TransMonk

Can someone remind me what the rationale behind switching the opening day of the WS from Saturday to Wednesday a few years ago was? Why would MLB want to go up against Monday Night Football?

Game 3 exposed how thin our starting pitching was and how anemic our offense had become. It shows how slumps can tank a promising season.

Frenchy and Texas.

That's all I got. Telling that the blanks that are left are mostly years that the Braves missed the playoffs.

1997 Wohlers 1998 Lightenberg

2001 Rocker

1999 Rocker

m.e.t.b.o.t. wrote: various humans may experience fuel economy efficiency rates which differ due to mecahnical tolerances and usage. Genius!

10/22: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/105474168.html The Brewers also talked informally with former Texas and Mets manager Bobby Valentine, now with ESPN, though he was not believed to have interviewed directly for the job.

I do. But I still think for Bobby it's Flushing or Bristol...at least for 2011.

They can try...

The K-Rod jokes are going to get old pretty quickly. After reading fan comments regarding K-Rod all over the interweb, I believe that with all of the fan dispondency that comes with what will obviously be a rebuilding year in 2011, one thing that folks better start wrapping their minds around right now is the fact that Frankie will be wearing Mets laundry next season...and possibly the one after that. Ugh.

Empire's better.

I don't forsee any further Bobby news until the Mets hire a GM. I have a hard time seeing Bobby go anywhere but Flushing or back to Bristol.

Fman99 wrote: Do we think the Mets are that perfect situation he's waiting for? I'm thinking that it would be easy enough for him to say that he was not considering himself a candidate for the Mets opening (as he did with the Marlins). The fact that he has not said that makes me believe that even if the Mets are not the situation he is waiting for, he won't be accepting any other jobs until the Mets tell him that they don't want him.

A's managers under Alderson: Steve Boros Jackie Moore Tony LaRussa Art Howe I think LaRussa is as "strong" as they come.

The Incredible Hulk is getting another re-boot on the small screen. http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/15/abc-working-on-incredible-hulk-tv-series/?hpt=Sbin ABC working on 'Incredible Hulk' TV series Looks like Wonder Woman may have some competition when she makes her way back to the small screen. Following recent reports that the Amazing Amazon is returning to TV comes the news that ABC is working on a series about "The Incredible Hulk." According to Deadline.com, the show starring the big green monster is one of several superhero-oriented shows that Marvel Television has pitched to ABC. No actors are yet attached to the live-action project about physicist Bruce Banner, who transforms into the Hulk when angry. As comic book fans know, this isn't the first time the character has gotten the screen treatment. Besides CBS's popular 1978-82 "Incredible Hulk" TV series featuring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno, there have also been two "Hulk" films � a 2003 version starring Eric Bana and a 2008 reboot with Edward Norton in the title role. Mark Ruffalo will also go green for Marvel's upcoming "The Avengers" superhero-ensemble flick.

