Dan Gould

Please explain, in light of the fact that Mark McGuire's is virtually unanimously derided for steroid use based on his Congressional testimony and his candidacy for the Hall of Fame is largely considered to be dead in the water based on his first year ballot results. Please explain further how racism is involved since Rick Ankiel was widely derided for apparently receiving a shipment of HGH - no proof that he used it exists - while by Bonds very own testimony, he used "the cream" and "the clear" and his sole defense is that he wasn't told that they were designer steroids. These charges of "racism" remind me of the reactions to OJ Simpson and Michael Vick. Two black men, guilty as sin of the crimes they are/were accused of, and yet some people somehow believe that charging "racism" washes away the truth.

No doubt it is the perfect result. After Bonds is indicted and convicted, the Hall can put together the perfect display to summarize this sad era: Bonds going from scrawny rookie to monstrous hulk His hat size swelling syringes, etc. Shots of his homers, culminating in 756 Pictures of his perp walk Pictures of him in his orange jump suit The ball, branded with an asterisk

"reportedly a millionaire many times over"? I'm pretty sure John Henry is a Billionaire.

I've watched Papelbon glare in at the batter like he stole his lunch money, but its always been the side view. Well here's what the batter gets to see courtesy of SI (which has a good piece about Paps up on the website): Maybe not quite Al "the Mad Hungarian" Hrabosky, but its close. BTW, no note is being made that this is the cover of SI and the silliness that some people believe in.

Yeah, with Rocket and Kennedy shut down for the rest of the season and Igawa starting tonight and possibly Sunday too. We'll see how that works out for ya. edit: Oh, and Manny is back tonight and Youk should start Wednesday.

Does anyone have fatality rates for autobahn travel? I've always wondered how many people get killed per year because they drive as fast as possible regardless of conditions or because people don't understand that if you ain't driving fast enough you gotta stay to the right.

Those recordings, and many more, were recently issued as a Mosaic Select. Ah! I had the feeling I was missing a Mosaic. Which one is it, Dan? MG You mean the number? I have no idea. But here's a recent discussion: http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...216&hl=onzy Everyone who has got it seemed to enjoy it.

Me not listening to Gene Harris is about as likely as me not caring about baseball anymore.

Those recordings, and many more, were recently issued as a Mosaic Select.

Well, both Clemens and Burnett were scratched but I got the result I was hoping for: 4-1 Jays. Two game lead, six to play, magic number of 5. And what might be a big help, too, is the fact that Pettite took Roger's spot instead of opening the series against the Rays. Pettite almost always had his way with the Devil Rays, now we'll see if Roger is finally ready.

Um...don't force anything into a toy. Don't force a toy into anyone.

That is my dream as well. Should have happened in 2003, barring a return of Bartman or Little, maybe it can happen this time. With the Cubs visiting the Marlins this week, I am planning to head down for Thursday's 4 pm start. I'm hoping the stadium will be empty and I'll buy or scalp super cheap tickets and sit wherever, but its possible that Cub fans will come out of the woodwork. But a 3 1/2 game lead means that with a little luck, Thursday could be clinching day. Better bring extra film. Man, and I thought it was cool seeing Sammy hit #600 against his former team. I hope it works out for ya, Dan. And yes, this Cubs fan also says take LOTS of pictures! Yeah, but the problem right now is that we've been in a super wet weather pattern that is supposed to continue at least through Wednesday. I'm hoping they're right about that but I wouldn't be surprised if Thursday ends up with a doubleheader. Hell, even before the rainy season, a 4 pm start is tempting fate.

It never used to be like that, Dan. Recovering Angel fan here. They are the only team in the Torre era with a winning record against them, and they have never lost a post-season series to them in that time period. Good enough for me.

That is my dream as well. Should have happened in 2003, barring a return of Bartman or Little, maybe it can happen this time. With the Cubs visiting the Marlins this week, I am planning to head down for Thursday's 4 pm start. I'm hoping the stadium will be empty and I'll buy or scalp super cheap tickets and sit wherever, but its possible that Cub fans will come out of the woodwork. But a 3 1/2 game lead means that with a little luck, Thursday could be clinching day. Better bring extra film.

I had a horrible feeling when I saw the lineup today. Hinske, Mirabelli, etc. Why give Pedroia a day off when he's 23 and everyone has tomorrow off? He does not need a day to put Cora into the lineup. Fwiw, Cora was second because of his supposed skills with bunting and getting batters over. He should never bat second, but there you go. They got what they deserve and there only chance, imo, to hang on to the division is if Burnett comes up big tomorrow afternoon, and Roger's groin muscle sheers clean off of his body. But I give us no chance in hell to hang on to a one game lead with six to play when they play Tampa and Baltimore and we play Oakland and Minnesota. NO CHANCE IN FUCKING HELL. So keep winning Patrick, and secure that home field advantage. I'd rather travel to Cleveland than LA, and we all know how LA has the Yankees number.

Why am I not remotely surprised that they immediately return to form and make some fifteen game loser into fucking Cy Young, while not even pitching in the incredibly friendly confines of the Trop can make Wakefield throw even a halfway crappy game?

I didn't get too many when I searched for "milt buckner" on Amazon.com. What does advanced search do that search doesn't, Dan? MG Well, I doubt it will "find" Milt Buckner releases but you can put in "black & blue" under label and see most of those "Definitive" reissues.

cdconnection.com was a nice source for Black & Blue releases a while back. I used to go to a French website that had pictures of the front and back of the Black & Blue CDs they had in stock - it was a great informational source. However the last time I went they had reorganized the site and all that was gone. If you go to Advanced Search on Amazon, you come up with a huge number of hits, most of which are in fact Black & Blue releases.

D'oh! Yes, I thought the Sox would be the first to clinch, about ten days before the end of the season (would have been even sooner for clinching a birth in the tournament). So after all the aggravation of the past month, I'm quite happy to take whatever from clinching ahead of Cleveland and LAA.

Well, aside from the Yankees getting last licks against the Jays depleted bullpen, this was about the best day's baseball in a while: Cubs won, Brewers lost, they've got a 2 1/2 game lead. Go Cubbies! Sox won on a three run ninth against the Rays closer, Tigers won, SOX ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS and since the Angels lost again, they clinch a spot before anyone else, as should have been the case all along. Indians lose, so we're back at a tie for best record in the league - as I now understand it, if a three-way tie exists at the end of the season, the Sox win on the basis of head-to-head record against both the Indians and the Angels. Everyone else beat one team and lost to the other, the Sox are the only ones with a winning record against the division champions.

Now that's one I have yet to hear.

Which profession? Cheater? Asshole? He's been a world class asshole far longer than he was a world-class baseball player. He'll be officially recognized as a world-class cheater and perjurer before Spring Training 2008.

"Reality"? You haven't been remotely conversant in reality since this conversation started. You don't have the slightest clue about any of it, you're entirely alone in your opinions, and you want to get back to "reality"???

I guess the $64,000 question will be whether Goodie, having lost his home team blinders, will suddenly realize that all of the allegations really are true. I'm guessing only if he signs with the Dodgers.

I meant to post her obit that the Times ran about a week ago. I had no idea she lived in Westport, CT, right next door to my hometown, or that she was married to Jack Klugman and while they separated they never got around to filing for divorce. Bret, Charles Nelson Reilly - who also died pretty recently, iirc, and Gene Rayburn made Match Game what it was.