Dan Gould

Can't go with my standby that this would be your opinion, which you are entitled to have, and that its wrong. But here you are simply wrong on the facts. http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds...area_of_doping/

They didn't "raid" the labs like an out of control gang. They executed a valid search warrant and in the course of the execution walked out with more evidence than they specifically had a right to seize. It remains an open question whether they violated the 4th amendment. As for Ortiz, I thought he might have done better in Spanish instead of English, because his statements weren't nearly as strong as they could have been. Of course he might have wanted to avoid the Palmiero finger-in-your-face denial. In a way, while it would be helpful to his case to say that he specifically recalls using whichever supplement it is that is now known to contain a particular steroid, being unable to identify the supplements plays into his claim of being "careless". The bottom line though is that no one knows if he knowingly used but a lot of people are going to be cynical about it. Show me more proof and I'll declare him a cheat and a fraud. But there's no supporting evidence as we have with Bonds, no lawyering up like we have with McGuire, and absolutely no personal admission as we have with A-Rod. And as I said before, he's basically challenged anyone to prove him a liar and completely destroy his honor, dignity and integrity, and "place the needle in his ass" as it were.

Jazz died a long time ago. It was a particular style of music relevant to a particular time in history. That time passed long ago. The fact that the audience was so young, relatively speaking, shows that there was a cohort of fans still actively supporting the music, if you go back 30 years closer to its heyday. 30 years out and the fan base has done nothing but age. And die. Like jazz.

All Lester needs to do to join the parade of losers is give up three runs. It might only take one, but they'll probably manage to break this pathetic streak of scoreless innings. Then immediately start a new one. Boston Massacre III - CATCH IT!

And how about Buchholz? Six innings/2 runs pretty good. 6 innings, 12 base runners, not very good. Some excellent clutch pitches, and way too many that missed the plate. Probably the biggest difference was that he missed off of the plate instead of missing over the heart of it, and that's how he avoided the crushing blow. In a way he looked like Lester did in the early part of his career. Too many pitches, not enough innings per start, but the occasional flash of something that made you think there was some hope for the future. Too bad he's the number three starter NOW.

As if the MFY need the help of the umps. First he rings up Ortiz when there is no fucking way in hell that the third base ump calls him out. It wasn't even fucking close. Not remotely. The head of the bat was at a 90 degree angle from his body, and stopped short of the front edge of the plate. The very fucking definition of checking your swing. And the home plate umpire, who is supposed to look for help on those calls since he has no angle and is supposed to watch the pitch, rings him up. Fucking asshole. Then the very next inning, when it is not possible for a pitcher to be purposefully head-hunting, the fucking asshole umpire throws him out for hitting A-Rod. Fuck him! He should be fucking fined and suspended for gross incompetence. And Francona should have fucking let him know that. Such an utter bullshit decision, Francona should have been in his face and gotten his money worth and gotten himself rung up. But then again, Fancona can be a fucking idiot himself. Case in point: Toughest lefty in the league. Must win game. Runs at a premium. Can't give up too many, even more so when the entire lineup is sucking donkey dicks. You've got Lowell at third base - makes sense. Youkilis has to play anyway, but he's a righty too. But Bay is out and Baldelli is on the DL, and you've got a rookie, Reddick, who plays a fine OF (scouts think he could be a starting CF in the future) is a lefty, and Kotchman, the backup 1B, is a lefty too. So what does Francoma do? He sits Reddick, plays Kotchman, and puts Youkilis in LF. Way to play your best defense, Tito you fucking moron. What happens? Two guys end up on 2B because Youkilis can't play the position. And why the fuck is Kotchman in anyway? The only thing I could figure was that he must hit Sabathia really well. Right? Right? NO - he's 1 for 4 against him. So you could play Reddick and have your defense lined up or you could play Kotchman and fuck up your defense. The kid is going to hit against Sabathia sooner or later. SO LET HIM FUCKING PLAY. You think it can't get worse, or more embarrassing, but it does.

21, and I am ashamed to say I pictured a paperclip but could not properly count the "curves". Did anyone else think that the proper answer for "sides of a stop sign" should include the front and the back?

Yes she was. You still don't get it. Yeah well at least Mays sold useful products in a straightforward honest way instead of stupid bullshit like a manicurist who uses Palmolive as a skin treatment. Sorry that's all I got.

Yeah, I missed Mr. Popeil or certainly didn't recognize him on the rotisserie thing. But something to consider about that era of three channels - Madge wasn't on every single one of them every day. There was other crap to sell, and limited commercial space with three networks. With hundreds of cable channels, you couldn't spend an hour, any time of the day or night, 24/7/365, without seeing this guy all the freaking time. That leads to far more media saturation than Madge or Whipple ever had.

The sheer number of products he hawked? A huge difference from Madge or Mr. Whipple. And didn't Popeil just sell the rotisserie? Anyone else find it weird seeing this new spot being aired posthumously? If I didn't know he'd croaked, my reaction would be "hasn't he lost a lot of weight? He looks good."

Smoltz DFA'd Thank God. They've also brought up the impressive young Japanese pitcher, Tazawa, and I am really curious if its the Red Sox who put in the claim on Alex Rios (its been reported there was a waiver claim made). Rios' contract is atrocious, but he's a terrific Fenway hitter - OPS way over .900 at Fenway in 80+ games. And to take that horrible contract, which goes to 20 million plus for several years, ought not to cost hardly anything. I know his trend line is terrible for a couple of years now but if there's anywhere for him to revive his bat, its gotta be Fenway.

