SB Nation User Blog: positiveuphemism

I want Hanley

positiveuphemism — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:40:57 -0000

I want Hanley

All of this trade talk is fun but there isn't much out there that excites me. Now if we could get Hanley Ramirez somehow I would definitely be interested. I'd happily give up ANY of our big four to get him. I really have no idea what it would take to get a player like him but he WOULD be the sort of upgrade we need. I don't want Dye or Martinez or Uggla or who knows what. I'm happy to stand pat and exceed expectations this year even if we don't go all the way. If we are going to try to go all the way and need a trade to do it, I don't want to mess things up. The way I see it: C - Molina is probably not expendable because he IS a core part of the team. He may suck huge donkey balls in the cleanup spot but he also seems to be good for the team beyond this. 1b - Ishi should be given every chance to prove whether he is a starter or not. So far he has done nothing to show that he definitely isn't. Let him play as his upside is pretty good and we aren't likely to replace that in a trade. I mean if he lives up to his potential we won't be able to replace that in trade. If he just plays meh...then we will know by the end of the year. 2b - The one spot where we definitely could see improvement. Don't give up anything super valuable, though. SS - I would happily trade Renteria. Shit, I'd move him to 2b if we could get Hanley. Otherwise we are stuck with him for another year and AFAIK he is league average at the position. 3b - Covered. OF - Rowand is here for a while. Schierholtz is being given the chance to succeed and he is the same as Ishi...if he lives up to potential we aren't going to be able to replace him via trade very easily so why trade. LF is the headache. We are probably stuck with Winn and this is not a bad thing. Lewis is toast and should be sent to the minors. Torres is a serviceable 4th. We have Bowker tearing it up in Fresno so why not bring him up and see what he can do. He had success last year to a decent degree. Anyway, that was rambley but why trade at all? This year was supposed to be a progress year and we are doing that just fine. Just because we have a good shot at the playoffs doesn't mean we have to start getting all crazy. Unless we can get Hanley...

Not likely to happen

positiveuphemism — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:16:42 -0000

Not likely to happen

But we should sign Barry to a minor league deal. See if he can still play (he prolly can and needs a month or so to get in shape) and deflate the Dodgers return of Manny. We won't have to trade prospects. His defense will be bad but it will be more than made up for with his bat. Yeah yeah...let it go. But really, he IS the best bat available. Right now we have a pretty good shot at the WC. With Barry we are the favorites. It may cause a media circus but I think it is worth the gamble. Also it will boost attendance across the board which will add more excitement. Wishful thinking? Probably. Worth doing? Definitely. Cons: defense, media. Anything else? He's still faster than Bengie, I'm sure. Also, his time away may have mellowed him a bit. If RJ can play at 45, so can Barry.

Today's lineup

positiveuphemism — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:48:09 -0000

CF Rowand
RF Schierholtz
3B Uribe
1B Sandoval
LF Lewis
SS Frandsen
C Whiteside
2B Burriss
P Sanchez

I like this. A lot. I predict many runs and a victory. Of course there are slight changes to be made, I'd rather have Renteria than Frandsen but I can't complain about Nate getting a start at all. I like having Winn available off the bench, too.

Hopefully Sandoval tears it up some more and makes Bochy reconsider his clean-up guy.

Question about DePodesta

positiveuphemism — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 04:11:41 -0000

Question about DePodesta

Did he draft: Ethier Kemp Loney Martin How much of this current Dodger team can be credited to DePo?

OT: SQUIRREL!! The UP Thread. Spoilers

positiveuphemism — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:15:48 -0000

I know many people here have seen or want to see the film. Also, many of us like chatting about movies. So...here we go.

If you have not seen the film, beware of spoilers.

****SPOILERS****

I saw Up today in 3d. Loved the film. I agree with what Natto said in another thread, it is about on the level with Ratatouille. Up is not a childrens film. This is a very adult film with a bunch of kiddie stuff thrown in to appeal to the youngsters. Well, very adult is exaggerated but the main themes of the film will totally fly over a childs head.

