Thoughts on the Red Sox

I read an article today that suggested the Red Sox bring back soon to be free agent Rick Porcello for 2020. Of course to do that, Rick would have to agree to a serious pay cut. Porcello made $21.12m in 2019 and with the season he had, teams won't be rushing out to sign him at his 2019 price. The article suggested that a 3 or 4 yr deal at roughly $9-$10m per yr ought to do it. Porcello wouldn't be a bad option as a #5 starter behind E-Rod, Sale, Price and Eovaldi.

I hope JD decides that he wants to come back to the Sox for 2020. His bat will be missed if he doesn't.

I still think the Sox ought to explore trading JBJ and prospect Bobby Dalbec to the Mets for Noah Syndegaard and Edwin Diaz. This is a trade I've mentioned before and is reasonable for both teams.

I'm also of the opinion that Andrew Cashner could conceivably be back in 2020, as a reliever only, at about $7-$8 mil per yr on a 2 year deal. He was decent, for the most part, after being demoted to the bullpen in 2019.

Give that man a raise: Brockstar is a pending FA and has expressed interest in coming back to the Red Sox. Brock made $3.58m in 2019 and would be a worthwhile investment at $40m over 5 yrs, given what he brings to the team on a daily basis. Doubling his salary with this deal would be good business.

I read somewhere that if the Red Sox outrighted Dustn Pedroia off of the 40 man roster then his $25m over 2020 & 2021 wouldn't count against the luxury tax thresh hold, and he'd still get his money. That would make sense, since no other team would sign him given his recent injury history.

The Red Sox will save $18.5 million in 2020 as the last big year of Pablo Sandoval's buyout comes off of the books when the 2019 World Series ends. (the Sox are only on the hook for $5m for 2020 then he's off)

Marco Hernandez will be given an opportunity to win the 2nd base job in 2020 and Michael Chavis will be your opening day first baseman. Moreland and Pearce will not be re-signed (though Moreland has a better chance on a 1 yr deal to come back. Pearce will retire due to age and injury).

Random thoughts on the 2019 Red Sox and what I would do for 2020

Some of what I've written about the Red Sox in recent posts on Facebook. Some of the stats are outdated by a few weeks now but were accurate when originally posted.

Realistically, the 2019 Red Sox aren't good enough to make the playoffs this year. I'd rather see them miss the playoffs then lose embarassingly in a one and done Wild Card game. Just too inconsistent. The problems are obvious:

1) Starting pitching hasn't nearly lived up to its potential. This should be one of the best starting staffs in the AL, maybe even all of baseball. But it isn't. Not even close.

2) Bullpen is a mess without a proven closer. No one really has a defined role. Having Kimbrel and Kelly wouldn't have solved all of the bullpen issues but certainly would have helped.

3) Inability to win at Fenway Park. 30-32 is totally unacceptable. Good teams should play around .667 on the home field. 2018 record at Fenway was 57-24 .704

4) Inability to beat teams in the AL East. Overall the Sox are 28-31 within the division. The Sox are 8-5 v. Bal, 10-6 v. Tor, 6-9 v. TB and 4-11 v. NYY. Pathetic. 2018 record vs. AL East was 52-24 .703

The Red Sox do have one of the best offenses in baseball again, but it is hard to outscore your own pitching staff every night. Run differential is huge. 2019 so far 693 Runs scored, 634 Runs allowed (+59) compared to 2018, 876 Runs scored, 647 Runs allowed (+229)

On another Red Sox page, someone asked when people are going to get fired or benched. Here's what I replied:

Realistically, the Red Sox are not going to fire a manager that won 119 games, playoffs included, just one season ago. I doubt DD will get fired either. The problems for the 2019 team are many:

1) Starting pitching as a group has seriously under achieved.

2) Bullpen is not as good as it was last year without a proven closer. Even inconsistent Joe Kelly last year was better than some of the relievers this year.

3) Piss poor W-L record at Fenway Park, where the Sox should kick ass.

4) Inability to win games within their division.

Look on the bright side:

The Red Sox have the best offense in the game, again. But it is hard to outscore your own pitching staff every night.

Raffy: is having a breakout year and he is only 22. Great things ahead for that young man.

X-Man: will be a steal at $20m for the next 6 years as he continues to get better, which is scary.

E-Rod: The most consistent of all the Red Sox starters. He just needs to throw more strikes and less pitches overall so he can last deeper into games.

Hopefully the Red Sox can make some big moves in the offseason. Will DD be around to make them?

Bill Parcells once said you are what your record says you are, and at this point the Red Sox are a barely over .500. team. For a team this talented to have such a poor record is baffling. 
Sure they could still technically win 100 games but they would have to go 35-3 the rest of the way. Winning 90 games this season would be an accomplishment, given the inconsistencies. It is what it is. 
Prepare and start making plans for 2020. Use the remainder of the season to evaluate what needs to be done in the off-season and when free agency starts, pounce like hell on whomever you've targeted. Don't wait.

For example... A trade that someone suggested just before July 31 trade deadline, which I hope DD pursues:

Red Sox send Jackie Bradley Jr, Bobby Dalbec and a second tier prospect to the New York Mets.

New York Mets send Noah Syndegaard and Edwin Diaz to the Red Sox.

Why I like this trade scenario: in order to get something, you have to give something. JBJ's defense in center is immaculate but his bat is frustrating, maddening and woefully inconsistent. Dalbec is behind Rafael Devers, who is having a breakout season. Dalbec is probably the Red Sox best trade chip. The second tier prospect really just evens out the deal from the Red Sox side.

