Classic Amazon Purchases

Let's go right to it: October 17, 2000. The Yankees were wrapping up their 4th World Series in five years and Al Gore was about to get f'ed in the Presidential election...oh how long ago that seems.

In the meantime, I was enjoying my new digs moving from Allston, Massachusetts over to Brighton, Massachusetts. It was a much bigger place which meant more room to store more meaningless crap...including these gems:

Taken from my "order history" off the amazon.com website.

1.) Jurassic Park (1993) - DVD: One of the better movies of the 90's although I'd like to see if it holds up as well as it did back when it released in 1993. I remember thinking that the dinosaurs in it looked pretty darn real but didn't need to see Laura Dern have an orgasm going through the triceratops diarrhea. I also liked how the guy who played Newman from Seinfeld was in it and still silently do the "Uhhh uhhh uhhh" thing he leaves on his computer when they try to hack into it. If it sounds like I haven't watched this movie since 1993, you are correct. This DVD has been collecting dust for almost 8 years now. I think I might have to actually watch it on the next rainy day.

2.) A View To A Kill (1985) - DVD: Although not a major fan of James Bond films I am a huge fan of Christoper Walken and he plays the bad guy in this film. Most Bond fans say this is the worst film of all Bond movies and I sort of see where they're coming from. Roger Moore was pushing social security and the action scenes were getting way over the top. On the plus side it has Grace Jones in it who I think more of that "In Living Color" sketch where they impersonate her going on a blind date yelling "Do you find me sexy Harvey!?!?!". It also has a super cool Duran Duran theme song that features the most annoying drum sample ever. But I digress. Not recommended but if you like goofy Christopher Walken facial expressions and mannerisms, I'll lend it you for a bag of sea salt and vinegar chips.

3.) Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns (1994) - DVD: This has to be one of my most prized possessions. Its a 9 DVD box set that features the history of baseball. Each disc covers one "inning" that spans a decade of the sport. Unlike 90% of my collection, I've seen this entire series four or five times now. Growing up in the 80's with the likes of Von Hayes, Dale Murphy, and Dan Quisenberry, its a fascinating look back at the complete history of the sport told by some of the old writers and players who witnessed it. Its probably the most I ever spent on a DVD ($125.99) but its worth it if you can find it used out there. It also makes a great Father's Day gift. Trust me on this one.

4.) Body Shots (1999) - DVD: I am ashamed to say I own this movie. Its about a group of 20 year old somethings who meet at a club and things happen all over the place. It was about relationships although the kind of things they were going through were way beyond my comprehension and foreign to me (sex in an alley with a complete stranger, couples living together, wearing suits to a club). Of course the main draw to the movie was seeing Tara Reid naked but even that is a minor disappointment. The move climaxes with a "was she raped" or "she consented to having sex" finale that is sort of interesting but really, this movie was a waste of the $19 I paid for it. It does have a pretty neat cast though...Amanda Peet, Jerry O'Connell, Ron Livingston, Tara Reid, and the blond science technician from CSI Miami. I'm sure they leave that off their resume when applying for film roles...well everyone except for Tara Reid.

In case you were wondering which version I have based on the picture above...its the unrated version.

All Star Game Thoughts/Rant

Quick points on last night's All Star Game.

I had zero interest in any of the players of this game so I lasted until the 5th inning. Nonetheless, I wanted to see the pregame show that they were hyping up as the best gathering of Hall Of Famers. Oh really?

1.) The intros of the historical players were neat in that they stood at their respective positions, although Paul Molitor was considered a DH and stood on second base which was weird.

2.) Willie Mays looked like the angriest man in the world and his face had been replaced by the surface of the moon. He completely blew off Josh Hamilton when he went to shake his hand and I'm sure he was thrilled to stand next to the Japanese Cub player as well.

3.) I had a tear in my eye when some of my favorite 80's players were introduced like Dave Winfield, Ryne Sandburg, Wade Boggs (showing off his Hair Club for Men), and Gary Carter (sporting a Mets hat as well as his Expos hat...nice move Gary).

4.) Of course Yogi is introduced last.

5.) Steinbrenner rolling in on the cart was very cool. It first looked like he had had a stroke and his mouth was permanently opened but then it looked like he was crying. Its a shame what's happened but that's what happens when you get old I guess...scary.

6.) Notable historical Yankees who didn't show up...Joe Torre, Don Mattingly, Willie Randolph (not surprising though), Rickey Henderson, and Kevin Maas.

7.) It was good to see Ralph Kiner there but you have to be a Mets fan from the 80's to appreciate that one.

Anyway, my rant generates from a comment that Joe Buck said in that it was greatest collection of baseball players on one field ever. Joe, did you watch the 1999 All Star game at Fenway? That was the year they had the baseball All Century Team. Here are some the players who were there on that night thay didn't make it to Yankee Stadium.

Pitchers: Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax, Roger Clemens (love him or hate him), and Warren Spahn. Plus Tom Seaver, who wasn't on the All Century Team, didn't make it either.

Position Players: Johnny Bench, Ken Griffey Jr. (who should have been playing) and Ted Williams.

I'll trade Gary Carter for Johnny Bench and take any of those pitchers. Plus Vin Scully did the introductions that year so I'd take him over Joe Buck.

Enough of that...I love baseball history but Joe Buck's father Jack Buck would have chopped him across the face had he heard that (and was still alive of course).

The BJ Era of the Yankees (Before Jeter)

If you're under the age of 15, you have never lived a time when the New York Yankees were a losing team (at least statistically). However, prior to 1993 and the arrival of Derek Jeter, the Yankees were a truly lousy team and a consistently lousy team at that. Let's focus today on the last Yankee team to finish under .500....the 1992 New York Yankees.

The 92' Yankees opened with a lot of promise. Despite trading away Melido Perez and Steve Sax, they had a rookie manager in Buck Showalter and had some of the biggest free agent signings in Danny Tartabull. Throw in some key cogs like Mike Gallego and a trade for Charlie Hayes and you had a formidable team....on paper. Let's look at the starters.

Matt Nokes, Don Mattingly, Pat Kelly, Charlie Hayes, Andy Stankiewicz, Mel Hall, Roberto Kelly, Danny Tartabull, and Kevin Maas. Throw in the bench players of Randy Velarde, Dion James, Hensley Muelens, a pre manslaughter Jim Leyritz, and a young Bernie Williams, its a miracle this team went 76-86.

The pitching staff wasn't much better...Melido Perez, Scott Sanderson, Scott Kamieniecki, Jeff Johnson, and big ol' Tim Leary were your starters while you had Steve Farr, John Habyan, Rich Monteleone, Tim Burke, and Lee Guetterman in the bullpen.

I was 15 years old that summer and never knew a good Yankee team. I remember the big news when the Yanks signed Tartabull for $5 million a year to counteract the Mets signing Bobby Bonilla (or vice versa). The Yanks never got it going and ended up 20 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays. Nonetheless, there are some classic journeyman players on this team and I didn't even mention Jesse Barfield or seven time drug violator Steve Howe.

Ebay lists the 1992 team set for a "buy it now" price of $2.00. I just might have to do that...