Bits and pieces

It’s amazing how everyday life can get in the way of posting here lately. In a poor attempt to compensate, here’s the occasional links dump.

A review of John Thorn’s Baseball and the Garden of Eden from The Hardball Times. Upshot: “It must be said that Thorn is a historian first and a writer second. His text is full of historical facts, and he spends a lot of time articulating how those facts fit together. His writing style can be formal, and some of his adjectives and adverbs obscure. His story doesn’t really compel the reader until he hits a rhythm in the second half of the book…. One wishes Thorn would go more deeply into some subjects that he only touched upon…. Still, if you’re interested in the early years of baseball, Thorn is the “go-to” guy. His research is thorough, and his mastery of the details is daunting. This book is the culmination of the very best baseball research you will find.”
HBT also posted this link to a Bob Newhart classic in which Abner Doubleday tries to explain the game to an early marketing agency.
HBT also posted this film review of Time in the Minors, which I haven’t seen yet. More reviews here, here, here, and here.

Author Allen Barra published his review of Thorn’s latest in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. He calls it “The most important and one of the most enjoyable baseball books of 2011.”
If you’re a hard-core Tampa Bay Rays fan, you might want to check out The Process Report 2011.
You’ve got player rankings, why not a baseball cap (best — and another best — and worst) and logo ranking?
Music, maestro, please. Here’s a odd tune from an odd source: “We Want a Hit,” a Mets-centric ditty, performed by Calypso songman, The Duke of Iron. Didn’t Terry Chashman sing about him? Sure: “Willie, Mickey and the Duke of Iron.”

Sorry, where was I? Oh, yes. Speaking of Cashman, he’ll be performing his signature “Talkin’ Baseball,” in a program at the Baseball Hall of Fame as part of a “new awards program” in July.
Freebie! The Getting Blanked blog offers a free DIY bookmark.
James Bailey offers a sort of “six degrees of separation” for some baseball titles here.