Dan Gould

Thank you, Volkher. I appreciate your good thoughts and am relieved to know you don't hold me to blame for whatever the fallout was from that thread. Best to you, I hope you don't stay away permanently.

What the hell did I say on that thread to deserve that? I basically said the exact same things Allen was saying, if you talk about all of it not just the music itself, then talk about all of it. That's all I said. And I get specifically called out?

Very cool - would be great when they get the Freddie Redd sets up, in the meantime the first ones I want to hear are the Tadd Schull sets. I really enjoy his Criss Cross albums, so this will be a treat to hear something "new" from him.

This is precisely why I've told my wife that I think I'd prefer that we use my expiring gift card for the Star Trek movie and not the new Terminator flick, after reading a few reviews and perusing the rotten tomato website.

to paraphrase Tom Hanks from 'Major League'- There's no Mercy rule in baseball! Try "League of Their Own".

Well the bullpen has been every bit as good as was hoped, and given Papi's problems and injuries to Youkilis and Lowrie, the offense has been as good as could be hoped. But the rotation is the worst or next to worst in the league! If Lester and Beckett find their form then there might be some hope. Interesting too that Smoltz may be ready around June 15, and that happens to be the date that Penny, as a free agent signing, can be traded. I can very much see him getting moved to make room for Smoltz, making the path for Bowden and Buchholz to get their chances that much clearer. And I think Penny would have some value to any team looking for half way decent starting pitching. He does manage to pitch quality starts despite his high overall ERA. And he does bring it at 94-95, which suggests that he's healthy again. And oh by the way - BIG PAPI HIT A HOMER TO STRAIGHTAWAY CENTERFIELD! Finally!

I believe at least a couple of animals had to be destroyed because their aggressive behavior would not change.

What I find remarkable is that the guy was the same dominant pitcher last season, with a shredded shoulder, until the pain got to be too much. If he could throw that well with a torn labrum, why wouldn't he be able to pitch as well after the repair?

And this Yankee Stadium wind tunnel is getting f-ing ridiculous. Swisher, Cano and Cabrera go back-to-back-to-back in the second, all to right field. Can the Yankee pitching staff manage to keep the ball in the yard often enough at home for their offense to do most of the damage, or will this be Coors Field East, and the Yanks will have the same playoff success as the Rockies, playing in a launching pad? What do they do if they break last year's home run total before the All-Star break? As the weather warms up, the offenses usually get warm, too. The home run rate in the cold and the rain should actually go higher as we get into the summer.

I don't know if its that rare - I'm pretty sure we both agree that Bonds used steroids.

Kerry Wood has been brutally bad.

Hey Conrad, is Braves Nation abuzz over the fact that John Smoltz starts his 21 day rehab today? They might if they thought about it, because if there are no setbacks and Smoltz must be activated at the end of the 21 days, that will be right when the Braves are at Fenway. Or better yet, what if Smoltz is ready to go and his second start comes when the Sox visit Atlanta at the end of June? Can you imagine Smoltz making a start during that series?

So what is the attitude toward Mike Vick's leaving prison and his inevitable effort to return to the NFL? As most of you would guess, no one was more sickened by the acts to which he plead guilty. But for me the bottom line is that he has paid his debt to society, or at least the incarceration part of it, and he should be allowed to return, if any NFL team will take him. This country is all about second chances, second acts, screwing up and seeking redemption. He's paid a heavy price and if he demonstrates remorse and a willingness to do more to make up for his transgressions, he should resume his career. I am guessing though that the commish won't let him back very soon. He's paid his debt to society but not playing football while incarcerated isn't the same as being punished by not being allowed to play football when he's a free man. I expect he'll miss another season before the commish will consider his application.

He's not only the soul of the board, he's the Welcome Wagon, too! Happy Birthday, Chuck! :party:

I'm with John. Anything with Mobley and Dorham ain't gonna be a "dog" even relatively speaking.

Anyone changing their opinion of the Yankees' chances? About to go 9-2 since A-Rod returned and while Jeter definitely looks like his decline is accelerating (I saw a slow chopper to third tonight and the third baseman looked and said "well I've got time" and threw him out on the force play, and I was thinking two years ago, doesn't he beat that out?), that wind tunnel ballpark is making Damon young again and lifted Teixeira out of his doldrums. Sabathia is being Sabathia, and even the bullpen has managed not to throw away games lately. Color me worried. And I find it ridiculous that the current homer pace is such that the total number of home runs will exceed the total of all last season on July 18th, the first home game after the All-Star break.

Same six tracks, iirc.

Following up on HG's post, I've been getting emails from Amazon offering Venus releases in this licensed CDR format, $13.99 each. All the notices were about Eric Alexander releases, I haven't bothered a search to determine if there are many other Venus artists included, I'd presume that there are though. Given the cost of Venus releases, I have to admit I'd be hard pressed to turn thumbs down on this offer, if there was a Venus release I really wanted.

They (meaning the Red Sox) are playing brutally atrocious baseball and if it doesn't change fast, they will find themselves with only the Orioles beneath them in the standings. Its fucking ugly and I have no reason to feel remotely good about this team. Shitty starting pitchers. Inconsistent offense. And no one can play SS and field the ball. Not to mention the DH who shall remain nameless. Will it even matter that they are now finished with West Coast trips for the rest of the year? I'm not expecting one in October, that's for fucking sure. Oh and this is just fucking awesome: Losers of four of six, and I just realized first-place Toronto comes to Fenway. And Youkilis will be out at least one more game, Ortiz is a worthless POS, and Wakefield, Penny and Lester take the mound. Like I said, they'll be looking up at everyone but the Orioles soon enough.

If this means you found new, better gainful employment to necessitate the move, then congrats, and see ya when I see ya.

They (meaning the Red Sox) are playing brutally atrocious baseball and if it doesn't change fast, they will find themselves with only the Orioles beneath them in the standings. Its fucking ugly and I have no reason to feel remotely good about this team. Shitty starting pitchers. Inconsistent offense. And no one can play SS and field the ball. Not to mention the DH who shall remain nameless. Will it even matter that they are now finished with West Coast trips for the rest of the year? I'm not expecting one in October, that's for fucking sure.

Maddon strikes me as, next to Tony LaRussa, the guy who always thinks he's the smartest one in the room. And he screwed up the lineup and lost his DH?

Up again, as the first batch is ending today.

I read through the court filings last night, and one thing I realized is that calling a service contract "an extended warranty" is misleading and fraudulent. By law, a warranty can only be sold when the item is first bought. Anything after that is a service contract. But since they call themselves "Warranty Service Center" and as the charge claims, some telemarketers and managers act as if they are affiliated with whatever company made your vehicle, they figure they can call it an "extended warranty". Considering that the receiver is supposed to secure the premises and run the business, I wonder if this was accomplished through a law enforcement raid. I bet it was, and I almost wish that I had been hired the day it happened, just to be sitting there, thinking "someone ought to shut this company down" and then have it happen right before my eyes.

About as predictable as Dan going to bed with a 4-0 lead and waking up to find out they lost AGAIN. This team could be in deep, deep trouble and absolutely desperate for Smoltz to pitch like an all-star by the time he's ready. Lester, Beckett are both disasters. Ortiz even worse. They are incredibly lucky to be as close to 1st as they are, and their luck is running out, fast.