Dan Gould

Farnsworth, who was the epitome of inconsistency + nagging back trouble, was supposed to be the key setup guy (why they threw 17 million at him) along with a Tampa Bay reject whose name escapes me. The Tampa reject, who Joe had begun to have faith in, was piss poor and had season ending arm surgery. In the wake of those two, Proctor and Villone became key, with Proctor pitching in 83 games and 102 innings, which is a huge number for a relief pitcher in this day and age. His numbers weren't so bad (3.52 ERA) but Villone hit a serious wall in August. I believe I heard that around the first week of August, his ERA was barely over 2. From then til the end of the season, it rose all the way to 5! Along with Farnsworth, they were the key "bridge to Mariano" that ended up being the most rickety bridge they've built so far. Well, one answer would have been not adding Abreu at the trade deadline - then Sheff wouldn't have felt put upon and ignored. They did do pretty well with Melky and Bernie filling in, but let's face it, everyone agreed that Abreu was a huge positive addition that made a big difference. The real problems were Giambi's wrist injury and hitting decline, plus Sheffield's lack of experience playing first base and inability to find any hitting groove in such a short time frame. Torre had no good option for first base - neither guy was hitting and neither can field the position! Not Torre's fault. BTW, the NY media may be going crazy over this, but there are some interesting things coming out. The Daily News is ripping Jeter for not doing more to "reach out" to A-Rod and get him better situated, and I honestly think there is something to that. Jeter has long struck me as a prickly personality and if you cross him, like A-Rod did in the infamous Esquire article, he never ever forgives or forgets. It was a completely different situation, I know, but I am reminded of the time that Pee Wee Reese went over to Jackie Robinson and stood with him while he was being viciously abused by fans (I want to say he put his arm around him but I'm not certain). I do think that Jeter giving more public support and encouragement to A-Rod might have made a difference, and for a guy who emphasizes winning so much, why would Jeter not do it? So, the interesting question becomes, if you fire Torre, the only manager Jeter has known (in the big leagues), to hire Piniella, on the basis that Lou will help A-Rod get it together, where does that leave Derek? How disrespectful is that to the 'Captain'?

That's too bad, Jim. I guess the lesson is, check and double-check the length of the set so you're absolutely certain that you're going to leave on the highest note possible.

He did abuse the pitching staff (Villone and Proctor in particular, and Rivera was, in June, on a pace for the most inning + appearances since 2001, so who knows if that resulted in his strained muscle in September?). The only way he didn't abuse the staff was in not using Wang for Game 4, since he threw far more innings this year than any previous year. But as it was pointed out, Piniella would have had Wang pitch anyway. There are serious questions about strategy in the way he used Sheffield, Giambi and moved A-Rod back and forth in the lineup. Its also a fact that the team seemed dispirited and flat for the last two games, presumably because he couldn't get them up and motivated. Personally, I think that last complaint is BS because if you watch any team that is being mowed down by dominant pitchers, they look flat and beaten. Trudging back to the dugout over and over again will do that to you.

Very interesting column on why Piniella is the wrong man for the job, from Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger:

Well, it really depends on what she wants to learn. Yeah. What are her goals? Does she plan to lead the first generation of Organissimo tribute bands? Or does she want to replace Dr. Smith in LD's band?

No problem, Marty. The difference between Yankee fans and Red Sox fans is that if the shoe were on the other foot, we would be re-living and celebrating a five game sweep for the next ten years, regardless of getting bounced in the first round. But for Yankee fans, its all about the rings and so the sweep is a nice memory but its still a terribly disappointing season.

Dave, I presume you mean exercise Sheffield's option year, not actually sign him to something longer. But regardless, there is no way that 38 year old, 13 million dollar Sheffield gets more than a mediocre pitching prospect, let alone "prime pitching prospects". He's old, he's coming off a lost season, and 13 million dollars is at least 4 million more than anyone else would pay him. They'd be able to control where he goes but they'd probably have to pay a portion of salary and get mediocrity in return. My best guess is that Sheffield's option is declined, and I am still very much on the fence about him at Fenway. The idea of him hitting before or after Papi and Manny is exciting, but he didn't exactly look like a natural first baseman and there's no way he'd handle RF very well at Fenway. But if he takes personal afronts personally, he'd probably murder Yankee pitching for us and maybe make up for a lot of fielding miscues.

No doubt. Exactly the feelings I had when I got the album... Maybe that's cause its one of the seminal mid-50s original hard bop dates, not a retread of a tiring formula?

I think there's a 70s Cadet recording that answers to that general description.

that's exactly it. If Steinbrenner wants Lou, and truly believes that his worst mistake was firing him the last time, then its now or never. Lou will surely be managing somewhere next year, and while the obvious choice is the Yanks, Chicago and Seattle are supposed to be very interested. Might even be a bidding war. Lou says he wants to win a World Series, so who knows? Maybe he'll say "OK, but you gotta promise me A-Rod will be gone before spring training. That guy's the ultimate jinx!"

A lot of people love this one but its never clicked for me. I keep it because its Tina, but ...

So Marty, do you think that Torre will survive? I know you're a huge fan and I'm sure you don't want him to get the axe.

This has the added benefit of Teddy, a tenor who I've truly grown to love. They joined together in the 80s for a couple of dates on Storyville. Young at Heart is the best of the three. Also on Storyville is this one: which has Maggie with Benny Bailey, Sonny Red in addition to Teddy.

One other thing. That Yahoo writer is foolish to lump Wright's contract in with all of the other monstrosities. Wright has one more year left, at 7 million, or a 4 million dollar buy out. Given what other mediocrities will make in free agency this year, there is no reason not to keep Wright around as the 5th starter at that price. He's fine in that slot, he just shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a playoff start, let alone an elimination game.

