Vic Sage

from Wikipedia: Punch and Judy is a popular British glove-puppet show for children, featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between the anarchic Mr. Punch and one other character (the show is traditionally performed by a single puppeteer, known as a Professor, who of course can only perform two characters at a time). The tale is this: Punch, in a fit of jealousy, strangles his infant child, when Judy flies to her revenge. She fetches a bludgeon, with which she belabours her husband, till Punch, exasperated, seizes another bludgeon and beats her to death, then flings into the street the two dead bodies. The bodies attract the notice of a police officer, who enters the house. Punch flees for his life; being arrested by an officer of the Inquisition, he is shut up in prison, from which he escapes by means of a golden key. The rest is an allegory, showing how Punch triumphs over all the ills that flesh is heir to. (1) Ennui, in the shape of a dog, is overcome; (2) Disease, in the disguise of a doctor, is kicked out; (3) Death is beaten to death; and (4) the Devil himself is outwitted. Mr. Punch wears a jester's motley, is hunchbacked and his hooked nose almost meets his curved jutting chin. He carries a stick, as large as himself, which he freely uses upon all the other characters in the show. He speaks in a bizarre rasping voice, produced by a contrivance known as a swazzle or swatchel which the Professor holds in his mouth, transmitting his gleeful cackle� "as pleased as Punch". The Punch and Judy show has deep roots; it is ultimately based on the Italian commedia dell'arte, and the figure of Punch derives ultimately from the stock character of Pulcinello. He is a manifestation of the Lord of Misrule and Trickster figures of deep-rooted mythologies. Judy was originally "Joan". "Punch and Judy" shows are also known in various other countries. In Germany Punch is called "Kasper" and Judy is "Grete". The characters date back to the 18th century in German speaking countries. In the Netherlands Punch is called Jan Klaassen, in Denmark Mester Jackel, in Italy Pulcinello (with Pulcinella as the female part), in Russia Petruschka, in Romania Vasilache and in France Le guignol. May 9, 1662 is reckoned the birthday of Mr. Punch, for that was the first time the diarist Samuel Pepys observed a Punch and Judy show near St. Paul's Church in London's Covent Garden. It was performed by an Italian Punchman, Pietro Gimonde operating as "Signor Bologna". Pepys described the event in his diary: "...an Italian puppet play, that is within the rails there, which is very pretty, the best that I ever saw, and great resort of gallants." This is considered the first written record of a Punch and Judy performance. Pepys went back several more times and continued to be amused. The Punch he saw was a marionette not a glove-puppet, and worked his show within a tent. The simplification of the show to an easily transportable booth (known as a fit-up) with a pair of sock puppet characters happened in the early 19th century. A transcript of a typical Punch and Judy show in London of the 1840s can be found in Henry Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor. Modern performances of Punch and Judy are traditionally seaside entertainments, found in holiday resorts during the summer months. Apart from Punch and Judy, there is usually also their baby, a crocodile, and a string of sausages. The devil and Jack Ketch may also make appearances. The story changes, but the punchlines remain the same: Mr. Punch, for example, always says "That's the way to do it!" Featuring, as it does, a deformed, child-murdering, wife-beating psychopath who commits appalling acts of violence and cruelty upon all those around him and escapes scot-free, it is greatly enjoyed by small children.

oh, sure. way ta go, kid! Now here's your hat, what's your hurry...

why try to draw any conclusions from such absurdly small sample sizes? I am suspicious of "clutch" except as a backward-looking assessment of a particular player's (or team's) game, series or season, as in: "he had a clutch hit there", and "they came up clutch by winning that series", and "they had alot of clutch hits this season... thats what put them over the top." I don't buy "clutch" as one of a hitter's attributes based on which you can make an assessment of his future production (like batting avg, for example), unless you can demonstrate that a player has consistently hit better (no, not just hit better, but hit WELL) in a range of specifically defined "clutch" situations over the course of his career (not just a season here or there, followed by "unclutch" seasons), and in so determining, you're using substantial sample sizes (not 20 ABs here and 20 ABs there). Otherwise, "clutch" is no more than luck.

