Baseball Toaster: Bronx Banter : No Laughing Matter

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Alex:
Ray Negron part 1 2 3 4
Dad, Reggie and Me
Slaughterhouse Five
Way Out in Brooklyn
Heat Fave
Passing
Love, Death and Baseball

Cliff:
The Ugly Truth About the New Yankee Stadium
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Alex:
Strikes and Gutters: A Year with the Coen Brothers: Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
My 20 Favorite Hip Hop Albums
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Roger Angell
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Bill James
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Buck O'Neil
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Juicing the Game by Howard Bryant Part 1 Part 2
Forging Genius by Steven Goldman Part 1 Part 2
How About That! by Stephen Borelli
The Crowd Sounds Happy by Nicholas Dawidoff
The Last Nine Innings by Charles Euchner
Clemente by David Maraniss
The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanaski
Glenn Stout and Richard A. Johnson:
Yankee Century: Part 1 Part 2
Red Sox Century: 1 2 3 4
The Dodgers: 120 Years of Dodgers Baseball

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Major Leauge Roster:

Infielders:
J. Giambi BR BP E MLB
R. Cano BR BP E MLB
D. Jeter BR BP E MLB
A. Rodriguez BR BP E MLB
W. Betemit BR BP E MLB mi
C. Ransom BR BP E MLB mi
J. Miranda BR BC mi

Outfielders:
B. Abreu BR BP E MLB
J. Damon BR BP E MLB
X. Nady BR BP E MLB
H. Matsui BR BP E MLB mi
B. Gardner BR E MLB mi
M. Cabrera BR BP E MLB mi

Catchers:
I. Rodriguez BR BP E MLB
J. Molina BR BP E MLB
C. Moeller BR BP E MLB mi
F. Cervelli BR BC mi

Starting Pitchers:
M. Mussina BR BP BC E
A. Pettitte (L) BR BP BC E
P. Hughes BR BP BC E mi
C. Pavano BR BP BC E mi
A. Aceves BR E mi

Relief Pitchers:
M. Rivera BR BP BC E
J. Chamberlain BR BP BC E
D. Marte (L) BR BP BC E
J. Veras BR BP BC E mi
E. Ramirez BR BP BC E mi
B. Bruney BR BP BC E mi
D. Giese BR BP BC E mi
C. Britton BR BP BC E mi
P. Coke (L) BR BC E mi
D. Rasner BR BP BC E mi
S. Ponson BR BP BC E mi
D. Robertson BR BC E mi
H. Sanchez BC mi

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C. Wang BR BP BC E
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J. Posada BR BP E MLB
J. Albaladejo BR BP BC E mi
A. Brackman BC

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J. Girardi (Mgr) BR BP BC
R. Thomson (Bench) BC
Kevin Long (Hit) BR
D. Eiland (Pitch) BR BP BC
B. Meacham (3B) BR BP BC
T. Peña (1B) BR BP BC
M. Harkey (Pen) BR BP BC

40-man Roster:
AAA
S. Duncan BR BP E MLB mi
J. Christian BR BP E MLB mi
I. Kennedy BR BP BC E mi
C. Wright (L) BR BP BC E mi
J. Marquez BR BC mi

Designated for Assignment:
B. Traber (L) BR BP BC E mi

Select Minor Leaguers:

AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees:
B. Castro BR mi DL
C. Basak BR BP BC E MLB mi
E. Duncan BC mi
N. Green BR mi
B. Broussard BR mi
M. Carson BC mi
C. Stewart BR BP E MLB mi
J. Brown BC mi DL
K. Igawa (L) BR BP BC E JB mi
M. Melancon BC mi
J.B. Cox BC mi
S. Strickland BR BC mi
S. Jackson BC mi
E. Milton BR BC mi DL
V. Zambrano BR BC mi DL

AA Trenton Thunder:
K. Russo BR mi
R. Peña BC mi DL
C. Malec BC mi
M. Vechionacci BC mi DL
A. Jackson BC mi
C. Curtis BC mi
E. Gonzalez BR mi
P.J. Pilittere BC mi
J. Jones BC mi
G. Kontos BC mi
J. Nuñez BC mi
B. Smith BC mi DL
A. Claggett BC mi
O. Perez BR BC mi
M. Gardner BC mi
K. Whelan BC mi
W. Arias (L) BC mi

A Tampa Yankees:
E. Nuñez BC mi
C.J. Henry BC mi DL
T. Battle BC mi
K. Anson BC mi
J. Gil BC mi
A. Horne BC mi DL
Z. McAllister BC mi
W. De La Rosa (L) BC mi
C. Garcia BC mi

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:
J. Snyder BC mi
M. Cusick BC mi
B. Suttle BC mi
A. Romine BC mi
J. Montero BC mi
D. Betances BC mi
J. Heredia BC mi
J. Ortiz BC mi
C. Heyer BC mi

