Improbable comebacks, deez nuts, Joanna the Mad, Philip the Handsome, Dane Dunning, She-Hulk, and Great Moments with the Heroes of the Intellectual Dark Web
Some teams are also really good at identifying players that fit well with an organizational approach. The Dodgers have excelled at getting a ton of power out of certain castoffs.
As for prospect approaches, I think it's going to take more time than what's historically usual for prospects to adjust. The difference in quality between MLB and the high minors seems to be at its highest point in recent memory. Tons of top prospects are struggling to adjust.
Maybe, though lots of prospects that get sent back down to AAA rake there. Though the PCL has a lot of parks at elevation, which doesn't help anyone (except the Rockies).
I have two words on She-Hulk: Tatiana Maslany. It’s no Orphan Black, but I would watch her read the phonebook.
Poor Dane Dunning. I guess you can’t be a has-been if you never were.
The tying run in the bottom of the ninth in the Nats-Marlins game came on a (deep breath) video review reversing a game-ending appeal play negating a sacrifice fly (exhale)… Who says the MLB today isn’t packed with excitement?!
The CO2 levels in NYC are down today because every Mets fan is holding their breath. The only good news so far is that it's not Max's arm. But odds are he will have to miss some time, and the staff is already pretty thin with Megill and Jake out. Here's hoping for the best, and also for a few more offensive performances like last night's.
"She-Hulk" is probably the worst name imaginable for a super-hero. But the character is one of the best. After a brief time where she was sort of like the Hulk - who is her cousin, and for reasons that make sense only in a comic book had to give her a blood transfusion to save her life - and hulked out when angry, she became someone who chose to be a somewhat buff, seven foot tall green woman and maintain her practice as a lawyer. She loves being a hero, loves standing out in the crowd, is (for a Marvel comic) very sex positive, and has often find a way to have it all. Yes, there are a lot of soap operatics in her life, and sometimes she gets put through the ringer. But at her best, she is a lot of fun and her career as a lawyer is a great launching point for stories. Like the time she represented Spider-Man in a long overdue libel suit against J. Jonah Jameson. If the TV show can tap into the best of her comics as well as Ms. Maslany's talent, it should be good. Assuming they fix the FX. (I get hiring an actor of her talent, but why not hire someone from the WWE who is actually tall and buff? Surely there is someone from the female ranks ready to be the next John Cena or Dave Bautista.)
I am not much for wrestling, but I got the sense that one reason Rousey flamed out in the WWE is that she can't act. (All those wrestlers who make it as actors were actors as wrestlers. It's an underappreciated part of what makes the thing work as entertainment.)
He's in Dune as well, but he was one of many ill-served by what ended up on the screen. (I did not care for the movie very much at all, and the only actors who did much were Josh Brolin and Jason Momoa, who look like they should also be ex-wrestlers.)
I was originally going to make a “you can’t CGI acting ability” joke, but this is exactly why I didn’t. I’m not a pro wrestling fan, but it’s clear that there are lots of incredibly talented people in the industry who would be fantastic in more traditional scripted productions.
In her normal form, I think she has to look and act unassuming so that her alter ego is the total opposite -- very conspicuous, confident and assertive.
She Hulk is like the fantasy of young women -- she's both smart and attractive; powerful but also self-conscious.
Ironic that very few women have written the character, though most of the men who have written here have, for comic books, done a good job making her a person and not a sex object.
I don't know how much she'll be her human self on the show. I think she's gone years in the comics without being plain old Jen.
I find the idea of a smart woman to be sexy. Then you combine it with the physique of a fitness model with long, flowing hair -- that's too good to be true.
And of course to be able to kick ass -- that's the stuff of fun action entertainment.
Not going to deny that I find Jennifer Walters to be one of the sexiest comic book characters. Just need to watch how much of that becomes objectification and not admiration.
