Frayed Knot

I generally find the practice of writing real media folks into the plot so that they can comment on the non-real or quasi-real characters makes for a weak plot device. That this one does that by shoe-horning Kurkjian & Stark into the flick only further explains the fuss made over the premier that was made on BB2N. On the same topic, if there weren't enough reasons to bypass the just released for home disc movie DRAFT DAY, a cast which includes Chris Berman, Mel Kiper Jr., Jon Gruden, and Deion Sanders (among others) gives you plenty of new ones.

I like magicians. I like watching magic. I didn't like watching this movie. I can't even specifically remember why at this point, but I think it was the over the top chase scenes and the like. Sure, the whole premise involves tricks and such, but can we at least get things to within a couple touchdowns of plausible?

Frayed Knot wrote: Giving Brandon his six-week check-up at AA: Low BA so far, just .208 although had been below .200 for a chunk of his time there ... BUT - the ridiculous walk rates are still there: his .331 OBA out of that .208 BA is about double the clip a normal hitter draws walks - the power, if anything, has gotten better: 11 of his 25 hits at the AA level have gone for XBs and he already has more HRs in Bingo in 1/2 the number of PAs compared to Port St Lucie - and his K-rates are about 1/3 lower than in 2013 Last checked in in late July to find Nimmo off to a slow start in his AA stint. Last 28 days (95 PAs): .296/.394/.457 Advance and adjust, then repeat as often as necessary. Is playing his way into a possible 2015 ML debut. Not on Opening Day, I don't suspect, and too early to say at what point in the year or whether as a full-timer or just a fill-in w/an eye more towards 2016. But it's a good pace for a guy who won't turn 22 until just before opening day. For comparison purposes, Wright made his debut at 21 + 217 days, and with just under 400 games/1,700 PAs in the minors [91/406 in 'upper' minors (AA & AAA)] NImmo, barring injuries, will end this year at about 340 games/1,450 PAs and, projecting to let's say Aug 1st of '15, will have closer to 450/1,800 under his belt and will be approx 9 months older than Sugarpants

It wasn't the first thing I thought of either. It was just when I caught up with it on cable last week (I had originally seen it maybe a year ago) I had a kind of "hey, wait a minute" moment. "It starts pretty slowly" --- It did, although there were still some sly little chuckles in there. The magazine rack he passes at one point with some issue headlined with a THE BEST OF HUMANITY banner up top and a picture of Christ and Oprah underneath was one of several LOL moments.

OK, I really liked this story of a lonely insurance salesman (Steve Carrell) and a quirky girl (Keira Knightly) finding each other in the final weeks prior to the 'no one here's gettin out alive' asteroid hits the earth ... BUT (teensy spoiler alert ahead) ... where exactly is Martin Sheen taking her on that plane? To England? In a plane that size?!?!!

THE BEST OF TIMES has gone unmentioned here. Certainly not a great movie but one that's better than that type of movie usually is. Robin Williams convinces his friend and HS star Kurt Russell to organize a replay of 'The Big Game' 20-some years after the fact so that William's character can at least partially erase his big HS failure and, in the process, those of his small home town in the years since.

A number of reports, particularly from those with a sports angle, are portraying RW as a "huge SF Giants fan". Now maybe that's true as he was raised and lived much of his life in that area. Plus the team's been good in recent years and he certainly wouldn't be the first celebrity to jump on a sports bandwagon. But if it is true then it's a later-in-life conversion. I remember he and Crystal on a NYM telecast a whole buncha years ago (maybe back to the Tim & Ralph days) where Williams admitted to knowing next to nothing about the game other than what Crystal had prepped him on prior to the show. He also said that the significance of the 'Fisk game' had to be explained to him so he could understand the scene when his character in 'Good Will Hunting' is telling Damon's about having tickets that night but skipping it to be with his future wife. Not a big deal either way really. But when I hear about claims of celebrity fandom I instinctively wonder how much of it is real and how much is image.

Fisher King on the top of my list too. The strong director thing is something I always thought was key. We often hear about movies with gratuitous sex or gratuitous violence. Well some movies suffered from gratuitous Robin Williams, where the lack of reining him in could throw the whole flick into a mash-up between coherent film and RW stand-up routine.

Sometimes that level of genius comes with some bad baggage, in this case drug & alcohol abuse and apparently depression. Which isn't to say that ordinary folks don't have those problems too, but one does wonder about the connections.

