Thursday, January 07, 2010

Baseball Hall of Fame - Next 5 Years


Andre Dawson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday.

However, there are a list of players awaiting election over the next couple of years that might not get in once the list grows including sure-fire-first-ballot guys in 2013 through 2015.

The leftovers who almost garnered enough votes this year are:

Roberto Alomar, Lee Smith, Bert Blyleven, Tim Raines, Edgar
Martinez and Jack Morris

2011 marks Jeff Bagwell's first year of eligibility. If the writers are liberal with their votes--unlike their track record in recent years--Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven can make it.

2012 marks a year where there is no clear-cut first ballet players. Tim Raines and Lee Smith might have a shot then. Jack Morris, a good pitcher, doesn't have the stats in my opinion. If these players don't get in within a few years, they odds drop significantly.

Edgar Martinez is an interesting case due to his DH role throughout most of his career. Writers who see the DH as a bonefide position rather than a career extender will vote for him. I don't see it happening for a while.

2013 is the year that sees the eligibility list getting bunched up real fast. This also marks the first time that multiple players who were attached to performance enhancing drugs are on the list not named Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro. The list of first-time eligible players include:

Craig Biggio, Mike Piazza, Sammy Sosa, Curt Schilling, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds.

Craig Biggio and Mike Piazza are in on the first try.

Sosa, Bonds and Clemens don't get in...at least not now. Too much incomplete information on their involvement. Curt Schilling is an interesting case. Post-season play can't be argued...regular season stats are border-line.

2014 will see Frank Thomas, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux list on the ballet. All first-ballet inducties.

Assuming that they retire in 2010, Ken Griffey, Omar Vizquel, Randy Johnson and Gary Shefffield are on the list. Everyone except Gary Sheffield are first-ballet hall of famers. Sheffield's link to PEDs will keep him out for a while.

2016 potentials are Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Ivan Rodriguez. Count on Rivera and Rodriguez as first-ballet inducties. Trevor Hoffman a distant second.

Sometime between 2015 and 2020, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Chipper Jones will be eligible.
Around 2020, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez will be on the list.

Friday, January 01, 2010

100 Movies in 2009

It doesn't seem like the most prestigious goal but I finally made it. Yesterday on New Years Eve, I finished my 100th movie of 2009.

Watching movies was never intended to become a marathon toward 50 or 100 or beyond. Around September, I realized that I had watched a bunch of movies through rentals, borrowing DVDs from family members or DVDs that I had on the shelf but never had the chance to watch over the years. So I wrote down the movies and came up with a list that neared 70.

Needless to say, I was shocked that it added up to a number that high. So I started doing the math and figured that if I time my movie watching just right, I could reach 100 movies by December 31st.

Here is the list in groups of 10.

I highlighted 32 of my favorites:

The Lookout
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Slumdog Millionaire
Gran Torino
In Bruges
Primer
Matrix 1
Matrix 2
Matrix 3
Milk


Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Rachel Getting Married
Little Miss Sunshine
Juno
Existenz

Batman
Ironman
Gattaca

Clockwork Orange
PI

Taxi Driver
Sunshine
Raging Bull
Goodfellas
Minority Report
GI Joe

Reservior Dogs
Taken
Memento
District 9

Knowing
Xmen: Wolverine
Star Trek
State of Play

Terminator: 4
Michael Clayton
Bottle Rocket
Up
Monster vs. Aliens
There Will Be Blood

The Italian Job
Hancock
Tropic Thunder
Frost/Nixon
Punisher
The Reader
The Wrestler
Valkyrie
Supertroopers
The Incredible Hulk

Supersize Me
Bigger, Stronger, Faster
I Love You, Man

The Hangover
Pumping Iron
Chasing Ghosts
King of Kong

Burn After Reading
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
The French Connection

Babel
The Thin Red Line
Casper
Syriana
The Dark City

The Quiet Earth
Hot Rod
Rollerball
The Maiden Heist
The Bucket List

Letters From Iwo Jima
12 Monkeys

Antarctica Documentary
The Straight Story
Millers Crossing

The Simple Plan
The Astronaut Farmer
Code 46
Cypher
All the Kings Men

A Scanner Darkly
Mr. Brooks
Xmen
The Number 13
Equilibrium

Hudsucker Proxy
Surrogates
Boondock Saints
Clean Shaven
THX-1138

Ronin
Xmen 2
Xmen 3
The Contender
The Ninth Gate
The Road to Perdition
Something, Something, Something, Darkside
Requim for a Dream
The Truman Show
Almost Famous