Edgy MD

Art Howe, whatever his flaws and virtues, is (and was) at least an athletic man. Jeremy Giambi was also played by a guy who was about 5'9". And the David Justice actor, while he had a well-cut torso, had skinny little legs. Nice swing, though. I was disappointed to find out the 2002 Visalia Oaks didn't actually have a profoundly obese catcher.

Frayed Knot wrote: Met connections/sightings: Beane of course. Not just as A's GM but also in flashback scenes to his signing and his NYM career (wearing #35 with shots of Straw in the background) Art Howe. Played by Philip Hoffman as much more grouchy than the sunny if bland Art we all knew and ... tolerated. Chad Bradford. One of the few players with significant speaking parts. Paper NYM David Justice. A prominent player/actor in the flick. Izzy. Often mentioned but never shown. We also got some brief but sexy Jeff Tam action. Not sure if I saw Mike Fyhrie. I was rooting for Beane the moment I saw his ex-wife's house. I don't know what went down behind closed doors, but my impression was that Art Howe deserved better. On the other hand, he was dumped after 205 wins in two years, so they certainly weren't much enamored with him.

We quit on 'er.

Somebody needs to be tweeted back a punch in the face.

Superbad thread. Love the old Fgirl avatar.

i liked Wiig and Maya Rudolph's relationship, Yeah, it was a relationship you can immediately recognize, but is almost never depicted onscreen. It was almost like the writers and directors and actors have hung out with actual human beings in the last 10-20 years. and Melissa McCarthy is one strangely compelling actress. Yeah, you give in to that character despite yourself, don't you? But i found Wiig's character really unsympathetic and whiny, so i wasn't rooting for her as hard as i needed to in order to LIKE IT like it, as the girls say. I hear you, girlfriend. She was weak and self-destructive, but I think it's a virtue that she was such a fuck-up, assuring me that I'm not watching another Q-Rating-driven piece of excrement. My wife made unfamiliar noises of recognition and sympathy from the get-go, and while you're welcome to believe that says more about her than the filmmakers, I appreciated it. I figured a movie called Bridesmaids could have been one of two things. One, it could have been a saccharine unfunny overglamourous rom-com starring Jennifer Lopez, Kate Hudson, and makeup, fashions, and hairstyles that paid their way into the movie. Two, it could have been a crude sendup by a second-rate John Waters exploding the whole exploitative wedding industrial complex and accompanying bridesmaid humiliation. I gave it a chance because I heard from a friend how she was present at the genesis of this thing and saw it through as the creators developed it and loved it the whole way. That friend is of the female persuasion and living in Hollywood, but I thought, "what the hell?" It was both sentimental and crude but damned if they didn't find a third way. (Minor Spoiler Alert: At one point in this film, a re-united Wilson Phillips appears onscreen. The three singers, while not shown close-up, are clearly shellacked in a horrifying amount of makeup. It comes late enough in the film, that as I noted it, I thought, "Oh yeah, that's kind of what I was expecting from this whole film.") At some points, as the tension mounts and the protagonist makes some terrible choices that expose her to bitter humiliation, I found myself reduced to some Three's Company-type embarrassment where I was physically moved to turn away from the screen or wipe my hands on my clothes, but I was committed to see it through, and am glad I did. I think women will recognize the characters with the same sort of endearing embarrassment that men had for the characters in SuperBad, and I really think the creators have a good chance at having a perennial on their hands here.

I liked it more than that. I was surprised.

Downwardly mobile sadsack draws the maid of honor straw for the wedding of her upwardly mobile best friend. Hijinks? Oh, they ensue.

Six votes and a 3.83 average. Not bad.

Vic Sage wrote: A quiet, contemplative, deliberately paced movie with much to say, that avoids most (if not all) sports movie cliches. I liked it alot. And Pitt's perf as aging jock seemed pitch-perfect, working well off of goofball gone straight Jonah Hill. Just enough baseball to keep it a baseball movie and not a business movie. and it makes a folk hero out of Scott Hatteberg. If I recall correctly, I thought it would die in development because sports movies need a Last Second Victory Against Improbable Odds. Vic insisted the story had enough to sail by anyhow. Looking forward to it.

Me neither, but Sage --- who was in fact championing this film years ago --- has.

Not a lot of films released this year have featured fictionalized versions of current and former Mets personnel. This one is a notable exception. What did you think?

To his credit, he stuck with what worked for him. Making minor adjustments through and beyond a lousy year rather than working over his whole repetoire. Put a good defense behind him and maybe CitiField can work for him. We don't currently have a good defense.

"Shelly" is Joan Cusack, isn't she?

As posted at Facebook by Fman.

Eh, sort of a Seth Rogen movie taking over a Simon Pegg movie. Ends up being neither fish nor fowl.

Good stuff in this film.

Viewing this eve.

Brainy Rainy worked out of the pen for the DSL Mets this season, compiling 24 1/3 innings, walking seven and striking out 18 with a 2.22 ERA. I predict he gets most of the first half off next year, gets into a few games with Savannah, but sees a lot of work in Brooklyn or Kingsport.

I was kinda hoping Sean might take his broken face to the AFL. I'll be watching for him in the winter leagues, but man, a random line drive in the face in spring training leads to no season whatsoever. Got to get my man back on the horse.

Frayed Knot wrote: Reese's week gets him some love from BA's 'Prospect Hot List' Why He's Here: .435/.536/.739 (10-for-23), 7 R, 4 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBIs, 5 BB, 3 SO, 1-for-1 SB The Scoop: In an alternate universe, a healthy Reese Havens might already have claimed the Mets' second base job. ... But when he's healthy, as he's been lately, Havens still has the potential to be an above-average offensive second baseman. He draws some walks, has some pop in his bat and can hit for average. If healthy, he could be in the mix for the Mets' second base job in 2012, but the "if healthy" caveat applies more to him than almost anybody else. The implied exception in that "almost" being Fernando Martinez.

He's doing great, but (1) you may want to subtract an A there (he's in Bingo), and ( it wouldn't kill him to take an occasional pitch.

Wilpll somebody please put my eeys back in my sockets?

And as Prior first experienced arm problems in 2004 (actually almost every injury has been to the shoulder), he's not really the latest example of anything.

Folk soul big shot-turned-reclusive Bill Withers looks back on and about the occasion of his seventieth birthday, in a film that becomes a meditation on aging, inspiration, depression, motivation, and authenticity.