Syndegaard was in awe of pitching at Fenway last season, is still arbitration eligible for a few more seasons and would be a great fit as a rotation replacement for Rick Porcello, who probably will sign elsewhere for 2020, because he makes too much and the Sox would want him to take a serious pay cut if they were to resign him. Diaz, also arbitration eligible, would fill the closer role for the next few seasons, allowing Nathan Eovaldi to be more effective out of the bullpen this year and move back into the rotation for 2020.

For example... Andrew Cashner. Good luck as a FA. Don't let the door hit ya on the way out. 

For example... Rick Porcello. The only way he's coming back is on a super large pay cut on a new contract, like $8m/yr instead of $21.12 m/yr.

For example... Red Sox do not resign Steve Pierce. Maybe re-sign Moreland on a modest 1 year contract (whose 2019 salary is reasonable) and play Chavis as your primary 1B. If Moreland doesn't resign, then find a similarly priced option to back up/platoon with Chavis.

 For example... hope that JD decides to NOT opt-out of his contract and decides to stay, not wanting to risk a stagnant FA market like he had in 2018, when he signed on 2/26.

For example... re-sign Brock Holt. He has said he wants to stay here long term. Even if you double his 2019 salary to $7m/per yr., on a 5 (or 6) year deal, he'd still be a bargain. Chemistry guys like Brockstar are essential to successful teams.

For example... pursue Gerritt Cole as a FA. Excellent pitcher and weaken another AL competitor in the process. He'll only be 29 next season and I can see him getting $25m/yr on a 6 year deal easily.

Can you imagine rolling out a rotation of Sale, Price, Cole, Syndegaard, E-Rod and Eovaldi? Yes, six starters for five slots because you can never have enough pitching.

Who is the racist?

Vindication

The guy I rent a room from sometimes finds one or two cockroaches (palmetto bugs) in his kitchen drawers. In the past he has blamed my large collection of books for attracting them into his house, as they can eat paper. (The main kitchen and the room I rent share the same wall.) Tonight he found eight of the nasty suckers all at once in one of his kitchen drawers. About 6 weeks ago, when I boxed up and moved the majority of my books out, I found none of them hiding in there. Obviously then, my library wasn't the problem, which I told him every time.

I'm not going to post a picture of the suckers because they are gross and freak me out. If you want to see what they look like, you can Google it yourself.

Relativism cannot be true.

When a person makes a statement that all truth is relative, he or she either includes that statement or excludes it. If that statement is included - that all truth is relative - that means that that statement is only relative and not always true. If that statement is excluded, then he or she is positing an absolute while denying that absolutes actually exist.

So this happened.... since the last time

Since the last time I posted, I had a birthday. A big one.

Long time coming...

Has it been almost four years since I posted anything here? I suppose it has. I credit this (in part) to:

a) forgot which email address I used for blogger.
b) obviously also forgot which password was associated with it.
c) laziness
d) lack of interest.
e) both a and b
f) both c and d
g) a combination of a, b, c and d

Hopefully now I'll be able to get back into blogging, at least semi-regularly.

 It's good to be back, for now.

Since the sidebar contains outdated information, that will gradually be changing and updated once I figure out what I want to put there, and if I can remember how to write it in html speak.

Robin Williams (1951-2014)

Famous people die every day, just like the rest of us. Robin Williams died a year ago yesterday. Of all the celebrity deaths in the last year I am still stung the most by his. For the tragic way he died. For someone who seemingly had a great life and everything to live for. For someone who brought joy to and touched millions of lives with his jokes and humor. For someone who didn't know or refused to see the people in his life who loved and cared about him and who would have offered a word of encouragement or help but didn't know.

Suffering from depression is a rough deal. No one but that person knows it's happening. There aren't many outward symptoms and those that are often go undetected. I can't even imagine having the feeling that life is so horrible that there is nothing to live for. Can't comprehend it. So today, in honor of Mr. Williams, I wore my Mork and Mindy tee shirt. Nanu-nanu. <

Looking forward to Red Sox spring training 2016.

Not surprised the Sox were not involved in any big deals yesterday. But sure as hell, big moves must be made in the offseason. Nap will be gone. Swihart likely will be traded if Vasquez comes back healthy from TJ. One or two good starting pitchers must be acquired, fill out the rotation with Rodriguez and some combination of Porcello (because of his contract), Owens or Johnson. Since the team as currently constituted, sucks, blow it up and do SOMETHING.

Cueto and Price will be free agents, among others. It's going to cost a fortune to land one of the big guns but after this season, the Sox have no choice but to spend big on pitching.

Deflategate, just go away and let's just play football.

Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting that the NFL and NFLPA are trying to reach a settlement in the Tom Brady suspension Deflategate mess. Schefter seems to think that a settlement will not be reached and that the Commish will hold firm to the four games, denying Brady's appeal.

If this happens, I won't be in the least bit surprised because Roger Goodell is an idiot and should never have heard the appeal in the first place. The NFL must realize (or you would think they would) that in light of the new rules and guidelines on inspecting and testing footballs for correct air pressure put in place just this week, that the appeal has little or no chance to be upheld in federal court, which is EXACLY where this mess is headed.

The NFL mishandled this case badly, from the flawed and inconclusive Wells Report to the ridiculous 4 game suspension handed down by Troy Vincent (with Goodell's blessing) and the loss of draft picks for the Patriots organization over "more probable than not that Brady knew or was generally aware of" what was going on with the footballs.

