Vic Sage

soupcan wrote: Do you have some kind of cinematic almanac lying around or do you just grab this stuff off the top of your head? A combination of both. When i do lists like this, first i throw down the titles that come to mind. Then, i do a search on IMDB to pick up some stragglers. I assure you, i didn't know about DELUGE, BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS or DEADLY MANTIS off the top of my head.

How about young Stevie McQueen leading his small town of Chester Springs against a blob from outer space in 1958's THE BLOB? Is that close enough?

Movies often do serious damage to NYC. Sometimes, like in CLOVERFIELD, the disaster is from a monster, alien, supernatural being or giant robot: Godzilla (98) Ghostbusters I, II Independence Day Beast From 20,000 fathoms Deadly Mantis King Kong (33, 76, 05) Sky captain & the world of tomorrow Sometimes, like in I AM LEGEND, we bring our doom upon ourselves: The Siege Escape From NY Gangs of NY Daylight World Trade Center 16 Blocks Daybreak Sometimes, its a result of natural disaster: Day After Tomorrow Armageddon Deep Impact Deluge (1933) and superheroes are constantly doing damage to NYC: Daredevil Fantastic 4 Men In Black Spider-man Superman X-Men, and My Super ex-Girlfriend not to mention such other NY disasters as "Hercules in NY" and "Can't Stop the Music"!

Just the mearest mention of his name brought a smile to my father's lips. Johnny will live forever in the hearts of Brooklyners.

DocTee wrote: A for profit museum. Is that common? yes. Its called a gift shop.

Gomez was overmatched by ML pitching. If they really think he's a legit prospect, he's got to start in AAA and play full time. Meanwhile the lack of a backup OFer who can hit LHPs is a serious problem. Church has an extreme platoon differential, and none of Pagan, CHavez, or Anderson have ever shown very much against LHP. That leaves 38-year old career infielder Damien Easley as the sole candidate for tht slot. Ouch. They can only keep 1 of Chavez or Pagan. The other slot HAS to go to a good RHed OFer to PH or platoon.

1) You'd think an article on the Sports museum might mention its planned location beyond saying its "downtown". 2) If its really a "museum", it better present both the good and the bad of sports, and not just be a marketing whitewash, if its to have any creditiblity whatsoever. 3) other than the red hair, she's not exactly a looker, is she?

AG/DC wrote: I like his selections also, but I note a slight paucity of pitchers in his select, and only Rivera can be said to be close to the middle of his career. and 3 of the 5 (6, if you include RJ), were on the Braves staff.

"Rockin' Doc": ]I'm too lazy to look up stats right now so this is my vote off the top of my head... Frank Thomas -No I suggest you DO look up the stats for the Big Hurt. Then explain to me why you think he's a clear "no".

AG/DC wrote: I notice Randy Johnson isn't included, so you may have to knock out Ichiro for now. I didn't realize The Big Eunich played last season. If so, then i would agree that its Ichi that gets knocked down to "borderline".

one more "awesome" out of you, fella, and things could start to get ugly early.

