Dan Gould

Completely disagree. Nice to see Cabrera pitch well against the Skankees (2 hits but a ton of walks), but Joe Borowski needs to be banished to long relief. Another quality outing for Sabathia gets him a no decision. At the break I thought he had a shot at 20 wins, but those days are gone now. After 7 from Sabathia (96 pitches, 2 runs), Betancourt provided two scoreless innings. Borowski then through BP. Wedgie needs to let Betancourt try closing. Interesting lineup with Lofton leading off (and delivering an 0-fer) and Sizemore batting third (2 run homer in the first = all of Tribe offense). Tribe needs to win at least 2/5 against Detroit--currently 0-1. Fausto tomorrow night. I'm sorry Patrick but for purposes of getting the Tigers ready for the Yanks, I have to pull for them for the next two weeks. After that, hopefully the Tribe bats come around again, finally. For what its worth, I agree about Betancourt but then who would set up?

Chris A. has hit it on the head; given Aric's age I seriously doubt that he hated Bennett in the 60s as he wasn't yet a gleam in Daddy's eye, and as far as singing the American Songbook goes, you can do worse than Tony Bennett (Merv Griffin) and better (I don't know ... maybe David Soul?).

Actually, I saw it at a site where I nabbed a couple of blues LPs; guy wanted $50 for his NM copy. I was going to post a picture about it since I'd never heard of it before but when I went back to do the link, it was gone.

Finally a good day at the ballpark. Jon Lester makes an emotional return to Fenway and goes seven very strong innings, allowing just 1 run on two hits, yet he was in line for the tough luck loss to Scott Kazmir until the ninth, when Lowell hit a game-tying homer, then Tek doubled with two outs and Coco drove him home, for a rare and very much needed walk off win. Plus the Yanks got clobbered, as I frankly suspected with Karstens going in place of the grounded Rocket; and I like our chances tomorrow as the D-Rays have someone who is 1-8 facing Dice K while the Yanks have to contend with Erik Bedard.

Its not reported in this article, but the NYT report mentioned that the study showed that on average ONE PITCH per game was called "based on race". I have a very hard time believing that under any circumstances that supposed 1 pitch has any effect on the outcome of a game.

I had a bead on this one for ya, buddy, but when I went back, it was gone.

Still goofy .....

Why am I not surprised Alex has a Trotsky-ite goatee?

I was wondering who would bring this up. There may always be debate about whether he belongs in the Hall (Marty will tell you many reasons why he should) there is no way in hell he belongs in the broadcaster's area of the Hall. I mean, that's ludicrous. I've never been sure about his qualifications as a player but there's no doubt it didn't hurt that he had friends on the Veteran's Committee. likewise kirby. Actually, no, because Kirby Puckett was elected by the writers, not the Veteran's Committee, and furthermore, if he hadn't been forced to retire when he did, he was well on his way to achieving the lifetime statistics that make you a lock for the Hall. That's why he was elected in, I believe, his first year of eligibility. respectfully disagreeing. if exceptions were made for all the great players whose careers became tragically shortened, the hall would have many more members. tony conigliaro and thurman munson come to mind. Tony C. had his career ruined when he was way too young - a classic case of what could have been, especially playing in Fenway (he was the youngest to 100 home runs, iirc). This is hardly equivalent. Munson is a tougher case but the fact is that he was eligible and didn't get the votes. Again, I don't think that Kirby got in because of the eye problem, he got in because at that point he was already a hall of famer.

Well I'm glad this thread came up, it made me decide to search record stores in Palm Beach county and it turns out there is a used LP store in downtown Delray. I am definitely headed there this weekend to check it out, hopefully it will be worth my while.

I know nothing about Miami thrift stores, though I can tell you that I bought a super rare George Freeman - Charlie Earland LP on Ebay from a seller who told me he found it at a Miami thrift shop. As for Fort Lauderdale, there is a Salvation Army on the same road as the CD Collector, right by I-95. I stopped there once, they had a box of 70s pop LPs, most in horrible shape. There's a Goodwill about five miles north of there, never did check it out. That one is on Oakland Park, the next exit off 95 to the north.

I was wondering who would bring this up. There may always be debate about whether he belongs in the Hall (Marty will tell you many reasons why he should) there is no way in hell he belongs in the broadcaster's area of the Hall. I mean, that's ludicrous. I've never been sure about his qualifications as a player but there's no doubt it didn't hurt that he had friends on the Veteran's Committee. likewise kirby. Actually, no, because Kirby Puckett was elected by the writers, not the Veteran's Committee, and furthermore, if he hadn't been forced to retire when he did, he was well on his way to achieving the lifetime statistics that make you a lock for the Hall. That's why he was elected in, I believe, his first year of eligibility.

I was wondering who would bring this up. There may always be debate about whether he belongs in the Hall (Marty will tell you many reasons why he should) there is no way in hell he belongs in the broadcaster's area of the Hall. I mean, that's ludicrous. I've never been sure about his qualifications as a player but there's no doubt it didn't hurt that he had friends on the Veteran's Committee.

I had no idea you lived down here. Did they expand their store yet? I imagine there is at least room to flip through the jazz LPs now.

the selection is getting smaller and smaller these days. In North Miami Beach, Blue Note Records still has vinyl but not nearly as much as when they opened their vinyl annex. http://miami.citysearch.com/profile/252998...te_records.html The other place is in Fort Lauderdale, CD Collector. http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=utf-8&o...601852259282510 At the end of July, they were supposed to be opening their hugely expanded shop, with something like 2000 square feet. The store started out as a CD shop but has steadily expanded LP offerings and they got a deal from their landlord to convert the storage space behind. I haven't been there since they were supposed to open so I can't confirm just how big or extensive it is. Definitely a great selection of jazz vinyl and CDs.

