Dan Gould

I think there is clear and compelling proof that A-Rod did indeed say "Mine!" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hYZA_s_E8M Note that if he said "Ha" his mouth would have hung open and then closed whereas it looks pretty obvious he is forming a sound as his mouth closes - the tail end of "mine". What a loser.

Actually Beckett resumed right where he left off. Compared to last year, you could say that Beckett is overperforming but if the decision to trust Varitek and his secondary pitches is a permanent one, there are good odds that Beckett has finally taken the steps necessary to be an ace and should throw like one for the next 4-5 years or more. Schilling made a major change in the grip on his splitter and suddenly discovered that it was behaving like it did in his best seasons. Its an open question whether this will be a sustainable change. If it is, watch out, and if it isn't, then I will be glad they didn't sign him for 2008 during spring training. As for Dice, he is clearly much better than this. Before his last two starts he had gone 3-0 with an ERA under 2 in his previous three games. Last time, he was violently ill and had one terrible inning, still managing to get the win. This time, he couldn't figure out how to finish batters off. I can't stand two strike hits and must have seen at least 1/2 of the 12 he gave up happen in that situation. You of course are right that now is the time to smile. But as a Sox fan, the negativity and fear remains deeply ingrained.

Is slashing the ancillary division necessarily a bad outcome? Said differently, presumably the Blue Note catalog has some value (however small) to somebody. Wouldn't TF try to maximize their return by selling the unit to somebody rather than throwing it away? They may not get much for it, but at the right price someone should be interested, and presumably the outfit that would pay the most is one that plans to do something productive with it (...like sell re-re-re-re-reissues of Blue Train ). I raised this point earlier (perhaps on a different thread, though). I'm guessing that BN is worth about $100mm based on the selling price of Fantasy - the thing is that that is kind of a petty amount of money for TF - I doubt they'd put a lot of effort into finding a buyer (unless they just decide to sell of assets piecewise, which I suppose is possible but would still probably entail a few dark years). I'm also hard-pressed to think of a likely buyer with the hundred mil - Concord would have been the obvious candidate, but they just blew 90 on Fantasy. Who else is out there? Of course, at the end of the day this is all pure speculation and we'll find out what really happens all too soon - I'm just saying that if it's a choice between buying a relatively obscure title this summer or waiting until xmas, do it this summer.... What makes you put BN at a higher value than Fantasy? If what I have heard is true, Weinstock got a lot more for Prestige, etc. than Alfred got for BN, and since then Fantasy has had big selling back catalog by CCR.

I just found out what happened. Funny how A-Rod says he said "Ha!" and the Blue Jays say he said "Mine!" Considering A-Rod's claim that he was just swinging his arms when he played slapsie maxie with Arroyo, its easy to believe that he did indeed yell "Mine" but either way, its just another reason why other major leaguers can't stand him.

Yes. You shouldn't be greedy or pissed--life is short and your team is having a great season. So they lost one game to the team with the second best record in the league (and only 3.5 behind beloved Bosox). Tribe couldn't plate some runs in the earlier games. Way too unrealistic (and greedy) to expect to sweep everybody. Show a little grace, and smile that Schilling and Beckett had great starts, and your team is still on a roll. Nothing to worry about in May. And no real "message" was sent with this series--just a good 2 out of 3 for the Red Sox. Now take care of pinstripe business. Byrd gets the win without walking anybody so his wins/walks differential expands to 6 - 3 = 3. Is Dice K's pitch count often this high? It all comes back to the feeling that is always in the pit of the stomach of a Red Sox fan that anything can happen, that they can find another way to torture you. That's why I keep telling my wife that every game matters, and that there is no way we will waltz into the post season never having a lead smaller than 10+ games the rest of the year. The worm can turn at any time, and any night the Sox lose and the Yanks win isn't a good night. And to lose with Dice on the mound with a two run lead in the fifth is even more annoying. Byrd may have an impressive stat to his credit, but I see that the last time it happened over a full season was in the 90s for Bret Saberhagen. Is Byrd a Bret Saberhagen? At 88-74 with a career ERA+ of 106 vs 167-117 and 126, I don't think so. I wouldn't look for Byrd to turn out to be anything more than a league average pitcher (maybe with a few wins more due to his offense) but being around the plate with mediocre stuff (lifetime K/9=5) probably won't get by when the summer warms up and balls start flying out of stadiums. The Tribe needs Cliff Lee to be the number three, not Byrd. And I say that regardless of whether Byrd keeps his win total over his walk total. As for Dice-K he was obviously not right. 100+ pitches gets him through seven almost every time, and with a helluva lot better results, too.

Oh. Well, good luck with all that.

