metsmarathon

Um. The force. Also, magnets.

Mets Willets Point wrote: my biggest bitch is that they have gravity-operated bombers in space. the physics don't work one bit, despite the fact that they're cool AF. Two thoughts on this: 1. Perhaps starships give off a gravitational force. After all, people are walking on decks inside the ship not floating around, so they must have invented an artificial gravity source. Perhaps the gravity extends outside of the ship a short distance, explaining why they had to get so close for it to work. 2. Perhaps they're not gravity-operated, but magnetic and were drawn to the metal of the hull. the internets tell me they're not gravity operated, that they are indeed forced out of the bottom of the bombers. i do think they need to work on the implementation of those things though, because it looked like most of the bombs that were dropped detonated sympathetically, not via contact with the target. i guess if the ships were moving faster there would've been a better spread....?

TFA left too many questions unanswered, in hindsight. so much so that the next movie was overly encumbered with answering them all. and i think it answered them in the best way possible, and in line with the whole movie, really - to stop looking to the past for answers. i'm ok with snoke not having a backstory. you know who else didn't have a backstory? palpatine. the emperor is a master of the dark side of the force - how did that come to be? nobody fucking knew! and it took three shitty movies to tell us! how much backstory do we really need? i'm also more than okay with the new force powers invented for this movie. because, seriously, the original saga kept on inventing new force powers to the point where, by the time we got into the prequels, jedi were all-powerful superheroes who were also masters of parkour and all manner of martial arts. backstory is how we got fucking midichlorians. i'm okay without backstory. besides, i'm cool with it being fleshed out in the accompanying literary material. as far as the new force powers, is luke's projection really all that much out of line with the idea of force ghosts? if the spirit of the dead can manifest itself in a physical representation, then why cannot the spriit of a living, sufficiently meditative force master? we've already established that force users have telepathic links - is the ForceTime™ connection between rey and kylo really all that far out of bounds, especially if we allow that it has been set up by a seemingly old, powerful master of the dark side? sure, both take the force in new directions and expand on it some, but it's not like we're jumping from force choking and jedi mind tricks to future-seeing and lightning bolts, dammnit! i'm also totally down with the daughter of the chosen one, he who was immaculately conceived by the force, and the twin of the last true jedi master, being able to call on a very limited force tug in her time of greatest personal need, having spent most of the past 30 years knowing that she, too, had some force sensitivity. she'd meditated on it, and exhibited some inklings of ability as shown in her telepathy with luke in the original trilogy. and luke even told her that she has the power of the force within her, or words to that effect. so i'm really truly cool with her drawing on it when it was all she could have. it's not like she's catching blaster bolts or pulling down a star destroyer! it doesn't take a lot of force (pun) to move an object floating in the microgravity of space. and it sure seemed to drain her, too, though being in space might also have contributed just a tad. so what if porgs were invented to sell soft plushy toys. george lucas brought us ewoks and jar jar binks. fucking hell, internet people everywhere! it was by no means perfect, and there were things i wasn't crazy about. but i'm a lot more mature and jaded than i was way back when i first watched the original saga. that said, i'd put the last jedi at about the same level as return of the jedi, maybe even slightly higher. it was not at the level of empire, and it's hard to top the original. but its worst moments are parsecs better than even the best moments of the prequels. it also lacks the retread problem from the force awakens. it gave us a deepening of the force mythology, had truly breathtaking visuals, and had a fairly mature message that lays the foundation for a future in that galaxy, and ho-lee-shit luke brushing off his shoulder. yeah, i guess luke could've been the super-duper infallible space wizard who was a complete and total badass, against whom no dark side user could even stand a chance. and the leader of a whole new generation of super, ultra-enlightened jedi. but where does that leave us, story wise? where's the tension? he could blink any enemy out of existence, if he wanted. any new threat would have to be just preposterously massive to even merit a story-telling. and then it's superman against thanos. and is that really the same star wars as a story of an unknown farm boy who saved the day against immeasurable odds?

