Frayed Knot

Yeah that's what I was looking for -- and it pretty much confirms what I had been hearing, that he's looked much better of late. In fact, he had a Delgado-like month of July BA-Against: April = .286; May = .255; June = .209; July = .147 WHiP: April = 1.59; May = 1.61; June = 1.33; July = 0.56 The worst thing about his overall line is the walks (not unusual for a young pro) and even they've dropped recently: Walks/9: April = 4.76; May = 5.93; June = 5.25; July = .084 And he's yet to surrender a HR this year - certainly a good sign for a sinker-baller Sounds like he might be close to ready.

I've been going with 'Koonz' but I have no idea if that's correct or not. I don't know anywhere that has split stats for minor leaguers, but I look at it this way: - the stats from your mid-June post: ... he's got 15 saves with a less-ugly 4.13 ERA and a more-ugly 1.59 WHIP are a whole lot worse than what they are now: 2.87 & 1.30 (47 IPs), meaning that during the time in between he had to be considerably better still in order to bring the overall average down. The only problem with his year looks to be too many walks (23 in 47 IPs) but most of that was probably from early in the year also contributing to the high WHiP Sounds like he might be close to ready.

First stumble last night: 3-1/3 IPs, 3 runs and [u:2tbbjyxw]7[/u:2tbbjyxw] walks.

In the meantime the Top talent the alligator in-lived itself however in the USA and for higher tasks was already recommended. What the fuck could this sentence possibly mean? I'm going with; The best talent the Alligators ever produced on their own is now in the tougher competition in the USA but still could see a promotion to a higher league in the near future. Either that or it's an encoded appetizer recipe.

Regularly Gronauer creates two hits per portion and ejects opposing runners with the attempt of the base stealing at the second plate. Its impact average up-snapped on far over 40 per cent, which catapults it at all up in its team not only to the most successful Catcher but also into the Gefilde of the best impact people. Exactly what I was saying!

BA's 'Hot Sheet' has been all over Holt for two weeks running now: Why He's Here: 1-0, 11 1/3 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 21 SO (for the week) The Scoop: Holt makes his second straight appearance on the Hot Sheet after a two-start week where he fanned 21 batters in 11 1/3 innings. Holt struck out 14 in six innings on Thursday, running his season strikeout total up to 51, tops in the NYP. The only worse news for league hitters is that Holt told a reporter that he has been throwing his curveball more, meaning he may have been successful in developing that second pitch.

From BA's weekly "Hot Sheet' feature: Just try to pin a position on Dan Murphy. The Mets have given him a long look at second base, but at least one scout contacted by BA says the move won't take. Murphy, 23, made four errors in the 14 games he's played at second, and scouts doubt he has the agility needed for the position. He can hit, though, batting .320/.485/.640 on the week with two homers, two doubles, seven RBIs, eight walks and only one strikeout. And Murphy should have enough bat for first base, third base or even left field, the three positions he played in addition to second in the last week. "He's a grinder who can really hit," one pro scout said. He's moved up to fifth in the Eastern League in RBIs and continues to hit lefties (.297, .831 OPS) as well as righties (.310, .867 OPS) .

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I grew up loving the Batman series first for its color and adventure; and again later when I understood its humor. Brilliant in every way. Saw the first Burton movie, which bored me to death, and never bothered to see another. That's pretty much where I'm at too. I was never all ga-ga over the idea of a feature-length Batman to begin with. First of all because (a bit ironically) I was never a comic book guy, but also because this whole idea of suckering baby-boomers into the theater by churning out films of their childhood TV faves just seemed like an easy path to big bucks whether the flicks were any good or not. The original Burton film had a good look to it and Jack as the Joker was fun to watch, but other than that ... eh. After that I never bothered with any of the sequels which sounds like it was a good decision. Maybe I'll give 'Begins' a shot on video and, if intrigued, the new movie as well.

I get all these 'Batman' deals mixed up too, something that is either due to the unimaginative titles they give these things or the fact that I never read a comic book in my life and saw only the original movie (the Keaton/Jack one, not the campy TV job). So maybe one of you caped crusader gurus could give the rest of us a quickie guide to this whole mess. - Like do all these follow some sort of timeline/plotline or are the Keaton ones totally seperate deals from the Bale ones which are seperate from whoever else might have played him? - should one see 'Begins' prior to this current one or does each one pretty much stand alone? - and if one were going to try and catch up with earlier flicks, which ones ... like suck and shouldn't be bothered with?

Between the great reviews, over-the-top hype, and the death at a young age (even if caused by stupidity) the race for the Supporting Actor Oscar is already over. If you can bet on these things somewhere it's probably worth a c-note at least, even if the payout won't be too much.

