Dan Gould

Look for the official Nomar announcement later today. 2 years, not sure about the money. I'm just glad it keeps him out of the Bronx. Let the Yanks go for Hillenbrand. You want a bad apple clubhouse presence? Shea will do you just fine.

Shocking, in that the Tribune Company is for sale - or in bad financial straits, I'm not sure - so I didn't think they'd be spending like this. Makes the Red Sox bid look like chump change. Makes Manny Ramirez more likely to be dealt, particularly to the Angels, who once again miss out on that big bat they need. If Soriano is worth that much, what's two years and 37 million for Manny, who may not have as many tools as Soriano but is in a completely different universe when it comes to pure hitting skills? A-Ram, D-Lee and Soriano is a scary middle of the lineup for the Cubbies. Yet they've still done nothing to address their pitching problems aside from re-signing Kerry Wood.

I don't think striving for the "Blue Note sound" or "another Prestige blowing session" qualifies as a "salesman's idea" unless the salesman is happy selling the "same old same old" and doesn't care what gets ordered as long as he leaves with an order. I don't think Blue Note or Prestige ever indulged in this sort of slightly contrived session. That Jazz Masquerade Party or the Morris Gant plays Junk (or whatever that title was), those were "salesman's ideas".

Two observations: Great game OSU is really good

Chris, I think Gagne is worth a look for a low risk/high reward type of deal. One or two mil, with bonuses for finishing games or appearances that, if maxed out, puts him in the elite salary class. I can't help but remember how dominant he was when healthy, and with Papelbon headed to the rotation, we need to replace him with someone nearly as lights-out. Apparently Gagne is going to workout for teams that are interested sometime next month. If he looks healthy and still has a power fastball to go with the Bugs Bunny changeup, he'll definitely get a lot of interest.

this is not accurate, Jim, and I think you know it. He violated the rules (as inane as they may be). He was told his membership was being cancelled, to stop lifting and follow her to the front desk. He ignored her, continued to lift weights, and behaved in an intimidating manner to the female manager. That's why the police were called.

Interesting thing is the structure: 9 million gets paid as a signing bonus, in January. 1 million next year 8 million the following year And a third year becomes guaranteed if he reaches 1000 plate appearances in the first two years, or 525 in 2008. But why the huge signing bonus and low salary? Frank needs money for next year up front? The thing is, Toronto had awful production from the DH spot last year, yet still scored a lot of runs. Their lineup will be very deep with Thomas in there. Funny how the Hot Stove season started with the A's seemingly certain to re-sign him, and then the Blue Jays sweep in with big bucks. Definitely a preview of the deals to come.

Is it just me or does 18 million for two years for Frank Thomas seem a tad risky? I saw one commentator write that he looks like he is one trip from first to third away from the DL, but that left me thinking, what trip from first to third? Frank doesn't go from first to third on a double!

Here you go, Jim: http://blindman.forumhoster.com/index.php?...mp;#entry220439 Not too many responses, though there are at least a couple of CD recommendations.

To me, its real simple: There are posted rules that are well-advertised, and he violated them. The mere fact that after an employee tells him to stop lifting and follow her to the front and he ignored her and kept lifting says a lot about his attitude. What's interesting is the corporate decision to appeal to the 98 LB weaklings and make things peachy keen for them, at the expense of hard core lifters. I always figured that its the hard core lifters that keep a gym in business, the 98 LB weaklings whose memberships last a month or two represents a much smaller portion of the ongoing revenue stream.

I've gotten a ton of those recently, Mark. They made the page look exactly as if it was an Ebay generated message, with the link to "reply now" of course going to their phishing website. But the really funny thing was that they left - or made up - the link for the user Id of the "sender" to actually go to Ebay, and that page revealed that this person wasn't from "North Carolina", he was from Bulgaria and was no longer a registered user, and had less than stellar feedback. I couldn't believe they'd make up a page for data gathering to look like Ebay and wouldn't make up another that would back them up as legitimate, and seemingly trustworthy, members.

Jim, This is the place to ask your question. !! Aaauuugggghhhh! Another board to join?! Thanks guys. I'll try to find some time to browse that board, Dan... not sure how much time I'll find, but I'll try. I just joined another board related to vintage brazilian music, which I haven't found a lot of time for, so I'm feeling kind of stretched lately. Lon, I wish I'd been at those clubs with you. Tell you what, I'll post a question over there, I'm sure you'll see lots of advice in a day or two.

What's round on the end and high in the middle?