No, that’s not it at all. I’ve seen those things all said about TLJ, and it strikes me that the same people who would criticize these movies for those points must be those who’ve never critically viewed the original trilogy. Because while those movies were awesome, they were also rather imperfect. The idea that these movies don’t feel like Star Wars movies is , well, odd to me too. Because the prequels aren’t really Star Wars movies. While these latest three installments in the galaxy seem to me at least to better fit in with the whole space. Maybe it’s because I never read the EU catalogue, so I have no preconceived notion of what these movies are supposed to be about. I’m sure hats a large part of this. These movies were made by Disney, so everything we see, be it a retread of a beat from the originals or a subversion or diversion from that same beat is seen as evidence of the house of mouse’s destructive influence on the stories we most held dear. Because know Lucas never fucked these things up at all. Nope. Not one bit. The prequels sucked ass so hard, but we’re made by the same guy who made the originals so any subsequent movie that doesn’t seem like what Lucas would have done is somehow... wrong...? Shit, if these last three movies are what Disney does to Star Wars, well, shit, can they do a reboot of the prequels too? Or are they only supposed to be picking over the volumes and volumes and volumes of intersecting, conflicting, frequently incongruent, and often uneven EU back catalogue to find the stories that the super duper fans already know and that box in any newcomer from being able to tell anything new or interesting or mysterious.

The empire and its remnants have always been dominated by those who’ve managed to fail upward. I found hux to be believably over the top. IMO, while there’s a considerable backlash against wasting time in canto bight, I think that segment raised the stakes beyond just a handful of resistance fighters on a ship to really the whole galaxy, and will have been a very necessary slice of world building that sets up the futurre of the franchise. It’s not just the good guys against the bad guys, but the rich and gray against nameless powerless multitude. Plus riding the force-attuned megafauna follows a thread laid by rebels. (A show very much worth watching). I agree that it took Holdo too long to make the light speed jump in-theater, but in universe, I don’t think much time passed at all. Remember that the plan was for the escape pods to be unnoticed and for raddus to be the distraction I don’t think there was much of a backup plan in place, and I don’t think that many admirals have “ram my ship into theirs at speed” as one of their principal courses of action. The thoughtful contemplation seemed legit. She was resigned to her own demise. Then she saw that it was to be for naught. She would watch her firends die, and then they would come for her and there was little she could do. And then she realized that she had one last arrow in her quiver, if she wasn’t destroyed first. Driving her ship into the he dread naught must seem in hindsight to have been the only, obvious play, but few successful officers rose through the ranks when their first fallback plan is a kamikaze attack. It was also yet another tremendous beat carries over from rebels (seriously, love that show), where Hera had engaged hyperspace as she was about to pass through a hanger of an orbital station to escape a blockade. Obviously not the same effect, but it helped TLJ feel more of the same universe. If cute critters are a problem, then we’ve got a problem from the jump. R2 and a pile of jawas are the original Ewoks. Also, and let’s be honest here. If uneven acting and odd pacing are dealbreakers In a movie undone by pointless side quests, magically instant Jedi training and light saber mastery, dubious space physics and questionable military tactics with deeply flawed and oddly specific implements of war, unearned relationships, with space battles between improbably close ships with terrible aim, and timelines that fall apart under scrutiny, then I dont think we saw the same version of empire strikes back. By the way. Luke was a badass. I’m glad he wasn’t some all-powerful all-conquering infallible and invincible Jedi super-wizard. The whole point of the movie, and indeed most of the whole damned saga, is that the Jedi are flawed. An impossible and impossibly rigid standard responsible for their undoing. Luke saw that at long last through Rey, and it saved the resistance and lit that damned spark. He redeemed the galaxy by finally accepting his imperfection and that of the Jedi order.

the more i think about this movie, the more i love it, and the more i want, need to rewatch it. to me, the fundamental thing about the movie is to subvert the idea that what the galaxy needed, what everybody needed, was the jedi - the heroes - to return. that waiting for your legends to come back and solve your problems does nothing but lead you into failure. it sets up not that teh force is for but a special few, the exceptional, the jedi. rather, it binds us all, all living things. it flows through us, around us. it is in us all. our salvation is not in our heroes, but in ourselves, in even the least among us. the force is there for us all, if only we can tap into it. you don't need to be the son, or daughter, of the most powerful badass in the galaxy to shape its future, to defeat the great evil. you can be some nobody scrap scavenger on a dust planet, or an invisible orphan stable boy. the light belonging to everybody, not a few singular point of brilliance, is how the darkness is to be eradicated.

