Vic Sage

Edgy asked me for a list of top pirate movies. the orginal list is lost to the ezboard cyberdisaster, so here's a new one:Since the advent of talking pictures, there was a "golden age" for pirate movies -- 1934-1952, which included the following:Treasure Island (34) - Noah Beery's Long John Silver is an iconic performance that set the prototype for the peg-legged, parrot-perching, "aye matey" scalawag anti-hero.Captain Blood (35) - Errol Flynn became an international star in this his first starring role. Maureen O'hara was his red-headed lady fair in a role she recreated many times over the years (Curtiz)The Buccaneer (38) - Frederic March as John LeFitte in CB DeMille's epic adventure. Jamaica Inn (39) - Charles Laughton is the only reason to watch this, one of Hitchcock's weakest films, made just before he came to the US. O'hara is in it too. But bad Hitchcock is still worth watching.Sea Hawk (40) - Flynn is back with his "Robin Hood" director, Michael Curtiz, in one of the best of all time (great Korngold score)Black Swan (42) - Tyrone Power shows he's no slouch at romancing O'hara, too in one of the best swashbucklers.Princess and the Pirate (44) - Bob Hope spoofs the genre in hilarious fashion.The Spanish Main (45) - Maureen O'Hara's glorious red tresses get RKO's 1st technicolor treatment. Unfortunately, Paul Henried is no Errol Flynn. Still, a decent swashbuckler of the period.Captain Kidd (45) - Charles Laughton's performance is the only reason to watch this dated filmCrimson Pirate (52) - Burt Lancaster's exuberance, and the over-the-top tongue-in-cheekedness, plus the gorgeous technicolor make this silly movie still worth watching.Against All Flags (52) - Flynn and O'hara have one last fling on the high seas, with O'Hara tougher than ever. plus, lets mention Robert Newton and his "Long John Silver" trilogy: Treasure Island (50), Long John Silver (51) and Blackbeard (52) (where he played Blackbeard in the same way he played LJS). He was no Noah Beery, but he was okay. In the 53 years since Against All Flags, there have only been a handful of decent-to-good pirate movies made:High Wind in Jamaica (65) - this was a decent UK film, with pirate stalwart Anthony QuinnSwashbuckler (76) - Robert Shaw tried to single-handedly resurrect the genre. he failed, but not for lack of trying.Nate & Hayes (83) - ditto for Tommy Lee Jones. Both of these are underrated and overlooked. [on edit: edgy and most critics say i'm wrong on this one]Pirates Of The Carribean (03) - this Disney project allows Johnny Depp to give a tour-de-force performance in a overrated but entertaining pirate epic. You could add Treasure Planet, if one were including animation. And, if one were being particularly generous and whimsical, you could mention the mediocre Muppet Treasure Island. The most recent version of Peter Pan also warrants a mention on the plus side, with Hook added to the negative side, though i don't really consider PETER PAN a "pirate" story per se.However, aside from these, during the last 25 years Hollywood has produced such catastrophes as Cutthroat Island, Pirates, Yellowbeard, The Island, The Pirate Movie and others that allude me at this moment.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.

37 - Casey Stengel Stengel was the clown prince who allowed the team to be at least amusing and loveable at a time where they had nothing on the roster. I can see retiring his number for his initial importance to establishing the franchise. 14 - Gil Hodges Hodges was an original 62 Met, a NYC icon, and as a manager led them to the miracle 69 championship. He made the laughingstock mets a team to be taken seriously. then he died tragically. i can't understand anyone not understanding why his number was retired. 41 - Tom Seaver seaver, obviously, was a no-brainer retiree, as a HOFer who was the identity of the franchise.42 - Jackie Robinson (retired throughout baseball) Beyond these, as far as i'm concerned, a retiree will need to be a HOFer who either (a) played more of his games with the Mets than any other team, or (b) was a significant contributer for a sustained period during which they were a championship team. If they aren't HOFers, they need to either have been (c) career Mets who were significant contributors to championship teams and became identifiable icons of the organization, or (d) great players or important executives who died tragically as Mets. And HOFer or not, they'll need to be people of sterling character who the organization won't ever be ashamed to have honored in this way.looking at the prospective list:31 - Mike Piazza Piazza meets the criteria of A & B (unless he goes on to play a few years for the Dodgers, making him more theirs than ours)8 - Gary Carter Carter played the majority of his years (and was most productive) as an Expo. His number is theirs to retire, not ours.16 - Dwight Gooden 18 - Darryl Strawberry Gooden and Straw? are you kidding?17 - Keith Hernandez Hernandz falls short under category C, having won his MVP in ST.L and his "sterling character" is questionable,at best.21 - Cleon Jones 22 - Al Leiter 50 - Sid Fernandez Leiter's no HOFer nor any kind of career Met icon. Same for Fat Sid. Same for Cleon "what girl?" Jones.36 - Jerry Koosman Kooz is a close call under category C, but i'd say no. Through no fault of his own, he won 20 games for Minnesota. And while here he always dwelled in the shadow of the superior Seaver, preventing him from reaching "iconic met" status (IMO). If he'd come back after his Minny days to finish his career here, and became a Mets coach or announcer, I'd probably change my mind about him. But he didn't so i haven't.5 - Davey JohnsonWhile i loved Davey, and think he had a significant impact on their best teams, i'd rather not have more managers than players on the wall. And i think a manager or executive needs to be dead before he's considered. Besides, with the way Wright is starting his career, #5 might be going up anyway.31 - John FrancoFranco will need to make the HOF to qualify, as he was not a category C career Met. If 31 gets retired, it shouldn't be a "joint ceremony" with Piazza.45 - Tug McGrawNot quite a category C player, and his tragic death occurred after after his retirement from the Phillies. He's as much identified with them as he is with the Mets.Pedro Martinez? Only if he pitches effectively here for at least 5-6 years, and he leads the mets to a championship or 2 during his tenure (assuming he ends up a HOFer)As for players not mentioned7- If Kranepool was a slightly better player who made a slightly more significant contribution in 69 and/or 73, he'd be a lock. But he wasn't and he didnt' so he isn't.1- Mookie qualifies under category C, and is enhancing his status as an organization guy and Mets icon. I wouldn't have a problem with him going on the wall upon his final retirement from baseball, or upon his death, whichever is earlier.Conclusion: #31 might go on the wall (depending on what happens the next few years) and i wouldn't argue with #1 either, someday. But nobody else need apply at this time. We can talk about Wright and Reyes 10 years from now, to see where they stand.