All Chavez' numbers indicate to me is that he's a piece of crap hitter in just about any circumstance. That he's slightly less crappy with men on is not particularly significant... afterall, it's not as if he becomes a GOOD hitter in those situations. (and please lets not draw any conclusions from the 25 ABs with the bases loaded) Woodward played some CF last year. If we're just going day-to-day with Beltran, I'd just as soon see Woody's bat in the lineup. If he's going to be DLed for a short period, I'd prefer to bring up Diaz and move Nady to CF. If Beltran has got a more serious long-term problem, you've got to go to Milledge. The big red machine could carry Cesar Geronimo... but the Mets `06 are not a big orange `n blue machine. With the way this lineup is producing now, we can't afford to give up a slot in the lineup to guys who can't hit for shit.

Castro - 1.5 Bannister - 1.25 Chavez - 1.25 Reyes - 1.25 Delgado - 1.25 Oliver - 1 Franco - 1 Sanchez - .5 Matsui - .5 Woodward - .5

excellent point.

i don't even want to TALK about not wanting to see it.

Agee, i agree that Keith is unpolished to the point of irritation, and that its especially noticeable next to the very excellent Gary Cohen. Also, his macho breast-beating is disappointing though not out of character. I think some of his observations are cliches and lacking in insight. But i do find him alot more interesting than boobs like Ed Coleman, or gladhanding ex-jocks who never see a problem with their former colleagues, or homers who never criticize the home team. Keith, warts and all, offers more insight into the actual game play than anyb other color analyst since around here since McCarver. And, with regard to McCarver, while i think he fell in love with himself on national tv, i do think he was an excellent announcer. While a play-by-play guy is there to call the game, I WANT the color guy to "critique" the game. "First-guessing" really makes you think about how the game is played. I learned alot about baseball from McCarver, even though I've been watching it for 40 years, and reading about it for 35 years, and thinking about it since reading the James abstracts 25 years ago. Unlike Bret, i respect your right to disagree. i think Bret has developed Tourrettes, which is a shame. He used to be a great poster around here.

Wigginton was moved off 2b in the minors, because he didn't have the range to play the position. They tried him out for some starts in the majors, but weren't impressed. They also gave him starts at 1b and OF. They moved him back to 3b the next season where he had a decent but not great season. He then sucked the following year, and we traded him for a decent SPer because: (1) a decent #3 SPer is better than a mediocre 3bman, and (2) we had a good 3bman in the pipeline. why didn't they move him back to 2b? Because (1) they'd already seen enough of him there to conclude he wasn't the answer, and (2) there was a Japanese MVP-level SS they (and just about every other ML team) had an eye on. Since trading him, he's played only a few games at 2b, so two other teams haven't viewed him in that role either. Ultimately, the team we traded Wiggy to thought so much of him they released him outright. Now that he's had a hot month, we're supposed to gnash our teeth and shake our fists in despair? Puhleez. If we'd kept Benson, or traded him for decent value, or if Aubrey Huff didn't go on the DL thus giving a bench player a shot to start again (at 3b), we wouldn't even be having this conversation. And in a month, when he's back on track for a .260/15hr/70rbi/.750OPS season, with defense still insufficient to convince any of 3 organizations to play him at 2b, he'll end up back on bench once Huff comes back. But by then we'll all be focused on some other specious evidence of Mets incompetence as provided by Bret.

whats the matter with you, mm? haven't you learned by now that any athlete's failure is an indication of his flawed character? don't you listen to sports talk, sports reporters and sports announcers?

what Mr. Knot said... ditto. you take Wright out of the lineup over my cold dead body.

i don't need to produce an angy Dominican for your satisfaction. All i need is to be offended by the off-handed way these guys equate being Mexican with being Dominican because, you know, they're all Latinos, so whats the big deal... and it was all in fun, so get a life... Just like you don't need to be Jewish to eat Levy's rye bread, and you don't have to be a Quaker to eat Quaker Oats, i don't have to be a Dominican to be offended by racial insensitivity performed publicly (even if they didn't intend for it to be mean-spirited) in the spirit of having a good time. It doesn't matter if Pedro was offended. I AM offended. Or would be, if i gave much thought to it. Which, of course, doesn't mean they shouldn't do it. I tend to encourage offensive behavior, generally. But at least i don't pretend its NOT offensive.