The only way that the NFL can come out of this with a shred of decency is for the four game suspension to be vacated without the need of a court to tell them so and acknowledge (which they have, sort of, by the new rules) that they screwed up. Expect Brady to get a court ordered injunction that will allow him to play this season until the courts can have their say. Sorry haters but you've struck a hornets nest and you can expect Brady to play football all season.

UPDATE: Brady's suspension was upheld, lawsuits were filed by the NFL and NFLPA in New York and Minnesota. The NFLPA's suit was moved to New York. A judge ordered the two sides to reach a settlement without litigation and tone down the rhetoric, public and private. Both sides want a resolution before the start of the 2015 regular season.

Stick a fork in 'em, the Red Sox are done.

This horrific four game sweep by the Angels officially puts the nail in the 2015 Red Sox coffin. Heads will roll, the Sox will be sellers instead of buyers at the July 31 trade deadline. At this point I'd be surprised if John Farrell finishes the season as Red Sox manager. Generally I don't like mid-season managerial changes but SOMETHING has to be done and soon. Cherington's days as Sox GM could also be coming to an end, but we'll se on that.

Instead of pondering who the Sox will acquire to bolster their starting rotation, the question now becomes who will survive the purging and still be a Red Sox going into next season? Who are the untouchables from the major league roster (not counting injured players)?

Pedroia, Ortiz, Betts, Swihart, Rodriguez, Johnson are six that I can see as being untouchable in potential trades. Ramirez and Sandoval are essentially untradeable because of their large contracts. Everyone else is fair game.

On the Red Sox after the All Star break

Here's the deal as I see it. The Sox need better starting pitching. I say go for a guy like Cueto, even if he is a free agent at the end of the season. If the money is there he can be persuaded to sign long term. Some reports I've read say he's looking for $200 mil on probably a six or seven year deal. That's where the price of a top notch starter is headed and some team will pay it. Why not the Red Sox? Is that a ridiculous salary for anyone? Heck yeah. But just imagine what baseball salaries will be five short years from now, ten years from now. Pitching isn't getting any cheaper. We all know that Lester is having a horrible season for the Cubs, the Sox clearly missed the boat on a guy they knew and knew well.

I know this. Heads are going to roll at 4 Yawkey Way if the Sox brass doesn't do something impactful come July 31. Another last place finish is unacceptable to members of the Nation. The sheen of the miraculous 2013 World Series run is over. Time for the Sox to put their big-boy pants on.

The Accolade

I enjoy working on jigsaw puzzles because they help to relax me. Since 2012, I've worked on and framed quite a few of them. This is the current project that I've been working on since February 2, 2015. This is what it will look like when it is finished:

"The Accolade" a 2,000 piece puzzle by Educa. Painting by E. Blair Leighton, 1901.

The pic below was taken today, showing my progress thus far. I haven't worked on it as much lately as I would have liked.

Every puzzle that I work on gets glued up and framed for hanging. What fun is it to spend months working on a jigsaw puzzle only to put it back in the box when it is finished?

Exactly.

Procrastination

There are many things that I need to do. Things I need to get off my plate. I know I need to do them yet I don't do them.

It's sort of like a faulty wire. Visualize the wire. You can see the spark trying to flow through the wire or get to the other side but somewhere in the middle there is a gap. Somewhere in there is a disconnect.

I know the goals I have and I know what I need to do to accomplish them, yet they remain largely undone.

This is my lifelong battle against procrastination. Every morning I wake up and tell myself I'm going to be productive today. I am not nearly as productive as I want or need to be. By the time I get my second wind, I feel like the day is gone and what do I have to show for it?

Tonight, I am going to do my best to be productive well into the night time hours. Instead of watching television or fumbling around on the internet, I'm going to get some things accomplished.

Lina Posada

Lina Posada Arteaga

DOB: March 13, 1991 (24) in Barranquilla Atlantico, Colombia

Language: Spanish (native) and English

Eye Color: Blue

Hair Color: Brown

Height: 5′ 9″ (175 cm)

Weight: 114 lbs (52 kg) Measurements: 34 – 24 – 34; cup size 34B

Shoe Size: 7 (37.5 Euro)

Dress Size: 6

Holiday weekend

>

This is the Fourth of July weekend. Today all government offices are closed. No mail delivery. But do bus lines run? Hard to tell since the fourth is actually on a Saturday. Is public transit considered part of the government offices that are closed?

UPDATE: Didn't see one bus in operation today. Rode my bike down to south Sarasota, 13.5 miles one way, 27 miles total. My legs felt like jelly when I got back and my butt hurt from that uncomfortable bike seat. Outside temp hot, humid, 92F. I was a sweaty mess too.

Re-tooling and cleaning up this blog for regular use again

This blog has obviously not been used in almost four years. Hopefully that will change. While fumbling around with blogger today and not at all used to the changes that have been made since I last regularly used this blog, I've decided that rather than start from scratch and having to modify a whole new template to my liking, I'll just stick with this one. There will be changes to the content on the sidebars, since most of it is now irrelevant. The blogs I followed four years ago may or may not still be in use today so those links will be eliminated. So too will I likely eliminate the Red Sox schedule that is from 2011.

Aphelion

This year, aphelion is January 3rd (today), when the earth is as far away from the sun as it will ever be. That would be 94,512,005 miles. Perihelion was be on January 3, 2011.

