Matt Harvey has taken NYC by storm, but that doesn’t mean he’s as recognizable as guys who’ve been in New York for years like David Wright or Derek Jeter, as this clip from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon proves:
Here’s a cool site to check out: Stadium Journeys. It’s a site that does stadium reviews of many sports, including baseball, where they have the majors, minors and even college and international fields.
Check it out.
You know how when you come across a movie on cable, they give you a brief description?
Well, here are some baseball movies that must be made, and what their cable TV description would be:
BOBBLEHEAD THE MOVIE: A 1960s bobblehead is forced to come out of retirement to lead his team over more realistically-proportioned action figures. Starring the vocal talents of Kevin Costner, Rainn Wilson.
MURDER MOST FOWL: After the shocking murder of Mrs. Met, the San Diego Chicken must lead the hunt for the mascot responsible. Starring Ted Giannoulas and the guy in the Mr. Met costume.
BAY OF PUIGS: A greedy baseball agent finances a invasion of Cuba, looking to open it up in order to find more talent to sign. Starring William Dafoe and Pitbull.
MINOR PROBLEMS: The GM of a minor league baseball team must escape assassins sent to kill him after a disastrous “Russian Heritage Night”. Starring Paul Giamatti and Zooey Deschanel.
HOSS: The tale of the pitching deity and dapper gent is brought to life. Rated NC-17 for language, violence, excessive drinking, opium use and syphilis.
DINOSAUR BASEBALL: Dinosaurs play baseball —*Television explodes from the awesomeness before you can finish reading it.*
This week on the Continuum…
This coming week:
The Twins beat the Yankees today, winning their first series in the Bronx since they won this May 10, 2001 game. How long ago was that?
Tim Lincecum was the losing pitcher of Homer Bailey‘s no-hitter, but, for the first time since 1906, he was the one to author the next no-no, going the distance with 148 pitches and with 14 strikeouts. Is there any doubt he’s the MVP of Yesterday?
(Standings after jump)
Normally I’d wait until an off-topic Thursday to do this, but I’ve decided to do this while the film is still fresh in my memory.
So, let’s cut to the chase: as an example of “film as art”, Pacific Rim may not be a great movie. It might not even be a good one. It doesn’t have much of a driving moral lesson or deep characters, nor does it provoke thoughts about what it means to be human. You can see 90% of the twists coming and you can spot references or scenes that are much like those in other films. No major new ground is broken.
However, as far as “film as entertainment”, Pacific Rim is a great movie, a eat-your-popcorn-and-enjoy-the-show experience that is also something that is an increasingly rare thing in modern movies: something new and original, and not a sequel, prequel, remake, adaptation or based on a true story.
That isn’t to say that Pacific Rim is something completely new. No, far from it. This is a film that follows in the footsteps of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars, paying tribute to previous traditions while putting a new spin on them. In the case of Pacific Rim, director Guillermo del Toro is paying tribute to Japanese Science Fiction in general and the kaiju (giant monsters- Godzilla, Mothra, etc.) and mecha (giant robots) genres in particular.
Now, with that introduction of my most basic thoughts and a quick primer on the film out of the way, go below the jump to see what I liked and what I didn’t about Pacific Rim.
As an off-topic video, here’s a video I found that combines two of my favorite things: the hilarious movie Anchorman and the cult video game classic Earthbound:
Alex Rios may have had one of the best nights of the season last night. Heck, he might have had one of the best nights of all time!
Standings, as always, after the jump:
The Home Run Derby roster has been announced! Well, mostly… they still have another AL spot open.
So, for those who want to get psyched by images of longball, here are links to the longest home runs by each of the participants so far this year:
Robinson Cano‘s 442-foot solo bomb off the batter’s eye in Minnesota.
Prince Fielder‘s 460-foot shot at Comerica.
Chris Davis‘ 439-foot longball at Camden Yards.
David Wright‘s 464-foot bomb against Craig Kimbrel in Atlanta.
Carlos Gonzalez‘s 458-foot shot deep into the Cincinnati night.
Michael Cuddyer‘s game-tier of 434 feet.
Bryce Harper‘s 434-foot bomb off of Bronson Arroyo.
I’ll put up the farthest by whoever else is named later.
The Baseball Continuum 