I don't think its fair to criticize Torre's lineup moves in the last three games. He's always shown a preference for vets, so playing Sheffield - who can blame him, even if he was out of position and terribly rusty? Giambi hasn't hit in about two months and is an atrocious fielder anyway, so switching them around is just a matter of "pick your poison". I know full well that Francona would have done the same thing, hoping that when the light goes on, Sheffield responds. He didn't - but its not Joe's fault. Dropping A-Rod was just a natural response to an October slump everyone saw a mile away. Here's the bottom line, in two parts: 1) Posada and Jeter both hit .500 in this series. The rest of the team hit .170 something. So its Torre's fault that Damon, Abreu, Giambi, A-Rod, Cano, Matsui and Melky all stunk it up? 2) Steinbrenner has always loved football and the rah rah, knock his lights out style of coaching. He's going to figure that Joe couldn't get this team motivated and "up" and that is what he thinks Piniella can do. The Torre death watch is officially on. And I'll predict that if the Yankees get the right package of young pitchers and prospects, A-Rod is gone, too.

But if Fantasy wasn't going to put these out, I can't imagine Concord will.

CD Baby has a two minute clip of "'A' Train" here.

I thought it was a little overdone but for the reasons Greg and Marty mention, I think they deserved it. Watching the fans getting doused in champagne really made me think how great it would have been if the Sox had won either the LCS or the Series at home. I think they would have had the entire party on the field, and needed ten times as much champagne to spray as many fans as they could.

I've always loved me some Plas, and I have his earlier Carell release, Hot, Blue and Saxy which wasn't as ballad-heavy as this one seems to be, but still nice (I used "Ease on Down the Road" from The Wiz on my first BFT). Thanks for the tip. Edit: As far as dates that feature Plas go, there were two Concord recordings in the mid-70s which can probably be found on vinyl. There's also an obscure LP titled LA 1955 which has Art Hillery on organ and features the super greasy side of Plas. Easiest to find is certainly Keep That Groove Going, co-led by Red Holloway.

Isn't that the drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket???? I thought it was my 9th grade Social Studies teacher, Hans Colischon, who did a lot more than "kinda" scare young students. I swear he's the spitting image, if you age that photograph 20 years.

I'm afraid the Dodgers aren't going to do it ... But isn't baseball a funny game? The Twins cap off an amazing year by clinching the division on the last day, and then they get swept out of the playoffs. The Tigers lose 31 of 50 and the division on the last day, then whip the overwhelming favorite Yanks in 4. The Cards look the worst of all the playoff teams and are a game away from the LCS. The Mets looked to have big time pitching problems due to injury but are about to sweep their way through the first round.

You can call me Nostradamus. Here are a few random observations heading into the off-season that snuck up on NY so suddenly. As the shock wears off, Yankee fans are welcome to tell me what they think. Will Yankee fans start to boo A-Rod at the mere sight of him? Yankee fans can be merciless with those who don't produce when it counts, and that's on top of all of the other reasons to boo A-Rod, not the least of which is that it obviously bothers him. After 2 1/2 post-seasons of complete invisibility, I really have to wonder if Yankee fans will not even wait for him to strikeout or make an error and just start booing whenever he leaves the dugout. Whether that will necessitate a trade would be the next question. If anyone could pry away some of the prize Angel arms, it would be A-Rod. Did Barry Zito's price just go to 20 million a year? Between the Met injuries and age issues and the Yankee pitching failures, I don't think there's any doubt that they will bid up Zito's price til the spawn of Satan's calculator breaks when it tries to calculate his commission. George has had a stiffy for Piniella since forever; will he finally decide its safe to fire Joe? Certainly this is the last chance to get Sweet Lou in pinstripes again, since he's back on the market and has said this will be his last gig. I wonder if George has it in his mind that Piniella would have fired up the team better than Joe did. I think there are nearly even odds that George is going to start a press conference with "I gave Joe and Cash everything they asked for and they still couldn't deliver a championship ..." Do Yankee fans secretly hope that Unit will need back surgery and may miss most or all of next year? If that's the case - and who knows - it would certainly impact the bidding for Zito; on the plus side it would accelerate the process of finally getting younger on the pitching staff. I can't imagine any Yankee fan thinks that 43 year old Unit can do any better than the 5.00 ERA he posted this year. Whither Moose? Big dollars on the option year, which reportedly the Yanks want to decline and then sign him for less money but for more than one year. But in this pitching market, Mussina could get a big offer if the Yanks let him become a free agent (did I just hear Jon Leiber's name?). At the same time, even as Moose seemed to pitch better this year than in the previous two, he still got hurt, still didn't come close to 20 wins, and is now a year older. If Unit is seriously injured, they probably have to re-sign Moose ... but the odds are good that by the time he reaches the end of the next contract, he'll be a very mediocre pitcher. Well I guess that's it for now ... I feel for you, Yankee fans. I really do. 1.2 Billion dollars just doesn't buy what it used to.

Now I finally realize why he posted . He falls under "Henry, or other "royal" Kings".

Well I guess I stand corrected. Guess I shouldn't have said anything considering that its my wife who has always handled the ISP stuff from choosing a provider, a package, to installing the modem.

This may be so, but my friend's experience with "cable DSL" vs my experience with "DSL" from the phone company has consistently favored cable. FWIW, in the US, your average household is simply offered "DSL" with no delineation of different speed options. Its in businesses where you may choose to upgrade to a T1 or whatever. But I've never heard of household options where you can get "fast" or "super fast". You can stick with dial-up or go with DSL and then you typically have a choice of cable vs phone company service.