Dan Gould

Well it looks like the Rays will beat the Cubbies in the first game of their set on the strength of their pitching and some timely hits, so that makes the Sox shut out of the Phils in Philadelphia all the more important, not to mention impressive. I just can't get over Lester's development - even though I've been expecting it. Today's line 7 IP, 6 H, 1 walk and 5 Ks. 40 pitches through the first two innings but got through seven on 59 more. 3.18 ERA on the season, and a .249 BAA. And the Sox starters are really excelling right now. Lester, Beckett, Masterson and Wake have all pitched superbly for about three weeks, give or take, and Dice-K comes back on Saturday. If he resumes where he left off, look out AL.

They wanted him back! And based on his performance from July on, I understood that, but still knew that there was a significant risk that he'd have nothing left at all. As for Colon, all they are saying is that the back is forcing him to the DL, but I am virtually certain that he was not right to begin with, before he took the crazy hacks. Who knows, maybe after 15 days and a rehab assignment, he can come back throwing 92 again. He showed that he could win with that stuff, but can he do it again or does he have a more serious elbow or shoulder problem?

I found this site that was set up by Frank Evans' son a while back. I asked him if they were going to offer any of his Dad's old shows. But nothing has ever been changed on the site, there is just the cool looking home page and nothing else. But I would think that as the heir, he'd have some rights to the material. Hopefully the sound on the CD will be closer to the original broadcast and not the VHS copies that we've heard.

Colon has been placed on the 15 day DL. But what is weird is that no one has said anything about the drop in velocity that was apparent before he wrenched his back swinging for the fences. On the Globe's Red Sox board, some people have claimed that the speed gun was miscalibrated at the start of the game, that Hamels was supposed to be throwing in the 80s too but I didn't see that. He was clearly throwing slower than before, in fact it looked very much like Schilling did a year ago when his velocity fell off the table, the Braves crushed him, and he went on the DL the next day. And speaking of Schill, he's reached a "plateau" in his progress and will be examined by the team doctor tomorrow. I'd guess that he has reached a dead arm period and will need a week or two before he can resume throwing in the bullpen. So Colon is out and Schilling is farther away, not closer to coming back. Good that Masterson will remain in the rotation, and Buchholz is showing improvement at Pawtucket. We've still got pitching depth, but not as much as we did.

Ah, now I remember. So Chuck needs to step in and explain what else is on this release. I think there must be tracks by the prison band in order to fill out 50 minutes, otherwise why would the description mention them?

Wait a minute - the label is Uptown Jazz? Is this related to the same Uptown Records that Chuck helps distribute? I tried searching on the Worlds site by "uptown" and it brought up a bunch of the Uptown releases you'd expect, but only a couple of "Uptown Jazz" releases. I hope Chuck has some info to share, though if he were involved in such a release I'm sure he'd have told us about it before.

I would highly recommend the tracks from the TV appearance on Frankly Jazz, which was hosted by Frank Evans and apparently served as some sort of promotional arm of Pacific Jazz, as Dick Bock had a listing on the credits something like creative consultant. Here are the details I have from my audio transfer of a VHS tape: Frankly Jazz Curtis Amy Los Angeles, 1960s – 21 minutes With Dupree Bolton, Dolo Coker, Ray Crawford, Victor Gaskin (bass) Ronnie Selico (drums) 1) Intro + Summertime 2) Katanga 3) Laura (DB feature) 4) Blues for Amy 5) Talk + Theme What I find interesting is that the listing says it totals "over 50 minutes". How do they get there? Are there also tunes by the prison band? Is there PJ material outside of what has been issued to date? I don't think there's enough on the Onzy Matthews Select to add that much. Anyway, I'm on this just to get the Curtis Amy material in good sound.

I can't believe how the Mets handled the firing of Willie Randolph. Don't fire him in New York, make him get on a plane and fly to Anaheim. Don't fire him before the game, wait til they pull out a win, then fire him at the hotel, just after midnight local time, 3 AM in New York. Mike Vaccarro really nailed it: I thought Randolph was a fool to bring up race as a reason why Mets broadcasts show him in his usual stoic, unemotional expression/body language. That's how Willie acts, and he learned it from Torre! Calling it racism was ridiculous. But leaving Willie to twist slowly in the wind, then making him fly to CA before firing him in the middle of the night was just pathetic. Too bad Minaya is now, appropriately, on the chopping block. He's the one who stocked the roster with so much aged crap like Delgado and Alou. And with Randolph gone there's no one else to take the blame. And one more thing: Jerry Manuel, the bench coach, takes over? How exactly does anything change then? He's got the same laid-back approach as Willie. If they want to change the season around and shake things up, they clear everyone out of that coaching staff and bring in someone totally new - the old Marlins manager, Gary Carter (who looked like a clown campaigning for the job) even Wally Backman getting a chance. You wanna change the atmosphere, then change the atmosphere!

Oh, it's a real sport all right... All you have to do is play it a few times and that becomes (sometimes painfully) clear! Cheers, Shane I've never said its not a sporting competition. What golf isn't is an athletic competition. Sorry, but if the ball doesn't move til you hit it, and you must have total silence while doing so, it ain't a sport for athletes. And anyone who remembers Nicklaus' commercial for American Express (Do you know me? Watch me butcher this volley) knows it has always been so.

