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Joel Schumacher, a rather famous Hollywood director, was the man in charge of creating last summer's Batman movie.
And in these days of cross promotion (crass promotion?), Schumacher was therefore required to do some television promo work for the movie.
You know, where the director stands side-by-side with the talent and talks about the movie in a way that would entice those watching to plunk down $7.00 or so for a ticket.
Of course, music is an integral part of big Hollywood productions.
So Schumacher recruited Billy Corgan, founder and leader of the rock band Smashing Pumpkins, to contribute original material to the project.
Chatting on the tube about Corgan's musical creations for the flick, they made for a rather incongruous pair--the long-haired fiftysomething Schumacher and the hair-impaired Gen-X-aged Corgan.
The Entertainment Tonight spot was brief but memorable--in part because director Schumacher did most of the talking while musician Corgan stood at his side, nodding his head.
Most of Schumacher's statements were cliches such as "Billy's very talented and his contribution to the movie is very important".
Keep in mind that the interview took place on the set of the movie, before the final wrap.
Therefore, Schumacher was very careful not to say anything that would upset Corgan, the man that he was depending on for an important part of his overall production.
Joel Schumacher talking about Billy Corgan, at least that day, looked and sounded a lot like Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson talking about Dennis Rodman.
Careful. Very careful. A man in that position doesn't want to upset the talent.
Kind of like Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty, or manager Tony La Russa, or even pitching coach Dave Duncan, talking about Cardinals lefthander Donovan Osborne.
Recall that Osborne, like fellow starting pitchers Andy and Alan Benes, and Todd Stottlemyre, ended the '97 season on the disabled list.
Osborne's injury problem was said to have something to do with a pulled groin muscle and/or a hernia.
In other words, there is nothing wrong with Donovan Osborne's left arm or shoulder.
But, while no one at Busch Stadium would go on the record, there were occasional whispers that Osborne's comfy contract status ('97 was the first year of a rich three-year deal signed during the off-season) had a lot to do with his reluctance to pitch.
Osborne's reluctance to take an off-season physical (and rumored reluctance to undergo hernia surgery) further muddied the baseball world's opinion of his pitching future.
Whatever...word travels fast in baseball circles, though, because multiple sources have told St. Louis Sports Online that Donovan Osborne was available in all three rounds of the recent expansion draft.
Imagine that.
A proven lefthanded starting pitcher, with two years to run on a contract paying (only!?) $4 million per year, up for grabs...and not a taker in sight.
Surely Tampa Bay or Arizona would've picked him up...if for no other reason than to deal him to some other club, perhaps in exchange for some young talent, right?
But no, Donovan Osborne, in March of '98, is still wearing Cardinal red. Not really throwing many pitches, though. As of March 19, Osborne had yet to make a single Grapefruit League appearance.
And in the second week of March, Osborne, with the blessing of GM Walt Jocketty, took the day off to solicit yet another medical opinion about his groin problem.
Osborne returned after sitting still long enough for a cortisone shot that he hopes will clear up a bone irritation in the area of his groin.
In the meantime, Jocketty and La Russa still sound like Joel Schumacher, saying things like "we know that, when healthy, Donovan is one of the best lefthanders around".
In 1996, Donovan Osborne established personal bests in wins, innings pitched, ERA, and strikeouts.
But in 1997, Osborne missed three months due to injury and won only three games.
1998 will be a very important year in the baseball life of Donovan Osborne.
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