Vic Sage

Sure Lester would be willing to go back, if the BoSox will pay him what the FA market values him at this off-season. But Lester has already had substantial discussions with BoSox about an extension, so if the Sox and Lester agreed on his value, they would've extended him instead of trading him. And his price will not go down when he hits the open market.

i don't know how to say this, but... I agree with Ceets! Verducci stopped being a reporter ages ago; he's a columnist who injects his (asinine) views into every story, even if he's taking the quotes from other people. You can find somebody to say anything you need said to validate your preconceptions, just as you can mine and cherrypick stats (even the wrong ones) to create whatever issue you want. And the faux objectivity of his last sentence is laughable. That being said, i've heard people talking about this "illegal defense" notion outside of a Verducci column, so its not just something he made up. And its about as stupid an idea as one can have and then say out loud.

Move him... MOVE HIM NOW! Thank you for your attention to this matter.

yes, i think Tejada should have his head examined... but they probably won't find anything. [rimshot]

i went to the Katy concert at MSG with my daughter; it was a nice daddy/daughter date. I enjoyed the show; it's quite a spectacle. And she's hot.

from an earlier thread: The films of Peter Weir Peter Lindsay Weir (b.1944) is an Australian filmmaker of limited output and limitless talent and imagination. A poet of magical realism, he finds the mysterious in the mundane, sees the heroism in the outsider, and the greatness in the primitive. He speaks of the spiritual dangers to the individual, particularly in "progress" and reliance on technology and the consequent loss of mystery in our universe. He started out in Aussie TV, documentaries and short films in the `60s and `70s, before making a string of feature films of great critical acclaim that helped launch the "Australian New Wave", along with filmmakers Bruce Beresford, Gillian Armstrong, George Miller and Phillip Noyce, making Australia an important exporter of movies to the International markets (especially the U.S.). The Australian films: The Cars That Ate Paris (aka The Cars That Eat People) (1974) - His first feature, a low-budget black comedy/horror film about a small town that caused car accidents and lived off the consequences. The film's unique POV has allowed it to develop a cult following, but it was badly shot and recorded, and looks and sounds like crap. Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) - Victorian school girls disappear after a picnic in the outback; it's slow, ponderous, and deeply profound. It establishes many themes he'd return to -- the dichotomy between westerners and the natural world (including aboriginal peoples); the existence of unanswerable mystery; sexual longing; effects of tragedy on communities. It's also beautifully shot and scored. It's languorous pacing and refusal to provide easy answers doomed it to marginality but is a beautiful piece of art nonetheless. The Last Wave (1977) - A rational man is confronted with the irrational -- a premonition of impending disaster. Richard Chamberlain is the lawyer for an aboriginal defendant in a murder trial. His life spirals out of control as dreams and premonitions take him over. Again, Weir is dealing with the mysterious in the mundane, but this time gives an answer -- it's just not a very happy one. To call it dreamlike is to be redundant. Gallipoli (1981) - Weir offers us an emotional and visually arresting WWI epic based on historical events, suggesting again much that was in HANGING ROCK -- the same 1900s era, Victorian culture and rituals, and a profound loss of innocence for young protagonists. This same lost innocence is suffered by the nation as a result of the use by the Brits of the Australian forces as cannon fodder in the war against the Turks. It features a young Mel Gibson (best known at that point for MAD MAX, the first of which did not get much play outside Australia), a terrific score (particularly the use of the electronic music from Jarre's "OXYGENE" during the running scenes), and a heartbreaking condemnation of nationalism and militarism. Hollywood: GALLIPOLI is often ranked as the greatest film to come out of the Australian New Wave (then or since), and it would be hard to argue, even if I were inclined to do so -- and I'm not. Its international success allowed Weir to move his career outside of Australia and so began his Int'l/US filmmaking career. The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) - An international co-production, Gibson returns as Weir's outsider looking at a non-western culture through his western eyes. The political intrigue of 60s Jakarta is background for the romance between Gibson's foreign correspondent and Sigourney Weaver's Brit diplomat, with Linda Hunt's Oscar-winning performance as the Chinese-Australian "fixer" who befriends Gibson; her portrayal introduces the spiritual mysteries so prevalent in Weir's work, yet Hunt's performance transcends mere symbolism and invests the movie with a humanity that resonates when she/he confronts a betrayal that results in tragedy. If the movie doesn't quite work, and it doesn't, it�s not for lack of ambition. Witness (1985) - Weir hits the motherlode in Hollywood with Harrison Ford as a cop, the rational westerner, among the primitives (this time, the Amish). The purity of their communal values heal him, and redeem him, and make him fit for heroic action. But like Ethan Edwards