The 14 HOFers: 1 - Craig Biggio 2 - Ken Griffey 3 - Chipper Jones - we may hate Larry, but we can't deny him. HOF Standards = 56.4 (Avg HOFer ≈ 50) / HOF Monitor = 141.5 (Likely HOFer > 100). At age 35, coming off a good year, his numbers can still climb. 4 - Mike Piazza 5 - Manny Ramirez 6 - A-Rod 7 - I-Rod - he was the best catcher in the AL for about a decade. 8 - Frank Thomas - With 10 seasons in the top 10 in OPS+ (7 in the top 2!), 9 seasons in top 10 in Runs Created and in MVP voting (winning 2), and almost 1000 games played at 1B (with 2 silver slugger awards), one would have to be an idiot to hold his DHing against him. 9 -Tom Glavine - With 10 x in top10 ERA+, 11 x top 10 in Wins, 6x top 3 in Cy Young voting (winning 2), with his hitting, fielding, post-season performances, its hard to make much of a case against him, try as i might. 10 - Greg Maddux 11 - Pedro Martinez 12 - john Smoltz - with 10 x in top 10 ERA+, Ks and WHIP, and 5x top 10 in CY (1 win), not to mention becoming a closer and winning the rolaids in 02, he seems a more than borderline candidate. 13 - Mariano Rivera - a rich man's Trevor Hoffman, with record-setting post-season numbers. 14 -Ichiro - 7 consecutive seasons in the top 2 in hits, top5 in SBs, and with a GG each of those years. If he puts up another 3 good years, which is likely given his conditioning, he'll have to go, not to mention his career's historical importance to the game as the 1st great player to come over from Japan. borderline cases: * Carlos Beltran - he's 30 and young enough to put up another 5 years like 2006. If he does, he could go. But if he puts up 5 more years like 2007, then he'll be an Andre Dawson-type borderline case. * Jeff Kent - he didn't start making a case until he went to SF in 1997 and, at age 29, started hitting behind one of the greatest hitters of all time. From 97-05, he was the best hitting 2bman in the game. I don't know if he was good enough, long enough. He can't help himself, like Sandberg did, with his defense. * Jim Thome - not as dominant a hitter as The Big Hurt, but still 500+ HRs, and a career OPS+ of 150 [HOF Standards = 50.3 (Avg HOFer ≈ 50) / HOF Monitor =139.5 (Likely HOFer > 100)] * Curt Schilling - a post-season legend, injuries have hurt his career numbers but he still has 10 x top10 ERA+, WHIP, Ks, plus 4x top 5 CY voting, and a WS MVP. He was Drysdale to Big Unit's Koufax and brought the bloody sock to Boston. * Trever Hoffman - One of the NL's best closers for 15 years, but he's more Lee Smith than Mariano. Still, Gossage may have opened the door even wider. * Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa - The reporters have shown with McGuire that they won't vote the `Roid Boys in... at least not right away. No: Larry Berkman - too many injuries, too little time. David Ortiz - he's put up 5 great years in boston, but he'll need another 5, and his body isn't going to hold up. Scott Rolen - see Berkman. Miguel Tejada - overrated. In his best season, 2004, he was 8th in runs created but 4th in outs made. Roy Halladay - some peaks, but not enough. see Berkman, Rolen. Billy Wagner - a poor man's Trevor Hoffman.

seriously? SERIOUSLY? [u:f100e21f5c]KGriffey[/u:f100e21f5c] Black Ink: Batting - 26 (Average HOFer ≈ 27) Gray Ink: Batting - 162 (Average HOFer ≈ 144) HOF Standards: Batting - 61.4 (Average HOFer ≈ 50) HOF Monitor: Batting - 225.0 (Likely HOFer > 100) The most comparable careers (as listed on BaseballReference) are Frank Robinson & Willie Mays. SERIOUSLY? I think the only question is whether he's a 1st ballot guy or not. And i think, since he'll end up with over 600HRs and a career OPS+ of around 140, he'll probably be a 1st rounder.

There are about 200 players in the HOF, out of over 16,000 players in ML history (according to today's Bill Madden column). That's about 1.25%... a very high threshhold, despite some less qualified inductees (since they are evened out by qualified excludees). considering the approximately 1100 players in MLB last season, who are the 14 HOFers among them? looking at players who were 30+ last season, lets consider the case for: [u:2137c08c45]hitters:[/u:2137c08c45] Carlos Beltran Lance Berkman Barry Bonds Craig Biggio Ken Griffey Chipper Jones Jeff Kent Scott Rolen David Ortiz Mike Piazza Manny Ramirez A-Rod I-Rod Sammy Sosa Ichiro Miguel Tejada Frank Thomas Jim Thome [u:2137c08c45]Pitchers:[/u:2137c08c45] Glavine Trever Hoffman Greg Maddux Pedro Martinez john Smoltz Billy Wagner Roy Halladay Mariano Rivera Curt Schilling Roger Clemens who are the lucky 14? Designate each candidate with a "yes" "borderline" or "no", or add your own candidates (must have played last season at age 30+)

Willie was one of the more enjoyable aspects of those dark days. He seemed like a great player, but only in comparison to the rest of those Mets teams of the late 70s. But he certainly got style points for his glove work.

