TransMonk

Benjamin Grimm wrote: It may be more about committing the years than the money. Bingo.

Yeah, I'm not buying it. I don't think it was Cespedes alone that the lineup was rallying around. It was a complete and necessary team effort. If the end of the season was re-played 10,000 times without Cespedes given all of the scenarios that could have played out based on any number of the varying conditions that need to be taken into account when revising history, I still think the Mets make the playoffs in more than 5001 of those re-plays. I would even take it a step further and propose that it is maybe not likely, but certainly possible the Mets could have won the 2015 World Series had Cespedes (.293 OPS in the series and misplay in Game 1) never been traded to the team.

Right. What happens if a butterfly flaps it's wings in Peking... This poll question is silly. I still say the odds are still more likely that they're in without him given the infinite number of parallel universes that would/could have occurred.

Yes. The run was as much (more) about getting Uribe/Johnson/Wright/d'Arnaud/Conforto/Clippard onto the 25 man roster as it was about adding Cespedes. Cespedes stole the headlines with his hot streak, but he did not solely account for the 9 game difference in the standings after his arrival.

Jonathan Lucroy wants to win, hopes Brewers trade him ESPN.com news services wrote: "I'm not going to sit here and say we're going to compete for the playoffs this year," Lucroy told the [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel] in a telephone interview. "If I did that, you'd call me a liar. I'd lose credibility and respect. I want to win, and I don't see us winning in the foreseeable future. I want to go to a World Series. That's what all players want. Rebuilding is not a lot of fun for any veteran guy." This next season could be a rough one in Milwaukee.

For me, personally, it's about nostalgia more than anything. Sure, the story is familiar, but it's like visiting a childhood friend after 30 years. The story had enough new elements to keep me interested (especially since there are two movies yet to come in order to complete the whole picture). Additionally, I would rate the acting, direction, cinematography, effects, pacing, stunts and costumes as excellent in this movie...better than in the prequels and, in some cases, better than the original trilogy. In an age where Hollywood is "rebooting" seemingly every action/comic franchise (sometimes more than once) and we're going to see our fifth actor playing Batman on the big screen this summer, it's hard for me to fault Star Wars for playing it safe with the story while executing nearly everything else about the movie well.

Vic Sage wrote: Why? I guess because they think that's what we wanted. It's what I wanted.

Lefty Specialist wrote: If he's willing to go shorter this will bring a lot of other teams into the mix. I'm pessimistic. This is what I thought when learning the news.

Ceetar wrote: every single thing Sandy Alderson says is bullshit. He's a GM. This. When I watch Sandy talk, I get the sense that not even he believes what he is relaying in interviews. However, my faith is in his abilities as a GM, not in his ability to truthfully communicate with the press.

I saw this among the various posts about Piazza this week. One of my favorite non-game Mets moments. [youtube:3om6evi9]gJCObVZYZgM[/youtube:3om6evi9]

Mets – Willets Point wrote: Mike Piazza Number Retirement Night. Wednesday, September 21, 2016 versus the Atlanta Braves. Do it, Fred! That really would be a perfect set up!

Saw this again today...even better the second time. I read an online article earlier this week theorizing that Rey may not be a Skywalker descendant, but rather a Kenobi descendant. Watching a second time with this theory in mind does make some sense. She shares Obiwan's proficiency in the Jedi mind trick, her sneaking around on the Starkiller resembles Ben's sneaking on the original Death Star, the British accent, the tunic that resembles Obiwan's Episode I under-cloak garb...even at the end of Rey's dream sequence after touching Luke's lightsaber, Ewan McGregor makes a cameo voice appearance whispering "These are your first steps…". The article went on to propose that the Rey vs. Kylo Ren battle(s) in this new trilogy may not be between siblings or cousins but rather a re-duel between grandchildren of Episodes III and IV...and that perhaps when all nine films are completed, they will tell as much about the Kenobi family history as the Skywalker family history.

I remember him being very fiery about the Utley slide in the NLDS. That certainly endeared him to me as much as anything he did on the field.

I like and would be very comfortable with the bullpen if he was signed.

I'm in the dislike club, but only slightly away from neutral. I would be more neutral until I look at what the Cubs have done. THAT looks like a team playoff team which has made strides to put themselves over the top. I'm not saying the Cubs model will work (not saying the Mets model won't, either), but Chicago gets the "A" for effort.

That movie the seventh time is still exponentially better than Episodes I, II and III. People can applaud Lucas for his vision, but his vision for the prequels made two and a half horrible movies. Episode 7 is the movie I wanted them to make back in 1986. Fans were calling for a return to form, which is exactly what this is. I'm not sure why anyone was expecting otherwise.

