metirish

Just watched this, it was good but not quite great. It dragged there in the second quater but once Wikus got going the movie took off. That it had me caring about the prawns in the end is a triumph I suppose. I didn't mind the camera work as seen though the newscasts , the movie in a way reminded me of 28 Days. Not sure if the movie works for me in a different country..having it set in SA and JoBurg was brilliant. Gotta like he SA accent. Oh the aliens themselves looked like cousins of the alien in Predator.

I read somewhere today that Tatis is being looked at as a platoon with Murphy . http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/the_first_option_iXNnHeav6mZQZesdWQNwfJ

Davidoff Yuck. I think all you have to know about this deal is, over the past three seasons _ since Matthews enjoyed a breakthrough 2006 that quite likely included HGH usage and resulted in a huge contract - Matthews has put up a combined rWAR of -.6. In other words, during his time with the Angels, when he was making $10 million a season, he was worse than your standard, Quadruple-A player. Brian Stokes? He has a .1 rWAR in the same period. He's a tick better than your Quadruple-A player. And just counting, 2008 and 2009? Stokes' figure goes up to .9. Matthews' goes down to -2.2, thanks to apparently deteriorating defensive skills. Omar MInaya mentioned the "change of scenery" thing, and hey, stranger things have happened. Matthews clearly grew deterred after the Angels, deterred by Matthews' poor 2007, relegated him to fourth-outfielder status by signing Torii Hunter. But $1 million per season is not worth a "change of scenery" risk. Not when Matthews, for the most part, hasn't been a very good player. Very bad trade.

Bedard is only 30 and in 15 starts for Seattle last seaon sported a 2.82 ERA, so what's wrong with him?

I don't think anyone here is surprised by what is in Olney's article , as bad as it reads even,

Omar says "I felt, with Carlos being out, it's an opportunity to get a guy who's versatile and who - in our ballpark - can play all outfield positions," Mets general manager Omar Minaya said in a telephone news conference Friday. "With Carlos or without Carlos, it makes our team better." "He's mostly a change-of-scenery guy," Minaya said of Matthews. "He has an opportunity to come to New York and hopefully get some more playing time. The key for him is going to be playing time. He has had some years of reasonable production and some of lower production." Minaya said he still is pursuing catchers and starting pitchers, although he sounded more confident about sticking with his current group of catchers - Henry Blanco, Chris Coste, Omir Santos and Josh Thole. Newsday You can hear the audio right here. http://www.metsblog.com/2010/01/22/video-omar-minaya-on-gary-matthews-jr/

This an awesome thread, Fred & Jeff can still inspire .

God Bless him The A's have been desperate for power in the lineup, and now they are losing one of their top power prospects ... who is apparently going to follow a higher power. Grant Desme, who hit 31 homers in 2009 in Class-A last year, is retiring from baseball, and he plans to pursue a life in the priesthood. Desme is scheduled to explain his decision to the media on Friday afternoon. From a purely baseball standpoint, it's a tough loss for the A's. Desme, 23, was recently ranked the No. 8 prospect in the A's system by Baseball America. His stock had risen with a nice showing in the Arizona Fall League, where he won the MVP. "Every time I saw the guy he was hitting the ball off the wall or over it," a scout who saw Desme in the Arizona Fall League told FanHouse. "He was a good hitter. He'd have been a major leaguer for sure." The scout went on to say that Desme had the talent to be an "occasional All-Star

I was surprised to see that Gary Matthews Jr is 35(same as Winn)

I thnk from Glanville too...he talks about having a sixth sense, what he was seeing he knew was impossible yet he went along with it anyway ....

Not bad but then the usual jock excuses come As before, I chalked it up at first to the evolution of baseball, even as I wondered about its legitimacy. But enhanced or not, it was happening, and I still had to figure out a way to compete. My sixth sense had tapped me on the shoulder and said, �This is not right.� But that was not evidence in a court of law. It is sort of like finding out a co-worker might be doing something shady, yet knowing that you still have to do your job. And, in the outfield, I had to do mine. In McGwire�s admission, he explained how he was doing his job, and his torment and regret seemed genuine even as he spat out the usual clich�d excuses many players have used: injuries and recovery, desperation and peer pressure, ignorance and breadwinning, culture and society.