I would feel better about the "para deez nuts" joke in the Rays/Tigers recap if that matched the way he pronounced his name. But, I guess it is good to live with our discomfort on these kind of things from time to time.
I think Craig should run a piece called "most handsome monarchs of Spain", in which he ranks, top to bottom, the rulers of the Iberian peninsula based on looks alone.
Do the Spanish rulers of this time have any Hapsburg in them? Because then these rankings will skew heavily towards the "centuries of inbreeding" side.
You'd have to do it on historical taste tho. This means Handsome Philip (assuming it wasn't an ironic title) would have to be #1 and rankings would all be based on his visage.
I'm guessing Philip was called "the Handsome" the same way Trump is called a club champion at every course he owns. You have to flatter the one in power, but you can do it in a mocking way that the "the Handsome"-type eats up. Everyone wins.
Thanks for the post, William. Brought back memories of both the time when my daughters were that age and of a game I played back in the late 70s called Extra Innings Baseball - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17368/extra-innings-baseball. I have no idea if your game is similar to that one, which was kind of Strat-O-Matic light, but it was just roll dice and get results based on the player's stats from that year or career.
The Nats won one last night, although I missed the high drama, choosing instead to watch Avengers: Age of Ultron as part of my quest to watch the entire MCU movie collection. (I thought the movie was kind of "meh".) The high drama for the Nats came in the bottom of the ninth, when Tanner Rainey gave up a single and two walks, and then with one out induced a fly ball on which Jesus Sanchez scored the tying run, but then was called out on appeal for leaving early, but then was ruled to have not left early after replay review, and so the game was tied and eventually won by the Nats in extras. Maybe I should've stayed with the game.
I fell asleep at 3–3 and woke up during the postgame show. TBH that probably says more about me; likely would’ve done the same thing with Ultron. At least the postgame there is more interesting.
She-Hulk looks like Shrek, and Tim Roth still looks s-s-s-s-smokin! Too bad I have no interest.
As much as I dislike the new look in Camden Yards, Boone needs to just be quiet. I’ll give Judge a bit of leeway because he’s at least been hitting there long enough (and successful there long enough) that I think he’s entitled to a bit of bitching and snark. Juuuust a bit. But Boone just went on the defensive about Yankee Stadium’s dimensions after the Chris Woodward thing. I don’t know, I feel like the manager should be above that?
Also, the Yankees are 7-2 against Baltimore this year and have the best record in the majors. As an immunized man would say, R-E-L-A-X. I’d be more concerned with Aaron Hicks being a void in the lineup than the dimensions of a road stadium you’re 4-2 at this season.
1) I can't recall ever being forced to eat nuts. Can you?
2) To William Akers, you're too late. I have been maintaining that children are horrible, here and on other Calcaterra-dominated portals, for years. Anyone who doesn't want to be bored should avoid kids and maybe buy themselves an odd Hemingway hound like my late lamented Fido. Even dead, he's more interessin' than a kid.
That makes sense. My nephews and nieces were pretty boring as babies. Once they got to the point that they were tiny little people exploring the world, THAT'S when they got interesting.
Also a lot more difficult to keep out of trouble but so it goes!
I have no interest in signing up for Disney+ or watching their Marvel shows, but I actually enjoyed the She Hulk trailer and am kind of tempted to watch the show.
I enjoyed the satirical and irreverent tone it sets because that's in keeping with her solo comic book from the 90s -- sort of like the female version of Deadpool.
Although, I do know social media has been critical of the special effects quality of She Hulk herself.
If you know the comic, you might actually be able to watch an MCU show cold and not be lost. This one looks really, really tied into all the other Marvel stuff.
I dont know -- it seems like a good standalone series. It does have Hulk, but everyone knows him. There was also an appearance in the trailer of the villian Abomination, who was the villian in the 2008 Hulk film staring Edward Norton.
