Major League...again.

So, as I watched, yet again, Major League today, I noticed something interesting.

In many scenes when the players are out in public, at restaurants or bars, the others have alcohol, but Rick Vaughn has soda (most notably he's drinking beer right before the final game when Dorn's wife seduces him). It starts at the French restaurant that Taylor takes Vaughn and Hayes to when they get to Cleveland. Taylor and Hayes have wine, Vaughn has soda. Then later, when Vaughn is signing his first autograph, he has soda, Taylor has a beer (I think).

And it made me wonder...was there a dropped plotline about why Rick Vaughn wasn't drinking? Maybe he was on probation...like he said, he didn't think he'd be able to make spring training because he was in jail. Maybe part of his release was to stay off the sauce?

If anybody knows, let me know. My curiosity has been piqued.

There's an Injustice...

And no, it's not that I've gone this long without blogging, though I do apologize for it.

No, the injustice is here, and with baseball season underway, I figured I'd bring it up:

http://www.nfl-nba-mlb-nhl.com/category.sc?categoryId=98

There are some great, great, GREAT Movie/TV jerseys here. I mean, a Jimmy Chitwood Huskers "Hoosiers" basketball jersey? I'd wear that.

And there's some really good fictional players from many sports movies there.

The injustice comes when you note the selection from the Major League movies.

There's Wild Thing, Ricky Vaughn. There's Roger Dorn. There's Pedro Cerrano. There's Willie Mays Hayes. Theres...Tanaka? Well, okay. And that's it. Obviously, there are lots of people left out there. But one of them is glaring and I'm actually sorta steamed about it.

Where's #7? Where's Jake Taylor?

You can argue that the first movie is supposed to focus on a group of players, mainly Vaughn, Hayes, and Taylor (and to some extent Dorn, who, by the way, has many B.J. Surhoff separated at birth moments, especially after his "pep talk" to Vaughn before the penultimate strikeout that leads to the climax). I'd argue that it's Taylor's movie, the rest get second focus, and everyone else gets third. I'd even argue that while the focus clearly shifts in the second movie, it still has Taylor at the heart.

So where's his effin' jersey, you buttholes? I mean, you gave TANAKA a jersey. An offensive (though it's okay, its for laughs!) stereotype that, in the wake of all the good Japanese players that have crashed the MLB since looks so dated in the second movie...but you don't make one for Jake Taylor...the man not only was the heart and central focus of the original movie, but he ends up managing the team by the end of the second!

Yeah, you can get Taylor t-shirts on the web if you look, but I'm pointing a finger directly at that site for a grave failing on their part.

Side note: For those familiar with the movie, have you ever seen the alternate ending? Where Lou Brown hands in his resignation to Rachel Phelps, saying he has no intentions on hanging around while she machinates a move to Florida, and she tells him it was all a ruse? That she actually did love the team, and wanted to keep it in Cleveland, but it was on the verge of bankruptcy, so she not only personally hand picked him to lead them, but personally scouted the team, trying to find players she knew could turn it around. She then played the "Herb Brooks" ploy, uniting the team by being a bitch to them. Brown agrees to stay, but Phelps tells him he can never reveal what really happened, or her "true" nature. Test screeners liked having Rachel as the evil bitch villain though, so it was removed. You can find it on one of the special edition DVDs. Not to mention, she plays the bitch too often in the previous scenes, especially when alone with GM Charlie Donovan...an ending like that, while "happy" would seem jarring and out of place and too neatly wrapped up and perfect.

And just because I know you'd kill me if I didn't, your dose of cute:

And just for kicks, the final 20 minutes (cut in to two parts), which is basically the climactic win and you're in game they play vs. the Yankees for the pennant.

Obligatory Baseball Post

Just finished watching "For Love of the Game," and it got me to thinking. And no, not about how I actually like that movie, overly sentimental chick flick disguised as a baseball film that it is (sue me). No, about how one of the most embarrassingly awkward things in sports fandom is to be at your teams park and be no-hit/perfect gamed.

I was there, April 4th 2001, when Hideo Nomo no hit the Baltimore Orioles. Considering the overall career of Nomo, that was pretty much the pinnacle of the low point (I know, I know) of the O's ineptness these past 9 seasons. But beyond being a little buzzed, and taking care of my VERY drunk college buddy in the upper decks of Camden Yards (he actually fell down the aisle stairs at one point. Not too far, but enough), I remember it pretty clearly. In fact, I had to wake my friend up to what was going on around the 7th inning, since he was too drunk to notice the magnitude of the situation.

Part of me hates that it happened. The other part is happy that I saw a no-hitter in person in my lifetime. Even if it was against a division rival on the second bloody day of the season...sorry, there's the hate I was talking about. I'm sure there are other accomplishments that invoke that same feeling, that sense of "I was there for history, even if it was at the detriment of my team" but damn if I can think of them.

In the spirit of the upcoming season, here are a few pictures of my favorite current Orioles.

Starting pitcher Erik Bedard. This could be the year he becomes elite. I sure hope so.
Second basemen and resident "aw, look how small he is and all the women fans love him" guy, Brian Roberts.
Right fielding sophomore hoping to not hit that sophomore slump, Nick Markakis. If only he hadn't started slowly last year, he could have been a stronger contender for RotY.
Now ex-right fielder, former first baseman who can't seem to get the hang of playing there, maybe a DH but also maybe gonna be in LF some Jay Gibbons. Looking for all the world like he's hurt himself in this picture. Which is possible, since he should have "oft-injured" permanently added to his name. But I have a soft spot for Rule V'ers that actually build a halfway decent Major League career.
And last, Miguel Tejada, who managed not to whine this off season. Way to go Miggy! I like this picture of him leapfrogging Gary Matthews, Jr, while wearing an '83 throwback jersey. I wish we'd get that cartoon bird back...though I do prefer the solid black/orange bill of the 60s and 70s to the 80s white face version.