This is best read in a hoity-toity voice The highly orchestrated apology by and on behalf of Mark McGwire has reached a point that tests one's tolerance. I suspect I am not alone in my disappointment at McGwire's recent "clarification" on his use of illegal steroids. But, has no one noticed? McGwire is not apologizing for his deceit, only for the embarrassment that came from his admission of having previously lied. The timing of his announcement at the start of a new baseball season has allowed him to hide behind the frenzy of a new Cardinal season and the blinding faith of Cardinal loyalists. Mark McGuire chose to take performance-enhancing drugs 9 of his 18 years in professional baseball. He was paid millions while perpetrating a fraud. So how is it MLB Commissioner Bud Selig gives him a pass and welcomes McGwire back to the very game he betrayed? Christine Brennan of USA Today was accurate in describing Mark McGwire as professional baseball's infamous "Good Cheater." What can we now expect from Major League Baseball for Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa? Bottom-line...Mark McGwire made a "personal" decision to use illegal drugs. He deliberately cheated the game and stole its most coveted records along the way. He stonewalled Congress. He even lied to the Cardinal fans and the media by his now infamous quote of February 2005, "Once and for all, I did not take steroids or any other illegal substances". McGuire has chosen to come out of the closet at the perfect time -- Alongside a manager who also refuses to be honest, to the fans or to the game itself. After all, why would Tony La Russa hire a hitting coach whose lifetime batting average was only .263? Bill McClellan of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch probably stated it best in his recent assessment of McGwire's remarks. "I took steroids for my health, never to enhance my performance," stated McGwire. But according to McClellan, "That's like apologizing for eating vegetables." McClellan further points to McGwire's playing himself as the "victim." He even wishes there had been drug testing when he started playing. Maybe someone would have stopped him. Huh? "Isn't' that sort of like Bernie Madoff lamenting the lack of government regulation to justify his swindling investors," points out McClellan. Will the time ever arrive when professional baseball recognizes the severity of McGwire's actions? When will Bud Selig realize that former Players' Association president, Donald Fehr, manipulated him and baseball by keeping drug monitoring off the table during years of negotiations? Fehr and Selig made a mockery of their responsibilities to protect the integrity of the game. Adolphus A. Busch, IV. St. Louis, MO

Check out tense2 profile pic.....BOING Angels fans are happy of course

The Mets have a deal to acquire Gary Matthews Jr. from the Los Angeles Angels according to an American League source. Matthews has two years at $10 million a year remaining on his contract and the Angels will be paying the vast portion of that money. The Mets are concerned about Carlos Beltran, their star centerfielder who underwent knee surgery last week and is expected to miss the first three weeks of the season. Matthews batted .250 in a part-time role for the Angels in 2009. He has spent 11 seasons in the majors with six teams, including a two-game cameo with the Mets back in 200 Heyman

It's Smoltz isn't it? EDIT : It's Gary Matthews, Jr isn't it?

Outfielder Rick Ankiel is in agreement on a $3.25 million deal with the Royals, SI.com has learned.

hdarvick said... No Triple A for Nelson Figueroa. Never again. What are the Mets� plans for him? Well, he�s now pitching in the Dominican Republic Winter League for the Escogido Leones (Lions). He relieved in four games, 9.2 innings, 0.93 ERA. The Lions made the playoffs and lost the first two games. So yesterday (Jan. 20), he started, went 6.2 innings, allowed 1 run, and the Lions won the game. Are the Mets paying attention? I would think so: the Lions manager is Ken Oberkfell, former Mets coach and presently their manager in Buffalo. It�s not a coincidence that Figgy is pitching for Escogido. He�s continuing his superb pitching since mid-August when he took Santana�s spot in the rotation: In 8 starts his ERA was 3.38. Take away one bad start, and in 7 of the 8 games he had a 2.23 ERA. Averaged 6+ innings per start. He was 2-6, but in his 6 losses, the Mets scored a total of 11 runs. Figueroa was the only Mets pitcher to throw a complete game shut out at Citi Field. Had more September strikeouts than any Mets pitcher. By the way, if he had pitched just 3 more innings in Triple A in 2009 (he pitched 112), he would have led the International League in lowest ERA (2.25) and lowest WHIP (1.03). Nelson Figueroa is that good. good stuff

We could do a lot worse , a back handed compliment perhaps but I really think we are OK in this regard.

I want to see the conversation between Sheets and Tom Seaver where Tom acts like naming a kid Seaver is the most natural thing in the world and is shocked that more kids are not named so. Tom after a few glasses of wine and that conversation would be even more awesome.

I'm still waiting for the spread in the Irish Echo regarding Sullivan's exploits , if he had gotten a run of games I'm sure it would have been written.

For that money and years I am surprised it's all he got.Sheets apparently wants between 8 & 12 million coming of a year when he didn't pitch. I think I would rather have signed JP for what he got than pay Sheets anything close to it.