Dan Gould

You're glad people pumped their bodies full of steroids and whatever else, to gain artificial advantages over honest players? No, that I am completely indifferent about. I am just glad about the results. Guy So you are grateful for baseball played by juiced up athletes yet completely indifferent should they suffer adverse medical consequences in the future. My understanding is that the "adverse medical consequences" are minor. In terms of current human tragedies, this probably ranks at #1,.......,000,....000,005. From the Mitchell Report: I agree, these are decidedly minor medical consequences. Everyone would enjoy sporting events so much more if we'd just let the athletes use whatever supplement modern science can produce. What are the probabilities of any of those things happening as a direct result of using steroids? The statement you quote is meaningless without some actual numbers. Obviously there is a proven medical link between the two. And you should well know that coming up with precise numbers is problematic because it would require an unethical use of steroids. You can't seriously assert that this has anything whatsoever to do with the topic at hand. Injuries occur to anyone from the "weekend warrior" to the professional athlete. They have nothing to do with the proven deleterious medical effects of steroid use/abuse.

You're glad people pumped their bodies full of steroids and whatever else, to gain artificial advantages over honest players? No, that I am completely indifferent about. I am just glad about the results. Guy So you are grateful for baseball played by juiced up athletes yet completely indifferent should they suffer adverse medical consequences in the future. My understanding is that the "adverse medical consequences" are minor. In terms of current human tragedies, this probably ranks at #1,.......,000,....000,005. From the Mitchell Report: I agree, these are decidedly minor medical consequences. Everyone would enjoy sporting events so much more if we'd just let the athletes use whatever supplement modern science can produce.

You're glad people pumped their bodies full of steroids and whatever else, to gain artificial advantages over honest players? No, that I am completely indifferent about. I am just glad about the results. Guy So you are grateful for baseball played by juiced up athletes yet completely indifferent should they suffer adverse medical consequences in the future.

That's a ridiculous comment, though I've certainly come to expect it. Edmonds is so far past his prime he needs a pair of binoculars to get a glimpse. I have to admit Dan, sometimes it's very hard not to give to at least nudge you from time to time -- it's harmless Bro. Of course it is. As Deep would say, CLASP!

Of course Clemens can afford it. 18 million from the Yankees last year - he couldn't take that entire amount and put it toward "salvaging" his reputation and not miss it one bit, win or lose? There's an article on Foxsports that details Clemens' results pre and post steroid use, and the evidence is pretty damning. And the fact is that his former trainer wasn't threatened with jail. Randomski pleaded to two counts and will be sentenced sometime soon. The trainer got the exact same offer a certain Barry Lamar Bonds got: Tell us what you know, and don't lie, and you won't be charged with anything. What did Barry do? Lied his head off, and now he's charged with perjury among other crimes. The trainer took the opportunity he was given and gave full and complete testimony. And let's think about the Clemens material. There are other players he identified as users for whom there was documentary evidence, including canceled checks. With no money changing hands (Clemens was said to provide the syringes, he just needed help injecting himself), why does this guy rat out Clemens (and Pettite)? What are the chances that MLB develops other evidence that Clemens juiced, and then comes after the trainer for perjury? After all, its perjury when you lie and its perjury for not being forthright about everything you know. He could have satisfied MLB and the Feds with the other names he gave - but because he felt bound to tell everything in order to adhere to the agreement he signed, he told the Feds and MLB everything. He didn't have to tell them about Clemens or Pettite, and no one would have known otherwise. The very fact that he told them what he knew about Clemens is a strong indication that its true. I have to say I am getting a considerable kick out of the fact that two men were given the opportunity to testify truthfully at no legal jeapordy except for perjury charges. One man took the opportunity, said what he knew, and walks away with his honor, integrity, and freedom. The other awaits trial, his reputation in tatters, solely because of his ego[/] and the fact that he lacks all honor, integrity, and soon, his freedom.

That's a ridiculous comment, though I've certainly come to expect it. Edmonds is so far past his prime he needs a pair of binoculars to get a glimpse.

