The continuing saga...

From CBSSports.com:



The July trade market -- or, at the very least, Oakland's season -- has changed significantly: Athletics right-hander Ben Sheets has re-injured his troubled elbow, CBSSports.com has learned.At the very least, Sheets will be placed on the 15-day disabled list. But a source close to Sheets says there is very real concern that the elbow has blown out again and that he is finished for the season.The Athletics signed Sheets to a one-year, $10 million deal this season figuring that he either could help them contend in the AL West or, if not, he could become a valuable trade chip.



So here we are at the end of July, and the end of Sheets. As I warned about Sheets and already-out-for-the-year Justin Duchscherer way back when, so it has become. The two combined for 147 1/3 innings, a 6-10 record, and a 4.52 ERA (most of all of that belonging to Sheets. Add that to my commentary on Eric Chavez and Coco Crisp, who together this year have put up stats (so far 207 ABs 49 hits, 4 HRs and 27 RBIs and a .236 average) roughly equivalent to Chavezs'

combined numbers for the past 3 years (220 ABs 51 hits, 3 HRs 25 RBIs, and a .231 average). And yet, despite this and a MLB 3rd-worst 63 HRs (thanks to Cust starting the year in AAA), the A's are at .500 as we speak, 48-48. Is it the managing of Bob Geren?


Raising the White Flag: Geren Again Proves His Legacy of Incompetence
By
Steven Resnick (Senior Writer, Bleacher Report) on July 24, 2010


Bob Geren's legacy as manager of the Oakland A's will always be his legendary incompetency. No manager in Major League history is as clueless at using their bullpen as Geren has been.



Um, Perhaps not. Is it the rousing cheering of the home fans? The A's have drawn an average crowd of 18,499 at home through 50 games, 10,166 below what they draw on the road. At least they outdraw Florida and Cleveland. So, that's not it either. They are batting .261 as a team, which in Oakland with its huge foul area is like hitting .275 in decent ballpark. And at 3.57, they have the 6th-best ERA in the majors, Duke and Sheets notwithstanding. Is it the 16-6 record against Baltimore, Kansas City, and Seattle? Well, that helps. But it gets balanced by the 9-17 mark against the Angels, Twins, Yankees, and Blue Jays. So, what does keep us afloat?

I'll tell you. It is because of the curse that was levied on us that makes it so Geren will be our manager and we will play in the old Colisseum forever. Because if we sucked, the manager would be fired and the team would move. And that is why, even if every player on the major league roster goes on the DL and the rest of the state slides into the ocean to poison it forever, we will finish 81-81.

Bits and Pisses, chapter 3

I've been playing around with the new features e-mail blogger sent me this morning, and I love that new stat thing! Imagine, my humble blog has been read in Denmark, Germany, Canada, Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, Czech Republic, Russia, and the UK! Not often, mind you, but still kinda cool!

I've also been turning in my points for surveys and cashing them in on Amazon. Right now I'm on Toluna and Opinion Outpost, as well as a couple others that I basically ignore. This was the first time I turned in on Toluna, and it netted me the second and third volumes of Neil Gaiman's Sandman (which is a very cool comic book) along with a cd of "The Good Life" by Firetown (whose claim to fame is that they eventually hired Shirley Manson to sing and became alternative rockers Garbage). Then I saw I had enough to turn in on O.O. for a second time (I'd already gotten a 50 check from tem last year) and translated it into a Four Seasons greatest hits box set, Kiss' Smashes Thrashes and Hits, and Days of Future Past by the Moody Blues. Two books, five cds, a $65 value on Amazon, mine for $5 shipping. Cool, eh?

Also again, with a little help from our printer, I've brought Laurie into the world of registered voters. Too bad we can't vote in Nevada and California and help them rid us of Reid and Pelosi.

And the KHL has finally solved its 24th team problem. HC Lev, which was going to play out of the Czech city of Karlove until the Czech federation threw a hissy fit and wouldn't allow it even for a hefty bribe, picked up its marbles and moved to Poprad in Slovakia, where they will become HC Lev Poprad and play in the same divsion as the the 3 (basically ) Moscow teams, St. Pete, and Riga.

Well right now I'm having a spot of trouble with one of these lovely new features, so I shall post this, before I have to retype it all.

Step into my time machine, week thirteen

Okay, this is the week that, among other things, I'll tell the dreaded Swearin' To God story. Also, ten debuts, two new top tens, a new top dog, and lotsa lotsa Elvis. Let's go!