What magic number is that? They are eight games back of first, 5 back of the wild card. Their elimination number is 104 in the wild card, 103 in the division according to MLB. Meanwhile I know I shouldn't be greedy and you all are sick of hearing about the Sox but I am MF-ing pissed about the way they've let the Tribe embarass them tonite. Bases loaded with the top of the order coming up, down four and they can't plate a fucking run? Jesus Christ. And to top that off, Dice-K getting pounded without the slightest advantage of not being seen before. Edit for being an idiot.

Jazztimes had an extensive article that included a lot of quotes/info from the Sicklers about Hank's final years. One quote I remember said that when Hank was sober, he could still summon up the old magic. If I remember correctly the cover had a Mosaic Images print of Alfred and Hank in the studio.

As far as I am concerned, that speech ranks with the very funniest moments in the series' history.

D'OH!

Mobley not only was brought up on stage but said a few words. They appear on a promotional 45 included in the Japanese One Night With Blue Note Box Set. He says that 'sometimes you can't get in contact with people in time but they got in contact with me to come here" and then mentions talking to Lou Donaldson and realizing that LD, not Hank, is the "oldest person who played saxophone for Blue Note."

Speaking of which, an encouraging reminder from Steve Buckley of the Herald:

Thanks for posting the trumpet and tenor results. I wonder who was tops on piano. Monk? Duke? Silver should rank highly considering that Song for My Father was one of the top compositions. But maybe Tyner was tops because of the Impulse connection.

I'd be curious whether/where Hank and Lee fit in their respective instrument's poll.

Unfortunately, they had to play last night and had to send Benitez out to try to get the save in the 12th. Did anyone have any doubt after he balked in the tying run that the game would end with a Delgado blast? Benitez is the crappiest big name/high paid "closer" I've ever seen.

Another pretty exciting game in Fenway last night. Regardless of whether the Indians pitching lined up right, the performance of Schilling and Beckett to shut them down was extremely impressive, especially when you consider that Schilling had stunk or been mediocre for several starts in a row but suddenly regained his split from "'97-'98" with a couple of mechanical adjustments, and then Beckett comes off the DL after another finger problem and allows one hit through 6 innings before giving up a couple in the 7th. If those two guys are back and dealing, I could see this team ripping through interleague play, simply because against the NL West, those offenses won't be able to do much at all, while the Sox offense will squeak out the runs needed. Yes, even against the Great Peavy. And don't forget, the Sox go for the sweep tonite with Dice-K against Byrd, 7 PM on ESPN.

Well, reading this thread I now have an understanding why the MJQ recorded Blues on Bach. That always seemed a weird, though enjoyable, reissue when I picked it up.

How about this from the "negative comments" page: Thanks for the warning!

And signing Mark Redman - is that rubbing salt in the wound or what?

That was BS. Number one, Clemens pitched five more innings after that. Obviously while he did look like his groin was a little ouchy for a second or two, its not anything serious. Number two, the idea of giving up on the season is so antithetical to everything the Yankees preach that it is ludicrous to even discuss. And beyond that is the fact that the contract would certainly be considered legally enforceable anyway. Honestly it was one of the dumbest discussions I've ever heard on that network.

She looks more like a page 3 girl than a jazz "singer" and its a fucked up world if that's what she is about to become.

Well if Sox-Indians is a preview of the ALCS as some commentators have said, we're in for a doozy of a series based on the first game. Schilling had a major bounce back game, 1 run on six hits in seven innings with ten K's, Youklis actually hit an inside the park homer (can't wait for the highlights on Baseball Tonite) and the suddenly super hot Dustin Pedroia went three for three with two doubles and sparked a two out rally in the eighth to give Papelbon a three run lead to close. Dustin is hitting .298 after being around .170 a month ago. Then it got scary. Walk. Double. Double. Second and third, no one out, 5-3. Then Paps went pop out, strikeout, strikeout, and all was right with the world. 20 games over .500. 11 1/2 game lead over the O's, 12 over the Blue Jays, 13 1/2 over the Yanks, who fall into a tie for last place with the D-Rays after they staged a two run walk-off rally off of Todd Jones. See Tribe fans? Its not such a big deal taking a loss today. No change in the Central standings.

I'm not surprised, asking musicians to make a 7 AM hit. Shit like that should be covered in the Geneva Convention, if not the Union work rules.

Is that really a 7 AM hit on a local morning show? Hope you play something mellow for that hour of the day.

I don't know but I've noticed at the Blindman's Blues forum that it shows I am offline while I'm posting - they use a much older version of the same software. The only thing I can guess is that it might be related to logging on "anonymously".