And everyone said Beane was waiting for Santana to be dealt, then Haren would go. I wonder if Minnesota is serious about keeping him, or else the report in the Minneapolis paper might be correct - its not that they want Ellsbury and Lester in the same deal, its Ellsbury and Buchholz they want together. There ain't a damn chance in hell that Theo will make that move, and if they still think they should get Lowry or Masterson on top of that haul, F them. We'll compete for Santana on nothing other than money a year from now.

There's no way I could even think about a $449 TT. I also don't require USB outputs, I've been using RCAs with an adapter into the line-in plug and everything actually sounds quite nice. What I was hoping to find out is that for close to what I paid before - maybe $50 more -that the Numark would sound quite acceptable. Maybe the Numark's flaws are more noticeable on higher end setups? As for listening to vinyls on the couch that's highly unlikely - ain't no couch up here, and really the fact is that its relatively rare for my vinyl to be super clean and wonderful to listen to. That's why I dump it into the computer, clean up the pops and burn CDs. Then I have a much nicer sounding copy and don't have to listen to the noisy vinyl again. Although it did occur to me that if I had a USB connection, I could run output to both the PC, and if I got a really long set of RCA cables, to the stereo in the listening room that is next to the office.

Ah, yes, the questions would be: what do you want from a TT? And how big is your record collection? How good is your audio system? Well, I thought that my description of my current TT and my price range would give you an idea. I have a lot of vinyl, but I own it to transfer to CD, not as a main source of listening pleasure. I'd like something that will sound decent at a more than reasonable cost. This shop uses Numark TTs at their listening stations, and on headphones they certainly sound pretty good to me.

I hadn't really thought about replacing or upgrading my decidedly mediocre turntable I got at BrandsMart four years ago but I stopped into the sole remaining used record store in Fort Lauderdale today and discovered that they were now stocking various Numark models, including one with a USB cable for direct dubbing into the PC. So - is Numark a good brand? Sticking below, say, $250, are there decent options if I decided to upgrade? thanks in advance.

Bruce said it all.

:party:

So let me ask you guys - no current Red Sox, no really "big" Red Sox players of the past except for Mo Vaugnn. Does this call into question the report because two major Yankees were identified while the good Senator - member of the Red Sox Board - didn't name any Red Sox players?

Completely agree, Eric - when I was a kid, I tried to imitate Tom Seaver's motion, down to the dirt on the right knee.

It is a powerful story; its also good to read that there is hope that his back will improve and I'm also glad to know that doctors don't regard his punishing running style as the cause of his problems now - it really sounds as though, through the same bull-headedness that made him such a remarkable athlete, a lot of his problems can be traced back to his own choices (not having the surgery, adapting the strength training regimen).

Two observations about that list: If its accurate, then the report that "prominent" Yankees would be identified is mistaken. The only current Yankee player is Pettitte, and we all know about the Clemens/Clemens' trainer connection. Secondly, Rich Garces? El Guapo??? The man who inspired the "Bobble Belly" giveaway? This is what he looked like in his playing days:

John Abbey at JC is a legitimate source? I think we need to wait until 1 pm. Matthew, Its the same Coltrane, just a different pic. I couldn't find the cropped photo I had used before. I was just discussing Roger's HoF credentials when he left Boston, presumably before he juiced. 192 wins before, 160 or so since. 3 Cy Young awards, 4 after. He clearly went from good pitcher on the decline (what was it? 40-39 over the last four years in Boston?) to legend in the making. The one problem is that its very tough to discriminate between stats padded by steroids for a pitcher vs those for a hitter. With distance estimates of home runs, you can make a rough calculation of how added muscle mass can result in X number of "juiced" homers. But obviously some of those were going to go out anyway. How the heck do you decide what part of Clemens accomplishments can be attributed to steroids? And in terms of the Hall, is it fair to assume that without steroids, he still would have ended up with, say, 280 wins? I'd be inclined to agree with that, which makes him a likely Hall of Famer, but not the first ballot HoF that he appeared to be. And that may be what happens: enough voters will refuse to vote him in for a period of time, but ultimately he will get in, just as he probably would have without the aid of modern chemistry.

