'Daydream Nation' is a fine record, as are 'Dirty' and 'Goo'. 'Sister' remains their apotheosis to me, neatly bridging pop and experiment, though really I think their entire career holds up surprisingly well after all this time (and yes, I have the old Neutral LPs, thanks). Then, as should be clear, I'm a fan. I'm not paying $35 to trek east to B-Town for them now that I am old and lazy, but I'll be remembering shows past on Thursday.

Was it you who liked 'Odelay' and 'Revolver' before? Great LPs both, all the way through, but you're not really going out on a limb there. A limb would be tipping 'Total Destruction to Your Mind' or 'Banking, Violence and the Inner Life Today.'

Odelay and Revolver: it wasn't me, though I'll take the White Album over Sgt. Pepper's any day.

And -- uh-oh, this is going to get me in trouble -- Sandinista! over London Calling for its sheer size and giddy ambition and shambliness.

and wcw, in case you haven't kept up with SY's most recent stuff, take a crack at Murray Street. Some fine stuff there.

The thing that got me the most was Durham leaving position to cover second for the steal, which was totally unneccessary with two outs. He's done it several times this year and it seems like it ALWAYS costs us. You just can't leave your pitcher hanging in that situation.

Runner up for me was the suicide squeeze attempt with our backup catcher at third. I know Omar hasn't been swinging the best bat, but why would Bochy put him in the 2-hole if he didn't trust him to produce something. If Omar makes an out you still have runners at first and third with Winn up next. Bonehead...

We've only played 4 games in the second half and it already looks like a mirror image of the first half: lack of fundamental baseball, getting swept by the bleeping dodgers at home, Bonds in a slump, scoring less than 3 runs for a great pitching performance. I can't wait until the trade deadline is up so we can see some youth.

I just want to say that I'm proud to read a blog that focuses on intelligent analysis of my favorite baseball team, yet still sneaks Swamp Dogg references into the comments section.

(Me, I think Revolver is overrated and early Beatles underrated, saw Sonic Youth live once and thought they were OK, but the only reason I was there in the first place was because Sleater-Kinney was on the bill. And you can admire the audacity of Sandinista without saying it's better than London Calling ... at the time it was released, it was their fourth-best album, and it hasn't risen above that in the decades since. But I'm such an old fart I saw the Clash several times ... I saw S-K a dozen times, does that make me a Good Old Fart?)

>The thing that got me the most was Durham leaving position to cover second for the steal, which was totally unneccessary with two outs.

Huh? Durham has to cover second base on a steal attempt in that situation. I'm not sure why you think it was unnecessary.

Can't wait to see how Sonic Youth handles "Providence" onstage. Thurston told Pitchfork last month that they just might call Mike Watt's phone from the stage, and have him do his spiel.

"We couldn't find it in the van at all..."

I second Murray Street. Also A Thousand Leaves. But to this day, the one I'm most likely to put on when the Sonic Youth mood strikes is Experimental Jet Set, which I guess no one else likes much.

Lefty - With two outs there is no reason to leave your position to cover the steal. Had Durham just let the guy steal, and stayed in position, the ground ball would have gone right to him and he would have made an out - inning over. If there are less than two outs, then you cover second and they get lucky...it happens. But with two outs you shouldn't sacrifice your position. There is a reason why baseball players line up in the positions they do, and by leaving position to cover second with two outs already, you are leaving your pitcher to hang out and dry.

I'm surprised you don't understand my logic here...I'm not exactly a student of the game but I have seen this happen multiple times this year with Durham and it seems to have cost us the game virtually every time.

>With two outs there is no reason to leave your position to cover the steal.

Sorry to be blunt, but where on God's green earth did you get this cock-eyed theory? Have you ever heard of scoring position? With a one-run lead and the tying run on first, you absolutely positively do not allow him to move into scoring position for free.

Yes, Durham was out of position and Lee's grounder went through. It was sheer luck, a terrible break. I don't think Lee was even trying to hit the ball there. He got jammed on a nasty pitch. This happens. It just as easily could have been a weak grounder up the middle that, if Durham had stayed put as you espouse, would have eluded him. Or a blooper just over his reach in the shallow outfield.

But with a man on second (whom, under your unique strategic system, you've allowed to advance for free), any lucky break similar to Lee's grounder becomes a run-scoring single.

To recap: cover second, and the worst that can happen is a lucky ground-ball single that puts men on first and third with the score still 2-1. Don't cover second, and the worst that can happen is a lucky single (blooper, weak grounder, whatever) that SCORES THE TYING RUN.

>Experimental Jet Set, which I guess no one else likes much

I do! Well, maybe half of it. "Starfield Road" is one of my favorites.

I don't mind Sonic Youth all that much, I always thought they sounded a lot like a revitalized Velvet Underground, without the genius of Lou Reed (sorry Thurston). Good to see that they're still going after all these years though.

Back from Sweden, no baseball being played right now due to it being July and basically the whole country takes the month off. ;-)

I don't mind Sonic Youth all that much, I always thought they sounded a lot like a revitalized Velvet Underground, without the genius of Lou Reed (sorry Thurston). Good to see that they're still going after all these years though.

Back from Sweden, no baseball being played right now due to it being July and basically the whole country takes the month off. ;-)

Lefty, i kinda think Timmy's gettin' squeezed a bit. Umps like to squeeze the youngsters more than others, or so it would seem. Maybe his BBs come down next year, when umps are more fair and balanced?

Regarding Sgt Pepper: Of course there's really no disputing tastes, but the recent MOJO issue celebrating the 40th BD of SPLHCB really turned me around on the topic. I went out and found the mono version (the only version that the beatles actually helped mix), and i couldn't have been more impressed.

