Dan Gould

Johnny, are you ready for WS in Seattle now that Carl Everett has signed on? Seriously, he should help, and as .Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi said Everett "would break up any monotony or boredom." I don't care what he says or does as long as he knocks in 100+ RBI, hit 25+ HRs, and has an AVG over .280. he hasn't done all three of those things in the same year since 2000. He's accomplished only one of those goals since 2000, when he hit .301 for Texas but only played 73 games. Tell you what: If Everett reaches all three of those goals and plays at least 125 games, I'll vote for Hillary in 2008. You have my word as a gentleman and a jazz fan.

Clement is more expensive, Arroyo is better, IMO. Hopefully it doesn't come to that anyway.

According to Boston media, particularly the Globe, rumors of Dodger interest are highly overblown. Time will tell.

There's no doubt anymore that Cashman will finally open Steinbrenner's checkbook once Boras comes off the 7 year fantasy. At which point, the bidding war starts, Boras creams his pants, and we'll all find out just how serious Damon was about loving Boston. On the positive side, its quite likely that by the time that bidding war starts, Theo will be back, and while I don't think it makes a difference in the actual negotiation, it should make Damon more comfortable re-signing insofar as he likes dealing with Theo and was as surprised as everyone else was when he walked away. So long as Cashman and Steinbrenner keep their commitment to not break the bank, I think he comes back to Boston, if only because the Sox are more likely to offer the most, when push comes to shove.

I may be wrong, but with Nomar supposedly set to make a decision, I have a strong feeling that he's gonna be a Yankee. It looks like the other teams that are interested want him for the outfield, while the Yanks have him as a first baseman/back-up to Jeter & A-Rod. Why go somewhere you have to learn an entirely new position when he can stay in the infield with the Yanks? Damn. Now I'll actually have to root for him to get injured. Just kidding. Sort of.

I recommend Another Kind of Blue. I also picked up the Ben E. King Shades of Blue which shows him to be very much at ease in the genre, definitely recommended. I think I liked the Mayfield a bit more than Lon did.

I still kinda like Gene Harris Fanatic.

A wrist damaged by a thrown ball; an achilles tendon damaged by a batted ball, a torn groin suffered on a wet field. These are steroid-related?

Then I guess that makes what David Ortiz has accomplished all the more impressive.

Bitterly cold overnight, I actually needed a blanket.

I'm not exactly a Mingus-phile, was DEEP on drums for that session?

Albertson made a stupid comment about "Bush law" to which I responded with the fact that the execution was the carrying out of California law, and then all of a sudden the thread disappeared into the black hole that is the Politics forum.

The interesting thing is what this does to Giambino. His splits between DH and 1st base are really eye-popping: In other words, those splits are for 695 at bats at first base, 521 at bats as DH. I'd say that's a statistically significant difference. Funny, cuz its not like he's an asset in the field or anything. Giambi is still a better first baseman than Nomar right now. Some players do hit better when they also play the field, and Giambi is one of those people. So ... if Nomar is signed to play first base, Giambi is a worse hitter. This is a smart move? Or is Nomar, with no experience at first base, supposed to be the late inning defensive substitution?

The interesting thing is what this does to Giambino. His splits between DH and 1st base are really eye-popping: In other words, those splits are for 695 at bats at first base, 521 at bats as DH. I'd say that's a statistically significant difference. Funny, cuz its not like he's an asset in the field or anything.

Actually, AMG does list it is a Vogue release (doesn't say CD) and its under Clayton's name, not Witherspoon's. That was why I didn't find it on AMG. Oh well - I just sprung for the LP, maybe if I'm lucky it will get here before Christmas but most likely it will be waiting when I return, an excellent late gift to myself.

The only problem with Damon in centerfield is his weak throwing arm. There's no doubt he has the speed and range to cover the expanse. Add to that his talent as a leadoff hitter/table setter (who'll show even more power than he has previously at the Stadium) and the fact that Jeter bats second, its a no-brainer for the Yankees to be interested, the only problem is Boras' insane demand for 7 years. Once they get off of that delusion, I expect that the Yanks and Sox will have a nice bidding war for Damon. Hopefully his enjoyment of Boston and an aversion to fascist rules about personal grooming will keep him out of Steinbrenner's clutches. As for Nomar, the risk will be minimal because after two lost seasons he won't get that much of a base salary. His upside, if he is healthy, is enormous and whoever gets him will have made a smart pickup, imo.

Well, Garciappara probably spells the end of Bernie Williams' tenure as Bernie would have to rethink how much playing time he'd get if Nomar is a fourth outfielder and utility infielder. He would certainly give more bang for the buck than Bernie will. As for Damon, I saw that quote and do not believe it is accurate. At least, not accurate in the usual meaning of "negotiate". There's no indication anywhere else that actual offers have been made to Damon. What the Yanks keep telling Boras is, you get off the 7 year demand and get down to 3-4 years, we'll definitely talk. But no one else has said that the yanks have made an offer, which is a prerequisite for "negotiations" to actually occur. The problem is, the Sox want Damon at the same number of years, which means that eventually, Steinbrenner could, at minimum, drive up Damon's price.

Oooh .... looks like a real good 'un. I thinks I'm gonna have to grab this one. Must be like this CD but with Spoon instead of Jimmy Rushing: Thanks, Brownie! P.S. - wonder why this hasn't come out as a CD ... or has it?

Anyone familiar with this French LP? Apparently recorded April 22, 1961, I'm especially curious about who was in Spoon's backing band. Thanks!

Thanks, Claude. Its lonely though in south Florida, paging Marty and Evan and David!

Ironic, cuz I just ordered the DVD of his short-lived network TV show for my brother, who owned several of his albums when we were younger. RIP.

How 'bout someone who doesn't want to be bothered by fans? Its the perfect fit for Manny. As Picard would say, "Make it so."

I already splurged for some discs: 3 B.B. King Ace reissues (More B.B. King, King of the Blues and Soul of).

Wait til June when you're making up these days ...