to free his mind of financial worries to better concentrate on maintaining a 5 hour boner.

Okay, credit where it's due. Thanks for the 3 R HR last night Milton. You're #1!

They did them like that for a number of years before and after. As a kid they were my least favorite card so mine are in great shape since they went in the shoebox and stayed there. I have Mike Schmidt's rookie card which he shares with Ron Cey, yet look who ends up in the center. One of these isn't like the other. And way to rub in that the Fred Lynn rookie is one of about 4 cards left that I need to complete that set.

A better one of Oscar, at least for showing his 'fro along with a painted cap. I still have my cards from the '70s.

It could have been worse. Soundgarden reunion. (Shudder.) And at least it wasn't Neil Diamond. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... Though rooting for the M's I kind of like it too - at least for now. The M's got so much "they're going to win" attention when they got Lee, and the Angels have earned the fear & respect so talk of them winning isn't out of line. The Rangers have young pitching that looks promising (which is weird) to go with some talented position players, so it's not unreasonable to think they could win the west. But I don't think anyone was thinking the A's would do much and even had a few snide Moneyball jokes tossed their way in preseason articles and such. Just 2 weeks in and things look different!

He's didn't pitch well vs. MIN last year or the year before that. Next start is Tampa, so you might have to wait for Baltimore after that for a nice stat line.