Debuting in the hot 100 amongst those ten are five that made an impression. Leon Russell's gorgeous Lady Blue came in at 93 this week in 1975; Tavares reached at 88 with It Only Takes A Minute; The Osmonds hit with their cover of the Four Seasons' The Proud One at 86; and way up at 73 comes America with their follow up to Sister Golden Hair, the soft and lovely Daisy Jane. Our big dropper this week was former top dog When Will I Be Loved, falling 48 places to 70; while the big jumper was ZZ Top' Tush, backing up the chart to 64, a 19-spot climb. This week we also lose Mac Davis' Burning thing, which peaked at 52 last time.





Coming into the top 40 this week are 5 tunes: Earth Wind And Fire switching to mellow with That's The Way Of The World at 40; KC and the Sunshine Band with Get Down Tonight at 38; Helen Reddy with Bluebird (a song which, surprisingly for someone who loves Helen Reddy, I did not recognize) at 36; The Isley Brothers' rowdy Fight The Power a 34; and Ambrosia's Holding On To Yesterday at 33. I could not find a good candidate for the almost but not quite salute this week. I suppose at this point I could delve into my younger mind and say that probably my favorite this week would have been a battle between Could It Be Magic at 26, Fallin' In Love at 22, and the upcoming number 8 song.





Speaking of my mind, this would be a good segue to the next five of my personal top 100 of the 70's. 90 is the Four Seasons (boy, they're getting the airplay today!) and Who Loves You; 89 is Gerry Rafferty's Baker Street, featuring that awesome sax lick by Raphael Ravenscroft. Allegedly Ravenscroft was paid £27 for the session (which today comes out to $42) with a check that bounced. I've a feeling he got more after the song hit #1. 88 is Wings with Band On The Run; 87 is Dr. Hook and Sylvia's Mother, a true story that happened to songwriter (and cartoonist, poet, children's book writer, and a few other things) Shel Silverstein. Finally this week, 86 is Sugarloaf with Green Eyed Lady.





Two songs into the top ten, 2 drop out. Losing their spots were Love Will Keep Us Together at 12 and Magic at 15. Those two songs seemed to play forever that summer. was time really so much slower then? Now its only that slow at work.





Onto the top ten. Holding at 10 this week is Gwen McRae's Rocking Chair. Coming in at 9, up 2, is Melissa Manchester and Midnight Blue; the debut at number eight, up 4 is the autobiographical account of Elton John's suicide attempt, Someone Saved My Life Tonight. At 7, up one, is Swearin' to God, and my embarrassing story. Back then there was a Bert Convy-hosted game show called Tattletales, which involved sets of married celebrities. One pair that was on the show a lot were Bobby Van and Elaine Joyce. For whatever reason, I always imagined that they were the singers on this song (presumably because a) we watched the show all the time and b) I knew of no other reason why they were celebrities). Not sure how many months later I finally glommed onto Frankie Valli's name being attached to the song and said oh, duh. I still see her doing the background line whenever I hear the song.



Listen To What The Man Says tumbles from three to six this week; up 2 to 5 is 10cc's I'm Not In Love, who's background choral line is the four members of the group singing the same note overdubbed on itself 256 times. Also, the whispered "big boys don't cry" was courtesy of the receptionist at the recording studio. Weird wild stuff, as Johnny Carson used to say.



Time now to look in on the other top dogs of yesteryear, this week we're doing the sixes. 1996 was the last year for the Cashbox charts, and this week back then Toni Braxton was on top with You're Making Me High/Let It Flow, yet another tune I don't know from Adam. On the Alternative charts that week was Pepper, a not-too-bad song by a band with the idiotic name of the Butthole Surfers. 1986 saw a curious happenstance. Our date is about midway between the two publishing dates that year. On the Early side of the date, we have Genesis with Invisible Touch; on the later side is Genesis alumnus Peter Gabriel with Sledgehammer. One year frrom where our time machine lands, the Manhattans will be on top with Kiss And Say Goodbye. In 1966 this week, the top dog was the Trogg's Wild Thing (but not for long; They're Coming To Take Me Away Ha Ha by Napoleon XIV will leap to the top from #20 the next week). And in 1956, Gogi Grant's The Wayward Wind is on top in a battle with Pat Boone's I Almost Lost My Mind, a battle that has seen them switch places every week for the past month. One month later it will all seem academic; Elvis Presley will start a 15 week run at the top with Hound Dog (4 weeks), Don't Be Cruel ( 6 weeks), and Love Me Tender (5 weeks).



On with the top 4. The Bee Gees leap 5 to 4 with Jive Talkin'. Van McCoy hustles back down from top dog to number 3 with The Hustle (probably the last time I'll make that joke). Olivia Newton-John climbs two hard notches with Please Mister Please; and the new top dog is... the Eagles, with One Of These Nights, their second #1.



Thanks for riding along. See you next week!

