Vic Sage

he is on pace for a 62-hr year by the all-star break, but then has a religious epiphany and moves to Tibet to study Buddhism with the Dalai Lama.

REVISED: I didn't include players that had the least PA, IP, and G, unless they had a positive WAR. This is based on the proposition that, if a guy only had a handful of appearances yet still managed to produce a negative WAR, then any fan sitting on his couch helped the Mets more by not playing at all. If you were a regular starter, no matter how bad, you contributed more with a catch here and a hit there than guys who barely played. Based on my determination, then, there were 35 "qualified" players, ranked in descending order: DeGrom Alonzo McNeil Wheeler Conforto Lugo Syndegaard Matz Ramos Frazier JDDavis Rosario Wilson Vargas Nimmo Stroman Cano D.Smith Brach Guillorme Gsellman Panik Font Avilan Sewald Nido Hecchavaria Familia Diaz Lagares qualified but not in top 30: gomez Mazza Lockett Bashlor Gagnon disqualified: Hitters, as sorted by PA: BROXTON - ALTHERR - R DAVIS - d'ARNAUD-RIVERA - TEJADA - LOWRIE - HAGGERTY Hurlers, by IP: FLEXEN -ZAMORA - SANTIAGO - PETERSON - POUNDERS - OSWALT- NOGOSEK - RHAME - O'ROURKE - HART

feigns injury so he doesn't have to face Juan Soto in the middle innings of the home opener. As he walks off the mound, he trips and tears his achilles. out for the year.

breaks his nose when punched by Familia for trying to steal his girl at a strip joint, after the 3rd game of the season. While rehabbing, he gets hit by a car, breaking his arm in 13 places. He retires to study tropical birds in the Amazon.

.280/.350/.410, 3rd in the ROY vote. No, wait, that is the guy we traded for him. I'll predict a whole bunch of time on the DL and "small sample size" for stats. this... and after his 3rd trip to the DL, he goes on a coke-fueled, self-destructive, downward spiral during a road trip and gets shot in a bar fight in Philly. Or, you know, maybe not. But a tragic and premature death is the only way we're getting out from under his contract.

.265/35/100

i think that, if Marisnick is going to be anything more than a late-inning defensive sub and batter/baserunner off the bench (and i don't think he should be more than that), it'll be an occasional start hitting at the bottom of the order against LHPs (and particularly if we have a flyball pitcher starting), with either Nimmo or Conforto sitting. But i don't know that they would do it in the 3rd game of the season, particularly with a groundball pitcher like Stroman on the mound.

lineup v RHPs Sherzer (game 1) and Strasburg (game 2): Nimmo*, cf McNeil*, 3b Alonzo, 1b Conforto*, rf Davis, Lf Cano*, 2b Ramos/Rivera, C DeGrom/Syndegaard, P Rosario, SS lineup v LHP Corbin (game 3): Rosario, ss Alonzo, 1b Cespedes, lf Davis, 3b McNeil*, 2b Ramos, C Conforto,*rf Stroman, P Nimmo*, cf These lineups start the season by platooning Cespedes and Cano (assuming Cespedes starts the season on the active roster and can play the field without falling down like Willie Mays in 73), reducing their playing time in consideration of their age and physical decline, as well as Cano's career-long (and increasing) platoon splits. If they both show they can play ever day and be productive, things can change. In the meantime, Marisnik can occasionally spot Conforto (who still has problems against LHP, unlike Nimmo and McNeil, who have less significant splits) and Smith can spot Davis against RHP, once in a while. Rivera catches Syndy, to give Ramos a regular day off. Lowrie gets replaced by Guillorme at the end of the bench.

is there a Lowrie thread in the archives from when he was acquired? I'd be interested in seeing what people thought about the signing at the time.

Cohen doesn't necessarily need to own SNY, he just needs the Mets broadcasting rights. So if the current Mets/SNY deal is terminable, he absolutely can get the revenues back from a new deal (either with SNY or perhaps YES?, or even another regional network) that he would otherwise get from owning SNY. So if the deal is terminable and SNY has to either pay market rate (plus perhaps even a premium from losing the broadcast rights to a competitor like YES), then SNY won't be particularly valuable to Fred&Jeffie anymore, so they might as well toss it into the deal and go back to real estate. It all comes down to the nature of the current Mets/SNY deal.

