After I wrote the "Today In Baseball History" from my last post, I got to thinking about Michael Jordan's career as a minor league baseball player. If you're not sure how it went, maybe his introductionary sentence on Wikipedia may help you: "Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player and active businessman." What, no baseball?

Laugh if you want, but I should remind you that one reason why he wanted to start playing baseball was because his murdered father always envisioned his son as a MLB player. There, do you feel a little worse about the smirks? Good.

On October 6, 1993, Jordan unexpectedly announced his NBA retirement, telling the media he had a loss of desire to play the game. More unexpected was when he told the world of his intention to play major league baseball a few months later. Being one of the most famous Chicagoans in history (by way of North Carolina) and a natural athlete, most people accepted that he inexplicably started his baseball career in AA for the White Sox organization.

By all accounts, his heart was in the right place. He respected his teammates and coaches, willing to learn like a developing younger player (or in Mike's case, a 30 year old developing player) should. A boatload of reports indicate that he was the first at batting practice, doing the drills and acting as if he actually felt he was on the same level of those peons in AA who worked their whole lives to get there and will most likely never see a major league game. At least they can go to the grave saying they played with Air Jordan, right?

Looking at his numbers, they're really not as bad as you may think - at the very least better than how the average NBA star would perform. In 436 at bats he hit a gentleman's .202 with a .285 OBP, 3 home runs, 51 RBI's and 51 walks, not to mention a respectable 63% SB% (30 for 48). Sure, he made 11 errors in the outfield, but an acceptable 6 assists which is, after all, only 1 less than Shane Victorino's Gold Glove season last year.

His agent and coaches say that the strike of 1994 left a bad taste in Jordan's mouth, prompting him to go back into basketball. Whether it was the inevitably that he could comfortably continue being the greatest basketball player in history or, best case scenario, stick it out in AA and AAA for a few years and become the prestigious 5th outfielder for the White Sox is anyone's guess.

I suppose there's a good fairy tale in all of this. Always dream big and you may make it half way, which is better than not shooting high at all? Eh, I'm a glass half empty kind of person. The lesson learned should be a memo to professional athletes: Don't quit your day job. It's much more likely you'll end up like The Rock doing mediocre movies rather than Deion Sanders who hit .533 in the 1992 World Series.

Since a "Today in baseball history" segment spawned this, it only makes sense I conclude today's post with a...


Today in baseball history: March 6th

1940: Future Hall of Famer Willie Stargell is born
"Throwing a knuckleball for a strike is like throwing a butterfly with hiccups across the street into your neighbor's mailbox." - Willie Stargell

1973: Larry Hisle of the Minnesota Twins becomes the first designated hitter in major league history during an exhibition game  against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Hisle hit two home runs and seven RBIs that game to the chagrin of pitchers everywhere.

2005: Suzyn Waldman becomes the first woman to be a full-time color commentator in major league history.
People call her a reactionary "homer" but I think this audio clip will prove otherwise.

Things move at an expected clip offensively

The fans expect the superstars to come out of the gate in Spring Training with hits, and that's the case with the Yankees. It's a loosey-goosey atmosphere with many reserves/minor leaguers finding their way into games; the Yankees 13-11 loss to the Reds is not an uncommon score. Derek Jeter, A-Rod, Mark Teixeira, and Robinson Cano all are comfortably hitting over .400. With some "tenderness" in his shoulder, Posada has gone 7 for 11 which his is a relief to many Yankee fans, although he hasn't been catching.

The big story of course has been Gardner who has been positively shredding like Yngwie Malmsteen. Including the WBC exhibition game against the USA team (which doesn't officially factor in for ST stats) he's 8 for 13, which is good for a .615 average, with two homers and three stolen bases in three attempts. Unless your favorite players are Adam Dunn and Jason Giambi, a Yankee fan would have to love his speedy, hard hustling style of play. While Melky has hit a respectable .300 including a triple, so far he has to be worried about what his status in the majors will be by Opening Day. I know it has only been a week and it's quick to judge any of the players in these two paragraphs, but hey, I'm a Yankee fan, it's my job to be reactionary.


