Artist's depiction of baseball not a "pretty" picture

Artist profile

From the brush of L.A. artists Robbie Conal and the narrative The Hundreds, a blog about Los Angeles culture and lifestyle: He’s really gotten into baseball art lately. What’s the political statement with baseball? “Nothing,” he replies matter-of-factly, “I just like baseball.” (He actually played, himself, in the Canadian leagues. Oh, and he was a […]

Read the full article →

We Are the Ship chronicles Negro Leagues for young readers

Author Profile / interview

Normally, I don’t consider kids’ books for the Bookshelf, but once in awhile one comes along that is so well done, in theme and execution, that it deserves kudos. Kadir Nelson’s We are the Ship, about the Negro Leagues, falls into this category. Nelson was recently interviewed by Publisher’s Weekly. Although he has produced a […]

Read the full article →

When the Mitchell Report gives you lemons, make a video

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

Clemens reports he will also appar on 60 Minutes after the New Year. One might be more likely to believe players had not Pete Rose been so adamant in his denials about his gambling on baseball games. The Amazon Report: The Rocket: Baseball Legend Roger Clemens Rocket Man: The Roger Clemens Story

Read the full article →

Announcement: New University of Nebraska Press titles

Annoucements

My favorite pieces of mail, aside from the books I receive, are the catalogs announcing the books I will shortly receive. Like gardeners, I look forward to these colorful brochures that hold the promise of hours of enjoyment during the months to come. The University of Nebraska Press and its imprint, Bison Books, publish some […]

Read the full article →

Another "top" list

Classic title

From the BookFinder.com blog comes this loist of classic titles deemed the best on the game. “Compiling a list of books about baseball has only two inherent difficulties: where to begin, and where to end. In the final press release we would only be able to mention ten titles. Imagine my despair as I looked […]

Read the full article →

Lest we forget

Because I can...

J. Russel Coffey, the oldest known surviving U.S. veteran of World War I, died today at the age of 109. Born Sept. 1, 1898, Coffey played semipro baseball in Akron, earned a doctorate in education from New York University, taught in high school and college and raised a family.  

Read the full article →

Oh, what a tangled web we weave…

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

I heard about Curt Schilling’s lengthy entry on his Blog about the Clemens/PED. If you print it out, you can put in on your bookshelf, so even though I  normally wouldn’t link to it, here it is. I’ve heard sports pundits discussing Clemens’ refutation of the allegations found in the Mitchell Report. They pretty much […]

Read the full article →

Is Jose Canseco the new Jim Bouton?

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

There are similarities, according to Jon Friedman of Marketwatch. This wouldn’t be the first time that a baseball player was scorned by sportswriters for telling the truth and hurling a big exclusive in their faces. In 1970, the landmark “Ball Four” was published and set a standard for the genre of sports books. It was […]

Read the full article →

The ghost in the Juice "machine"

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

Steve Kettman submitted this rather lengthy Letter to the Editor to The New York Times (Dec. 19) in which he states, among other things, that the Mitchell Report “immediately recasts the importance of the small library of books documenting — and in some cases, shaping — baseball’s steroid era.” This should be taken with a […]

Read the full article →

The residual effect of the Mitchell Report

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

As reported here, the release of the Mitchell Report has meant a renewed interest in Game of Shadows. But according to Keith J. Kelly, Media Ink columnist for the New York Post, “While the baseball steroid scandal is playing out across the front pages of newspapers, it so far hasn’t translated into much of a […]

Read the full article →

A-Rod on 60 Minutes: "I did not inject steroids with that woman…"

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

Hot on the release of the Mitchell Report, 60 Minutes aired a segment on Alex Rodriguez, the former and future highest paid player in the game. Among other revelations, the 2007 AL MVP says he has never taken performance enhancing drugs. Of course, everyone is pretty much skeptical of anything any athlete has to say […]

Read the full article →

Authors thank Mitchell Report

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

As could be expected, the release of the Mitchell Report has nudged publisher Gotham/Dutton to rev up the press for a new run of Game of Shadows, by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams. Read the Publishers Weekly item. Gotham publicist Beth Parker said the authors will team up to do a radio satellite book tour… […]

Read the full article →

What's wrong with a little cheating between friends?

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

Nothing, according to Bruce Weber in the Dec. Sunday Times “Week in Review Section,” who offers several examples and quotes to back up his philosophy. “Cheating in baseball is just like hot dogs, French fries and cold Cokes,” Billy Martin, the pugnacious former player and manager once declared, a sentiment echoed, in an interview, by […]

Read the full article →

The Mitchell Report "Mug Shots"

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

Courtesy of The New York Times.  

Read the full article →

Another roundup of "best books"

Lists

From Delaware Online, this list of five good reads to keep a fan warm during the off-season. The subjects range in “age” from the early 1900s to the mid 1990s, with, mercifully, no mention of cheating or steroids. The Glory of Their Times, by Lawrence Ritter John McGraw, by Charles C. Alexander The Era, by […]

Read the full article →

People always talk about the record books…

Stats

…but no one does anything about it. But Yankfan vs. Soxfan has a good idea on how to denote the statistics of questionable players. * # & ? (etc.)  

Read the full article →

Announcement: Mickey Mantle DVD collection

Annoucements

Just in time for the holidays: Mickey Mantle: A Life Story is a 10-DVD set. The collection contains “the most complete and entertaining portrayal ever done about Mickey’s remarkable life and career. These DVDs feature rarely-seen footage and photos, as well as never-before seen footage and photos from the Mantle Family archives. This is one […]

Read the full article →

Steroids extends its vice-like grip

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

From Time.com, following the release of the Mitchell Report: Even though the Mitchell report didn’t have a section on sports writers, ask yourself this: the Senator’s staff spends months to produce a 400-plus page report documenting his investigation of steroid abuse in Major League Baseball, and within 24 hours a relatively small group of journalists […]

Read the full article →

Here come the top ten lists

Lists

One-Minute Book Reviews offers a list of their choice for the 10 best books of 2007. Surprisingly, it includes a baseball title. Not so surprisingly, it’s not really about baseball; it’s really about poetry — haikus specifically — with baseball themes. Baseball Haiku: American and Japanese Haiku and Senryu on Baseball (Norton, $19.95), edited and […]

Read the full article →

Moneyball + Mitchell Report = "Mitchellball"

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

Since Moneyball is considered the book about the game, at least in recent years, it seems inevitable that whatever happens in the game gets linked to it somehow. Here’s the latest, from Slate.com. Moneyball, published in 2003, was a rebuttal to one George Mitchell panel report on the problems of baseball: the 2000 findings of […]

Read the full article →
script type="text/javascript"> var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-5496371-4']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();