Mattingly! Cut those sideburns, you damn hippie.

Everyday my confusion grows.

Nice, I'm first and I finally get to reveal Mike's lyrics of the day....if I had any idea where they are coming from.

I'm curious to read Batista's book as I have more than a passing interest in serial killers myself.

I'd also wager that Werth will make it as the 4th outfielder. I don't see the Jays wanting to give up on him just yet, and PECOTA predicts he'll have a reasonable year. Hermanson is some nice depth to have, but I view him more as injury protection, competition for teh 25th man if they take a position player or someoone who might come up in June or July if Werth is really struggling and the Jays are doing reasonably well. I think Werth will be the main backup outfielder out of camp, and that's the right thing for the Jays to do in my mind.

I'd like to get your opinions on this thought:

While everybdoy loves the Odogg, the consensus seems to be that he'll be used as a bargaining chip once either Hill or Adams are ready to step in. While Adams embraces the Jays mentality at the plate and Hill seems to be the second coming of Jeff Kent, it looks like (so far) neither or these guys will be as good with the glove as the Odogg. I don't need to rehash the arguments about Adams and Hill being more suited to 2B (sorry Coach - I know they're still developing). Add to that the fact that the Odogg is a great right-handed hitter.

So here's my thought - would it be possible to transition the Odogg to SS and let Adams and Hill fight it out for 2B. What kind of arm does the Odogg have and has he played SS at all? Money issues aside, do you see this as an option.

(There's my one baseball related post for the month)

By the way, the Michael Lewis article that comments on both the Blue Jays and their inter-league rival, the White Jays, is in the March 1 edition of Sports Illustrated. Couldn't find a link to post.

http://bluejayscheerclub.com
The album version is superior to the oft-played Shep Pettibone remix.

Hudson has hit much better left than right the last 2 years. He is an excellent defensive second baseman, but his arm is not adequate for a shortstop.

I am personally of the view that Hill is the heir apparent at third base, and that Adams will challenge Woodward in a year or so. I think Woody will hold his job, but you'd get a lot of different opinions from Bauxites on that one.

http://economics.about.com
The album version is superior to the oft-played Shep Pettibone remix.

I've never actually heard the original album version... I only know the remix. How sad is that?

Cheers,

Mike

Last night, I caught five minutes of The Late Show (Letterman). The portion I saw was the MailBag segment, in which one letter asked about a lottery. Dave brought in a guest to discuss the issue (played by one of the staff): Pete Rose.

They cut to a scene of Pete Rose and Bud Selig playing Poker in a casino. Bud states "I see your $20, and raise you the Montreal Expos!"

http://bluejayscheerclub.com
I've never actually heard the original album version... I only know the remix. How sad is that?

The album is Brotherhood. Go buy it now.

I don't think it makes sense to move a 2B to SS and a SS to 2B. Seems like a downgrade to me.

Hudson should be left at 2nd. Things will sort themselves out over time.

FWIW, I think the player in the Jays infield most likely to get traded is not Hudson, but Hinske following the 2005 season.

http://economics.about.com
Did anyone else notice that Geoff Baker left out Chad Hermansen when discussing the "eight former No. 1 picks to pass through Toronto's spring camp, possibly the highest total of any major league club." I didn't until someone pointed it out to me.

He also seems to be implying that Werth will be joining himself as part of the No. 1 crew. Is that considered an unnatural act in the state of Florida? :)

Cheers,

Mike

http://economics.about.com
The album is Brotherhood. Go buy it now.

Next time I'm out looking at used albums, I'll keep an eye out for it.

Speaking of which.. I'd like to bounce this idea off of the law-talking guys, and see what they think:

I've acquired a lot of great music cheaply for almost nothing by the following method:

1. I go to a Goodwill, yard sale, etc. and buy a bunch of great albums on vinyl for 50 cents each or whatever.
   
2. I have no way of taking the vinyl and converting it to digital media, so I go home and download the albums off of a newsgroup or Kazaa.
   
3. I then burn the albums to CD, or make CD mixes with them, etc.
   

I've always wondered how legal this is. To me, it seems that it must be. I don't see how it's illegal for me to copy a CD I own onto tape so I can listen to it in my walkman. Since I don't have the facilities to copy an album from vinyl to CD, I can get others to do that work for me by simply downloading the songs then taking the MP3s and burning them to CD. I mean, I have rights to the intellectual property, I paid for the blank CD, etc. I only download songs and albums that I already own in a different format. So I figure this has got to be legal, but I'm not 100% sure.

If it is legal, it's a cheap and easy way to acquire a lot of great 80's music.

