The Last Real Season

I’ve just finished reading “The Last Real Season: A Hilarious Look Back at 1975 - When Major Leaguers Made Peanuts, the Umpires Wore Red, and Billy Martin Terrorized Everyone” by Mike Shropshire.

In a nutshell, this book is Shropshire’s diary of covering the Texas Rangers, as a beat writer, back in 1975. But, the book is not just about the Rangers - as Shropshire also weaves in (at times) what was going on in baseball that season. And, the book is about Shropshire’s “adventures” that season as well.

And, “The Last Real Season” is also bawdy - with a capital “B.” This is not one for the kiddies. Reading it took me back to when I first read Joe, You Coulda Made Us Proud and Ball Four as a teenager.

In many ways, “The Last Real Season” is the baseball beat writer’s version of Ball Four.

Yeah - it’s that good. I truly enjoyed this book. Maybe it’s because I became a fan of baseball in the early 1970’s? Or, maybe it’s because I enjoy behind-the-scenes stories when it comes to baseball? Shoot, maybe it’s both? But, for whatever the reason, I found “The Last Real Season” to be very entertaining.

In fact, I would place “The Last Real Season: A Hilarious Look Back at 1975 - When Major Leaguers Made Peanuts, the Umpires Wore Red, and Billy Martin Terrorized Everyone” as one of the must-reads for adult baseball fans this summer. It’s a like a fun “PG-13″ trip in a baseball time-machine. But, again, be warned, if “bawdy” is not your thing…then you might want to sit this one out.

June 11, 2008 | Filed Under Reviews | 1 Comment

Anatomy Of Baseball

“Anatomy Of Baseball,” edited by Lee Gutkind and Andrew Blauner, is a baseball anthology book that was released last month. It’s a collection of twenty essays by some names that you’ll know (like Roger Angell, Frank Deford, Jeff Greenfield, John Thorn, and George Plimpton) and some names that may not ring any bells with you. The essays themselves, while baseball-centric, vary in theme. Some are more baseball history oriented while others are more fan-experience type pieces. And, others fall in between - like Frank Deford’s contribution which is an ode to baseball caps and how they have become “the most familar American artifact.”

If you’re a baseball fan, you will enjoy “Anatomy Of Baseball.” The essays - from all the authors (be they well known or not) - truly find that sweet spot in your heart reserved for baseball and tickle it in a way that invokes a very positive response. Whether it’s finding yourself in one of the fan experience essays (like Stefan Fatsis’ “My Glove: A Biography”) or learning something new from the others (like Michael Shapiro’s “The Southworths”), reading this book is just a flat-out good time.

If you’re like me, in the sense that you would would drape yourself in baseball if it were socially acceptable, then I recommend reading “Anatomy Of Baseball.” It’s a good, healthy, fix for any baseball addict.

As an added bonus to Yankees fans, Sean Wilentz contributed an essay to the book entitled “Freddy the Fan” - which calls for recognizing uber-fans, like Yankee Stadium’s “Freddy Sez,” from baseball’s history. (I’m fine with that - and, who knows, it may, someday, lead to recognizing Yankeeland zealot bloogers too!)

May 29, 2008 | Filed Under Reviews | Leave a Comment

An Incomplete And Inaccurate History Of Sport

I just read Kenny Mayne’s “An Incomplete and Inaccurate History of Sport:…and Other Random Thoughts from Childhood to Fatherhood.”

It’s a quick read - but, it’s also joyously unrestrained and extremely entertaining.

I would put it right up there with books like Groucho Marx’ “The Groucho Letters,” Chuck Barris’ “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” and Woody Allen’s “Without Feathers/Side Effects/Getting Even” collection in terms of a haywired stream of consciousness good time joyride - except Mayne’s book has, for the most part, a sports-slant to it.

To be candid, I really didn’t know much about Kenny Mayne coming into this book - other than seeing him on ESPN’s SportsCenter at times. So, I cannot say that I was a big fan of his…or even remotely interested in his work.

However, after reading his “An Incomplete and Inaccurate History of Sport,” I know now that Mayne is one irreverently funny dude - and probably a panic to hang out with - and, I highly recommend his book to anyone who enjoys an amusing examination of sports and life performed in a breezy and whimsical type manner.

