Month: September 2023

The Uneven Five of the American League Central

By Mark Martinez

     It amazes me that we have a cluster of American League Central Division teams below .500. With the American League East being so competitive, and the complete opposite, I guess some division has to be that way. 

     Looking back at last year’s standings, the Cleveland Guardians won the A.L. Central while the Chicago White Sox finished 2nd, with an 81 and 81 record. The Minnesota Twins seem to be the team, this year, that will win the division outright.

        In 1995, Major League Baseball expanded to three divisions in each league. In the last 28 seasons, believe it or not, the Cleveland Guardians have had the most division wins with eleven. If you follow baseball, you know the Cleveland Guardians were the laughing stock for a long period of time. From 1995 to 2001, they won the division 6 times. The Guardians put some great players on the map. There was Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Grady Sizemore, and C.C. Sabathia, just to name a few. Before researching this topic, I honestly didn’t expect to see such dominance from one franchise. 

     The Minnesota Twins rank 2nd, in the same time frame, with 8 division wins. The Twins are a smaller market team. In all the years the Twins have won the A.L. Central, only one time, in 2019, did the payroll exceed over 100 million dollars. In fact, the Minnesota Twins payroll, in 2002, was just 40 million dollars. 

     What I noticed about this division is the cluster. A franchise gets hot, for a few years, steady. The pattern seems to be if you win one year, you will probably win the year after, as well. The shocking part of this division, besides the under .500 factor, is how much the Kansas City Royals do not actually win. From 1995, until the present day, the Kansas City Royals have only won the A.L. Central one time. The only year the Royals actually won the division was in 2015, going on to also win the World Series that year. When you think of the Royals, you think of a small market team automatically. The Minnesota Twins are basically in the same position of being a small market franchise.

     Although 4 out of the 5 teams will finish under .500, you have to guess that eventually the tide will turn, and 4 out of the 5 will be above .500. Playoff contention for 80% of one division makes every game critical. 

Cruz Replaces Portman/Fallon Apologize to Staff

By Miguel Mike Medina

Academy Award winner Penelope Cruz will replace Natalie Portman in the TV adaptation “The Days of Abandonment.” Portman was going to be the executive producer of the series. For whatever reasons she may had, she dropped out of the project. Filming was going to take place in Sydney, Australia.

Penelope Cruz is a talented actress. I feel she’s a solid replacement for Natalie Portman. I’m looking forward to seeing Cruz in this TV adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s 2002 adaptation. I’ve always been a fan of her work dating back to 2003’s Gothika with Halle Berry. ‘The Days of Abandonment’ centers around Olga, an Italian woman, who loses her grasp on reality after her husband of 15 years abruptly leaves her for another woman.

Jimmy Fallon Receives Backlash

Oh no! Not Jimmy! Several of Jimmy Fallon’s working colleagues from NBC’s “The Tonight Show” have expressed their frustration about Jimmy and the toxic working environment he has created. They are saying that bosses and Jimmy Fallon have talked down to them and belittled them. However, not everyone is piling on Jimmy. He has other people who are defending him as well. We don’t know what is true or not, but Jimmy ended up apologizing to his staff after The Rolling Stones article came out. Jimmy is known for his warm and jolly personality on his show. We just don’t know the full person behind closed doors. I had the privilege to attend his show as an audience member back in July 2017. It was a terrific experience. It was my first late-night show experience. 

Top 15 Cinematography Films of the Last 15 Years

By Miguel Mike Medina

Cinematography is one of the most innovative and creative things ever invented in cinema. The name sounds catchy. Cinematography sounds better than Director or Photography. But that’s just my opinion. I have done Directing, Producing, Writing, and Editing, but I haven’t fully done a Cinematographer’s work. That’s next up lining up for me. 

Recently, I decided that I’ll be taking my love for cinema to a whole another level. In the last week, I have been studying and watching films from a cinematography standpoint only. In the last 15 years, we have seen some of the best cinematography films. Here are my Top 15 best cinematography movies of the past 15 years:

15) Roma – Cinematographer: Alfonso Cuaronn 

14) The Irishman – Cinematographer: Rodrigo Prieto

13) True Grit – Cinematographer: Roger Deakins

12) The Social Network – Cinematographer: Jeff Cronenweth

11) Skyfall – Cinematographer: Roger Deakins

10) Inception – Cinematographer: Wally Pfister

9) Hugo – Cinematographer: Robert Richardson

8) Dunkirk – Cinematographer: Hoyte Van Hoytema

7) The Revenant – Cinematographer: Emmanuel Lubezki

6) Gravity – Cinematographer: Emmanuel Lubezki

5) Birdman – Cinematographer: Emmanuel Lubezki

4) Prisoners – Cinematographer: Roger Deakins

3) The Dark Knight – Cinematographer: Wally Pfister

2) The Tree of Life – Cinematographer: Emmanuel Lubezki

1) Blade Runner 2049 – Cinematographer: Emmanuel Lubezki 

As you can probably tell from this list, I love Roger Deakins and Emmanuel Lubezki. Those two are my Top 2 favorite cinematographers of all time. Robert Richardson is No. 3 on my list. Some of the current cinematographers I like to watch are Rodrigo Prieto, Hoyte Van Hoytema, Bradford Young, and Rachel Morrison.