I watched the PBS Frontline doc on the subject two years ago. I'm guessing the film takes more dramatic license to expand the story than the Frontline episode. I'll probably skip this one until it comes to cable.

The DVR has revolutionized watching baseball for me. Being able to fit baseball into my schedule rather than the other way around means I got to watch nearly every game in 2015.

Centerfield wrote: I wonder how much of the reaction to Cuddyer/De Aza is influenced by when they occurred in the off-season and the implied messages each carried. The Cuddyer deal came early in the offseason, and gave the impression that the Mets were being aggressive, and many thought it was a great "first" move. In other words, it symbolized optimism. The Mets were saying, screw the draft picks. We're going for it. The De Aza deal came late, and its' message has been largely interpreted as "Well, that's all folks". And it became the symbol of disappointment and anger. Unquestionably it was the trigger for a ton of Wilpon backlash. I think that's what makes it hard to assess each individual deal in a bubble. Even if you try to separate them out, it's hard not to be influenced by the larger group of moves around that deal. If for instance, if last winter, the Mets were intent on, and signed, another top tier free agent, it could have made the draft pick lost from Cuddyer less painful. I agree with this post. I can state that I gave the Cuddyer deal a high grade because I thought it was a great start. If I would have known it would have been the ONLY move, I would probably have been much more lukewarm on the acquisition.

This one could be the spoilers thread. We have the one below in the Non-BB Forum with no spoilers already. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=23807

Edgy MD wrote: And how does a non-jedi (seemingly in touch with the force, but a non-jedi), as well as a random non-Force-oriented-at-all guy get to (SPOILER)=#FFBFFF]pick up a light saber and go blow for blow, parry for parry with a sith or sith-paduan or whatever he is?(/SPOILER) I'm guessing it will be later revealed that Rey (PURE CONJECTURE)=#FFBFFF]is the daughter of Leia. Maybe shortly after her and Han split, she discovered she was preggers but didn't tell him and "hid" Rey on Jakku to keep her from Snoke/Kylo Ren. Or, heck, maybe she's descended from Luke directly. It seems like she has some familial relationship to the group.(/PURE CONJECTURE) More on Finn's backstory and force ability may be explained in later films, too. Edgy MD wrote: =#FFBFFF]Here, we have planets we know, worlds we've walked on. I saw what seemed to Coruscant (sp?) which presumably is as populated as any place in the galaxy, go up. Later, Republic. My wife said she thought Endor went up too. So no more Ewoks in the universe, you psychotic freak. Just how much desolation do you really need to set your plot in motion, J.J.? I'm with Ol' Ben. I felt as motivated to die here as moved to fight. Moreso.(/BIG SPOILER) (NERD RESEARCH)=#FFBFFF]The Hosnian system was the system targeted by the Starkiller Base. Hosnian Prime, which was the new home of the Republic capital, was destroyed and the current chancellor was killed in the attack. I've been able to piece this together through various websites where bigger nerds than I look into this stuff (by Googling Hosnian System), but I had to check, since I did not get the same feeling you did that Coruscant and Endor were destroyed. According to this map from The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary companion book, Coruscant and Endor are not part of the Hosnian system.(/NERD RESEARCH)

I'm glad it's only for a year...but I still dislike it.

Here's hoping he boots grounders and runs the team out of innings in Washington, now.

I also liked it A LOT. It was the first movie in a long time (maybe since the overwhelming disappointment of Episode I) that I had really been looking forward to where the film then exceeded my expectations. If I hadn't seen it Xmas eve morning, I would have immediately viewed it again. Better than ROTJ...as good as the original, IMO (but, obviously, the original breaks any ties because it was the original). I appreciated the return to characters with life and the proper mix of humor, emotion and action to create a properly paced story. I loved that the lightsaber duels returned to the weighty, claymore-like fights of the original trilogy as opposed to the CGI baton twirling of the prequels. I liked all of the new main characters and thought the screen time of the old-timers was nearly perfect. My gripe list is small: - I wanted more of Captain Phasma. The character seemed too minor given the pre-press leading up to the movie. I'm hoping for bigger things in Episode VIII. - I'm not a big fan of fully CGI characters, so it's hard for me to take Snoke too seriously. - Carrie Fisher, man. The facial work she's had done kind of ruins her as Leia for me. I plan on seeing it again during this next week (haven't done that with a new release in over 20 years, either). Great fun!

Edgy MD wrote: We don't even know if Wheeler is going to be a good pitcher. Great would be... great. But it's not like he had even reached that level before the injury. So yeah. I'm of the opinion that if Wheeler can be as good as he was pre-inury, that's good enough considering what the rest of the rotation should be. I know that's not a given, but until he's out there, I prefer not to expect worse.