Dan Gould

Then why didn't they drop his pathetic embarassing ass when it happened? After the season is over they find some sac?

If I recall the Brooks Mosaic liners, Lion didn't recall what happened, only that it was a very busy time. I believe there were a couple of others that also slipped through the cracks back then.

Well, the ESPN experts have spoken and they are unanimous in their predictions of the NLDS (we're in for a repeat of last year's NLCS, Houston vs St. Louis) and 3 of 5 predict that the Pale Hose will lose to the World Champions, and 4 of 5 predict that the Bombers will go home early, too.

I figured Parker-Diz would win historical significance. Might be different on a Coltrane discussion board though!

Well, understand that this was after I had bought Elegant Soul which does have strings and which was the first Sounds LP to disappoint me. So I was taking a leap to go for another "strings" LP. In fact, I remember that I mentioned the presence of strings to the seller after I won the auction and he assured me that there were no strings, it was the Oliver Nelson Orchestra and he was sure I'd enjoy it. He was right.

I may be wrong, but I suspect that this is the kind of review that can really catapult the group upward, not only in CD sales, but in all of your upcoming gigs with the "must be fun to see live" comment. You know, people hear a tune on the radio, hear about the record, go check AMG ... And it is so rare for Yanow to approve of an organ record, especially of one that he describes the organist as somewhere between soul jazz and funk. Congrats, guys!

My only autographed album was won on eBay: The Three Sounds, Cold Water Flat. It was one of the few Sounds albums I didn't have at the time and of course the former Gene Harris Fanatic was intrigued by the fact it was signed by Mr. Harris. So I ignored the AMG review which panned it and referred to the trio being accompanied by strings and I'm glad I did, as its actually the Oliver Nelson Big Band - no strings - and its got Gene grooving over some pretty wild arrangements.

Nah, I still like ya. A tough thing to swallow, I'm sure, but your team has a great future ahead of itself. No one expected them to be this competitive this soon. So long as Wickman can continue to be a top flight closer, no reason the Indians shouldn't be invited to next year's dance. and speaking of which, for the first time since the 2002 Diamondbacks, the defending World Champions will have a chance to defend that championship. And if the Rangers don't do something soon, the Yanks are looking at a nice cross-country trek to face the Angels without the home field advantage. Hope they've got ice on the plane for Jeter's knee.

How much credit for his survival ought to go to Steinbrenner for realizing that firing people left and right isn't conducive to winning in the long term? Its the very same factor that led directly to the championship years: Steinbrenner and his minions not controlling the team and making dumb ass short-sighted decisions. That had far more to do with the championships than anything Torre ever did. And again, you ought to win consistently with that payroll and that roster of all-stars. If he's "the best there is" then lets see what he does with a not so great team and a not so huge payroll. Put Torre in Tampa Bay. Does that team perform any better than it did under Piniella?

Yeah, Steinbrenner's wallet is no doubt very important for Yankee success. But I think that you really underestimate the importance of a manager, particularly behind the scenes. No matter what mix of players Torre is given to work with, they all seem to play to the maximum of their ability, unless that ability is eroded due to age or physical decline (see Kevin Brown). You never. or perhaps I should say, rarely, hear complaints from a player about how he is being used or about how the manager doesn't communicate well (see A.J. Burnett and Jack McKeon), or demands from anyone to be traded, etc. Rarely any disruption, everyone keyed into the same goal year in and year out. That has a lot to do with the tone and interpersonal skills of the manager. Lots of teams have spent money over the past few years, e.g., the Orioles, the Dodgers, without accomplishing a thing. Ask Theo Epstein if he would trade Francona for Torre - you know what the answer would be. ← Is Torre enamored of statistical analysis and its use in game decisions? Does he keep his laptop with him at all times? Actually, Francona is precisely the manager that Theo looked for, which is why the interviews with other candidates were pro forma. If the Yankees fired Torre the Red Sox would be in no rush to can Francona and grab Joe. The Mets, on the other hand ... As to your claim that "You never. or perhaps I should say, rarely, hear complaints from a player about how he is being used or about how the manager doesn't communicate well" I direct your attention to quite a few of the pitchers in this year's Yankee bullpen, at least one of whom went public about the way he was used, and then released. Remember the comments about "if you're not one of Joe's guys ..."? Now, that pitcher may have pitched his way out of the Bronx, but he sure as hell isn't sending Torre a Christmas card. I don't see any great "interpersonal skills," I see a guy handed a team of all-stars who are indoctrinated into a win at all costs mentality from the top down of the organization. The credit I give Torre is ... damn I thought I could come up with something. Maybe calmness in the storm that the SS Steinbrenner always goes through? That's about it.

A HoF manager for results, or actual influence on the results??? Can anyone identify a critical decision Torre made in a post-season game to win it? Ever? I know its all about the results, and I don't begrudge the honor he'll receive after he retires. But if Torre is honest, the first thing he will say is, "I'd like to thank George Steinbrenner's wallet for making this day necessary. Otherwise, I'd have had the same results as I did in Atlanta, and I'd have been out of baseball 20 years ago."