[u:f7d0988f67] Name (year on ballot) - HOFM** / HOFCS** (2008 vote%)[/u:f7d0988f67] Jim Rice (15th) - 146 / 43 (72.2%) * Andre Dawson (8th) - 118 / 43 (65.9%) Bert Blyleven (12th) - 120 / 50 (61.9%) Lee Smith (7th) - 135 / 13 (43.3%) Jack Morris (10th) - 122 / 39 (42.9%) Tommy John (15th) - 111 / 44 (29.1%) * Tim Raines (2nd) - 90 / 46 (24.3%) Mark McGwire (3rd) - 169 / 42 (23.6%) Alan Trammell (9th) - 118 / 36 (18.2%) Don Mattingly (9th) - 133 / 34 (15.8%) Dave Parker (13th) - 125 / 41 (15.1%) Dale Murphy (11th) - 115 / 34 (13.8%) Harold Baines (3rd) - 66.5 / 43 (5.2%) [u:f7d0988f67]1st year[/u:f7d0988f67] Ricky Henderson, and Steve Avery, Jay Bell, Mike Bordick, John Burkett, David Cone, Ron Gant, Mark Grace, Charles Nagy, Denny Neagle, Jesse Orosco, Dean Palmer, Dan Plesac, Rick Reed, Greg Vaughn, Mo Vaughn, Matt Williams, Mike Williams [u:f7d0988f67]off ballot[/u:f7d0988f67] Dave Concepcion (15+) - 106 / 25.9 Robb Nen (1st) - 92 / 15 Chuck Knoblauch (1st) - 66.5 / 33.8 Chuck Finley (1st) - 53.5 /27 David Justice (1st) - 43.5 / 28.7 Rod Beck (1st) - 63 / 13 Brady Anderson (1st) - 38 / 26 Travis Fryman (1st) - 36 / 26.4 Jose Rijo (1st) - 28 / 20 Todd Stottlemyre (1st) - 15 / 13 Shawon Dunston (1st) - 14 / 16.9 * last year on ballot ** HOF monitor [100+ = HOF credentials] ** HOF Career Standards [50+ = average HOFer]

Rich Gossage Tim Raines Bert Blyleven And i wouldn't be upset if Dawson, Parker, Rice, Trammell and/or Murphy got alot of votes, too. I'm on the fence about McGwire. no to Morris, Lee smith

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I was expecting to see Eight Men Out for Chicago. DOH! Cheerleaders, shmearleaders, San Diego had The Kid from Left Field. DOH DOH!

here are the cities with baseball-related movies (or, at least some tenuous connection to baseball or sports) EAST New York - BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY / PRIDE OF THE YANKEES Philadelphia - THE WINNING TEAM Atlanta - THE SLUGGER'S WIFE Washington D.C. - DAMN YANKEES Miami - ANY GIVEN SUNDAY (football) Baltimore - DINER (Colts fan) Boston - FEVER PITCH Tampa Bay - THE ROOKIE Toronto - OWNING MAHONEY (gambler's addiction) CENTRAL Chicago - [on edit] EIGHT MEN OUT / ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Cincinnati - THE CINCINNATI KID (poker) Cleveland - MAJOR LEAGUE Detroit - COBB Houston - BAD NEWS BEARS II (1977) Kansas City - KANSAS CITY BOMBER (roller derby) Milwaukee - MR. 3000 Minneapolis - LITTLE BIG LEAGUE Pittsburgh -ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD (1951) St.Louis - PRIDE OF ST. LOUIS WEST Anaheim - ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD (1995) Arizona - JERRY MAGUIRE (Arizona cardinals) Colorado - CITY SLICKERS (Crystal's Mets hat) Los Angeles - BAD NEWS BEARS (1976) / THE SANDLOT Oakland - NORTH DALLAS 40 (Matuzak) San Diego - [on edit] THE KID FROM LEFT FIELD San Francisco - THE FAN Seattle - LIFE OR SOMETHING LIKE IT (baseball player boyfriend) Texas - THE ROOKIE

