soapbox

Sounds as though a Sox-Marlins deal is pretty much done, with Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell headed to Beantown and us giving up Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez “and a minor-league pitcher”. I have mixed emotions:

(a) I like Josh Beckett. Working with Varitek should be good for him, and the only thing keeping him from the Cy Young the past couple seasons has been problems with blisters.

(b) I don’t know what to make of Mike Lowell. If he was a salary-throwaway to get the deal done, then (maybe) ok. If he’s a key component/solution to 3B, then I’m a bit nervous.

(c & d) You have to give up something to get something, but both Ramirez and Sanchez? that’s a bit steep for a trade that hasn’t yet convinced me was necessary.

Anyway, that’s me. I’m sure that y’all (Jeremy, Tim, etc?) will have their own two cents.

Kick ass. The sun sets half an hour later in Milton than in Hanover. Driving south in the fall/winter is awesome. Of course, it probably helps that I’m also driving west. I wonder which is the bigger effect.

Of course, it’s supposed to be crappy weather tomorrow. Hopefully till I reach PA, it’ll have improved somewhat. Driving in the rain sucks. Especially on Rt. 80 with all the damned tractor trailers.

i’m watching a show on the history channel about the little ice age (14th-19th centuries). besides causing a lot of famine and death, a new theory suggests that the little ice age may have also caused the stradivarius violin. more specifically, the superior sound of the stradivarius. The wood Stradivari used grew during the Maunder Minimum, which may have produced unusually dense wood that creates better resonance. Trees grew slower during the Maunder Minimum, and the wood he used came from a region of poor soil quality that already encouraged slower tree grow. Other people have shot this idea down, claiming that some of the Strads have larger tree rings, and that instruments made by others of the same wood still lack the quality of Stradivari’s. Interesting to think about though. i’d like to see their data.