Neither of the AL East contenders are Championship calibre. That's what makes this failure to beat the Yanks in the East so frustrating. But you are right that the Yankee regime is in rapid descent. Prediction: Next player to calcify in the middle of a game will be Jorge Posada. I am so glad that Bernie Williams stayed in New York, or the Sox wouldn't have Damon, and it would be Williams who was getting overpaid and rapidly collapsing the last three years. And you are also right about the difference in club adherence to player development. I predict that in 2006, pitchers John Papelbon, Craig Hansen and Jon Lester will all make significant contributions. No later than 2007, infielders Dustin Pedroia and Hanley Ramirez will also be budding stars. This team has one of the best stocked minor leagues in the game, and while that bodes very well for the future, it unfortunately means that this is the last hurrah for many out of this group of players. Mueller and Millar are definitely gone, and I won't be surprised if Manny is gone too. Youklis is your starting third baseman next year, and if Damon is lost, they need to pick up an equally dynamic centerfielder-sparkplug. If Manny goes, at least I am confident they will not give him away like it looked in July. I've heard rumors about the Mets trading for Delgado and swapping him for Manny - that would solve first base and give protection for Papi. I've also heard of swapping Beltran for Manny, and I'd go for that, too, because Beltran could go back to being a star among stars instead of having all that pressure as the co-saviour of the Mets. There's one big regret I'd have about letting Manny go: He and Papi have now tied a couple of guys named Gehrig and Ruth for consecutive seasons with 40 homers and 140 RBIs. There's no reason they shouldn't do that for a record third time next season, if the Sox don't send Manny away. The only thing that can stall the Yankee decline is signing Damon, and I just don't see that happening.

No way at all. Cashman as GM of the year? Maybe. He certainly has more to do with the end result than anything Torre has done. I'm so sick of this St. Joe treatment he gets. You catch lightning in a bottle with a career minor leaguer (how the hell do you spell that word?), get lucky again with a Coors reject, and the ultimate bit of luck, your rivals lose their two most important pitchers for essentially the entire season. Here's a thought experiment: Where are the Yankees if Randy Johnson has fewer than 12 starts, three wins as a starter and an ERA near 6? Where are the Yankees if Rivera has an ERA over 6, blows saves and loses games left and right and is then shut down with half a season to go? NOWHERE But that exact same thing happened to the Red Sox, and Francona has the team on the verge of the playoffs. The inescapable conclusion is that Francona has a greater claim to Manager of the Year than Torre. And in fact, there's a New York Times columnist who says the same thing.

I grew up in rural CT. When we first moved in, my sister and brother were disturbed by the sounds of mice in the walls. Poison was used and as I recall, the problem went away pretty quickly. Every once in a while there would be a nasty stink for a day or two from the rotting corpse though. But as far as cats go ... within about two years we had a Russian Blue that was quite the killer cat. But he never killed anything inside, and he sure as hell didn't eat them. He brought them to the front door and left them as offerings.

And now its going to be Jaret Wright to start against Schilling, and Mussina to start the first playoff game??? Oh, I just know all the Yankee fans here are just thrilled with that news.

You needn't have worried. And there's your answer, Marty: regardless of tomorrow's outcome, you win the East. Not that it explains whatever the fuck their rules are that allows that outcome. I think the whole idea is to minimize extra play-off games to keep everything on schedule. I mean, as of yesterday, splitting the last two games meant a one-game play-off in the Bronx, and because of a result that doesn't even involve division teams, the Yanks win even if the Sox win tomorrow? WTF???? As infuriating and sickening as it is to see this outcome, at least I know that all we have to do is win one out of two, at home to go to the dance again, and in the end, that is what matters. Hell, I'd rather face the White Sox than a rested and very talented Angels team in the first round. But it sure as hell pisses the FUCK out of me that because of Foulke and Schilling, the Yanks enjoy yet another AL East crown. Forget Schilling's troubles - it was known that it would take some time to regain his form. The fact is that the team TOLD Foulke to have surgery the minute he showed up at Spring Training. He said no, and the end result is that a race that shouldn't have been close went to the Evil Empire.

We've really been blessed by the discovery and release of two of the most significant "finds" the jazz world has seen, probably ever. So, this has to be a very tough call. Maybe the best way to think of the issue of "favorite" is to imagine you truly are allowed only one desert island disc, the Bird-Diz or the Monk-Coltrane. Which one do you take along? I do suggest thinking long and hard about this one, if you choose to participate. I'm kind of suspecting that #4 may win, but I do think that either way, most people will see the Bird-Diz as the most important.

I was thinking about that, too. Harrelson was such a punk.

A three-way tie would mean that the Yanks and Red Sox square off at the Stadium on Monday. Loser plays the Tribe on Tuesday. If the Sox and Tribe are tied after Sunday, they play on Monday at Fenway. Not sure if a play-off between the Yanks and Tribe is at the Stadium or the Jake.

In fact, they were up 3 game s to two but Oakland swept the last two on the left coast to win it all.

Ironically enough, when you & I were little kids--WAY little--I think the Mets won the East with an 82-80 record (!?) and then nearly knocked off the Reds in the NLCS. I'm thinkin' 1973, because the Reds got beat by the A's in the WS that year. ← Close, but it was even more (less?) impressive: The 1973 New York Mets went 82-79 to win the East, beat the Reds 3-2 to win the pennant and took the world champion A's to seven games before losing.

I was prepared to be magnanimous and congratulatory til I saw this, and now all I can say is FUCK YOU and btw, PAPI homered in the eighth to tie and singled in the winning run in the 9th to preserve the World Champion's hopes for another couple of days at least.

Uh, actually I don't think they've ever cleared music rights prior to reissuing material.

Very funny Ray. Thanks for posting that.

Somehow I feel very alone .... but nevertheless, I retain the strength of my convictions!