Article:Comparing the American League East to the HBO Hit Series Entourage

Season Five of the HBO hit series Entourage is fast approaching. Many think that Entourage will fill the void that The Sopranos left after the series finale as HBO’s most marketable and most popular original series. Season Five doesn’t premiere until early September, but as the second half of the MLB season approaches, I’ve realized that there are some striking comparisons to the cast/characters of Entourage and the teams in the American League East. We’ll go through each team from first to last place, starting with…

Boston Red Sox = Vincent Chase

Vinny Chase is the lovable main character of Entourage. Just like the Red Sox, he struggled in his career until hitting his big break by landing Aquaman. Think of that as the Red Sox winning the World Series in 2004. Since then, Boston’s stock has risen considerably, both in talent and popularity, as did Vince’s after he landed Aquaman in Season Three. Vince is the pretty boy with the kind eyes who everyone tends to root for and gravitate towards. C’mon, admit it. You were rooting for the Red Sox against the Yankees in 2004. I despise the Red Sox and I loved watching them tear up the Yankees and the Cardinals. The Red Sox represent and provide for the entire New England area, just like Vince takes care of his entire crew.

Tampa Bay Rays = Johnny Chase

The Rays recent surge to the top echelon of American League contenders is similar to Drama’s rise to stardom after landing a hit TV show titled “Five Towns.” Both Drama and the Rays have had significant struggles over the past decade. Drama couldn’t find work and frequently got rejected from big time roles, just like the Rays tried to not lose 100 games and tried to make themselves look like a respectable major league team. The tide is turning for both the Rays and Drama, as both entities seem to be on the upward swing toward stardom. Looks like hard work pays off…

New York Yankees = Ari Gold

The respectable a**hole that people love to hate. That seems to sum up both the Yankees organization and Ari Gold. Ari, like the Yankees, has been an established heavyweight in the industry for years. He lands big clients, makes a lot of money, and makes his clients make a lot of money…does that sound familiar? In New York, the Yankees reign supreme, just like Ari supposedly “runs” Hollywood…I guess that makes the New York Mets equivalent to Lloyd.

Toronto Blue Jays = Eric Murphy

“E” is the narcissistic manager in Entourage. Always worrying about the next project or financial matters, Eric tends to keep everyone on their toes. Fans of Entourage keep cheering for this guy, hoping that he’ll FINALLY make his mark as a manager in Hollywood. That sounds and awful lot like the Blue Jays to me. This team has been diligent in developing a minor league system and making moves during the offseason/trade deadline to better themselves, but nothing ever seems to come to fruition. But there’s an old saying: “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” Something tells me that both Eric and the Blue Jays will eventually get themselves straightened out and on top of their game.

Baltimore Orioles = Turtle

By far the least savvy of the group, both Turtle and the Orioles are just floating along in their own little worlds not knowing which way is up. Turtle did work with a top prospect in the rap game (who actually exists) named Saigon, and made some decent cash at first. Think of that as the Orioles signing Miguel Tejada. Entourage fans come to find out that someone else owns Saigon’s rights and Turtle is left out in the cold with a wad of cash that he blows on stupid things like a used Sandy Koufax jersey. That incident is reminiscent of the Orioles spending money foolishly on washed up free agents like Sammy Sosa. Never doing things the intelligent way, the Orioles kept reaching for the top by signing free agents and making stupid trades instead of building up the farm system. But with Andy MacPhail at the helm, the O’s have started to make some strides in building up that minor league system, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. Fans of MLB and Entourage wonder when both the O’s and Turtle will finally get their act together.

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