I'm in for Deadball - looks like fun. I played countless games of Statis Pro Baseball when i was a kid. When I was in junior high school I made my own baseball, football, and horse racing games. We couldn't be rolling dice in homeroom at school so the randomize function worked by one person secretly writing down a number and the other writing down a modifier (+5, -3, whatever) and that gave you the key number to use on the lookup tables for actions. As I remember it, baseball never worked that well but football was quite playable and the horse racing was so good we had kids buying ownership stakes in horses in the game and betting real money on the results.
I read the words Prognosis Ohio and immediately thought of a grim doctor’s office or ER waiting room scene where the bad news is delivered. I mean, how could I not?
But glad for the heads up. A podcast from a professor at my alma mater dealing with the state’s public health. Count me in.
Perhaps that was a 'before' portrait of Philip the Handsome. He may have inspired one of the most confident men in modern history.https://images.app.goo.gl/jauhih3yGcJ3W1NR9
Cards need an organizational LF philosophy based on how badly they've botched that position vs. the Mets this series.
Some teams are also really good at identifying players that fit well with an organizational approach. The Dodgers have excelled at getting a ton of power out of certain castoffs.
As for prospect approaches, I think it's going to take more time than what's historically usual for prospects to adjust. The difference in quality between MLB and the high minors seems to be at its highest point in recent memory. Tons of top prospects are struggling to adjust.
Maybe, though lots of prospects that get sent back down to AAA rake there. Though the PCL has a lot of parks at elevation, which doesn't help anyone (except the Rockies).
Good point. I bet there's a lot of "throw 20% shitty changeups" to work on the pitch.
The hangover effect of no 2020 milb season?
Some is probably lost reps, but the trend was happening earlier. Pitcher stuff in MLB is unreal right now.
"Troll Bridge", as realized by Snowgum Films
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7v_TdLviUE
A wonderful meditation on trying to stay relevant while growing old and the world is changing around you.
So I've actually been handsome, at least in the traditional sense, my whole life? Sweet.
'If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.'
As covered in linguist Anatoly Liberman's OUP Historical Linguistics blog, I'm sure! I'm a subscriber; it's free.
I have two words on She-Hulk: Tatiana Maslany. It’s no Orphan Black, but I would watch her read the phonebook.
Poor Dane Dunning. I guess you can’t be a has-been if you never were.
The tying run in the bottom of the ninth in the Nats-Marlins game came on a (deep breath) video review reversing a game-ending appeal play negating a sacrifice fly (exhale)… Who says the MLB today isn’t packed with excitement?!
The CO2 levels in NYC are down today because every Mets fan is holding their breath. The only good news so far is that it's not Max's arm. But odds are he will have to miss some time, and the staff is already pretty thin with Megill and Jake out. Here's hoping for the best, and also for a few more offensive performances like last night's.
"She-Hulk" is probably the worst name imaginable for a super-hero. But the character is one of the best. After a brief time where she was sort of like the Hulk - who is her cousin, and for reasons that make sense only in a comic book had to give her a blood transfusion to save her life - and hulked out when angry, she became someone who chose to be a somewhat buff, seven foot tall green woman and maintain her practice as a lawyer. She loves being a hero, loves standing out in the crowd, is (for a Marvel comic) very sex positive, and has often find a way to have it all. Yes, there are a lot of soap operatics in her life, and sometimes she gets put through the ringer. But at her best, she is a lot of fun and her career as a lawyer is a great launching point for stories. Like the time she represented Spider-Man in a long overdue libel suit against J. Jonah Jameson. If the TV show can tap into the best of her comics as well as Ms. Maslany's talent, it should be good. Assuming they fix the FX. (I get hiring an actor of her talent, but why not hire someone from the WWE who is actually tall and buff? Surely there is someone from the female ranks ready to be the next John Cena or Dave Bautista.)
Are there any Joanie Laurer (Chyna) types in the WWE right now?