SNMR 9.8: "Couples Retreat"

GREEN'S PEEING IN THE DEMO TOILET IS BAAAAD REVIEW:

Jason and Cynthia (Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell) are thinking about getting a divorce. In an effort to salvage their marriage they want to go to an exclusive couples resort for the counseling. But they can't afford it on their own and need to convince their friends to go with them so they all can get the group rate. After much hesitation, Dave & Ronnie (Vince Vaughn, Malin Ackerman), Joey and Lucy (Jon Favreau, Kristin Davis), and recently divorced Shane and his twenty year old girlfriend (Faizon Love, Kali Hawk) agree to go - but for the fun only.

When they get to the resort they are stunned by the beauty (filmed on location at a resort in Bora Bora) of the place and the amazing food but are shocked to learn that the group therapy and couples counseling is not optional and starts promptly at six in the morning.


Through the counseling Dave & Ronnie discover issues in their marriage that they didn't know existed, Joey and Lucy's bickering gets worse and overweight Shane just doesn't have the energy to keep up with a twenty year old.

What follows are some moderately funny situations that couples could find themselves in. After a blowup between one of the couples and a wild night at the singles club on the other side of the island, they all realize that all married couples have issues and that their marital problems aren't as bad as they thought they were.

The starring cast is excellent and there are wonderful performances from the supporting cast, including Jean Reno, Peter Serafinowicz and especially Carlos Ponce.

Former child star Peter Billingsley makes his feature length directorial debut and does a decent job managing this star heavy cast, getting everyone as much screen time as possible within the confines of the story. The script was written by Vaughn & Favreau with Dana Fox is witty and the story moves along fairly well.

The DVD features some nice extras including filming in Bora Bora and on the yoga scenes as well as deleted & extended scenes and a short gag reel.

This is a decent film and well worth a rental on Netflix or better, as a freebie from your library.

*** out of *****

Couples Retreat (2009, PG-13, 114 minutes) starring Vince Vaughn, Malin Ackerman, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, Faizon Love and Jean Reno. Written by Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau and Dana Fox. Directed by Petere Billingsley.

SNMR 9.7: "Valentine's Day"

GREEN'S YOUNG LOVE, FULL OF PROMISE AND HOPE BUT IGNORANT OF REALITY REVIEW:

One year ago today, this aptly titled film was released, ostensibly in celebration of some upcoming couples holiday involving hearts, candy, dating, love and sex. Initially the concept seemed good: demonstrate how different people celebrate this Hallmark holiday by showing multiple couples during the entire day and how they interact with each other. This concept seems like a winner, especially with the recent trend of films that deal with non-linear and multiple story lines all jumbled and going on at the same time. One difference is, in those other films, all the storylines get tied up in the end so it makes sense. Like life and real relationships, not all of the story lines end happily-ever after. That is one thing this film has going for it, anyway.

I like romantic comedies. I really do. I really wanted to like this film more than I did. See, there are two major and one minorproblems with this film. The minor problem involves a continuity gaffe involving Jennifer Garner's character. The major problems are that the film does not have nearly enough comedy or romance in it and a simple case of overkill. Too many stars, too many stories and not enough screen time in a two hour and five minute film to do them all justice. What it all means that we don't have the opportunity to get invested in any of the characters or given enough grounds to care about any of them. This film would have been much more effective if there were half as many characters and storylines.

I have no problem with Garry Marshall as a director. He assembled a fine, all-star caliber cast of excellent and popular actors, who are each talented in their own right. With the amount of screen time anyone gets, I'd imagine the actors had a nice easy one or two days of filming and a decent paycheck to boot.

There were some touching story lines that I'd have liked see developed more, to the exclusion of others, but I won't tell you what they are.

**½ out of *****

Valentine's Day (2010, PG-13, 125 minutes) starring Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Hector Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner, George Lopez, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Roberts, Julia Roberts and Taylor Swift. Screenplay by Katherine Fugate. Story by Katherine Fugate, Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein. Directed by Garry Marshall.

SNMR 9.6: "Love Happens"

GREEN'S "DAY BY DAY EXPERIMENT IN REALLY BAD DECISIONS" REVIEW:



Burke Ryan (Aaron Eckhart) has written a self help book on dealing with grief and moving on with it. He never expected anyone would want to read it when he wrote it. Now he's traveling city to city leading self-help workshops based on the popularity of his book. Lane (Dan Fogler), Burke's promoter, brings his tour to Seattle, unchecked emotions begin to surface about Burke's secret that he didn't expect. During the week long seminar, he bumps into Eloise (Jennifer Aniston), owner of a small flower shop. After a rough beginning, they become friends and she helps him deal with his pain without even knowing what it's all about.

This film, I think, was inappropriately named and is therefore misleading. Based on that, you'd think this movie was just some sappy romantic comedy but it is actually more than that. It's actually another study on how an individual deals with grief, specifically the loss of a loved one.

Aaron Eckhart is a very underrated and versatile actor. He does a convincing job in his lead role. Jennifer Aniston is my favorite Hollywood actress and she also gives a good performance, even though her character is not as fully developed as I'd like. There's one scene of her character's ex and then he's out of the film - his other scenes are found in the deleted scenes on the DVDs extras - which makes that one scene seem out of place. Excellent supporting roles from Martin Sheen and John Carroll Lynch help the film have more emotional depth.

This is Brandon Camp's feature directorial debut and he does a decent job - meaning he doesn't call attention to himself for crappy directing but neither is his debut outstanding. He co-wrote the script and I always say it helps when the screenwriter is also the director because he, better than anyone, knows his story and what he wants it to say. So I'll give him the benefit of the doubt here, until he has more credits on his resume.

