Dan Gould

So let's summarize. The Yankees: Needed help in the bullpen, got Kerry Wood, who has been highly flammable since coming to the A.L. and gets hurt picking up his newspaper. Didn't need a DH but got the ghost of Lance Berkman anyway. He'll probably hit about seven homers down the stretch in the Little League field, none of consequence, and at all other times suck donkey dicks. Didn't need an outfielder, got Austin Kearns. Whatever. The Rays: Suddenly needed help in the bullpen because Balfour is out for six weeks, got Chad Qualls. I've heard that Qualls' secondary stats aren't as bad the rest of them but this is a downgrade any way you slice it. Fortunately they've still got some arms there. Man oh man was I excited when I heard that the Rays were one of the teams in on Manny. That would have put the fucking fear of god into the assholes in the Bronx, I just wish it could have happened. The Red Sox: Theo earns his money by not overpaying to try to marginally increase a vanishing (I'll now say <5%) chance of making the playoffs. When the Jays ask for Cuban SS Iglesias or top pitching prospect Kelly for Scott Fucking Downs, its time to turn off the phone and keep building that bridge to 2011. So he turned to the tried and true: Addition by subtraction. Ramon Ramirez sent to SF for a bag of balls. Hermida and his .257 OBP DFA'd. Dustin Richardson called up, and more excitingly, Ryan Kalish, who has had the best season of any of their prospects and is only 22, takes over for Hermida. In 343 PAs split between AA and AAA, he posted a slash of .294/.382/.502. The future is now. Watch out in 2011 when we can only assume the baseball Gods will devastate the roster of some other team with a ridiculous series of injuries. And presuming that Theo makes the trade for a franchise bat like Adrian Gonzales or better yet, if Detroit realizes it can't pay him, they should absolutely get Cabrera, who has very much re-established his value this year and is signed for quite a few years to come. Get it done, Theo! In the meantime, GO RAYS!!!!

And by the way, who are we really kidding? The fans of the 27 time world champions are the most obnoxious by a factor of at least 10. The reason being that they think it makes them winners, too, and they have a breathtaking sense of entitlement, piled on top of the fact that most of them are New Yorkers who have an arrogance all their own.

This just in from John Sterling: THE YANKEES LOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSEEE And I will sleep well.

You and me both. Not to mention A-Rod flailing at pitches.

How's THAT for the first home run Hughes has allowed on the road all year? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA GO RAYS!!!! And here comes Joba!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA

On the positive side there is a club option for 2011 and apparently there isn't even a buy-out on that. But why do you need a bat, and a bat that plays 1B? The obvious needs are in the bullpen, and maybe in the rotation though it sure looks like Pettitte will be back pretty soon. Berkman replacing Teixeira or taking over at DH takes ABs away from Posada (how's that four year contract looking now?) as well as reducing the opportunity for resting the old folks down the stretch by rotation them in and out of the DH slot. Berkman's SLG is way down this year but playing in the little league stadium, I'm sure those numbers will go right back up.

July 5, 1964 has just been added. Playlist here Jimmy Smith with Quentin Warren and Billy Hart Dizzy with James Moody Sarah Vaughn backed by Bob James Oscar Brown and the concerts I am most interested in: A short (two track) set by Ben Webster with Buck Clayton and Al Grey A longer set featuring the same front line under Ruby Braff's leadership - with Sir Charles Thompson on piano throughout.

Your quote most assuredly implied that he should champion the music on his show, or how else are we to interpret "It's more than just a passing joke when it takes food out of cat's mouths."? And the joke didn't equate jazz fans to heroin addicts - when was that even a stereotype in the first place, it was the musicians who were shooting up. Which you even acknowledged when you said "he has famously boycotted jazz from his show for decades and never misses an opportunity to insult and denigrate the people who play it." David Letterman hates jazz and given the volume of airtime he has filled on CBS, very rarely incorporates that hatred into his act. Big Fucking Deal. That doesn't make the top fifty of Problems Confronting Jazz. First of all, who would even expect Paul Shaeffer to even be invited on Piano Jazz? What was the point? To my knowledge he's never expressed an interest or even a remote affinity for jazz. What did Marian expect? The man co-wrote "It's Raining Men, Hallelujah" for crap's sake. Sorry to be the grammar police here but therefore you disagree that he hates jazz but he thinks otherwise? I think you were looking for "I've managed not to hold it against him."

