Matthew

In the movie The Kids Are All Right wasn't there a surfing tune in that? I thought I read somewhere where Keith Moon was a big fan of surf-music. It was long ago, in the 70s, the one and only time I saw that movie, but man, was that weird.

Another thought I had last night: I wonder if J.D. Drew is english for Juan Gonzalez

Last night I had a scary thought: Drew, on paper, would be a perfect fit for the Mariners I mean, they sign Drew, which moves Ichiro back to right, takes care of center, and adds a big bat to the line up. Thankfully, I don't think the Mariners can afford Drew, who would probably ask for 15 million. Scary though....

Brad Mehldua Trio: House on Hill.

Nice article on JD Drew that explains why Dan should be scared, very scared of Drew in Boston, After two years of floating transparently through Chavez Ravine summers, J.D. Ghost has finally done something with passion, with strength, with heart. He quit. He ordered his agent to tell the Dodgers on Thursday that he was opting out of a contract that was undeservedly lucrative and generously long. He walked away from a stunningly guaranteed $33 million because it wasn't enough. He walked away from a team that spent two years coddling and protecting him because a supportive clubhouse wasn't enough. He walked away from a city that blindly embraced and supported him because Dodgers fans weren't enough. He did all of this only a few weeks after publicly saying he wasn't going anywhere, because his word wasn't enough. In a flourish never before seen from the softest player on the planet, J.D. Drew flat quit. The move was legal, fair, Scott Boras-brilliant, and stunningly brash. Who knew the Ghost had it in him? "He wants out. He can have out," said Ned Colletti, Dodgers general manager. "If he's moving on, we're moving on." Boras, Drew's agent, was surprised at Colletti's anger, saying this was just business. "I never said anything like that when he didn't exercise the option on Eric Gagne, it works both ways," Boras said. I'll confess, I'm having a hard time writing this while doing a butter-churn dance, high-fiving strangers and digging up Christmas music. Losing J.D. Drew is the best thing to happen to the Dodgers since they lost Milton Bradley. His disappearing act was as disruptive as Bradley's disturbances. Keeping him in the lineup was as difficult as keeping Bradley out of trouble. Sure, he led the team with 100 runs batted in last season, but do you remember more than a handful of them? In two years he averaged 109 games, 18 homers, 68 RBIs and dozens of funny looks from teammates who never quite understood. He missed games with strange pains and hidden soreness. He missed games simply because the manager didn't want to push him. Never once did he express anger that he wasn't in the lineup, even in the final week of this season's playoff push. Never once, it seemed, did he fight to get on the field. The Dodgers will not miss a presence they never had, a power they never felt. They can take the $33 million that he just dropped in their pockets — $11 million annually — and use it to get stronger and tougher and better. A couple of days from now, Colletti will realize that giving up the Ghost is the best thing that could have happened. But he's angry now because the Dodgers did back flips to keep this guy happy. He's angry because the Dodgers were caught by surprise. He's angry because if he had known this earlier, he could have planned better for an off-season that will now be as nuts as last winter. "You don't just go to the Rotisserie room basement and pull another guy off the table," Colletti said. So the question remains, why did he leave? He didn't return The Times' phone calls Thursday night, so we'll have to guess. Everyone, including Drew, thought he was happy here. Late in the season, he told the Orange County Register's Bill Plunkett he was staying. "At some point, you make those commitments, and you stick to them," he told Plunkett. Colletti referred to that story with a sigh. "I'm surprised how it came down," he said. "Everything that we had heard … indicated that the player loved being here." Boras publicly agreed with that. "There's no question he was happy in L.A.," he said. So was it all about the money? Considering Drew instantly becomes the third-most attractive free-agent outfielder for teams that will gladly ignore his issues, much of it is. "If you have a five-tool outfielder who drove in 100 runs in a rather weak center-field free agency market, that matters," Boras said. But apparently it was also about the warm fuzzies. Insiders are saying that Drew truly did it love it here, until the season ended and he realized that not everyone in the organization loved him. He heard the rumblings that the front office was tired of the coddling. He grew weary of media that kept applying the heat. Drew is the sort of player who hates the hassles that come with being a star. He wanted to go somewhere and do what he does best — disappear. By the end of the season, he apparently realized that the longer he was here, the more impossible this disappearing act would become. Increasingly, the Dodgers weren't afraid of no Ghost. So Drew climbed on Boras' back and took the leap, while Colletti rubbed his eyes in shock that such a mild player could act so maddeningly. In the end, there's no reason for anger by anyone. Drew was just exercising his rights. Boras is just doing his job. The Dodgers eventually will get what they want. None of this was illegal or unethical. If you want to be upset, be upset at former general manager Paul DePodesta for giving Drew such a misguided quit clause in the first place. On second thought, give DePodesta a standing ovation. The Dodgers have finally rid themselves of … what's his name again? Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke.

