Vic Sage

yes to everything here about the phucking phils... aging, overrated, due for a fall, yadda yadda yadda. But they've got a top 3 in their rotation all of whom are better than the top starter of most every other team in the league (except maybe DODGERS & GIANTS), much less the division. And other than typical ST gossip, there is no reliable indicator suggesting this is no longer true. And as long as it is, they're the team to beat. Hell, they could play ME at 2b ("put me in coach!"), and still win the division. What difference does it make who plays 2b if practically no hitter will make solid contact against the majority of their rotation?

Eugenics programs are notoriously tricky, as we've learned from both history and fiction. Fascism aside, one problem is illustrated by the undoubtedly apocryphal story of Marilyn Monroe suggesting to Einstein that they have a baby, because a child with her looks and his mind would be special, and he responded, "but what if the child has my looks and your brains?" So, I could see the Mets trying to breed a catcher, using DNA from Grote and Piazza. But with our luck, he'd end up hitting like Jerry and throwing like Mike.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Doesn't appear to be a whole lot of internal candidates pushing him at the moment. Do you envision we trade for a new receiver? candidates often present themselves unannounced. And if we don't have any in the system now, then you draft, recycle, trade for or buy one. Look, if Thole improves his defense so it's at least adequate, and the rest of the lineup is strong enough that he's the weakest bat in it, you can probably win with that. But these factors have yet to be demonstrated, so we'll just have to play it out and see. I certainly wouldn't recommend an expensive trade for a quality veteran catcher at this point, since the price would be too high (due to scarcity), and we're too far away from competing to make a "Carter" type trade of assets.

Edgy DC wrote: That's some pretty good numbers for a guy sliding from starter to platooner to backup to releasee. sorry, i edited it before seeing your post. but i meant 5 HRs, not 10. And while he could linger, either on the roster or in the majors, i don't see a punchless/speedless .275 BA as sufficient to carry a sub-par glove behind the plate. certainly not as a starter... unless he was also gunning down a high % of basestealers, in which case that would certainly be useful. But so far, not so much.

.275/5hr, below average defense. He'll end up in a platoon, and then a back up. As a LHed hitter, he could linger in the majors. Next!

I have no use for these Kreskin wannabees; they look at what is and deign to predict what will be. But the universe is chaos, the center will not hold, and great prospects get blown out while undrafted kids become overnight sensations. Management teams are hired and fired. Unforseen trades occur. All-stars just lose it and journeymen become all-stars. franchises move. Fortunes are lost and found. Law's ramblings are all just bullshit, meant only to exchange word counts for cash. You want to give us an assessment of what you think our current roster of minor leaguers each are currently capable of, and offer an opinion as to their range of potential development (barring injury)? knock yourself out. But don't pretend that is any indicator of what a franchise will look like in 3 years. It's just silly. And sillier still is to take any of it seriously.

didn't i write a play about those girls a while back? and Nickeas? well, nobody is going to write a play about him, that's for sure. I think he'll start the season as Thole's caddy, and get released at some point, after going 0-20.

Shortstop Depth Chart [crossout]Tejada Cede�o[/crossout] Quintanilla Valdespin [crossout]Havens[/crossout] Turner Malo [crossout]Wright[/crossout] Flores Satin Fisher Romero Pascucci Coronado Lutz Murphy Vic Sage Oh, put me in coach, I'm ready to play today...* * by John Fogerty

50 game suspension for PEDs for former Met Jason Pridie... http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Ap.8P.mWsG6s9Ri4ZXwLEqc5nYcB?slug=ap-athletics-pridiesuspension you'd think a guy who was cheating would hit better. oh, wait... it's not PEDs, it's a "drug of abuse". what the hell does that mean?

That's a pretty good list, although you did leave out a few people so I fixed it for you Centerfield Depth Chart [crossout]Andres Torres Scott Hairston[/crossout] Adam Loewen Jason Bay Kirk Neiuwenheis Mike Baxter Ronny Cede�o Matt Den Dekker Raul Reyes Lorenzo Scott Jonathan Malo Darrell Ceciliani Sean Ratliff =#0080FF]Mike Piazza Nancy Pelosi Nelson Mandela That guy in your office who walks kind of funny Snooki Vic Sage that's not fair. I could outhit Pelosi... and in the field, she can only play Left.

i just saw Sandford make a Willy Wonka reference... i wanted to put my foot through the tv.

Pelf continues his 2011 season, New closer gives up a gw gopher ball in the 5th, Loewenstein, the big donkey, goes yard. Next!

Centerfield Depth Chart [crossout]Andres Torres Scott Hairston[/crossout] Adam Loewen Jason Bay Kirk Neiuwenheis Mike Baxter Ronny Cede�o Matt Den Dekker Raul Reyes Lorenzo Scott Jonathan Malo Darrell Ceciliani Sean Ratliff Vic Sage

Yeth, he'll thertainly be, you know, like, thore if he holdth hith armth out like that for a thignificant length of time!

maybe it's just me but... I LIKE IT! It relieves my urge to shoot heroin.