Things move at an expected clip on the mound

Even though CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte all haven't been on the mound yet, a superfluity (25!) of pitchers have been getting their innings in. As for the bigger name Yankees, Wang pitched 2 scoreless, strikeoutless, and walkless innings. Hughes' first start also was scoreless through 2, but in his start against Team USA he didn't fare as well: 2 ER in 2.2 innings. Kennedy threw 2 scoreless with 3 K's and 1 wild pitch while Kei Igawa pitched 3 scoreless innings to the delight of the Yankees accountant. Phil Coke continues his understated dominance from last season, pitching 4.1 scoreless innings. Joba on the other hand was only able to get through 1 inning in his February 28th start, giving up 2 runs.

Regarding the lesser known guns, the unfortunately named Eric Hacker gave up 1 run and 3 hits in his Spring Training debut and did worse on the mound against the USA Team, giving up 4 runs including a wild pitch and 2 walks without getting an out. 23 year-old Michael Dunn has pitched 3.2 scoreless innings.


The Yankees vs. Team USA

Easily my favorite game of Spring Training so far, I was constantly amused but the crowd seemed sparse and only mildly into it. Comparable to watching the Yankees playing an All Star team, I found myself rooting for the USA Team. Still, it was nice to see the Yankees hold their ground with all their subs later in the game. Some Yankee fans may call me treasonous, but I thought Jeter looked mighty spiffy in a red cap. Oh, and was I the only one who didn't recognize Kevin Youkilis without any facial hair?  


Today in baseball history: March 4th

1884: National League owners agree to provide two separate team benches to minimize fraternizing among opposing players during games.
No clever commentary on this one besides a laugh.

1886: The National League meets and adopts the stolen base. But the NL retains seven balls for a walk and rejects the American Association rule giving a batter first base on a hit by a pitch.
Apparently Al Leiter's constant complaints that the Major League gives pitchers the short end of the stick when making new rules has been ringing true for at least 120 years.

1994: Michael Jordan comes to bat for the first time in a Chicago White Sox uniform. Playing in a spring training game, Jordan taps back to Texas Rangers pitcher Darren Oliver, who tags out the former NBA star.
I always wondered if his CWS AA team treated him like how they did in Space Jam.

The 2009 Oscars

What you always wanted, my opinion on a non-baseball related event three days late! Hopefully you went to Vegas and put your hard earned money on my Oscar picks, you would have came up big as I got 20 out of 24 predictions correct (83%). Much higher than my forecast for last year (14 of 24 - 58%). Neither Waltz with Bashir or The Class won Best Foreign Film, which was shocking, but other than that, no surprises. It highlights the lack of spontaneity this year - I shouldn't have been able to predict 20 winners. No real underdogs won, which the Academy usually makes sure happens in one major category. Hugh Jackman was a success (a guy infamous for his off-the-cuff antics when he hosts the Tony Awards seemed restrained here) but the Oscars at the end of the day was too long. I enjoyed that previous winners spoke about each nominee for the four acting categories, but that was major reason this went on until midnight. Promising a shorter show, it lasted 3 ½ hours, longer than the 2008 and 2007 telecasts. The Academy pledged major changes but it was all cosmetic, it still ended up being the same awards show I hate to love.


A-Rod booed, hits home run, subsequently applauded

During his first official at bat in Spring Training, A-Rod was absolutely able to hear the crowd's derision in Dunedin, FL, the home of the Blue Jays. "A-Roid!" "Cheater!" The works. He walked. At his next at bat, in the middle of similar ridicule, he pounded a homer to left center. The Yankee fans in attendance applauded and gave him a standing ovation.
 
A small amount of my distress regarding Alex possibly not being emotionally stable on the field has subsided, and he went as far to even joke around in the post-game press conference, saying "The fans weren't that bad actually. I'd like to invite a bunch of them out to Fenway this summer." The real test, of course, will be when he's in the Bronx.

