ghost of miles

Yes, but in the NBA they usually have two travel days between any switch of cities. In the MLB there's only one. I don't think the MLB's 2-3-2 format takes away from the majority home team's advantage, though; it gives them momentum out of the gate, and if games 6 and 7 are necessary, they're back at home for them. Houston may be down 3-2, but given that the home team has won every single game in this series so far, they're still well-positioned for winning the ALCS. The MLB is also less travel for both teams, which is advantageous to the athletes (not to mention the environment, I suppose!).

Anybody know why the Haden/Metheny/DeJohnette night has never received an official release? Label/contractual issues? Performance concerns? Other?

I hope you're right... The 2001 World Series is etched into my bones, though. (Another series in which NY had reeled off some great wins and went on the road for the final two games up 3-2, with many in the media saying Arizona was doomed.) I'd love to see them get to Verlander the way they did with Keuchel tonight. Also, everybody talks about the energy being back again in Yankee crowds, but the Astros stadium sounded deafening on the radio broadcasts I listened to for games 1 and 2. NY proved they could win on the road in the playoffs when they beat Cleveland in game 5, but this will be a bigger challenge (also against a better-hitting lineup that's way overdue itself to start showing some life). At least they'll have two shots at it, though.

Such an excellent set--as is the one I'm revisiting tonight:

Yeah, great to see them finally solve Keuchel, but now they have to go up against Verlander on the road. And all bets about "momentum" are off if Houston wins that one and forces a game 7. Yankees are 6-0 at home and 1-4 on the road in the postseason. Definitely another big test ahead on Friday night.

Amazing comeback by the Yankees tonight! Now they have to face Keuchel at home and Verlander on the road... Catesta, at least we've gotten our wish for an interesting series.

Yanks also have to beat Keuchel and/or Verlander if they're to have any hope of making a bid for the ALCS title. And if they lose tonight, they'd have to beat BOTH Keuchel and Verlander and win two games at Houston.

An excellent Sony/Time-Life 2-CD anthology I picked up used at Shangri La Records in Memphis a couple of weeks ago:

A friend and neighbor emailed me the other day asking if I was interested in a free copy of this... I said hell yeah! I've come across references to it before but never laid my eyes on one... even came with a dustjacket, albeit rather ragged. Anybody else delve into this book before?

Thanks for starting this thread--I actually searched for a Replacements topic a few days ago to post about the new CD, but could find only one that referred to a recent vinyl box-set. I picked this up last week and have listened to it a couple of times already... great stuff. I saw them at the Patio in Indianapolis in 1985, gaining admission with a very bogus piece of ID (saw Husker Du there that same summer--great time to be a teenager into indie rock). One of the great rock 'n roll bands of our generation (also went by Ardent Studios in Memphis recently, where the 'Mats recorded Pleased To Meet Me in 1986-87).

Melvin Sparks.

Duly noted!

Good recap of the game from Pinstripe Alley. Astros made great plays, didn't make mistakes and took advantage of the ones the Yankees did: Recap

A Dizzy bio and a Springsteen memoir:

Well, geez louise, you started off your post by saying "Not that it matters..." And you were right! Unless it was just a rhetorical device, kinda like making a joke about Yankees hitters swinging at pitches positioned well outside the strike zone. A sense of humor matters. A weird, nitpicking, chip-on-the-shoulder response matters too, I suppose, as does condescension and stereotyping (often used in the cause of critiquing same!). The Rio Grande is the major river that most people associate with the state of Texas, which is a huge-ass state, hence that poster's choice. There was nothing condescending or denigrating there about the state itself or the Astros or anything else; it was a mocking observation of how badly the Yankee batters were getting fooled. (Gee-zus.) I'm sure there are plenty of folk who could tell me all kinds of interesting and true things about Texas geography and who also voted for the current resident of the Oval Office. Yeah, facts matter. Important facts matter even more. Soapbox corrections matter mostly in the classroom, and last time I checked, this was not yet a geography forum. But who knows, maybe we're headed there! And if we are, who better than the state of Texas, which holds so much sway over the nation's textbook content, to lead us? (Article from the Houston Press!) On the topic of Verlander, dude's still a monster at age 34, and one reason why I think Houston has a good shot at taking out the Dodgers. Any team facing the Astros has to go up against him AND Keuchel potentially twice in a seven-game series. Reminiscent of Arizona's Randy Johnson-Curt Schilling combo, but with a much better offense behind them. The Yankees couldn't ask for much more out of their starters; Tanaka threw a great game yesterday, Severino was doing well until the injury took him out, and the bullpen came through until the very end. That's a tough, tough lineup to get through several times a game. (Saw a graph the other day that ranked them in the top five offensive teams of all time.)

The guy was "whining" about his own team's propensity for chasing Verlander's pitches. (And Verlander threw one of the most masterful games so far in this year's playoffs.) I just thought it was funny... and no, it doesn't matter! ?

Yankees are once again striking out at a ridiculous rate. Comment just posted in the game thread at Pinstripe Alley: STOP SWINGING AT PITCHES POSITIONED IN THE RIO FUCKING GRANDE

Yankees had to pull Severino after only four innings after he took a hit off his left wrist. Frustrating series so far, partly because the Astros keep making great defensive plays.

Tried to post this earlier today--my World Series prediction is Astros-Dodgers, Astros in 7.

And up for a happy 90th to Lee Konitz today: Lee Konitz: The Verve Years

Position-by-position comparison: Astros vs Yankees I'm going to listen to the Cubs-Nats tonight on the radio while I do some reading for Night Lights.

Yankees have a blueprint for upsetting Astros, it's just hard to follow Hard indeed. Having to potentially face Keuchel (who just about owns them--really no "just about" to it, actually) and Verlander twice is difficult enough, but it's Houston's offense that really concerns me.