Anyway, I loved the symbolism in many of the shots and scenes. Especially the shot after he puts out the fire. He is pulling his house along, it is barely about the ground and the balloons are just enough to get it done. He is fighting so hard to achieve his goal that though his hope and joy are about to give out. But he has to achieve that goal no matter what and it's just enough to get there. That's the shot, but then the rest of the scene as he arrives home (getting the house to the point next to the waterfall) and realizes that he has been holding on to the past at the sake of his future. He then emptys the house, removing all the baggage that is holding him back from doing what is right. After this he soars into his future with clarity of mind and strength of purpose and from there we go into act 3.

I was disappointed at the credits. I don't know what I was expectinng but after the sheer wonder of the credits last year, I was hoping for more of the same. Oh well. A few years ago I noticed how they credit the children that were born during the production of the film. This time I noticed that even the shipping and receiving clerks were credited. Pixar is bad ass and truly understands how important gratitude is. I find this very admirable.

As for the 3d, it was great. It simply served to add depth to many shots. I don't feel it subtracted anything from the film but I also don't think it added anything of substance. I like watching things in 3d, though. I don't think directors have really picked up how to use blocking in ways that only 3d would allow.

Really curious to read your opinions. :)

OT: The great movie watch-off of 2009

positiveuphemism — Thu, 28 May 2009 22:47:58 -0000

In another post there has been much discussion about the value of animated feature films to an adult. FairweatherFan has thrown down the gauntlet and agreed to watch three films of our choice. The films will be: a Pixar film, a Miyazaki film, and another film that is not from one of those two producers.

He has already chosen Spirited Away as his Miyazaki film.

In this post is a poll to vote on the Pixar film. Also, we shall discuss what the third film should be. In addition to this, BruteSentiment and I have agreed to watch three films of FwFs choosing. I encourage anyone else who wants to participate to join in.

My choice for third film is Bolt. I don't expect this one to get many votes. If you have a suggestion for a film, please check the posts and see if it has been mentioned. If it is a new idea, please post the film title as a subject line and a little bit about it. This way each individual film can be discussed on its merits and things should remain orderly. I will put a few titles that I think may pop up to get things started.

***

I did not add Up! to the poll because at this point none of us have seen it. I considered for a moment suggesting that be the Pixar film because it comes out tomorrow and the big screen is the best way to see a film.

***

From FairweatherFan:

My contention was not that animated films can’t be funny. Ex: Southpark Movie (fucking hilarious, but didn’t change my life in any way shape or form)

I’m more looking for animated films with social significance. Works of art.

I’m working on my list, and how to separate it so I don’t just list 3 war movies ;

Poll

What Pixar film will it be?

Toy Story

18 votes

A Bug's Life

0 votes

Toy Story 2

2 votes

Monsters, Inc.

7 votes

Finding Nemo

16 votes

The Incredibles

15 votes

Cars

0 votes

Ratatouille

10 votes

Wall-E

37 votes

105 votes | Poll has closed

I have an idea, but it won't be easy

positiveuphemism — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:50:37 -0000

I wonder, how many of you would be willing to fully boycott the Giants. No more watching games. No more radio. No more reading anything on the net (except this site which would be a HQ.) No more spending a dime on merchandise or game tickets or anything. Some of you may already see where I am heading so for the others I will get there fairly quickly.

Perhaps it is far-fetched, but we, the fan base, have a lot of power. It would take a lot of work, but who would be willing to completely boycott the Giants and encourage others to do so, as well.

The goal would be to make a financial impact on the team with a unified front DEMANDING the immediate firing of Bruce Bochy and the coaching staff along with Sabean. Even though our GM has overseen a few nice drafts in a row, I suspect it is more the people under him that did such a good job. In any case, it is clear we need to move in a new direction.

Now there are some that say the future looks good, and this is true. It is also true that for years it has been clear what needed to be done and Sabean did not do it. We went into the offseason with one main need: offense. We got an over the hill SS. That's it. True, it wasn't the best free agent class, but there were solutions out there.

Perhaps this is a frustrated pipe dream. Perhaps not. I do know that every day I live in fear that Sabean will do something stupid. In my mind, this would require hundreds of people to write individual letters to the team specifiying exactly why they are unhappy and stating clearly that no more money will be coming from that source.