Holy cow, indeed. I know Marty is going to be saddened by the news. What I remember the Scooter for though is his broadcast career on Channel 11. He could say some pretty wild and wacky stuff.

:party:

The Sox finally have a decent game at home with Wakefield carrying a no-hitter into the seventh to get his 14th win, and then I wake up to the kiss of death: Steve Phillips declared that the Yankees will still miss the playoffs because of their pitching. As if we weren't in trouble before ...

No one thought Pena was a superior fielder when they got him. He was supposed to have a big upside as a power hitter and certainly gave hints of that last year. Then they promised him 450 plate appearances this year and delivered like 150 so far. I have no doubt that he will end up in KC or somewhere like that and hit 40 homers playing full time, and then idiots on WEEI will complain that they gave up on him too soon. Arroyo was wearing out his welcome in the AL because the hitters had figured him out. His strikeout rate was dropping like a stone and his ERA was rising. He had a fluke year in Cincinnati because the NL hadn't seen him in a while. So while you might feel better with Arroyo starting instead of Tavarez, purely because of experience, but I would guess that the results would have been just about the same. Those aren't the stats that Cabrera put up prior to 2004. Not even close. Aside from a career year in 2003 (from which he immediately fell back to his prior level), he was a free-swinger with a low OBP and mediocre BA. You can't criticize Theo because three seasons later he finally put it together. Were you upset about the decision when he put up his .257/.309/.365 line in 2005? The simple fact was that a better option was available in Renteria, and the Red Sox used their financial might to get him. It would have worked out wonderfully if Renteria wasn't such a sensitive pansy that he couldn't hack it in the big city with the big crowds. I think you know what they say about hindsight. Murphy??? No one believes Murphy is anything other than a fourth outfielder. Where would Murphy be playing if they kept him? He ranks below Ellsbury and Moss, as well as every other OF on the roster except maybe Wily Mo.

As far as Schilling goes, why was it that it was THEO who went to Thanksgiving dinner at Curt's house to convince him that he could succeed as a fly-ball pitcher at Fenway? Have you taken a look at the way Arroyo has pitched this year? His WHIP is way up, and his ERA makes him league average. NL teams have figured him out the same way that AL teams had figured him out. I'm not saying that Wily Mo has done anything for us and he'll probably get released in the next couple of weeks, but Arroyo ain't doing shit for Cincinnati either. As far as Lowell goes, I love the guy but let's keep in mind how he has always, until this season, faded terribly after the ASB. They're likely to wait on A-Rod before they decide to re-sign him. And as for Lugo and Drew - how many more bust out seasons do you need to see from the Renteria's of this world to learn that you can't make judgements based on not even a full season's worth of games? Are you even aware that Lugo is hitting .297 since July 1st? And whatever Theo said about Beckett, it was his decision to give him an extension in the middle of last season. Your anger at Theo is extremely misplaced.

After watching Gagne blow two games in one weekend and watching him give up more runs in a handful of appearances for the Sox than he gave up all season for Texas, I say it serves you right. :excited: Hay Dan, wouldn't be so funny if the Mariners beat out the Red Sox for the wild card? :excited: Please. I'm trying to deal with the likelihood that the Red Sox will be looking up at the Yankees by the time they visit the Bronx on August 28th. C'mon, that's not all that likely. Give us another month at least. Meanwhile, it looks like Damon has fast become the forgotten man. Melky has solidified the centerfield position for years to come. Plus, the fact that he and Cano have become inseparable means that the Yanks would be quite loathe to break 'em up even for a great starting pitcher which is what they really need. Hopefully Philip Hughes and perhaps Joba Chamberlain (beginning next season) can become that (or those) required commodity (ies). I wish it would take another month but that can only happen if the Angels and Tigers bring you back to Earth. I'm hoping the Tigers have turned it around with a rare series win this weekend but who knows ... its obvious the Yankees are facing the decent opponents at the best possible time. The Yankees need to make a decision next season about Damon and Giambi. Damon's no-trade is limited, Giambi has a blanket clause. Both should be unmovable for their age/production/price but it doesn't make sense to keep both. I've heard that Damon isn't looking very good as a corner outfielder but I'd say that he needs to take a crash course at first base to make himself useful for next season, otherwise he is probably easier to move. I don't think that Melky and Cano being pals has anything to do with them being untouchable. The fact that Hughes, Chamberlain and that other guy, Ian something or other (Kennedy?) will be ready for the rotation next year means that the Yankees have no need for a starting pitcher next year. You've got Wang, Hughes, Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy, with Moose under contract and Pettitte likely to return. That leaves the worst of the rookies as the sixth starter and absolutely no need to trade for someone else.

After watching Gagne blow two games in one weekend and watching him give up more runs in a handful of appearances for the Sox than he gave up all season for Texas, I say it serves you right. :excited: Hay Dan, wouldn't be so funny if the Mariners beat out the Red Sox for the wild card? :excited: Please. I'm trying to deal with the likelihood that the Red Sox will be looking up at the Yankees by the time they visit the Bronx on August 28th.

From the Times obit:

After watching Gagne blow two games in one weekend and watching him give up more runs in a handful of appearances for the Sox than he gave up all season for Texas, I say it serves you right. :excited:

Mediocrity? Your league is mediocre. Your team is .001 percentage points away from being WORST in the league. Keep dreaming of the day you attain "mediocrity".