May 19, 2008 | Filed Under Reviews | Leave a Comment

New York Baseball

There’s a brand new Yankees & Mets focused blog on the scene: New York Baseball

If you stop by, tell them that WasWatching.com sent ya!

May 7, 2008 | Filed Under Reviews | Leave a Comment

Hammerin’ Hank, George Almighty And The Say Hey Kid

I recently had a chance to explore John Rosengren’s new book “Hammerin’ Hank, George Almighty and the Say Hey Kid: The Year That Changed Baseball Forever.”

With this work, Rosengren tells the story of the 1973 baseball season - weaving back and forth between several key storylines of that year. This includes (but is not limited to): Hank Aaron chase of Babe Ruth’s home run record and the racism that he had to deal with therein; George Steinbrenner’s taking over the Yankees; the birth of the D.H. and Orlando Cepeda’s role in that position for the Boston Red Sox; the decline of Willie Mays in his final days with the pennant winning Mets; Charlie Finley, Reggie Jackson, and those Swinging Oakland A’s.

I was very impressed with Rosengren’s attention to detail with respect to his story-telling. He truly did his homework in terms of using sources. And, this translates into a great job with respect to conveying the facts.

If you’re a fan of baseball history and/or were a baseball fan back in 1973, you might want to consider checking out “Hammerin’ Hank, George Almighty and the Say Hey Kid” as well.

May 6, 2008 | Filed Under Reviews | 1 Comment

Walkoffs, Last Licks, And Final Outs

Recently, I’ve been reading “Walkoffs, Last Licks, and Final Outs: Baseball’s Grand (and Not-So-Grand) Finales” by Bill Chuck and Jim Kaplan.

Bill Chuck is the man behind Billy-Ball.com and Jim Kaplan is a former writer for Sports Illustrated who has authored (or co-authored) several other books.

With “Walkoffs, Last Licks, and Final Outs,” Chuck and Kaplan take a look at the greatest post-season races and World Series games of all-time, the final moments for many Hall-of-Famers, the last games played at ballparks now gone, some famous streaks in baseball history, players who passed away while in active duty, and a slew of other “last” baseball trivia type items.

For a baseball fanatic, “Walkoffs, Last Licks, and Final Outs” is a fun little book. I’ve enjoyed thumbing through the pages and reading it in a pick and choose type fashion.

Chuck and Kaplan have done a great job compiling the information for this book. If you’re looking to add a unique reference material to your baseball library, or, if you want to get an original and entertaining gift for the baseball fan in your life, I recommend that you pick up a copy of “Walkoffs, Last Licks, and Final Outs: Baseball’s Grand (and Not-So-Grand) Finales.”

April 28, 2008 | Filed Under Reviews | Leave a Comment

The Greatest Game: The Yankees, The Red Sox, And The Playoff of ‘78

I’ve just finished reading Richard Bradley’s new book, “The Greatest Game: The Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Playoff of ‘78.”

I went into this one with some concern - because I’m a huge fan of the 1978 Yankees and because that “Playoff” (or “Play-in”?) Game of October 2, 1978 is a game that I will never forget for the rest of my life.

Basically, this book was going to have to be awesome, in my mind, to match up with the subject matter that it was covering. And, as I can share now, “The Greatest Game” was up to the task.

I loved reading this book. It met my every expectation and more. Bradley not only takes you through “the game,” but, he takes you through the background of the players on both teams, the 1978 pennant chase as a whole, as well as throwing in some great pieces on baseball history.

And, “The Greatest Game” is near perfect in detail. I’m a bit of a nitpicker when it comes to books about Yankees teams and players that I followed deeply. And, I only caught three small mistakes in this book. On page 78, it refers to Don Gullet’s right arm hurting - when I’m pretty sure it should have referred to his left arm. On page 99, it referred to Yaz’ homer of October 2nd going down the left-field line when it should have said the right-field line. And, on page 136, in one section, it referred to Jack Brohamer as a right-handed batter and not as a left-handed batter. That’s it - out of many, many - did I say many? - many facts included in this book, those where the only items that I found that we not dead-on correct.