The scenic design was really impressive. And, as for the zombies, the whole new style of portraying them, ala 28 DAYS LATER and the remake of DAWN OF THE DEAD, is indeed much scarier than they've ever been. But the script and the storytelling left alot to be desired, dontcha think?

but its not just a good, gory action film... which it is. It's also a moving story about a young husband and father trying to return home, to save his family. And it's also a cautionary tale about the limits of empire... no matter how indomitable a people may be, a ship can pull into their harbor that will end their world. There is always a greater power out there, ready to bring down the apocalypse upon us, for our sins... an interesting message for a born-again christian. Maybe Brother Gibson is a prophet preparing us for the end of days.

one writer's HOF ballot: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=insidedishwhosgettingthe&prov=tsn&type=lgns By Gerry Fraley - SportingNews ]Bert Blyleven -- His career record (287-250) was more a function of his teams than his performance. From 1971-89, he ranked among the league top 10 in ERA 10 times, in innings pitched 11 times and in strikeouts 15 times. He had the gold standard for curveballs. Agreed. ]Andre Dawson -- The National League's best all-round player in the 1980s, Dawson won the MVP in 1987, went to seven all-star games during the decade and also won eight Gold Gloves. Andre is a borderline case, but i've got no beef with anybody who votes for him. ]Goose Gossage -- The proliferation of one-inning saves has diminished Gossage's accomplishments. As a reliever, he pitched more than 100 innings four times, regularly working multiple innings for saves and entering tie games. His presence affected every game. Agreed. ]Jack Morris -- One game does not make a Hall of Famer, but Morris' Game 7 masterpiece in the 1991 World Series might be the exception to the rule. The relentless big-game pitcher also led the '80s in wins (162) and complete games (133) and made 515 consecutive starts during his career. The fact that Black Jack was the winningest pitcher in the 1980s is just an arbitrary numerical fact, where his best years happened to occur during a particular decade. If he was dominant from the mid 1970s through the mid 80s, but didn't lead either decade in wins, would he have been any less of a pitcher? It's a ridiculous comment. Also, saying 1 game doesn't make a HOFer, and then saying he's a HOFer based on 1 game, is similarly stupid. Black Jack was definitely a horse, threw a lot of innings, pitched alot of games, but (as usual) his "big game" rep was formed early and isn't entirely accurate. He pitched in 13 post-season games, and he pitched well in 7 of them, and not well in the other 6. He was a really good pitcher for 15 seasons, but his peak wasn't that high, and even as an "accumulator", he didn't reach any magic numbers. ]Dale Murphy -- No one represented the game better. Murphy won two MVPs, was awarded five consecutive Gold Gloves and had a dozen 20-homer seasons. Murphy was just the opposite. He had a VERY high peak, but didn't last long enough. Still, i understand this vote more than the one for Morris. ]Dave Parker -- The National League's dominant outfielder from 1975-80, Parker won the 1978 MVP and was a two-time batting champion and three-time Gold Glove selection. He would be easy pick if not for off-the-field problems that included his involvement in the Pittsburgh drug trials. I think his borderline candidacy is hurt more by his relative lack of productivity from 1980-84, right in the middle of his prime, before coming back with the Reds with strong 1985-86 seasons, then fading again before finishing strong as a DH for oakland in 1990. ]Alan Trammell -- His feats compare favorably with those of American League contemporary Cal Ripken Jr., in terms of Gold Gloves (four to two) and .300 seasons (seven to five). Trammell also had an important role on strong Detroit teams of the 1980s. Comparing Trammell to Ripken, but only in terms of GGs and .300 seasons, is silly, since Ripken's HOF credentials are based on his power and run production, not to mention his durability, over a long career... none of which can Trammell even come close to. But if Trammell had merely maintained his own level of play after he turned 30, he'd have accumulated the type of numbers which would've made him a HOF lock. But he didn't. And as far as his peak goes, though 1987 was a terrific season, he didn't have 5 other similar seasons at any point in his career. Like Parker, Murphy and Dawson, I don't fault anybody for voting for Trammell, though i'd probably not vote for any of them. ]Tim Raines and Jim Rice received thorough consideration but no vote. Raines' case was hurt by his reluctance to run in all situations, as Rickey Henderson did. Raines seemed at times too concerned about preserving his stolen-base percentage. Rice was a superlative offensive player but lost out because of his sub-par defensive work in left. Raines stole over 800 bases, so his "reluctance to run" is a perception based on idiocy. He was certainly a more descriminating runner than those who just wanted to accumulate SBs. But to say he didn't run just because he wanted to preserve his SB% stats is nuts; Rock understood that unless you're stealing at a very high rate of success, you're actually hurting not helping the offense. That understanding, along with his great OB%, make him one of the players who would've been more appreciated in the modern "moneyball" era of sabrmetrics. And comparing anybody to Ricky is unfair. By that measure no other leadoff hitter would ever get into the HOF. And if you want to damn Rice for creating too many outs in the course of putting up his impressive offensive stats, thats one thing. But to deny him your vote because of subpar defense at the least important defensive position on the field is a bit much for my taste.