Before anyone posts all the negatives to this. Namely the fact that it is incredibly difficult to organize a protest of this nature or the fact that the team won't care if they only get a few complaints because the advertisers will still be paying them and it would take a while before any sort of impact would be felt. Really, if only 1000 people did this it would barely nudge the bottom line.

Ultimately, the reason the team is here is because the fans pay for it. If enough people made a stink it might cause waves. I do believe that if 1000 people wrote letters to the team that would have an impact.

It's a romantic notion and essentially a waste of time as baseball is a luxury but yeah. It's been running through my mind for a while and wonder what other people think. Please post your comments, thoughts, ridicule, baking ideas, and even arguments against my idea. I'd really love to hear some pro-Bochy, pro-coaching staff arguments...if there are any.

Past Reactions, Present Thoughts & Future Possibilities

positiveuphemism — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 08:06:10 -0000

The Giants have made four major player moves so far this offseason. These are the acquisitions of Edgar Renteria, Randy Johnson, Jermey Affeldt and Bobby Howry. We all know this already but I feel compelled to list their names before talking about how I feel to have them around.

I am most excited about Johnson. From what we saw last year, the man still has some gas in the tank and though he was a little bit pricey may still prove to be valuable. Hopefully he stays healthy and lives up to expectations. If he does, our rotation is going to be pretty filthy.

Signing Affeldt so quickly I think was a pretty strong move by Captain Lunatic Fringe. A hard throwing, improving, bullpen lefty is a pretty helpful piece and he probably wouldn't have last long. I wish I could say I was excited about Howry, but I am not. Howry I think will be one of those relievers that we see in losing games. I really believe Affeldt will help a lot.

As for Renteria...what is there to say? We probably overpaid for him by quite a bit but it is only for two years. The team seems confident that he will be worth it. This could turn out to be true. We definitely have a need at SS. At the very least it will allow the younger guys some more seasoning.

The team still has not addressed the biggest most obvious flaw: power. This team was anemic last year. We need some pop and we need more solid hitting. If we don't fix this we really have no shot. Fortunately there is a guy out there that we should be able to land.

Manny. Yeah, of course. Anyone who says they don't want him is just not thinking about it enough. There is not a better hitter available. We have a glut of outfielders? So what? Also, all those BS projections that he is only slightly better than Lewis are totally ridiculous and it is shameful that they are being used as evidence against signing Manny. Sometimes statistics can be taken too far. The team would be better with Manny so get him.

We all hate Roberts. We all love Lewis. We all want to see Nate get a shot. We all think Rowand was a dumb signing. We all see Winn as tradable but deep down want to keep him cuz he is our best OF. So there we have our current group of five OFs but where would Manny fit in? Who knows. Who cares. He is better than any of those five. DFA Roberts. Trade him and pay part of his salary. Just get Manny.

There is another thing blasting through the media right now and that is the Barry Bonds situation. The federal government wants to get him so bad, especially after wasting millions of taxpayer money to accomplish this stupid goal. I think it is becoming more and more clear that he is going to be fully exonerated. The feds have successfully proven him guilty in the court of public opinion and made him spend millions of his own dollars. Their case is also going to crash and burn and finally the whole ordeal will be over.

This is important.

The season starts in just about two months now. What an exciting time! Now we discuss the future and I am going to mentally masturbate for a minute.

Assuming we do the smart thing and sweep Manny out from under the Dodgers our lineup will probably look something like this:

Renteria

Winn

Manny

Molina

Sandoval

Rowand

Ishikawa

Frandsen

Yeah, yeah. No Lewis. He is the obvious man out. He can sit on the bench and be pinch hitter #1, late inning D and start 3 or 4 games a week while spelling one of the other three.

Lincecum is entering year #3. He is young, dedicated, incredibly talented and focused on getting better. I don't think we have seen his best yet and I fully expect him to be even better in 2009.

Cain has pitched just fine and things have to balance out eventually. All he has to do is continue pitching as well as he has and we have nothing to complain about other than being third best and making too many pitches. Unless I am mistaken, he is actually younger than Lincecum. Expect improvement here, too.

Sanchez I think is a bit of a question mark but still believe he will be better, too. He pitched great on many occasions in the first half of the season. As the #5 starter he should be fine. He will likely be a league average starter at the minimum.

