Dan Gould

Even aside from what Andy Dick apparently did with Hartman's wife, there have been quite a few stories of some very odd behavior from him. I've never seen him in anything that I thought was amusing or a good performance but I do think that he was well cast in Newsradio.

We're f-ing pathetic right now (how about 9 of the last 11 losses have been by 1 run?) and at this point wouldn't be surprised if the Yankees take the lead with even more games to play than they did last year. We can't fucking win and they can't fucking lose, and their streak of games against crap opponents has only just begun.

No doubt we need a nice run but I'm not terribly concerned about the White Sox series coming up, considering that Dice, Beckett and Kason are scheduled to pitch, and Buerhle pitched today so we miss him.

I'm working from my house these days and usually eat my lunch while watching Newsradio on TBS at noon. That was one very funny show, and Phil Hartman was absolutely perfect as Bill O'Neal.

Even as the Yanks creep closer, I'm actually encouraged by the underlying trends for the Sox: Manny and Papi are hitting for power again Julio Lugo has heated up at the plate, with his average at its highest point in six weeks Coco Crisp has really heated up at the plate It looks like Schilling's problem was weakened shoulder muscles and he's on track for a return by August 1. He says his arm feels better than it has since last season and he could be the one big deadline addition who won't cost a thing Now if the Yankees would just drop a game or two, and Theo wises up and leaves Kason Gabbard - unbeaten in his career at Fenway, 4-0 with a 2.40 ERA over his last seven starts, a complete game three hit shutout in his ninth career start - in the rotation when Schilling returns and either sends Tavarez to the bullpen or away. It will be interesting when Schilling returns, right at the trade deadline, because if Gabbard stays, and he's done nothing to earn a return to Pawtucket, then either Tavarez goes to the bullpen or is traded/DFA'd, or someone in the bullpen is traded/DFA'd. Piniero is the weakest arm they've got, and I would think that the teams that need starters would be willing to take a chance on stretching him back out. Certainly he couldn't be worse than what the Braves or Phillies are running out there. So that is my hope - keep Gabbard, and trade Piniero. If the Yanks shave a few more games off the lead, will our Yankee friends return?

My wife and I learned that unless you've got a gunshot wound or a cardiac event, the "urgent care" office is a much better bet. Back in May my wife went downhill extraordinarily quickly from what she felt was the onset of a sinus infection to having a high fever, major trembling, blue complexion and debilitating pain in her back. She got home from work at 6:30 and I made the decision to take her straight to the ER. Bottom line: She spent four hours there, saw the Doctor for two minutes, he ordered a blood test that showed an infection. When we got there, they asked me for a $350 fee as a "deposit" for the visit. Turns out that the sign that said that ER physicians are Independent Contractors wasn't just for liability issues but actually meant that you'd get a separate bill for the Doctor's services. So, the $350 I paid covered: The triage nurse taking down her info The two Tylenol tablets given for her fever The drawing of blood for testing and the inability to insert an IV needle A week later we got a bill for $432 for the Doctor who got his degree from the University of Grenada and spent two minutes examining her, and a $30 bill for the actual testing of the blood sample. $800 total, and for the same service from an urgent care facility, we might have paid $150. The lesson learned is to get sick during the day, and don't go to the ER unless you absolutely, positively have to.

I thought this was expected to be a September release, so thanks for the heads up that it is already available. Like Jim I've heard the two released LPs and enjoyed them, so its a no-brainer to put this on the want list for upcoming birthday/anniversary/Christmas purchases. Anyone wish to comment on the Anderza/Bolton tracks?

Personally while I think I have all of the Curtis Amy leader dates, I listen to this one least often.

How exactly does one expunge Butt Rag? Clicky

Do their customers love it so much that they adopt a bran muffin and coffee diet so that they can enjoy feeling "refreshed" more than once a day? And let's be honest, do those cleaning options cover all the possibilities? Where is the "Bad Burrito" option?

But at least it comes with a disclaimer... It gets worse in the text of the CDBaby page - the LP "For Segregationists Only" is promoted with this: Yeah, highly subtle.

