Patrick

...And it wouldn't surprise me if Wakefield was extremely effective in that scenario (high upside, and downside). As for the Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles California, any chance Bartolo Colon makes the post-season roster/rotation? The prospect of facing Ervin Santana (7-14, 5.80 ERA) at some point in the first round would be quite useful to an opponent.

Thanks. Ya got the script mostly right, you just forgot that the Cleveland/NY series will not go 5 games, so Fausto or CC will be available for game 1 at the Fens, ...against Wakefield.

Mission accomplished for Red Sox. After tying it up in the top of the 8th, Rafael Perez puts two on in the bottom of the 8th, and one of these scores. So the Red Sox will finish with the best record in MLB. Amazing that the Tribe got as close as they did, given how listless they were at the ASB. Dan, you really think Boston will opt for the quicker Division series? I'm not sure that it matters that much to any team, but CC and Fausto twice each would be nice.

My comment on Wake may have been a bit quick, but I just noticed the 4 consecutive innings giving up a run, and needing double plays in two of those innings to avoid further damage (...not that there's anything wrong with that). Likewise agree on Oki, he got the job done. Bases loaded and one out in top of 8th, Tribe can't push across the go ahead run (Michaels and Gutierrez leave the bases loaded). KC has already used 4 relievers, but it's September so they probably have 4 more available...

Does look good for the Sawx--Wakefield was mediocre and Okajima make it a tad bit interesting in the ninth (a la Borowski) but your team got it done. Meanwhile Westbrook has pitched well after spotting KC 3 in the first (though Pena Jr. has now tripled in the seventh for KC). Lots of Indians striking out and not putting hits together. Blake did score from first on a single by Martinez (full count, 2 outs), but got caught stealing his next time on. So your wish is likely to come true tonight. ...Though the great Rafael Perez just got David DeJesus to ground into a FC, Pena out at home! And after intentionally walking Grudzielanek, Rafael P struck out Teahen. So maybe just maybe the Tribe'll will get at least 1 run in their last two ABs. Watched a bit of Phillies/Nats on Fox (...a channel I rarely watch for MLB, but hopefully I'll be extremely interested in the ALCS this year). Gotta say, as bad as Joe Morgan is, Tim McCarver is barruttalll!! Is Peavy really going to pitch tomorrow, and then only be available for 1 start in the NLDS? So says Fox.

now the DG webpage says "Temporarily Out Of Stock".

Having met in a clarinet section, we used the Adagio from the Mozart Clarinet Concerto (K 622), arranged for saxophone quartet, for the processional. The clarinet part was played, and the arrangement made, by my bride's high school clarinet teacher. Our first dance, by the swimming pool in the backyard (...no one got tossed in), was to Ella and Louis "Cheek to Cheek". For background music during dinner I made a mix tape or two of chamber music and jazz. If you have the time, I'd assemble a mix.

Someone (I don't know) is selling a copy on eBay right now, currently at $40. Henderson on eBay Looks like there are a few others currently in this price range as well.

Nice to see the Bosox finally clinch their division (...5 days later than LA and Cleveland). And it is fitting that the Cubs clinch on the same evening as well. Orioles had a brief moment where they looked like the Nats--scrappy and not willing to give up even down by three in the ninth. And Mariano is still an effective closer, but not nearly as intimidating as he once was. Cy Cy Sabathia had a performance somewhere between Beckett last night and Dice tonight--solid 7 innings, 3 runs, gets the win. JoeBo up to his usual practice: gets first two guys out then puts two on (while nursing a 2 run lead) before closing it. Exciting night, especially in NL...and not everything is resolved yet...

