Dan Gould

As for last night, I knew the end of the streak had to come some time, and it wasn't going to be easy when you're facing Harden, but Jeez, it would have been nice for Wakefield not to stink up the park that bad. I don't know but I don't have a great feeling about Wakefield going forward. I'd probably have a better feeling though if we weren't so well-stocked with starters. Now Schilling has been dangled a carrot - he's extended his throwing to 140 feet and if there are no problems, he'll throw his first bullpen around June 1. So, what I am saying is that if Schilling and/or Buchholz are ready to go, I hope Tito isn't oblivious to the fact that its Wakefield who belongs in the pen under those circumstances. And I have to say that its pretty damn annoying when two slumping teams play the Sox and Yankees, and the A's hand us our ass while the Mariners offer theirs to the Yanks - and they've announced that Hernandez will miss Saturday's start. Just what we needed - a nice jump start for the Yankees confidence, not to mention their record.

I caught part of the Yankee game last night (WOW - BaseballTV is like ten minutes behind live action! I saw the scoreboard on mlb.com and it was 12-2 and the "game" was only 8-2. Then it was 9-2, and I said OK, this guy must hit a home run. Only he didn't - another single. It was ridiculous. ) Anyway - I saw Ichiro called out on strikes, and he has like a five minute conversation with the ump. Is the ump from Tokyo or does Ichiro speak English pretty darn well? I've heard about Ichiro insisting on using a translator and then he'll carry on a long conversation with the first baseman, but I think its time for the Mariners to fire the translator. He don't need one.

58%, though I noticed a lot of the answers seemed to be Great Lakes or Ohio or Northeast (I was born in Chicago, my Mother is from Ohio and from the age of 5 I grew up in the Northeast. But I did go to school in Tallahassee (the southernmost deep South city) and later in Columbia, SC. And I call them tennis shoes because that is what I use them for.

I just discovered something that's pretty astonishing. The lowest BA on the Red Sox is by David Ortiz, who despite hitting .246 overall has 10 HRs and 38 RBI. After that, the lowest average is Lowell at .283 and it only goes up from there. The bench boasts Kevin Cash, .333, Sean Casey, .355 and Alex Cora, .409. Everyone else falls in between Lowell at .283 and Youk at .324. That's ridiculous. No wonder the team BA is a whopping 17 points ahead of the next best team, and they easily lead in OBP and SLG, too. We just need to get the pitching going on a consistent basis and there will be no stopping the Repeat Train.

Good for you, Shawn. And I think I know someone who'll enjoy having you nearby.

But have you heard Gene Harris play celeste on those early Three Sounds records?

Brutal. It's amazing it doesn't happen more often. Totally brutal. But Bryce Florie was a level of magnitude worse:

Not according to the news reports I've seen. SUVs and trucks are tougher to move off the lot, and more of them are showing up for trade toward smaller, more efficient vehicles. But dude, we're in Texas, where Reality comes to get away from itself! I was thinking this might be a Texas thang.

Not according to the news reports I've seen. SUVs and trucks are tougher to move off the lot, and more of them are showing up for trade toward smaller, more efficient vehicles.

Can you ignore yourself? That depends on how loud the voices in your head are.

My last relationship before I met my wife was with someone who used me to confirm that she really preferred women. Not sure if I took one for the team there or not.

That's interesting, because there is an Argo I have never located and cannot completely confirm that it was actually released - Richard Evans Trio, Home Cookin' - Argo 675. I actually spoke briefly with Evans after Eddie Higgins put me in touch with him. He couldn't be sure but seemed to recall a photo shoot outside a Chicago soul food joint, which makes me think the album does exist. Unfortunately he didn't have a copy anymore, if it did. I've never even known who was on piano for it - there might be interest though if Jack Wilson reprised his role from the first LP, Richard's Almanac.

Well, its nice to wake up with the Sox the first team to 30 wins and with Arizona's lost, the best record in the Majors. Then there is the interesting news that the Yankees have 'started the process' of getting Joba stretched out to join the rotation. He went two innings in a blow out, but the Yankees won't exactly say what the process will entail. Do they think they can stretch him out by simply using him in relief but for longer and longer appearances? If so, what exactly is his job description? Normally you get used to throwing every five days, with "side sessions" in between. If Joba is also a set up man, what will they do? He goes three innings - and then three days later, the Yankees are in a bind, one run game in the eighth, and Joba comes in to get to the game to Mariano? I think that would be really nutty. The problem of course is that no one has shown they can nail down the eighth inning, but I can't see how they can use Joba for that while 'stretching him out' at the same time. And of course the bigger question is can he go through entire lineups three to four times? Can he command all of his pitches to get hitters out, particularly early when hitters don't feel a need, because they are losing late, to be up there hacking? I don't think there is any guarantee whatsoever that Joba dominates as a starter. And what exactly will be the gain if Joba does win as a starter by pitching twice in 10-11 days - but the bullpen blows two or three leads in that same stretch? There's no difference in the win total!

