papsrus

Classic rant by the Indians guy. I work with a guy who is a long-time Indians fan and he's at the point already where he's saying he hopes they lose 130 games. So I can believe the 'most-hated' poll. If this guy is any indication, pretty much their whole fan base has jumped ship.

Rays' run differential a whopping +83. They are doing this with a couple of notable laggards in the lineup. Upton is hitting a tepid .240 and Pena is batting just .204. Navarro is below the Mendoza line, but Jaso is picking up the slack there nicely. Pitching staff has ERA of 2.84 -- third in the majors behind Cards and Giants. Middle relief looks shaky at times, but the return of lefty Howell should shore that up a bit. Stats are inflated a little I think partly due to a rather soft schedule so far. They've faced the Yankees once -- at home -- dropping the series 2-1, and swept the BoSox when Boston was struggling. Other than that, it's been a pretty steady diet of the likes of the Orioles, KC, Seattle, ChiSox. Schedule remains pretty favorable this month. After the Angels, it's back home for the Mariners and Indians, then they hit the road again for the Yankees and Astros. They wind up the month with homestands against the BoSox and ChiSox. If they continue pounding the weaker clubs and can manage splits with the Yankees and BoSox, they should be hanging in there at the end of the month.

Nice. Could make for a good housewarming party. Dinner/drinks, hit the club for a while, head back for the after-party. And as you know, the after-party is the one to attend.

Too young. RIP

Ten unwritten rules of baseball.

I was listening to Donny McCaslin's "Recommended Tools" the other day, an album I've enjoyed in the past, partly because it's a trio and that stripped-down sound appeals to me (even if it's less than dazzling, even pedestrian). But while listening to it the other day I found it entirely unenjoyable, almost aggravating. McCaslin (tenor sax) sounded like he was giving the listener little more than an exercise in playing scales (albeit imaginatively). But scales nonetheless. Noodling. No real thematic development, or at least too subdued or submerged to reveal itself, let alone advance. This 'playing scales' quality -- where the forward momentum of the music is drained away -- seems to affect reed players more than brass, and infects contemporary music much more than bop or prior forms. But it's a definite marker that distinguishes 'good' from 'not so good' to my ear. I'll have to put that album on again soon to see if my impression is firm.

Any hint as to where I could order the Odyssey box set from? Many thanks! Ordered mine through amazon here.

happened again tonight. No taze ... just a fan running on the field.

Guy apparently called his dad to see if it was OK with pops if he ran out onto the field. Dad says no. The future Penn State graduate does it anyways. Cops are reviewing procedures to see if they should even be on the field when a situation appears non-threatening, as this one was.

Yep. They do play some good music, veering into acoustic blues sometimes as well. The one up the street here is open 24-7.

Ordered Savoy's "Odyssey: 1945-52" box last night, along with "Sonny Side Up." Looking forward to both. Have a smattering of Gillespie -- including the Uptown big band, and June 1945 Town Hall releases, and the RCA 2-disc set -- but, as the thread kind of suggests, getting a firm idea of where to go next with his recordings can be a little murky. Has someone who has listened to the Mosaic small groups box comment on it?

Never mind all that. Let us now contemplate ... the $12 cup of coffee! Sounds super disgusting. Cacophony –noun, 2. a discordant and meaningless mixture ...

Looks like some nice stuff. But economic times being what they are. ... There's a lot on lists -- including yours -- in offering/looking for that it would be nice to grab, but ... (insert smiley pulling empty pockets out of pants)

Rummaging through my wish list at amazon for some bargains: Blues Masters Vol. 11: Classic Blues Women (used copy for around $4) Earl Hines & His Orchestra -- "Harlem Lament" (new copy for under $2) Two more: Dizzy Gillespie -- "Odyssey: 1945 - 1952" Dizzy, Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt -- "Sonny Side Up"

Don't succumb to this Starbucks-speak nonsense. Order "small" in a firm, authoritative tone while staring them straight in the eye. They always back down.

Where did Larry go?

I gotta get out more ...

Lots of nice shots there.

Man, Greinke--a 2.27 ERA and he's 0-3. I didn't see the whole game, but from the write-ups, he pitched a hell of a ballgame. 80-something total pitches in a complete game effort. Made one mistake to Longoria and that was it. Goes to show, W-L record isn't always the greatest measure.

And Greinke still hasn't beaten the Rays. Great pitching battle today between him (complete game) and Davis.

With caption: Do you understand the level of booty shaking power it takes to shred jeans? Actually, I’m not sure you could handle the answer to that question.

Beautiful dog, Dan. Looks like he's taking things in stride.

I've only watched the show in passing, and probably haven't seen an episode for a year or more, so I don't really know wtf is going on (not that would if had been watching) but ... The assumption is that characters are prisoners of some kind, right? Most of the theories about what's going on in the show assume that, right? An insane asylum, part of some government experiment, etc.

Sorry to hear this. Always tough to lose a pal. Baby looks a little bit like my great, late friend Willie, who, along with his brother Simon, passed away in the past couple of years after good, long lives. They both had a good run, just like Baby.