Five years ago, would they have cast Ronda Rousey as She-Hulk? (Oh god, five years ago = 2017)
I am not much for wrestling, but I got the sense that one reason Rousey flamed out in the WWE is that she can't act. (All those wrestlers who make it as actors were actors as wrestlers. It's an underappreciated part of what makes the thing work as entertainment.)
He's in Dune as well, but he was one of many ill-served by what ended up on the screen. (I did not care for the movie very much at all, and the only actors who did much were Josh Brolin and Jason Momoa, who look like they should also be ex-wrestlers.)
I was originally going to make a “you can’t CGI acting ability” joke, but this is exactly why I didn’t. I’m not a pro wrestling fan, but it’s clear that there are lots of incredibly talented people in the industry who would be fantastic in more traditional scripted productions.
Probably a good thing we never saw George Lucas writing for RAW then
You've got to cut a good promo -- Randy Savage acting crazy for 5 minutes.
That should be "acting" in Randy's case.
Technically it was former St. Louis Cardinal draft pick, Randy Poffo.
He played his role to perfection. He had one acting trick, but it was as good as any one acting trick has ever been.
Rousey was good in Expendables 3 -- all the action stars you can handle ... and more.
In her normal form, I think she has to look and act unassuming so that her alter ego is the total opposite -- very conspicuous, confident and assertive.
She Hulk is like the fantasy of young women -- she's both smart and attractive; powerful but also self-conscious.
Ironic that very few women have written the character, though most of the men who have written here have, for comic books, done a good job making her a person and not a sex object.
I don't know how much she'll be her human self on the show. I think she's gone years in the comics without being plain old Jen.
I find the idea of a smart woman to be sexy. Then you combine it with the physique of a fitness model with long, flowing hair -- that's too good to be true.
And of course to be able to kick ass -- that's the stuff of fun action entertainment.
Not going to deny that I find Jennifer Walters to be one of the sexiest comic book characters. Just need to watch how much of that becomes objectification and not admiration.
And YOU KNOW that there are PLENTY of guys who are secretly drooling at the prospect of being carried off to (presumably) the bedroom by She-Hulk....
I am part of hardcore comics and scifi fandom. It's no secret.
Your Mariners geography theory is a bunch of Toro.
I would feel better about the "para deez nuts" joke in the Rays/Tigers recap if that matched the way he pronounced his name. But, I guess it is good to live with our discomfort on these kind of things from time to time.
I think Craig should run a piece called "most handsome monarchs of Spain", in which he ranks, top to bottom, the rulers of the Iberian peninsula based on looks alone.
This is the way.
Do the Spanish rulers of this time have any Hapsburg in them? Because then these rankings will skew heavily towards the "centuries of inbreeding" side.
You'd have to do it on historical taste tho. This means Handsome Philip (assuming it wasn't an ironic title) would have to be #1 and rankings would all be based on his visage.
I'm guessing Philip was called "the Handsome" the same way Trump is called a club champion at every course he owns. You have to flatter the one in power, but you can do it in a mocking way that the "the Handsome"-type eats up. Everyone wins.
"His Majesty scored >yet another< hole in one! Astonishing! He's clearly the healthiest individual ever elevated to the throne- a very stable genius!"
Thanks for the post, William. Brought back memories of both the time when my daughters were that age and of a game I played back in the late 70s called Extra Innings Baseball - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17368/extra-innings-baseball. I have no idea if your game is similar to that one, which was kind of Strat-O-Matic light, but it was just roll dice and get results based on the player's stats from that year or career.
The Nats won one last night, although I missed the high drama, choosing instead to watch Avengers: Age of Ultron as part of my quest to watch the entire MCU movie collection. (I thought the movie was kind of "meh".) The high drama for the Nats came in the bottom of the ninth, when Tanner Rainey gave up a single and two walks, and then with one out induced a fly ball on which Jesus Sanchez scored the tying run, but then was called out on appeal for leaving early, but then was ruled to have not left early after replay review, and so the game was tied and eventually won by the Nats in extras. Maybe I should've stayed with the game.