[u:1unoz8aa]Top Dozen of the sub-genre:[/u:1unoz8aa] EASY RIDER (1969) VANISHING POINT (1971) 2-LANE BLACKTOP (1971) LE MANS (1971) GONE IN 60 SECONDS (1974) THE DRIVER (1978) MAD MAX (1979), II (1981), III (1985) THELMA & LOUISE (1991) TRANSPORTER (2002) DRIVE (2011) what was going on in the culture in 1971?

metirish wrote: AIP/Corman ? are you asking what AIP/CORMAN refers to? American International Pictures was a B-movie studio from the 50s-70s, with Roger Corman as the major producer (and occasional director) and driving creative force. They made youth culture exploitation films (sex, drugs, horror, motorcycles, etc), some with the young Jack Nicholson (including the original LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS). Corman often gave young directors their first feature film experience, including Coppola, scorsese, Demme and many others (including Ron Howard's EAT MY DUST and GRAND THEFT AUTO), because they were cheaper than established directors. Corman also directed a bunch, including the Poe series he did with Vincent Price.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: What about Speed, with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock? what about it? the intention wasn't to list every movie where people are driving. in SPEED, Bullock is someone forced to drive by a bomber. THESE movies are about people who CHOOSE to drive, generally as an expression of will, or a search for meaning, or to catch something or escape from something. Its very much about the CHOICE to drive. In SPEED, they either drive or blow up. no choice. they're heroes, not anti-heroes.

sharpie wrote: Doesn't BADLANDS belong in there somewhere? it's there. look again.