I'd be the first to cut Al a whole bunch of slack on not recognizing a tune. But not having any Bird, after ten years of listening to jazz? There's just no excuse, unless you've spent ten years believing that Kenny G and Boney James are the greatest saxophonists the world has ever known. IMO, anyone who is a jazz fan, after ten years, ought to own at least one recording by Pops, Bird, and Ellington. There may be others, like Miles or Monk or Diz, but to me those are the three wellsprings and to fail to own something by each or any of them is simply inexcusable.

Jim, This is the place to ask your question. Lots of people there like this guy and know all of his CDs. Its funny, but before I went whole hog into the blues in the last six months, I actually bought one of his CDs at Borders, not knowing who he was, and I never really enjoyed it enough to keep it. Now I'll probably end up re-buying the very same CD at some point.

Given the life she's led and the people she knew, I can't imagine that this isn't worthwhile. Thanks for the heads up.

It truly boggles the mind that this show is the success that it is. I fear for the Republic.

I know I'm kicking a dead horse here, Matthew, but I did get a kick out of this from Bob Ryan's Globe column:

It did not take 50 mil just for the rights. It took 51.1 mil.

Ok, not worded so well...Apart from the big 2006 DL stay, Sheffield has constantly been playing through minor, nagging injuries during his Yankee tenure. And he does have a chronically bad knee IIRC (for which he took "flaxseed oil" or something ). Maybe the switch to DH will ease wear and tear, and he'll play 140-150 games for a couple of years. OTOH, maybe the aging process will continue and his playing time will fall off. I lean to the latter, particularly with a steroid-implicated player, but time will tell. I still think the Yankees got an OK return on the trade. They prefer Abreu in the OF, probably want to develop Cabrera, Giambi (who seems totally untradeable) will be shifting to full-time DH, and they didn't want to deal with a bench-riding Sheffield. I had a far-out theory that the NYY would try and trade Matsui to the Mariners or Dodgers, in hopes that the Japanese fan appeal would bring back some pitching. Doesn't seem to be playing out. Well, I think they did well in keeping Sheffield away from their immediate rival, and if the pitchers are allowed to develop and do turn into something, its an excellent deal. At minimum, they stockpiled prospects they can use in trade. I still say, however, that they could have gotten more, in terms of major league talent, had they waited til Soriano and Lee shake out. The losing bidders would have ponied up for Sheffield, I think. No reason to trade Matsui at this point, even though Melky deserves to play every day. But he can wait one more year and they'll probably let Abreu leave, or trade Matsui, and let Melky play.

I really like the powergenitalia URL.

Tom, I understand how deadlines can force your hand, but I would really press hard to lockdown the date beforehand. I don't think press releases should refer to you by your first name. Go with "Buck" or "Mr. Buck". And finally, I am not sure that "fire-breathing" is the best descriptor. I don't know your audience, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is an aversion to "fire-breathing" jazz (which is a term that makes me think "late-period Coltrane".) I'm not saying that you shouldn't program the wide variety that you plan, I just don't think "fire breathing" is a term that will always resonate positively with people. How about: "wide-ranging" or "eclectic"? Then finish with "this won't be your Father's Jazz Series, I can promise you that." That will get across the programming you have in mind.

FWIW, Conrad, I'm pretty sure the 50 million is coming right out of John Henry's checkbook, not the team's. You don't plan on a 50 million dollar payment and budget it ahead of time. So really, all you need is to ditch the corporate owner and find a guy with deep pockets.

38, injured all the time, and a toxic clubhouse presence. I hope his professed good relationship with Leyland holds up...To Sheffield's credit (I'm not a big fan, to put it mildly), he does hustle and play hurt. I think the Yankees were so happy not to have to pay any of Sheff's 2007 salary (didn't the Tigers spring for a new 3-year deal?) that they were willing to go for quantity over quality, arms-wise. Not too bad a deal for the NYY IMO. Yanks would have released him if they didn't fear the Bosox stepping up (the one-year $13MM sign-and-trade ruse was crafted solely to avoid Boston). Even if Sheffield has a good year in 2007, the prospect of him fuming on the Tiger bench in 2009, at 40, isn't pretty! "injured all the time" yet he "does hustle and play hurt"? Fact is, since 1999, Sheffield has played 150 games or more four times, including the three years prior to last season's ill-fated campaign, 140 games two more times, one season of 135. I don't think "injured all the time" is accurate. It is true that the Yanks didn't pick up any part of his salary and the Tigers added the two years Sheffield wanted. I think they've got a great middle of the lineup presence for at least a year or two; the last year may very well see him fuming on the bench, which I agree won't be pretty.