This aside, “The Greatest Game: The Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Playoff of ‘78” is a very entertaining book. In terms of the essential library for the modern-Yankees fan, this book is a must inclusion. I recommend that Yankees fans get this book without delay. Don’t wait until the next time you’re in a bookstore or surfing Amazon, etc. Good to the bookstore or your favorite book-website, now, and pick up a copy of Bradley’s book. Seriously, do it now. Run. This book is worth it.

And, you don’t have to be a Yankees fan to enjoy this book. It was so well written and evenly attacked that a Red Sox fan should find it as a great read too. Heck, any fan of baseball history will want to read this book - it’s that good.

Again, I went into it with concern, expecting not to be impressed because of how important the subject matter was to me, and I came away from the experience very impressed and extremely pleased. Richard Bradley gets two, big, thumbs, way up, from WasWatching.com on “The Greatest Game: The Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Playoff of ‘78.”

April 23, 2008 | Filed Under Reviews | 1 Comment

Rob Neyer’s Big Book Of Baseball Legends

Three years ago, in March of 2005, in the 24 hours that passed after the first report of [former Red Sox pitcher] Dick Radatz’ death, there were many stories published about Radatz’ match-ups with Mickey Mantle and how often Radatz whiffed Mickey. In those 24 hours, I saw the following claims published in various outlets:

54 K’s in 67 attempts.
47 in 63.
44 in 66.
44 in 67.
44 in 63.
And, 12 in 16.

And, it was that last one which was true. What’s the old saying about when the legend is better than the truth, print the legend? Related, so often, when it comes to baseball stories, facts are stretched, or commingled with ones from other stories, on just they are just flat-out fabricated. And, the older the story, the worse it seems to get.

If you’re like me, and you’re interested in knowing the truth when it comes to baseball history, rather than the fish stories, then you’re going to love “Rob Neyer’s Big Book of Baseball Legends: The Truth, the Lies, and Everything Else” (which goes on sale this week on April 1st).

March 30, 2008 | Filed Under Reviews | Leave a Comment

My Bat Boy Days: Lessons I Learned From The Boys of Summer

Six days from today, Scribner (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) will release Steve Garvey’s new book “My Bat Boy Days: Lessons I Learned from the Boys of Summer.”

With this book, Garvey tells the story of how he learned life-lessons from big leaguers who he met while serving as a batboy (in Florida) from 1956 through 1961. These players (and learnings) were: Pee Wee Reese (leadership), Gil Hodges (dignity), Carl Erskine (honesty), Jackie Robinson (passion), Duke Snider (persistence), Roy Campanella (compassion), Sandy Koufax (faith), Mickey Mantle (fortitude), and Al Kaline (perfection).

Garvey’s father was a bus driver for Greyhound in Florida and was assigned to drive charters for ball clubs during spring training. Through this connection, Steve was able to serve as batboy for the Dodgers, Yankees and Tigers.

“My Bat Boy Days” is a quick read. The book is 7.8″ by 5.3″ (in size) and is 149 pages (long).

To be candid, I enjoyed “My Bat Boy Days: Lessons I Learned from the Boys of Summer” much more than I expected going into the review process.

There are some “Yankees” ties to the story here. Garvey’s parents moved from Long Island, New York, to Tampa, Florida, while Mrs. Garvey was pregnant (with Steve). Nonetheless, according to the book, Mrs. Garvey never switched her devotion to her favorite team - the Yankees. And, as stated, Garvey included Mickey Mantle among his select group of players featured in this book.

Basically, each essay on a featured player reads like a mini-biography. And, for me, this is the true value of this book. Anyone wanting to learn more about nine great players from the late 1950’s - and a particular quality that made them special - can benefit from Garvey’s storytelling here. And, again, it’s a nice and quick read.

If there’s someone in your life who was born in 1940, or earlier, and who likes to reminisce about baseball back when they were young, or, if you know someone younger, who is just learning about baseball history, “My Bat Boy Days: Lessons I Learned from the Boys of Summer” would be a nice little surprise gift to give them.

It’s not the greatest baseball book of all-time. But, I’ve read many, many, baseball books that were so boring that I couldn’t finish them - and that’s saying a lot, coming from a baseball nut like me.

But, Garvey’s book is quick enough, and entertaining enough, that you’ll have no problem reading it. And, like me, you just might find out that you liked it better than you thought that you would (once you read it).