You should send your gift baskets to Joe Borowski, and perhaps to Eric Wedge who keeps running him out there, even though he has better alternatives. Tuesday night JoeBo blew a two run lead in the ninth, but the Tribe was able to recover in the 12th. Last night, in the second game of a doubleheader (after playing 12 the night before) he blows a one run lead with two out in the ninth by serving up Jeff Clement's (who's that?) first career home run, and they lose in 10. Wedgie says they wouldn't kill themselves to have the best record, and last night's starting lineup was evidence of that. You can't expect to win every game, but after Sowers and Jensen combine for 7 shutout innings, you hope you can squeak by on a couple of solo home runs (Shoppach and Garko). Not to be. If the Tribe doesn't win it all, I sure hope it's not due to Borowski. This is different than Jose Mesa in '97. But pananoia will run rampant whenever he's put in a close game (3 runs or less). Joe Nathan made things interesting in the ninth at Fenway tonight, but Varitek and Youk failed to deliver with the bases loaded so the Twinkies survived Ortiz going 4/4. Paul Byrd has already served up a two run blast in Seattle, but Lofton has responded with a run scoring triple, and its still early. Hopefully Tribe will score a bunch against Baek. While having the long schedule would benefit the Tribe the most, this is because their 1-2 starters are the best pair out there. I don't think they give up much running Byrd or Westbrook out against the 3/4 guys on the other AL playoff teams, so it's not the end of the world if they host NY and play the long schedule. Minn at Boston while Cle goes to KC for their final series. Should be interesting (though not as tight as all the NL races!).

Don't know about planned Yankee festivities, they looked happy but pretty damn subdued when their game ended tonight--more relieved than anything else. Guess if you've made it to the playoffs 12 or 13 years in a row and its only the wild card, you can remain calm. In Cleveland, where I think only Sabathia and maybe Westbrook were on the last playoff team, they (rightfully) made winning the division a big deal. And the town went appropriately nuts. It does look like the Angels are fading, and that Boston will win their division. The only other thing to decide is who has the best record, between Boston and Cleveland. Agree that the preferred schedule benefits Cleveland the most (while also benefiting their opponent, whether it is NY or ...). I expect a lotta chatter about the Tribe's 0-6 record against NYY. Let that chatter persist (while CC is dealing...). Tribe played extra innings on Tuesday (thanks for blowing a 2 run lead in the ninth JoeBo--you had your ERA under 5.00 briefly, but now its safely back up to 5.17) and a doubleheader tonight. Fausto was dealing in the first game, at one point retiring 15 in a row, and finishes the regular season 19-8. Second game tonight features the following Indian lineup 1. F Gutierrez, 2. Chris Gomez, 3. Peralta, 4. Garko, 5. Michaels, 6. Nixon, 7. Shoppach, 8. Barfield, 9. Andy Marte. So at this juncture at least, no Sizemore, Martinez, Hafner, Blake, or Cabrera. And this to support Jeremy Sowers (he of the 6.82 ERA). Shoppach threw out 2 Mariners trying to steal third in the first inning (...no respect of Shoppach, or totally clueless?), and Garko has already gone deep, so who knows, maybe they'll sweep the doubleheader. Sowers, however, has put the first two on in each of the first 2 innings. And what of the races in the National League? Such a big contrast between the two DC area teams. The Orioles totally blow, while the Nationals are still scrapping for wins, and just swept the Mets in NY to reduce their division lead to 1.

And both the Brewers and the White Sox are winning... Nats having their way with the Mets again...

...Wasn't going to mention that. But I will encourage all these rags to keep focusing on those big market teams. In Yankee currency that Indians payroll of $61.3M does not even get you A-Rod, Giambi, and Mussina. Bosox bucks stretch a little further--Manny, Drew, Clement, Schilling and Lugo.