The correlation is not "stupid", its intentionally humorous. That it was done in the "non-sarcastic forum" of the Mets complaint dept email is, in fact, what MAKES it humorous. Explaining humor is as tedious as being repeatedly exposed to mlbaseballtalk's posts.

I find myself in general disagreement with almost everything Chuck says, with comforting consistency. If i'm ever unsure or confused about how i feel about a particular matter, its going to be valuable for me to hear Chuck's position. He is a nearly perfect reverse barometer for me. And i'm sure i can perform an equally valuable service for him.

ScarletKnight41 wrote: A Blue Martini would suffice. Blue Curacao would do the trick. Blue is for the Mets, as well as for Pedro's glove. All that's left is figuring out what goes on the toothpick to replace the olive. a slice of orange, of course!

you should make a "Pedro Martini" with rum, because rum comes from Jamaica which, apparently, is the same as the DR.

they can go back to the "K Korner" idea just by using "K-Dro's Korner", and they can still hang Ks.

There's a better song about this year's Mets with a similar title... Our Time by Stephen Sondheim (from "Merrily We Roll Along") Something is stirring, Shifting ground � It's just begun. Edges are blurring All around, And yesterday is done. Feel the flow, Hear what's happening: We're what's happening. Don't you know? We're the movers and we're the shapers. We're the names in tomorrow's papers. Up to us, man, to show 'em � It's our time, breathe it in: Worlds to change and worlds to win. Our turn coming through, Me and you, man, Me and you! Feel the flow, Hear what's happening: We're what's happening! Long ago All we had was that funny feeling, Saying someday we'd send 'em reeling, Now it looks like we can! Someday just began � It's our heads on the block. Give us room and start the clock. Our time coming through, Me and you, pal, Me and you! Me and you! Me and you! Me and you! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/samples/B0000014VA/ref=dp_tracks_all_1/104-9990785-3285532?%5Fencoding=UTF8#disc_1

i'd rather have Matsui at 2b than Anderson at any point this season. as for the rest of the injury-reduced lineup: Reyes Woodward (cf) Delgado Wright Loduca Nady Valentin (lf) Matsui (2b) thus using Chavez and Anderson for late-inning defense ONLY. Woodward played some CF last year, didn't he?

Delgado 2.5 Nady 2.5 LoDuca 1.25 Martinez 1.25 Sanchez 1.25 Wagner 1.25

i found it to be a mediocre, tv-level MOW ("movie of the week").

really good movie. In fact, Taylor "what a" Hackford's ONLY really good movie.

Harrison Ford made a living as a carpenter, before he hit it big.

yeah, i traded Myers to abogdan for Podsednik, because i had a surplus of frontline pitching and no SBs. so what happens? Posednik is playing hurt and playing bad, and Abogdan is able to turn Myers into Chase Utley. ugh. Myers will give you Ks, but he's pitching in a hitter's park, and who knows if the Phils will be good enough for him to win alot. Utley? a 5-category 2bman, with 1b eligibility! yes, you should have shopped around. actually, you shouldn't have traded utley under any circumstances. You might've found a good SPer for less. Starting pitching is one of those things you can pick up over the course of a season. a .300/30/30/100/100 2bman doesn't come along very often.

Doug Flynn was exactly the kind of ballplayer that i loved as a teenager... great glove, "clutch" hitter, young player with "potential"... and then i started reading the Bill James Abstract every year, and all my illusions about defense, and "clutch" and "potential" gradually were replaced by an understanding of what went in to run production and run prevention. I still love my memories of loving little Dougie Flynn, though. Aesthetics and nostalgia shouldn't always be sacrificed at the altar of understanding. Some things surpasseth understanding and they count, too.