March 19, 2008 | Filed Under Reviews | 3 Comments

The Pride of the Yankees - Collector’s Edition DVD

Today, MGM (Video & DVD) has released a Collector’s Edition DVD of The Pride of the Yankees.

If you’re a Yankees fan, and you’ve never watched “Pride of the Yankees,” then you haven’t experienced the full effect of being a Yankees fan.

I cannot remember the first time that I saw this movie. If I had to guess, I would say it was some time between 1974 and 1976. But, from the first time that I saw it, whenever that was, I was hooked on it. In fact, I confess that, as strange as it sounds, as a teenage boy in the mid-’70’s, I once had a huge retroactive crush on Teresa Wright (who received a “Best Actress” Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Lou’s wife, Eleanor Gehrig, in this movie).

This is a true story: In the late spring of 1980, I was 17-years old. One evening, I had a “date” with girl - who I was very interested in (at that time). This was probably our third or fourth “date” (that particular evening). She invited me to her home, to “hang out,” because her parents and siblings were going to be out for a while. (I think you get the picture here.) Well, when I got there, as a social reflex, she asked me if there was anything that I wanted to watch on TV - and she handed me a copy of TV Guide. (Keep in mind, this was way before the days of cable, remotes, and channel guides.) Being polite, I started thumbing through the TV Guide, and I noticed that Pride of the Yankees was about to start on Channel 11. Seeing this, I asked my “date” if she had ever seen the movie. When she said “No,” I did not hesitate, and, despite the how that evening was supposed to flow, I said “O.K., you’re going to watch it tonight - because it’s one of the best movies ever made.”

Now, if that story doesn’t tell you how strong I feel about Pride of the Yankees, what else could? (To close the story, she loved the movie. And, when her parents came home, her father was pretty amazed to hear her tell the story about watching the movie and how much she enjoyed it. And, this being the first time I met her dad, and seeing what a large man he was, I was feeling really good about the whole thing.)

In any event, to this day, whenever I watch “Pride of the Yankees,” it provides a warm, comfortable, and (for lack of a better word) good feeling - despite the fact that I’ve seen it before (for many times). It’s just a special movie.

If you’re a fan of this movie, like me, you’ll want to pick up the Collector’s Edition DVD of The Pride of the Yankees. In addition to the movie, this DVD comes with six special features - including the featurette “The Making of Pride of the Yankees” and the featurette “Always” (which is the story behind the hit song from the movie - and perhaps one of the best “hooks” ever used in song).

And, as stated before, if you’re a Yankees fan…heck, if you’re a baseball fan, period, or someone who enjoys classic love-story movies…and you’ve never seen “Pride of the Yankees,” then I strongly suggest that you pick up this new DVD.

Related, also today, MGM (Video & DVD) has released Collector’s Edition DVDs for one of the greatest baseball movies ever made, “Eight Men Out” and, for one of the most popular baseball of all-time, “Bull Durham” - celebrating the 20th anniversary for both these films. These new DVDs contain special features - including one where the cast and crew look back, after all these years, at each film. Both of these Collector’s Edition DVDs sound like something that any baseball would want to add to their DVD library.

March 18, 2008 | Filed Under Reviews | 3 Comments

The Bill James Gold Mine 2008

As promised, I had a chance to check out “The Bill James Gold Mine 2008.”

If circumstances only allow you to purchase and/or read one baseball book this spring, you cannot make a better choice than “The Bill James Gold Mine 2008.”

In this book, James provides fun and informative statistical analysis on every big league team - in addition to 17 new essays that are a treat to read.

Among my favorites were:

“Three to Five Run Records” - which shows you the best and worst teams when they scored or allowed three to five runs in a game.

“The Dave Kingman Award” - where James uses “HR/[RC+10]” to show us which batters over the last 30 years were the “best” at “hitting home runs without doing anything else positive as a hitter.”

“The Turk Farrell Award” - which identifies good pitchers who had terrible records because their team stunk.

“The Nolan Ryan Award” - given to unreformed power pitchers via James’ formula of “[W*L*SO*BB]/IP.”

“End Game” - which identifies “the moment at which it ain’t over, but it’s over” for a team with respect to their place in the standings. (This essay suggests that the three greatest collapses in baseball history belong to the 1951 Dodgers, 1964 Phillies, 2007 Mets, and 1978 Red Sox - in that order.)