Young whipper-snappers

AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB HBP SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Home 290 65 87 11 0 19 75 35 5 39 7 0 .300 .381 .534 .915 Away 294 39 83 16 0 15 48 43 3 37 3 2 .282 .377 .490 .867 Sheffield's stats from 2005. Surprising he did so much better at home then on the road. At Detroit, he was 13 for 3, no HR & 3 RBI, which works out to a .230 BA (I think, math isn't one of my strong points ) So, who knows, he might not be all that for the Tigers. Edit: Sorry, can't seem to line up the top row too well....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

I hope the good reports are true, I have some Bill Evans/Coltrane lined up for the next couple of months.

That could be true. I'm purely a Senior Circuit guy, so I don't follow this new league that recently formed

Ex-zack-ta-mundo on this one. I don't see Sheff add too many positives to a club that had very good chemistry, (if that means anything nowadays) and his power might not transfer too well in his new home.

Holy moly, I still miss Carson . Went to a couple of tapings and wasn't too impressed with Leno. Johnny was one of a kind.

Thanks. I just pulled the trigger! I just pulled the trigger also. This board is EVIL

Drew usually batted fifth in the lineup, behind Kent. I can't believe that Drew thought there was too much pressure in L.A., which is Cakewalk City in terms of the press. With Boston, I would imagine he would bat behind Manny to give him some protection. I just don't see Drew surviving the Boston press though, he's too use to hands-off teatment from his days in St. Louis, Atlanta, and L.A., none of which is noted for an agressive press.

Oh Lord, it's already started, pay three dollars, make an eighty dollar profit

Well, JD, don't let the door hit you in the ass when you leave! If there is a player whose stats give a false picture of real value, Drew is it. Mr. DL adds nothing to a team, no character, no intensity, nothing clutch. No way this guy is going to better with age, way too fragile. Mr. Invisible just wants to collect his paycheck and be left alone. Looser

I'm there and will be pre-order the minute they go up. To coincide with the Genesis tour, EMI Records will be re-issuing 14 Genesis studio albums in three stages during 2007. All the releases will be SACD/DVD double disc sets featuring newly re-mastered 5.1 surround sound and stereo mixes. The release schedule is as follows: March 2007: A Trick Of The Tail (1976), Wind & Wuthering (1977), …And Then There Were Three…(1978), Duke (1980) Abacab (1981) June/July 2007: Genesis(1983), Invisible Touch(1986), We Can't Dance (1991), Calling All Stations(1997) Late 2007/Early 2008: Trespass (1970), Nursery Cryme (1971), Foxtrot (1972 ), Selling England By The Pound (1973), The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway(1974)

You'd think "White Wedding" would be included also...

And it was one of those K-2s that were a part of the Concord Sumer sale. Looks like they're getting off the K-2 train, and hopping aboard the RVG bandwagon now. Though how the RVG is going "improve" upon that K-2, I don't know. I wonder if we'll be seeing any K-24bit cds from Concord.

Sonics split the weekend series with the Lakers. Odom is so much better when Kobe's not around, Lamar needs the ball to get his game going. Odom looked so good Friday night it was scary.

It's dark, cold, and rainy, but I'm going to Jimmy's Pizza for a Meat Grinder Special. Hmmmm.... Dead animal......

John Coltrane: Blue Train. It's the Classic Records HDAD format. I've heard good things about the sound quality and I thought I'd give it a try.

Thanks to Deadspin.com, a great basketball spoof of course, and it's multi-part!

I forgot to mention: I hate you..

Man, this is a painful thread! I thought I had this set bought from a person I knew, but he received a better offer. Now I'm trying to get a good deal via the ebay/Amazon route. We'll see how it pans out. I really, really, really, want this set.