Montero Tuesday night vs Sacratomato 8 IP, 1 Hit, 11 Ks, 2 walks, retired the final 12 hitters he faced, 105 pitches/73 strikes. But did they win? Yeah, wise ass, Vegas won 3-0. Overall AAA stats: 6-3, 3.28 in 15 starts/75 IP

Yeah, until his more than walk-an-inning + hit-an-inning + run-an-inning pace* got his ass booted back to upstate New York. Has somewhat improved his BB/IP rates in Bingo 2014 as compared to Bingo 2013 [4.1 per/9 from 4.9 per] so now he gets to show if he can continue that at the higher level. * 29 IP, 29 walks, 32 runs, 33 runs allowed (25 earned)

Promoted to AAA

2nd baseman of the future?

From what I understand, one of the guardians of this galaxy (not sure if it's our galaxy or not) is a raccoon?

Giving Brandon his six-week check-up at AA: Low BA so far, just .208 although had been below .200 for a chunk of his time there ... BUT - the ridiculous walk rates are still there: his .331 OBA out of that .208 BA is about double the clip a normal hitter draws walks - the power, if anything, has gotten better: 11 of his 25 hits at the AA level have gone for XBs and he already has more HRs in Bingo in 1/2 the number of PAs compared to Port St Lucie - and his K-rates are about 1/3 lower than in 2013

Take two Kim Novaks and call me in the morning.

And I'll give it 1/2 * on premise alone and save myself the trouble of ever seeing it. I actually saw a news piece (CBS's 'Sunday Morning' I believe) on this singer and his backstory a year or so ago, so I'm going to let that 15 minute long version stand as my education on the matter and pass on the full-blown 105 minute production which I presume will be the same story only padded out by a bunch of music I don't like. Even the thought of, JOURNEY: Now with Less Steve Perry is not an enticing enough come-on. Pineda looks about 26, but the timeline seems to suggest he's closer to 40. Wikipedia (so you know it's true) lists him at 46

Even if the original film is one that I like (sometimes Especially if it's one that I like) I tend to either shy away from, or quickly grow weary of, sequels, updates, and other next generation type 'franchise' remakes to the point where I'd normally just dismiss this as one in which I have no interest. That said, the commercials and trailers for this flick look pretty darn cool.

From a BA Q&A: Q: That [breaking into the Top-50 mid-season prospects list (at #40)] is serious helium for Kevin Plawecki. What's a realistic projection for him? A: (Matt Eddy - BA): A regular catcher who won’t have to bat eighth in the order! Just glancing at regular catchers from the past five years, Plawecki might have a batting average-fueled ceiling along the lines of Salvador Perez or Carlos Ruiz, though he probably won’t be as strong defensively.

And the lesser-known the actor was (to American audiences anyway) the more likely he was to get killed. Now who could have seen THAT coming?

Plawecki is a “future All-Star” and “the best catcher in the organization" - or so says an American League scout quoted in a John Marzano NY Post article, “He can hit, catch, throw ... his mechanical flaws are easily correctable" the scout said. "From level to level, he needs to get [locked] in with his arm action and the arm path, and once he gets that locked down, he’s going to have a better-than-average arm.”

'Oblique Strain' No mention yet about if or how long concerning the DL

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Jack is putting away Eastern League batters like they were burritos: 49 whiffs in 26.2 IP and cut down the walks (14, still a few too many) and ERA (2.70). Hasn't allowed a homer yet. ERA was 0.77 in the month of May. I noted (in the 'Bully 2014' thread) how Leathersich had given up 6 walks in his first 6-2/3 innings of the season - meaning that his current 14 BBs in 26.2 IPs translates to just 8 in his last 20 Still somewhat high but obviously greatly improved since the shaky start.

I remember getting a kick out of the Danny Kaye original back when I was a lad - although I haven't seen it in many years so I'm not sure how it holds up. Wasn't interested enough in the prospect of this one to bother checking it out.

Hitting nearly .500 for the week lands Dilson on BA's 'Hot Prospect' list 4. Dilson Herrera, 2b/ss, Mets Team: high Class A St. Lucie (Florida State) Age: 20 Why He’s Here: .484/.500/.839 (15-for-31), 7 R, 5 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBIs, 1 BB, 0 SO, 3-for-4 SB The Scoop: Herrera, obtained from the Pirates last year in the Marlon Byrd deal, just keeps hitting. He leads the minors with 67 hits, ranks second in the FSL in total bases and has posted double-digit totals in doubles and steals with 11 each. He’s a contact fiend who can spray the ball around and has enough sock to rack up plenty of doubles. He’s so much of a contact fiend, in fact, that he had just one non-contact plate appearance (a walk) this week, while recording seven extra-base hits.