“Closer Fatigue” - where James shows how fatigue level of a closer impacts success for his team.

“Strength Up the Middle” - that confirms good teams are strong “up the middle” - and it’s more true that bad teams are weak in this area.

“Bullpens and Crunches” - that establishes teams with good bullpens “tend to exceed expectations” in one-run and close games. But, it also shares that there’s no definitive evidence that teams with strong bullpens do well in the post-season.

“Herbie” - where James introduces a stat that identifies “a more reasonable candidate for the league’s best pitcher than the actual ERA leader.”

Brass tacks, if you were a fan of The Bill James Baseball Abstracts, you will enjoy this book. And, if you’ve never read James’ Abstracts, and always wondered what the fuss was about, you owe it to yourself to pick up this book.

“The Bill James Gold Mine 2008” is the type of baseball book that’s so much fun, and enlightening, that you’ll want to re-read it, again, the minute you finish reading it for the first time. And, there’s a good chance that you’ll want to read it a third time after that - as there’s so much good stuff in it.

March 8, 2008 | Filed Under Reviews | Leave a Comment

The Hardball Times Season Preview 2008

As promised, I had a chance to check out “The Hardball Times Season Preview 2008.”

This is a fun book to get you primed for the season. The folks at The Hardball Times reached out to various internet baseball authors to cover each team in the majors. Those who frequent baseball sites will recognize many of these folks - such as Brian Borawski, Lisa Gray, Bradford Doolittle, Dave Studenmund, Larry Mahnken, Steve Treder and John Brattain - who have contributed to “The Hardball Times Season Preview 2008.”

For each team in the majors you get the following:

+ A projection on their 2008 won-loss record.
+ A summary of their 2007 season.
+ General comments on the team’s strengths, weaknesses, G.M., Manager, ballpark, minor league system, and a listing of “favorite team blogs.”
+ Keys for 2008 in terms of players lost and acquired, reasons to be optimistic and pessimistic, who’s due for a better and worse season, and what’s left for the team to do.
+ Player statistical projections for 2008.

In addition to all this, you also get an essay from David Gassko on projecting career statistics and an essay from Chris Constancio on rookies to watch for 2008.

In terms of the Yankees, “The Hardball Times Season Preview 2008” sees them winning 93 games this season and finishing four games back of the Boston Red Sox in the A.L. East - with some interesting individual numbers such as A-Rod hitting “just” 41 homers, Matsui having 72 RBI, Phil Hughes going 7-7, and Ross Ohlendorf posting an ERA of 6.53 in 89 innings pitched.

As a fellow blogger, I do have one gripe with an element of this book. Where they listed “favorite team blogs” for each team, in some cases - such as when Larry Mahnken covered the Yankees, Jim McLennan covered the Diamondbacks, Bradford Doolittle covered the Royals, and Eric Johnson covered the Brewers - some authors listed their own blogs as being among the “favorite” for the team they were covering. That seems like a little “homerism” to me - but, then again, it could be sour grapes too since WasWatching.com was not listed among the “favorite” Yankees blogs. And, again, only some of the authors did this - not all of them.

This small nitpick aside, I recommend checking out “The Hardball Times Season Preview 2008.” Whether you’re a fantasy baseball participant looking for some handy draft/auction reference material or just a baseball fan looking to get some interesting insight on your favorite team as well as the rest of the teams in the big leagues, this book lends towards satisfying your needs.

March 5, 2008 | Filed Under Reviews | 2 Comments

Facing Clemens: Hitters On Confronting Baseball’s Most Intimidating Pitcher

Jonathan Mayo is a senior writer for MLB.com. Tomorrow, his new book, “Facing Clemens: Hitters on Confronting Baseball’s Most Intimidating Pitcher,” will be released.

I had a chance to do a quick Q&A with Mayo on his book. It follows below:

WW: What was the inspiration behind the concept that you chose for this book?

Mayo: It came about during conversations with Lyons Press about a number of different ideas I’d had running around in my head. This one, however, I cannot take credit for. They had done two similar books on boxers: “Facing Ali” and “Facing Tyson.” The feeling was the concept would work well for baseball and Clemens, at the time, seemed to be the perfect candidate. I took the concept from there and ran with it, figuring out who would make for the best chapter subjects.

