Vic Sage

the almost complete list of Mets movie references and appearances: http://www.amazinavenue.com/2017/1/6/14148998/mets-movies-references-film-shea-stadium-new-york

positively stoned

30. SYNDERGAARD -------------- 29. deGROM 28. COLON 27. CESPEDES 26. CABRERA 25. REED 24. GRANDERSON --------------- 23. MATZ 22. WALKER 21. FAMILIA 20. LUGO 19. GSELLMAN 18. BLEVINS 17. JOHNSON ------------- 16. ROBLES 15. CONFORTO 14. FLORES 13. REYES 12. LAGARES 11. TJ RIVERA 10. R. RIVERA -------------- 09. DUDA 08. HENDERSON 07. HARVEY 06. BRUCE 05. WRIGHT 04. D'AZA 03. VERRETT 02. d'ARNAUD 01. LONEY I considered Kelly, Nimmo, Ruggiano, Reynolds, Cecchini, Smoker and Salas, but didn't feel they had enough ABs/IPs to warrant listing ahead of guys who played substantially more (though not as well). I left off Plawecki and Bastardo despite having enough ABs/IPs, due to poor performance, and i considered doing the same to D'Aza, d'Arnaud, Verrett and Loney, but ultimately they played too much to ignore. Goeddel pitched enough to consider, but Henderson just edged him out.

i had almost same ballot as Puma, except that i included Manny over Wagner.

thumbs up. unlike last SW movie, this one has a halfway original story that adds something to the canon, and it evoked the earlier films rather than regurgitating their past story elements. It actually fixes some story problems from the earlier films (like why the deathstar had a weakness in the first place) and reintroduces the religious aspects of the Force (fie on midochlorians!). Could it have used some more character development and a few less laser blasts? Yeah, probably. And the CGI portrayals of two characters from the original trilogy were both creepy and distracting. But the introduction of Vader was awesome, in the actual definition of that word. And the cast was pretty good overall. The battles had the feeling of actual warfare rather than the clean, CGI robot slaughters of the prequel trilogy. on the whole, worth the wait.

no, i guess i'm not. so Julio in 2007 was the last older Met. Is there a place that list all the Mets birthdates?

In September 2004, John Franco turned 44 while i was 43. He was the last guy playing for the Mets who was older than me. The first guy who was younger? in 1983, there were 2 - Oquendo and Strawberry. And i think Bobby Valentine is the only Met who shares my birthday, but not my birthdate.

Edgy MD wrote: I'm telling you, by the end of the contract, it won't look so big. Yes, I Vote 4 Votto!

excellent. Now we can chastise with impunity.

i think i need to lie down.

i did?

Not that this trade is rumored or even a remote possibility, but Braun is so much a better player than Bruce that it's not even worth a discussion. For 9 of his 10 seasons, Braun's lowest OPS+ (130) is higher than any season of Bruce's career. Even Braun's worst year (113 OPS+ in 2014) is higher than Bruce's career average (109+). Over a similar number of plate appearances, Braun has averaged a WAR of 4.4/yr, while Bruce has produced 1.6. You don't like OPS+ or WAR? RC/game is 7.2 to 5.1. Come up with any evaluative measure you want, Braun is way better. And whatever his defensive deficiencies at this point, he's still a better OFer than Bruce (he is now and always was). But talking about defense for a corner OFer with a career .910 ops and a 141 OPS+ (!) is like evaluating Beyonce's sex appeal based on her personality. What fucking difference does it make? As for age and contract, Braun will play next season at age 33 (with Bruce turning 30), and Braun's contract averages $20m/yr for 4 more years (his age 33-36 seasons), neither of which are huge numbers for that sort of production these days. So it would take more than just a decent pitching prospect for the Brewers to even consider a Bruce/Braun deal, and i would hope that, in whatever alternate reality such a proposal was made, Sandy would leap at it, as long as pitcher does not include our top 5 major league starters [syndegaard-degrom-harvey-matz-wheeler). I'd be ok with Gsellman (or Lugo, Ynoa, Montero, etc.) + Bruce for Braun. If they insisted on either of our top pitching prospects, Dunn or Szapucki (instead of Gsellman etal), i'd want a decent prospect back, too. And i don't know how Wright's contract factors into this discussion at all. Oh, and i'd take Adam Dunn in his prime in a heartbeat.

Centerfield wrote: It's looking like Sale to the Nats. And they hold on to Tera Turner. Hard to imagine these Nats are going to get even better. Fuck. Nope. It's Sale to Boston for minor league pitchers Michael Kopech and Victor Diaz, outfielder Luis Basabe and Moncada, the third baseman that is at or near the top of most people's best prospect in baseball list.

Ceetar wrote: MFS62 wrote: I'm suggesting lefty hitting Bruce for righty hitting Ryan Braun, who has three or four more years on his contract (the next 2 @ 20 million). Fill in with AAAA types on both sides. Then the Mets trade Granderson for the help/ prospects needed to offset the budget bulge. Later Braun had almost the same wRC+ (weighted runs created) as Cespedes. That'd be a steal. it's not a steal, it's a hallucination. Hey, MFS, lie down and let it pass.

the only thing i know about him is that he put up impressive numbers as a setup guy last year, so i picked him up off the waiver wire for my fantasy team. But he slumped after that, and i dumped him.