The DVD extras include a feature length commentary, deleted scenes and a short bit on how green screen was used to insert the background shots for some of the key scenes.

This is the second time I've watched this movie. The first was in the theater, as I always go and see all of Aniston's movies, no matter what, on opening day. I waited for a while to buy the DVD until the price came down under $10. This movie is a worthwhile rental from your video supplier or your local library.


*** out of *****

Love Happens (2009, PG-13, 109 minutes) starring Aaron Eckhart, Jennifer Aniston, Dan Fogler, John Carroll Lynch, Martin Sheen and Judy Greer. Written by Brandon Camp and Mike Thompson. Directed by Brandon Camp.

2010 NFL Playoffs Divisional Round 1/16/2011

#4 Seattle Seahawks (8-9) at #2 Chicago Bears (11-5) (-10, o/u 41.5); 13:00 FOX. Let's face it: No one outside of Seattle gave the Seahawks a flaming chance to beat the defending Super Bowl Champions last week. But they did, thanks to a great game from QB Matt Hasselbeck and a brilliant late run by RB Marshawn Lynch. Even though the Seahawks won in Chicago in Week Six by a field goal means only the Seahawks aren't intimidated by playing here and have nothing to lose. As much as I despise the Bears, they present the Seahawks with little chance of winning today. The only chance the Seahawks have is if Bears QB Jay Cutler throws INT's all over the place (which could very well happen), but I don't think he will throw more than one. The Bears defense is simply better than the Seahawks offense and the Bears offense has more talent than the Seahawks defense. That being said, I do think the Seahawks will make a game of it and at least cover the spread. The winner will host the Green Bay Packers for the NFC Championship next weekend.
MY PREDICTION: @ Chicago Bears 34, Seattle Seahawks 28
ACTUAL RESULT:

#6 New York Jets (12-5) at #1 New England Patriots (14-2) (-9, o/u 44); 16:30 CBS. What better matchups can you get this weekend in the AFC, part two. The Jets and Patriots each won, in the regular season, as the home team. The Jets won 28-14 in Week 2 and the Patriots won 45-3 in Week 13. That last game will be hard for the Jets to get over, especially in Foxboro. Pats QB Tom Brady has lost his last two postseason games (SB XLII to the NY Giants (still painful) and last years wild card game to the Ravens.) and I doubt he'll make it three in a row. Jets coach Rex Ryan just can't seem to shut up and neither can his team. Do your talking on the field, boys. I do expect the Patriots to win, but the game will be much closer than 45-3. If the Patriots win, they will host Pittsburgh next weekend for the AFC Championship. If the Jets win they will play in Pittsburgh.
MY PREDICTION: @ New England Patriots 40, New York Jets 20
ACTUAL RESULT:

2010 NFL Playoffs Divisional Round 1/15/2011

#5 Baltimore Ravens (13-4) at #2 Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) (-3, o/u 37); 16:30 CBS. What better matchups can you get this weekend in the AFC, part one The Ravens and Steelers each won, in the regular season, as the road team. Each game was decided by three points and each came down to a decisive key play that turned the game. I expect this game to be no different. The one element of this game that will benefit the Steelers is that, in the Week Four matchup, QB Ben Roethlisberger was serving the last game of his four game suspension. Another key is the health of Steelers S Troy Polamalu who has battled injuries late in the season and is huge for the Steelers defense. Looking at the headlines this morning is the health of Ravens RB Ray Rice, who is reportedly ill. If he can't go or is less than fulll strength, it could be detrimental to the Ravens running game and their chances of winning. The winner of this game will either host the New York Jets or play at New England next Sunday for the AFC Championship, depending on the results of tomorrow's game. I believe this game will be another low scoring nailbiter, with the Steelers winning.
MY PREDICTION: @ Pittsburgh Steelers 17, Baltimore Ravens 14
ACTUAL RESULT: @ Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Baltimore Ravens 24

#6 Green Bay Packers (11-6) at #1 Atlanta Falcons (13-3) (-2, o/u 43.5); 20:00 FOX. The Packers lost in Atlanta 20-17 in Week 12 primarily because of some late mistakes and a last seconds field goal by Atlanta, otherwise this game would have gone into overtime. The Packers come in confident, knowing they match up with Atlanta. Aaron Rodgers is playing as well as any QB and is dangerous. Fir the Falcons, this is probably the worst matchup. However, they are at home where they have only lost once this season. QB Matty "Ice" Ryan has a superlative home winning record since he became the starter three seasons ago. The Falcons have one advantage I believe Green Bay can't handle, and that is future Hall of Famer TE Tony Gonzalez, one of Ryan's favorite targets. If Atlanta wins, they will host either Seattle or Chicago next Sunday. If Green Bay wins, they will play at either Seattle or Chicago. The Packers won't go down easily but I think the Falcons pull out a tough one.
MY PREDICTION: @ Atlanta Falcons 23, Green Bay Packers 21
ACTUAL RESULT: Green Bay Packers 48, @ Atlanta Falcons 21

