The Man in Blak

I use Soulseek to track down singles or rare releases, but I've had more success using the Indious hub on DC++ for finding full albums at acceptable connection speeds.

If you're looking for a live CD of the 70's KC lineup, I'd recommend that you check out the USA album. Easily the best live take on "Lark's Tongue in Aspic, Part II" and the version of "21st Century Schizoid Man" is one of their best as well. If it weren't for the butchered stab at "Starless" (which, to be fair, is one of the only KC tracks that seems to consistently fare poorly in a live setting), it would probably be my favorite KC album.

Correct me if I'm wrong but, since this is Reyes' fourth year in the majors, doesn't this contract buy out his first year of free agency, as well as his final three years of arbitration eligibility?

I hate the Yankees..so I will say Abreu will suck. Moving on..what happened with Chase Utley's hit? I'm glad that it's a hit a though. Utley hit a chopper to the right of the pitcher's mound and Flores had to reach for it tohave a chance on it. Once he snagged it, Flores made a motion to make sure that the runner held on third, then planted and threw a strike to Pujols, but Utley beat it out. It was originally ruled an "attempted fielder's choice" or something like that but, after replays, the official scorer realized that Flores would have had to make an exceptional play to get Utley (who was really hustling up the line) anyway, regardless of the motion that he made to third to hold the runner. The FSN Midwest crew for the Cardinals felt that it should have been ruled a hit and I would agree - it's a good thing that they fixed the call.

Nirvana's video for "In Bloom" would probably apply, even though they don't cover a ton of different eras of rock like RHCP. And yeah, I'd definitely consider the Nirvana video to be superior.

Is this confirmed? They just traded Sean Casey so that this guy could get some playing time, and the value on Chacon can't get much lower.

What about Cybersex? Maybe Yuna Firerose is still around on AIM.

They're going to get rid of their young closer because a guy who's only pitching for them for three months told them to? Not likely. Lidge was mentioned in a couple of offseason rumors, so it's not like the organization has demonstrated that they are unwilling to trade him. Also, I'm pretty sure you realize that Clemens isn't just some "guy who's only pitching for them for three months". Viva could probably speak more to it but, as it understand it, Clemens is a big time public ambassador for the team, positive locker room influence, and huge draw whenever he pitches (I'm sure he gives Brandon Backe a run for his money). Never mind that the guy is the arguably the best player on the entire team - he contributes to the organization in other ways and, given that clout, I wouldn't be surprised if Clemens was frustrated after seeing yet another one of his wins get coughed up by a pitcher that has seemed all too hittable since Pujols disentegrated that hanging slider in last year's NLCS.

Even in his diminished capacity, Abreu was 7th in the NL in Win Shares (per THT's method of calculations). He's also pushing Aaron Guiel out of the everyday lineup, which can only be a good thing.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the possibility that Roger Clemens may have had a hand in the order to trade Lidge, since he did blow yet another Clemens lead in the ninth last night. Sure, it's speculation, but it seems all too plausible, especially when you consider all of the concessions that the Astros give to Clemens anyway.

I'm not sure I would consider Sean Casey to be a first baseman anyway.

This was mentioned here. I don't really understand this trade by Cleveland, unless it's nothing but a cost-cutting measure. Luna is basically a utility guy, with the same average and OBP as Belliard... but much less power. If St. Louis gets Belliard without giving up Luna, then I would probably have liked this deal. As it is, it's not really a good move for the Cardinals. Luna's not an All-Star in the making or anything, but he does have value as a utility player that the club had control over for the next few years. Belliard is probably an upgrade over Luna at the position (perhaps for no other reason than the fact that he pushes Miles out of the lineup forever), but he's not an upgrade in value, as he's due over $3 million this year with a $4 million club option for next year. It will be interesting to see if Belliard's patience at the plate improves (only 3.4 pitches per plate appearance), as the Cardinals typically put a lot of focus on stretching out at-bats.

So, a tangent. The Power to Believe is just as bad as it was a couple years back when it was released. If King Crimson never releases a good album again, I think we'll be able to point to "Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With" as the point where Fripp and Belew jumped the proverbial shark.

Don't forget - that's a never-before-seen evil tree that completely rips off Zeromus from FFIV. You know, the original good never-before-seen boss. FFIX is very similar to Die Another Day for the James Bond movie series - intended to be "fan service" with a ton of references to past games/movies, but ultimately dissatisfying to most fans (casual and hardcore) alike. That said, I think I'd still rather play through FFIX before any of the other PS1 games, just because it's got the best combat out of that group.

Yeah, that's one way to put it. There's plenty of mellotron throughout the whole album, IIRC. It's very prominent in the opening track, "Cirkus."

I'll second the Holst recommendation - nearly every science fiction movie soundtrack has ripped off of "Mars", and for good reason. I've always been partial to Bartok's "Miraculous Mandarin" as well.

Having shuffled through both Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair on the way to work the last couple of weeks, I've come to the following conclusions: 1. "Three of a Perfect Pair" is still my favorite song from the 80's KC run and, the more that I listen to it, the more that I think it's probably one of my three favorite KC songs overall. In fact, it's one of the only studio recordings that comes close to trumping the live version, if only because of the super-glitchy guitar solo. 2. The beginning of "Sartori in Tangier" is used in the first episode of The Maxx cartoon that used to run on MTV Oddities. Hot damn. 3. Beat does happen to be better than I remember it, though I still can't go listen to the rest of the album after "Neurotica" without wincing. The second half of "Waiting Man" is a little bit of a drag as well, once they introduce the modern drums. "Heartbeat" and "Neal and Jack and Me" have aged much better than at first glance, though. 4. Outside of the title track, "Sleepless", and "Man With An Open Heart", you can probably safely file away the rest of Three of a Perfect Pair and forget about it. I may have had a soft spot for "Lark's Tongue in Aspic: Part III" a few years ago, but that affection is a long time gone. 5. Discipline still trumps them both, even though I like the production on it the least. The title track might be the weakest track on the album and it's miles ahead of "Dig Me" or "The Howler" or any of the other second-half garbage on the other two albums.

What, the Poker folder?

Even though that is definitely true for the 80's era, you could almost make that argument for just about anything that King Crimson has ever put out, as the group has a ridiculous live repertoire. As far as ranking the 80's albums goes, I'd still consider Discipline to be the strongest of the era by a large margin, with Three of a Perfect Pair and Beat hanging around on a second tier. Maybe I need to give Beat another spin - it's been awhile since I heard "Sartori in Tangier" anyway.

Yeah, that was the absolute worst. Jeremy Giambi could have gotten Teahen at home, but Taguchi managed to take out the wedge and chip a five hopper to the plate. I don't care how bad John Rodriguez is slumping, they're no excuse to put Taguchi out there in left, where his primary defensive commodity (range) is effectively neutered.

And yet, somehow, it pays off, as Burgos strikes out Spiezio and the batter that follows (Miles). You have to love how terrible decisions in baseball can still lead to positive outcomes.

Interesting strategy going on in the Cards/Royals game. Pujols gets on with a single, and gets advanced to second by the next batter. A wild pitch sends Pujols to third...so Buddy Bell counters by intentionally walking Encarnacion and Taguchi to load the bases for Yadier Molina. LaRussa (probably having to stifle the laughter) subs out Molina for Scott Spiezio...which prompts Buddy Bell to bring in a new pitcher. (EDIT: And that pitcher happens to be Burgos, he of the 6.50+ ERA.)

I don't recall saying anything about Hoffman. Am I loading up my posts with subliminal messages again?

Holy shit. You scroll all the way down the page and there they are. They've got their own folder and everything!