Vic Sage

here are the ballots of the dozen HOF voters who are regular contributors to ESPN.com http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hof07/news/story?id=2721445

here's Jayson stark's ballot, with his commentary. I agree with him, mostly... especially about Gossage, Blyleven and the underappreciated Dale Murphy. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hof07/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=2724111

The vote comes down today, doesn't it? [on edit: a 2pm announcement is scheduled]

yup... as much as i appreciated reading it.

]What happened 20 years ago is irrelevant. yes, history is always irrelevant, until it repeats itself. The point i think is that, simply because we were dominant last year doesn't mean we're just as likely to go wire-to-wire this year. Invidivual performances fluctuate (especially with young players), teams get old, injuries happen, competition changes. I remember thinking in 86 that we were at the beginning of an age of total dominance. Didn't happen. Nor did the 69 team usher in a decade's worth of division titles. Talent is spread out thinner amongst teams, and small differences distinguish the best and worst teams. Thats why, when you have a chance to go for it late in the season, you go for it. Because that collection of talent may never get that close again, and you could wait a decade (or a century) before you have a serious post-season shot.

Johnny Dickshot wrote: I suppose I'm releived to have not made it to the movies even once during 2006, seeing as so many of you put an OK but hardly great "Sunshine' as the best movie of the year! well, my ranking is fairly arbitrary. none of this year's movies were great. Upon further consideration, I'd probably put STRANGER THAN FICTION at the top of the list, but not by much. i also appreciated SUNSHINE'S creepy, Solondz-style undertones, making it one of the bleakest, most emotionally disturbed comedies of the year.

here are 2 more i saw that i didn't realize were from 2006, that i've since added to my top 10 list -THANK YOU FOR SMOKING -V FOR VENDETTA Also, honorable mention to: -NOTORIOUS BETTE PAGE and I also saw -THE PROPOSITION

Other films of 2006: (based on Oscar eligibility list http://www.oscars.org/79academyawards/reminder/reminder_list.html ) ABOMINABLE ALEX RIDER: OPERATION STORMBREAKER ANNAPOLIS APRIL'S SHOWER ASK THE DUST AURORA BOREALIS BACKSTAGE BASIC INSTINCT 2 BEYOND HONOR BREAKING AND ENTERING BRICK BROKEN BRIDGES BROTHERS OF THE HEAD CSA: THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA COME EARLY MORNING CONFETTI CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER WOMEN CROSSOVER DOG LOVER'S SYMPHONY DON'T COME KNOCKING DOWN IN THE VALLEY DRIVING LESSONS EL CORTEZ EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH FACTORY GIRL FACTOTUM FAST TRACK FLANNEL PAJAMAS FUR: AN IMAGINARY PORTRAIT OF DIANE ARBUS GOAL! THE DREAM BEGINS GRANDMA'S BOY HARD CANDY HARSH TIMES HEADING SOUTH HOLLYWOOD FAMILIA HOSTEL IMAGINE ME & YOU INLAND EMPIRE JUST MY LUCK THE KING KINKY BOOTS LIES & ALIBIS THE LISTENING LOOK BOTH WAYS LOOKING FOR COMEDY IN THE MUSLIM WORLD THE LOST CITY MAN PUSH CART MAPLE PALM MISS POTTER THE MOSTLY UNFABULOUS SOCIAL LIFE OF ETHAN GREEN NANNY MCPHEE NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VAN WILDER 2: THE RISE OF TAJ NEO NED NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 3D OFF THE BLACK OLD JOY ON A CLEAR DAY ONE LAST THING... ONE NIGHT WITH THE KING OPAL DREAM PEACEFUL WARRIOR PERFUME - THE STORY OF A MURDERER PHAT GIRLZ POSTERBOY THE PUFFY CHAIR THE QUIET THE RETURN RUNNING SCARED SAVING SHILOH THE SECRET LIFE OF WORDS SEE NO EVIL SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM: A DONALD STRACHEY MYSTERY SOMETHING NEW STAY ALIVE SWEET LAND 10 ITEMS OR LESS 3 NEEDLES TRISTRAM SHANDY: A COCK AND BULL STORY TRUST THE MAN TWO WEEKS VENUS WAIST DEEP WALTZING ANNA WASSUP ROCKERS animated: ARTHUR AND THE INVISIBLES PAPRIKA RENAISSANCE docs: AMERICAN HARDCORE THE BEAUTY ACADEMY OF KABUL BUDDHA WILD: MONK IN A HUT DAVE CHAPPELLE'S BLOCK PARTY DELIVER US FROM EVIL GOD GREW TIRED OF US THE GROUND TRUTH THE HEART OF THE GAME IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS LEONARD COHEN I'M YOUR MAN MUSIC IS MY LIFE, POLITICS MY MISTRESS: THE STORY OF OSCAR BROWN JR. NEIL YOUNG HEART OF GOLD ONCE IN A LIFETIME: THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE NEW YORK COSMOS RAPE OF THE SOUL SKETCHES OF FRANK GEHRY THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON foreign: CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER THE BLOSSOMING OF MAXIMO OLIVEROS BROKEN SKY DAYS OF GLORY DUCK SEASON THE HOUSE OF SAND LA MUJER DE MI HERMANO LAGE RAHO MUNNA BHAI LEMMING L'ENFANT (THE CHILD) THE LIVES OF OTHERS MARRIAGE, IRANIAN STYLE MEMORIES OF TOMORROW MIRIAM THE PROTECTOR QUEENS RANG DE BASANTI RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES THE TIGER AND THE SNOW TIME TO LEAVE TWO DRIFTERS TYPHOON WARIS SHAH WATER A YEAR WITHOUT LOVE

