papsrus

Real nice story Aggie. Thanks for posting it.

Talked to my Realtor today (the closing is about two weeks off) and he said he's never been so busy with closings. I was surprised to hear that. Being that our local economy is generally thought of as a "last-in, first-out" economy -- we were among the last to feel the effects of the faltering economy and will be among the first to emerge from the downturn -- this may be good news indeed.

A little pitching rundown here over at cbssportsline. The thing that jumps out at me: "The Rays have the best bullpen ERA in baseball at 2.26." They rank the Rays' starting pitching 13th overall in MLB -- maybe a little high. But the rotation should only improve with the return of Kazmir. Hammel had a real shaky outing last night in Baltimore. His numbers in the box score don't look horrible, but I think the O's had multiple baserunners in every inning. He never did look comfortable out there. And the defense in general did not look sharp, with Crawford still seeming uncomfortable with left field fences (dropped a fly that hit him right in the glove on the warning track -- Bah!). Nice diving catch by Hinske in right early delayed the inevitable for a few innings. ... Anyways, anyone else see the pitching rankings differently than CBS? ... EDIT: actually, looking at those power rankings a little closer, they seem to be overall team rankings (with a glance, sort of, toward pitching).

Those wacky Rays. They're wheeling and dealing now.

Damn. ... I have to say the strike zone was a little inconsistent, but, you know, they both worked with the same guy behind the plate. From where I sit, Shields went toe-to-toe with probably the best pitcher in the game and came up with a gem -- 2 hits, 7 K's. Beckett threw two bad pitches -- a breaking ball to Longoria that went over the left field wall (after striking him out on the same pitch the previous at bat -- I'm lovin' this kid!) and a breaking ball to first base that sent Bartlett off to the races. Bonus: the O's are trailing at Chicago, and here we come baby!

Just tooting my own horn(Say, that's kinda fun! ) Rays in 3rd, one game out and it's already....already....the 27th of April...oh well...still has to be their best start to a season, right???? Seems like a lot of teams in both leagues are improved this year....a team with 85-88 wins may win most divisions...we shall see. Third! ... heck, we're gunnin' for first place now! The Rays are a fun team to watch. A completely different animal this year (so far). Just better in every facet -- starting pitching (and Kazmir's return will only solidify that), bullpen (key), offensively they're showing good patience at the plate and are aggressive on the bases. The defense still has a couple of holes, but they fly around and make enough plays to hang in there. Longoria is a joy to watch. Upton has a lot of speed and a gun in CF. They're young and they're starting to get some breaks! ... Even had a full house last night (sure, half the crowd was wearing red, it's still all good). ... This game's kinda fun!

Bless you man. This is a bad situation, obviously. We have a fellow at work with ALS. He's in his mid-50s and has been dealing with the disease for well over a decade now. He is completely dependent on health aids, his wife and his family to function. He cannot move or talk or even breath on his own, and his speech is barely understandable. Yet he still works, using a speech device to translate his thoughts into the written word. And his mind -- and his sense of humor -- are as sharp as ever. He is a rare cat indeed. Given the progression of this disease, your friend will need continuous care soon. It sounds like he may already be at this stage. But he may live for quite a while with proper care, if my co-worker is any barometer. ... There must be a local organization near you that deals with ALS cases. I would contact area hospitals, hospice centers, clinics and any health care professionals that you know -- your doctor -- for advice on where to turn for immediate help for your friend. It sounds like he is close to suffering abuse from his family and the con man. Someone trained to deal with the needs of an ALS patient needs to step in on his behalf.

Long recovery ... I'm sure all will be glad when he's home.

I figured that Aki gettin' cocky would flip the switch. ... Have to say I was lovin' it though Dan. We stole that one! But I'll take it.

Pretty thrilling win over the BoSox last night, and with the Yankees loss (yes!) the Rays are suddenly sitting in third, 2 games out of first. Man I like this offense. Fun to watch. ... Who the heck is Nathan Haynes? (game-winning RBI in 11th). It's Buchholz vs. Edwin Jackson tonight.