Since it never end with A-Rod in the ballpark, Peter Abraham (who incidentally has great taste in music) reported that the infamous cousin, Yuri Sucart, was behind the wheel of the Chevrolet Suburban that picked A-Rod up from Dunedin Stadium. Er, not sure how good that looks, Alex. I would assume someone should have instructed A-Rod to not keep in touch with Yuri for the time being. But then again, these are the same people telling him it would be a good idea to lie about what he knew involving the PEDs he was taking.


Other musings on the Yankees' first game

Brett Gardner leading off the game with a home run on the second pitch? Uh oh, Melky is in trouuuuble.  Also of note, Nick Swisher battled back from an 0-2 count with the bases loaded to draw a walk. Sounds like in a nutshell everything I've heard about Nick Swisher. Kevin Cash, who dips well below the Mendoza Line, went two for three with a stolen base. Keep it up, buddy! The Yanks will need three catchers in the dugout when the season starts.  


Hideki Matsui: Today's blunt comic relief

An unintentionally funny quote from Matsui, also from the files of Peter Abraham:

The WBC is a huge deal in Japan. Reportedly tens of thousands of people showed up to watch their national team practice about 10 days ago. They've been getting ready for three weeks and it would hardly be a surprise if they defend their title.

Meanwhile Kei Igawa toils away here for the Yankees, unwanted and unloved. He'll probably be in the Scranton rotation.

One of the Japanese reporters in Tampa covering Hideki Matsui was asked why Igawa was not considered for the WBC roster. He searched for the right words.

"They think ... he is not so good."

Ah, priceless.


Manny Ramirez gets a new offer from the Dodgers

MLB.com reported that Manny was offered a guaranteed $45 million for two years ($25 million the first year and $20 million the second) on Wednesday. Please, please let this be over with. I'm sick of SportsCenter and the MLB Network dedicating countless minutes to regurgitating non-existent Manny updates. Outside of being selfish, this will also let Dodger fans breathe an exponential sigh of relief while relishing in the probability that Giant fans have angry balled fists. 

Over the last 12 months I've seen 56 movies that were released in the good ol' USA in 2008. That's far less than your average respected film critic, but I try to weed out the atrocious movies (Step Up 2: The Streets, The Hottie and the Nottie, etc.) so I believe I have a firm grasp on some of the best films that came out. In case you don't believe me, here are the ten I liked the most!


Brian's Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2008:

Close Calls: The Fall, In Bruges, The Wrestler

10. Profit Motive and the Whispering Wind
I found out about this movie from none other than Neil Young, who had it as his #2 film of the year. It's highly pretentious, but done in a heartfelt way. It basically attempts to tell the history of the United States through grave stones and memorial sites. It's not a traditional documentary however, as there is no dialogue until the film's climax.

9. WALL-E
Pixar always seems like they're able to outdo themselves, and while I liked Ratatouille a little more, this one will go down as their artistic achievement of the decade. It's a prime example of what is a family film, and not children's movie promoted as one.

8. Burn After Reading
A lot of critics were thrown off by this movie, calling this Coen brothers flick a major step down from their best picture winning No Country For Old Men. I don't understand that rationale, they've been doing their drama-comedy-drama-comedy pattern for over 20 years. Burn After Reading happens to be one of the best dark comedies they've done, causing me to laugh out loud in the theater repeatedly (which is hard to do). While you can intelligently look at the comically grim film as a take on how society makes women feel about their body image, or how our government handles its state of affairs, the best gag comes from George Clooney's "invention" that should have come out of the mind of a perverted 13 year old boy. The second funniest film of the year, only beaten by...

7. Tropic Thunder
An onslaught of successful gag after successful gag, Ben Stiller's track record may be spotty (Zoolander), but Stiller (with Justin Theroux and Etan Coen) crafted a perfect screenplay that lampoons actors, agents, rappers, drug addicts and writers. The package is further completed with successful comedic action sequences. Oh, and how about those great fake trailers?

6. Frost/Nixon
Sure, Ron Howard and co. took some liberties with the actual historical events (and the postscript made the TV special seem much bigger than it actually was) but the play-turned-film was gripping, almost too much so for a movie that hits its dramatic heights from only conversations. Best ensemble cast of the year.