"3 burials" = 2005 but i've added "descent" to the 2006 list.

Your observation that our LF position generated relatively meager production last year was the very point i started with. the only question was whether Alou, who'll turn 41 in mid-season, and who has had 420 ABs and 350 ABs the last 2 seasons, will play enough to provide the increased production we need. Assuming he gets around the same number of ABs this season (which is not a risk-free assumption at age 41), you still need to factor in the 250 or so ABs that we'll have to cobble together from other players. Is Chavez going to hit as well as he did early last season, or as poorly as he did late? Will Johnson or Milledge hit enough, or will they drag down the production, or will they even play? I viewed LF as a hole this off-season, and i saw omar fill it with a pebble.

i'm not panicking. I'm not saying Omar has been terrible, or that we're doomed. I didn't demand an ace or a "bone fide" #1. I made what i think are totally valid points about what the Mets needs were going into the off-season, and what Omar has or has not done to address them. I don't think he's addressed our needs, therefore he's not had a particularly good off-season. RES IPSA LOQUITOR Most strong teams have at least one veteran pitcher (age 27-32 range -- ie, "in their prime"), who is at least a reliably above average pitcher you can pencil in for 200+ better-than-average innings. We don't. In LF, Alou's is likely to give us no more than 350 ABs. I'm not going to argue whether his 350 ABs are likely to be signficantly better than 350 ABs from FLoyd this season (its a debatable point, but lets assume he will)... ony that, at his age, with his injury history, he is not going to play enough to have more than a marginal impact, and we'll require another excellent year by Endy to support him. And Endy will have to split time with Green as well, since our RFer is (at this point) punchless and defensively limited. Ben Johnson doesn't impress me as much of a move to improve this area, either. And we're again counting on an old Valentin to play a full season at 2b, with no alternatives available if he fails. Damien Easley? Newhan? oy. As i said, i think we can still be competitive, but it would be nice if a move could've been made (or could still be made) to actually IMPROVE the team. As of yet, Omar hasn't done it. He hasn't screwed up either, but that's damning him with the faintest of praise. I don't think this is a controversial point.

Nymr83 wrote: ="Vic Sage"] 3) We have an expensive over-the-hill RFer, and none of our young OFers (including milledge) have shown themselves ready to step up and fill that slot. - Omar's solution: do nothing. i think that between Milledge and Johnson we have among the best 4th and 5th outfielders in the league, Omar did ok backing up the fragile old men. you can think what you want, but neither of those guys have proven anything on the major league level, so while they have potential, they aren't among the best ANYTHING in the league. And while i would agree that Endy Chavez, on the other hand, IS a damn good 4th OFer, he was last season's aqcquisition. At any rate, we didn't need an upgrade at BACKUP corner OFer (ie, see Chavez, above). We needed 2 better starters than Floyd and Green. Alou and Ben Johnson don't fill that bill.

