Strat-O-Matic Baseball 365

Top Ten RH Starters
1. Felix Hernandez, SEA--King Felix, a power pitcher with a wicked repertoire is cruising to Cooperstown.
2. Zack Greinke, LAD--This #1 starter would be an ace on most teams; also has complete package.
3. Adam Wainwright, STL--Titanic ace overcomes health problems to continue dominance.
4. Jose Fernandez, MIA--Most talented right-handed starter today, could rise to #1 easily.
5. Max Scherzer, WAS--Big horse ready to lead Nats with slider and four-seamer.
6. Masahiro Tanaka, NYY--Artistic, cerebral pitcher with the best splitter in MLB
7. Johnny Cueto--CIN--Underrated ace has been quietly and consistently excellent.
8. Corey Kluber, CLE, Cy Young winning, groundball-machine needs to prove he's the real deal.
9. Jordan Zimmerman, WAS--Master of control will probably be pitching somewhere else next year.
10. Matt Harvey, NYM--The Dark Knight should return to 2013's dominant form as Mets' best player

Greatest (Male) Actors Ever
1. Phillip Seymour Hoffman--Brilliant, versatile, funny, and surprisingly cinematic.
2. Daniel Day-Lewis--Brando with brains and stability. Many iconic performances.
3. Robert Deniro--Corleone, Lamotta, Bickle made him the first great modern film actor.
4. Sean Penn--Irascibility has overshadowed his versatile, inventive performances & 2 Oscars.
5. Marlon Brando--Showed stage skills could translate to film with his visceral genius.
6. Leonardo Dicaprio--Remarkably versatile, brilliant actor despite his bratty, playboy image.
7. Joaquin Phoenix. Dark genius will finish his career higher on this list as he's just peaking.
8. Al Pacino--The ultimate Actor's Studio guy is still continuing his remarkable career.
9. Anthony Hopkins--Hannibal Lecter reignited this Shakespearean wizard's career.
10. Jeff Bridges--California dude image detracts from his substantial skills at nuanced roles.

l.strether wrote:Top Ten RH Starters
1. Felix Hernandez, SEA--King Felix, a power pitcher with a wicked repertoire is cruising to Cooperstown.
2. Zack Greinke, LAD--This #1 starter would be an ace on most teams; also has complete package.
3. Adam Wainwright, STL--Titanic ace overcomes health problems to continue dominance.
4. Jose Fernandez, MIA--Most talented right-handed starter today, could rise to #1 easily.
5. Max Scherzer, WAS--Big horse ready to lead Nats with slider and four-seamer.
6. Masahiro Tanaka, NYY--Artistic, cerebral pitcher with the best splitter in MLB
7. Johnny Cueto--CIN--Underrated ace has been quietly and consistently excellent.
8. Corey Kluber, CLE, Cy Young winning, groundball-machine needs to prove he's the real deal.
9. Jordan Zimmerman, WAS--Master of control will probably be pitching somewhere else next year.
10. Matt Harvey, NYM--The Dark Knight should return to 2013's dominant form as Mets' best player

Greatest (Male) Actors Ever
1. Phillip Seymour Hoffman--Brilliant, versatile, funny, and surprisingly cinematic.
2. Daniel Day-Lewis--Brando with brains and stability. Many iconic performances.
3. Robert Deniro--Corleone, Lamotta, Bickle made him the first great modern film actor.
4. Sean Penn--Irascibility has overshadowed his versatile, inventive performances & 2 Oscars.
5. Marlon Brando--Showed stage skills could translate to film with his visceral genius.
6. Leonardo Dicaprio--Remarkably versatile, brilliant actor despite his bratty, playboy image.
7. Joaquin Phoenix. Dark genius will finish his career higher on this list as he's just peaking.
8. Al Pacino--The ultimate Actor's Studio guy is still continuing his remarkable career.
9. Anthony Hopkins--Hannibal Lecter reignited this Shakespearean wizard's career.
10. Jeff Bridges--California dude image detracts from his substantial skills at nuanced roles.

Other than Brando, this list is very skewed to the last 35 years;

Actors I'd list over Decaprio, Penn and especially Phoenix:

Jack Nicholson,
Paul Newman
Gene Hackman
Spencer Tracy
Laurence Olivier
Tom Hanks
Denzel Washington
Sidney Poitier
Robin Williams
George C Scott

Deniro, Pacino, and Bridges did--along with Brando--have substantial roles more than 25 years ago, so it's not too skewed. That being said, I just picked the best ten actors, regardless of time. And it makes sense the best actors are modern actors, since most of the great movie stars of old weren't very well-trained in their craft. They were cinematic marvels, but they (mostly) weren't highly skilled actors.

As to your list, it's fairly modern as well, with such recent actors as Hanks, Denzel, Robin, Nicholson, and Hackman. Nicholson and Hackman would have made my top 20. Denzel and Scott are/were strong actors, and Newman was an excellent movie star who could act. I'm not particularly fond of your other five's skills, although I'm sure you could make an argument for them.

I am surprised by your view of Phoenix, though. He's had five memorable performances in Gladiator, Walk the Line, The Master, Her, and Inherent Vice, with three of them earning him Academy Award nominations. I think he's the closest thing to our Montgomery Clift--another top 20-er--and he is still only 40.

A few underrated actors not listed and not necessarily better..

Dustin Hoffman
Robert Duvall
Jack Lemmon
Micheal Caine

My 10:
1. Deniro
2. Brando
3. Hopkins
4. Nicholson
5. D. Hoffman
6. Pacino
7. Day Lewis (wish he would take more roles, not a lot, just more)
8. Bridges
9. Penn
10. Washington

Hanks, Eastwood, Duvall, Newman, Freeman were also in the running for my top 10.

kylerose256 wrote:7. Day Lewis (wish he would take more roles, not a lot, just more)

I couldn't agree more. If he had a few more, he might have been number one, not number two, on my list. He's the closest thing there is to a pure actor there is. HIs issue is he's an extreme method actor who completely immerses himself in his character during a shoot. He calls all his costars by their character's names on the set and insists on being called by his character's name. Apparently, Daniel Plainview, his reprehensible character from There Will Be Blood got so into his head, it took him 6 months to fully recover. To honor his actual performances, here are my favorites:

1. Daniel Plainview--There Will Be Blood
2. Bill the Butcher--Gangs of New York
3. Christy Brown--My Left Foot
4. Abraham Lincoln--Lincoln
5. Danny Flynn--The Boxer
6. Cecil Vyse--A Room with a View
7. Newland Archer--The Age of Innocence
8. Gerry Conlon--In the Name of the Father
9. Hawkeye--The Last of the Mohicans

I am only doing living actors and only males.

Johnny Depp
Edward Norton
Denzel Washington
Daniel Day Lewis
Ewan McGregor
Robert Deniro
George Clooney
Morgan Freeman
Michael Caine
Sean Penn
Jamie Bell
Liv Schrieber
Jeff Bridges
Jon Goodman
Leonardo Decaprio
Pierce Brosnan
Eddy Murphy
Tim Roth
Forest Whitaker
Jeff Daniels
Ben Kingsley
Sean Connery
Andrew Lincoln
Jon Turturo
Tim Blake Nelson


And I did not even touch most of the British actors who are better yet. Also I am sure I am leaving several older actors who are still alive off the list. They are very few bad actors in most television shows and movies today.

Ronald Reagan - The winning Team