Archive for September, 2009

9. I’m a movie addict and tonight was the release of 9, which I’d personally been anticipating for a while.  The movie was very solid with particularly compelling characters.  The animation was fantastic and a nice visit to the pre-Pixar type animation.  I love Pixar but, at times, I miss the animation of my youth that was populated by simpler movies less engrossed with acheiving a realism.

The movie falters a little with it’s storyline.  The plot isn’t terribly strong and if you think about it too much afterwards, you can poke some holes in the dike.  It’s not a movie for young children as the post-apocalyptic world is both violent and dark.  Flawed story attempt included, the movie is visually compelling with characters that feel fleshed out and multi-faceted.  It’s one that I’m glad I saw in theaters but is a borderline “see in theaters”/”rent it” reccomendation.

Now, PLAYOFF BASEBALL!

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No games tonight!  The playoffs start tomorrow.

Springfield vs. North by Northwest Arkansas

Memphis vs. Albuquerque

Use this space to discuss well…anything.

I hope you all had a wonderful and refreshing Labor Day and are ready and eager to go back to the office tomorrow.

The minor league season is drawing to a close and we only have 3 games from today.

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Stats, just stats. League average ERA is 4.08. Before you get too excited about some of these high K/9 rates, league average K/9 is 8.2. League average BB/9 and HR/9 is 3.2 and 0.7. Unfortunately I don’t know of any Appy League park factors available.

Baseball America likes Justin Smith. Blurbage:

Righthander Justin Smith flies under the radar a little bit at Utah Valley. He has a smaller frame, but had success this season with a fastball that sat 88-91 mph and touched 93. He also has a plus slider and a changeup with good depth.

Kington represented JC on the the Appy League All-Star team. Ferrara is the most interesting prospect out of this group, and his K/9 and BB/9 rates are a tad underwhelming at this level. Doesn’t mean he’s not a prospect, but he’s not established himself quite yet. He’s more of a sleeper at this point for me.

Went and saw “Gamer” tonight. If you’ve seen “Crank”, this movie, via the same directing duo, has similar frenetic energy but a more schizophrenic filming. The premise was interesting but the execution was largely flawed. The only part of the movie I enjoyed was playing “Name That Actor” with my friends as everyone from Kyra Sedgwick to Keith Jardine makes a cameo in this movie.

As noted in the comments, Memphis clinced their post-season berth last night leaving both the high minors teams headed toward the playoffs.

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A quick apology — I know the DFRs have been “thin” lately and that’s due to a couple of reasons namely that the season is winding down and that I’ve thrown my back out twice in the last week. Sitting at a computer for an extended period of time is unpleasant right now.

We’ve got 6 games with a Memphis double header as they try to extend their lead in the PCL North over Nashville. The pitching in the minors seems to be wearing down a bit but a couple of injured Cardinal hitters are showing signs of life.

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Stats! Just for a frame of reference, the league average batting line is .257/.328/.384. Average batter’s age is 20.6.

The Robert Stock bandwagon has now been firmly established. Matt Adams is no man. He is a mindless hitting machine. BA scouting blurbage:

A burly 6-foot-3, 245-pound slugger, Adams has a good swing and a mature offensive approach to go along with solid-average to plus power. He’s adequate at best defensively at first base, and he’s well-below-average behind the plate.

Rich “the Rock” Racobaldo was Billy Madison throwing dodge balls at hapless 3rd graders. He’s not doing quite as well for the QC.

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Johnson City wrapped up it’s season last night with an impressive 37-30 record for .552 baseball. Unfortunately, Elizabethton played .662 ball to stay 7.5 games ahead of JC and take the division. Still a great effort from the rookie league team.

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