Hey! It's time to playyyyyyy.......

.....WHO'S DUMBER!!! We have 3 contestants tonight, and none of them are Barack Obama!

Our first contestant is a group effort, courtesy AP through WOWO.com:

BASS LAKE, Ind. (AP) _ Northwestern Indiana police have rescued
five boaters who got lost on a tributary of the Kankakee River
after losing their boat's oars.
The Starke County Sheriff's Department rescued the boaters about
1 a.m. Monday from the Yellow River and took them back to their
vehicles in the northern part of the county.
Police got a call late Sunday night from a man who said he and
four friends had gotten their boat to shore after losing their oars
and getting lost on the river.
After their rescue, the boaters were issued citations for having
too many people in the boat and for not wearing life jackets.

How many idiots does it take to lose an oar? 5! Perhaps they would have been better off at least putting a life jacket on their paddles, eh?

Okay, contestant two is the weather girl at the aforementioned WOWO, who informed us tonight that we could expect possible HEFTY rain. Hefty rain?

Is this rain that needs to avoid falling on their local McDonalds?

Contestant #3 is a customer of ours who ordered (bear with me here) an L553G76B. Gobbledygook? Perhaps, but allow me to explain. The L553 tells me that the shell (cushion) will be made of THIS fabric.

The G76 is the pattern we make out of the fabric. Only in this case, we had no idea what it was. So I contacted our neighborhood engineering lackey, Jeff. He found out that it was the same as another pattern that we did have, only it was a special that required L553 for the cushion and L806 for the welt cord binding. THIS is L806.

As any other idiot can see, this is not necessarily a very good combination.

As a concerned worker for my company, I feel I should let our customer know that further information on their cushion may be found

here.

So who's the winner? You pick .

"Doesn't this just kick a$$?"

This is Captain Phil Harris' custom Titan Radical Rigid, a 1750 cc chopper that was airbrushed with fantastic sea scenes by Mike Lavalee and is being sold by the family on e-bay. play the video to see Phil's special option:



A flame thrower! How cool is this? Proceeds are going to the Children's hospital and the Fisherman's Memorial. Phil, if you haven't followed this blog or Deadliest Catch, passed away in February from a massive stroke and complications. If you have watched, you know he was very special, the kind of guy you can watch on tv and feel he was one of your best friends. Last week and this they've told the story of his death on the show, and it's been very hard to watch. But this? this is fun, just like he was.

Step into my time machine, week twelve

All kind of stuff to look at this week in 1975: a new top dog, 2 top 40 and 10 top 100 debuts, and this week in 1955, the rock'n'roll era begins. Let's go!

First, a little housekeeping, as it were. In the 12 weeks of time machine, I've mentioned 45 songs that I remember debuting on the hot hundred. Out of these, the vast majority are still climbing. 5 songs that missed the top ten have peaked and are on the way out. In fairness to them, here they are, with their peak positions on the Cashbox charts. Hey You, who got BTO the almost but not quite spotlight last week, at 16; Steely Dan's Black Friday, at 31; Charlie Daniels' Long Haired Country Boy, at 50; Kiss' Rock and Roll All Night, at 57 (they never did do well on singles);and Donnie and Marie's Make The World Go Away (which I had thought got much higher), just this week at 54.

Coming into the Hot 100 this week included 4 that made some noise: Austin Roberts at 96 with Rocky, the song about his girlfriend who died (and hit #1 country by Dickie Lee in November this same year); Orleans' first top 40 hit, Dance With Me, a song that made my "mythical top 10" (a concept I'll go into another time... or maybe later on today), at 91; ZZ Top's Tush at 83; and Paul Anka and Odia Coates way up at 69 with (I Believe There's) Nothing Stronger Than Our Love, as he continues his amazing comeback. Anka went from not having hit the top 15 since 1962 to hitting it 5 times in 1974-5. We have a big dropper tie at 52 notches down: AWB's Cut The Cake at 84 this week, and one last mention for the leader in mentions so far, the Doobie Brothers' (Take Me In Your Arms) Rock Me, pausing at 81 on the way out. Our big jumper this week is Johnny Rivers, doing the comeback thing himself with Help Me Rhonda, which would become only his second peek into the top 40 since 1967's Summer Rain.

Let's throw in the latest installment of the top 100 of my favorite 70's songs here, shall we? 95 is Just Remember I Love You by Firefall. So many of my favorites were born nights listening to Ron Gregory on WOWO, and a lot of songs I have a strong connection between them and that venue. One of those is the 94 song, Breakaway by Art Garfunkel (I watch the distant lights out on the runway/ disappear into the evening sky/ Oh you know I'm with you on your journey/ never can say goodbye...). 93 is another appearance for Anne Murray, this time with her version of Danny's Song (even though we ain't got money...) ; 92 is Carly Simon sounding hopelessly cynical on That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be; and 91 is the gorgeous voice of Marilyn McCoo and the 5th Dimension with One Less Bell To Answer.