2010 NFL Playoffs Wild Card Games 1/9/2011

#5 Baltimore Ravens (12-4) (-3, o/u 40.5) at #4 Kansas City Chiefs (10-6); 13:00 CBS. Everyone knows about Ravens LB Ray Lewis and their excellent defense. Not many people question their intensity. Nationally, no one really knows about the Chiefs. They went 4-12 in 2009 and were last in the AFC West. Chiefs QB Matt Cassel had a breakthrough year with New England in 2008 and was below agerage in 2009, his first in KC. This season Cassel again was good, finding a receiver in Dwayne Bowe and a league leading running game (164 ypg avg.) with Jamall Charles and Jets castoff Thomas Jones. The Ravens are 5^th in total run defense, allowing a bit over 93 yards per game. If this game were being played in Baltimore, I'd pick the Ravens but it is not. Arrowhead Stadium is a hugely difficult place to play and the Chiefs were 7-1 at home this season, the Ravens were 5-3 on the road. I'm taking the home team in a tight game. The winner of this game will play in Pittsburgh next Saturday thanks to the Jets beating the Colts yesterday.
MY PREDICTION: @ Kansas City Chiefs 28, Baltimore Ravens 24
ACTUAL RESULT: Baltimore Ravens 30, @ Kansas City Chiefs 7

#6 Green Bay Packers (10-6) at #3 Philadelphia Eagles (10-6) (-2.5 o/u 46.5); 16:30 FOX. The Packers beat the Eagles in Philadelphia in Week 1 when Michael Vick played the second half, turning a potential Packers blowout into a close loss. THe Eagles offensively are scary. Vick can run and pass, have excellent WRs and RB's and are playing at home. The Packers also have an excellent offense and have potential defensive player of the year in LB Clay Matthews. This game is going to be a dogfight. However, the knowledge that the Packers won here earlier plus the Eagles lackluster finish to the season and uninspiring home record (4-4) say Packers will win. If the Packers win, they will play in Atlanta next week. If the Eagles win they will play in Chicago next week, sending Seattle to play Atlanta.
MY PREDICTION: Green Bay Packers 24, @ Philadelphia Eagles 23
ACTUAL RESULT: Green Bay Packers 21, @ Philadelphia Eagles 16

2010 NFL Playoffs Wild Card Games 1/8/2011

#5 New Orleans Saints (11-5) (-10, o/u 45.5) at #4 Seattle Seahawks (7-9); 16:30 NBC. New Orleans is the defending Super Bowl champion while the Seattle became the first division winner with a losing record. Because of the NFL's playoff format, division winnners get home field advantage over wild card teams, which is why this game is being played in Seattle rather than in New Orleans. The Saints are obviously the better team, and have beaten the Seahawks already this season in Week 11 34-19. That game was played in New Orleans. Playing outdoors for a dome team is tough and Q-West Field is one of the loudest outdoor venues in the league. The Saints are hurting at RB but QB Drew Brees and the Saints have superior WRs. Seattle has QB Matt Hasselbeck back after missing the Week 17 playoff clinching victory over the St. Louis Rams. Hasselbeck has great career numbers vs. New Orleans. The winner of this game will play either at Atlanta or at Chicago, depending on the result of the Packers @ Eagles game tomorrow. Seattle, playing at home, will make it a close game for three quarters but the Saints will pull away in the 4th Quarter.
MY PREDICTION: New Orleans Saints 30, @ Seattle Seahawks 17
ACTUAL RESULT: @ Seattle Seahawks 41, New Orleans Saints 36

#6 New York Jets (11-5) at #3 Indianapolis Colts (10-6) (-2.5 o/u 44.5); 20:00 NBC. These two teams did not play each other in the regular season. The Colts defeated the Jets in last season's AFC Championship game. Jets coach Rex Ryan is 1-5 vs. Peyton Manning's teams and has said that this week is personal. The one win Ryan has came late last season, when the Colts were resting most of their starters. That won't be the case tonight. Ryan is bold and outspoken and, while the media loves him for his mouth, he needs to shut-up. Jets QB Mark Sanchez played sparingly in the Week 17 win over Buffalo, not throwing a pass and resting his sore shoulder. The defending AFC Champion Colts have been decimated by injuries to key players on offense and defense and needed a four game winning streak at the end of the season to qualify for the playoffs for an NFL record tying ninth straight season. The Colts have been running the ball better of late and the Jets running game has struggled late in the season. If the Jets win, they play at New England next Sunday. If the Colts win, they will play at Pittsburgh next Saturday. I'd be crazy not to pick Peyton Manning at home in the playoffs.
MY PREDICTION: @ Indianapolis 24, New York Jets 16
ACTUAL RESULT: New York Jets 17, @ Indianapolis Colts 16

Resolve isn't just a stain remover

I recently said to myself that I was going to blog more often in 2011. I've been slacking in the blogging department for quite some time now. Yet I haven't done anything about it and realize that if I don't do it, no one will do it for me. Not that I'd want anyone to. What good would it do me if someone were to write my blog for me.

So here's to blogging more this year!

Perihelion

This year, perihelion is January 3rd (today), when the earth is as close to the sun as it will ever be. That would be 91,407,361 miles. Aphelion will be on July 4, 2011.

MMXI

Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2011 is a better year for you than last year was. I'm certainly hoping so. A lot of changes in 2010, some good some bad. Hopefully more of the good and not so much of the bad. But someone once said if life were easy it woldn't be as worthwhile. Sometimes I want to punch that person in the chops, y'know?

SNMR on hiatus until further notice.

but probably only for a week or two. We'll see how it goes.

the bestest 11 year-old I know...

... my son, M.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

I love you buddy.

A

Happy Birthday to my brother A.

16=9½+6½

*sigh*

Yes I'm over it but I still (and probably a part of me always will) wonder what might have been if different choices & decisions were made.


I need to get back in the game. Maybe that would help. Does any one know if the rules have changed? I suspect that they have but would like to know by how much and which of them are different.