Low-A Staten Island Yankees:
D. Adams mi
P. Venditte mi

Rookie Gulf Coast Yankees:
C. Joseph mi
C. Smith mi
K. Higashioka mi

Key:
BR = Baseball-Reference
BP = Baseball Prospectus
BC = Baseball Cube (past mL stats)
mi = MiLB.com (current mL stats)
E = ESPN (current splits, game logs)
MLB = MLB.com hit charts
JB = Japanese Baseball.com

The Recently Departed

2008 Yankees:
R. Sexson BR BP E MLB
M. Ensberg BR BP E MLB CLE mL
A. Gonzalez BR BP E MLB mi WAS
K. Farnsworth BR BP BC E DET
L. Hawkins BR BP BC E HOU
S. Patterson BR BC mi SD

Nady/Marte Trade:
J. Tabata BC mi
J. Karstens BR BP BC E mi
R. Ohlendorf BR BP BC E
D. McCutchen BC mi

2008 Campers/mLers:
C. Woodward BR BP BC E MLB PHI mL
J. Lane BR mi BOS mL
G. Porter BC mi WAS mL
J.D. Closser BR mi SD mL
S. Henn (L) BR BP BC E mi SD
H. Phillips (L) BR BC mi TB mL
S. White BR BC mi

2007 Yankees:
J. Torre (Mgr) BR BP BC LAD
D. Mientkiewicz BR BP BC E MLB PIT
A. Phillips BR BP BC E MLB mi CIN
J. Phelps BR BP BC E MLB STL
M. Cairo BR BP BC E MLB SEA
K. Thompson BR BP BC E MLB mi PIT
B. Sardinha BC mi SEA mL
W. Nieves BR BP BC E MLB WAS
R. Clemens BR BP BC E mi
T. Clippard BR BP BC E mi WAS
L. Vizcaino BR BP BC E COL $7.5m/2yrs
M. DeSalvo BR BP BC E mi ATL mL
M. Myers (L) BR BP BC E LAD mL
R. Villone (L) BR BP BC E mi STL
S. Proctor BR BP BC E LAD
J. Brower BR BP BC E mi CIN mL
C. Bean BR BP BC E mi ATL mL

2007 Campers and mLers:
E. Durazo BR BP BC E MLB mi
A. Cannizaro BR BP BC E MLB mi TB mL
A. Chavez BR BP BC E MLB mi LAD mL
K. Reese BR BP BC E MLB mi
R. Chavez BR BP BC E MLB mi PIT mL
O. Santos BC mi BAL mL
T. Pratt BR BP BC E MLB
T.J. Beam BR BP BC E mi PIT mL
B. Kozlowski (L) BR BP BC E mi Japan

Molina Trade:
J. Kennard BC mi

Abreu Trade
M. Smith (L) BR BP BC E mi PHI
C. Monasterios BC mi PHI
J. Sanchez mi PHI

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No Laughing Matter

2008-07-26 06:54

by Alex Belth

I remember dancing a lot during my senior prom. As it was getting late, and everyone was either too tired or too drunk to continue, the band, dropped their pants, revealing Batman boxer shorts and started playing the theme to the old "Batman" TV show. My dorky friends and I were the only ones left dancing. We stayed up all night and then went to see the first matinee showing of Tim Burton's Batman movie in the morning, its opening day. The movie, and Jack Nicholson's performance in particular, was enough to satisfy us--it wasn't a complete bomb--but it was still lacking. It didn't fully deliver on the promise of the comic book, it wasn't harsh enough, sinister enough, scary enough.

Well, the movie I wished for back then has now been made and it has been made well. The latest version is not only the ultimate Batman movie--pushing the violence and nihilism to the edge--it aims to be the ultimate comic book movie. The only thing is, I don't know if it's what I really want to see anymore. Leaving the new Batman movie, which is operatic, sweeping in its ambitions and length (at two-and-a-half hours, it is longer than any super hero movie should reasonably be, and yet it moves briskly), I was satisfied that a true Batman movie had finally been made. But I also felt a little bit dirty about it.

The new Batman doesn't leave you feeling elated or bubbly--it may leave you exhausted, or, more probably, unsettled. Each of the Joker's scenes is accompanied by an insistent sound effect, a buzz saw that starts softly and gets progressively louder, that is particularly unnerving.

This is as far from a Happy Meal Super Hero as you can get--it is a graphic novel, closer to a horror film, or a tense thriller, than it is to the usual popcorn action movie. It is ominous, serious-minded and dark, like "Fight Club," or "Seven." The movie does have a sense of humor, a dry sense of humor, especially in the Bruce Wayne scenes. But there isn't a lot of gleeful madness to Heath Ledger's Joker, which is what made Ceasar Romero so creepy and effective in the role.

