Saw the first episode of Showtime’s The Franchise last night. Not much to say, really. The focus was Ozzie Guillen (who was suspended early on for his remarks about Fidel Castro), closer Heath Bell’s woes, and the team’s overall ups and downs over the first three months of the season. (Warning: the program contains lots and lots of cussing.)
With so many expectations — a brand new stadium, new “identity” as the Miami Marlins (not to mention Giancarlo, ne Mike, Stanton), and new players (Jose Reyes, Heath Bell, Oscar Zambrano) — it was either difficult to watch if you’re a fan, or smug satisfaction if you’re not.
For me, the most moving segment featured the demotion of Gabby Sanchez, who had just hit a game-tying home run against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 4, following the acquisition of Carlos Lee from the Houston Astros. The fact that the viewer has access to this information may serve to humanize the players bit more.
Don’t know if I’ll stick round for the whole series, but it will be interesting to see how the season progress and what the players’ reactions will be: will they come to find the constant intrusion of cameras following their almost-every step on and in some cases off (Casa Bell, with that hug-ass swimming pool!) as increasingly annoying? Or, if they come back to make it to the postseason, relish in their accomplishments preserved for posterity?
BTW, don’t turn off The Franchise until after the credits; Logan Morrison does a funny close on episode 1, setting the bar high for those who would follow.
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