The layering and attention to sonic-detail on that record is stupefying. The mono mix features tighter/warmer bass; the entire rhythm section seems more locked-in. McCartney's bass sound and playing are just incredible, and on songs you probably would skip over (a little help from my friends, por ejemplo).

It's popular to dismiss SP these days, but few other records (even by the beatles) have conveyed as much genius. Give the mono mix a whirl.

-tgh

ps Who's opening on thurs? Load of Baloney?

Here's the mono 'Pepper', and a little essay about it.

You're probably right about Lee just being jammed, Lefty. At first I thought it was a perfect hit-and-run single, but do you really want to turn your All Star slugger into Slappy McGee with two outs and the tying run on first? Just a bad break. Oh well, let Correia take another loss and a few more earnies with him to the arbitration office. I hope the Giants don't give up on him; he's still young, cheap and talented.

I don't understand how you can be jammed when the pitch was on the outside of the plate. Lee went opposite field because the pitch was on the outside of the plate and he knew there would be a gaping hole there - it was a well executed hit and run.

Lefty, I understand and respect your interperetation of the scenario, but with two outs, a pitcher's sole concern should be the guy at the plate. And the defense should reflect that concern IMHO.

If they were really worried about Theriot advancing then there should have been a pitch-out. Not to mention if you are going to make a pitch on the outside of the plate, then it should have been Vizquel that covered second. It would've been much harder for Lee to pull a ball through the hole on the left side with a pitch on the outside of the plate.

The defense and pitching have got to be on the same page all the time, especially in a close-game situation like the one last night presented.

And another thing, I don't understand why Messenger went after Ramirez. Aramis is their hottest hitter, the catalyst for their win streak. I would have much rather seen Randy go after Angel Pagan than Aramis Ramirez any day of the week. Bad baseball...SSDD.

BawLa, remind me not to pay attention to anything you say from now on.

How does Durham not covering 2nd, not doing what he's been told to do (and what 2nd basemen have been doing for 100+ years of professional baseball), ignoring the baserunner, and letting him walk into 2nd help the pitcher more times than not? You say they should just try to get the 3rd out, but what if Lee swings and misses and Theriot is hung out to dry for the 3rd out, only Durham doesn't cover for Molina's throw? Then not only have they forfeited the 3rd out, but they let the tying run walk into scoring position for one of the league's best hitters. THAT would be Durham hanging his pitcher out to dry, not doing exactly what the pitcher expects him to do.

Of course, in this case it hurt, but if attempting to get the 3rd out supercedes stopping a baserunner from just walking into scoring position, why do 1st and 3rd basemen guard the lines with 2 out late in a one-run game? For the same reason outfielders play extra deep in that same situation -- it's called the "no doubles" defense". Why no doubles? Because doubles put the tying run in scoring position. These defenses are designed to allow the occasional cheap single which would've otherwise been an out, but keep runners out of scoring position. I guess you would also say these defenses leave their pitchers out to dry, but since they are employed by every single manager on every single team, I'd guess every pitcher in the league has been "left out to dry" according to your standards.

Bawla, ask anyone who plays, follows, analyzes or coaches baseball. Your defensive theory doesn't make sense. As you mentioned earlier, you're not exactly a student of the game.

One more thing on the Durham play: BawLa makes it sound like it was Durham's fault, but even if covering 2nd there is a mistake (which it isn't), Durham has about as much say in the matter as where he bats in the lineup or what position he plays in the field -- which is to say, he has no say whatsoever. With a runner on, Durham is non-verbally instructed by Vizquel before each pitch whether he should cover on a steal. This is as it is on every major league team. The only way neither of them cover is if Bochy calls a meeting on the mound and tells them not to (usually in a 1st and 3rd situation). Again, that is how every major league team does it.

So blame Vizquel if you want for telling Durham to cover, blame Bochy for running this part of the game like every team has for 100 years, or blam Abner Doubleday or who ever started it. But blaming Durham for covering is like blaming the garbage man for picking up your trash -- it's simply part of the job he gets paid for.

So then clearly it is Vizquel's fault if you are pitching Lee on the outside of the plate. I did not know that Durham has no say out there. That is why I blamed him. A assumed that every veteran has a say in what goes on out there. So to correct myself, I think it was Omar's fault on that particular play. Omar should have known that the pitch was going to the outside and therefore should have been the one to cover 2nd base in a steal situation.

I would have accepted them hitting-and-running on us if Lee pulled that outside pitch through the left side hole because Vizquel covered second, over what happened last night.

I have already claimed that I do not understand all of the nuances of the game, and am more than happy to be corrected by those that are more knowledgeable. I understand why you play the line, or why you play doubles prevent defenses. But I did not know that Durham is Luitenant to Colonel Vizquel.

And Josh, I find it fairly insulting when you say "remind me not to pay attention to anything you say from now on" as if I am some sort of blathering idiot that is uncapable of intelligent thought. But I suppose if you truly weren't going to pay attention to what I say then you wouldn't have made two replies to correct me, unless of course for your own self-serving motives. If that is the way you treat people outside of this blog, then I can't help but feel sorry for you.

Steven, good for you for catching the Jerry Williams, Jr. ref.

The rest, SPLHCB isn't a bad record, but if we're doing '60s mono mixes from UK hitmakers, shouldn't 'Piper At The Gates Of Dawn' or 'Odessey and Oracle' take the lead?

On the Giants, hey, it's nice to see a win tonight for a change. It doesn't make Zito's contract good, but it's a moment.

As for Durham, he's not in there to play gold-glove defense. He's in there to be adequate with the glove, and to hit. Blame him for the craptastic year with the bat.