Vic's review: It's no OMEGA MAN, that's for sure. and, in case you're wondering, that's not a compliment.

="AG/DC"]Don't get me wrong, because I don't like the Church trade at all, either, but I think the fallout from the trade is long-term, and I think they returns will be more or less even this year. I also don't think we've necessarily stood still. Sometimes, with Reyes, Wright, Gomez, Pelfrey, Humber, Smith and Mulvey all getting a year older, it might have been a good time to stand still. Obviously, the old guys get older also, and obviously, the olderness of some should give serious pause. Position2007 Starter Age Season Quality Relative to Career Trajectory 2008 StarterAgeMost Likely Outcome CatcherLo Duca35PoorSchneider31WashFirst BaseDelgado35PoorDelgado36WashSecond BaseValentin37PoorCastillo32Wash Castillo31Even ShortstopReyes24PoorReyes25ImprovementThird BaseWright24GoodWright25WashLeft FieldAlou40Even*Alou41Fall BackCenter FieldBeltran30Slightly PoorBeltran31Slight ImprovementRight FieldGreen34PoorChurch29ImprovementPitcher 1Glavine41GoodMartinez36WashPitcher 2Hernandez41GoodHernandez42Strong Fall BackPitcher 3Maine27GoodMaine28WashPitcher 4Perez25GoodPerez26WashPitcher 5Pelfrey (et al)23PoorPelfrey24ImprovementCloserWagner35EvenWagner36Fall Back * Alou hit better than his career trajectory suggested he would, but missed even more time than expected. A crude numeric framing would look something like this: Reyes improvment: 2 points Alou fall back: -2 points Beltran slight improvment: 1 point Church improvement: 2 points Hernandez strong fall back: -3 points Pelfrey Improvement: 2 points Wagner fall back: -2 points Obviously, many of these --- or all of them --- might not happen, but we can hope tjat luck will tend to balance out. I even think we have a right to hope that Alou deserves only a -1 because he's unlikely to miss quite so much time. I don't count the rest of the pen because pens are too ephemeral to be predicatable. Anyhow, that all adds up to a net wash I'd evaluate it this way: Lineup: C: LoDuca v Schneider = slight improvement (less than average) even in decline, LoDuca may be equivalent to Schneider offensively, but an upgrade in defense is likely 1b: Delgado (35) v Delgado (36)= decline continues (less than average) Delgado is trending downward 2b: Valentin/Gotay/Easley/Castillo (31) v Castillo (32) = even (average) Last year's melange was adequate; Castillo won't be much of an upgrade SS: Reyes (24) v Reyes (25) = slight improvement (better than average) It remains to be seen which was the aberration: April or October? 3B: Wright (24) v Wright (25) = slight improvement (MVP candidate) I can't imagine Wright getting much better, but it's possible LF: Alou (40) / Chavez (29) / Gomez (21) v Alou (41) / Chavez (30) / Easley 38 / Anderson (34) = even (less than average) LF was a black hole for the 78 games it was played by anyone other than Alou. It is unlikely to improve with the current roster. CF: Beltran (30) v Beltran (31) = even (better than average) "Slightly Poor"? Only in comparison to has career year. Otherwise, his numbers were better than his careeer averages across the board. I'd expect more of the same. RF: Green (34) v Church (29) / = improvement (average) Church will be an upgrade, but with his impotence against LHP, he's a platoon player without a platoon partner. Pitching P1: Glavine v Pedro = even (below average #1) How do you rate Glavine's season as "good", based on an ERA+ of 96? Pedro is a total questoin mark at this point. P2: Maine (26) v Maine (27) = even (average #2) While still young, Maine's 2nd half slide last year doesn't leave me confident about projecting any improvement for him this season. P3: Perez (25) v Perez (26) = even (better than average #3) Perez had the best year of any Mets starter last season, and is still young enough to continue to improve. However, his career has had such radical swings that its hard to assume anything about Perez in 08. P4: El Duque (?) / Pedro /etal. v El Duque (?) = even (better than average #4) El Duque was great when healthy, but he missed 8-10 starts with various ailments, giving starts to pitchers like Chan Ho Park, Vargas and Brian Lawrence... and he will likely do so again P5: Sosa (30) / Pelfrey (23)/etal. v Pelfrey (24) / ? = improvement (average) I've yet to see anything that suggests any of Pelfrey, Humber, Mulvey or any of their other young pitchers are ready to get major league hitters out at a reasonablely reliable rate, so this is pure wishful thinking. If Sanchez comes back strong, the bullpen will be better. If he doesn't, it won't. Last year's bench was pretty good but this year's bench still needs to fill some holes.