Colon: 74 pitches (46 for strikes), 5 innings, 2 earned runs, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, 6 hits (all singles) Certainly qualifies as a successful return to the majors, and not just because he got the W. He seemed to struggle at times with his control but touched 95 on the same NESN gun that had Lester at 96 on his final pitch. I've no doubt that Colon can pitch successfully at 93 on the gun. I'm sure he'll show better command next time, and this time was a pretty good beginning. I got no worries about a Beckett - Dice - Lester - Wake - Colon rotation, with Buchholz, Masterson and possibly Schilling in reserve. That rotation can match anyone, even the Tribe!

I once told someone -- unbelievably believing that this was true -- that paramedics were medical personnel who parachuted into war zones and disaster areas. This to a person who had enough of an investment in me being intelligent that she thought at first that I must be feebly putting her on. Wish I could have caught on soon enough to play it out that way, but no. And I'd begun it all by insisting that her correct use of the term was wrong. When my parents met, they got into an argument - Mom insisted it was the KLU Klux Klan while Dad had to tell her it was the KU Klux Klan. I have no doubt that Allen and 7/4 will have a field day with that.

OK where do I find him?? Thanks. His list has been up elsewhere in the Offering forum. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

What I think is impressive is Varitek doing it over a relatively short period, with four different guys. I mean, he's widely regarded as extremely talented at calling games, setting up batters. I think its likely he deserves a little more credit than say, Andy Ashby, who (I'm presuming) caught three of Nolan Ryan's no-nos, in which he basically just put down 1 for a fastball and 2 for a curve. When you were catching Ryan, it just depended on what he had on a given night, and the usual amount of luck a no-hitter requires. I did finally find an answer to my question about young pitchers throwing no hitters in successive seasons. Its happened only once before - Steve Busby was under 25 when he threw no-hitters in '73 and '74 for the Royals. Lester joins Rube Foster (1915-16) and Koufax ('63-'64) to win the clinching game of a World Series and throw a no-hitter the next season.

I'd give it a little more time - I think there are people ahead of MG who should have the chance to step up first. We've also got a few days in May to sort it out. I kind of have a feeling that there are some people on the list who have wandered away from here and may not be ready or interested anymore.

I don't have anything to add but I'd like to thank you Evan for taking off those godawful politician wives from your sig.

Oh, and the Yanks are excited to get A-Rod back tonight - but a two out Jeter error leads to a seven run first inning for the Orioles. By the time A-Rod hits his obligatory two run shot, they are down 10-0. Only four hits for the Yanks, and a 10-2 deficit through six. I think Mount Steinbrenner is going to blow right around Memorial Day.

Just when you thought the parade of Red Sox youngsters was over, out comes Justin Masterson for his second start in the majors: 6 1/3, 3 hits, 1 runs (allowed by the bullpen when there was no reason to pull the kid, he was at 91 pitches with one out and a runner at second) Over those two starts, its 12 1/3, 2 runs allowed. This kid honestly looks to me like he has more upside than Buchholz, and much more upside than Lester, last night notwithstanding. He's tall, throws very hard from a near side-arm slot so his ball is tough to pick up, and his sinker is a topnotch major league pitch. And he never looks worried out there or out of sorts, as Lester has looked at times in the past. They may use him out of the pen later this year but I see absolutely no reason to project him as anything less than a number two starter. No way is he a setup guy or closer - though he has the stuff to do that, clearly. Tomorrow night its Colon. Can't wait - but if he turns out not to be as good as hoped or injures himself, I got no problem seeing Justin Masterson in the rotation starting right now.

Jim Lampley? Sparring scenes? What the fucking hell were they thinking? Anyway - to me the rocker dude should win, but I think the one man boy band is more up the Idol demographic alley. But Cook can both perform and sing, and could probably match Daughtry (or whatever his name is) for success, which is more than most Idol winners can say.

I'd look to the positives - they came back twice against a good pitching team and got back on the winning track. I have to say though that I don't want Longoria to come up with big numbers this year. If he does he'll almost certainly win RoY but I'd really love to see it stay in Boston and go to Jacoby. Two RoYs + two No-Nos by 24 year old pitchers - that would have to be some sort of record.

WOW! Did not listen to the game last nite - power failures abounded from the wind - and just learned of this this morning. There was such a stiff gale blowing thru here all early evening (out on the links I could literally putt a foot off the break and the wind would take over) that I wonder what part that may have played in the win? The wind played a big part in the five run inning the Sox put up, which certainly helped take pressure off of Lester. They scored two runs, had the bases loaded with two outs when a pop up was blown all over the place and the KC second baseman had it clang off of his glove. Two runs scored on that play, and another scored later on.

:party: