Edgy MD

I assume the only problem is there's no room at Vegas, and the guy in his way is somebody they're not looking to jettison. Currently at first in Vegas is Zach Lutz, with Brandon Hicks a-huggin' third. Jordany is JorDHing. I bet Wally would love him some Dykstra. I don't see any need for Hicks to be an everyday dude. They can send down one of their (face palm)... 13 pitchers!. Seriously, D.J. Mitchell is keeping this guy out of AAA.

Binghamton Press & Sun is wild about Allan, and they also want you to know Lockheed-Martin is cutting jobs, because Binghamton isn't miserable enough. http://www.pressconnects.com/article/CB/20130709/SPORTS/307090042/Allan-Dykstra-s-career-back-track-B-Mets Allan Dykstra's career back on track with B-Mets BINGHAMTON � A 6-foot-5, 215-pound man with a mound of bright red hair atop his head usually is easy to spot, but Allan Dykstra most certainly was lost. When he arrived in Binghamton in 2011, Dykstra had lost the luster that came with being the No. 23 pick in the 2008 draft by the San Diego Padres. But Wednesday night, Dykstra will join outfielder Cesar Puello, infielder Josh Rodriguez, and pitchers Logan Verrett and Jeff Walters as they represent the B-Mets in the Eastern League All-Star Game in New Britain, Conn. �I lost my confidence in my abilities and, really, my approach in what I was doing with the Padres,� said Dykstra, a California native who is not related to former New York Mets outfielder Lenny Dykstra. �I kind of re-found that here (with) a little bit of rejuvenation, and people believing in me � and also believing in myself.� Opposing pitchers have been racking their brains this season wondering how to get Dykstra out. The 26-year-old first baseman went into the all-star break leading the Eastern League in on-base percentage (.477), walks (68), and slugging percentage (.590). Dykstra also ranks among the league�s leaders in batting average (.313, fourth), RBIs (56, tied for fourth), and home runs (14, tied for fifth). A powerful yet patient hitter at Wake Forest University, Dykstra showed both attributes early in his professional career. He walked an eye-opening 104 times and hit 11 home runs in his first full season in 2009 (125 games). He walked 78 times and launched 16 home runs in 2010 (113 games). But he did not hit consistently, batting a combined .233 in his first two full seasons. His swing had gotten long. He lacked rhythm and timing. It was a far cry from the expectations of the Padres, who signed Dykstra for $1.15 million after picking him six spots after the Mets selected first baseman Ike Davis. After playing seven games for Padres� High-A affiliate Lake Elsinore in 2008, Baseball America ranked Dykstra the eighth-best prospect in San Diego�s system. But by 2011, the Padres had made changes in their front office and jettisoned Dykstra to the Mets in exchange for pitcher Eddie Kunz, who was released this past March. Dykstra viewed it as a silver lining that the Mets front office contingent that acquired him included general manager Sandy Alderson, who was Padres CEO when they drafted Dykstra. �It�s definitely awesome knowing that somebody wants you,� Dykstra said. �I kind of felt like I was getting a little, maybe, lost in the shuffle with the Padres. They had a couple other guys playing great, and they outplayed me.� The Padres picked first baseman Matt Clark in the same draft (12th round) as Dykstra in 2008; Clark reached Triple-A in 2012, but the Padres released him in January. The Padres drafted first basemen Nate Freiman and Cody Decker in 2009; Freiman is in the major leagues with the Oakland Athletics, and Decker plays for the Padres� Triple-A affiliate. Finding his swing After Dykstra arrived in Binghamton, B-Mets hitting coach Luis Natera had him move his hands closer to his chest, cocking them before he swings as opposed to them drifting backward. Natera also curtailed Dykstra�s high leg kick. It took time and practice, but the new swing has become his swing. �He feels it,� Natera said. �Now, it�s becoming natural. Now, when his swing gets long � (snapping his fingers) � he knows right away. He can go back to basics.� Dykstra, who throws right-handed but bats left-handed, hit .267 in 2011, his first year working with Natera. He also registered career-bests in home runs (19) and RBIs (77), and walked 69 times. Natera got Dykstra to focus on driving the ball toward left-center field so he can react to a wider range of pitches and still pull the ball. But Dykstra still crushes towering shots over the right-field wall with ease; he has blasted multiple home runs off the video board in right-center field at NYSEG Stadium the past three seasons. �He�s got quick hands,� Natera said. �If he stays to left-center and the pitcher makes a mistake in, he�s still able to get there. Before, everything was pull with him, and he hooked the ball.� Last season, a broken wrist derailed Dykstra�s season in April; while fielding a throw at first base from pitcher Darin Gorski, his left arm ended up in the path of a base runner. Despite missing half of April and both May and June, he managed to hit .262 with seven home runs and 27 RBIs in 71 games for the B-Mets. Waiting his turn Dykstra came into this season intent on picking up where he left off in the 2011 season. However, that�s not how it worked out. The Mets signed Rhyne Hughes, a left-handed first baseman who had a brief stint in the majors with the Baltimore Orioles in 2010, as minor-league free agent in the offseason. Hughes, not Dykstra, started at first base in the season opener. Despite having the designated hitter spot as an option, Dykstra played in only 12 of the first 22 games. In two of those games, he was used as a pinch-hitter. �He probably was a little upset. I would�ve been upset too, but he didn�t pout,� B-Mets manager Pedro Lopez said. �He went out there. He got his work in. He tried to get better. �Now, we�re seeing the results. If there is one guy out in that clubhouse that I�m happy for, it�s him because I know he�s put in every effort in order for him to have some of the success that he�s having.� Hughes went on the disabled list on April 27 with a shoulder/bicep injury that sidelined him until the middle of June. That injury opened the door for Dykstra to play every day and after 74 games, Dykstra is closing in on his season highs for home runs and RBIs from two years ago. Dykstra has settled into the cleanup spot behind Puello to give the B-Mets a daunting 1-2 punch in the middle of their lineup. Puello goes into the break batting .323 with 15 home runs and 55 RBIs � but in some ways, Dykstra may be more dangerous than Puello because of his patience. �He�s got great plate discipline,� Natera said. �He knows the strike zone pretty well for a Double-A guy. He doesn�t chase a lot of pitches out of the strike zone. The pitcher has to throw a strike to him.� Dykstra still has the same goals he had as a first-round pick in 2008. He wants to make it to the big leagues and prove that he can be the hitter he was thought to be coming out of Wake Forest. He also knows getting traded and ending up in Binghamton may have been a blessing in the long run. �It was one of those things where a fresh start was great for me � new scenery, new people, maybe a different look on what I was doing,� Dykstra said. �Sometimes that�s all you need. It really did well for me.�

WHOOSH!

I just adopted David Cone. HIGH FIVES FOR ME!

How long until Bale is happy to take Hallmark Channel fare?

Never! (clutches pearls)

I thought he seemed affectionate toward the source material enough. I dunno.

I didn't like the first one at all... for the first half of it. Then, somehow, halfway through, Gru is reading the girls a story, and I fell apart and completely gave in. They won't sneak another punch by me again. I have my guard UP!

What kind of nonsense play was that? Is there a no-sliding rule for the All-Star Game?

Depp underwent a ritual of initiation into an Indian tribe as part of his preparation for the role. (Read as... the studio's coverage for casting a non-First Nation-er.) Always embarrassing when you make an allegedly life-changing commitment to a film only to have it die on arrival. I imagine, however, Disney will recoup their money in secondary and tertiary markets. They almost always do.

But I did see the original, and did appreciate that spirit.

Clearly.

But... he has that Biogenesis thing hanging out there.

The All-Star-bound Dykstra is just toying with the opponents. He leads the league in walks by a healthy margin while still coming in at sixth in RBI, even though few guys want to pitch to him over the plate and he don't chase. He's leading the league in OPS by 72 points and the guy in second is teammate Cesar Puello. He was originally in the Padres system, picked by Alderson and DePodesta, and then they traded to bring him to the Mets' system, so he's surely on their radar, but he can't. Seem. To shake. Double A. It's his third straight year in Binghamton and there's just not that much to do there.

The movie seemed to be referencing this idealized mid-century era where ethinc working-class shubs lived in clean inner city brownstone neighborhoods, packed their lunchpails, got to work without having to hop on a freeway, did their jobs with pride, and had faith in being a small cog in a machine that made a safe livable city for all of them to raise their kids in. It wouldn't have occurred to me that they'd be college boys. High-achieving technical school grads, maybe.