Johnson is a bit of a question mark but he should still be better than league average.

Zito has GOT to be better this year. We all want him to be. His offseason workout has got many of us asking: can he consistently throw 90 again. If he can, he should have more good starts than bad.

Overall, the starters should give us a good chance to win the majority of their games. I'm going to wager that for ever two times through the rotation they will give us a really good chance to win (ie: if we score 4 or more) 6 or 7 times. I think that is a pretty modest projection, too.

The bullpen is a question mark but Wilson should improve a bit in terms of his pitching and regress a little in terms of his production. Still a solid closer. Romo, Affeldt and the gang should be an improvement, too.

I can easily see us running away with the division if these things all come to be. I also don't expect Bonds to be offered a contract by any team, even after he no longer faces possible jail time. This brings me to:

Sign Bonds in August for the playoffs. This will give him enough time to get in shape and will terrify the opposition and give us a disgusting WS lineup (DH). Will this happen? Who knows, the future is the future and I can make anything up that I want. Just imagine this lineup:

Who cares

Manny

Bonds

Who cares

Man, isnt' that sweet? Ooooh yeah.

OT: Movies and Oscars and Stuff

positiveuphemism — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:35:24 -0000

There was a thread hijack in one of Grants posts recently that caused a lot of movie talk. I am a big movie fan and like talking about them quite a bit. This post may come off as pretentious and that is not at all my goal and I apologize in advance if I come off as such. Please remember that this is only my opinion.

So, who/what do you feel should win varoius awards? I added a poll to this post and I ask that you only vote if you have actually seen enough of the films to fairly judge your choice against others. Admittedly, I have not seen all the films...well, the only one I haven't seen is Ben Button. I'll get to that one, soon. I also left a couple films off because I am fairly certain the five nominees will come from the seven. Definitely four of them and in that case the fifth will be one of these: The Reader, Doubt, Synecdoche, NY, Gran Torino...and the two horses that are so dark that you wouldn't be able to see them in a white room: Dark Knight and Let The Right One In.

Best Pictures, and my thoughts:

1 - Wall-E. This is my personal choice for best picture though I am dubious that it wiill garner nomination. This is in large part because of the "animated" category. The thing is, this movie goes beyond being just a kids film. I have never felt so good about being alive after a film as after seeing this the first time. Children love it. Adults love it. It will stand the test of time. The only complaint that a reasonable person could make is that the message is a bit heavy handed. Other than that it is a perfect film. Wall-E is such a real character that he somehow captures love in a way that anyone can feel. Also, the space dance is the most beautiful scene I've ever seen.

2- Revolutionary Road. This will definitely get a nomination. The film is a true work of art made by one of cinemas true craftsmen. It is not the most pleasant film to experience due to the realism of the Wheelers relationship. Great cinematography. Incredible acting. Wonderful subtle touches..for instance, Leo appears to have put on weight so he would look like a man actually did in the 50s. Everything that the people do is believable. We are fortunate to be able to see a film as fine as this. I believe this really is the best picture of the year. At least in terms of a normal type of best picture.

3 - Milk. My sense is this will win best picture because the academy seems to like political statements and in most years this would be a fine film to honor. I don't feel it is as good as a few others, though. Mainly because the plot is a little bit thin. It will definitely get nominated.

4 - Slumdog Millionaire. This will definitely get nominated, too. I really hope it doesn't win as it just doesn't stand up compared to some of the other films. It's a good film, just not great. It has flaws that are pretty apparent when you think about things. It's enjoyable, funny and feel good. It's not the best picture of the year.

5 - Frost/Nixon. Rivetting from start to finish. Well-directed, well-acted. Nothing bad can be sad about this film. I wouldn't be surprised to see it win, but it won't happen based on the extremely stiff competition.

6 - Ben Button - I have not seen this. I hear it is good but long. Everyone says it is long. This tells me that the movie has a major flaw in the way it flows. Oscar bait but it won't win.

7 - The Wrestler - I don't know if this will get nominated. I wouldn't give it a nom mainly because I think those first five I mentioned were all much better. I do think this is a great film but it has a very amateurish look to it. I realize this is deliberate. It's gritty, it's real, but it's also suffering from exteme competition.