Cheers,

Mike

http://www.phillies-fan.com
IANAL, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once.

There's legal, and there's ethical/moral. I'd say you're doing fine morally, but that won't stop the RIAA from trying to sue you, whether what you're actually doing is legal or not. The RIAA seems to be of the opinion that buying music "used" is taking the money out of their grubby...I mean the artist's mouths...so I think they'd just as soon see that option go away as well.

Fortunately, I suspect the RIAA itself will be irrelevant by the end of the decade, as the ease with which the artists can deal directly with the fans (both electronically and in physical media) will be increased substantially by the iTunes of the world.

FWIW, I think the player in the Jays infield most likely to get traded is not Hudson, but Hinske following the 2005 season.

You're not the only one with that sneaking suspicion.

He is an excellent defensive second baseman, but his arm is not adequate for a shortstop.

Hudson actually has a pretty strong arm for a second baseman. You don't always see it on the short tosses he makes but it's pretty surprising when he ranges deep to his right. ESPN's scouting report gives him credit for a strong arm as well. That's why they were able to move him to third base when they had a shortage of thirdbasemen and a glut of middle infielders in the system. But I think it's probably a little late to be moving him back to SS now.

Mike: some people have gone as far as to claim that P2P downloading is legal in Canada, since Canadians pay a levy on blank CD's and other recording materials (though uploading is not). But I think that just might be a loophole - I seem to recall reading that the levy was instituted before the MP3 explosion.

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, and I may not have a clue what I'm talking about.

http://economics.about.com
Thanks for the link Dave! I think you may have given me the answer I was looking for:

However, the country's copyright law does allow making a copy for personal use and does not address the source of that copy or whether the original has to be an authorized or noninfringing version, the board said.

I'm essentially making a copy for personal use, so it would seem to me this indicates that my method is perfectly legal.

If so, it's a heck of a great way to get inexpensive music.

Cheers,

Mike

That was my interpretation too, but some people interpret it differently. It's a grey area.

I believe that the Canadian equivalent of the RIAA is talking about going after heavy users of KaZaA in much the same way the RIAA did.

I guess I'm trying to say that you should proceed at your own risk. :-)

I don't know if it's legal, but I'd say it's ethical. By the way, there are companies who will transfer your vinyl to CD for you if you ever want to cut out the middleman in that sense (for instance, if you ever come across a record so rare that it isn't available online).

I think what you are doing is illegal (or perhaps should be).

As I understand it, you purchased a copy of the song in a specific medium, and that entitles you to make copies from that medium. That's what you do when you buy a CD and then make a tape version to play on thw walkman. As long as you don't distribute the tapes, you're okay.

What you've done is bought the the song in one medium and them downloaded it in another medium. You haven't purchased it in digital format, and so you ought not to have a right to make a copy of the song using the digital format as a source.

If you did have the equipment (or hired someone) to make a digital copy of the vinyl recording, then you'd have every right if it were solely for personal use.

Let's put it this way. If I purchase a copy of a film in VHS, that does not entitle me to a free copy of the DVD version (or vice versa). But, if I purchase the DVD and have the equipment to make a VHS copy, I can do so (as long as it is for personal use).

contentA+medium1 does not equal contentA+medium2.

http://economics.about.com
Let's put it this way. If I purchase a copy of a film in VHS, that does not entitle me to a free copy of the DVD version (or vice versa). But, if I purchase the DVD and have the equipment to make a VHS copy, I can do so (as long as it is for personal use).

contentA+medium1 does not equal contentA+medium2.

I completely understand that line of thinking, and I agree.. it makes sense. However, under Canadian law, it appears that my approach is legal.

If it isn't, I'll probably eventually purchase the equipment to transfer vinyl to CD, as it'll still be a significant cost savings. It appears though that at this time, that just downloading the MP3s is a much cheaper, easier, and just as legal approach.

Whether it should be is another matter entirely. I'll leave that to people who have more training in ethics than I do.

Cheers,

Mike

BTW,

I think that since the sound quality of the digital format is superior to vinyl, you are paying for an inferior product and procuring a superior one, using the fact that the same "work of art" is at the source of both as a cover.

I would say it's as unethical as downloading music of which you do not have a vinyl copy is.

Mike:

If you do that, music will die forever. Eric Clapton will stop playing his guitar. Nora Jones will give up vocal recordings for a career as an investment consultant. Kayne West will go out of his way not to speak in rhyming verse, even accidentally.

Artists, as well all know, only make beautiful things because it pays so very well. Since your method doesn't give huge amounts of money to record companies (who then selflessly pass on almost the entire amount to artists), you personally have destroyed art and killed Tinkerbell by not believing in her.