while i agree that mr.jones is a bit of a whiner, the reality is this... we had 4 holes going in to the off-season. 1) Problem: We had an old, broken down LFer that needed to be replaced - Omar's solution: hire an older broken down LFer to replace him. 2) Problem: we got lucky at 2b. Valentin repeating at his age is a longshot, and he'd probably be more valuable on the bench. - Omar's solution: re-sign Valentin as our starting 2bman. 3) We have an expensive over-the-hill RFer, and none of our young OFers (including milledge and Johnson) have shown themselves ready to step up and fill that slot. - Omar's solution: do nothing. 4) Our starting pitching does not have single top flight starter in the prime of his career; the rotation is comprised of the old (Glavine, El Duque), the young (Maine, Perez, Pelfrey, Humber), the mediocre (Williams) and the wounded (Pedro). - Omar's solution: do nothing. While i agree the Mets are certainly in position to compete again this year, as currently constituted, i think everyone of the question marks we had coming into the off-season still remain. Which doesn't indicate a particularly good job so far by our GM.

According to Newsday... The New York Mets are apparently close to signing free-agent outfielder David Newhan. The 33-year-old, lefty-hitting Newhan, formerly with the Baltimore Orioles, gives the Mets another outfield option and further organizational depth if they decide to trade Lastings Milledge for a pitcher.

I'm still waiting for those Ghost Rider comics, Edgy!

not a great year, i'd rank my top 10 as: 1) Stranger Than Fiction 2) Little Miss Sunshine (Oscar nom) 3) Thank You for Smoking 4) Casino Royale 5) Happy Feet (Oscar nom) 6) Dreamgirls 7) V for Vendetta 8) Invincible 9) Superman Returns 10) Apocalypto with honorable mentions to: - Akeelah and the Bee - Art School Confidential - Cars (Oscar Nom) - Children of Men - Clerks II - Departed, The (Oscar nom) - Flushed Away - Inside Man - Lucky Number Slevin - Mission: Impossible III - The Notorious Bette Page - Pan's Labyrinth (Oscar nom) - Prestige, The - Scanner Darkly, A - Snakes on a Plane - Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - X-Men: The Last Stand and dishonorable mentions to: - Aquamarine - Bloodrayne (razzie nomination) - Failure to Launch - Hills Have Eyes, The - Hollywoodland - Lady in the Water (razzie) - Pink Panther, The - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - RV (razzie) - Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, The (razzie) - Ultraviolet - Doogal - Monster House (Oscar nom) - Underworld: Evolution - Miami Vice - Pursuit of Happyness, The I also saw: - Break-Up, The - Click - Da Vinci Code, The - Curious George - Charlotte's Web - History Boys, The - Over the Hedge - The Proposition - Wild, The - World Trade Center - Beerfest - Benchwarmers, The - Eragon - For Your Consideration - Fountain, The - Idiocracy - Man of the Year - My Super Ex-Girlfriend - Night at the Museum - Queen, The (Oscar nom) - Rocky Balboa - Stick It - Jet Li's Fearless - Ant Bully, The - Ice Age 2: The Meltdown - Open Season Here are all the major feature films released this past year that i HAVE NOT yet seen ( * = I plan to see): - 16 Blocks - Accepted - All the King's Men - American Dreamz - ATL - Babel (Oscar nom) - Basic Instinct 2 (razzie) - Beer League - Big Momma's House 2 - Black Christmas - Black Dahlia, The * - Blood Diamond - Bobby - Borat * - Butterfly Effect 2, The - Copying Beethoven - Covenant, The - Crank - Date Movie - Dead Girl, The - Deck the Halls (razzie) - Deja Vu * - Descent, The - Devil Wears Prada, The - Eight Below - Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, The - Fast Food Nation - Final Destination 3 - Find Me Guilty - Firewall - Flags of Our Fathers * - Flicka - Flyboys - Freedomland - Friends with Money - Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (razzie) - Glory Road - Good German, The * - Good Shepherd, The - Good Year, A - Gridiron Gang - Groomsmen, The - Grudge 2, The - Guardian, The - Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, A - Half Nelson - Holiday, The - Home of the Brave - Hoot - How to Eat Fried Worms - Idlewild - Ilusionist, The * - Infamous - John Tucker Must Die - Keeping Up with the Steins - Lake House, The - Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector (razzie) - Last Holiday - Last King of Scotland, The - Last Kiss, The - Let's Go to Prison - Little Children - Little Man (razzie) - Madea's Family Reunion - Marie Antoinette - Marine, The - Material Girls (razzie) - Nacho Libre - Nativity Story, The - Night Listener, The - Notes on a Scandal - Omen, The - Painted Veil, The - Poseidon - Prairie Home Companion, A - Pulse - Running with Scissors * - Saw III - Scary Movie 4 - School for Scoundrels - Scoop - Sentinel, The - Shaggy Dog, The (razzie) - She's the Man - SherryBaby - Shortbus - Silent Hill - Slither - Step Up - Take the Lead - Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny * - Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, The - Tristan + Isolde - Unaccompanied Minors - United 93 - We Are Marshall - When a Stranger Calls - Wicker Man, The (razzie) - You, Me and Dupree - Zoom (razzie) foreign lang: - Letters from Iwo Jima * (Oscar nom) - Science of Sleep, The * - Turistas - Volver - Catch a Fire - After the Wedding (Oscar nom) - Days of Glory (Oscar nom) - The Lives of Others (Oscar nom) - Water (Oscar nom) animation: - Barnyard - Everyone's Hero docs: - Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That! - Inconvenient Truth, An (Oscar nom) - Jesus Camp (Oscar nom) - Shut Up & Sing - This Film Is Not Yet Rated - Who Killed the Electric Car? - Wordplay - Jackass Number Two - Deliver Us from Evil (Oscar nom) - Iraq in Fragments (Oscar nom) - My Country, My Country (Oscar nom)

