Matthew

It is going to be interesting to see how Josh Beckett season goes, he just didn't look as effective last year as he had in the past. It seemed as if he'd be going great, piling up the k's, and then an inning would come along, a walk here, infield hit there, then a three-run homer. I saw him as inconsistent in the final two months on the season last year. He needs to come up big this year if the Red Sox are going to have a chance. The weather looks like it's going to be good for tonight, though I still prefer the tradition that Cincinnati opens the season -- just another little part of the baseball I grew up on gone for good.

After the dullest spring training in years, the real season is upon us. As the man says: "Play Ball" edit: for spelling

I picked it up the other day when I was at Costco. Pretty reasonable price, like $18.00. I haven't read it yet, but it's gotten very good reviews. The fact that it's an authorized biography and that Mays made himself available to the author should make it a pretty good read. Thanks for the Costco alert, I'll have to get my parents to pick up a copy for me (might even pay them back ).

Have you read the new biography of Mays that came out? Is it any good? I saw it at B&N today.

And this from someone who defends Aaron Rowand...

Billie Holiday: Fine and Mellow. I just love this version....

I guess because it's been such a long time, everyone has forgotten how depressing those April & late September games actually were when the Twins played outdoors. Can you imagine what it's going to be like in the Twins make the playoffs? A Colorado vs. Minnesota World Series -- Burrrrrrrrrrrr!

Hey Goodie, you have to admit Zito was very good the send half of the season last year, after the All-Star game, he went 5-4, with a 2.83 ERA. I'd take that any day of the week for a number three starter. If he's even close this year, that's going to be a killer top three: Lincecum, Cain, and Zito. I think the Giants can go a long way in a weak National League.

Gore's a great singer, and she was popular, so I understand that part, but in the context of the T.A.M.I Show, she definitely brought down the energy level. The Supremes were not too bad, but they and Gore just seemed out of place to me.

I don't want to get New and Improved Dan worked up too early in the season, but even with the signing of Texiera, Sabbathia and Burnett, the Yankees overall payroll was $16.5 million less in 2009 than it was in 2008. At this point, finally putting a lid on their outrageous and unconscionable spending habits of the past would seem to be working out quite well, wouldn't you say? We're going down that road are we? In terms of 2009 team salaries, please note that the Yankees spent 52 Million dollars more than the next team, the New York Mets. 79 Million dollars more than the Red Sox. 88 Million dollars more than their World Series opponent. Case closed, the Yankees flat-out bought and paid for their championship. PS: Link to 2008 and 2009 team salaries.

I say the wild card will come from the Central because of my iron-clad law of never predicting a playoff spot for TBTMCB*. Even given that neurosis of mine (scientific term: Hateus Yankeeitus), I see New York, Boston, Tampa Bay, Detroit, Minnesota, Chicago, bunched within six games of each other. I see Boston and the Yankees coming back to the pack, and not running away with the wild card, so anything can happen in my book. Also, I'm tired of the Yankee/Boston duo always making the playoffs, so this is my purely contrarian ego at work. Who are your guys going to trust more, me or a computer? *The Best Team Money Can Buy

Classic Condon Mob Sessions. Disk one, the Bud Freeman and His Famous Chicagoans session is great.

I guess this is a good time for predictions: AL East: Boston Tampa Bay New York (I'm keeping to my annual tradition of saying the Yankees won't make the playoffs, you're welcome Ghostie ). Toronto Baltimore AL Central: Detroit Chicago -- Wild Card Minnesota (it will be close, any of these three can win) Kansas City Cleveland AL West: Los Angeles Seattle (I'm not completely sold on the Mariners, they'll be improved, but the offense will be their downfall). Texas Oakland NL East: Philadelphia Atlanta (I predict a one-game playoff between these two for the division, with the Phillies winning) Florida New York Washington NL Central: St. Louis Chicago Cincinnati Milwaukee Houston Pittsburgh NL West Colorado San Francisco -- Wild Card Los Angeles Arizona San Diego AL Champion: Chicago White Sox NL Champion: San Francisco Giants (their pitching will get them through any series) World Series Champion: San Francisco Giants. Pitching and defense is the name of the game this year, so the Giants can win it all with their pitching staff, though like Seattle, offense will be a continuing problem.

