TransMonk

Good game! Thursday's win seemed to me to have the recipe that they are going to need to replicate for sustained success this season: scoring runs without relying on the HR and clean innings from the bullpen. Friday brings the annual tradition of having to wait an extra day for Game 2 after a long offseason. BOO!

I wish I was more enthusiastic, but last season took the wind out of my sails after 2015/16 and I'm not sure how much they improved over the offseason. I like that the new manager is younger and fresher, but I'm also concerned that he has no ML managerial experience. The only chance I see for them is if most (if not all) of the regulars can avoid long stints on the DL for the duration of the season. I'm not convinced that they can. My expectations: 78-84 3rd Place in the NL East No playoffs

We are 26ish hours away from the 2018 baseball season. How do you think the Mets are going to do this season? Give me your W-L prediction, where they'll finish in the division, whether they make the playoffs and, if so, how far they'll go.

It looks like playoffs will be considered for 2019, but not this season. Batter categories: R, HR, OBP, SLG Pitcher categories: ERA, WHIP, HR/9, K

I voted for playoffs, but it is not a deal breaker for me. I can also understand about not wanting the formats to change as teams have been built around current stat categories. Just my 2 cents.

I echo the concerns about the all-or-nothing offense. I’ve never been too high on Matz. Worried that the small injuries are piling up. I feel like this whole team needs to avoid injuries (especially the lingering ones) if they are to go anywhere his year.

2/5 for me. Meh, for sure.

Edgy MD wrote: I'm either a breath of fresh fucking air or in way over my head, depending on where you are in your med cycle. This pretty accurately defines my feelings about the guy thus far. I think that if the team stays healthy, it has the talent to bouy any time it may take for him to get his feet wet. If they are hurt and are out of it as early as last season, he could get second guessed early and often. I wonder how much rope he’ll get (if needed) from the fanbase/media.

A different angle from the same walk doesn't look as bad. I'm more concerned about his arm and his head than his gut. I don't care if he weighs 400 pounds if he comes close to 2013/2015 ability.

They need to add a veteran starter...offense wasn't really their issue last season. Still, that outfield is a serious upgrade.

Sickening and sad. RIP to them both.

Autopsy: Roy Halladay died from blunt force trauma, had morphine in system during plane crash USA Today wrote: The body of two-time Cy Young winner Roy Halladay showed evidence of morphine, an amphetamine and the sleeping medication Ambien when it was examined after his fatal plane crash off the coast of Florida in November, according to the autopsy report obtained by USA TODAY Sports on Friday. The report by the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner’s Office also showed that Halladay's blood alcohol content was .01. The antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac) was also detected.

Shea Citi Wrigley Milwaukee County Stadium Miller Park Old Comisky Comiskey II (or whatever the current one is called) Old Busch Stadium (but not the new one) Safeco Field I'm hoping for a trip to Coors Field during the 2018 season.

Edgy MD wrote: And physicals are generally performed by doctors and not trainers. Our doctors have been performing the physicals, right?

Edgy MD wrote: I don't get this at all from the Brewers perspective. Why sign somebody likely worse than Shaw at free agent $$ when you have Shaw at cost control. And then deal him for two question marks coming off DL-laden seasons? This. Ceetar wrote: Wheeler and Lagares doesn't get it done either, Comforto and Smith maybe. And this. I vastly would prefer Shaw to Mousakas at their relative costs. I'm not sure what the Brewers are thinking.

I watched it again and feel better about it, but I'm still nowhere near where Willets and marathon are. Stuff still bugs me *SPOILERS BELOW*: Who is Snoke? Where did he come from and how did he rise to power? How is he connected to the rest of the story? It's doubtful we'll ever know. Rey's ancestry? What a letdown. This movie would have been far better, IMO, had it ended 15 minutes earlier than it did. Leaving the story hanging when Luke walks out of the cave to confront Kylo Ren with the fate of the Resistance in the balance would have made me excited to see the next episode. As it is, I'm not sure where they go from here. The Force Awakens left a lot of hanging questions out there. The Last Jedi dismissed those questions with unsatisfactory resolutions and left nothing to really consider for the next two years going into the next film.

[tweet:33yrgw9a] [/tweet:33yrgw9a]

metsmarathon wrote: ever think that maybe, just maybe, ach-to has radically shorter days than the galactic standard? Don't we see Rey wake up more than once on the planet? Do humanoid sleep rhythms auto-adapt to the shorter days? Or maybe Rey takes catnaps. Or maybe I'm mis-remembering. I'll likely go see it again before Xmas to catch more detail. Either way, it's forgivable in Empire, so it's certainly forgivable here.

I saw with my step-dad this morning, which has become an annual tradition. My first impression was that it was good, not great. Better than the prequels, but not on par with IV, V or even VII. Without giving too much away: I know there were those that thought Episode VII was a ripoff of IV, but I don't think this one mirrored the Empire story much if at all. There is the parallel that Rey is off doing Jedi stuff while the rest of the gang is being chased by evil (it even shares the perplexing time-warp where what seems like days for Rey and Luke is merely hours for the rest of the cast). But I can honestly say, the trailers don't give much of the actual plot away and there were things I didn't see coming. I enjoyed the new characters and wish I could have seen more of the Laura Dern and Benicio Del Toro roles...even if it were to have been at the expense of screen time for some of the main characters. [bIGGEST-BITCH SPOILER]:This one did not have a cliffhanger ending. I'm sure Episode IX will feature the final remaining good guys beating the final remaining bad guys, but I'm not looking to it for too many answers to too many questions from its predecessors. I left this one with much of the same feeling I had when leaving Rogue One. It was undeniably a Star Wars film and its canon fed into/out of the surrounding canon, but too much of the time the action got in the way of (or downright eliminated) the storytelling.

I opened this thread thinking LoDuca was in trouble.

Arrieta would be my main SP target.

I can support anyone but Long. I want new blood.

I'm not sure if it is the same in the book industry (and JCL can definitely speak to that better than I), but in the record industry often artists will offer pre-orders to offset some of the production and printing costs that would otherwise have to be either pre-paid by the artist or borrowed on loan at a high percentage from parent companies. The artist gets less money on the back end after the release, but does not necessarily pay up front for some of the production costs. I like the process in the music industry as it allows for more independent artists to release their material without worrying about partnering with big companies to front the production costs. I will happily pre-order anything...especially if I was going to buy it after the release date anyways.