At last! The ballad of Norrin Radd shall be writ large upon the hearts and minds of man... and his song will make the heavens weep. Tis a telling long awaited. Forsooth. nuff said. excelsior.

I"m not a big fan of the show, but i thought the movie was pretty good. Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy (yes, Eddie Murphy) are spectacular and the filmmaking is of a pretty high caliber. The score consists of one emotional power ballad after another, and sounds like Motown via Tin Pan Alley. Still, it was more effective than i remembered. Some of the new songs are good, too. Hudson's rendition of AND I'M TELLIN YOU (I'M NOT GOING) is one of the most incredible musical movie moments ever recorded and makes the film debut of this AMERICAN IDOL runner-up a surefire Oscar winner. I did have some quibbles. First of all, 2 of the 3 girls aren't particularly good actresses. Beyonce is given almost nothing to do aside from stand there and look pretty (which she does well), but thats as much a problem with the book as it is with the performance. They give her a new song to do at the end, just so there is some reason for her to be in this movie, but it is too little, too late, and seems more like an outtake from some other movie. Also, this is Jamie Foxx's least interesting performance. Again, more a problem with the book than the actor, but he usually rises above mediocre material. Not here. My main problem was the use of the musical idiom. In CHICAGO the same screenwriter used a brilliant technique of having all the musical numbers play out from the point of view of Roxy Hart (they are musical hallucinations inside her head). Here, at first we are seeing the music performed onstage, as actual performances. Its not until 10 or 15 minutes into the movie that you get a song outside, on the street, where characters are singing to each other in furtherance of the narrative, and it comes as a very jarring experience. You need to establish at the very beginning the musical device and how it will be employed. This movie fails to do that. On the whole, though, it was still very good.

here is my proposal in the selig thread 3 weeks ago: http://cybermessageboard.ehost.com/getalife/viewtopic.php?p=136863&highlight=#136863

where's the love? Mazz was the only good thing in a dark time. He was a local boy made good, our lone all-star rep (i remember that opposite field homer he hit to win the A-S game). I forgave him his stylin' and matinee looks, cuz he seemed basically well meaning. A great centerfielder (albeit a weak arm), who hit .300 with some pop and speed. And when we traded him, we got 2 important pitchers (terrell and darling). And then we got him back in time to participate in the 86 championship team. He took a job with the MFY? Yeah, so what? Its not like the Mets were dying to keep him. I don't blame a guy for trying to make a living. He's back now. I'm happy about it.