Whenever you consider what Sheffield says, this should be remembered:

:party:

Let me get this straight - there are racist lyrics in one song on this set ... and you are sending it back? And this is because what? You didn't get some sort of warning/discussion/something-something about its presence? You were unaware that the popular music/entertainment culture of the day included racist images and lyrics? Was the rest of the set deeply satisfying yet you could not in good conscience enjoy it having discovered an unsavory side of Mercer's art? Take this advice for what it is, coming from a middle aged white guy: GROW UP. There is no reason that this "offending" song should be deleted from the set or dealt with in some condescending, morally superior "sorry for the offense but ..." way. It is what it is and unless you have literally zero experience with pre-WW II jazz/pop music there ought to be no surprise that such songs were written and recorded in that era. How does this differ from the intent behind the Parental Warning stickers? And why exactly is it relevant? Because your sensitive ears must be "protected"? As you say, it takes on a different meaning when a white man sings it ... so apparently that's the kind of information you require? Not just a "racist lyrics" alert but a "white man singing racist lyrics" alert? How about "white man singing racist lyrics written by a black man" alert? I take it then that you have no problem with the filth coming out of black hip hop mouths but woe to the white rapper who says the same things.

I got the email, too but I'm too cash poor to pull the trigger. Used to be that would depress me to no end but I am really getting away from the MORE MORE MORE mentality lately.

as have I.

Rickey Henderson Named Mets Hitting Coach I can just imagine the conversation: "Do you want some pointers on your swing? Cuz Rickey doesn't mind giving some pointers. Let Rickey help you with your swing."

Johnny's comment raises an interesting question. We often hear that heart/persona/intangibles/whatever are important in sports in a way not captured by "stats". Baseball is more susceptible to statistical analysis than most other sports; therefore you could potentially test the proposition that heart/persona/intangibles/whatever actually matter to winning games. The hard part would be measuring "heart" in a way that doesn't actually sneak "stats" through the back door. Guy You should see what the FireJoeMorgan blog has to say about Darin Ernstad, a classic "heart" guy who isn't really a very good baseball player.

Well maybe, but he uses an interpreter for interviews and, although he may be able to speak trash in English, he is far from being able to be the team's motivational speaker. He wasn't talking trash. He was talking like all of these modern era players do - like old friends visiting for a couple of minutes. It seems obvious to me that he is perfectly capable of making himself understood in English, with a minimal accent, and I'll bet that indeed he does talk to his teammates behind closed doors. For some reason he insists on having an interpreter for interviews, probably because he doesn't want to risk being misunderstood. I'm talking about career - he's struck out 108 times more than he's walked. For a hitter with such a high BA, why has his OBP exceeded .400 only once in a full season? Because he doesn't walk. Something else to consider: what hitters is he similar to? According to Baseball Reference.com, he's mostly similar to a bunch of guys who hit in the dead ball era. I would have guessed that he'd be similar to Wade Boggs or Tony Gwynn or even Rod Carew - but apparently his slugging percentage and OBP doesn't qualify. This doesn't surprise anyone? Again, I am talking about career stats, and that is a BA of .349 with RISP.

This is a pretty nice recent recording:

I agree, and enjoy several other tracks as well, particularly The Last Supper and This Jesus Must Die.

Whatever you say, Johnny, but I'd think you know full well that he does speak English and speaks it quite well and clearly. Its been remarked upon many times especially lately, but one time that comes to mind is during a Fox broadcast where the umpire was mic'd and picked up his conversation with a middle infielder after he reached second base. You didn't exactly need subtitles to understand what he was saying. As for your statistics, he strikes out more often than he walks, which is not exactly something that a leadoff batter should do. And as I am sure you are aware, he doesn't actually hit .500 with runners in scoring position. You should also remember that you are paying for future performance based on the past. Is it really likely that he will be worth 20 million a year at the end of this contract?

I like the full pic much better than the cropped version used for the cover.

"All Time"

If you took away his marketing appeal as the best Japanese player in MLB, I tend to doubt that 100 million is quite right for a singles hitter who doesn't walk. And I say that as someone with great respect for the skill set he does have and thinks he'll go into the HoF.