Congratulations, Cary and all the Ralstons and Tatums!

Back in May my wife decided to start a vegetable garden. I'm glad I convinced her to start small in the little courtyard by the front door rather than the big garden she wanted to do along the fence line in back, because the Florida sun has pretty much killed it all. Everything started fine - tomatoes, green pepper, radishes, green beans but it all got cooked by the sun, even after she installed a canvas covering that is supposed to protect from the sun but let the rain in. Total harvest to date: 2 peppers 3 radishes 2 green beans the only thing that grows and keeps growing are the herbs. Everything else is kaput, and she's given up. Like I said, I am glad she didn't do what she planned, which would have been 10Xs larger and equally burned to a crisp.

Its sad that he died so young, but I am with Bruce, his movies did little or nothing for me (and I am pretty sure I was much closer to the target age when they came out). Breakfast Club is particularly appalling, IMHO.

I was walking through the Florida State student union one day late in my senior year and found some young guy literally tossing an infant 30 feet in the air and catching him. I was totally dumbfounded.

Has their embarrassing shit convinced anyone else that I am right? Smoltz ranks as one of the all-time worst signings in the free agent era. Can they be fucking stupid enough to allow him to pitch again? Why the fuck would they do that? He's not getting better, he's getting worse, and he was awful to begin with. That high strike out to walk ratio was obviously the anomaly, not the results. What happened today? When he wasn't throwing meatballs over the plate, he was missing horrendously. A seven era goes even higher. And don't fucking tell me he'll help in the bullpen. Eventually he won't fool anyone, not even in the first inning. And why even use him there? The whole fucking reason he was signed was the FANTASY that a 42 year old with major shoulder surgery could come back and be an ace starter in October. What a fucking dream that is. Even Superman dies eventually. Its going to be fascinating to see what that fucking asshole says after this. He should be released, immediately. The asshole gets thirty five thousand dollars a day to suck donkey dicks. That's two million coming to him between now and the end of the season? That's another reason why he should be released. They don't need a 42 year old piece of shit in the bullpen. Release Smoltz. Call up Bowden. When the deficit is 12 games on August 29, send Penny away to someone who might think he could help. They really should fucking finish behind Toronto, too, and I don't think its impossible.

I am so glad to see what's on this channel, and more importantly, what's not. I was afraid I was going to feel obligated to tear you a new one if Dave Koz or Boney James was among the featured artists.

Same old versions, just more sun tans and shorts. And dinner at 4 ... p.m. True. Reminds me of that Seinfeld episode when Jerry went to a later dinner with his parents and then they got ragged on for missing the "early bird special". My wife and I really made out like bandits Saturday night on the Early Bird at Sal's, a "neighborhood Italian" franchise that actually serves decent food. Sue was heading to Hollywood at 6 PM for a night out with a couple of girlfriends so we had an early dinner using a new coupon - buy one early bird, the second is .99! $10.98 for salad, garlic rolls, entre and dessert for two! The old folks have it pretty good! And that place was slammed with blue hairs. Edit to say: You know what that will cost you after 6?

Final bit of proof they don't stand a motherfucking chance to make the playoffs: The Red Sox just signed PAUL FUCKING BYRD. That's their fucking answer to Brad Penny and Clay Buchholz and John Smoltz. Paul Byrd. I AM done now.

You don't get the free pass that a general music critic might get when she is the Jazz Examiner. I'm pretty sure there is a Pop Examiner, too. She gets to write about what she wants to write about, nothing else and about what she thinks constitutes jazz. But set aside the "smooth jazz" label. Does anyone here even think that Dave Koz or Boney James are great saxophonists?

Seriously, is there any fucking doubt that they are done? Make your plans now: Yankees - Tigers and Rays - Angels in the ALDS.

Thank you. My deepest regret is giving a hard time to someone who is in a position to promote the band. That's a terrible thing to do to Jim on this board. My second regret is treating a new member curtly. But as I have re-read the entire exchange, I see one "significant" faux pax, and that's inserting the F-word in between "Boney" and "James". It wasn't directed at the writer, it was directed at Boney F-ing James! Otherwise the entire interaction boils down to: How can you be a "Jazz Examiner" and talk up those two non-jazz musicians? Here are a couple of guys you should consider instead (I gave her suggestions, just as requested) Really, how can you be a "Jazz Examiner"? And that whole thing about a male going after a female is and always will be a crock. You get anyone - male/female, black/white/polka dotted - who wants to talk jazz and then mentions Koz and James, I am going to express the exact same beliefs in the exact same way.

PM being sent.

It will be, and it is the beginning of the end. Or have you not been listening to the master prognosticator?

Let's just say that if the obscenities had been directed at Boney James & Dave Koz, no one would have batted an eye... That's exactly who the obscenity (singular) was aimed at. I didn't say "you bleeping piece of bleep. You're the NY Jazz Examiner and you think X and Y are the great jazz saxophonists of the day?" Yes, my initial post is harsher with the F word. But it was aimed at Boney James, not the newbie. ************************************ I am embarrassed and ashamed that in "going off" I represented the board poorly to a new member, and for that I apologize to everyone, especially Jim for making the board look bad and Carole for making her feel unwelcome. I am most definitely NOT ashamed for the opinions I expressed. I don't see how a serious "jazz" writer can mention these musicians in any way shape or form. It IS "sad" that the person chosen to write about jazz in New York, the capitol of the jazz world, thinks those two are jazz musicians.