/off-topic sarcastic rant

http://bluejayscheerclub.com
Speaking of the recordable media levy, as a small business that runs through literally hundreds of blank CDs (150 or so a month, depending on the month), entirely for photographic storage, I resent not being offered an exemption from this levy. I don't have to pay PST for items I purchase for consumption or resale by the business, so why do I have to be told I am a thief and penalized as a thief because I use CDs for storage? I am absolutely not a thief. It riles me to be called one. It riles me further to be penalized, heavily, for being one when I am not.

It is important to realize that Canadian/American copyrite laws are different. Canada has not signed up with the digital millenium copyrite act. It has been determined that having downloaded songs on your computer is not illegal(personal use), however uploading songs which does not fall under personal use is illegal.

None of this will stop you from being sued if your unlucky as the record companies would simply like to get a guilty conviction and then build on that legal precident.

http://economics.about.com
I think that since the sound quality of the digital format is superior to vinyl, you are paying for an inferior product and procuring a superior one, using the fact that the same "work of art" is at the source of both as a cover.

Well, to be fair, that's not entirely true. Many of these albums have never been released on CD, so the versions floating around on newsgroups have been taking directly from vinyl, just as I would if I had the proper equipment.

It's a valid point, though. The songs on a CD and the songs on vinyl are two different products, and having one does not necessarily entitle you to have the other.

Cheers,

Mike

Forgive me, I seem to have stumbled into an alternate universe where Batter's Box has become Music Box. I don't mind, though as a geezer who hasn't evolved much beyond Beatlemania and Neil Young, I don't have much to add to the conversation. Actually, my tastes aren't quite that stagnant. I'm a big R.E.M. fan, and thought the concert where The Roots opened for Beck was one of the best I've ever seen. The best may have been Neil, solo at Kingswood a few years ago, edging The Who in '67 and the 1969 Rock Revival at Varsity, Lennon's first gig with the Plastic Ono Band. Some of you may have seen the Pennebaker film of that one, with the Clapton kid backing John.

Returning to baseball for just a moment, let me add my kudos to Mike for these roundups. I thought Jeff Blair's line, "Blue Jays manager Carlos Tosca is treating Lopez as a closer," was very interesting, and I really enjoyed Ganter's contrast of El Artista to Kelvim.

Escobar, now a member of the Anaheim Angels who made his first spring-training start yesterday against the Seattle Mariners in Arizona, travels in the fast lane. Fast cars, flashy jewellery and always on the look out for the next party.

What a difference in mentors for Aquilino, who I often observed last year in conversation with the Dominican players on other teams, and thought of as lonely.

I don't know if anyone is aware of this but the Jays v. Pittsburgh is being broadcast live, and FREE (I think) on www.mlb.com starting at 1:00. It's the away portion of the split squad so probably not the strongest group but maybe a chance to listen to action containing some of the kids.

4. Geoff Baker - I refuse to read anything from the WHITE JAYS man.

Rick Reed is struggling early. Phelps has started the scoring with a bases loaded double in the first inning. Already 3-0 and not out of the first. By the way, McGowan is starting for the good guys.

The game is free!!!
I'm listening right now.
Go the the official site, and follow the links.

I've opened a new thread for today's games.

Speaking of the recordable media levy, as a small business that runs through literally hundreds of blank CDs (150 or so a month, depending on the month), entirely for photographic storage, I resent not being offered an exemption from this levy. I don't have to pay PST for items I purchase for consumption or resale by the business, so why do I have to be told I am a thief and penalized as a thief because I use CDs for storage? I am absolutely not a thief. It riles me to be called one. It riles me further to be penalized, heavily, for being one when I am not.

As a tax lawyer and something of a specialist in tax policy, I am 100% in agreement with this. The tax system is a LOUSY tool to make policy with, and calling it a "levy" doesn't help, and earmarking it for a special purpose is worse.

If the government wants to give money to songwriters and musicians, I am certainly all in favour of such a scheme. Giving a private organization a thumb in the revenue pie is an incredibly asinine way of doing that.

Then, in addition, you get inefficiencies like Aaron's example above.

Hey "Named For Hank", I picked up New Order's "Brotherhood" today - brilliant - thanks for the tip.

http://bluejayscheerclub.com
No problem! Gotta share the joy.

A lot of people think that the album before that, Low Life, is their best, but I am firmly in the Brotherhood camp -- it's a little looser, but still manages to build virtually every song to an insane, chaotic crescendo, and I think the songs themselves are superior. (And actually, that's what I dislike about the Shep Pettibone remix of Bizarre Love Triangle -- it loses the buildup entirely).