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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 10, 2013 11:58:22 GMT -5
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 10, 2013 11:47:24 GMT -5
I'm not exactly sure who gets a vote and why, except that they are members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Some are long-time beat writers for a specific team, bloggers, ESPN pundits, newspaper men, and some are just lonely losers with a union card. Looking at the math, there were 569 voters this year, and players need 75% to get in. There is a voting manifesto that Cooperstown provides which is supposed to give the voters guidelines, but every voter seems to have his own soapbox and viewpoints. Like me.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 9, 2013 22:13:53 GMT -5
Next year will bring in obvious choices like Maddux, Glavine, Mussina, and Frank Thomas. Unless Thomas is hit with the "steroid suspicion" bug, too. In 2015, we'll get Randy Johnson, Pedro, Smoltz, and Sheffield. So it's not like the list is getting shorter or easier. Don't get me wrong, I can't stand Bonds or Clemens-- I was cheering for both of them to be convicted. And with the inflated numbers of this era, the hallowed benchmarks of 3,000 hits or 500 HRs aren't so automatic anymore. But the game is what it is, and these guys were exceptional when compared with their competitors (many who were also cheating), and for a long time. Show me an era of baseball where there wasn't cheating and I'll show you my pictures of Bigfoot. I'm a big fan of SABRmetrics, and I enjoy studying all of the numbers proving why these guys should be in. But here's a totally subjective, "eye-test" vote: I was given Cubs season tickets in 1998. I watched Sosa & McGwire battle for Maris's record all summer long. I was there when Sammy hit numbers 61 and 62. Every plate appearance was exciting; every pitcher who faced him trembled; every hanging curve ball found its way to Waveland Avenue. It's never been proven, but it's obvious now that he was juicing; and honestly, we knew then. But it didn't matter. It was pure, unbridled, baseball joy. It's still the best summer of baseball I've ever experienced. He hit 609 home runs, something only 4 players before him had ever done. He got 12.5% of the votes. That means 7 out of every 8 voters don't think he's a hall of famer. I find that despicable. I'm sorry, but am I supposed to believe that that summer just didn't count?
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 9, 2013 16:31:52 GMT -5
Wanted to start a thread to commemorate the 2013 election. The one where no one was voted in.
So we're all clear: the all-time hits leader, the all-time home run leader, the (arguably) best pitcher of the modern era, the game’s all-time best hitting catcher, two players with over 580 home runs, one of whom had three 60 home run seasons, a player with over 3,000 hits (and 668 doubles), and one of only three players in history with 3,000+ hits and 500+ HRs are all NOT in the Hall of Fame.
There's also Morris, Schilling, Raines, Bagwell, and Murphy ridiculously left standing outside.
Makes sense to me.
It's a good thing there's that character and integrity clause, so we can keep the riff-raff out and protect the untarnished legacies of guys like Ty Cobb, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, and Gaylord Perry.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 8, 2013 17:33:53 GMT -5
That was amazing. After watching that performance, I went and listened to clips on Amazon. I was expecting more of a Motown sound, what with his James Brown theatrics, but they sound more like Living Colour meets the Black Crowes. Nice dirty southern rock with a soul rock & roll singer. Makes for a fun combo.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 7, 2013 11:41:05 GMT -5
It's "ennui." It's a word meaning depression or disinterest. Also, the best place for questions like this would be this thread.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 7, 2013 1:33:37 GMT -5
I should also add that I pick neither Brady nor Manning nor Rodgers for MVP. Peterson all the way. Within nine yards of Dickerson and literally carried the Vikes to the playoffs. How many do they win without him? Four games, maybe... Agreed. Another confession: I'm a lifelong Bronco fan, but I'm struggling to get too excited this year. I've always been pretty ambivalent to Peyton Manning, but I respect his talent. Now that he's a Bronco, I'm excited, but I feel like he's a bit of a hired gun. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving Von Miller, and the receivers, and the 11-game winning streak, but there's something about it that seems calculated and expected-- of course Manning was going to lead us to the playoffs. Which means it doesn't really feel like my team is accomplishing all of this. Manning just put on an orange shirt instead of a blue & white one, and is being Peyton Manning. If he wins the Super Bowl for us, I'll go to the parade and act like my team is the greatest thing ever. But it doesn't feel like it felt in '97 and '98. This feels more formulaic and well...borrowed.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 5, 2013 23:08:05 GMT -5
In the third level, you fight crawling hands and crawling eyes.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 5, 2013 20:00:55 GMT -5
This needs to be a bigger deal around here.