I've seen plenty of people - Yankee fans - complain that these games should feature the DH because AL pitchers are at "risk". But its a total fluke what happened - when was the last time an AL pitcher got a serious injury in interleague games? And what about the World Series? Its silly to have two rules and two different games (and I know Chuck hates the version that we watch and care about) but I think it actually makes sense to have the home team have an advantage - both now and in October. Meantime, now they're calling Colon's problem "back spasms" which leaves me wondering what happened before that kept his "fastball" under 89? If its a "dead arm" period usually there's actual achiness that has to be worked out. It is really disconcerting that he looked so horrible. I have to hope that they put him on the DL, let Dice take his spot, and keep Masterson in the rotation. Justin has done nothing to make me think he isn't ready to compete against anyone (although if he's had any trouble, its the .500 slugging percentage he's given up to lefties - that could make Wednesday's matinee against the Phils a challenge. But I still like the next two pitching matchups, Lester vs Moyer and Masterson vs someone named Kyle Kendrick whose ERA is over 4.5. If our starters perform, we can still take the series against the Phils. Heck, if this game was in Boston, we might have knocked Hamels around. Twice he got out of jams by striking out the comically bat-challenged Colon.

Hey Zen, How much longer can they fucking keep Timlin around? He's a motherfucking disaster who is beyond being "toast". You could put him in a decent Babe Ruth league and he'd get knocked around. He is so far past done its fucking pathetic. Its time for Theo to admit that he went to the well one time too many. Anyone who thinks this asshole can get it back together again is a fucking blind fool. And now they say that Colon is out with "back stiffness". yeah, that's why he couldn't break a fucking pane of glass with that fucking junk. This is the fat fuck that kept everyone else from even making an offer in the spring. I can only presume that he did indeed make a pact with the Devil, only Lucifer already came calling for his immortal soul and now we're left with his stinking corpse. That could still feed a village in his country. OK, that image went a little too far.

Well, I was excited to see Colon face the Phillies on national TV. I thought it would be interesting to see if folks would be surprised/impressed at how far he's come in his comeback. Now, I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop - that Colon has injured his elbow or shoulder. He looks pathetic, and either can't or won't throw a fastball. He was sitting at 93, sometimes touching 94 in his last start and has looked stronger and stronger and better and better. So what the fuck happened? Unless he and Tek came up with a plan that called for nothing but offspeed pitches to start, and he's going to start humming some balls in there, he has to be hurt. I guess that the good news would be that it means that Masterson won't have to go down to Pawtucket after his start Wednesday (Dice-K comes off the DL this week) and they still have Buchholz waiting for his chance to come back. But I thought that Colon would give us about three times as many starts before he'd start biting the big one. On the positive injury front, Ortiz had his cast removed today. He reports no pain, which is considered the benchmark for a successful progression toward a full recovery. Doesn't mean he'll be back very soon, he needs to go through range of motion exercises, test the wrist by swinging the bat, hit off the tee, soft-toss, regular batting practice and a rehab assignment. But its good news that they removed the cast at the earliest opportunity. I think there's hope he can be back for the Rays series at the end of the month, certainly for the Yankee series after that.

Well the news is in on Wang - lisfranc "sprain" + partially torn tendon. Minimum of six weeks on crutches and in a protective boot. That is all they will say but you can extrapolate out that under the best scenario, he's in the boot until the end of July. Its at least a month, maybe six weeks before he gets his arm strength back to pitch again (Its five+ weeks from the start of spring training to the first start of the season). That makes a return before September 1 questionable, and again it presumes that his injury heals on schedule (it sounds like the lisfranc problem isn't as bad as Bruney's was but that the tendon is the bad part of the injury). So what do the Yanks do? It will cost a mint to get Sabathia, and I don't see the Indians giving him up very soon. Even a lesser light like Chacon of Houston or Arroyo will not come cheap. The Yanks are in a bad spot and teams aren't going to feel sorry for them. You can also expect the Sox to inquire on any trade target they may have, just to keep the price up. So in the meantime they've gotta go with whoever looks best at AAA and just find out what kind of pitching depth they have. Maybe they catch lightning in a bottle again a la Aaron Small. I think though this puts extra pressure on the offense because they'll most likely need to win more games by 8-6 scores. And this really puts pressure on the bullpen. The Yanks were already dead last in number of innings the starters have given and the number the bullpen has thrown, and that was with Wang. Without him, you could see a complete implosion of the bullpen in August. So pressure is also on Pettitte and Joba to be innings-eaters. You'll probably see Girardi leaving both of those guys in longer than you might otherwise expect, just hoping that they get through another inning per start, to save the bullpen. Same maybe with Mussina. That could lead to troubles too since Pettitte isn't himself to date, and Mussina may or may not maintain his success. He always looks a couple of misplaced pitches away from giving up the big inning.