in THE SEARCHERS, he is a man of violence, and while he is necessary to protect the community, he can never be a part of it. The movie works as "star-crossed lovers" tale, too, with Kelly McGillis never better as the hot Amish fraulein awakened to her own sexuality by the outsider. Russian dancer Alexander Godunov gives a strikingly strong supporting performance, as well, striding through the wheat fields that move like ocean waves. And the wide eyes of Lukas Haas are practically a special effect of innocence. In what could have just been another cop-movie shoot-em-up, Weir transcended the genre. He and the film were nominated for a hatful of Oscars, and it was his biggest BO hit to that point, establishing him as a "Hollywood filmmaker". The Mosquito Coast (1986) - Reteaming with Ford, Weir once again puts the western man into a primitive world. Ford, working with a great cast including Helen Mirren and River Phoenix, realistically renders an intensely unlikeable character whose obsessions leave his family nearly destroyed in a central American jungle, as his inventions destroy the utopia he had hoped to establish there. Fraught with imagery and emotion, the movie offers no connection to an audience, demonstrating Weir's Achilles Heal as a storyteller -- the propensity to sacrifice character and narrative for visuals and themes and, in so doing, leaving the audience behind. Where PICNIC was ponderous, COAST is turgid; where WAVE was dreamlike, COAST is feverish and incoherent; where YEAR is mythic, COAST is dull; and where WITNESS is romantic, COAST is depressing. Probably the biggest misfire for both Weir and Ford�s careers to that point. Dead Poets Society (1989) � Weir bounced back from COAST with a well manicured depiction of oh so safe youthful nonconformity at a private school, with Robin Williams doing one of his �serious� roles as a poetry teacher urging his youthful charges to �seize the day�. The film is well shot, but too polite by half. Still, it was hugely successful and acclaimed, award-winning too, and not too bad an example of the �great teacher� sub-genre. Still, it indicates a direction towards audience pleasing that had been noticeably absent from Weir�s career to that point� a tendency that would ebb and flow over the following years, and not always to the benefit of his films. Green Card (1990) � In full blown �audience pleasing� mode, Weir made this slight romantic comedy with the great French actor, Gerard Depardieu, whose English was only slightly better than that of model/actress Andie McDowell. Weir is to comedy what dancing is to architecture. Fearless (1993) � Weir bounces back once again with his best film since WITNESS. This time he guides Jeff Bridges through the unspoken mysteries of existence, as the survivor of an airplane crash whose new sense of invincibility has distanced him from his family even as it�s bonded him to fellow survivor Rosie Perez, giving an Oscar-nominated performance. This is Weir at his most heartachingly profound. The Truman Show (1998) � Jim Carrey is perfectly cast as the unwitting star of a reality series about his life since birth. Weir�s satire brilliantly balances the mundane and the fantastic, the comic and melodramatic, the real and the unreal, and by so doing, created a prophetic condemnation of media control of culture. It�s also another example of Weir�s plea for youthful nonconformity in the face of society�s oppressive forces, a drum he�d been beating since PICNIC. With all this going on, the film is surprisingly restrained and grown up, and features one of Carrey�s best performances. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) � Back to audience pleasing, this time with Russell Crowe in the Mel Gibson swashbuckling role, Weir tries to pull off epic sea adventure series with sequel potential, but can�t help subverting his efforts by employing ambivalent characters with other things on their mind. As a result, it was less successful than it might otherwise have been, and no sequels resulted. It is a solid entertainment, though, but it�s an incongruent work from Weir, with its square-jawed support of the military elite very much at odds with his work on GALLIPOLI. It feels like a work-for-hire project he did for the money, with little connection to the themes in his other films. After many years of projects that failed to develop, the only film Weir has made in the last decade was The Way Back(2010), a film he wrote and directed based on a true story about a group of WWII prisoners escaping Siberia on a 4,000 mile trek through harsh environs. I have not seen it, but its critical reputation is that of an unrelenting, austere epic of survival, but Colin Ferrell is no Gibson or Crowe, and it's felt that, ultimately, its lack of characterization or emotional resonance did it in for audiences who virtually ignored it. But even as he approaches 70, Peter Weir remains one of cinema's true visionaries -- an artist painting images of magic and daring on a broad canvas -- and i always look forward to the next one. He�s just been announced as helmer for a contemporary gothic thriller called "The Keep," adapting Jennifer Egan's 2006 bestseller. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118054327, scheduled to start shooting next spring, but we�ll see. It sounds like promising material for him, but his projects have a way of falling apart. With only 13 films in his 37 year career to date, Weir has been less than prolific, but, as Spencer Tracey said of Katherine Hepburn (in PAT & MIKE), �there ain�t much meat on her, but what�s there is cherce.�

i stumbled over this title while i was researching WWII movie list. I was unaware of it. I plan to check it out because its Peter Weir, who is the girl with the curl. When he is good, he is very very good, and when he's bad, he's horrid.

I'm surprised they didn't talk about the Mets at all. When i took my recent tour of Citifield with [sales agent who shall remain nameless], she took great pride in pointing out Jerry's luxury suite. It's the one on the end, on the 1b side.

knowing it was going to be Jetermania (not a real human being, but an incredible simulation!), i just passed on the game.

Edgy MD wrote: That's what the deal is. Sometimes you prefer going when you feel like going, and getting a slight discount to get seats in a package deal for when you don't feel like like going isn't a bargain at all, especially when you don't have the energy to come up with a strategy to move the tickets you aren't going to use. Too bad Miss Package Deal doesn't at least get your modest purchase on her ledger. Her job sounds not all that different from entry level jobs in high finance. Hire twenty each year and keep whichever two find a way to hustle sales out of cold calls. I think she had summer jobs with the Durham Bulls or somesuch. I'm rooting for her. You should trade Broadway tickets for Mets tickets with her. yeah, that's her. i didn't want to try and order a single game through her, because that would have been hurtful, i think. And i think she only does groups and packages anyway. She offered my a pair of field boxes for any game, if i bought the package, which was nice. But I can't trade Broadway tix, because i'm not allowed to give Tony tix to anybody, and i have to pay full price additional seats, so its cheaper to just buy decent seats at a game. I bought seats in the Caesar's Box on the Excelsior level (what used to be called the "loge" at Shea). I like it there; it's not that high up and the overhang offers cover without obstructing views, and if you can get the 3 closest sections on either side to the Caesar's Gold seats (behind home), then its an infield view. And you have access to both the Caesar's Club and the Acela Club, which are nice places to have dinner before the game, or to chill between innings, or if it's raining. I think the prices there are the best bang for your buck, in terms of price v quality, ranging from $30-$66. Actually, I prefer the Metro Boxes right below the Caesar's section at field level, but they cost an extra $100/tkt ($159)for "premium" games, and its usually not worth it to me. But I'll spring for Metro boxes if its a "supervalue" game, and they're down to around $80, which is ok. But i have popped for the full $159 on special occasions.