Others:

Dark Knight - Highly overrated. Easily the best part(s) of the film are when Batman and Joker are on screen and that is like ten minutes of the film. The movie wasn't even about Batman, it was about Harvey Dent. Nolan wanted this to be his last Batman film and tried to do too much and almost nailed it, but missed. Split this into two films or tack on another hour or who knows what and it could have been great. Also, Iron Man was the better super hero film...and that is because the star, Robert Downey Jr., made it so.

Let The Right One In - A true dark horse for a nom. Great flick. Just not meaty enough to stack up against the main contenders.

Synecdoch, NY - I said this in the other post but I truly believe that in ten or fifteen years or longer, this will be viewed as a masterpiece. Kaufmans first film as director and he not only tried to hit a home run, not only a grand slam, he tried to create the greatest movie ever made. He missed the mark but comes close. I won't even talk about the screenplay category because I don't think there is anything that comes close to this one. Original screenplay, that is. I give adapted to either Rev. Road or Slumdog.

Actors:

1 - Sean Penn - He's gonna win. There is no doubt of this. Not for a second did I think "hey, tha't Sean Penn acting up there." Daniel Day Lewis was a shoe in last year, Penn was better this year.

2 - Leo - He's getting closer and closer. He suffers in large part because he was acting next to Kate Winslet and he just doesn't stack up yet. But wow he is getting so so good. He is definitely going to win some day.

3 - Mickey Rourke - No, just no. Yes he was great in a role that he fits perfectly. He really is great. But c'mon...

4 - Frank Langella (Nixon) - Think about this: he made Nixon human, sympathetic and likable. If Penn wasn't just so freaking amazing I'd give it to Frank.

5 - I am guessing Pitt will get a nom. The four above are pretty much shoe-ins, though.

Actress:

1 - Winslet. She's going to win. Just amazing, as usual, but more so than usual. If that makes sense. (Rev. Road, btw)

I actually can't think of many that really stand out to me this year. I would nominate Merryl Streep for Mamma Mia. She gives a poofy film a soul and is so genuine in doing so. Plus she can sing. I doubt this will happen but it's a role that really stood out to me.

Supporting Dude:

1 - Heath Ledger - Sympathy vote and he truly was awesome. My pic.

2 - James Franco - Milk. Mainly because the role he plays is so different from other roles I have seen from him while still being real.

3 - I think i'm starting to burn out as I can't even think of others at the moment. Oh well.

Supporting Chick:

1 - My choice is Dianne Wiest in Synecdoche. Only one that stuck out to me this year. Also, I'm not looking at the golden globe noms.

EDIT: 2 - Marissa Tomei (Thanks to Neifichicken for the reminder). I was going to add her initially and think she is very deserving. My fav part of that film. (Wrestler)

Best Director

1 - Sam Mendes - Rev. Road. My choice because of just how real everything is.

2 - Gus Van Sant - I think he will win. Mendes has won before, Van Sant hasn't and Milk is great. Not a bad choice, by any means.

3 - Darren Aronofsky - The Wrestler. He's got a good chance, too. I feel his directing was better than Van Sants. This movie looks REAL. Some people who saw it thought it was a real documentary. The wrestling stuff itself is incredibly well done. Very deserving.

4 - Danny Boyle - Slumdog. He's got a decent shot, too, but as I mentioned before...the film has flaws and parts that pulled me out of the film. Not good enough.

I'm pretty sure those four will be in, dunno what would be #5. My choice:

5 - Charlie Kaufmann. Won't happen because a movie with no act structure is off putting, but wow what a debut.

So..that was a long read. Go ahead and skewer me for being overly pretentious or not giving TDK or your favorite film enough love. I really hope this sparks good coversation as there hasn't been any Manny news in a while and I love movies and peoples thoughts about them.

---

Addendum. This is something howtheyscored wrote that I really feel needs to be highlighted...it's about Wall-E.