SNMR 8.25: "Crocodile Dundee"

GREEN'S "THAT'S NOT A KNIFE..." REVIEW:

New York City newspaper reporter Sue Charlton (Linda Kozlowski) is in Australia covering a story for the newspaper but right before she is supposed to leave for home asks her editor (Mark Blum) if she can stay a bit longer and do a story on a local guy who was attacked by a crocodile.
Charlton then meets Walt (John Meillon) tour guide partner of the locally infamous Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee (Paul Hogan) and is introduced to life down under in the outback town called Walkabout Creek. After a few days Charlton asks Dundee if he'd like to experience New York City at her paper's expense so she can continue writing her stories. Reluctantly he agrees and the hilarity begins as small town Dundee visits his first city of any size. Is New York big enough to handle him?

Twenty-four years ago tomorrow, "Crocodile" Dundee was introduced to American film audiences. This was also the introduction of Paul Hogan to Hollywood, instead of just being the charming pitchman for Australian tourism. This movie is also the film debut of Linda Kozlowski but you'd never know it by her performance. Not unusually, a real life romance between co-stars followed. What is unusual is that Hogan and Kozlowski celebrated 20 years of marriage in 2010.

Director Peter Faiman does a remarkably good job with this film, one of his few feature directorial credits. The story was developed by Hogan and he co-wrote the screenplay with two others. It's a good story with plenty of laugh lines especially as Hogan's character slowly gets used to city life. However, what makes the story work better is the obvious on-screen chemistry between Hogan & Kozlowski.

This was one of those movies that came out in theaters when I worked at the cinema in the town I grew up in. Because of this, there are scenes in the film that I've seen hundreds of times. My favorites are near the beginning, the scene with the bull in the road and at the very end in the crowded subway station. Both still crack me up.

The DVD release has zero special features. For the twenty fifth anniversary edition, I would like to see a re-release of the DVD with the cast and crew looking back on the experience of making the film.

**** out of *****

Crocodile Dundee (1986, PG-13, 97 minutes), starring Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski, Mark Blum, Michael Lombard, David Gulpilil and John Meillon. Story by Paul Hogan. Screenplay by Paul Hogan, John Cornell and Ken Shadie. Directed by Peter Faiman.

Autumnal Equinox & full Harvest Moon

Today, officially, autumn begins at 11:09 PM EDT (23:09). Not that I'll be able to tell from where I am living at the moment.

According to the online version of the Old Farmers' Almanac, "the autumnal equinox is defined as the point at which the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator from north to south. The celestial equator is the circle in the celestial sphere halfway between the celestial poles. It can be thought of as the plane of Earth's equator projected out onto the sphere. Another definition of fall is nights of below-freezing temperatures combined with days of temperatures below 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The word equinox means "equal night"; night and day are the same length of time. The spring equinox is in late March. In addition to the equal hours of daylight and darkness, the equinoxes are times when the Sun's apparent motion undergoes the most rapid change. Around the time of the equinoxes, variations in the position on the horizon where the Sun rises and sets can be noticed from one day to the next by alert observers."

Tomorrow is the full moon known as the Harvest Moon. Hopefully I'll be able to see it without any cloud cover.

SNMR 8.24: "Better Off Dead"

GREEN'S "HAVE YOU ANY IDEA WHAT THE STREET VALUE OF THIS MOUNTAIN IS?" REVIEW:

High school senior Lane Meyer (John Cusack) is contemplating suicide because his girlfriend Beth (Amanda Wyss) has just dumped him in favor of the snobby ski team captain Roy Stalin (Aaron Dozier in his only screen appearance). Lane's next door neighbor Ricky (Dan Schneider) and his obnoxious mother (Laura Waterbury) have taken in Monique (Diane Franklin), a beautiful French foreign exchange student who claims not to speak any English and whose lifelong dream is to see Dodger Stadium. Lane is also taunted by a goofy family, a neurotic paperboy and a pair of drag race loving Japanese brothers...

I'm still cracking up just thinking about scenes from this movie - and I've seen in about a gazillion times.

Writer/director "Savage" Steve Holland's screenwriting and directorial debut no doubt was a box office failure, grossing just over $10 million in its short lived US theatrical release, according to boxofficemojo.com. Over the years this film has become a cult classic and leaves a far greater legacy than box office dollars ~ especially for those of us who were high school age at the time of the film's release almost twenty-five years ago.

Holland's incredibly witty script has a host of quotable lines, memorable scenes and just as many wonderfully quirky and lovable characters, played beautifully by a mostly unknown character actor cast, except for David Ogden Stiers (M*A*S*H's incorrigible Major Charles Winchester.) Looking back, except for Stiers, star in the making John Cusack is really the only actor who has had a notable film career since.

The screenplay takes a page from John Hughes many high school age teen angst movies also made in the 1980's. He hits all the big teen issues: relationship problems and triumphs, a weird and wacky family, goofy best friends and hated rivals, your first car, and your first (unwanted) job.

I clearly remember pitching this movie to a friend of mine in college who had never heard of it. After seeing it told me that he was in hysterics while watching and couldn't believe he missed this.

What is sorely needed to do this film justice is a nice two disc DVD release with some retrospective interviews from cast and crew. The current DVD release has no special features at all, unless you count English subtitles as such.

If you haven't watched this movie in a while or happen to be among those who aren't familiar with it, you're seriously missing out on the fun.