It was nice. My daughter and I got there at noon (it's nice to park in lot G, the VIP lot on the corner of 126th and Roosevelt), and went into the lovely administrative offices (they are next to the bullpen stadium entrance), where the lovely Miss [sales rep] met us and took us around. She's fresh out of college, an economics grad, in her first job, and has a slight southern twang. It was adorable. We saw all the group seating areas, and the various "clubs" for the premiere seats, and sat behind home plate, and then got to go out on the field (not the grass; "nobody goes on the grass", she told us), and sat in the dugout, which was extra cool. We couldn't see the clubhouses because it was a game day. But it was all very nice. Then, she took us back up to the sales office, and started to work me for the kind of package i wanted. I didn't want to be rude, or make her feel like it was a total waste of time, so i worked it out where i could get 2 seats for a 10-game pack, but then move the seats around so i could get 4 seats for 5 games instead. I told her, however, that missus Sage has total veto authority so i couldn't commit and i'd call her. She would hold the seats for a day, but then had to release them. As i expected, and frankly counted on, my wife was not happy to spend near $1000 and commit to a bunch of dates that might not be convenient for her, so we didn't take the package. It didn't really give much of a discount, and i had to go to games i really didn't feel like going to, so those packs aren't really worth it for me. I'd rather buy better seats for 1 or 2 games i really want to see, then see 10 games, at least some of which i don't want to see or on days i'd prefer not to go, for more money and lesser seats. I ended up going on-line and buying decent seats for Aug 2, a Saturday evening game against the Cubs. Its fireworks night, too. I prefer weekend evenings, so i don't have to deal so much with traffic and weather issues.

i liked it alot; my son loved it. As he said, "apes on horses with machine guns... cool!" Sorry, Elster, but I don't have the time (or energy) to do a lengthy analysis of the film. I will opine that DAWN is a follow-up that is superior to its predecessor in many ways (e.g., this one has very little James Franco), and Andy Sirkis deserves an Oscar for a performance that may not even be eligible. That being said, i wished they had taken the time to develop the human characters and relationships as much as those of the apes. But it is a story where Caesar the ape is the protagonist, and the humans are just there for him to interact with, which allows him to grow. The humans are just plot points. And it didn't have to be that way. Still, it's really good, surprisingly moving, with beautifully shot and staged action scenes... and if you're going to give me a shot of an evil ape on horseback riding through flames, shooting machine guns with both hands, i'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt.

i like that lineup structure.

i understand that improving THIS season was your premise, but unless you can do that by either (1) also improving the position going forward, or (2) not giving up valuable assets, then i don't understand why we would do it. To maybe win 80 games this year, instead of 75? I agree that we're thin at the position in the minors too, so that makes it more imperative to find a quality YOUNG guy we can plug and play for a while. If Puello ain't it (and Nimmo is too far off), then make a move for a guy who is, but not for an aging Josh Willingham-type. there are younger players around the league like Springer (Hou), Khris Davis (Mil), Pollack (Az), Marte (Pitt), Yelich (Mia), but none are likely gettable without giving up a great deal. Ditto squared for the stars and solid vets at the position (Stanton, Upton, Heyward, McCutcheon, Pulig, CarGo). I think, maybe, a trade of Murphy and Colon to a contender in the upcoming weeks could net us some quality prospects. Then those could be packaged with some of our own for a blue-chip OFer. Much preferred to a patch job with a platoon vet so we an win a few more games this year. We should be sellers, not buyers.

i have no interest in trading young guys to make a run for THIS year. THIS year ain't happening. If they can't help us down the road, i wouldn't give up prospects for them, unless they're excellent players in their prime. And none of the older guys on that list are excellent players in their prime. They are either platoon or part-timers are on the wrong side of 33-34, or coming off chronic injuries. The only guys on that list under 30 are: � Domonic Brown, 27 (L) - maybe a 1-year wonder with only Philly-bandbox power? or just taking a step back in his development before moving forward? good minor-league numbers indicate more promise � Junior Lake, 25 ® - his minor-league numbers indicate he'd hit ok for the SS he was then, but as a major league LFer, no. � Gerardo Parra, 27 (L) - good glove, but not enough bat � Ben Revere, 26 (L) - good speed, no BB, no power, good glove in CF, would be wasted in LF � Dayan Viciedo, 25 ® - 20-25 hr/ .250 hitter, lousy BB/K ration but still young enough to improve The guy here i'd take a shot at is Viciedo, and Brown would also be worth a look. But neither is so exciting i'd part with a Montero or DeGrom for them, and Puello or Nimmo could be the same guy, so why give up a legit prospect for either of them?