6 songs crack the top 40 this week: the Moments with a richly orchestrated ballad I didn't remember, Look At Me, I'm In Love; at the other end of the spectrum, Bad Company at 39 with the raucous Feel Like Makin' Love; Barry Manilow at 35 with Could It Be Magic; Janis Ian's heartrending At 17; Hamilton, Joe Frank, and the artist known as Reynolds way up at 26 with Fallin' In Love; and James Taylor finally makes all those weeks of being the big jumper pay off, landing at 25 with How Sweet It Is. Now it's time for this week's almost but not quite salute, this time to another member of the "mythical top ten"- those songs that, though back then I hadn't ever ranked them on paper, aligned themselves as my unofficial top ten all time favorites. This was a nebulous group that probably varied between 7 and 12 actual songs at any one time, and one of them was Ray Stevens' country take on an old Jazz standard, Misty. Originally written as an instrumental in 1954 and gaining lyrics 5 years later, it was a much covered song, notably by Johnny Mathis, but never like Ray did it, and his efforts earned him a grammy for best arrangement. Noted mainly for his novelty insanity, this would be his last top 40 hit, though he'd still have some country success.

Two come into the top ten, two go out. The two droppers are Wildfire, sliding to 14, and Try to Remember/The Way We Were slipping to 15.

The top ten this week stars out with 2 debuts. At 10, up 2, is Gwen McCrae with Rocking Chair, her answer to then-hubby George McCrae's #1 from last year, Rock Your Baby. Debuting at 9, also up 2, are the Bee Gees with Jive Talkin'. Frankie Valli moves up a notch to 8with Swearin' to God, which if it stays on long enough I'll have to tell you an embarrassing story about. The cleanup spot goes to 10cc with I'm Not In Love, up 1. Love Will Keep Us Together gives ground slowly, slipping 3 to #6; Magic holds onto the 5 slot for a second week. Olivia Newton-John leapfrogs it to 4 with Please Mister Please; McCartney and Wings drop out of the top dog spot with yet another member of the "MT10", Listen To What The Man Says; and now...

...now we break for the tour of other decade's #1s, this week the 5's. 1995 on the pop charts was headed by TLC with Waterfalls (at last one I recognize in the 90's!), and on the Alternative chart by U2 with Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me. 1985 was Prince's Raspberry Beret; 1975 was ************ (hah! wait till the end, like you're supposed to!) ; 1965 saw the first of 8 number ones for the Rolling Stones, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction; and 1955 this week was the second official week of the rock'n'roll era- the second week at the top for Bill Haley and His Comets and Rock Around The Clock.

2 choices left. #2 is the Eagles' One Of These Nights; that means our new top dog this week is the late Van McCoy with The Hustle.

Lookin' fly, dude! That's it for this week, gang. Thanks for coming along and see ya next trip!

Dear Abby (no wonder I always preferred Ann Landers)

With thanks to Lorraine for this e-mail.
DEAR ABBY ADMITTED SHE WAS AT A LOSS TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING:


Dear Abby, A couple of women moved in across the hall from me. One is a middle-aged gym teacher and the other is a social worker in her mid twenties. These two women go everywhere together, and I've never seen a man go into or leave their apartment. Do you think they could be Lebanese?

Dear Abby,
What can I do about all the Sex, Nudity, Fowl Language and Violence on my VCR?

Dear Abby, I have a man I can't trust. He cheats so much, I'm not even sure the baby I'm carrying is his.

Dear Abby, I am a twenty-three year old liberated woman who has been on the pill for two years. It's getting expensive and I think my boyfriend should share half the cost, but I don't know him well enough to discuss money with him.

Dear Abby, I've suspected that my husband has been fooling around, and when confronted with the evidence, he denied everything and said it would never happen again.

Dear Abby, Our son writes that he is taking Judo. Why would a boy who was raised in a good Christian home turn against his own?

Dear Abby, I joined the Navy to see the world. I've seen it. Now how do I get out?

Dear Abby, My forty year old son has been paying a psychiatrist $50.00 an hour every week for two and a half years. He must be crazy.

Dear Abby, I was married to Bill for three months and I didn't know he drank until one night he came home sober.

Dear Abby, My mother is mean and short tempered I think she is going through mental pause.

Dear Abby, You told some woman whose husband had lost all interest in sex to send him to a doctor. Well, my husband lost all interest in sex and he is a doctor. Now what do I do?

Remember…These people can vote!!