so, i fucking loved it. i gave it 4 stars just because i might simply be too giddy about it to be objective. to be honest, one of the things that i loved the most was that i could see that there was a thread connecting from this movie all the way back to some of what's been going on in star wars rebels. in a general sense, the way the force connects with all living things, not just jedi. also the thing with the lightspeed carries forward an echo from the past. my biggest bitch is that they have gravity-operated bombers in space. the physics don't work one bit, despite the fact that they're cool AF. also, the resistance really needs to work on the tactical employment of those things - yeesh! ever think that maybe, just maybe, ach-to has radically shorter days than the galactic standard?

space wizards return with their laser swords. hilarity ensues. your thoughts?

man, i really hate when a player i like turns to the dark side....

mucking fets.

Edgy MD wrote: Miguel Cabrera had just about the worst 2017 imaginable. Like he wishes he had José Reyes' season. Experiments are always worthwhile, but I'd not only want the Tigers to throw in some $$, but also some less unstable talent too. jose reyes 2017 0.246 / 0.313 / 0.413 with a wOBA of 0.312. fangraphs has him at 2.0 WAR miggy cabrera 2017 0.249 / 0.329 / 0.399 with a wOBA of 0.313. fangraphs has him at -0.2 WAR yikes...

Ashie62 wrote: McCutchen. cutch would be an interesting target.... quick, somebody build a watp!

it's not eno saris, but dan szymborski's ZiPS projections are out for the '18 mets as currently constituted. included in there, about halfway down the page, is a listing of historically comparable players for each player in the projection. (presuming at their current age, though i'm not well-versed in how it's run) the #1 comp for Dominic Smith is.... ... ... wait for it.... ... Adam Lind. so, why bring him in if we've already got him! (for whatever that's worth. notably, the #1 comp for noah is doc gooden.)

gotta be infielder. it's where we have the biggest holes and the least depth. yeah, it's nice to say get me a big time catcher, but there really aren't any of those things available. big time reliver? ok, sure, but what about the rest of the team? i'd like my cake first upon which to place the icing. big ol' pitching commitment? eh,... those don't always work out so well... outfield? well, we do have conforto and cespedes. is there a big ol infielder available that fills our needs? i.. uh.. gosh, i don't know. i don't think so. is there anyone you're thinking of? my second choice is otani.

If you vote for anyone, or if you intend to vote for no one, you should still check the “I voted” button so that we have an accurate tally of the number of ballots cast.

comparison of the hof ballot's players JAWS score (average of career WAR and the WAR from the 7 seasons with the highest WAR) and Jpos - the JAWS score for the average hall of famer at that position. top 10 in bold. NameJAWSJposcompare Barry Bonds117.653.32.21 Roger Clemens103.362.11.66 Chipper Jones65.855.21.19 Jim Thome57.254.61.05 Curt Schilling64.562.11.04 Scott Rolen56.855.21.03 Mike Mussina63.862.11.03 Manny Ramirez54.653.31.02 Edgar Martinez5655.21.01 Larry Walker58.658.11.01 Andruw Jones54.657.90.94Sammy Sosa5158.10.88Vladimir Guerrero50.258.10.86Gary Sheffield49.158.10.85Fred McGriff44.154.60.81Jeff Kent45.456.90.80Johan Santana48.162.10.77Kerry Wood26.434.40.77Johnny Damon44.457.90.77Trevor Hoffman2434.40.70Billy Wagner2434.40.70Carlos Zambrano41.862.10.67Jamie Moyer41.862.10.67Omar Vizquel3654.80.66Chris Carpenter32.162.10.52Orlando Hudson29.156.90.51Carlos Lee25.853.30.48Livan Hernandez29.462.10.47Kevin Millwood27.162.10.44Hideki Matsui21.353.30.40Aubrey Huff21.454.60.39Jason Isringhausen12.734.40.37Brad Lidge10.334.40.30 also, noteworthily, the top 10 players are all above average - their JAWSes are better than the average hall of famer at the same position. which means that you could elect 10 players and NOT lower the standards of the hall of fame, such is the depth of the current backlog.

andruw jones

larry jones!