5. Milk
This could make a run at best ensemble cast of the year as well. Gus Van Sant was able to craft a bio-pic that wards off the cliches that sink its generic contemporaries (Ray). It resonates with any minority, and in this era of hope from a new administration, its sad ending (that you already know) doesn't bog the film down, it works as a celebration of the pursuit of social justice.

4. Elegy
For unknown reasons, this drama staring Ben Kingsley, Penelope Cruz, and Dustin Hoffman seems to have fallen through the cracks of the public and academy. It's an uncompromising film for the 35 and over crowd that's meditative, intelligent and assured about a relationship that Kingsley has with one of his students (Cruz) that he telegraphs is doomed from the start. Things aren't always as easy as they seem.

3. Reprise
A Norwegian drama about two young aspiring writers in their early 20's and where their paths  lead them. I'll be lying if I said I wasn't biased towards this film being a young man in my early 20's who writes. The two friends, Erik and Phillip, are fleshed out through their friendship, love, grief, and rage. Naturalistic and affecting.

2. Rachel Getting Married
Anne Hathaway, gives her career performance as woman (Kym) who has been in and out of rehab for the past 10 years and returns home for the week for her sister's wedding. The fantastic direction allows the movie to breathe, and the rhythm works as a great catalyst for the suburb acting.

1. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
This Romanian film about a college student who assists her friend to arrange an illegal abortion in 1980's communist Romania is not for the faint of heart. It's a piece of art and emotionally draining, no film impacted me more this year which makes it an easy choice for number 1. It's pitch perfect with long takes and natural dialogue. It's a shame I hit my 2008 peak with a film that came out in January.


As For The Oscars...

Best Picture:
Should Win: Milk
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire

It's no surprise that Slumdog Millionaire will win, having clinched this category since December. Slumdog Millionaire was an exceptional mature fairy tale but I'm naturally inclined to love movies that face reality head on than ones that try to take you away from it. Milk was a brilliant production with better acting and a better screenplay, however Slumdog Millionaire had better cinematography and better...

Best Director:
Should Win: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Will Win: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

The hook for me for Slumdog as how visually arresting it is, taking us from point to point with ease hosting vibrant color and grand scope.

Best Actor:
Should Win: Sean Penn
Will Win: Sean Penn

Sean Penn was the early favorite but now it seems he's neck and neck with Rouke. I don't think Penn would be that upset to lose to him, as he said on record that The Wrestler "made him weep." I thought Rouke was exceptional, and being from Jersey I felt a special poignancy in the film, but I really believe Sean Penn gave the best performance of his career, miles above his Oscar winning turn in Mystic River (which should have went to Bill Murray for Lost In Translation).

Best Actress:
Should Win: Anne Hathaway
Will Win: Kate Winslet

I love that Winslet is most likely finally going to win as she's possibly the premier actress of her generation, however I don't think The Reader (or Revolutionary Road, which I thought was dreadful) is as worthy for an Oscar as some of the other works. Meryl Streep gave the best performance in the actor-driven Doubt, but I have to give my vote to Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married. The scene where she makes a toast to her bride-to-be sister was cringe inducing (in a great way), the most I felt emotionally in a film all year (aside from the last act of Elegy).

Best Supporting Actor:
Should Win: Robert Downey Jr.
Will Win: Heath Ledger

It's a nice shock to the system if a comic book character could win a Best Acting award, but I feel comedy is always ignored by the Academy. And really, the funniest performance of the year deserves some kind of recognition. But this is easily the strongest category this year, and it's the first time I can remember thinking I would be happy if any of the nominees won the award. I know Heath has the sympathy vote, but if he hadn't died I don't think he'd be the projected winner (though he would have surely still been nominated). Since the Oscars messed up royally with ratings by not giving The Dark Knight a Best Picture nomination, they'll have to make it up here by voting for Heath. If there is an upset, it would be most likely be Michael Shannon, who was the best thing in Revolutionary Road.

