Dan Gould

Great news, Bruce!

ALDS -- Boston in 5, Tampa Bay in 4 NLDS -- Chicago in 4, Philadelphia in 4 ALCS -- Boston in 6 NLCS -- Chicago in 6 WS -- Boston in 6 Strange to say but that's my nightmare scenario. My Father is 82 and in declining health; my Mom is 75 and been dealing with an uncontrolled spike in her blood pressure. They've rooted for the Cubs since long, long before I was born. The Cubs making it to the World Series and then losing at the hands of my favorite team - there'd be no joy in that. So I'm first hoping that the Cubs win it all by defeating the Rays or Angels (no chance in hell the Chisox make it); second scenario is for the Sox to repeat by defeating someone other than the Cubs (wouldn't mind a Sox-Dodgers Series, Manny will deserve a very rude reception). Third preference is the Cubs over the Sox and the worst outcome aside from both teams losing early is the Sox over the Cubs.

Or we could certainly ask if she prefers to strip to lightning fast bebop or records like "Am I Blue".

if people can't register and immediately post, is it possible to include some sort of jazz knowledge test to screen out the spammers? I don't know - name a Miles Davis album that featured Red Garland on piano ... something that isn't easily discoverable on AMG. Or maybe "write a paragraph about how you discovered jazz and your favorite jazz musicians". It might keep people from registering or be obvious when they are blowing smoke. I don't want to add on to Jim's responsibilities, it might be something that the Mods should handle. But the amount of spam the board is getting is becoming really annoying. Any thoughts?

The problem with that is, if both teams are in, unless there is an obvious advantage, matchup-wise, two teams that are in regardless of the outcome aren't going to waste the guy they want to use in Game 1 on this "tie-breaking" game. It would likely be a cross between a "bullpen game" and a mid-March tilt in Fort Myers: a lot of scrubs, a lot of swinging at the first pitch.

Weinstock told me that for him it was basically a tax dodge. That is, he had so much money coming in from "hit" records, he wanted to keep the money in the business, not pay taxes on it, so he created other subsidiary labels.

But the season series is determined on the field -- over 18 games, a considerably fairer sample than one game in gauging which team is superior. And if we're not going to give the team with the better head-to-head record the nod for the playoff spot, the least they should get is home field for the play-in game. That seems more equitable than a coin flip. Eighteen games should count for something. Now, I love a good play-in game as much as the next guy, but the point Mike and Mike were making was, is it fair to the players? ChiSox players have to feel lucky to even be playing this game, let alone playing it at home. Twins players, maybe not so much. All that said, and being careful what I wish for -- go Sox. And what if a season series ends in August, and the team on the short-end catches fire and makes a tremendous playoff drive in September. If they end up tied, games from earlier in the year should be the determining factor? I don't think so. Play 162 and see where you are. If you're tied, settle it on the field the next day. Edit to add that while this couldn't happen for division foes in the uneven schedule era, it could certainly happen if two teams were tied for the wild card.

Something else to be pointed out about why the NFL has head-to-head, and other tie-breaking rules: There is no time in the NFL schedule for a 'play-in' game. They go straight from the regular season to the first round of the play-offs. So of course season-series is the first tie-breaker used, and then division record, iirc. But in baseball, there are two or three days before the playoffs start: one for any make-up games that may be necessary and another for any one-game playoffs. Ideally you should always settle things on the field, which is why I do not regard the Yankees as 2005 AL East champions, and never will.

M&M pointed out this morning that the season series counts for nothing in baseball. The Twins won the season series with the ChiSox, 10-8, I believe, yet those 18 games count for nothing and the Twins are forced to play a one-game winner take all game ... at Chicago (because of a coin flip!)? Doesn't seem fair to the Twinkies. If you're tied atop the division with another team but you won the season series against that team, you win the division. makes sense. Why is it different for the wild card? They have a point. Its different because only one playoff spot is left. Head-to-head record counts only if both teams are heading to the playoffs regardless; its for seeding purposes as well as "bragging rights". Do you really think that a spot in the playoffs should be determined by season series rather than on the field? And as far as the coin flip goes, do you have a better method? How about "choose a number from 1 to 100, the closest without going over wins"?

Well I think its appropriate that these two teams square off to decide matters though if Detroit had won the White Sox really would have deserved their early vacation. Unfortunately though I can't see either team beating the Rays. Liriano gives the Twins a fighting chance though. Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative tonight than it was yesterday.

I still consider myself a fan but haven't bought anything new since the c. 1990 CD that featured "Copperline". I did see him live around that time; he put on a fine show.

And some more ... I don't know how well Jeff is doing on the NFL or College Football predictions, but his "The tribe won't do as well as last season" sure was spot on.

Went back and grabbed some of the predictions from April. Interesting how many people picked the Tigers and M's, and only one person - It Should Be You - had the Rays in the playoffs, and that was as the WC. I don't think the Tigers have a lock on things. And while the odds are longer, I don't think Boston or New York has a spot guaranteed either. For instance Boston went from having too many starters last December to losing Schilling for 1/2 the year, Beckett having back problems, Bochholz getting bombed in spring training, and Lester being wild in spring too. Not to put too much on spring training, but it's enough to cause the BoSox fan's heart to sputter. A similar list of doubts can be listed about the Yankees or other teams, which is "why we play the games." While it's foolish I've talked myself into enough "ifs" happening in favor for the Mariners to maybe win the West. It takes a lot, but it could happen.

