Dan Gould

Well, I think that Giambi is a very popular teammate. We may think differently about his history of steroid and HGH use (and who among us don't wonder if his "comeback" isn't related to HGH?) but from everything I've heard, his teammates love him. Sheffield ... well he's been called a clubhouse cancer almost since he arrived in the league, so ... that doesn't mean that I wouldn't mind if the Red Sox go after him if the Yanks let him walk! But I doubt it will happen. Even if the Yanks don't think he can share first base with Giambi, they're more likely to pick up his option year and then decide where he gets traded. No need to antagonize him and then watch him sign with Boston.

I posted solely about the implications of the note, specifically stated that I would not share details, and the only details that ended up being mentioned were her off-the-wall reaction to a B.B. King song I played in the car. In addition to the fact that the contents of the note were not laid out for everyone to see, the purpose was to garner support and advice from concerned parties, not to say "see how much of an a-hole Yanow is".

Sounds like the runner-up regrets backing off, which is why he forwarded the email. I kind of don't blame the guy for asking the other one to back off, it would really suck to get outbid time and again to the same person. But I doubt that he'd send the message to all the bidders - I'm sure many of them are perpetual also-rans, too. It only makes sense to contact the guy who seems to win all the time and ask him to have mercy this one time and let it go to someone else. Just be glad you can give it another shot, Dmitry and hope for the best. Its possible that with the original winner blocked, this runner-up will get it, and for about the same money!

Which actually gives us an interesting opportunity to engage him regarding the topics that started that other thread. Might be a lot more interesting than the "he's an ethics-challenged hack" that is being spewed around.

where does Yanow say terrible things about your set? Seems to me he's questioning some of the remasters as being inferior to earlier reissues, and would like to see a complete personnel listing. B-F-ing D! I'll bet that otherwise Yanow would give it a positive review.

this only serves to further reinforce this earlier comment:

Maybe someone should ask him how he feels about those darn boppers.

This passage: Again, I have NO sympathy for this viewpoint. I liked the part about Jackson taking him out for a talk. A-Rod's been hitting better lately, and I'm pulling for him--he's on the team. The Yankee clubhouse is the epitome of class. So the classiest team has the most class-less fans?

The definition of "trollish-ness" is in large part saying something in an attempt to wound and thus provoke to anger someone else. As for the intent to provoke -- Do you think that Yanow would have sent the same "private," supposedly "in jest" message to Allen if he didn't know that we all participate in this public forum? That e-mail is private in the same way that someone kicking you under the table so no one else at the table can see it is private. that is complete and utter bullshit and your comparison to getting a kick under the table is laughable.

Viewer Alert: Peter Gammons returns to Sportscenter tonite at 6 pm and Baseball Tonite at 7 pm. He's not back full time, but it will be nice to see "the Commish" again. I saw a photo recently and not surprisingly, he's extremely gaunt. ESPN.com also has an extended (though not complete) portion of his "Insider" column available for non-members here.

Very interesting piece about A-Rod and how his teammates feel about him: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/maga...0925/index.html It leaves me wondering whether another October choke and A-Rod will completely lose the clubhouse, and permanently lose the fans.

IMO the private e-mail thing is a crock. The point of this little note can only have been to stick a finger up Allen's nose in an attempt to provoke him. Pure trollish-ness. Witness the utter disingenuousness of this: "I just wanted to thank you for all of the kind words that you've said about me on the Organissimo threads. It's greatly appreciated." And of this: "I'm just curious as to the strategy." The very definition of "trollish-ness" is that the acts are in public Larry. This was a private message. Allen has been ripping Yanow publicly here, and Yanow responded in jest. And he did it in private. This is a bullshit thread that serves no valid purpose whatsoever.

Yeah, it is a personal message, because it was delivered via email. He could have posted the exact same message in the Ellington article thread or elsewhere. He didn't.

If he sent you this email, why are you responding here???

I think we can all agree that Ursula Martinez is the kind of cutting edge performer the McArthur Grants are supposed to support.