so did [name removed], or the Mets, contacgt us to get the references to her name and likeness taken down, or was that just our administrators using their own good judgment? either way, i'm sorry i mentioned it in the first place. I wasn't trying to hold her out to ridicule. just the team.

my softball life... I was a shitty little-leaguer... no arm, no speed, no bat, but i could catch the ball. Unfortunately, i was also a leftie, so my defensive options were limited. So i was a good-glove/no-bat LHed 1bman up until HS. Then i gave up hardball for softball and suddenly i didnt suck quite so much. We had intramural club teams in HS, and of course i played for the Science Fiction Club... we were the Clones, and we all wore the same number. We played on concrete city school fields, so there was no sliding. And if you hit one in the gap... well, it'd still be rolling today. But though i couldn't hit a hardball, slo-pitch softball was my kind of game. My slow reaction time which prevented me from catching up to the most mediocre fastball was right on the money for softball. and the ball is, well, bigger. So i became a decent hitter. And defensively, i could move around. for some reason, a leftie is allowed to play anywhere in softball... who knew? In college, at Seawolve's current institutional employer, we had intramural softball, too. I played for the Student Polity team, which were mostly nerds, so i looked good in comparison. We played on dirt fields, so i learned the art of the sliding catch at 3b, popping up to make the throw, and, when at 1b (which was still my primary position) i could scoop anything, and i'd throw up a cloud of dirt for good measure. i was impressive. still only a mediocre hitter, with a torn rotator cuff that kept my from throwing much, and slow as shit, but i ran like a train and was happy to take out a guy at 2b or at home, just cuz. It's easy to look like you can play if you're playing hard and everybody else is just hanging out. I couldn't see the point of not playing to win. After college, living with friends in Park Slope Brooklyn while in my 20s, we played pickup games in the summer, in Prospect Park. There, i mostly caught, because nobody else would get behind the plate and there was a guy with a bad leg who couldn't play anywhere but 1b. So i had fun banging into people at home. never got hurt, despite playing without anything but a facemask and a 1b mitt. But there were some rough teams roving those fields, and things could get dicey. Still, beers at Farrell's afterwards were always cold. Then a poker game at somebody's apartment. That was our summer Saturdays, for years. As me and my friends got older, we started moving away from Brooklyn, so we would have an annual BBQ softball game out on LI, near their family homes (Port Jefferson area). We'd play with a beer in our hands, get thru 3 games sometimes, all the while eating hot dogs. I stopped running into people at this point and just relaxed, stood on 1b, and caught whatever came my way with my right hand, and held a beer in my left. Meanwhile, i was playing in the Broadway show league in central park, and they took that shit seriously. The Local 1 guys, the teamsters, they were all loaded teams with guys who were like semi-pro level. I only played there a few seasons; it wasn't fun. And i started having back pain, so whatever hitting ability i had gained over the years was lost with my lack of torque. As we lurched into our 30s, all my friends started getting married and having kids, and our annual party became more BBQ and less softball. Then, ultimately, the kids started playing and we just sat around drinking and cheering. The last game i played was about 6 years ago, when my daughter's middle school team had a father-daughter softball game on the middle school field. I was stuck catching (even though i can't crouch very well any more... i just sort of stood up behind the plate). In the last inning, i hit a solid double and was standing on 2b with 2 outs. the next guy walked. then the next guy hit a grounder and the play went to 3b, to force me. I was determined not to make the last out of the game, so i slid in hard. I was playing in shorts, and though it was a grass field, the dirt was filled with gravel, so i took off all the skin on my leg, from my knee to my ankle. But i was safe! Then the next guy popped out and it was over. And my wife and daughter and doctor explained to me what a total ass i was for sliding. And my diabetes prevented that leg from healing quickly, so i carried that reminder for quite a while. To this day, in fact. Now, my softball jones is satisfied by watching my daughter catch for the HS varsity team, and for other local teams in the summer. She can't hit the fastball, but she's got a good glove. And though she has no speed, she runs hard. That's my girl.

