Vic Sage

My nephew, David, did a summer internship with the independent leaue team in Bridgeport CT. Tommy John was the manager and ex-Met prospects Bobby Malek and Jay Caliguiri played for the team. For David's 21st Bday, we had a party in one of their "luxury suites" and he threw out the 1st pitch. A good time was had by all. Afterwards, he got me a ball signed by Malek. I always thought Malek was going to make it, but apparently not. Nobody makes it out of that league alive.

I'll be there Sunday. Soupy, you still going?

her career was great early, but fell off rapidly and deeply. In the 7-year period from 1978 - 1984, she had major roles in 6 excellent films: ANIMAL HOUSE (78) THE WANDERERS (79) SMALL CIRCLE OF FRIENDS (80) RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (81) SHOOT THE MOON (82) STARMAN (84) And then.... nothing good for nearly 10 years, until her supporting role in the excellent baseball movie, THE SANDLOT (93). Since then, nothing of interest. She still works, but not in things that are either successful or even visible. She was never a great actress, but she definitely had a certain ... something. After establishing herself as a grownup romantic lead in the excellent STARMAN, she made some bad career choices. Then, she had to wait until she aged into "mom" roles. She should have had a better manager, like "E".

="sharpie"]...Dickshot, on further investigation, you are correct about Meat Loaf. I seem to remember him being in the booth for a Mets game and so assumed he was with the good guys. He isn't. I don't like his music, either. Dissin' the Meat? Byte me, you vegan.

and Wright is 2nd to H.Ramirez in VORP

as of 9/11/07 -- According to ROI (Ralph's Offensive Indicator = RC x OPS), the current top 5 in the NL are: Fielder = 116.8 Wright = 115 Holliday = 114 H.Ramirez = 113.9 Pujols = 110.6 If Cubs win NL central (eliminating Cards and Brews), and Mr Wright keeps this up, David has a legit claim on the bling. [u:fb130597a1]The rest of the top 10:[/u:fb130597a1] C.Jones = 106.2 Utley = 104.1 M.Cabrera = 104.1 Rollins = 102.1 Bonds = 101.6 Where can i find current Win Shares?

well, now the 'Stros are 99.44% of suck.

With Castillo's knee, it wouldn't have killed WWSB to start Marlon at 2b, since we're going with the b-team anyway.

i saw this lovely fairy tale fantasy over the weekend. Neil Gaiman adapted it from his graphic novel.

to get all that, just eat a Twinkie on a roller coaster.

I'm just saying.

Personally, i find that the agony I suffer is not worth the fun i have. Thats why i prefer my victories untainted by doubt. but that's me. I'm thinking of getting a new hobby.

]Fasten your seatbelts folks - it's gonna be fun. Only a masochist thinks this is fun. The next 5 weeks will be agony, and the only possible redemption of it will be if we make the post-season. While that will have made the agony worth, it and the accomplisment all the sweeter. it won't have made the remainder of this season any less agonizing. My favorite kind of game is a crushing victory, where we score 12 runs in the first inning... and then slowly pull away. Its my favorite kind of pennant race as well. Of course, you may like to have your nuts crunched. who am i to judge?

Damn. Them. All.

I read that they've installed phones on the George Washington bridge that are directly linked to a suicide prevention hotline.

i have tix for the 8th. So, I'm hoping Pedro pitches on the 9th.

Glavine 5 Delgado 1.5 Alou 1 Heilman?

Edgy DC wrote: Really, it's Reyes' bat that keeps me up. why... are you using it as a crutch? anyway, to blame the pen when you've scored all of 2 runs over 10 innings, and left baserunners stranded in scoring position all game long, is to have missed the point, i think. The team's ERA is around 4, which is among the better ERAs in the NL. And they gave up 4 runs last night. It was the offense's job to score 5. And they didn't have to face Koufax to do it. Wright is the only guy hitting consistently. we can't win that way.