Mike Piazza

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Lots of wild guesses here, but why not? There's no penalty for being wrong! (Is there?) this raises a valid concern. each wrong answer carries with it the penalty that subsequent views and opinions related to player / personnel moves may be increasingly ignored or dismissed by your peers. so choose carefully!

these are guaranteed to be wrong! Rank Player Pos Ex NEW 1 Yu Darvish RhSP LAD NYY 2 JD Martinez OF ARI NYM 3 Jake Arrieta RhSP CHC CHC 4 Carlos Santana 1b CLE SEA 5 Eric Hosmer 1b KCR BOS 6 Lorenzo Cain OF KCR SFG 7 Wade Davis RhRP CHC WAS 8 Mike Moustakis 3b KCR NYM 9 Zack Cosart SS CIN TOR 10 Alex Cobb RhSP TBR LAD 11 Neil Walker 2b MIL COL 12 CC Sabathia LhSP NYY ATL 13 Todd Frazier 3b NYY KCR 14 Jay Bruce OF CLE CLE 15 Lance Lynn RhSP STL STL 16 Brandon Morrow RhRP LAD NYM 17 Tyler Chatwood RhSP COL MIN 18 Greg Holland RhRP COL SFG 19 Addison Reed RhRP BOS TOR 20 Jarrod Dyson OF SEA STL 21 Eduardo Nunez IF BOS KCR 23 Jonathan Lucroy C COL WAS 34 Carlos Gomez OF TEX SDP 42 Lucas Duda 1b TBR COL -- Shohei Ohtani P/OF(?) JAP NYM dreaming, I know. i have the mets picking up a lot of players. mostly, it's because i think the mets are players on a lot of players, and am hedging my bets that they should happen to hit on a few of them. plus, wishful thinking! (edited to boldify my picks)

Hey folks, it's that time of year when somebody steps up and decides to kick off a free agent prediction contest! woohoo! i've assembled a list of 25 intriguing free agents - basically the top 20 from fangraphs, four more interesting names, and some dude from japan. you get to suss out where they're going to wind up! winner gets, um, one cranepooldollar, and a certificate that entitles the bearer to make one new thread in the baseball forum, totally free of charge!* *contest organizer cannot guarantee the availability of the prize, and merely assumes that the price structure of the CPF will remain unchanged. and now, without further ado, i present to you the 2017-18 free agent prediction contest! Rank | Player | Position | Ex-Team 1 Yu Darvish RhSP LAD 2 JD Martinez OF ARI 3 Jake Arrieta RhSP CHC 4 Carlos Santana 1b CLE 5 Eric Hosmer 1b KCR 6 Lorenzo Cain OF KCR 7 Wade Davis RhRP CHC 8 Mike Moustakis 3b KCR 9 Zack Cosart SS CIN 10 Alex Cobb RhSP TBR 11 Neil Walker 2b MIL 12 CC Sabathia LhSP NYY 13 Todd Frazier 3b NYY 14 Jay Bruce OF CLE 15 Lance Lynn RhSP STL 16 Brandon Morrow RhRP LAD 17 Tyler Chatwood RhSP COL 18 Greg Holland RhRP COL 19 Addison Reed RhRP BOS 20 Jarrod Dyson OF SEA 21 Eduardo Nunez IF BOS 23 Jonathan Lucroy C COL 34 Carlos Gomez OF TEX 42 Lucas Duda 1b TBR -- Shohei Ohtani P/OF(?) JAP but wait! how do i play? it's really quite simple. copy the above list and add in where you think the player will sign. you can even indicate if you think a player will go unsigned through the start of spring training, when the contest will close. i'll tally up the results, make some inane commentary, and award the winner! it's really that simple!

he broke mike camerons face with his own face. cameron's season was over. beltran missed 4 days.

in 1999, the outfield gold gloves were awarded to bernie williams (-1.1 dWAR), ken griffey jr (0.9 dWAR) and shawn green (0.0 dWAR). carlos beltran, a rookie, had a dWAR of 2.2 in 2001, the outfield gold gloves were awarded to torii hunter (2.4 dWAR), mike cameron (1.4 dWAR), and ichiro suzuki (0.9 dWAR). carlos beltran had a dWAR of 0.9. defensive stats are according to baseball reference, and may not be fully accurate. though, neither are the gold glove awards in determining a players' value.

i loved it, and think that more superhero movies should be more fun instead of more grimdark.