You gotta title the record Groovadelphia!

absolutely amazing shot to send it to the playoff. Considering how bad a spot he put himself into, to recover to a spot where he had a shot at the birdie, and then sink it, well, that just shows how amazing Woods can be. Having said all that, I'd really like to see the other guy somehow come through tomorrow. He seems like a real nice, even-keeled fellow and it would be nice if nice guys finish first for once. Especially at the age of 45 and after so many failed attempts at a major. Did anyone see the graphic of what Tiger has to do to match Nicklaus for his 70+ top ten finishes in a major? Basically finish in the top ten of every major from now through 2019. Tiger may blow away Jack's record for Major titles but I have a feeling Jack may retain that other record even after Tiger is gone.

Now, I never really care about the NBA, but I have to admit I've got something of an emotional investment made in the whole "city of champions" thing. I was pissed as hell when the Giants won (for other reasons as well) and have really wanted to see the Celtics win it all. So I finally visit this thread and what do I see? SS1 taking inspiration from me. When the game started I figured that the Celtics were ready to just get back to Boston and get it done there for the home crowd. But now it looks like they are ready to make the Lakers look really bad at home again.

If the Rays offer Price for Griffey, then whichever Met GM who sent Kazmir for Zambrano will finally be off the hook for the worst trade in history. No definitive word yet on Wang's injury but the NY media is full of reports that his season is in jeopardy. The Times is saying that he told someone he felt a "pop" indicating a likely ligament tear. Others are reporting that like Brian Bruney, he has a Lisfranc injury (I'm sure the spelling is way off). Bruney opted against surgery, has been out two months to date and has no timetable for a return. So if the injury is similar, I'd say Wang's season could be over. Which makes the possibility of a Sabathia trade even more intriguing. Of course, when the Yankees are asking from a position of obvious need/desperation, you can bet that the demands will be even bigger. On top of that, the Red Sox have been linked with Sabathia, and just like the Santana sweepstakes, you can bet that the Red Sox will keep a toe in to make sure it costs the Yankees as much as possible. At the same time, Cashman is so wedded to his prospects, if he couldn't part with them for Santana, will he part with them for Sabathia? Or will he simply look at it as an opportunity to see what he's got with these young pitchers? When you skip over Igawa and Karstens, there are some other guys at AAA that look like they could be pretty good. And at the same time, if the Yankee bats have awakened, they can still win without Wang. Its just that what would be 7-1 wins may end up 7-5 or 10-8. The bigger problem would be if they bash to a playoff birth but still don't have the starters to compete when the runs are harder to come by.

Amen to that! Just realized though that while the Yanks host the Padres, at least they do it at Yankee Stadium, where the park effects might actually help the woeful Padre offense. At least they ought to hit better there than they do at Petco, and they also have Wolf and Peavy going in the first two games. I think they've got a shot to cool the Yankees back down. I know I'll be mighty pissed if this is the start of a Yankee push. It would be great if they flirted with .500 one more time.

Well, nice to have an offensive explosion on another day without Manny. Coco, Drew, Ellsbury and Pedroia with home runs in a 9-0 bashing, and finally we get some help from the Marlins and are back to a 2.5 game bulge. I think the Cubs will give the Rays a little more of a challenge than Florida did. And this might be a very costly big win for the Yanks. Apparently Wang injured his foot or knee rounding third. According to MLB.com: Not putting any weight on the leg is never a good sign. This could be bad. And Paps, as far as Griffey goes, you might have to get used to his swinging the bat on 3-0. The rumors of him accepting a trade to Tampa seem to be picking up steam. The problem is, I just don't see how he can be a true difference maker now. He hasn't looked good really all season. But he'd certainly have a shot at the playoffs if a deal were made. I just don't think he'd be much of a help to his new team.

No doubt we did dodge a bullet. I don't listen to the commentary but I assume that the Reds closer was unavailable, and that's why the other guy was in. I wasn't complaining! But what I will complain a teensy weensy bit about is that the Yankees have to play the Reds but do it at home. That ain't right, when so much of the Reds offense is predicated on hitting homers in that tiny little band box of a park. Of course, Dunn could probably hit one out of the stadium but I think the Reds are much tougher at home without a DH than they will be on the road.

Looks like it needed more cowbell.

I'm a patron, and I threw in a Root Doctor CD, too. I was thinking that makes me extra special when in fact, for $5 more I could have gone Level 2 and the guys would have ended up with more profit. Oh well, I guess I value more music over signatures.

This is a fucking infuriating night. I cannot for the life of me understand how a team can play .800 ball at home and be so fucking helpless on the road as to lose to Aaron Fucking Harang. Masterson strikes out a career high 9 and goes 6 2/3 and allows only three runs and for squat. And to top it off, Manny comes out with another twinge in his hamstring. I don't even want to fucking imagine playing this interleague schedule without Manny or Ortiz. And they fucking have to beat the Reds on a night when that Volquez kid is pitching tomorrow, and no one has figured out how to hit him. So I fully expect that Homer Bailey will be going for the sweep on Sunday.

What I've heard of him, Tom, he should be right up your alley.

I was listening to Sirius this morning, and the disc jockey on the 60s channel Pat St. John said that Curtis Amy had the sax solo on The Door's Touch Me. I didn't know that. Chewy did.