Some absolutely stupid moments: 1. The entire opening sequence. Lots of WTF, but the most obvious one was, have they lost remote control technology? We could send a drone into the volcano today.[/list] This is pretty true. I'm more calling BS on them hiding under water instead of just floating in orbit, or in the atmosphere at a discrete distance. 2. What exactly was the plan that Starfleet had to attack Khan? He's on the Klingon home world. Did he think they'd never notice a bomb going off? And who they'd immediately blame.[/list] Well, I understood that the rogue admiral was intending to provoke a war. 3. Why send all 72 of the bombs when they only needed one? If the point was to get Khan to rescue his compatriots, why not make him come to them?[/list] Moreso, if the plan was to kill all of Kahn's companions, why not just kill them, rather than have Kirk do it unknowingly. 4. How did Khan know they send those particular weapons after him?[/list] The idea seems to have been to send Kirk to exterminate Khan, kill his companymen unknowingly, and provoke a war with the Klingons. 5. Did that ship have any sort of security at all? Scotty just lands at their base and is given full access. No one notices him?[/list] Yeah, in our age of the techno-survellance state, all of Star Trek history kind of looks silly, with people creeping around each other;s ships. 6. Did Starfleet know anything about security? Setting up a meeting room with glass windows (and not bulletproof glass) instead of in an underground bunker?[/list] Also noticeably goofy at my end. 7. Khan clearly read the script beforehand. His actions made little sense unless he knew exactly what was going to happen.[/list] Khan knows all, even when his enemies are irrational, except how he's gonna get outfoxed on the last move. That said, the movie had enough in the tank to make it a decent adventure flick, if you didn't think about things. Yeah, I dunno if J.J. Abrams is a genius madmen or if our standards have fallen so far, that he's now made two mostly appreciated and appreciable Star Trek movies without about 50 gaping plot holes and implausibilities between them.

I couldn't find a screen shot of James Spader fighting hoods from the saddle of his bicycle in Tuff Turf, but I did find this great shot of him jamming with Jim Carroll and Iron Man.

What. Are. You. Thinking?

I think I have enough information about the film to stay away. I could use more information about Mr. Cooby, though. What. Is. He. Thinking?

I gave this a college try and found it boring and maudlin (and to read ahead about what I missed, it only got moreso). Behind both That Thing You Do and, yes, even Eddie & the Cruisers among films with similar themes and time periods, even if very different tones. What an indictment of a generation, if only accidentally --- lazy sons of hardworking fathers, sproting big dreams and belief that their vision is superior, but no sustained gumption to pursue success and so instead hope to position themselves to maybe be handed opportunities.

Dykstra went 3-7 in yesterday's doubleheader, with a walk, a double, two homers, and five RBI. His OPS on the season is up to 1.088. Over the last ten games, his line is at .484 / .614 / 1.032 // 1.646. Surely there's a way to escape from AA for this good, good man. The story yesterday was that the new net protecting the video scoreboard was effective in protecting it from the damage Dykstra had done to the board a few weeks ago. He's breaking ballparks, people!! How dangerous is he to Eastern League pitchers? Batting Average: .322 (fourth in league, Cesar Puello being third) On-Base Percentage: .471 (first, by 28 points) Slugging Percentage: .617 (first, Puello being second) OPS: 1.088 (first, 55 freakin' points ahead of Puello) Doubles: 18 (fifth) Homers: 12 (seventh) RBI: 47 (sixth, one behind Puello) Walks: 49 (first, one ahead of Josh Rodriguez) Strikeouts: 57 (tied for 27th) He's clearly reduced this thing we call "batting" to a formula and he's got it working to maximum effect. Set him loose in the Pacific Coast League and folks will start cancelling games to avoid him. He's now played 241 games at Bingo over three seasons, and all he does is produce. That ain't good. Recognize what you've got here, Mets. He could redeem the name Dykstra forever!

Great to have Rockin' Doc back. Even for underenthused theatrical reviews.

I'll say it. Go see this film.

Nearest Chipotle is 3200 Las Vegas Blvd South, 4.2 miles from Cashman Field.