Joe Sheehan may have a valid thesis in his recent discussion of pitch counts, but his introductory example, maybe it needs some work.
1) Three run lead with one inning to play.
2) Pitcher due to bat with only one out, right in front of the top of the batting order
3) Which of course means that even if you pitch hitter flubs it, you are probably looking at the strongest part of your lineup appearing in the last of the ninth.
4) The spots due to bat in the top of the 9th are the 6-7-8 hitters.
5) And it's a Tuesday game; the team had Monday off, and the bullpen threw but three innings on Sunday, two innings on Saturday.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the case against pulling the starter is a bit too subtle to be accepted without the prosecution at least bringing out a few exhibits.
Eckhart, think of the future!
I come away from The Dark Knight, with mixed feelings.
Bottom line - I'm OK with being part of the opening weekend box, and I'll get myself a copy on DVD not long after it comes out. In other words, I feel good about investing in the franchise. But I still came away with expectations unmet.
The pacing of the movie isn't quite steady; too many places where it felt about ready to wrap up, and then had to rebuild toward the next piece. Maybe the problem was the narrative, or my assumption of the narrative, The flow ends up breaking the immersion.
The cast is a mix of actors and characters - in particular, I think I'm tired of the pap chemistry thing. That would be you, Mr. Freeman; and to a lesser extent Mr. Caine. I actually want to forgive Caine a little bit - he's doing well on choices I didn't like; in fact, I came away thinking of Sir Alec, a little bit, in that he kept things small. It's still too damn transparent - it should be easier to distinguish Alfred from Cutter.
I think the cowl slipped on Bale this time around - his Bruce lost a little bit of that public facade that keeps him out of suspicion.
There is one actor I want to single out, and I didn't succeed in figuring out who it was that was playing the role; but there's a big actor playing one of the convicts that was brilliant - abso-fuck--in-glute-ly brilliant - in the two minute scene he was featured in.
And then Ledger. I'm having a real hard time with that one, so lets break it down into parts.
1) Was I watching a character, or an actor? Character - absolutely. That was somebody else on screen.
2) Was the character real, in manner and motivation? Another checkmark. Nearly total immersion - ruined a touch by the fact that I was watching this performance.
3) Was the performance consistent? Yes.
4) Was it The Joker? No, I don't accept that he was. His motivations weren't nearly disturbing enough (should I be disturbed that I didn't find that character disturbing?).
OK, Spoilers Ho!
I don't wear hockey pads -- yeah, I get that a lot.
I had a real problem with the fundraiser. Where the fuck did the Joker go? He knows Harvey is there, somewhere, he dumps Bathead and Rachel out the window, and then... like that *poof* he's gone.
Burning Harvey was brilliant, but I didn't buy the result - too much Imhotep; it's been a while since I've been trained on burn slides, but that result didn't look reasonable at all.
The death of Jim Gordon really needed to be cut - it just doesn't work as it stands, and it fails to fit the narrative of the ending. The problem here isn't that the scheme didn't work (which, in fairness, it probably cannot, given the corruption in the police force), but rather that it couldn't change the game in any real way.
Too many people know. The ending has a nice conceit to it, but Two Face left too many conspirators alive to make it work. Well, OK, the people of Gotham have never been all that bright - maybe it will work.
Rachel ought to have been saying her wedding vows - that's a much better hook for Harvey's madness.
I really liked the idea that they might fake Dent's death - smuggle him into Arkham Asylum, and really play up the whole ambiguity angle.
If after five minutes at the poker table, you can't tell which player is the most psychotic... it isn't you. Get out fast!
How the hell did all the money get back to Gotham, anyway?
Life is just so much better when programs go unnecessarily fast.
One times eight is eight
Four times three is twelve
Seven and Seven and Seven and Seven
Less five is twenty three....