Once again, I've been away/busy, so haven't posted... Here are today's updates

The Baseball Update

Since my last post the Sox have gone from 5 up to 8 up back to 6 up, just the typical late season swings. Their pitching is still, for the most part, their main strength as the offense comes and goes. Watched most of yesterday's game against the O's. Three Things I Noticed: (1) Lester still doesn't have a lot of arm strength back. His fastball isn't really fooling anyone and his control isn't really there right now. Luckily he was able to strand 8 of the 10 baserunners he allowed. (2) Ellsbury looks like a real player which will make personnel decisions interesting for next season. Everyone knows the club has a 20M option on Manny next year, Coco is signed through '09 at 10.5M (plus a 500K buyout for '10). Drew... well, let's not talk abut Drew. Unless the Sox let Manny go or deal Coco (which wouldn't make a lot of sense because he is the cheapest of the incumbents), Ellsbury will be without a position next year. 4th OF, coming in for speed and defense, and to spell Drew, wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, but the kid has nothing left to prove, except my contention that he doesn't really look like Damon. (3) Pedroia is the AL ROY. There are about a half dozen legitimate candidates. Here they are in a fancy chart (please scroll down - not sure why there is such a huge gap):

10/4/07 - Just figured out how to format so there are not breaks - table fixed

Player	Team	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Pedroia	Bos	68	137	32	1	6	42	5	.324	.393	.447
Willits	Ana	65	107	16	1	0	32	25	.292	.394	.342
Iwamura	TB	67	111	16	8	6	24	10	.282	.359	.410
Gordon	KC	55	115	29	4	14	50	13	.249	.319	.420
Player	Team	IP	H	ER	BB	K	W	L	SV	ERA
Dice-K	Bos	176.1	151	76	66	174	13	11	0	3.88
Bannister	KC	148.1	135	52	36	72	12	7	0	3.12
Okajima	Boston	63.1	41	11	16	55	3	1	4	1.56

Pedroia has the best OPS of any AL rookie, and, as I write this, is tearing Jays pitching a new one tonight - 3-3 with 2 RBIs. He's also had some memorable defensive plays in the middle of a pennant race, which voters can't help but ignore (as an aside, I love how the bar is set higher and higher each year for winning any of these awards - individual excellence itself is not enough - you need to perform in the crucible of a pennant race. Tough luck if you're a Royal competing for one of these awards - or as the TV voice over guy used to say, "Sorry Tennessee").

In any event, as I (now) finish this, the Sox are up 7-1 and the Yanks have lost, so it's 7 games up with 24 left. Go Sox.

The Taxes Update

Quiet last couple of weeks on the tax front. There were various reports that came out the last couple of weeks indicating that tax revenue from a tax on carried interest would be a few billion at best, and likely less (perhaps even revenue neutral) because of likely tax planning around any new bill. So any idea that a tie-in to AMT relief (which would cost hundreds of millions to even Band-AidTM) is just plain silly-talk. Horse-hocky, if you will.

Also, Lee Sheppard looked appropriately stlyish, if a little deer-in-the-headlights in a NYT business section profile earlier this week. Click here for the story an a look at her gorgrous Gaultier outfit to which page C6 did not do justice.

The Death Update

Michael Jackson died. No, not that Michael Jackson (hee-hee). Michael Jackson, the beer conniouseur and advocate. I used to own one of his beer guides through which I learned that mead wasn't just what Beowulf had for dinner. It was an actual brew still in prodiction in various vampire-infested areas of Central Europe. Anyway, the obit is here. Raise a glass to Mr. Jackson.

Also, in the death update, mom is in town this weekend, getting ready for sis to have her baby. It was about one year ago (Sept 6 actually), that we found out Rex was going to be a boy, and that I found out my dad definitely was terminal with small cell lunch cancer - advanced stage. I remember how bummed out he was on the phone talking to him and remember how happy he was when we told him we were having a boy. I knew then that it was extremely unlikely he'd ever get to meet his grandson, but I was happy that at least for that day, some sunshine broke through the gloom. I miss him.