Best Supporting Actress:
Should Win: Penelope Cruz
Will Win: Penelope Cruz

This is the wild card category for the Big 6, since one Best Supporting Oscar usually goes to an underdog. Since Heath is such a lock, it's going to be here. A lot of people are saying it'll be Voila Davis who, while only in Doubt for about 8 minutes, was able to out act Meryl Streep in an intensely emotional scene. My Woody Allen favoritism is making me lean towards Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, the original front runner for this category.


Alright, I'm tired of writing, here are my other predictions with no commentary:

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Should Win: Frost/Nixon
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Sreenplay:
Should Win: In Bruges
Will Win: Milk

Best Cinematography:
Should Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Foreign Language Film:
Should Win: The Class
Will Win: Waltz with Bashir

Best Animated Feature:
Should Win: WALL-E
Will Win: WALL-E

Best Foreign Language Film:
Should Win: The Class
Will Win: Waltz with Bashir

Best Editing:
Should Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Musical Score:
Should Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Song:
Should Win: "O Saya" from Slumdog Millionaire
Will Win: "Down to Earth" from WALL-E
(Slumdog voters will be split)

Best Documentary:
Should Win: Man on Wire
Will Win: Man on Wire

Best Makeup:
Should Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Will Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Costume Design:
Should Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Will Win: The Duchess

Art Direction:
Should Win: The Dark Knight
Will Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Sound Editing:
Should Win: The Dark Knight
Will Win: The Dark Knight

Sound Mixing:
Should Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Visual Effects:
Should Win: The Dark Knight
Will Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

How will I do? We'll see Sunday night. Expect a rant.

Oops, one blog in and I lied already. Before Griffey, I'll just make a quick note about A-Rod, as it seems like everyone from Nunavut to Sydney has put their two cents in.

It's a crime that his name, and only his name, leaked from what was supposed to be an anonymous test, but I'll be lying if I said I didn't want the other 103 names to be released. Besides the fact that the players have no reason to trust the MLBPA anymore, they have to live every day wondering if their name is going to be ousted by a witch hunt. The best thing would be for all 103 names to come out at the same time to numb the pain of each individual as the spotlight will be scattered.

I commend A-Rod for apologizing quickly, even if it was so blatantly obvious he memorized a script from a handler and said nothing from the heart. Nevertheless, if he continues to be open about it, and do perfect PR moves, he's in a unique position to possibly be the first player accepted into the Hall Of Fame who admitted using PEDs. He has shown he can still put up the numbers without using them with the Yankees (obviously he hasn't been using them during their October outings).

Of course, he's a sensi (short for "sensitive guy," coined by John Dorian in Scrubs to describe himself, as someone who listens to acoustic alternative, marvels at fireflies, wears silk underwear with a breathable crotch, and needs to pump himself up by listening Alanis Morissette CDs) so his ability to bounce back emotionally by opening day is in question. It makes it harder for him as he isn't a popular Yankee like Jeter or Rivera (in the clubhouse or with the fans) and if he hits .230 in April, Yankee fans will want his head and chant "A-Roid" everytime he's at the plate. I like him more than most Yankee fans (frankly I thought his Bush League plays were rather funny, you know A. J. Pierzynski would do the same thing) but there's a hole in my heart that the guy who was supposed to save baseball from the Bonds' and Clemens' has been tainted.

Oh well.

I'll leave you with my favorite screen shots from his interview with Peter Gammons:

 

I thought I'd make my first blog about what my hopes and dreams are for this endeavor. As I stated in my about me, I wanted to make a blog that focused mostly on baseball but talked about music and film as well. I hope to watch a lot of baseball movies - anything from the documentary Up For Grabs, the dramatic The Natural, to the awesomely bad Major League: Back to the Minors - and write reviews of them here, complete with trivia and other interesting notes. I plan on writing new record reviews every few weeks because, hey, everyone listens to music here, and I'm usually limited to punk rock for my reviews at punknews.org. I'm still feeling out the design, tags, and whatnot here, so bear with me.

My first real blog will be about the Ken Griffey Jr. situation, then I'll slowly but surely dive into the Oscars, Spring Training, and everything else 99% of you bloggers are ranting about. I'm mostly doing this to try and become a better writer, as consistency is a writer's best friend, but also I hope to get some feedback and create discussion.

All in all, don't make me regret it!