How did the surgery go?

Thanks for mentioning it Dan! ESPN's web site clearly thought it no big deal at all...not their top story that night(Hockey playoffs I believe) and not even the top story on their baseball page! They were still puffing their chests out on their gotcha story on Tejada(Anyone else think it was fairly sorry "Journalism?") I didn't watch Tejada piece. The endless promos were enough to turn me off. "The shocking details ... " etc. ... spare me. All props to Smoltz. He seems like one of the genuinely good guys.

I wish I could and if I'd been on top of things I would have bought tickets earlier since this is the only weekend series in Tampa, but its just as well that I am not going - Coltrane's surgery is Saturday morning, so I probably would have canceled anyway. All good things must come to an end but it really sucks when the killer flu bug knocks out yet another starter (Dice-K this time) forcing Lester to start on three days rest, and they still have multiple chances to win. Now to take the series, they've got an afternoon game against the Angels best pitcher to date, Saunders, and they have to call up another rookie to pitch on short notice. Oh wait. This is Justin Masterson making his ML debut? You mean the guy who has a ground out to fly out ration of over 4-1? The guy who struck out 10 in his last AA start, allowing no runs in five innings to lower his ERA under 1? You mean the guy who throws a Wang-like sinker anywhere from 82 to 95? The guy that his San Diego State coach, Tony Gwynn, predicts will be a star? He may not win, but I am very interested to see this guy pitch today. Hope Coltrane's surgery goes well. I'm sure it will. I'll be working through the weekend, so won't be going up either. Are any other clubs battling the flu bug? ... Big Al ... Yeeoish! ... That's one ugly box score from last night.

Rays touch up Halladay for 5 runs to beat Toronto, crawl to within a game of .500 and sink the Jays into the cellar. Nice! And it wasn't as if Halladay had an off night. The Rays showed some nice patience at the plate -- good sign. But the schedule looks a little rugged over the next month: Red Sox this weekend (you coming over Dan?), then at Orioles, at Red Sox, at Jays, Angels, Yankees, at Cardinals, at A's, then home against Orioles before hosting Texas, the only below-.500 team of the bunch (other than Jays, who shouldn't be under for long). EDIT: Just noticed the Motor City Kitties put up 11 runs on the Rangers in the sixth inning!!!

Didn't Murdoch buy The Times of London years ago and very quickly turn it from a serious paper into a fun 'n' gun rag? If there's more money to be made running Page 3 girls (or whatever they're called), he's guaranteed to do it. Look for all sorts of cross-promotions with his new Ken-and-Barbie business channel as well.

Very nice. Looks well worth investigating. Thank you for the heads-up and link.

Short answer: Yes. It's inevitable.

I guess the situation called for a walk. But with Burrell on deck, I'd have pitched to the guy with the .190 BA. ... Either way though, the manager is going to be second-guessed.

Thanks for your thoughts on that GA. It sounds like something I'd very much enjoy and it's been duly added to the list.

With me, I think it's more "study fatigue" than anything else. Someday they'll discover this BPA stuff, when combined with peanut butter, leads to hair growth in bald men.

My kitchen plastics have all been bombarded countless times by microwaves, so I'm sure they're completely safe.

This is getting some good feedback here. Suite for Tina Modotti by Francesco Bearzatti Tinissima Quartet All amazon has is an MP3 download only, but the sound samples there sound very good. It's available at cd mail here, but I don't believe I've dealt with them before. Does anyone have any experience with cd mail?

Damn. No ... wonder if they're replay it? There's hardly any guarantee that your local PBS station ran it at the same time as major markets did. I'd check the American Experience website. If you have broadband, there's an option to watch online, too. Fantastic. I'll watch it online. Thanks.

Damn. No ... wonder if they're replay it?

Amen to that. Everyone but the union and a few talk radio jocks seem happy with the deal. ... Now, to find a shortstop! Bartlett has shown a remarkable penchant for both costly errors and hitting into rally-killing double plays (not to mention he's barely above .200). It's early, but he's got to firm things up on both counts.