RealityChuck

Not as wild or funny as it should have been.

Izzy until the end of the season (or until he's traded); Parnell in 2012.

Vic Sage wrote: 1st half ex-Mets team: c - Castro 1b - XNady 2b - Keppinger ss - Scutaro 3b - Wigginton Of - J. Bautista / Cameron / J.Francoeur Bench - Schneider / Cora / Cairo / EChavez / Milledge SP - J.Vargas / H.Takahashi / Chen / Humber / Heilman RP - Bell / J. Smith / Putz / H.Rodriguez / D.O'Day / Mota / Wheeler That's not a very good team. Not a bad pen, though. I used to play a game of finding all the ex-Mets and comparing them to the people on the current roster. This was pretty depressing back in the 70s. I'd say the starters are better on the Mets this year (even better if you don't count injuries) and the starting pitchers are slightly better, too. Relief might be slightly worse.

I was sorry to hear that about Campbell. I saw the movie a few weeks ago. It's a different animal from the John Wayne version, and is definitely superior. I would include it as a classic western (though the Wayne version was very good, too). The main thing is that it was made with a more modern sensibility for "realism" and "grit" (not in the sense used in the film). Wayne was a more traditional western.

I don't see any reason to trade him. No one is going to give the team anyone who's going to be any better than the draft choices the Mets will get if he signs elsewhere. There's no one to play shortstop this year, anyway (if another team has a solid shortstop prospect, why aren't they playing him instead of trading for Reyes?). Wait until the end of the season, give Jose a legitimate offer, and take the draft picks if he doesn't like it. People say "there is no such thing as a pitching prospect." I'll add that there's no such thing as a prospect. Its always a crapshoot until the player gets to the major leagues. So why throw away this season for a couple of players who project to be utility men at best?

Second-best baseball movie Ron Shelton ever made.

themetfairy wrote: This reminds me of a comment I heard when The Tudors was running. You can't really complain about spoiler alerts if you've done your history homework. The silliest example of this was when people complained about an Australian writer giving away the ending to Burke and Wills. I pointed out that this was like a US writer mentioning that Lincoln was shot at the end of a biography.

The trailer is one of the best of all time. Stay till the end; I was completely underwhelmed -- until the surprise. [youtube:2omfuygt]6CloKbXtD28[/youtube:2omfuygt]

Not a terrible movie, but immensely overrated. Wayne gave much better performances for Ford in Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (both of which show a much more nuanced view of settler-Indian relations). Rather dreary overall, which may account for its critical acclaim. That and the fact that it wears its message on a big neon sign that flashes throughout.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/13/yankee-stadium-tips_n_861770.html Yankee Stadium Tips Taken By Owners, Servers Allege In the more desirable seats at Yankee Stadium, an already pricey $10.50 draft beer will run you an eye-popping $12.60 thanks to an involuntary 20 percent "service fee" tacked on to the original price. If the sticker shock doesn�t make that brew bitter enough, consider this: Despite what you might expect, that extra $2 and change isn't going to the hustling server who sold it to you, according to a new lawsuit. Legends Hospitality, the concessionaire co-owned by the New York Yankees, the Dallas Cowboys, and Goldman Sachs, allegedly pockets the 20 percent service fee attached to food and drink in violation of New York law, according to a class-action lawsuit filed against the company by three Yankee Stadium servers this week. If certified as class action, the suit could involve more than a hundred servers and hundreds of thousands of dollars in claims. At the center of the dispute is how hot dogs, sodas and other ballpark fare are served in the stadium's field-level seats, which typically cost between $100 and $350 a game. At field level, fans don't have to fetch their food and drink; they instead can place orders with servers carrying credit-card machines and get the orders ferried to their seats by food-and-drink runners. Under this arrangement, the servers act a lot like salespeople. "They schmooze the customers, and they're trained to upsell, just like any other waitress," says the plaintiffs' lawyer, Brian Schaffer. "If somebody says, 'I want a hot dog,' they say, 'But wouldn�t you like a cold beer with that?'" According to the suit, the menus field-level spectators find in their cupholders include this disclaimer: "A 20% service charge will be added to the listed prices. Additional gratuity is at your discretion." That phrase "additional gratuity" would seem to imply that the 20 percent is, in fact, a gratuity, but Schaffer says his clients don�t get that money. Instead, they receive a far more modest commission, between four and six percent, of their total sales for the game. Schaffer believes the system cheats both vendors and fans -- the vendors by withholding their tips, the fans by artificially inflating prices. "It's pretty unbelievable if you think about what's going on," Schaffer said. "Honestly, I couldn't fathom the profits." What's worse, Schaffer alleges, is the fact that the servers aren't allowed to explain to fans how the actual arrangement works. "If my clients are specifically asked, 'Where does this 20 percent go?' they can't tell them the truth. They can only tell the customer, 'Additional gratuity is at your discretion.' They can't say, 'It's not going to me.' They can be fired for saying that."

