Frayed Knot

I'm done with Batman movies.

And now, following a limited re-visit to David Wright land, you've crossed the Strawberry threshold.

Fixed

So are you saying that you just were David Wright prior to becoming Piazza?

Vic Sage wrote: i have a love/hate thing with Anderson's films. I loved RUSHMORE and LIFE AQUATIC, but hated TANNENBAUMS and DARJEELING. I didn't see MR. FOX or BOTTLE ROCKET. I suspect that yours is a minority viewpoint. Seems like the type of filmmaker that fans either love or hate, but rarely both.

I often find certain things to like in the movies of his that I've seen [Rushmore, Tannenbaums] but end up being under-whelmed by the product as a whole.

Wheeler's impressive 1st half nets a jump in John Sickels' mid-season re-rank from his pre-season slot at #36 up to #13 Some of that move is caused by top of the list guys like Harper & Trout graduating themselves out of prospect land but he's leaped some others as well.

Is that guy in the black windbreaker the real scout or just someone they got out of central casting to sit in as a scout for the photo op?

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/amazin_prospect_wheel_deals_MN4LfT9hsurn9yfrxBi0xL

So this kid gets drafted 165th in 2009, reportedly demands well-over slot --possibly even seven-figure-- money, and then comes back three years later and gets drafted 185th and in a much more re$trictive environment. Hope he got a good education in the interim cuz he sure didn't pile up the cash with the route he took.

May 31 vs Reading: 7 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 8 K

[responding to SS] Isn't it also the case that the doomed-to-failure tactics* depicted in the end was in reality as much the decision of Aussie brass as it was British but the movie essentially saddles it all on the British to better fit the film's narrative and possibly also to feed into nationalism you describe? * Of course most of WWI was fought with 19th century tactics in the face of 20th century weapons so this wasn't just a problem unique to Gallipoli

Disney to the core. Didn't even win the single crown in my book.

Full-on profile of Wheeler from John Sickels: http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/5/24/3039989/prospect-of-the-day-zack-wheeler-rhp-new-york-mets-scouting-report#storyjump [video attached for any mechanics freaks out there] One of the most dominant pitchers in the minors this year is right-hander Zack Wheeler of the New York Mets, currently pitching for Double-A Binghamton in the Eastern League. Acquired for Carlos Beltran last summer, he's been everything the Mets could have possibly hoped this spring, solidifying his status as one of the top right-handed pitching prospects in the game. Wheeler was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the first round in 2009, from high school in Dallas, Georgia. The sixth-overall pick in the draft, he accepted a $3,300,000 bonus, passing up college baseball at Kennesaw State. He signed late and didn't make his pro debut until 2010. Pitch counts and a cracked fingernail that wouldn't heal quickly limited him to just 59 innings for Low-A Augusta in '10. He had serious command issues and walked 38 men, but he was also overpowering, fanning 70 and allowing just 47 hits (.218 average against) for a 3.99 ERA. Moved up to San Jose in the High-A California League for 2011, Wheeler continued to have command issues and walked 47 in 88 innings, while maintaining excellent K/IP and H/IP rates (98 whiffs, 74 hits, .224 average against). Traded to the Mets in late July, he was assigned to High-A St. Lucie in the Florida State League and pitched brilliantly, posting a 2.00 ERA in six starts with a 31/5 K/BB ratio in 27 innings. Thus far in 2012, he's 4-2, 1.97 in eight starts in Double-A, with a 51/21 K/BB in 46 innings, 27 hits allowed, and a .175 average against. Wheeler is a 6-4, 185 pound right-handed hitter and thrower, born May 30, 1990. His key pitch is a 93-97 MPH fastball, a plus pitch with both velocity and impressive movement. He utilizes a slider/cutter, a power curve, and a changeup. The curveball is his best secondary pitch but all of them have strong potential. Statistically, his excellent dominance ratios provide objective confirmation of the quality of his stuff. His biggest issue has been simple command. He threw strikes much more efficiently after going back to his high school mechanics last summer, but his walk rate has spiked upward again this spring, granted the rest of his numbers remain excellent. Wheeler projects as a number two starter and we should see him in New York sometime next year. The Mets don't rush prospects like they used to, and I anticipate they will be patient with him while he polishes his command.

'Fearless' is the one of his I've meant to get around to but for some reason never have. Putting it on the list.

I tend to like cold war style intrigue but instead found myself totally confused as well. Maybe it was partially my fault for being kind of tired when I saw it but in the end I'm not sure whether I wound up not following the plot because I was nodding off or if I was nodding off because the plot was so dense.

Early Mel - before he became a **MOVIE STAR!!** and prior still to turning into an idiot - made some pretty good flicks. This one and Gallipoli from a year earlier are long-time faves.

And by doing so helps you fill in the holes of your '80s film knowledge outside of the John Hughes/Molly Ringwald catalog.

Are you re-visiting a bunch of movies you just haven't seen in a while or is this some kind of attempt to catch up on the '80s flicks you missed the first time around? I really liked this one.

Dekker makes this week 'Hot Sheet' in BA for his 10-25 w/2 HRs & 5 2Bs week: Den Dekker's hot week at the plate extended his hitting streak to 11 games and bumped his batting average up to .305 for the season. The Mets' 2010 fifth-round draft pick had a three-hit game yesterday and a ninth-inning leadoff double on Wednesday that set the stage for a Binghamton walkoff victory. He hit just .235 in 72 games with Binghamton last season, but this year he leads the B-Mets in almost every offensive category and sits atop the Eastern League in total bases. The center fielder out of Florida still has a high strikeout rate, but his improving average and power numbers show signs of promise. Then, during a Q&A about Dekker's future BA writes: Fourth OF is probably the safe bet, but with the numbers he's putting up in Double-A (.305/.363/.543 so far), we'll have to reconsider that projection if he sustains it. He has the range to be big league center fielder, how much he'll hit has been the question.

If he's a catcher with a good arm let's turn him into a reliever!

Dinner at Tipitina's? ... Check

Quaid plays the charming rogue well enough as does Barkum as the cold northerner (un-named IIRC, but you get the idea that she's a nordic from Minnesota) who's a crayfish out of water amongst the laid-back (and mostly related) Crescent City gang. Slow down Chere, this is N'Awlins, we all got a different way of doing things around here

I saw this like a billion years ago and my recollection is that its somewhat predictable plot, fake N.O. accents, broad native/outsider characterizations, worked better than it had any right to do.

Reminiscent of Elaine's reaction to 'The English Patient'