Benjamin Grimm

I've long been curious about this film, and I finally saw it for the first time yesterday.

Mets' Rafael Montero realizing a lifelong dream By Jorge Castillo/The Star-Ledger on February 28, 2013 at 9:38 PM, updated March 01, 2013 at 7:50 AM VIERA, Fla. -- Rafael Montero was 17 years old when he decided to leave his rural hometown of Sabana Higuero, nestled near the Haitian border, and move 250 kilometers southeast to the Dominican capital city of Santo Domingo. Alongside one of his eight older brothers, he relocated with one goal in mind: to play professional baseball. It is the common dream of children across the baseball-crazy Dominican Republic. But by the time a player reaches 17 years of age, it is often considered too late for him to attract enough attention from scratch to intrigue a Major League Baseball team. Montero, who has a first-grade education, had played recreationally growing up in Higuerito, but never in a structured format. He was aware of the uphill climb. It fueled him to work harder. Every morning he would wake up at 6:30 to train with his brother. When the brother went to work at a hardware store, Montero would go to the local park to train some more. He arrived in Santo Domingo with a fastball that topped out at 89 miles per hour. By the time he was 20 years old, it was at 94. When the Mets discovered Montero, they found a finished product, a rare talent that had slipped through the cracks. Bidding was minimal and they signed him on Jan. 20, 2011, for $90,000. "I thought I had a chance," Montero said in Spanish hours before he made his Grapefruit League debut last night. "I just needed to work hard so that when I was 19 or 20 I would sign. And that�s how it happened. God helped me and I signed." Montero was the beneficiary of a recent development. Before taking his current post, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson was appointed to oversee MLB�s initiatives in the Dominican Republic. He said a transition he helped set forth has been made in recent years as showcases for players between the ages of 18 and 20 have surfaced. "Until the last three or four years, it was extremely rare because when kids don�t sign at age 16 or 17, they�re often confined to the waste bin," Alderson said. "I think clubs began realizing that there was a market of players who were of that age that had been overlooked, so clubs started to go back in to take another look." Montero quickly impressed in 2011. Also featuring a changeup, slider and sinker in his arsenal, he posted a 2.15 ERA over 71 innings in 17 appearances, 12 of which were starts, between rookie ball and low-A Brooklyn. Last season he emerged as a bona fide prospect. In 20 combined starts with low-A Savannah and high-A St. Lucie, the diminutive Montero -- he is generously listed at 6-foot, 170 pounds -- had an 11-5 record and 2.36 ERA over 122 innings. He walked just one batter per nine innings with Savannah and ratcheted up his strikeout rate per nine innings to 9.9 in 50? innings with St. Lucie. He had 110 strikeouts to only 19 walks between the two stops. He was then named the Mets� Sterling Organizational Pitcher of the Year. Baseball America now ranks Montero the Mets� fifth-best prospect. "He keeps the ball down," Mets bullpen coach Ricky Bones explained. "He throws strikes and has the confidence in his pitches. And his composure on the mound, his mound presence is impressive for a 22-year-old." Yesterday, Montero started against the Nationals, his first test against major-league hitting. He arrived at Space Coast Stadium unaware that he would be opposite the phenom Stephen Strasburg. He allowed a leadoff double to Denard Span in the first, but left him stranded by retiring the next three hitters. He allowed two doubles in the second, but left the damage at just one run. The Mets ended up tying the Nationals, 4-4 in 10 innings. "I wasn�t nervous," Montero said afterward. Five years removed from a fateful decision, he was living the dream he set out for.

Probably St. Lucie, right?

The only film on that list that I've seen and really liked was Ed Wood.

I agree that Ed Norton was the best Bruce Banner.

Jeremy Renner played a clip on the Letterman show that made it look like Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters might be a fun tongue-in-cheek kind of movie. Of course, it's very hard to judge a movie from a 20-second clip.

themetfairy wrote: I'm pretty sure that Beauty and the Beast was the last animated film to be nominated for Best Picture (and it should have won - IMO it was better than Unforgiven), but that was the last year before the Best Animated Film category was created. I think that Up and Toy Story 3 were nominated.

