And who can blame him? While The Boss and Billy are portrayed by bonafide famous thespians, Reggie Jax’s role was cast to a guy best known for playing second (or third) banana to Denis Leary. From the New York Times’ Joe LaPointe.


œThey didn™t ask me; I feel betrayed, Jackson said on the field at Yankee Stadium before the Old-Timers™ Day game that preceded the current team™s game against the Los Angeles Angels. The ESPN series is based on a book by Jonathan Mahler, œLadies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning, and focuses on a turbulent year in which the Yankees won the World Series.

Jackson sounded bitter toward the network, for which he once worked as a baseball analyst.

œAnd they didn™t have the decency to ask me a question, Jackson said. œPortray me when you don™t know the story? Why would you do something like that and no one asked me? You™re doing a documentary? You™re doing a biography? What are you doing? Why wouldn™t you ask somebody that was there or in the middle of it? I™ve got a right to do it if I want to, just to set the record straight.

ESPN released a statement through the spokesman Dan Quinn, saying: œIt™s unfortunate that Reggie is disappointed. We felt strongly that to maintain the objectivity of the story line, we get equal input from all of the key characters, or none of them. Fortunately, the 1977 season was extremely well documented, so we relied on our advisers and consultants, including Reggie™s best friend on the team, Fran Healy. And, at the end of the season, as any Yankees fan knows, Reggie Jackson is the hero.

Though I ususally don’t take Reggie’s side in most disputes, I can’t believe there’s a tele-flick about The Summer Of Sam in which the producers thought Fran Healy would be a better consultant than Ricky Luanda.

Given the toll taken on their respective bullpens yesterday, Mike Scioscia and Willie Randolph can be forgiven (I guess) for leaving Ervin Santana and Dave Williams out there to die earlier today. In the former ballgame, A-Rod’s padded his midseason totals to 30 HR’s and 86 RBI’s. Clearly, his hamstring is bothering him far too much to play on Tuesday night.