Dan Gould

Well, Yankee fans have the first decent news of the Owner's Meetings - Andy Pettitte will return for one more go-round. Now, if they can get Santana, they could have a rotation of Santana/Pettitte/Wang/Mussina/Kennedy and if they have any brains at all, Joba in the bullpen as the bridge to Mo. That's a pretty good rotation, at least 1-3 and there's potential that Kennedy will excel, the only problem is that they are still looking to replace Pettitte and Mussina in 2009. Maybe by then they can solve the bullpen and make Joba a starter again. But right now, the Yankee options in the bullpen are horrible and there's nothing in the free agent market that isn't as likely to stink as it is to excel. Speaking of which, the name to watch in the Owner's Meetings is the Pittsburgh lefty, Marte(?). 60 appearances against lefties, zero home runs. Certainly looks like the best reliever potentially available in trade.

Well, the Globe has an update, and it basically is that no one is untouchable to land Santana. Buchholz, Ellsbury, Lester - any individual player could be had for Santana. But if you pick one, the remainder of the package cannot include anyone else from that group. Me likey that approach, though I'd really prefer if they didn't pick Buchholz. Something about a guy who looks that good in his first few appearances makes me think he's got a chance to be special. Yankees are hanging tough on their end - Hughes and Melky, but a third player won't be anyone special. Looks like the ball is firmly in the Twins court.

You have an advantage in that you are in the Boston market so you get local news trying to "break" the story. But the long and short of it is that everywhere I check, everyone seems to understand that the Red Sox line in the sand is that they will never consider letting Jacoby and Clay go together, and they are absolutely adamant that Buchholz will not be dealt. Heck, they won't even put up Jacoby and Lester, so why would they consider Buchholz? Since no one else anywhere has reported Youk being part of the deal, I will assume that the Boston Fox station doesn't know squat. What is unclear now is is they are offering Jacoby but no Lester (and never Buchholz), who is Minnesota "replacing" Santana with? I would have to imagine that with no Lester, both Masterson and Bowden would be included, along with Lowrie. But Masterson and Bowden are still a year away, at least. If pitching is tantamount than the Twins should take the Yankees offer - but with Ellsbury on the table, they should hold their feet to the fire to get a good prospect as the third piece. Otherwise, if the Twins really do want Ellsbury, maybe the Sox can get Santana while keeping the top two pitching prospects.

Well, Rosenthal has an update as well: He says that Santana has told the Twins that he won't approve any mid-season trade, so no deadline deal, its either trade him this off-season, try to re-sign him, or accept the two draft picks as compensation. I think that makes it a near certainty that the Twins will trade him this week. He also reports: That's news that no one in Boston has been reporting. It was widely believed that Ellsbury and Buchholz were off the table under all circumstances. I guess not. And now the Yanks have given the Twins a deadline: Their offer comes off the table on Monday (SI) or Tuesday (Olney). So I imagine that we won't be waiting around for the final decision.

Holy shit - now Olney is reporting that the Red Sox have told the Twins that they will part with Ellsbury - but it means removing Lester from the package. I read somewhere today - I check so many sources I can't recall where, but I think it might have been one of the NY papers - that the Twins have been hard after Ellsbury all along, that they don't really regard Melky Cabrera as a good replacement for Hunter, so maybe this tilts things back in the Sox favor. But I have a big problem going back to Coco in the lineup. Defensively I know he'll be great but with no Jacoby in our future, the best lineup will probably be Pedroia/Youk, in one order or another. No speed there, but it was the lineup that won the World Series, so ... Still, I'd really like to see what Ellsbury can do in the majors. Bob Ryan of the Globe has said that he thinks he's a future .340 - 200 hits - 50 stolen bases type of player. It would suck if he did that elsewhere. On the other hand, Rosenthal wrote a blurb on foxsports that quoted a couple of AL people as saying "what's all the hype about Ellsbury? He'll be a good CF - not a great one" so if they turn out to be right, this is a great trade. Leaves us in an interesting situation pitching wise, too, with a potential 7 good to outstanding starters (plus Tavarez! ) I guess that Wake could be in the bullpen, or else Buchholz or Lester won't get their permanent ML start until 2009, when Schilling is gone. Or, here is the obvious possibility: The Sox sweetened their offer last week, and the Yanks blinked big time by deciding to add Hughes. Supposedly the Twins still think that the third person should be an upper level prospect like Ian Kennedy and the Yanks are balking at that. Its quite possible that the Sox are simply trying to make this a very expensive acquisition by the Yankees by forcing them to give in, or else risk seeing Santana go to Boston. I have to admit that overall, it would be cool to see the Sox nab Santana while keeping their two best pitching prospects. There's one thing for sure: this is going to be a damn exciting, active Owner's Meeting. Stay tuned, and keep your seatbelts fastened!

Well I loved watching two of the worst teams in the league play and see the Dolphins not even come close, at home, to a win. 0-16 baby! While the Pats go 16-0! Take that asterisk and shove it up your old ass, Shula!!!

I think everyone does. A lot of teams wait to sign free agents to see if there are draft consequences. I doubt anyone who was interested in Rowand didn't anticipate losing a pick.

I didn't think there was any question that the Phils would offer arbitration.

The quid pro quo is more than fair because it is obvious he is a seller who is very concerned with both his reputation and his customer's satisfaction. Its not like an ebay seller who threatens to go negative or leaves tit-for-tat negative feedback. You got a free CD, he deserves a clean feedback record - or better yet, the highest feedback possible because he went out of his way to fix things when you didn't even request anything.