Not all that much different from what he was hitting. The point being, that trade was about the future and what Smoak is expected to become - which as far as I know, no one has withdrawn or reduced their projections of him as a middle of the order bona fide offensive force.

Well it seems way premature for this to be the sort of career-changing injury that brought Prior down. I'd have to assume this is some sort of minor inflammation and with all the money invested, the Nats are going to be cautious. But remember, its shoulders that end careers, elbow injuries can be a new lease on life after TJ surgery, but labrum tears are rarely overcome. Would really be a shame if he burned out this quick but its way too early for that ...

5.5 out of the playoffs right now. Instead of my predicted 3-7 road trip they managed 6-4 because the Angels suck even more than the Red Sox. Big fucking deal. Some crucial facts: Pedroia is learning the hard way that healing a broken foot takes time, and 6 to 8 weeks means 6-8 weeks. He is barely over 4 weeks out, which means he has 10 days to 3 weeks yet to go. V-Mart being back helps a bit; Pedroia is still a crusher because Billy Hall plays too often until he gets back. The bullpen remains a horrible place where leads go to die, and when the Blue Jays want Casey Kelley, their number one or two prospect, for Scott Fucking Downs, there is no deal to be had for any help. Wagers on whether or not Michael Bowden can be a difference-maker? Because there's no one else on the horizon. I'm thrilled some MFY asshole respects the Red Sox roster so much but there are too many pieces missing for too much time yet to come for those head-to-head matchups to mean anything. GO RAYS! KNOCK THE MFY OUT OF FIRST SO THEY HAVE TO BEAT CLIFF LEE TWICE WITH NO HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE.

Thanks for your perspective. In the case of the missing items, I've tried to explain why "exhaustive inspection" doesn't come close to describing the process - particularly in the case of the wand. We're talking about a box with a handful of items in it - literally - and a wand that extends almost the length of the box. Not a big box either, a "letter size" office file box. It is not possible to miss the wand once, let alone multiple times, then find it there again, without understanding that it was not there previously. There would be other explanations - I could be a mischivous ass making shit up - but the normal "I thought I looked there" explanation doesn't cut it.

I am pleased to report that notwithstanding the "poking" incident that took place after my wife "sealed" the house (and triggered the angry screaming in her head), things have very much returned to normal. In fact, I have to say that within a couple of weeks I honestly began to perceive what I can only describe as a "lighter" atmosphere in the house. Almost a calm, or just some sense of a change to a sense of ... I don't know, a lack of foreboding or any feeling of dread? Its hard to describe, but I have to say its how I felt, the atmosphere was lighter, and nothing has been going on here since then. But I didn't bring this thread up to report that. I brought it up to report something paranormal but actually sort of pleasing. Three years ago on July 4th my Father-in-Law died unexpectedly of a massive heart attack. He was mere weeks away from moving to his dream home in Arizona (he died in Wichita). As per his wishes, he was cremated and in the fall of that year his ashes were scattered in a particular spot he had picked out in AZ. My wife and her sister took care of this, and while they were doing it, some pictures were taken of the area. Two of the pictures had what could be called "light anomalies" - it was a sunny day, this was an area with trees, and two pictures had sort of grayish dark areas or shadows. We didn't put too much stock in the pictures simply because, with big trees you simply can't say whether or not these are natural shadows or not, no matter what the grieving family wants to believe. Fast forward to last month. My wife decided to sell her pickup truck in order to pay down some debts. Her plan was to fly out to Wichita with her sister to buy a replacement vehicle from a dealer who was her Father's closest friend (and she knew would give her a really good deal). So in June she books the airline tickets and informs Patty of this. Patty has saved on her cell phone one of the pictures from Arizona, but she does not keep it on the screen. That's reserved for her dog, Logan. The next time Patty took out her cell phone after Sue told her their flight schedule, her cell phone was displaying the picture from Arizona. So they are in Wichita and she is completing the purchase of her SUV. They are sitting in the office awaiting the paperwork when Patty pulls out her phone - and once again, "Dad's" picture is on the screen. Now I do not know of any cell phone where changing the picture on the screen is a simple matter of hitting a couple of buttons, which one could suppose might be done accidentally. You've got to push a button to bring up settings, you have to choose what setting you are changing, you have to find the picture and select it. We do not have any logical explanation for how the picture changed, except what Dad's friend said when they showed it to him - "Bob is just saying 'hi'." I can't find the pictures on the hard drive but if I find the disc I will upload them.