50/50 -- Either David Wright or Johan Santana. These are the Mets after all.....

Yeah, I'm not convinced that Seattle has it either, as much as I'd like them to win it. The Baseball Analyst site collected the various projection "function machines" (for those of you raised on early '70s math textbooks) and Texas looks pretty decent according to a few of them. But as you say, it won't take much to win the division, so who knows. Kinsler starts the season on the DL which hurts Texas from the get go. All the divisional race projections are included in the link btw, not just the all important AL West. I'm not on the Mariners bandwagon yet either. Cliff Lee has to be a concern, those abdominal muscles can take, heaven knows how long, to really get well. Plus, the dufus gets suspended because of stuff in a spring training game. The offense is a major concern, with Milton Bradley(?????) batting fourth. I would be surprised if Bradley doesn't have a major meltdown by the end of May, and he is just a bad clubhouse presence. Back end of the rotation is shaky. On the plus side, Felix looks set for the Cy Young this year, good defense again, and the West looks like a division where 90 wins will take it. Will the Mariners win it? Well, as Yogi says:"In baseball, you don't know nothing."

It would be nice to have a good sounding Black, Brown, and Beige, the current one has a muffled and dull sound.

Hmm, hadn't seen this one. Where is it set? Pretty much a 'Battle of the Bulge' centric tale.. .....or some other locations like Hurtgen Forest? Colmar Pocket? Aachen? etc? Fussell writes about various topics in the book, some of which are, Bluge, Cobra episode, Falasie, Hurtgen Forest, Medics, Skorzeny Affair, Infantry Morale, the Peiper Affair, among others. They are not in-depth chapters by any means, most eight to ten short pages, but interesting. More like, if the reader finds the chapters interesting, he/she will have to do some further reading to get a better understanding of what Fussell is talking about.

I'm a sucker for 1980s mindlessly fun music. http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

I had a double bacon cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate milk shake.

Well, Allen, ever since this thread, I have been thinking about what you said here. Just taking the San Francisco scence, and trying to figure out who influences who is a chore. I have this bootleg comp that features Dark Magic by Moby Grape from the Avalon Ballroom in December 31, 1966, and Peter Lewis, Jerry Miller, and Skip Spence, are doing all kinds of batstuff crazy things during their solos. So, it just seems to me that in the hot-house atmosphere of the SF scene, who knows who was the leader. Jefferson Airplane's Jorma Kaukonen was also doing some pretty amazing stuff. It's an interesting era, and I probably dismissed Gurley way too quickly. Allen, get that book published!

I haven't seen a lot of Kentucky this year, but man, they couldn't hit anything. And it looked like their bad shooting percentage (don't know the number, but I'm guessing it's pretty horrible) all stemmed from them having no - zero - none - nada - offensive schemes whatsoever. They seemed intent on tossing the ball around the perimeter trying to -- I guess -- create some gaps in the West Va. zone but it never worked, and they never really did adjust. Couple of flailing drives inside that looked more like people running into a brick wall, but that was about it, looked like to me. And when they did manage to set up a post play, they had trouble sinking two-footers. Nice win for W. Va., but Kentucky ... man they laid an egg. (not even mentioning the 2-for-a zillion three-point shooting effort). I still cannot figure out how that The 2007–08 Memphis Tigers team lost to Kansas in the final.

Mine was after a San Diego Padre game in the early 70s, Wishbone Ash (of all bands) was the headliner. Shows how much time has changed, they set up the stage on the outfield grass, and let us come down on the field to watch.

I was able to watch this yesterday, and I loved every second. The sound is mono, but very good, with the picture quality also being outstanding. Of course, it is the performances that make this something special to watch. Most surprising: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. I always had the notion that Robinson was a "passive" presence, but here, he really was a top-notch entertainer, who could move mountains if he wanted. I could not figure out why Lesley Gore gets so much time, but she was okay. Jan & Dan had a very goofy vibe to them. Of course, James Brown puts on an amazing show... WOW! I had never seen it before yesterday, even on Youtube. The Stones had it tough following that act, but Mick and the boys did a good job, and performed with a lot of energy. Well worth the money you spend to get this. Now, if only The TNT Show and Pop Gear would get released.

It's also official that John Calipari cannot coach a team to the title, no matter how good it is.