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: My new screenplay (working title: DRESSED TO KILL) follows young Stanley Eisen from his days as an teenage outcast ashamed of his deformed ear and hounded by a fuckedup parents to a meeting with brash, horny, opinionated mama's-boy Chaim Bloom as young rockers in a big, dangerous city with big, dangerous dreams. Along the way they recruit a hearty-partying guitar whiz and a sour, would-be Brooklyn gangster drummer; hook up with a manager who teaches them the tricks of long-vanished vaudeville magic and together, with only a few songs and even fewer ideas, they leapfrog contemporaries with better chops and bigger followings, on their way to domination (of 13 year old boys). Flick ends with the release of ALIVE! leaving just enough breadcrumbs to promise sequel after sequel after sequel. My only concession to Hollywood is to cast good looking young actors if you really want to get it green-lighted, you have to add Howard The Duck. https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Howard_the_Duck_Vol_1_13https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Howard_the_Duck_Vol_1_13 https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ef/22/32/ef22326f41cbc2c69483b73d9c73f1c0.jpg>

fuck pete and the horse he bet on.

I think my predictions were pretty good, overall. I went 17/24, with all "locks" coming through. Of the 7 I missed, all were designated as possibles, with "closing", "dark horse", or "even money". No long shots came in.

Before this year, there were 11 foreign language films nominated for best picture, with 6 of them also nominated for best foreign-language film (and 5 of those winning in the best foreign film category, which began in 1956). Best picture nominees: 1932 - Grand Illlusion 1969 - Z* 1972- The Emigrants+ 1973 - Cries & Whispers 1987 - The Last Emperor 1995 - Il Postino 1998 - Life is Beautiful* 2000 - Crouching Tiger* 2006 - Letters from Iwo Jima 2012 - Amour* 2018 - Roma* +nominated in Foreign language film category *won in foreign language film category

its not trying to be funny, so evaluating it on that basis seems odd. It's also not animated, nor a civil war drama. There's oh so many things its not. but one of the things that it IS is powerful, timely, gripping and really well made.

just saw it on VOD. It's really good, but in the comedy-turns-to-tragedy genre this year, i still prefer JOJO.

they still haven't gotten over the whole Babe Ruth thing.

CURRENT Oscar favorites (with my preferences italicized, where applicable): Best Picture: “Ford v Ferrari” “The Irishman” “Jojo Rabbit” - my choice “Joker” “Little Women” “Marriage Story” “1917” - favorite “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” “Parasite” - closing Director: Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman” Todd Phillips, “Joker” - my choice Sam Mendes, “1917” - favorite Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite” - closing Lead Actor: Antonio Banderas “Pain and Glory” Leonardo DiCaprio “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Adam Driver “Marriage Story” Joaquin Phoenix “Joker” - a lock Jonathan Pryce “The Two Popes” Lead Actress: Cynthia Erivo “Harriet” Scarlett Johansson “Marriage Story” Saoirse Ronan “Little Women” Charlize Theron “Bombshell” Renee Zellweger “Judy”- a lock Adapted Screenplay: “The Irishman,” Steven Zaillian “Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi - favorite “Joker,” Todd Phillips, Scott Silver “Just Mercy” Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Lanham “Little Women,” Greta Gerwig - closing “The Two Popes,” Anthony McCarten Original Screenplay: “Knives Out,” Rian Johnson “Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach “1917,” Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino - favorite “Parasite,” Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han - closing Supporting Actor: Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes” Al Pacino, “The Irishman” Joe Pesci, “The Irishman” Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” - a lock Supporting Actress: Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell” Laura Dern, “Marriage Story” - a lock Scarlett Johannson, “Jojo Rabbit” - my choice Florence Pugh, “Little Women” Margot Robbie, “Bombshell” Cinematography: “The Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto “Joker,” Lawrence Sher “The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke “1917,” Roger Deakins - a lock “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson Film Editing: “Ford v Ferrari,” Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland - favorite “The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker “Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles - my choice “Joker,” Jeff Groth “Parasite,” Jinmo Yang - closing Original Score: “Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir- a lock “Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat “Marriage Story,”Randy Newman “1917,” Thomas Newman “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams*“The King,” Nicholas Britell Original Song: “I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4” - dark horse “I'm Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman” - favorite “I'm Standing With You,” “Breakthrough” “Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2” - my choice “Stand Up,” “Harriet” Animated Feature: “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” Dean DeBlois -my choice “I Lost My Body” Jeremy Clapin “Klaus” Sergio Pablos - even money “Missing Link” Chris Butler “Toy Story 4” Josh Cooley - even money Best Foreign Language Film: “Corpus Christi,” Jan Komasa “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov “Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly “Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodovar “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho - absolute lock Best Documentary Feature: “American Factory,” Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar - favorite “The Cave,” Feras Fayyad “The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa “For Sama,” Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov Best Documentary Short Subject: “In the Absence” “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone,” Carol Dysinger - favorite “Life Overtakes Me,” Kristine Samuelson, John Haptas “St. Louis Superman” “Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix Best Live Action Short Film: “Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur -favorite “Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat “The Neighbors' Window,” Marshall Curry - dark horse “Saria,” Bryan Buckley “A Sister,” Delphine Girard Animated Short: “Dcera,” Daria Kashcheeva “Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry - slight favorite “Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan - closing “Memorable,” Bruno Collet “Sister,” Siqi Song Sound Editing: “Ford v Ferrari,” Don Sylvester - slight fave “Joker,” Alan Robert Murray “1917,” Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate - closing “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman “Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker,” Matthew Wood, David Acord Sound Mixing: “Ad Astra” “Ford v Ferrari” - slight fave “Joker” “1917”- closing “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Production Design: “The Irishman,” Bob Shaw and Regina Graves “Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova - my choice “1917,” Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales - dark horse “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh - favorite “Parasite,” Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee Costume Design: ”The Irishman,” Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson “Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo “Joker,” Mark Bridges “Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran - favorite “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips Visual Effects: “Avengers Endgame” - even money “The Irishman” “1917” - even money “The Lion King” “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” Makeup and Hair: “Bombshell” - lock “Joker” “Judy” “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” “1917” JOJO is my personal fave so far this year, but most prognosticators are predicting a "1917" v "PARASITE" awards show.