I'm pretty sure that one is a re-packaged Storyville title that I got a couple of years ago. Very fine, mostly standards and ballads, the sound was exceptional, too. I actually transferred the audio part to CDR. Actually, including the one Jim is curious about, there are three Lockjaw DVDs available on the CD Universe site. As all were recorded in Copenhagen, I suspect that there is much duplication (as well as "triplication") among the three. CD Universe provides discographical data on only one of the titles. Can anyone point to which one is the best, i.e., the most "complete" to get? The three on the site are: http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?...amp;style=movie http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=6070908 http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?...amp;style=movie Marty, The first link is the DVD that I have. Second link has the same setlist as the first. No idea about the third.

Its also being reported that "several" high-profile Yankees will be named also. That leaves me hoping that at least a few Red Sox players, past or present, will be identified as well, because otherwise there will be Yankee fans pointing to the fact that Mitchell never resigned from the Board of Directors of the Red Sox and say that it resulted in a biased report. Personally I think its bullshit but Selig and Mitchell foolishly allowed him to keep his position when the appearance of impartiality is crucial to the acceptance of the report. As for Roger, there were certainly more than a few rumors, and he did go from the pudgy "twilight of his career" to a remarkable resurgence (and a huge gain in his physique). The question now is, how does it effect his Hall of Fame candidacy, since its pretty clear he's through playing? According to the report, he received steroids from the trainer while he was a Yankee and "before" - was that before period when he was with Toronto or with Boston? It kind of makes sense that it was Toronto - Duquette's comments stung, Roger knew he had to improve his fitness to get back on top, steroids were all over the game, its hardly surprising if he started using at that point.

I think John L has hit the nail on the head.

The MLB rumors site reports that the Tejada deal is a terrible one for Houston, that they gave up virtually all of their top prospects for someone who is already declining. It shows how much Tejada has declined, I think a year or two ago the Orioles had a deal for some solid major league talent but their idiot owner vetoed the move. Now they get a bunch of OK youngsters, who knows if they pan out or not? Really both of those franchises are being run into the ground. They deserve to do a deal like this together. I like the Fukodome signing, I'm pretty sure he will easily beat out Jacque Jones' numbers. Not the critical improvement the Cubs need but given the ownership situation, a pretty good addition. As for Rowand, its a pathetic indictment of the Giants that they would throw that much money at someone who is, at best, a number six hitter, yet he becomes their cleanup guy. Good defense, and offense that is grossly inflated by the tiny park he played in. This deal is neck and neck with the Torri Hunter deal for most mindless move of the offseason. The only good thing is that since he is only 30 now, the Giants aren't on the hook for as much of his decline phase as the Angels are on the hook for Hunter's.

I can't confirm myself, but it looks like this Ace compilation would be something close to what you are looking for:

Its been suggested that the Yankees backed off Santana because of payroll concerns. When you consider that their payroll is around 200 million right now and since they already pay the tax at the highest rate, 22 million a year to Santana actually equals 30.8 million. Its the same for the Sox, but with a 150 million dollar payroll, it doesn't seem quite as bad. Close, but not quite as bad. My guess is that the Herald has it right - they are sticking to their guns in terms of Lester OR Ellsbury, not both, and they feel good about any outcome: The Twins give in and they get the best lefty in the league without giving up the farm; The Yankees blink and add Kennedy, and the Yanks will put an inferior player in CF and lose two of their best pitching prospects; Santana doesn't go anywhere and the Sox keep their prospects, which very well may be the best long-term outcome. As for Masterson, I've heard different things, but it seems that at least the Twins see him as a superior setup man, perhaps a closer. He's very big - 6'7" and 250 - with a hard fastball/sinker combo. I know that his former coach, Tony Gwynn thinks he'll succeed as a starter but who knows?

It doesn't surprise me but I think that the writers are just looking for something to report. I am kind of surprised that they can't sweeten the deal with a fourth prospect to get it done, but maybe there's a chance of a really terrific Christmas present in the next two weeks.

If the vote favors vinyl, you need to insist on a pre-payment or you may end up with many more than you'll sell. I agree with Chuck - you should cost this out completely and let people know what the unit price will be before you base any decision on this poll.