To which I can only say, GO CUBS!!!!

In the end I decided that watching Met fans cry overcomes any concern about dealing with Sabathia in October. In the final analysis, the Mets with Santana and the Brewers with Sabathia are dangerous in a short series, while the Dodgers really are the weakest of the playoff teams. I mean, they've set up their rotation to have Lowe start Game 1. He's a fine pitcher and all, having a good season, but he's not a guy you fear. Cubs should have no trouble getting to the NLCS, and if they have to beat Sabathia to get to the Series, so be it.

Care to revise your statement?

Five years before my Stupendous Sale , I switched from jewel boxes to three-ring binders. None of the sold discs were sent back as unplayable.

Well Ray, one clue for me is the lack of any acknowledgment of the original label. Its how the recordings are known but they don't bother to mention it. Other Andorran labels have done the same thing (though not in all cases). Fwiw, I notice that this label doesn't come up on the Absolute Distribution site, so I guess it is not connected to Gambit/Definitive/FreshSounds et. al.

Thanks for that link, Larry, it was interesting. I couldn't find the complete article on the Jazziz site, while I disagree with Myers' opinion I'm curious how he expands on his points. I think though that we can all have our own takes on what the "best" recording by that group was, but what I thought was most intriguing was the assertion about the Columbia marketing department's effect on how Kind of Blue came to be viewed. I for one can say that "So What" was one of the very first jazz tunes I heard, because it was on one of the first two jazz LPs I owned (I told Mom that I thought I might be interested in jazz one Christmas, my brother bought the Columbia Jazz Masterpieces Sampler volumes). So I am sure that I bought the full CD shortly thereafter so without much exposure to the Columbia Marketing Machine, my immediate, gut response was that this was a true classic recording. But I think it would be interesting to know just how successful the LP was at the time, and how quickly it "crossed over" into non-jazz fan collections. Surely its impact on the music is unquestioned, but how did it come to have an impact on the wider music industry?

Speaking of Jazz Row, I was browsing the Worlds Records site and saw one of those "not even close to the fifty years to PD law" releases: This oddly titled reissue is the complete True Blue and Silver Blue Xanadu recordings, yet strangely enough the Worlds' listing doesn't actually mention that (I presume they take the descriptions from their suppliers). And why call it "The Comeback" when Dexter recorded steadily for Steeplechase throughout the '70s? Still, I know that its tough to find these recordings and they are very good indeed (love Dex and Al Cohn unaccompanied "On The Trail"). And yet its complete bullshit that they are taking these recordings they have no right to anywhere on the planet and are making money off of them.

Is Robin Roberts still with the team? He was going to pitch Monday if there was a one-game playoff.

Like this means jack shit. Didn't the Yankees once "own" the Red Sox? Did that ensure victory? For that matter, the Sox once lost like a dozen playoff games in a row, and everyone "owned" them. Did that continue? What's past is past. There's absolutely no guarantee that the recent stretch of success against the Angels in October will continue. In fact, its more likely to end than to continue, because strong teams don't lose over and over and over and over without end. Oops, sorry, I forgot they have the edge in the all-important category of "experience". Like key players Bay, Lowrey, Masterson ... they've all got tons of playoff experience. Better book those duck boats now! :rolleyes:

Funny but I am far more inclined to listen to any Jimmy Smith BN record with horns ahead of the straight trio recordings, and wouldn't overrate any of them. I definitely agree on the Movin' On disc and the Fats Waller. Nothing special. Glad I heard the Waller one long ago and didn't have any need to revisit it when it was reissued this year.

I'm too lazy to find the link but that Dayn dude at Foxsports.com had an interesting nugget of information - teams with the best record in the league have like a .468 winning percentage in the playoffs. The teams with a winning record in playoffs are the ones with the highest strength of schedule. That suggests that the ALCS should be Boston and Tampa, as fattening up on Seattle and Oakland doesn't really make the Angels any better, it just proves that they are a lot better than their division competition is. And it was certainly a bad night at the Fens - an embarrassing defeat when the Rays are seemingly trying to give away the division, but more importantly, Lowell again tweaked his hip and seems unlikely to be able to help. This on top of the fact that after playing three innings on Wednesday, Drew again has back pain, so they again sent him for a battery of tests to make sure he isn't more seriously injured. We've played .650 ball since Manny was traded, and in the prolonged absence of Lowell and Drew, and now we'll have to find out if we can keep it up against the best teams left. I'm not optimistic but I find it interesting that the Angels picked the longer series schedule with the extra off-days, meaning that the top three starters is all you'll need. Yeah, they've got pretty good starters, but so do the Sox. I would think that Weaver/Garland would be an advantage over Wake/Byrd, they should have gone with the shorter schedule. And if Lackey goes in Game 1, that sends him out at his personal house of horrors, Fenway for Game 4, his one strong start this season notwithstanding.

I don't know but I added our cell phones just in case. Like it said, it doesn't take long to do.