There is a man is at the wheel� he is driving fast, destination unknown. He may be chased, or in pursuit. He may have loved once, or been loved, and he may be fleeing justice, or seeking it, but now all the meaning in his life is defined by his skill and his velocity. He is merely an object in space, and his only remaining relationship is with his machine. He is likely to meet his fate at gunpoint, or at a point of impact, or find himself at the vanishing point, where open blacktop meets the distant horizon. He is a burnt out shell of a man, a ronin, the existential anti-hero at the wheel, hurtling toward his fate� and these are the movies that define him: FAST & THE FURIOUS (1955) � this is the first AIP/Corman B-Movie� guy on the run, girl in danger, hijacked jaguar� time to race! THE WILD RIDE (1960) � quintessential AIP/Corman juvenile delinquency flick for the Beat generation, with Jack Nicholson making trouble, racing around and dying young. BONNIE & CLYDE (1967) � notorious lovers on the run in their vintage 30s cars, careening around to banjo music, until they�re shot to death in their car. VANISHING POINT (1971) � This is the absolute epitome of the genre. 2-LANE BLACKTOP (1971) � Monty Hellman�s philosophical road picture BADLANDS (1973) � Bonnie & Clyde�s younger version, more interested in killing than stealing. DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY (1974) � Peter Fonda on the run in a Dodge Charger GONE IN 60 SECONDS (1974), (2000) (� also DEADLINE AUTO THEFT / THE JUNKMAN follow-ups) � stunt-driver HB Halicki wrote, produced, directed and starred in this no-budget chase film about car thieves. Halicki died in a car stunt making a sequel. The big budget remake with Nick Cage sucks. SUGARLAND EXPRESS (1974) � Spielberg�s first feature, with Goldie Hawn on the run. RETURN TO MACON COUNTY (1975) � young Don Johnson and Nick Nolte in this sequel to MACON COUNTY LINE, about delinquents looking to drag race. TAXI DRIVER (1976) � He prowls the night, waiting for a rain to come and wash the scum from the streets� that is, until he realizes that HE is the rainstorm he�s been waiting for. THE DRIVER (1978) � Walter Hill�s take on the existential wheel man. BREATHLESS (1983) � while not quite as good as Godard�s version (1960), they both celebrate the aimless criminal and his lover on the run THELMA & LOUISE (1991) � a distaff version of Bonnie & Clyde, they end up driving off a cliff rather than live lives as southern housewives. Can�t say I blame them. HEAVEN�S BURNING (1997) � An Ozzie Bonnie & Clyde, with young Russell Crowe. AMERICAN PERFEKT (1997) � Robert Forster as a psycho-psychiatrist on the run with a body in the trunk. TRANSPORTER (2002), II (2005), III (2008) � Jason Statham as a merc who transports illicit packages in a cool BMW � no questions asked, of course. DEATH PROOF (2007) � Tarentino�s psycho automotive serial killer meets his match in pack of deadly female stunt drivers. DRIVE (2011) � Ryan Gosling picks up the mantel of the wheelman not to be crossed, and knocks it out of the park Moonshiners: these southern gothic actioners are a subset of the genre; usually low-budget exploitation by AIP, but Robert Mitchum set the standard in THUNDER ROAD and the Dukes buried it. THUNDER ROAD (1958) WHITE LIGHTNING (1973) MOONRUNNERS (1975) DIXIE DYNAMITE (1976) BAD GEORGIA ROAD (1977) THUNDER & LIGHTNING (1977) DUKES OF HAZZARD (2005) Driver comedies: the comic approach to the man behind the wheel has basically taken the form of extended chase films, usually involving illegal races, or chases, or crashes on a ridiculous scale. IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD (1963) � also RAT RACE (2001) FIREBALL 500 (1966) EAT MY DUST (1976) GUMBALL RALLY (1976) CANNONBALL (1976) GRAND THEFT AUTO (1977) SMOKEY & THE BANDIT (1977), II (1980), III (1983) BLUES BROTHERS (1980) CANNONBALL RUN (1981) Cross-genre driver movies: the existential driver pops up in horror and SF, most notably the MAD MAX movies. DEATH RACE 2000 (1975) � black comedy/SF became a cult classic MAD MAX (1979), II (1981), III (1985) � the ultimate in �burnt out shell of a man on the road� movies THE LAST CHASE (1981) � bad sci fi but on the nose, theme-wise. CARS (2006) � animated cars, but no drivers! SPEED RACER (2008) � the cartoon comes to life, but no anti-heroes. DRIVE ANGRY (2011) � another over-the-top Nick Cage on the run film, escaped from Hell and chased by Satanists. Horror Cars: some horror films feature the car or the driver as a supernatural force chasing the protagonist, which doesn�t really fit the genre but what the hell: DUEL (1971) � Spielberg�s first was a TV film but got a theatrical release. CARS THAT ATE PARIS (1974) � Peter Weir�s Ozzie flick RACE WITH THE DEVIL (1975) � Satanists chase Peter Fonda CHRISTINE (1983) � Stephen King�s killer car Big Rigs, Bikes and Trains: The Trucker movie - sometimes the car is a big rig, and the driver is seeking justice, or a paycheck, or just survival. THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT (1940) WHITE LINE FEVER (1975) SORCERER (1977) � Friedkin�s remake of WAGE OF FEAR (1953) CONVOY (1978) Bikers - sometimes they drive 2 wheels, not 4. GIRL ON THE MOTORCYCLE (1968) EASY RIDER (1969) ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE (1973) GHOST RIDER (2010), II (2012) And sometimes, it�s a train. EMPEROR OF THE NORTH (1973) RUNAWAY TRAIN (1985) The Big Race: these aren�t really anti-hero movies, featuring instead race car drivers driving legitimate races, but they do have some overlap. THE GREAT RACE (1965) - Blake Edwards "race around the world" comedy with Tony Curtis, and Curtis's similar followup, THOSE DARING YOUNG MEN IN THEIR JAUNTY JALOPIES (1969) GRAND PRIX (1966) � James Garner WINNING (1969) � Paul Newman LE MANS (1971) � Steve McQueen LAST AMERICAN HERO (1973) - Jeff Bridges, true story about a moonshiner who becomes a stock car champion. GREASED LIGHTNING (1977) � ditto, with Richard Pryor STROKER ACE (1983) - good ole boy Burt Reynolds, in his comic redneck NASCAR driver mode (as opposed to comic redneck outrunning-the-cops mode) DAYS OF THUNDER (1990) � Tom Cruise TALLADEGA NIGHTS (2006) � Will Ferrell Car chasers: some movies just feature a spectacular car chase or 2, but otherwise don�t fit the genre. Worth mentioning are: THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963) � McQueen racing on a motorcycle, jumping barbed wire BULLITT (1968) � McQueen as a cop in hot pursuit on the hilly streets of SF THE ITALIAN JOB (1969) � Caper film with Michael Caine FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) � Friedkin�s race under the L THE GETAWAY (1972) � McQueen and McGraw on the run SEVEN UPS (1973) � Cops in hot pursuit MCQ (1974) � The Duke in a cool car TO LIVE & DIE IN LA (1985) � Slick Michael Mann and his LA cops RONIN (1998) � caper film with DeNiro and getaway chase through Europe FAST & THE FURIOUS (2001), II, III, IV, V � this Vin Diesel series fetishizes car culture like none other. The only problem is it�s about an undercover cop, not an existential anti-hero, so not within the genre. Lifetime achievement award: Steve McQueen � the Tao of Steve required maintaining a detached cool even astride a Harley vaulting barbed wire fences to evade Nazis, flying a car over the hills of San Francisco, racing at Le Mans, on the run with Ali McGraw, bounty hunting atop a train, shot flying a jet as Thomas Crowne, financing a documentary on bikers, and generally living his life at maximum RPM. Nick Cage has desperately attempted to join his elite rank, but he lacks the chops, and his movies usually suck.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Vic Sage wrote: sorry, can't make the time commitment this year. BOOOOOOOO. You suck! mom, is that you?

Anything that gives a division winner an edge over a WC team is an improvement over the current system. a 1-game WC play-in does that. It requires the WC to win an extra game, likely requiring them to burn their best pitchers just to move on; it will also add travel for the WC, on short rest, while the division winner waits at home. A WC team isn't entitled to play a short series to decide its fate; let it be subject to the forces of randomness at play in a 1-game scenario.

metirish wrote: This should help the Mets! good one.

sorry, can't make the time commitment this year.

lets not forget TOM Sizemore... excellent tough guy character actor whose career was partially derailed by drugs and legal problems. He went to Wayne State U, but did not, to my knowledge, play baseball.