Yancy Street Gang wrote: .... If that's true, then there's a real difference in dollars between landing Suppan and landing Zito. Which would be why some teams would see Suppan as a viable alternative. lets just hope the Mets aren't one of those teams.

why thank you very much, kind sir. And Knightly is knot bad either.

fav baseball moment of 2006: I took my daughter to a 1st round playoff game, and we both were ecstatic for 3 hours. which is exhausting. least fav baseball moment of 2006: Yadier Fucking Molina best day of 2006: Teacher conference with my daughter's teacher -- major progress! worst day of 2006: September 30th - I got fired. best month of 2006: October - I got re-hired; Mets go to post-season worst month of 2006: September - see above overall rating (out of 10, 10 being great) for 2006: 5. We're all in good health, and currently employed, so i can't complain. But i've certainly had better years. best new place visited in 2006: The ONLY new place visited last year was a week in April to sister-in-law's condo in Clearwater, FL. Not great, but there it is. fav movie saw in a cinema in 2006: LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - great little movie. Also good were: CARS, CLERKS II, DREAMGIRLS, STRANGER THAN FICTION, INVINCIBLE, SUPERMAN RETURNS and HAPPY FEET. least fav movie saw in a cinema in 2006: SANTA CLAUS 3. Interminable, even if you didn't mind the first 2. My other stinckers included HOLLYWOODLAND, LADY IN THE WATER, PIRATES o/t CARRIBEAN 2 and DOOGAL. fav movie rented in 2006: LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN - also enjoyed THE BREAK-UP, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3 and BBC miniseries NEVERWHERE. least fav movie rented in 2006: THE LIBERTINE - i have no idea why i stayed conscious during this pretentious twaddle. fav cd bought in 2006 Didn't buy many. I liked cast album for WEDDING SINGER. least fav cd bought in 2006: Disneymania 3. I bought for my daughter... if i hear it again, i'll throw myself into a wood chipper. fav book read in 2006: ANANSI BOYS by Neil Gaiman. or any book by Neil Gaiman. least fav book read in 2006: i can't remember the title... a baseball book which was a compilation of recollections by old timers, including Ralph Kiner. Just dreadful. fav tech gadget bought in 2006: Bose I-doc. Its better than my stereo. fav sex symbol of 2006: Scarlett Johannsen - i need her to be naked. soon. least fav celebrity of 2006: Mel "holocaust? what holocaust" Gibson fav tv show of 2006: HEROES worst tv show of 2006: BROTHERS & SISTERS fav new piece of clothing u got in 2006: Mets jacket - my friend bought it but it was too big for him so he gave it to me. It's both warm (gortex?) and super-cool, dude. least fav new piece of clothing u got in 2006: socks that didn't make it more than a few washings. And an expensive Brooks Bros. blazer that never fit me right. fav politician of 2006: Kinky Friedman least fav politician of 2006: All the rest of them. Bush, especially, i guess. new trend that u like: democratization of artistic creation and political commentary created by the internet (ie, the loss of power by corporate-controlled mediators)... thus providing a way for any voice to be heard, for artists to go around the middle-men directly to their potential audiences, for marginalized people and groups to have influence. new trend u dislike: democratization of artistic creation and political commentary created by the internet (ie, the loss of power by corporate-controlled mediators)... thus permitting the mass theft by amateurs of artistic creations of professionals, the empowerment of the lunatic fringe, the balkanization of political/religous/racial/ethnic groups and the atomization of the mass popular culture that once tied us all together. fav webpage u discovered in 2006: Ralan.com (Ralan's webstravaganza) - a great resource for finding niche publications that buy sf/fantasy/horror stories. And the new dramatistsguild.com finally launched. best musical performance of 2006: I didn't see any concerts, but i saw some good musicals, including the unfairly battered WEDDING SINGER and HIGH FIDELITY. fav magazine of 2006: The only mag i read regularly is Variety (online), and the Comic Buyer's Guide (the CBG). magazine that got worse in 2006: I let my subscription to CBG lapse. I don't like the slick monthly format. I preferred it as a weekly newspaper-style publication.

despite the rumor about where all threads lead, i can assure you that guy on the subway wasn't me...

] One wonders if the Mets would have felt compelled to pony up the big bucks to protect their investment in Zambrano. I certainly hope they would have let him go rather than pay him one of these ridiculous contracts. well, since they didn't pay those ridiculous contracts to any of the mediocre pitchers on the market, one wonders why one would wonder whether the mets would pass on Zambrano, as well. One also wonders why one would think that Minaya has any vested interest in protecting the bad decisions of a prior regime, when Matsui's release (and common sense) would indicate that wasn't his style. One wonders why one would make such a catty, baseless accusation unless one were simply perpetuating a "mets are idiots" agenda. But why would one do such a thing?