Right now, the music that has knocked me out the most from the past year is Junior Parker and Jimmy McCracklin (the Chess - Imperial era). There wasn't much jazz purchasing going on and I can't think of a single thing that was especially memorable.

I'm glad this thread was bumped because when it was active, my interest in blues was limited to B.B. King. Now, in the past two years, I've spent far more time and money purchasing and listening to blues than jazz, including plenty of Freddie King (I can honestly say I did not know the name four years ago). While Freddie hasn't supplanted B.B. as an all-time favorite, there is simply no doubt whatsoever on this match-up. It's FREDDIE KING ---> (about 30 other guitarists) ---> Eric Clapton

Thanks, Shawn!

At the risk of creating even more talk of the Sox, what or rather who will end of replacing Manny after '08??? Or do you think there is a chance they might try to keep him?? Man, a 37-38 year old Manny in left might make a 43 YO Bonds look good! Well, number one, I believe there's a chance that Manny will have a bounce-back season next year and may have an option year picked up. Otherwise, my hope had remained that Miguel Cabrera would replace him in the lineup, if not in LF. Barring that, who knows?

82 degrees. Hasn't rained in two weeks - but it looks kinda iffy today.

Well, there is no chance of the Sox signing him, but if the Yankees make the move on Santana and aren't prepared to have Damon be the starting CF, I imagine the Yanks could go after Andruw, and their batting approach is the same thing - take, take, take.

Hey Conrad, what's this I hear that the Braves didn't offer salary arbitration to Andruw Jones???? Isn't he a type A free agent, even with the poor 2007 season? I can't believe that the possibility that he would accept would prevent them from insuring that they get a first round pick plus a sandwich pick in the draft. That's what the Braves need since they refuse to spend the big bucks on salaries - effective drafts that build up the system. Even if he slumped to being a Type B free agent, that is still worth a sandwich pick. In my opinion that move is dumb, dumb, dumb.

Being a regular NYT reader, I knew that Minton's had been re-born, but its very nice for you to share such terrific photos. The mural is nice, and if I remember correctly, it required a significant amount of work to make it presentable after many, many years of neglect.

What is your source, because I can't find any indication that Youk would be included. Making that deal creates a gigantic hole in the infield and lineup and makes no sense, unless they've got some surprising first base candidate in mind. It makes sense from Minnesota's perspective because they need a third baseman and Youk could go back to playing third. But I would have a very different opinion of this trade if a key part of the lineup, as opposed to a centerfielder who has been replaced and a bunch of prospects, gets moved. On the other hand if this pushes the Yankees to part with Melky, Hughes and two more, I'll deal, provided that we make the right deal with Oakland to get Dan Haren. Even with Santana in New York, I'd take our rotation over theirs.

I can't quite figure out how the Rays could have an easier time than the Marlins securing a stadium, but that abomination they play in now has to go. In my opinion, the reality is that the Rays have already developed a good young core of everyday players; anything that improves the rotation and the bullpen should help them make a significant move upward. In a few years, I think its possible that the Rays will have a very good, highly competitive team.

Good for you, Peter. I remember the angst you had making the decision to move, and I always wondered, after your marriage ended, whether you'd come to regret the move and decide to head back east. Good luck, my friend - I know you'll be happy when you settle back in.

A Pioneer-Press report has the Sox now as the favorites to land Santana, and they don't give up Buchholz or Ellsbury in the deal: http://www.twincities.com/ci_7584709?sourc...;nclick_check=1 Masterson was coached by Tony Gwynn at San Diego State and he considers him a can't-miss pitcher with a killer sinker. He definitely rates third or fourth behind Lester and Buchholz in the pitching prospect list. Lowry is actually not considered any great shakes defensively (at this point) but appears to be a very good offensive force, with the usual excellent plate discipline. I have to say I really like this deal if if the Sox can get Santana signed to an extension beforehand. It would be tough to part with Lester, I'd really like to see what he can do when fully recovered (he's up to 218 now - when he reported to Spring Training last year, he was at 200, so you know he still needed the time to recover from the cancer treatment), and Lowry looks to be someone who could have rid us of Julio Lugo sooner rather than later. But Santana in the rotation and Ellsbury and Buchholz still on the roster is a huge thing.

I had the misfortune of hearing Pure Pleasure which is truly horrid. Mileage really varies - Jim S. has dissed this in some pretty nasty terms. Iirc, he describes it as sounding as like everyone was staring at the clock, waiting to get the hell out of there. I've seen this many times on eBay but never taken the plunge. Still curious though, wish someone knew what its like. Curious about this, I came close to buying a Japanese CD lately. Last but not least, you are also missing a Soulnote date led by Ran Blake.

If you only want "great" albums in your collection, don't bother. If you don't mind forking out small beer for an album that's merely enjoyable, and honest though commercial, pick up "Everybody come on out" or "Use the stairs" both on Fantasy LPs which I'm sure you can find cheap, or "More than a mood" (Music Masters), which is straight ahead stuff with Freddie Hubbard (and that one's deleted, too). MG I'm going to guess that MG is simply unaware of the Concord release Gene Harris Trio + 1. Its a tremendous reunion of the principals from Blue Hour and no one can accuse it of being "snoozy" - its a rip-snorting barn-burner of a set with Stan and Gene (and Ray Brown) ripping up three blues plus "Battle Hymn" and a ballad. An all-time favorite of the former GHF.

You really should - but check AMG for what came out on 32 Jazz.

Can you quote that copyright notice? Thanks. Its in Larry's earlier post here.