The Joker here is all madness--and Ledger wisely roots his performance in a natural approach--without much goulish fun. I think Ledger is good but not great. I think the conception of the Joker in this movie is great which goes a long way is setting the stage for his performance, which is excellent. But I also feel that other actors, say Robert Downey Jr or John Leguizano, would be equally as effective in this particular conception of the Joker. I really like the flatness of Ledger's accent though. The insanity is there with Ledger--the only tick that distracted me was his habit of licking his lips, something that is more prevelant in the second half of the movie.

The screenplay is dense but I think it works, and the supporting cast is excellent--Michael Caine is an ideal Alfred, Gary Oldman is winning in an under-stated turn as Jim Gordon. Aaron Eckhart is strong as well. I think the movie achieves what it set out to do--it may be turgid but it is also accomplished. It's ill, it's sick, twisted, it's all of that.

Comic book movies are all grown up. In the Wall Street Journal, Allen Barra wonders if that is such a good thing. In The New Yoker, David Denby writes:

Warner Bros. has continued to drain the poetry, fantasy, and comedy out of Tim Burton's original conception for "Batman" (1989), completing the job of coarsening the material into hyperviolent summer action spectacle. Yet "The Dark Knight" is hardly routine—it has a kicky sadism in scene after scene, which keeps you on edge and sends you out onto the street with post-movie stress disorder. And it has one startling and artful element: the sinister and frightening performance of the late Heath Ledger as the psychopathic murderer the Joker. That part of the movie is upsetting to watch, and, in retrospect, both painful and stirring to think about.

Relentless, uncompromising--satisfying, but not much fun. A very dark Knight indeed.

Comments

2008-07-26 08:08:16

1. Alex Belth

I don't remember what the most violent video game was back in 1989, but The Dark Knight is the perfect comic movie for the Grand Theft Auto generation.

I don't know if I can say that I liked the movie but I'll say this---I'd go see it again.

2008-07-26 09:01:57

2. liam

ill tell you alex. the most violent game back then was probably splatterhouse. i dont think anyone ever had a turbo-grafix 16 machine, but that was the one. there was also some game on genesis that parents were raging about but i cant remember the name of it.

from the nintendo side, id have to say the video game version of ninja turtles or ninja gaiden. far cry from grand theft auto eh?

2008-07-26 09:33:52

3. Simone

I enjoyed the movie, but to the end I thought they tried to do too much by introducing and wrapping up Two Face who should have been the villain for the next movie. I also didn't like the sense that they were subtly endorsing the Big Brother surveillance of the populace by people who can be "trusted."

Heath's portrayal of the Joker was menacing and scary as hell.

2008-07-26 09:43:53

4. QueenV

I just saw Dark Knight and was totally reminded of Grand Theft Auto... the whole truck chase scene with bazookas felt like something I've done in a GTA mission, which excited me.

But yes, what an extremely dark movie. I was shocked it wasn't rated R. I feel like it was far too mature for a kid to enjoy, with all the themes on terrorism, ethical dilemmas, individual rights vs. the greater good. I don't think a Batman like this would've been made pre-9/11.

I'm a big fan of the Tim Burton movies. The musical scores were genius, and the movies had a dark, gothic quality while still retaining a bit of whimsical fun. Loved the Animated Series too... great stories.

2008-07-26 11:08:21

5. claybeez

The Nolan Brothers' movies present a Batman and a Gotham city, replete with real villains, that I wished for after reading the graphic novels in college. The darkness, the wretchedness that this Batman must combat is so much more terrifying, because it is so much more relatable.

I remember going to see Burton's Batman after a day at the Reggae Sunfest. When the concert was over the majority of the crowd rushed en masse to the, then, only movie theater of that particular suburban sprawl. It seemed like the perfect day to us, the high schoolers and collegians, who had basked in uplifting and revolutionary music by day and yearned for spookiness by night.

Halfway through the movie, a like percentage of the audience was asleep - some snoring. Perhaps it was too much sun or one too many spliffs, but there was no avoiding the fact that the movie was a disappointment. Watching a campy Nicholson prance around to an equally campy Prince track was not the kind of fiendishness many had in mind.

That is why I delight in the breaking of the formula that always had buffoonery as part of the equation. As comic book movies have continued to multiply, that sort of light fare can be easily found summer after summer. Batman now serves as the yin of a genre that offers plenty off explosions and fluff for today's kids. The Nolans' vision offers something for the kid that once was and the adult that is.

2008-07-26 16:05:54

6. Bagel Boy

The Joker licking his lips, I thought, was his only clear nervous habit and arises directly from trying to clean his facial wounds - an attempt to heal himself. Think about it: If you had your lips split open that way, whatever the cause, wouldn't you keeping licking them?