Dan Gould

Please see the New Stupendous Sale Thread!

Same here!! Is this my first exposure to age-ism??? At your age I can't imagine that it is.

Help! - the Beatles, which is better than my older brother's "Go Away Little Girl" - Steve Lawrence Another Beatles tune, "We Can Work it Out" was number 1 when my wife was born, and my younger brother can claim a classic Smokey Robinson tune, "Tears of a Clown".

Price is as untouchable as any young player who has established himself in the majors already, like Ellsbury or Lineceum or Chamberlain. But the Rays have other talent - a ton of it in fact - in the minors to offer. There will be deals to be made by the time the deadline arrives. Obviously I was wrong with my extreme pessimism of a week ago, but who would have predicted that the Rays would go from red hot to ice cold so quick? And the same thing that happened to give the Rays a sizable bulge - Rays hot, Sox cold - reversed itself too. That's what has hurt them so much, the way almost every loss cut into their lead just as every win gave them a bigger lead before. Of course, I don't want to jinx the Sox, who should be up by about six runs right now instead of only two.

Your lips to God's ears ... but somehow I think the Rays will clobber them today.

I'll be offering it soon in my stupendous CD sale. (keep your shirt on, Al, its coming. )

It sure looks that way. How much do you chalk up to things averaging out in the end - the Indians were due for some wins and the Rays were due for some losses - and how much is it young guys starting to press? At this point you figured that the Rays wouldn't want to have to take three days off but now it can't come soon enough to clear their heads, get some rest and start fresh. And in the meantime, the Sox bats finally supported the criminally neglected Wakefield. In his last nine starts, he hasn't pitched less than seven, he's got an ERA under 2 and a BAA under 2. Its streaks like these when I say "2009?" "Sure, bring Wake back!" And even better news, Ortiz now has a time frame for his return - just in time for the Yankee series at the end of the month. He took batting practice against the ball machine, set on high speed, and did fine - check swings, swing and misses, and presumably, hitting the ball. So he goes to the ASB, then a three game assignment at Pawtucket and a three game assignment at AA. And then the Yankees.

Thanks Dave.

UPDATE All packages were shipped today for those who paid prior to Saturday. Packages will be shipped Monday for those who have paid or will pay this weekend. For those sending payment, packages will be shipped on receipt. And for Peter Johnson, he'll see a bunch of angry PMs when he gets back from vacation, he'll pay his bill, and I'll ship then.

Wow , you are guys are TOUGH ! Dan , how has Lowrie performed down on the farm ? .268 or something overall, just .200 in July. He was probably depressed because he kept seeing Lugo suck it up yet he wasn't getting the call. Seriously, remember that Masterson wasn't overwhelming the first or second time he was sent down. A lot of good players don't destroy the competition when they get sent down from the big club. In 42 ABs he hit .310 and had an OPS+ of 112. That makes him 12% better than the average major leaguer at On Base + Slugging, with park effects negated. Four seasons in the minors, his OPS is 827. Julio Lugo didn't OPS .827 in Little League. Lowrie's bat is ultimately going to remind you of Pedroia, without the gigantic swing or the cockiness that goes with it. And if you think he'll be subpar with the glove, think about it this way: With Lugo, when he made an error that led to runs, the odds of him making it up with the bat were tiny. If Lowrie makes errors that lead to runs, there will be a halfway decent chance that he will make up for it with the bat. Then add on the fact that he won't hurt with the glove like Lugo and will help with the bat in a completely un-like Lugo way, and its a huge improvement. HUGE!

and that will do it folks. Everything is on hold or paid for and none of the sets that people made back up bids on are still unpaid. Please look for my stupendous CD sale which will commence this weekend. Dan, i'd like to pay you, but i still don't know how much you will charge for the shipping.... Actually, a PM was sent. I'll try again in a minute.

I didn't see this , was it in the ninth . i shut the game off at the top of the ninth. And the news continues to be encouraging for those who think Lugo is a complete waste of space: Now no one needs to suffer excruciating pain, but in all honesty, my hope is that he will be out for 8 to 12 weeks and in effect misses the rest of the season. Lowrie cannot possibly do worse defensively, and he is miles better than Lugo with the bat: better OBP, better SLG. He can hit the same .265 and it will be a completely different offensive force. He'll hit more doubles, knock in more runs, get on base more often, and generally create fewer outs, which is the last thing you want out of any hitter - being an out machine. With any luck at all, Lowrie becomes Lou Gehrig to Lugo's Wally Pip.

Yeah well - I've had to alter my plans somewhat. We'll see if you've set the market or not.

Lil' Hank Steinbrenner likes to rant that there is only "Yankees Universe" and no Red Sox Nation or anything like it. But choices like Fukudome demonstrate that there is an enormous group of Cub fans ready willing and able to come out for one of their own, if they have a reason. (And of course, four Red Sox were elected starters, only two Yankees - but Red Sox Nation is a crock of shit, doncha know?)

But Lugo just popped a groin/quad/hamstring! Its not a total loss after all! Lugo out - Lowrie in. Best thing I've heard all day! Even as Youkilis goes down swinging as the tying run, Lugo is on his way to the DL. Best news since they went on that ill-fated road trip.

Does it really matter? Its a fucking wasted day. The MFY get shut out, the Rays get shut out and Buchholz looks just like the putz he was before he was sent down to "work on his fastball command". Did he forget everything? Then the bullpen makes damn sure they won't come back. What a fucking shitty night.

Thanks Chuck.

and that will do it folks. Everything is on hold or paid for and none of the sets that people made back up bids on are still unpaid. Please look for my stupendous CD sale which will commence this weekend.

No gold star but you will get shipment when the check arrives rather than once its cleared.

Could the Rays use a bat? Probably. But who are you looking to replace and want out of the lineup? Personally I think they'll be fine. This is a normal little slump, one they've been remarkably fortunate to avoid all season.

Allright enough of this non-Eastern baseball. Yanks lose to Pittsburgh and the Indians keep the Rays on the ropes - Sox deficit trimmed to 1 1/2 games. Film at 11.

I think its a pretty weak piece from the canonization of Bobbie Humphrey to the no-source mention that she was the "other woman" he was shot over to the idea that Morgan is forgotten. Anyone who loves hard bop knows who Morgan was; Blue Note has put out just about everything he recorded. For a guy who died over thirty years ago, and didn't invent a style of music like Bird did, he's doing pretty well, all things considered.

This CD includes George singing "That Lucky Old Sun" from the Blue Benson album (Verve). Thanks for making me pull it out - its a great track. Its a darn good CD in fact, he plays bop ("Billie's Bounce") a standard ("What's New"), some then jazz hits (Song for My Father and Sack O Woe) and a couple of down and dirty blues.

No WORRIES.......Its 16-5 the SOX are KILLIN them . 2 BACK !!!!!!!! Yeah, I was right about the bats being due - 18 runs, 23 hits, and the coldest bats getting into the act - Varitek with two hits, Jacoby with four, Manny with two more. Couldn't have come at a better time because I didn't think the bullpen was going to hold that 7-5 lead. Pretty amazing in fact that this was a 7-5 game in the seventh inning, and in fact without the reversal on the trap call, the seven spot they put up wouldn't have happened. Anyway ... its nice to have a little streak finally coincide with some not quite good enough play by the Rays. If their bats stay cold, they might even lose a couple to the Indians, who are due for a win some day. But first, let's see the Pirates cool off the Yankees. Usually the team that is forced to make the flight for a makeup game plays like they've got a bus to catch but I doubt that with a little hot streak going the Yanks will do that.