Amour is from Austria? And they made it in French? I saw The Impossible last week, and judging from the credits, it had every appearance of being a Spanish-made film, but it was entirely in English. Is this a new trend? Also, I'm wondering, if Amour can crossover and be nominated in two categories, has a documentary ever been nominated as best picture? Or an animated film since that category was created?

Wow; I've only seen Avengers, Dark Knight, and Brave. There are a bunch that I do intend to see once they get to cable.

How long (do we estimate) would it take for Wright to pass Seaver?

In the last couple of years I've seen each of the Sean Connery Bond movies, mostly for the first time. I did see some of the Roger Moore films when they were in theaters. I know I saw The Spy Who Loved Me, and maybe Moonraker, but I haven't seen any of the films that came out since then.

I just voted for Doctor No, the only one that I really liked. EDIT: I liked Goldfinger too, so I added that one.

These are the movies from Vic's list that I haven't seen. Two of them, Around the World in 80 Days and Doctor Zhivago, are currently on my DVR. And there are four (The Exorcist, Avatar, American Grafitti, West Side Story) that I saw for the first time in the last few months. The Ten Commandments (1956) Doctor Zhivago (1965) Ben-Hur (1959) Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) Mary Poppins (1964) Love Story (1970) Cleopatra (1963) The Robe (1953) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) Around the World in 80 Days (1956) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) The Passion of the Christ (2004) Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) Swiss Family Robinson (1960) Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) Duel in the Sun (1946) Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Still looking for an explanation of the "libertarian viewpoint"

I had never seen The Exorcist until a few weeks ago. Same with Raging Bull. Haven't seen any of the recent three Star Wars films. I've never seen a movie with Adam Sandler in it. I have Thelma and Louise in my DVR, but at the moment I've still never seen it. Still haven't seen Moneyball.

Mets � Willets Point wrote: I'm giving it 4.5 points only because of the rightwing/libertarian indoctrination points (from the so-called liberal Hollywood) keep it from being a perfect movie. It's been a long time since I've seen the movie. Can you elaborate? I recall when I saw Ghostbusters for the first time (about 30 years ago!?!) it reminded me of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in that they both nicely blend comedy and horror elements.

I've always had the impression that Mary Todd Lincoln was an "old" 47. In Abe Lincoln in Illinois she was played by a young (44), but decidedly unhot, Ruth Gordon.

Maybe they'll have a few flashback scenes with clips of Raymond Massey as Lincoln.

Mets � Willets Point wrote: Toy Story is better than Toy Story 2. I agree.

I'm sure that Rush Limbaugh is saying that calling a villain "Black Zero" is a dig at Obama by right wing Hollywood.

Me too. Never heard of him. (Or her.)

I was just thinking the same thing. Jackie Robinson's uniform number has become too big a part of the story.

The first (and only) time that I saw 2001 I was well into my 30's, and it did bore the crap out of me. I kept waiting for it to get good, but it never did. I also liked Strangers on a Train more than I do Vertigo. But as far as Hitchcock movies go, I have a special fondness for Shadow of a Doubt. I haven't yet seen The Searchers or Fort Apache. I like Liberty Valance a lot, but was disappointed by She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.

I gave it four out of five. In the first two movies, I was able to tell (from a few shots) that Chicago was playing the part of Gotham City, but in this movie it was very obviously New York. I was surprised that they allowed such recognizable New York landmarks like the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, etc. to be seen on screen. (It was kind of like the 1970's Superman movie, where Metropolis had the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline.) Weird that they did this. (They also added some bridges across the Hudson River from downtown [crossout:3tfmz9jz]Manhattan[/crossout:3tfmz9jz] Gotham.) And why was Bane doing a weak Sean Connery imitation throughout the film?

I split the discussion of the shootings this morning in Colorado into a new thread in the Non Baseball Forum.