Has anyone tried to use either of these coupons ($9.99 or 40% off) more than once? I'm not sure I will try, but I am tempted. After saying I hardly go into Borders, I've now made three purchases. Tonight I used these two coupons to get 3 RVGs, Andrew Hill Dance with Death, Joe Zawinul Brown Street, and Manu Katche Neighbourhood. When I used the $9.99 discount, the worker swiped a different coupon that was 3 for $11.99: http://www.bordersmedia.com/coup/coupon_1199cd0924.htm When I told him it was 3 for 9.99 each, he was a bit surprised but rang me up appropriately. I guess the emails to this area were the 11.99 version (this is the version I received via email). I then returned with the 40% coupon and pointed it out to him before he started ringing up my order. He was quite surprised, having not seen it before, and then complained that Borders was issuing these nice coupons when he was low on cash. [What kind of discount do Borders' workers get these days?]

Tribe clinches the Central behind a solid outing from Jake Westbrook. Paul Byrd likely is the third starter in the post season, but it's close between these two. Nice to do it at the last home game of the regular season in front of a packed house on a beautiful September day. So Cleveland and Boston clinched after the same number of games played. You have Mother Nature to thank in part for your "early" clinch. How soon until Wakefield is in long relief? Not soon enough? Kind of a weird lineup with Coco Crisp batting 6th. Was this an experiment having Alex Cora bat second? He had 2 hits, but I'd think he's an 8-9 guy, even with players missing.

The Tigers lost. Are you taking comfort/pride/whatever from clinching perhaps just one game before LAA and Cleveland (both of whom have magic numbers of 1)? Based on how well things were going a month or two ago, wouldn't you have been shocked by this?? Rough outing for Paul Byrd. Would be nice if Tribe could pick the slower schedule and pitch CC and Fausto twice each, and Byrd + pen in just one.

I recently picked up In the Solo Spotlight!, Vol. 6, and Oboe/Flute from Newbury. Haven't cracked them open yet. I recommend listening to Ghost of Miles' excellent show about the Lighthouse All-Stars. Night Lights Lighthouse All-Stars

I have an uncut sheet of the early jazz greats framed and hanging on a wall by the computer, and a card set somewhere in the closet. These were reissued fairly recently, so the newer version isn't quite as "collectable" as the first issue. Here's a new sheet for sale on eBay: Crumb Early Jazz Great Sheet looks like I can't get this link to work...

I have no idea, but agree that it is extremely unlikely.

Likewise I got a confirm email on Tuesday (the 18th) for the order I placed on the 10th indicating that they were shipping everything. Looking forward to trying on some Hats!

....grand slam by Blue Jay Russ Adams off of Papelbon in the 8th to extend a 2-1 game to 6-1. Ouch...

Not that it should necessarily be a requirement for ROY, but only 5 AL rookies had enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title: Pedroia, Young, Akinori Iwamura (TB), Alex Gordon (KC), and Reggie Willits (LA). Their stats Pedroia: 487 AB, 7 HR, 49 RBI, .320 BA, .383 OBP, .439 SLG Iwamura: 457 AB, 7 HR, 30 RBI, .284 BA, .355 OBP, .407 SLG Gordon: 506 AB, 15 HR, 59 RBI, .257 BA, .323 OBP, .431 SLG Willits: 410 AB, 0 HR, 34 RBI, .290 BA, .393 OBP, .341 SLG Young: 610 AB, 12 HR, 90 RBI, .290 BA, .319 OBP, .408 SLG Young leads in RBI but not HR, despite having 100+ more ABs than Gordon. Pedroia has significantly better BA than the rest and higher SLG. Willits gets on more and has stolen 26 bases so far. In this group, I think Pedroia is the clear winner. Three rookie AL pitchers qualify for statistical leader categories (again, not that that should be a requirement for ROY): Brian Bannister (KC), Jeremy Guthrie (Bal), and Daisuke Matsuzaka (Bos). Dice K has the most wins (14-12) but the highest ERA (4.41). Bannister is 12-8 with ERA of 3.39. In 25 starts, Guthrie was 7-5 with a 3.65 ERA. Guthrie pitched for a lousy team, but KC is pretty bad too. In this group, I'd give it to Bannister, despite having a lower strikeout rate than the other two. For me, AL ROY is Pedroia, then Bannister.