I fell asleep at 3–3 and woke up during the postgame show. TBH that probably says more about me; likely would’ve done the same thing with Ultron. At least the postgame there is more interesting.
She-Hulk looks like Shrek, and Tim Roth still looks s-s-s-s-smokin! Too bad I have no interest.
As much as I dislike the new look in Camden Yards, Boone needs to just be quiet. I’ll give Judge a bit of leeway because he’s at least been hitting there long enough (and successful there long enough) that I think he’s entitled to a bit of bitching and snark. Juuuust a bit. But Boone just went on the defensive about Yankee Stadium’s dimensions after the Chris Woodward thing. I don’t know, I feel like the manager should be above that?
Also, the Yankees are 7-2 against Baltimore this year and have the best record in the majors. As an immunized man would say, R-E-L-A-X. I’d be more concerned with Aaron Hicks being a void in the lineup than the dimensions of a road stadium you’re 4-2 at this season.
Roth was great in Rob Roy -- very convincing callous psychopath.
1) I can't recall ever being forced to eat nuts. Can you?
2) To William Akers, you're too late. I have been maintaining that children are horrible, here and on other Calcaterra-dominated portals, for years. Anyone who doesn't want to be bored should avoid kids and maybe buy themselves an odd Hemingway hound like my late lamented Fido. Even dead, he's more interessin' than a kid.
"Nobody tells expecting parents how tedious children can be."
WTAF?
Just using that as an opener to pitch the fundraising? Ok, I guess I didn't get it. My bad.
His bottled city of candor is a beautiful thing.
Pay the man, Shirley. Hell, go ahead and open him a line of credit.
I’m gonna concur that the first couple of years is hard…hard…and boring. I have 4 kids that are 3.5 years apart. Twins in the middle.
They’ve been a joy since about 3. Before that, ooooofffff….
That makes sense. My nephews and nieces were pretty boring as babies. Once they got to the point that they were tiny little people exploring the world, THAT'S when they got interesting.
Also a lot more difficult to keep out of trouble but so it goes!
I have no interest in signing up for Disney+ or watching their Marvel shows, but I actually enjoyed the She Hulk trailer and am kind of tempted to watch the show.
I enjoyed the satirical and irreverent tone it sets because that's in keeping with her solo comic book from the 90s -- sort of like the female version of Deadpool.
Although, I do know social media has been critical of the special effects quality of She Hulk herself.
If you know the comic, you might actually be able to watch an MCU show cold and not be lost. This one looks really, really tied into all the other Marvel stuff.
I dont know -- it seems like a good standalone series. It does have Hulk, but everyone knows him. There was also an appearance in the trailer of the villian Abomination, who was the villian in the 2008 Hulk film staring Edward Norton.
The White Sox losing their organizational "How to hit right-handed pitching" binder might explain how this season has gone
It's hiding in the same place as their Five Ways to Motivate a Clubhouse pamphlet.
Tony, Tony, Florida is calling...
I'm in for Deadball - looks like fun. I played countless games of Statis Pro Baseball when i was a kid. When I was in junior high school I made my own baseball, football, and horse racing games. We couldn't be rolling dice in homeroom at school so the randomize function worked by one person secretly writing down a number and the other writing down a modifier (+5, -3, whatever) and that gave you the key number to use on the lookup tables for actions. As I remember it, baseball never worked that well but football was quite playable and the horse racing was so good we had kids buying ownership stakes in horses in the game and betting real money on the results.
I read the words Prognosis Ohio and immediately thought of a grim doctor’s office or ER waiting room scene where the bad news is delivered. I mean, how could I not?
But glad for the heads up. A podcast from a professor at my alma mater dealing with the state’s public health. Count me in.
Perhaps that was a 'before' portrait of Philip the Handsome. He may have inspired one of the most confident men in modern history.https://images.app.goo.gl/jauhih3yGcJ3W1NR9