seawolf17 wrote: Now I'm DEFINITELY available to be Vic's fake son. what do i do with my real son?

she looks EXACTLY like she sounds. cute as a button. But no clubhouse tour? Phooey. i better get some swag at least.

...well, not from the field, but from a nice young lady in their sales office trying to sell my organization on CitiField as an event space or outing for our organization. Normally, i just hang up on sales calls, but this one was just too ripe with opportunity. My unfortunate condition as a lifelong Mets fan came up for discussion (i likened it to a hereditary genetic disorder), and i blamed her personally for 45 years of pain, interrupted by brief outbursts of joy. She said she'd only just started there 3 weeks ago, but i insisted on blaming her personally, since she was the one that called me. We were both chuckling, and then she wanted to know about my own personal ticket buying history. I informed here that i used to share a season plan, then became a buyer of 6-packs or other smaller packages, then the occasional single game when my kids were interested, but now, not so much... particularly the last few years when her employers were running the franchise into the ground. In fact, if they ever wanted to run their organization like a big-market team again, they should let me know! "oh, i'll pass that message right along" she laughed. But even after my obnoxious behavior and the unlikelihood of an organization like mine ever using them for an event, she invited me to a special VIP tour! So, i said "sure, what the hell." And here's the email she just sent me to confirm (I edited it to protect anonymity): Hi [Vic], It was so wonderful speaking with you today! I am thrilled that you, [little miss Vic and Vic Jr] are going to be coming down for an exclusive, behind the scenes VIP tour on Friday, July 11th at 10:00AM where we will be able to look at all of our seating options for the rest of the 2014 season. Upon arrival at Citi Field, proceed to the Administration Building entrance on 126th Street, opposite 36th/37th Avenues, and check in at the security desk to receive a Visitor's Pass (you will need photo ID). They will send you up to the third level where I will meet you in the lobby and we�ll proceed out to the field. For all driving and/or public transportation directions, go to http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/nym/ballpark/transportation/index.jsp. You may park in Lot G located on the north side of the stadium, nearest to the Grand Central and Cross Island Parkways. I�m looking forward to meeting you, [Vic]! If you have any questions before we meet, please don�t hesitate to reach out by emailing me, or calling me on my direct line below. I�ll give you a call next Tuesday to confirm. Best, {NAME REMOVED} So, has anybody ever done one of these "VIP tours"? What should i expect? Is there any swag? a stop at Shake Shack without a line!? I need some good ammo to talk my kids into going with me.

I'm hoping to see Nieuenheis in the lineup tonight. Also, with DeGrom pitching, I'd like to see Terry hitting him in the 8th spot again. Something like this: Granderson Murphy Wright Duda Lagares Nieuenheis d'Arnaud DeGrom Tejada

When Ike was traded to Pitt, he had an OPS with the Mets of .742. Now, it's down to .735. As for Duda, he had an OPS of .841 before the trade, and now it's down to .828. So neither of them (nor their teams) have benefited much from the trade quite yet, but Duda has still been the more productive hitter overall.

i didn't see the hat, but there is routinely a lot of macho jock posturing coming out of the booth, both from him and from Bobby O after the game. It gets annoying. "if you're scared, get a dog." Really? Really?

Aesthetics are under-appreciated in our society.

oh, man, i have me one of those somewhere. But i used it as a handkerchief once, when i had a cold, and it was never the same again.