***** out of *****

Better Off Dead (1985, PG, 97 minutes), starring John Cusack, David Ogden Stiers, Diane Franklin, Curtis Armstrong, Amanda Wyss, Kim Darby, Dan Schneider and Aaron Dozier. Written and Directed by "Savage" Steve Holland.

SNMR 8.23: "The Gift"

GREEN'S "MESSING WITH THE DEVIL IS GONNA GET YOU BURNED" REVIEW:

In a small southern town, Annie Wilson, a widow (Cate Blanchett) struggles to raise her three small sons, using her psychic abilities and a poor man's deck of tarot cards to help her friends and people who come to her. Some of those clients are everyday townsfolk, like Buddy (Giovanni Ribisi) the mechanic and Valerie Barksdale (Hilary Swank), the abused wife of Donnie (Keanu Reeves), the town bully. When a young socialite woman (Katie Holmes), the fiancee of the school principal (Greg Kinnear), turns up missing, the police chief (JK Simmons) reluctantly asks Annie for help. But how much does she see and know?

I bought this DVD a while ago because of the merits of the starring cast, not really knowing what to expect or what the movie was about, except that films Cate Blanchett are in are usually pretty darn good. Surprisingly, I liked this film better than I thought I would.

Simply, Cate Blanchett is amazing, with her southern accent and the way she looks so...plain and ordinary. She is clearly one of the top five actresses Hollywood has seen in the last fifty years. The supporting cast is also excellent. Keanu Reeves who I usually recall playing likable characters in his films is surprisingly good being bad. Giovanni Ribisi continues to prove versatile in the roles he plays and he does do a good job playing one who is a little loose upstairs. Greg Kinnear has never been one of my favorite actors but always seems to turn in a solid performance. I'm not sold as much on Katie Holmes and think you could have cast a number of other actresses in her part and wouldn't have missed a beat. And you can't even blame her casting on the fame of being Mrs. Tom Cruise because this film was five years in the can before that happened.

I was surprised to find out that Billy Bob Thornton was co-writer (along with Tom Epperson) of the screenplay. His writing skills, in my opinion, are questionable at best. That being said, the screenplay is decently workable. There was only one scene near the end that was missing that I thought would have closed the film nicely. If you've seen this movie you might understand what I'm thinking of but I'm not going to say in case you haven't watched this movie.

This is the project that director Sam Raimi worked on before turning his attention to the excellently done Peter Parker trilogy known as the Spiderman franchise. So you could legitimately say that Raimi, despite several credits on his resume, was still a relatively unheralded director at this time. What he was able to do here is take a decent script and guide it along to a better than average end result.

The main DVD extra is a short interview session with the actors and director which was good but could have been longer.

I don't put any stock into the whole psychic, tarot card reading thing, so it is a credit to this film that someone like me would enjoy it as much as I did.

***½ out of *****

The Gift (2000, R, 111 minutes), starring Cate Blanchett, Giovani Ribisi, Keanu Reeves, Katie Holmes, Hilary Swank, Greg Kinnear and JK Simmons. Written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson. Directed by Sam Raimi.

SNMR 8.22: "The Other Boleyn Girl"

GREEN'S BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR REVIEW:

This movie is a period piece taking place in 16^th century England that tells the story of the two Boleyn sisters, Anne (Natalie Portman) and Mary (Scarlett Johansson) and their dalliances with a certain King of England, Henry VIII (Eric Bana) and all of the familial and court intrigue that surrounds the British nobility.

Holy Cow!! What a dysfunctional family the 16^th century English royal family was! Even the nobility was screwed up! Dysfunctional, screwy or both but still sickeningly and extremely fascinating.

I first borrowed this DVD from the library earlier this year and meant to review it then. But then something weird happened. When I returned some other DVD's, the library accidentally noted that I had returned this one as well when I had not. So it sat on my shelf for months while I signed out & returned other DVD's. Then at the end of May, I had to return it - still unwatched - to the library. Then I saw it at the store where I buy the majority of my DVD's and broke down and bought it, primarily because a) I hadn't watched it even after holding on to it for so long, and b) because of the two phenomenal female lead actresses. It didn't hurt that I have some interest in that period of English history.

As far as historical dramas go, you can't get much better than this. As I watched the film, I wondered how far from the actual written history the novel/screenplay went for dramatic effect. Apparently not far, as the novel's author, Philippa Gregory, admits to doing extensive research on the period and characters in one of the DVD extras. I also thought that at one time or another during the film either Anne or Mary could be considered 'the other Boleyn girl' and in fact are as confirmed by the screenwriter, Peter Morgan, also in a DVD extra. I think it would be fascinating to read the 600+ page novel and compare it to the movie, a roughly 120 page screenplay. I felt better about the movie after hearing Gregory praise the work that Morgan did in capturing the essence of the novel for the screen.

I had never heard of Justin Chadwick or what other films he may have directed and, as it turns out, rightly so. This appears to be his first big screen directorial effort amongst a resume of television show directing gigs. In other words, Chadwick did a good job with such a lavish production as this and has potential for other directing gigs.

The DVD extras include a short court biography of the historical figures portrayed in the film along with what it must have been like to be a lady in 16^th century England and a short bit on bringing history to the screen.

This is an all around good movie and is worth your while to rent or own.

**** out of *****

The Other Boleyn Girl (2008, PG-13, 115 minutes), starring Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana, Kristin Scott Thomas, Jim Sturgess, Mark Rylance and David Morrissey. Based on the novel by Philippa Gregory. Screenplay by Peter Morgan. Directed by Justin Chadwick.