I don't think anyone else is close.

That is hilarious. I'm probably not remembering the story correctly, but early in his days in Cleveland, in the parking lot (maybe in spring training) he asked the beat writer for the Plain Dealer if he could borrow some large sum of money, something like $10K, and thought the writer would happen to have that much cash on him. I'll have to see if that story is in a book at home. Are the Manny moments collected somewhere online? If so, I hope some of the Cleveland ones are included. I've always found him amusing (sometimes in a frustrating way) and an amazing hitter. ...Earth to Manny... Obviously a good performance for Moose, maybe a sign of things to come, but I wouldn't read much into it at all. The Orioles are not mediocre, or pretty bad, they are really bad. Listless, lifeless, lousy. What energy they exhibit is coming from a few minor leaguers trying to impress. Still Moose only gave up 3 hits. I'd say a better read would be pitching against Toronto, but looks like he won't face them, just another start or two against Baltimore and TB. And in the bottom of the fifth looks like Tribe bats are finally getting to the often tough Nate Robertson. After scoring three, however, Hafner just grounded into an inning ending double play (with men on first and third), after striking out in his first two ABs. Sabathia really could use a win this afternoon to keep up in the Cy Young race. We shall see.

Playoff teams in the AL are set (Bos, Cle, LAA, NYY). It's just a matter of seating now. That's "seeding" and its not over yet. Red Sox magic number to clinch the wild card is four. I presume that they can manage to combine their wins with Detroit losses to reach that number. Look for the lame champagne celebration sometime next week. Yes, you are correct. Forgive my homophonic tendencies, at least this one time. Blame it on a late evening post and a little irrational exuberance following an Indians' come-from-behind win against a 17-game winner. For an offense that has been sleepwalking much of the second half, this provides a little more hope against the tough starters in the playoffs (Beckett, Wang, Lackey, Escobar, Dice, etc). And they got a nice contribution from a reliever not named Rafael (Perez or Betancourt). The Indian bullpen may actually have more than 3 arms. And my usage is not completely incorrect because some additional seating at the Jake is now in play! A month ago the Tribe was 4 behind LAA and 5.5 behind Boston. They were in a dogfight for the division, and unlike pre-ASB, it was looking more and more like the second place finisher was not going to make the playoffs (...and this turns out to be correct). For a young team that plays considerably better at home than on the road (check, for example, the splits on right fielder Franklin Gutierrez), this is huge. ...Though looking at the records now, I see that NY and LA are worse on the road than Cleveland is--I am a bit surprised by this. Is the Bosox lack of success a total team effort? I don't think so. They've had some tough losses recently. Wakefield threw BP to Frank Thomas (...which he has done before), and as I suggested awhile ago Wake is pretty high variance late in the year. Actually, I'm a bit surprised he has as many wins as he does, but label me a disbeliever. [i guess he pitches deep enough into games that with his 4.7 ERA he gets a lot of decisions, many of them wins given the high quality offense.] Last night it was Gagne and maybe the manager for leaving him out there too long. Could they have left Delcarmen out there to face more than one batter? Who else does Francona have confidence in besides Okajima (who looks like he needs some rest) and Papelbon? Could Timlin have pitched last night? [...I'm not keeping day to day track of bullpen use] I guess it was an attempt to instill some confidence in how Gagne performs in close games, and it obviously backfired. Beckett, Dice, Schilling are pitching fine. Bullpen is still deep, if in need of a little rest. It's not the pitching. And even without Manny, a big (hopefully temporary) loss, it's not the offense either. Will Manny be back tonight before the offday tomorrow? So they've lost a few, and maybe will have to play one more playoff game at LA or Cle. Not a big deal for that veteran squad. Don't let the psycho-mumbo jumbo get to you, and don't roll out the hex nonsense, ...at least not before a few more tough losses.