The Pirate movie has gone the way of the Western, as a dated genre that only ocasionally pops up every now and again. Nobody really knows how to make them anymore, they're expensive, and they're not surefire hits. Perhaps the success of PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN will revive the genre, but DANCES WITH WOLVES did not pave the way for a western revival, so i'm not holding my breath.Indeed, since PIRATES 1 in 2003, the only other pirate movies made were PIRATES 2 (06) & 3 (07). Both grotesquely successful well beyond their qualities.

Lo Duca 1.5 Beltran 1

what about Mulvey? How has he been doing this year? Any reported consideration of Mets giving him a taste of September?

1) well, if you don't, you've certainly given me the impression that you do, over the course of its entire existence in MLB. 2) except for the part where you talked about the Yanks and Seattle, you mean. The September stretch drive in the Bronx will be all about the WC.

But FK, you hate the wild card!

Edgy DC wrote: Make of it what you will, but I think Mark McGwire failed a test. what test would that be? the test of public opinion? yes, i agree. And i think that will keep him out for awhile. But as the steroids era becomes history, and more names are exposed, it may be that he's held less culpable. Especially, since the substances he probably took weren't against the rules at the time. Palmiero, however, failed a test when it had been already been banned, and he lied to congress about it. I'd say he's more likely target for ostracization. I could be wrong, of course. I'm just saying McGwire's numbers indicate a HOF-worthy career and, as far as i know, he never violated the rules of his time. The HOF has noted cheaters like Gaylord Perry and Don Sutton, and an abusive, gambling racist like Cobb. Were I a voter, it would be hard for me to justify a permanent disqualification (even an informal one) for McGwire.

in evaluating HOF credentials, Bill James' the HOF Monitor and HOF Standards formulas are useful tools. The Monitor attempts to measure the likelihood of induction based on a wide range of accomplishments. The Standards test tries to measure the actual value of his accomplishments. You can look at these numbers for each player, and measure them against the average HOFer, rather than using the lowest ranked HOFer as a threshhold, which only serves to bring the level ever downwards. avg HOF standards = 50 / avg HOF Monitor = 100 (130 = a lock) [u:afee405e84]2008:[/u:afee405e84] * Blyleven, Bert - 50 / 120.5 (at least avg in both stats = yes) - Rice, Jim - 43 / 146 {Black Ink test=33 (above 27 avg), borderline-yes) - McGwire, Mark - 42 / 169 [bI =36] (never tested positive, borderline-yes) - Smith, Lee - 13 /135 {borderline- stats don't work well for RPs) - Mattingly, Don - 34.1 / 133 (borderline) - Parker, Dave - 41 / 129 (borderline - no) - Morris, Jack - 39 / 122 (borderline - no) - Dawson, Andre - 43 / 118 (borderline - no) - Trammell, Alan - 36 / 118 (borderline - no) - Murphy, Dale - 34 / 115 {(BI = 31) borderline - no} - John, Tommy - 44 / 111 (borderline - no) x- Concepcion, Dave - 25.9 / 106 (no) x- Tim Raines - 46 / 90 (no) x- Baines, Harold - 42 / 66.5 (no) [u:afee405e84]2009: [/u:afee405e84] * Rickey Henderson - 52 / 186 (BI = 50! - 1st ballot) [u:afee405e84]2010: [/u:afee405e84] * Roberto Alomar - 55 / 193 (yes) * Edgar Martinez - 50 / 131 (yes) - Barry Larkin - 42 / 118 (borderline) - Fred McGriff - 47 / 100 (borderline - no) [u:afee405e84]2011: [/u:afee405e84] * Jeff Bagwell - 59 / 149 (yes) * Larry Walker - 57 / 147 (yes) - Juan Gonzalez - 39 / 120 (borderline - no) x- Rafael Palmeiro - 57 / 178 (yes, but tested positive, so no) [u:afee405e84]2012: [/u:afee405e84] * Craig Biggio - 55 / 172 (yes) As for the Smith / Vizquel discussion, they have similar below-average HOF Standard rankings (smith = 30.9, Vizquel = 33.9), but the Wizard had a Monitor ranking of 142, to Vizquel's 119, so one can understand Ozzie's inclusion and Omar's exclusion, despite being similar players.