*(avi)

nothing makes this one worthwhile. My review, were i to bother to write one, would include in it the phrase "blows monkey chunks" somewhere along the way

Benson - 4.75Wright - 4.75Beltran - 0.50

Cameron, Mike - 5Floyd, Cliff - 7Glavine, Tom - 7Looper, Braden - 8Matsui, Kaz - 3Mientkiewicz, Doug - 1Milledge, Lastings - 9Piazza, Mike - 1Seo, Jae Wong - 3Trachsel, Steve - 6

in the movie THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY, the badly wounded civil war captain is hanging on just so he can hear the sound of Blondie and Tuco blowing up the bridge that his army had been fighting and dying for. When he hears it, he smiles and dies.that could be us one day. But i think the idea of staying alive till they make it till .500 could actually make us immortal.

]I've run 10K. Twice.so that's, what... 20K, right? sounds expensive. Deal me out. I'll be the one sitting on the couch washing down his donuts with beer, and cheering you on. You go, girl!

There have been 6 players in club history to play the majority of the Mets games in LF for at least 3 seasons (including Floyd, who will qualify at the end of 05), and i'd rank them as follows:1) Cleon Jones - a career Met, he had a higher peak than K-Mc (151 OPS+ [7.66 rc/27] to Kmc's 142+ [6.39 rc/27]) and finished in the top ten in OPS+ 3x to Kmc's 1x... started for 2 pennant winners to Kmac's 0... had a better OB% as a Me... preferred fucking babes in a trailer to huntin' and fishin'.2) Kevin McRedneck - see above3) Cliff Floyd - he may end up with the best career OPS of any Met LFer, but ABs lost to injuries have kept his production down. If he has another year like this one next season, he'll pass KMc on this list, in my view. If he had a few decent years after that for the Mets, finishing his career here, he'd go to the top of the list.4) Bernard Gilkey - best single season in LF (157 OPS+), but nothing much after that in brief Mets career5) Henderson - decent, if unspectacular and brief (4 seasons), Mets career6) Foster - shit, from first AB till his last.

Then think of it as only needing to win every game for 2.3 seasons, if that makes it any easier for you.

Seo 5.5Wright 1.5Looper .75Beltran .75Cairo .75Reyes .75

zambrano 5Floyd 2Wright 1Beltran 0.75Piazza 0.50Cairo 0.50Reyes 0.25

August 8, 2005TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- The 19-year-old son of former baseball star Dwight Gooden was arrested for violating probation and faced additional charges of having marijuana and bullets in his car, police said. Dwight Eugene Gooden Jr. was being held Monday without bond. A jail spokeswoman didn't know if he had an attorney. Gooden Jr. was already wanted on an outstanding warrant of violating probation from a 2004 crack cocaine conviction. He was jailed early Sunday after officers found him outside a downtown Tampa club with 16 grams of marijuana and .44-caliber ammunition in his car, police spokesman Joe Durkin said. He was charged with possession of marijuana, being a felon in possession of ammunition and violating probation. Gooden Jr. was sentenced to 24 months of probation and ordered to perform 150 hours of community service in September 2004 after his arrest during a drug sting. Dwight Gooden Sr., the 1985 NL Cy Young Award winner, went 194-112 with a 3.51 ERA before retiring in 2001. He was arrested in March and charged with hitting his live-in girlfriend in the face during an argument. He was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery, and the case is pending. During his playing days, Gooden was suspended for 60 days in 1994 for testing positive for cocaine while with the New York Mets. He tested positive for cocaine again while on suspension and missed the 1995 season.