It is disgusting, and they should be outed and shamed.

Well I'm pissed at myself for not downloading this as there was a gift-wrapped track sitting there just for me.

Personally I think whoever first made the observation that Miles needed someone to contrast with his own approach, and Hank didn't do that, got it as right as it needs to be. Or, maybe the anonymous blog "moron" I've posted in my signature got it right about Hank?

What a perfect example last night of why the Red Sox are doomed. Two wins in a row against one of the shittiest teams in the majors. Their ace on the hill who was fucking D - E - A - L - I - N - G, with a perfect game and 9 strikeouts through five innings. I'm fucking stupid enough to keep watching but at least I went to bed after the perfect game went bye-bye on a pathetic error in CF and then everything went to hell with a shitty pitch to a shitty hitter who hammered it about 450 feet. If you really think they have some sort of chance, you'd have to agree they have no margin for error. Losing a game like they did last night is just another nail in the coffin.

Well the Daily News got some new information out of Dan Duquette, or at least an explanation of why he thinks that information is coming out that will show that Clemens "used steroids in a significant way": Duquette has been involved in his own steroid investigation. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2010/07/25/2010-07-25_duquette_on_trail_of_rocket.html Its an interesting statement but he also says that the DOJ hasn't been in touch with him, so I wonder whether they've covered the same ground separately or what? Did he put out this information with the express intent of getting the DOJ's attention? And I'm not sure how much forensic accountants can prove without voluntary cooperation from the users and suppliers, or a court order, which they clearly aren't getting. But if Duquette is doing nothing but blowing smoke, and he was just running his mouth on that radio show, why do you up the ante and talk about this stuff? If you want it to go away you give a polite "no comment" and that's the end of it. Instead he's upped the ante by acting like he's involved in some independent investigation that has uncovered substantial evidence of PED use by Clemens and many other players. So why talk about it if there's nothing to it?

There's an official one from Newport Jazz Festival 1959 available for $10 I think from Wolfgang's Vault. It's available in FLAC or MP3 format. I don't know if I'd call it essential but I think it's very good. Full Disclosure: I'm a big Monk fan. Then you ought to know there are two Monk shows available for download from Wolfgang's Vault.

I got a much better one:

Shockingly enough, a question I've asked myself. I think Aggie has it exactly right.

I don't see why - she insisted that he swear undying love, and he did so. There was no rape by deception - he swore he would love her til the end of time, and she gave it up. By the lyrics I'd say that even countless years later, he refuses to disavow that love, even though "God only knows what I could do right now."

Amazon lists it in stock, with two used copies even cheaper.

Interesting stat just now on MLB Network "Quick Pitch" - Posada reached a milestone 1000 RBIs and joins Fisk, Bench, Carter and I-Rod with 1000 RBI and 250 HRs and 350 2Bs. So does this make Posada a Hall of Famer? There's one huge problem I see - those other four brought big-time defensive skills to the plate as well as good bats, and we all know that Posada was at best average behind the dish and hasn't reached that level in about three years. He also had a substantial home field advantage, hitting from the left side at Yankee Stadium because of the plurality of righties in the league - he slugs .50 points better at home than on the road. I just can't see Posada in the Hall. I might grade him a little closer than Bernie Williams because of the relative rareness of power hitting among catchers but he's no Hall of Famer in my mind.

Is "downgraded" the proper terminology in French? Because here, you get downgraded from stable to critical, not the other way around. That's an upgrade, and its welcome news.