Your boy gets some ink in a BA chat Q: John Raynor seems to me to be an elite prospect that doesn't get talked about a ton, could he be the CF of the future for Florida (instead of Maybin)? A: He's not an elite prospect. But you're right, he doesn't get talked about a lot. He was taken out of UNC-Wilmington as a senior in the ninth round in 2006. He's 24 years old so his "prove it" time is coming. He could play a good defensive center field because of his speed, but his arm is below-average. He's a big threat on the bases, but it will come down to whether he can hit. His Double-A numbers look pretty good so the Marlins might be willing to give him a chance sometime soon. My bet would be on a major league camp next spring

Niese gets a little love from a Baseball America online chat: ... you wouldn't know Niese was one of the Eastern League's youngest pitchers based on his performance. He committed to conditioning this season and got out of the gate strong. His ERA took a step back in May, but his peripherals remained solid, and now in June he's given up three runs in three starts while striking out 20. Niese sits in the low 90s and touches 94 with a solid curveball and change, meaning he's got midrotation starter potential.

They're really making a franchise - and not a few TV specials - out of this stuff. This time they do a top 10 in 10 different categories. ANIMATION 1. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937. 2. "Pinocchio," 1940. 3. "Bambi," 1942. 4. "The Lion King," 1994. 5. "Fantasia," 1940. 6. "Toy Story," 1995. 7. "Beauty and the Beast," 1991. 8. "Shrek," 2001. 9. "Cinderella," 1950. 10. "Finding Nemo," 2003. FANTASY 1. "The Wizard of Oz," 1939. 2. "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," 2001. 3. "It's a Wonderful Life," 1946. 4. "King Kong," 1933. 5. "Miracle on 34th Street, 1947. 6. "Field of Dreams," 1989. 7. "Harvey," 1950. 8. "Groundhog Day," 1993. 9. "The Thief of Bagdad," 1924. 10. "Big," 1988. GANGSTER 1. "The Godfather," 1972. 2. "Goodfellas," 1990. 3. "The Godfather Part II," 1974. 4. "White Heat," 1949. 5. "Bonnie and Clyde," 1967. 6. "Scarface: The Shame of a Nation," 1932. 7. "Pulp Fiction," 1994. 8. "The Public Enemy," 1931. 9. "Little Caesar," 1930. 10. "Scarface," 1983. SCIENCE FICTION 1. "2001: A Space Odyssey," 1968. 2. "Star Wars: Episode IV � A New Hope," 1977. 3. "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," 1982. 4. "A Clockwork Orange," 1971. 5. "The Day The Earth Stood Still," 1951. 6. "Blade Runner," 1982. 7. "Alien," 1979. 8. "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," 1991. 9. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," 1956. 10. "Back to the Future," 1985. WESTERN 1. "The Searchers," 1956. 2. "High Noon," 1952. 3. "Shane," 1953. 4. "Unforgiven," 1992. 5. "Red River," 1948. 6. "The Wild Bunch," 1969. 7. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," 1969. 8. "McCabe & Mrs. Miller," 1971. 9. "Stagecoach," 1939. 10. "Cat Ballou," 1965. SPORTS 1. "Raging Bull," 1980. 2. "Rocky," 1976. 3. "The Pride of the Yankees," 1942. 4. "Hoosiers," 1986. 5. "Bull Durham," 1988. 6. "The Hustler," 1961. 7. "Caddyshack," 1980. 8. "Breaking Away," 1979. 9. "National Velvet," 1944. 10. "Jerry Maguire," 1996. MYSTERY 1. "Vertigo," 1958. 2. "Chinatown," 1974. 3. "Rear Window," 1954. 4. "Laura," 1944. 5. "The Third Man," 1949. 6. "The Maltese Falcon," 1941. 7. "North By Northwest," 1959. 8. "Blue Velvet," 1986. 9. "Dial M for Murder," 1954. 10. "The Usual Suspects," 1995. ROMANTIC COMEDY 1. "City Lights," 1931. 2. "Annie Hall," 1977. 3. "It Happened One Night," 1934. 4. "Roman Holiday," 1953. 5. "The Philadelphia Story," 1940. 6. "When Harry Met Sally ...," 1989. 7. "Adam's Rib," 1949. 8. "Moonstruck," 1987. 9. "Harold and Maude," 1971. 10. "Sleepless in Seattle," 1993. COURTROOM DRAMA 1. "To Kill a Mockingbird," 1962. 2. "12 Angry Men," 1957. 3. "Kramer Vs. Kramer," 1979. 4. "The Verdict," 1982. 5. "A Few Good Men," 1992. 6. "Witness for the Prosecution," 1957. 7. "Anatomy of a Murder," 1959. 8. "In Cold Blood," 1967. 9. "A Cry in the Dark," 1988. 10. "Judgment at Nuremberg," 1961. EPIC 1. "Lawrence of Arabia," 1962. 2. "Ben-Hur," 1959. 3. "Schindler's List," 1993. 4. "Gone With the Wind," 1939. 4. "Spartacus," 1960. 6. "Titanic," 1997. 7. "All Quiet on the Western Front," 1930. 8. "Saving Private Ryan," 1998. 9. "Reds," 1981. 10. "The Ten Commandments," 1956.