Has anyone been following the recent news about Last Tango in Paris ? I haven't seen the movie, so I'm not familiar with the scene in question, but from my understanding Marlon Brando raped (or otherwise sexually assaulted) an actress on camera. They didn't tell her what was going to be done to her because they wanted her reaction to be genuine. according to the actress: "that scene wasn’t in the original script. The truth is it was Marlon who came up with the idea. … They only told me about it before we had to film the scene and I was so angry. I should have called my agent or had my lawyer come to the set because you can’t force someone to do something that isn't in the script, but at the time, I didn’t know that. Marlon said to me, “Maria, don't worry, it’s just a movie,” but during the scene, even though what Marlon was doing wasn't real, I was crying real tears. I felt humiliated and to be honest, I felt a little raped, both by Marlon and by Bertolucci. After the scene, Marlon didn't console me or apologize. Thankfully, there was just one take." But that quote is over 5 years old. There is no new story here. But Bertolucci has been asked about it recently and he explained: "Several years ago at the Cinemathèque Francaise someone asked me for details on the famous butter scene. I specified, but perhaps I was not clear, that I decided with Marlon Brando not to inform Maria that we would have used butter. We wanted her spontaneous reaction to that improper use [of the butter]. That is where the misunderstanding lies. Somebody thought, and thinks, that Maria had not been informed about the violence on her. That is false!" the statement continued. "Maria knew everything because she had read the script, where it was all described. The only novelty was the idea of the butter. And that, as I learned many years later, offended Maria. Not the violence that she is subjected to in the scene, which was written in the screenplay."

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I thought we discussed the idea of whether whatever we get for Bruce turns out to be better or worse than what we gave up to get him. I might have only baited you to take a bet on that, I forget the details. But I firmly believe (or am just rooting for) the idea that whatever we get for Bruce, I wouldn;t want to trade for Hererra and Wotell. Any takers say no? (I don't bet real money, just pride at stake) if you mean can we get another team to give us 2 prospects (at least 1 of which is among their top 10) for Bruce, then yeah, i don't think so, and i'll take the bet. If you want to count a serviceable major league middle-inning/set-up guy (whose upside has already been determined) as being "better" than the potential of a team's top 10 prospect (whose future is unknowable at the time of the trade, but whose potential is greater than such a relief pitcher), then no, i won't take the bet.

wait, i'm betting on what exactly?

Belong or not, owners tend to get in Halls of Fame just by owning. Owning for two decades and winning a championship after buying a last place team tend to be seen as points in his ledger, whether he really led that turnaround or not. I root for his induction as a good step toward healing the cultural rifts in the entire Metsosphere. In 2016, nobody should be seriously signing up for Team Nelly vs. Team Freddy. But they do. It may not be the highest priority but the reconciliation it represents would be worth something. Surely, in some cobwebby corner of his mind, Fred must see that blessing his predecessor's legacy invites blessing on his own. I suspect part of the 'pons bitterness towards Doubleday is that they view him as part of the source of their money problems. Not that he was responsible for them over-trusting Madoff of course but the lead-up to that time involved them have to buy ND out under less than friendly conditions, and then having to buy out the final year of his long-term (and therefore short-sighted) early '80s Cablevision deal before being able to launch SNY. It's also possible that they connect him as an impediment to replacing Shea which they may have been able to do cheaper and earlier if he were on board instead of having the thing delayed by 9/11 to the point where it wound up opening smack in the midst of the great recession. Regarding Doubleday, there is also this:http://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/12/sports/baseball-baseball-has-nothing-to-say-about-doubleday-s-alleged-slur.html

here's a general question: If you voted in this poll, which of your candidates received the fewest votes from your fellow Poolers? Now make an argument for that player. I'll go first. Mike Mussina - my initial impulse on Moose was "NOPE", but though i hate to admit it, he was one of the best and most consistent pitchers in the AL for almost 2 decades, ranking in the top 10 in baseball for 11 years by a wide range of metrics (including WAR, ERA+, WPA), and top 5 for at least 5 seasons, not to mention 7 gold gloves. His numbers compare favorably with many current HOFers (whether using JAWS, HOF monitor, or black ink test). No, his peak wasn't as dominant as some, but he's easily in the range of pitchers like Glavine, Marichal, Drysdale, Sutton, and Schilling (who also deserves to be in). If elected, he would be an above-avg HOFer, not dragging down the bar. Yes, he's more about sustained excellence than brief greatness, but there is a wing of the HOF for that type of player, too. your turn.

Grandy is from Chicago. White Sox could use his bat. what, in addition to Grandy, would it take to get Nate Jones?

vs RHP 1. Reyes, 3b 2. Granderson, Cf 3. Walker, 2b 4. Cespedes, Lf 5. Duda, 1b 6. Cabrera, Ss 7. Conforto, Rf 8. d'Arnaud, C 9. Syndergaard, Sp vs LHP 1. Reyes, 3b 2. Lagares, cf 3. Cabrera, ss 4. Cespedes, lf 5. Walker, 2b 6. Flores, 1b 7. Granderson, Rf 8. d'Arnaud, c 9. Syndergaard, sp Flores Rivera Plaweski K.Johnson Nimmo Lagares

you won't be able to hang up faster than the White Sox GM.

Granderson is NOT coming off a down year, nor Bruce off an up year. Granderson was at or above his average Mets production in most categories, with the most HRs he's hit since he played for the Yankmees. While Bruce's year was better than his previous 2 seasons (due to a good first 1/2), it was significantly less productive than his prior 4 years. Plus Granderson will be 36 and Bruce 30. That being said, i'd rather keep Grandy.

i agree about Cavill. I even liked him in MAN OF STEEL.