I was just going through the information section about how the scam progresses, and what is really hysterical is the sample letter for when the girl has started to have sexual dreams about her "love". Somehow, Ekaterina's English improves nearly 100% for this section of the letter!

Volkova kind of looks like the Russian Paris Hilton:

that "get paid after we get back" is bullshit. If I'm along for that ride, I plan to deposit my pay so I can see the benefits of compound interest in the blink of an eye.

Just caught the top of the Sportscenter broadcast .... amazing. Too bad both those teams suck and one will lose to the Mets and the other will lose to the Cards. Dan, don't you think that both those teams have better pitching than the Mets and Cards??? I mean if Pedro doesn't get it together, no way Glavine's soft stuff away will fool anybody in the playoffs, it rarely has in the past...and who do the Cards have after Carpenter??? Still, it doesn't matter, an AL team will win it all... I don't think the pitching is very good anywhere in that league, but the Cards and Mets have superior offenses. Don't the Dodgers take every other week off and score about 2 runs in 6 games? That's the impression I've gotten. Meantime, I sure hope the Tigers hold off the Twins, so that its Minn - Yanks and Tigers - A's. Tigers won't get past the first round, so I'd rather see the Yanks deal with the Twins, who have been the hottest team for more than three months now. Even without Liriano, I think the Twins can take them. Otherwise, I hope the Tigers somehow completely collapse and the White Sox make it in. Anything to keep the Yanks from facing Detroit, which would be a cakewalk based on the season results and how Detroit has faded. You don't want the Yankees to get hot in the first round - it could carry them to #27 and we can't have that. Let's see them take the Twins and the A's and the Mets ... that will be a tough row to hoe.

Just caught the top of the Sportscenter broadcast .... amazing. Too bad both those teams suck and one will lose to the Mets and the other will lose to the Cards.

I am ashamed to admit I gave up the Giants - Eagles game in the third quarter. You should have seen my eyes bug out when I caught the score on the scroll later on. When does the next Sportscenter start? I still haven't seen how it happened.

Fuck that shit!!!!!!! My friend and I are contemplating a Seminole boycott until Bowden and the rest of the dinosaurs are gone. Six years of shitty teams and crappy seasons is enough.

Interesting news from Boston: Papelbon has announced that he is shutting it down for the remainder of the year, and that he intends to get ready to be in the rotation in 2007. HALLELUJAH! Assuming that they sign a decent closer, this is a huge upgrade for the rotation. Schilling and Paps at the top can match any other combination, and it allows Beckett the chance to make his adjustments without the pressure of being a number 1 or 2. If Beckett pitches smarter and to the level that his stuff suggests, that will be a topnotch 1-3, and that's without breaking the bank on Zito or Schmidt or that killer Japanese guy. As far as the pen goes, I'd love to get a Borowski or a Wickman or the like, someone who can do the job decently, and hopefully sometime next year or by 2008, Hansen will be ready to take over. But I really like the idea of 220 innings from Papelbon instead of 80. He's not your typical closer with two pitches, and he's not a failed starter either. And as a starter, he'll get into a steady program of work that should minimize the chance of pushing a tired arm into another near-dislocated shoulder.

Thanks to everyone for their birthday wishes, particularly Lon and Robert for posting terrific photos of two of my all-time favorites, B.B. King and Gene Harris! It was a nice, relaxing day capped off with a very nice dinner with my bride. Didn't even bother me that I had to pay for dinner since Sue promised to pay for our anniversary dinner on the 22nd, and suggested Ruth Chris steakhouse, which is way more expensive than the little italian place I chose. Among the loot was a nice sized check from Mom (looks like I'll head to Borders for the buy 3 get the fourth free promotion this weekend); the Impulse Records book from one brother; the new Scott Hamilton and Houston Person/Bill Charlap CDs from my other brother, and as my own gift, I picked up two Ace compilations of Freddy King Federal singles. I gotta say that #41 had a completely different feel than 40 did, and it feels a helluva lot better than it did a week ago now that me and the Mrs. have mostly set things right again.

Its been a while so I need to pull this out. I remember it as a nice date in a late 60s way, but don't recall how much space Ponder has.