Like I said, it’s ballsy for the younger demographic. It’s not that ballsy in a wider sense, but the overall tone is pretty damning. Earth as a barren wasteland. Humans disaccociated from not only each other, but also life as a whole. It might not be anything you’ve never seen, but it’s the kind of thing that is dumbed out of a lot of these movies to keep them kid friendly. I appreciate that the movie took the risk to show that difficult concepts can be kid friendly.

And as for it being a love story, it’s not a love story in the sense I think you’re going for. The whole love theme in the movie is based around the idea of contact, and specifically holding hands. It’s not just Wall-E and Eve, though they are the characters who present the theme most directly. You see it played through with John and Mary (wow, I just realized what their names are). But the idea of touching and being touched, though visually very literal in the movie, is standing in for the idea that human contact improves individual life. When people begin interacting, then good things start happening, and therein lie the seeds of love.

Which is the theme that I’m getting at. It’s not the LOVE story. It’s a story about where love, where all of the best parts of society start. That’s the theme you get with the plant bud. It’s just sprouting. But even it doesn’t survive without human interaction (remember, the Captain waters it). You see Wall-E and Eve, and then John and Mary experience the beginnings of love. You see again the idea of love and beginnings when John and Mary save the babies (“John, get ready to have some babies,” Mary says). Then again, through the credits, you continue to see the motif of sprouting, the ideas of interaction, cooperation, relationship building, etc.

Although, when you say “You might as well have parrots in love. (Say! There’s an idea.)” it just makes me think that everything you’re missing is the result of an inability to suspend your disbelief for some “robots.” And if that’s the case, you’re missing a damn lot.

Poll

What film do you feel is the best picture of 2008?

Revolutionary Road

2 votes

Milk

8 votes

Frost/Nixon

1 votes

Benjamin Button

6 votes

Wall-E

23 votes

Slumdog Millionaire

18 votes

The Wrestler

8 votes

66 votes | Poll has closed

TUESDAY! TUESDAY! TUESDAY!

positiveuphemism — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:45:24 -0000

Yep indeedy. This Tuesday, November 11, is the date which MLB has chosen to announce the National League Cy Young winner is Tim Lincecum. Um...I meant they are announcing the recipient of the award. It should be Tim Lincecum but sometimes people are dumb.

In any case, we have not had a Timmy Day in a while and it is with great hope that we can have a final stirring Timmy Day to close out the 2008 season. I know that I have been struggling to focus on the GM meetings in large part because until the award is announced, I am still stuck in 2008.

Anyone else feel this way? Anyone else excited and counting the seconds (approximately 240,000 if my really quick estimate is correct) until we get some much needed validation. I don't know why but as much as life goes on with a snub, I feel that this award would be more than just a personal achievement for Timmy, it would be a prize for all of the fans.

The votes are cast, the ballots are drawn, the polls are closed. It's just a couple days now. Anyone want to share a Lincecum memory?

I have two. My father has been raving on and on about his seats for the last game of the season. Tenth row, third base side. He had watched Timmy but never like this and he's been marvelling ever since. I began hyping Timmy a couple days after he was drafted but dad didn't really listen. It does the heart joy to see him on the bandwagon.

My own personal lincecum moment was at his final minor league start. I sat right behind the plate, front row, and watched in awe as batter after batter flailed away. Many walked from the plate with their head shaking. I had never seen a pitcher with such filthy stuff from such a viewing angle. Hopefully I can do that again.

SB Nation User Blog: positiveuphemism

I want Hanley

I want Hanley

Not likely to happen

Not likely to happen

Today's lineup

Question about DePodesta

Question about DePodesta

OT: SQUIRREL!! The UP Thread. *Spoilers*

OT: The great movie watch-off of 2009

What Pixar film will it be?

Toy Story

A Bug's Life

Toy Story 2

Monsters, Inc.

Finding Nemo

The Incredibles

Cars

Ratatouille

Wall-E

I have an idea, but it won't be easy

Past Reactions, Present Thoughts & Future Possibilities

OT: Movies and Oscars and Stuff

What film do you feel is the best picture of 2008?

Revolutionary Road

Milk

Frost/Nixon

Benjamin Button

Wall-E

Slumdog Millionaire

The Wrestler

TUESDAY! TUESDAY! TUESDAY!

OT: SQUIRREL!! The UP Thread. Spoilers