I downloaded it this afternoon and got through the first level. The gameplay is pretty fun, in an early NES way. But what makes it TOTALLY worth the 99 cents is all of the other MST references. All of the monsters are from other episodes. There are snakes (Watch out for them!), killer shrews, screaming skulls, and Ro-Man. So far, Servo's made an appearance, and the handkerchief on top of Margaret's head is 16-bits of awesome. You move through the game like Mario, but with a cardigan and a pistol. The music matches the movie's scrambling piano score just right. The highlight of the whole game so far is Torgo. They rendered him with a jerky, shaky animation that's perfect.
For a classic video game fan like me, it's hearty fun. For a MST nerd, it's ridiculously fun for such a low price. You all should get it.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 3, 2013 21:23:12 GMT -5
Are we going to do playoff picks in the next day and a half?
Here are mine: AFC: Cincy over Houston Baltimore over Indy
New England over Baltimore Denver over Cincy
Denver over New England
NFC: Seattle over Washington Green Bay over Minnesota
Seattle over Atlanta Green Bay over S.F.
Green Bay over Seattle
Denver over Green Bay
Call me a homer, but I'm a total homer. Go Broncos!
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 2, 2013 0:05:12 GMT -5
I enjoyed new albums by many of my favorite bands this year. They weren't the best albums by any of them, but they were still good.
Clockwork Angels - Rush was a welcome return to form after their last one was so, so awful. It wasn't as enjoyable to me as the one before that (Vapor Trails), but it was tighter and cleaner.
The Sound of the Life of the Mind - Ben Folds Five. It's awesome to hear Ben with his old band again. Their playing keeps him honest, and their harmonies are unique and incredible. It's lacking a rip-roaring anthem, nor does it have as many hooks as their '90s output, but it's light years better than Ben's last two solo albums.
The 2nd Law - Muse. This album got panned by everyone, it seems. But I like it. Well, except for that one crappy dubstep experiment. Overall, it's the bombastic, we-wish-we-were-Queen, chromatic chord moves, nihilistic, conspiracy-minded, amazing musicianship I've come to expect and love from these guys.
I'm sure there's more. Once I remember what I bought in 2012...
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 25, 2012 22:14:46 GMT -5
I posted this in the Who Are You thread, but it's fitting here, too. Mrs. Atari got me the coolest Christmas present ever. It's a thing of beauty: Shell, teeth, eyes, flames, claws, breath, scales, fun!
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 25, 2012 2:34:27 GMT -5
My annual Christmas Eve gift-wrapping marathon is now over. Tonight's featured episode was Danger Death Ray, a top 5 episode for me. It's a very enjoyable movie, what with the great music, Bart Fargo, vaguely European ladies, a reasonably paced chase scene, and special effects by Billy!
The riffing is amazing, especially in the first 30 minutes. Trace is in top form, and often just loses it and can barely get his riffs in around his laughter. Mike's delivery is also droll and snarky in a subdued way. The host segments are brilliant (Crow's contact lenses, TV's Frank's talent agency (now representing Torgo!), Crow's womany Italian sunglasses (they're for men!), and my favorite-- Servo's "peaceful" death ray that incinerates Crow and causes his ping-pong ball eyes to explode (the way Trace stays in character to scream and laugh at the same time is a thing of beauty).
One thing I enjoyed this time through was the number of callbacks. Crow tries to sell Frank on his spec scripts, Earth vs. Soup and Peter Graves at the University of Minnesota. Then, in the riffing, there are references to the music from Starfighters (always awesome), a mushy nose wheel riff from San Francisco International, and a quote from Kitten with a Whip ("I'm dyin' in a rush").
It absolutely retains its place in my pantheon of episodes. And a very fun ep to have playing while I wrapped presents on Christmas Eve.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 20, 2012 1:33:07 GMT -5
This isn't Servo's The Beverly Hillbillies Granny voice is it? That was "Jed", not "Ed". And it was pretty much just Servo.
Probably not the right answer. Sorry.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 18, 2012 17:59:36 GMT -5
I always figured that the director just decided, "We've got Martin Balsam and a bunch of hacks. Let's give Marty the screen time."
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