Knot, i'm a Frayed you've slipped.WWSB fucked up 6 ways from Sunday (or Thursday, as the case may be).Lets take a look:- Bottom of the 5th: Benson had shown pretty clearly by this point that he had nothing, having already given up 6 runs. Yet, in a 6-6 game in the 5th, WWSB lets him hit, after a leadoff double by Offerman. Why? so he can BUNT! in the middle of a tie game, we're giving up an out. Now, if its 2-2 and Benson's pitching well, then sure, bunt to keep him in the game. But WWSB had no intention of leaving him in! He had Heilman ready to start the 6th. So, playing small ball again, we're playing for 1 run in the 5th inning of a 6-6 game instead of PH-ing right there against a crappy reliever.- top of 6th: Heilman pitches a scoreless 6th, giving up hits to the top 2 Brewer hitters, Jenkins and Lee, but getting out unscathed.- Bottom 6th: Mets score 2, making it 8-6, but with 2 outs and 2 on, and with the bullpen exhausted, he PHs for Heilman, rather than let him carry the 2-run lead into another inning. - top 7th: Padilla pitches a solid 7th. Still 8-6- top 8th: WWSB pulls Padilla after 1 HBP, then Koo after 1 batter, before turning it over to Graves. 8-7- Bottom 8th: WWSB properly PHs for Graves in an 9-7 game, with 2 out and 2 on, since he's not going to trust him with a 2-run lead in the 9th, and this is their last shot to get some insurance runs. But this leaves him with only Hernandez, Looper or Santiago in the pen.- Top 9th: Looper is exhausted, but so is Hernandez. Yet Bert gets the ball. Instead of at least having Santiago up in case Berto has nothing, he leaves him out there without a net. Then, after giving up 3 straight hits, with the score now 9-9, WWSB has nowhere to turn. Santiago, a long reliever is the obvious and appropriate guy to bring into a tie game in the 9th, since bert has nothing and loopy's not available, and everybody else has been used. But no... he leaves Bert out there to take a shellacking and blow the game wide open.You can look at this and see, gee, these are all arguable moves, but i look at the totality of these decisions, seeing them as consistent with decisions he's made to date, and i agree with Rottblatt.WWSB is fucking retarded.

Iyam knot atal redy twoo give uhpp...full sped ahed!

]Willie's fucking retarded. indeed. this has been my view since the outset. welcome aboard.

this is a bad time to point out that i have Jenkins on my fantasy team, right?

the Mets' pinch-hitting this year is just insane.At this point, i wish they'd just stop and save a few for next year.

Urdaneta, apparently, is one of the members of the Dumbo Squad, along with Keppel, Looper, Cairo and Woodward. So, he probably blew here on a strong gust of wind.

plus, his .355 OBP is a good sign, no?

i can't be the CYCLONES correspondent, since i only go to a few games a year. Heck, fellas, i'm in Westchester, fer krisakes.

that's not much of an accomplishment these days.

i, too, am not crazy about movies that shift so radically. and i, too, hate movie-of-the-week cliches meant to manipulate us. but i don't think MILLION DOLLAR BABY did either of those things.The movie is about overcoming obstacles, not giving up, recognizing what is of value, reexamining notions of success and failure. That it starts as a standard genre movie and then moves beyond it is part of its brilliance, not its flaw. Its a "boxing movie", but that's certainly not ALL it is. It's tragic and sad, but i wasn't depressed by it. [SPOILER WARNING] I found nobility in her indomitabiliy, and in her final choice. And it was a great sacrifice for him to meet her last request... she had become his daughter and he had to do something for and to her that he'd never forgive himself for, but he takes on the burden of being "damned" out of his love for her. His suffering enobles him, too, like the religious icon he still reveres (despite his friendly provocation of his priest). [END WARNING]Not at all depressing for me. Sad, revelatory and redemptive, perhaps, but not depressing.It's certainly one of Clint's best movies (which, by definition, puts it high on any list of great recent films), and it's one capable of provoking STRONG emotional reaction... which it did to our friend, CF, despite his protestations to the contrary.i gave it 8 ********

i liked it alot, too... but if you give 5 Stars to the INCREDIBLES, what rating do you give to CITIZEN KANE, CASABLANCA, WIZARD OF OZ, SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS and THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY?i think we're devaluing the 5 star rating. INCREDIBLES is a solid 4.

]I think I agree with you, Vic, but it sounds like they'll need at least either Petit or Milledge to get a deal done.i'd still consider it if we had to substitute Petit for Heilman.but i don't want to trade Milledge.