News for the Week of May 13, 2009
Rick’s Writin’s
Today's Mother's Day and as usual I didn't get a card out to my mom. I
don't know why it is, but every year I miss either her birthday or Mother's
Day as far as a card is concerned. I NEVER forget to call her, it's just
something about the card and remembering to mail it in time. She knows
it's not a slight on her, and that I'm just a bonehead, but still. I don't
get it. Love you Ma!!
The M's just won and broke their six game losing streak. It's about time. They finally hit a bit, but it took until the eighth inning. We've got to do better. The pitching's been decent, with the obvious exception of Carlos Silva. He got taken out of the rotation and put on the fifteen day DL because of a "shoulder problem", and I won't be surprised if that doesn't get extended to sixty days because of some kind of "head problem". What do you do with the guy? His contract is huge at $12 million a year, he's got two more years besides this one to go, and he's 2-19 going back to May of last year (Thanks again Bill Bavasi!). Maybe the M's will do the same thing with him that the Tigers did with Dontrelle Willis when he stunk but also had a big contract. The Tigers gave Willis some time to get his mental self together and then pitched him in the minors until he got his stuff together. If that's what the M's did, I think they could claim the contract insurance I bet they have on Silva if he can't "perform" due to injury. As far as the rest of the M's go, there's been some jumping off the bandwagon this past week during the losing streak. You can hear it on the sports talk shows and a bit in the newspaper. I figure that we knew this was a rebuilding year. We expected very little from the team initially. Then, when they went 15-10, going into May in first place and playing exciting ball, we forgot that they were supposed to stink. Now that there's been some adversity, the naysayers are off the wagon, but I say we're lucky to even have a wagon. Nobody thought we would at the season's beginning. Also, if the M's aren't in the thick of it, they'll be able to move the guys they need to and get the prospects and players to help the rebuild. Imagine if come July the M's are kind of close, maybe even in first given the division. Then imagine the decisions that would have to be made regarding moving guys like Eric Bedard (final year of his contract), Beltre (also final year), and Washburn (final year, again). That's your #2 and #3 pitchers and your starting third baseman, with nobody really ready to replace them. If you're in the race, what do you do? If the M's move those guys to rebuild for the future the outcry about the M's giving up on the season would be very loud. If you don't move them and then fail to get into the play-offs then you potentially lose all three of those guys to free agency and get only draft picks in return, if that. The outcry over the missed opportunity to get something for three top players would also be very loud. Personally, though Beltre is an excellent third baseman, I'm tired of waiting until August for his bat to heat up, as we've done every year he's been here. I say let's see what Matt Tuiasosopo can do, or bring somebody else in, and move Beltre now. I was for trading Bedard as soon as he proved he was healthy, which he has, and a part of me still is for doing that. He's pretty good though, and if he doesn't get re-injured he's a nice #2 behind Felix. But, I also think he's an injury waiting to happen. So, I don't know about him anymore. Does he want to stay here or be a free agent? That also comes into play. As for Washburn, he will get moved I'll bet, before July is over. Overall though, the M's are way more interesting to me now than they have been for last couple years. We'll see what happens...On to comics...
I got nothin'. Though as you
can see by the list below there's a bunch of decent titles coming this
week, I personally don't have anything much I'm reading coming in. Sometimes
that's how it goes. It's the motherload for one and another draws the
blank. I drew the blank this week. And rather than me just flapping my
lip about nothing, as some will claim I've already done above, I'll just
go mow my lawn. Besides, it looks like rain so gotta get it done. PS I
liked the Wolverine movie. I'm an easy reviewer, as I believe the pure
entertainment factor of a movie should be counted in it's review, and
I think many reviewers forget that. Also, I'm not a huge stickler for
complete accuracy between a comic and it's movie adaptation. You've got
to make the comic movie accessible to the non comic reading viewer, and
sometimes that means changing things just a bit. I'm not for totally throwing
out canon, as was done with the Catwoman movie for example, with a completely
different character and origin. But I think some tweeks are necessary,
like the giant squid and Watchmen. Anyhow, I give Wolverine a B+. Hugh
Jackman is a great Wolverine and Liev Schreiber as Viktor Creed was excellent.
The kid that played Gambit was good too, as was Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool.
Stay until after the credits for an extra scene, and I'm told there's
two different extra scenes, so there's that too. I'm going to see Star
Trek tomorrow. I can't wait. Later...
Paula’s Picks
I saw Star Trek this weekend. I enjoyed it. I used to watch Star Trek
all the time with my dad, so I have some good memories of watching it
with him. I’m not sure if I can take anymore IMAX movies though.
They’re a little too high def for me.
A new series is starting this week from Vertigo called Unwritten and it’s only a dollar! This is a story about a guy (Tommy Taylor) whose father wrote Harry Potter-like stories that Tommy starred in as a boy. His father has disappeared, but Tommy is still doing conventions. This story deals with fiction and reality meeting and Tommy’s father has something to do with it. It sounds interesting and at only $1, it’s worth trying out. Also from Vertigo, the 4th part of the Great Fables Crossover comes out in Fables #84.
Return to Labyrinth volume 3 comes out this week. This series is based on Jim Henson’s 80’s fantasy movie Labyrinth. Speaking of Jim Henson, the Sci-Fi Museum in Seattle is going to have a Jim Henson exhibit starting later on this month. I grew up on the Muppets (not Sesame Street) and am a fan of Jim Henson’s work. I can’t wait to go see this exhibit!