Strawberry�s Sports Grill Making Peace by Serving Wings By ALEX WILLIAMS Published: October 13, 2010 It was 2:30 p.m. on a recent Friday, and Darryl Strawberry was sitting in a brick-walled sports bar in Douglaston, Queens, down a cul-de-sac near the Long Island Rail Road station. There was no entourage, no adoring fans � just a half-finished milkshake and the remains of a plate of Philly cheese steak egg rolls. Wearing a white baseball cap pulled low over his forehead, with sunglasses perched on the bill, Mr. Strawberry unfolded his 6-foot-6 frame and walked the restaurant floor in a loping gait with a hitch in the step. It was a cocky strut, familiar to any baseball fan from 17 years of ninth-inning strolls from the on-deck circle to the batter�s box. He walked past his framed Mets jersey � No. 18 � and approached two men in their 40s who were sitting in the corner and extended a friendly hand. After years of playing the superstar and temperamental bad boy, Darryl Strawberry was ready to go to work. This summer, the baseball legend opened Strawberry�s Sports Grill, a burgers-and-wings outpost in the far reaches of Queens. �I work the room and come in and say hello to everybody,� Mr. Strawberry said. �This is just part of being who I am, being a servant to the people.� At the height of his fame as a Met and Yankee, the left-handed slugger filled the back pages of tabloids with his exploits on the field, and the front pages with his misadventures off it: arrests for drugs and solicitation, jail. But he�s a different Straw now. At 48, he spends most of the year in St. Louis, with his third wife, Tracy. He survived cancer, and has been sober and devoutly Christian for six years, he said. The former troublemaker, it seems, is committing the next chapter of his life to erasing his reputation from the previous one. And nothing says humble like a sports bar in Queens. �I don�t have to be here,� said Mr. Strawberry, who plans to return to New York a few times a month to oversee the restaurant with his partner, Eytan Sugarman. �But my name is a different name today, and I don�t want to use my name for something just to put my face on it.� In that way, his sports grill is a far cry from the typical celebrity vanity restaurants, like Britney Spears�s long-shuttered Nyla in Midtown. Instead of a nightclubby area, a quiet retail strip of law offices and delis is home to the restaurant, in a placid neighborhood of tree-lined streets and Tudor-style houses. The restaurant itself is understated: earth tones, dark woods and sports memorabilia. The 2,800-square-foot establishment could be mistaken for a hotel-chain steakhouse somewhere in the Midwest. But for Mr. Strawberry, Douglaston had its advantages. For one thing, it is close to the Mets� home turf, Flushing, where he enjoyed his greatest success as a player. Also, it is far from Manhattan, where he rode high as a face of the hard-partying, bar-brawling Mets of the 1980s. And that distance, he said, is crucial for who he is these days. �I�ve been in Missouri over the last six years of my life and it�s been very peaceful and very normal,� said Mr. Strawberry. Before he decided to jump into the New York restaurant business, he recalled, �I asked myself, �Do I really want to get back in the spotlight?� Because I�ve had that. I�m a different person today.� His wife, whom he met in 2004, had strong opinions on the matter, too, and insisted that it not be in Manhattan. After two failed marriages, Mr. Strawberry said he has learned to listen to his wife. �We, as men, we take that for granted and don�t realize that they are there for a reason � to help guide us,� he said. �When it all boils down to it, we are so stupid.� Mr. Strawberry and his wife live in a four-bedroom house in St. Peters, Mo., near St. Louis, with her 17-year-old son, Omar. The couple wake up at 6:30 a.m. for an extended prayer session. After that, he said, they turn on a Christian network and take in the gospel for an hour or two. Much of the day revolves around various ministries that his wife runs, including one called Threshold of Grace, devoted to helping teenagers avoid drugs and other temptations that a young Darryl never could. Despite his new life, it�s not hard to see glimmers of the old Darryl poke through. His voice � a raspy, baritone rumble � still carries a hint of the sardonic street-smart hustler he once was. When asked to reminiscence about his 20s, when he was feted as the future of New York baseball, he can still recall little details and the temptations. �Every place I walked in, I was the party,� he said. �They made it clear that I was in the house, and I could have whatever I want.� But he catches himself before the memories grow too fond. �It�s very sad, it�s a very sick place to be,� he added. �But a lot of guys do it.� At one point, Mr. Strawberry looked up and shouted �Happy birthday, Mom!� across the room at a woman, about 60. �Was everything O.K.?� She seemed surprised to be doted on by an eight-time All-Star, but flashed him an enthusiastic thumbs up. Before long, busboys were busy clearing tables after the lunch rush. He glanced at his watch and excused himself. Mr. Strawberry had a 4 p.m. tee time at a Long Island country club. He was running late, but before he left, he stopped and shook hands with a few more customers.

Frayed Knot wrote: oe: As listed in another thread, here's the current status of MLB managers. This table is what I went off of for the contest.

Blue Jays - Rob Thomson Brewers - Bob Melvin Cardinals - Tony LaRussa Cubs - Ryne Sandberg Mariners - Joey Cora Marlins - Tim Wallach Mets - Bobby Valentine Pirates - Eric Wedge Rangers - Ron Washington Yankees - Joe Girardi

HahnSolo wrote: Rangers (why?) - Ron Washington Like Girardi (and Manuel), I don't believe Washington to be signed to manage his team next year. I think it's a no-brainer, but you never know.

Who will be managing the following teams on Opening Day 2011? One point per correct answer. Blue Jays Brewers Cardinals Cubs Mariners Marlins Mets Pirates Rangers Yankees

Edgy DC wrote: ...I'm a little nervous about the Mets being the last team into the manager market... Ding, ding. Me too.

I don't think I've ever enojyed any film that has featured him as an actor, director, producer or composer.

Who is that?