No arguments against Beltran. He's done a great job during his tenure and it's a shame that fans don't recognize that. He got off to a slow start, and, for some reason, too many people just never appreciated how good he's been.

When you manage Felix Millan -- the Aristotelean Ideal of a #2 hitter* -- of course you bat him second. *He struck out 83 times as a Met -- in 2600 plate appearances.

My favorite Lumet film because it didn't go out of the way to hammer home its points.

Obviously a mistake. There is NO rule 6.

Is there a Rule 6? [youtube:2pevvc07]_f_p0CgPeyA#t=02m33s[/youtube:2pevvc07]

Valadius wrote: Selig told Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt that he will appoint a representative to oversee all aspects of the business and the day-to-day operations of the club. "I have taken this action because of my deep concerns regarding the finances and operations of the Dodgers and to protect the best interests of the club," Selig said Wednesday in a statement. The Los Angeles Times reported this week that Frank McCourt had arranged a $30 million loan from Fox, the team's television partner. Selig has not approved a new longterm contract between team and Fox, and the Times said the money was needed to make payroll. Selig said he will appoint his representative within a few days. "My office will continue its thorough investigation into the operations and finances of the Dodgers and related entities during the period of Mr. McCourt's ownership," Selig said. "The Dodgers have been one of the most prestigious franchises in all of sports, and we owe it to their legion of loyal fans to ensure that this club is being operated properly now and will be guided appropriately in the future." Selig's move might be seen by some as a precedent should the New York Mets have additional financial problems. With owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz under pressure from a lawsuit tied to the Bernard Madoff swindle, the Mets borrowed $25 million last year from Major League Baseball. Unlike the McCourts, Wilpon is a longtime friend of Selig. The situations are slightly different when you get right down to it. Both clubs seem to have significant financial liquidity issues. The big difference here, I imagine, is that the day-to-day running of the Dodgers has become completely untenable, while the Mets, absent their financial woes, can at least run their ballclub.If you call what they're doing "running a ballclub."

I tend to agree with Andrew Sarris's assessment of him: Strained Seriousness. His films just tried too hard and nearly always left a bad taste in my mouth. He was Stanley Kramer's more talented twin: I have a MESSAGE and here is the MESSAGE. Other than The Anderson Tapes and Dog Day Afternoon, his films were never anything I looked back at with delight. And some -- like Network and The Verdict -- are badly overrated. A good director, certainly, but he never achieved greatness.

Since Byrdak sounds a lot like "Dalek": [youtube:1dgla7r4]p3EKUeIlkn8[/youtube:1dgla7r4] Amp it up, up the bass gain, and you have a winner. They can even throw in an "exterminate!" There's also another option: [youtube:1dgla7r4]gz_9FrhCBnI[/youtube:1dgla7r4]

Reminds me of the old George Carlin joke from the 60s: "The San Francisco Giants traded Willie Mays to the New York Mets . . . in exchange for the entire Mets team."

Many years ago, there was Ronald "Big Mac" McDonald.

Schulz always insisted on doing all the work himself.

It continues....