I'm not high on Blanton, and despite what Beane is asking for him, i think your proposal is drastically overpaying for him. And here's a concurring opinion i just read on MetsBlog: ]According to Jerry Crasnick earlier this week at ESPN.com, the Mets are still interested in acquiring A�s RHP Joe Blanton, but not at the expense of Carlos Gomez, Kevin Mulvey and Aaron Heilman. In a recent post to Athletics Nation, Nico writes the following about Blanton� �It�s difficult to say exactly how good Joe Blanton is�.He has never missed a start, he rolls (literally) out of bed and gives you 200 IP, and the guy has won 42 games in 3 years�The consensus around the league is that Blanton�s best seasons are behind him, not ahead of him�Blanton�s weight has scared off teams that think it reflects either a lack of conditioning, or a poor work ethic, a risky tendency, etc., and they believe Blanton is not nearly as good a health risk in the future as he has been in the past�Yes, Bartolo Colon and David Wells made it work for years on an ample frame, but many others didn�t. If I saw Joe Blanton at the hardware store, it would be difficult to convince me that he was a top athlete who could make the strapping young All-American boy-wonder look foolish on a slow curve.� Last season for the A�s, Blanton was 14�10 with a 3.95 ERA through 34 starts, during which he allowed an average of just one walk per start. He made at least 32 starts in each of the last three seasons. He is eligible for salary arbitration this off-season, and the two after that, and is eligible for free agency after 2010. He�d be a nice fit, especially switching his game to the National League East�however, gomez, mulvey and heilman is a hefty price tag for a picther who, though he did well last season, had a 4.82 ERA in 2006. In a recent chat for ESPN.com, Keith Law said the following when asked how the Mets should proceed, assuming Johan Santana and Erik Bedard are not an option� �I think if they�re not getting either of those guys, they should skip the Joe Blantons of the world and roll the dice on Pelfrey and maybe Humber. You liked these guys enough to take them in the first round, and both did well in the minors. Pelfrey in particular still has #1-2 potential. Jerking these two guys up and down isn�t going to help the big club or enhance their trade value.� To me, if Santana is not an option, and the Mets are confident heilman can be replaced, i would pull the trigger on that deal for blanton, because he, John Maine and Oliver Perez will make a solid, young foundation to build upon over the next few seasons, plus it means keeping pelfrey and humber�and, it is quite clear that the only way to acquire above-average starting pitching is to overpay in prospects� �plus, though i�d be disappointed to not get santana, starting Pedro Martinez, blanton, maine, perez and, say, Bartolo Colon, would be a good-enough rotation - especially when compared to the rest of the division