my OCD required me to use different metrics to rank the movies ('ve actually ranked over 110 superhero movie adaptations). I used rankings from IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, CinemaScore and MetaCritic to create a metric and this was the ranking. (i did tweak it a bit to incorporate my own ranking too), I agree with you about Cap: First Avenger, but the sabrmetrics say otherwise.

Double Switch wrote: As long as I'm here, I have found a reason to need Netflix (but doubt I'll cave). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86ajK0EOq6IWhat Did Jack Do? Toototaban! i watched that last week, out of curiousity. Its pure Lynch - weird, funny, perverse. Reminded me of ERASERHEAD.

the order in which they were released (with my suggestions about which ones to skip): Iron Man Incredible Hulk [skip] Iron Man 2 [skip] Thor [skip] Captain America I: First Avenger Marvel's The Avengers Iron Man 3 [skip] Thor 2: The Dark World [skip] Captain America II: The Winter Soldier Avengers II: Age of Ultron Guardians of the Galaxy Ant-Man [skip] Captain America III: Civil War Doctor Strange Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 [skip] Spider-Man: Homecoming Thor 3: Ragnorak Black Panther Avengers III: Infinity War Ant-Man & Wasp Captain Marvel Avengers IV: Endgame Spider-Man: Far From Home

MCU ranked best to worst: AVENGERS IV: End Game BLACK PANTHER IRON MAN GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY THOR 3: Ragnorak marvel's AVENGERS CAPTAIN AMERICA III: Civil War CAPTAIN AMERICA II: Winter Soldier AVENGERS III: Infinity War SPIDER-MAN: Far From Home SPIDER-MAN: Homecoming DR. STRANGE CAPTAIN AMERICA I: first Avenger GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 ANT-MAN & WASP AVENGERS II: Age of Ultron ANT-MAN CAPTAIN MARVEL IRON MAN 3 THOR IRON MAN 2 INCREDIBLE HULK, the (08) THOR 2: Dark World

CF is, as almost always, correct. stop this nonsense.

saw him as a rookie, at the game where he took a line drive off his noggin. The impact sounded like a gunshot and he dropped like a box of rocks, so everybody started looking around for a shooter. next year, he was a guest at our little league awards breakfast and i got an autograph. He was very tall (at least to 11-year old me) and looked like Herman Munster, which i thought was very cool. congrats, Jonny!

Of course nobody knows how this is going to work out, but: *he's coached alot of these guys before in the minors and they like him; *he has actual managerial experience down there; *He's been with the organization for a long while now, and is well regarded internally; *his coaching role this year was to participate in discussions of in-game strategies and the use of analytics, so he's at least conversant with those tools; and * his baseball lineage means he's grown up in the game, so his youth doesn't necessarily work against him. How he "handles NY" (i.e., the media) remains to be seen, but he's certainly not going to be any worse at it than the thin-skinned Beltran. Given that ST starts in a few weeks, and Brodie wasn't going to give the keys over to a Showalter or some other outsider demanding total control, I think this was as good a choice as they could have made under the circumstances (with a sigh of relief that they passed on Dusty), and i'm much more hopeful now than i was when they hired Beltran. The guy's young but he seems to actually have some qualifications, so that's a nice change. but yes, we'll see.