Never liked it either. I remember the theme song so I probably watched it a handful of times or maybe I just shut it off after the intro. I think the "new" style of Japanese illustration made it seem like it wasn't a "real" cartoon to me.

"I had comic strips on my bedsheets when I was little" Admit it, you still use them don't you?

Finally got around to this one ... and it's decent enough. The flick gives a reasonably accurate, even if condensed and simplified, version of the chain of events that led to an otherwise non-descript Congressman being able to both virtually invent as well as fund (to the tune of a billion dollars) a covert war, one which not only was never voted on but was barely even discussed outside of a handful of insiders. They play it for laughs more than you'd expect for a movie about funding a secret war would normally generate, giving P.S. Hoffman a bunch of good lines that even the coarse, wise-ass CIA character he plays probably never came up with. Hanks is OK, but hardly great, as the larger than life Texas rogue who takes little seriously until he hits upon the idea that arming the ferocious but out-gunned Afghans as a way to kill and embarass Russians was a worthwhile project.

Long title for a long movie. It's one of those 'historical dramas' where it's not easy to determine how much is history and how much is drama. In this case it deals with ... well, you can probably figure it out. Brad Pitt plays Jesse James with just the right hint of menace behind an otherwise calm, rational exterior. Casey Affleck is the other half of the title pair. Ford is first a worshipper of, and later a sort of cohort to, James and over time a resentment at not being taken seriously by James creeps in on his admiration that makes one think of what Mark Chapman would have been like had he gotten to know Lennon.

I liked it. The part about the ending 'suddenly' featuring the sherriff as main character didn't bother me as it was his narritive that started the movie and between that and his musings at the end formed a kind of set of brackets to the story and action sequences that filled the middle.

I'm much closer to Sharpie's review of this one than that Edgy guy did (glad that schmuck's no longer around). If fact, while thinking about what to write (and not having read either of the reviews prior to seeing it), I found myself seeing many of the issues almost totally opposite from the way EDC did; from the view that I DID see the plot as telling a reasonably coherant story and even extending to my planned use of citing 'Forrest Gump' (only more favorably) as a device for a trip through the age(s). Agree with both that the pyschedelic scenes were the weakest part. I had to check the credits before I was sure that 'Sadie' wasn't being played by Joan Osbourne.

Weren't there like several 'Fletch' movies, as well as a few dozen 'Vacation' ones? I never warmed to Chevy Chase - not when he was on SNL and not afterward - and so I never saw any of them.

This one was specifically centered in Dorchester.

Various Afflecks combine to create a well-acted (Casey) and well-directed (Ben) drama involving abducted kids, low-rent relatives, sleazy criminals, and crooked cops. Also with Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris, it's from the same author who was the source of 'Mystic River' and involves similar seedy South Boston neighborhoods and characters while managing to not once mention the Red Sox.

I liked this one a lot better than Clint's English language film on the same topic (Flags of our Fathers)

Wright is coming off a season which netted him 7,920 points in our system as the top ranked player in an 88 win season: 30 pts squared x 88 wins, then divide the whole thing by 10 (just to make the numbers more managable) ((30^2*88)/10). A 98 win season would have made it worth 8,820 while a playoff bound team where the multiplier would often go above 100 (reg season wins + various post-season bonus points) a top-ranked player's score could top 10,000 points for that season. But Wright is still more than 52,000 points behind Seaver, meaning that even 5 in a row of those best-case scenario seasons would still almost certainly leave him short which is what led me to guesstimate that 6 would be the minimum needed before GTS could be caught. The fact that we're even discussing the possibility that Wright, after 9 or 10 seasons as a Met, could even be near what it took Seaver 12 seasons to reach is optimistic enough. At approx 8K pts/yr (Wright's avg over the last 3 seasons) it would take another 7 for him to grab the top slot. Reyes is only slightly behind Wright (5 slots and about 1,200 pts) so is essentially in the same boat although is averaging closer to 7K/yr recently.

soupcan wrote: Do. Not. Waste. Your. Time. Was. Not. Planning. On. It. Cool looking computer graphics aside, I had this one pegged as a turkey just from the ads.