March 3, 2008 | Filed Under Reviews | Leave a Comment

A Touch of Pinstripes

There’s a brand new Yankees blog on the scene: A Touch of Pinstripes

If you stop by, tell them that WasWatching.com sent ya!

February 9, 2008 | Filed Under Reviews | Leave a Comment

Cambios y Curvas

For those who don’t know, there’s a Yankees blog written in spanish on the scene: Cambios y Curvas

It’s even linked to on YankeesBeisbol.com (which is “El Sitio Oficial de Los Yankees de Nueva York”).

If you stop by, tell them that WasWatching.com sent ya!

February 7, 2008 | Filed Under Reviews | Leave a Comment

YankeeBlography

There’s a brand new Yankees blog on the scene: YankeeBlography

If you stop by, tell them that WasWatching.com sent ya!

February 4, 2008 | Filed Under Reviews | Leave a Comment

The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2008

Being a big fan of The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2006 and The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2007, I was truly looking forward to reviewing the The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2008. And, once done, I was not disappointed.

Following the format of the two annuals that preceded it, The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2008 provides an extensive review of the past season, essays related to baseball history, features deep-rooted in statistical analysis, and, pages and pages of stats, stats, and more stats.

If The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2008 was a baseball bat, clearly, the content therein centering on statistical analysis would be the fat part of the bat.

Don’t take this to mean that the features on the 2007 season and baseball history were not enjoyable. On the whole, I found them to be interesting and worth reading.

In particular, Dave Studenmund’s “The Story Stat,” where Dave uses the 2007 season to explain “Win Probability Added” (WPA) and “Leverage Index” (LI) - at a level where the old woman down the street would understand it - was excellent and recommended reading for anyone who does not understand WPA and LI.

And, Will Leitch’s “The Deadspin Spin on 2007″ was very entertaining - as was “The Months of 2007 in History” by Richard Barbieri.

Further, Chis Jaffe’s “Manager Grinders and Boppers” (where Chis, via the stats, shows us who are baseball’s true ’small ball’ and ‘moneyball’ managers) is a must read. (Spoiler Alert: Buck Showalter would rather lose a finger than risk giving up an out.)

More so, it’s a matter of the (deep) “statistical analysis” features being so off-the-charts in terms of value that they bring cause for you wanting more of them and less of the other (non-stats based) content in The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2008.

Mitchel Lictman’s “Signals and Noise” (where he shows us which teams under- and over-performed in 2007), Tom Tango’s “With or Without You” (where he uses the stats to determine the best fielding catchers in baseball history), David Gassko’s “Do Managers Matter?” (where he details which skippers actually help or hurt their teams), and John Walsh’s “The Origin of the Platoon Advantage” (where he shows us that it’s actually the fastball and the slider that lead to large platoon splits - and not the not the curveball or the change), were so outstanding that they alone make The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2008 a worthy purchase.

To be fair, not every feature in the analysis section was as attention-grabbing as those noted above. Personally, I found Tom Tango’s “With or Without…Derek Jeter” (where he uses a new look to show Jeter’s lack of fielding skill) and Vince Gennaro’s “The Dollar Value of Player Development” (where he makes a case for player development being “the lifeblood of an MLB franchise”) to be somewhat like beating old drums, albeit using a new stick, and playing a song that we’ve all heard before…many times.

However, again, the “great to good” to “O.K. to boring” ratio for the statistical features in The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2008 is very heavy on the “great to good” side. By far, these features put a great swing on the ball and make solid contact many, many, more times than not.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not mention the “stats” in The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2008 - as more than half of the book is pages full of statistics.

In a nutshell, the “Statistics” section of The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2008 is, well, it’s the data that you pray the G.M. of your favorite baseball team has at their fingertips, understands, and uses when making decisions. The statistics provided are both ground-breaking and illuminating.

For example, as noted in the book, Jose Contreras had an ERA of 5.57 in 189 innings pitched last season. Ask 99 out of 100 baseball fans and they will tell you that Contreras was a terrible pitcher in 2007.

However, as the statistics in The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2008 show us, Jose’s Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) - meaning strikeouts, walks and homers allowed - was not very out of line for him. Also, his Defense Efficiency Ratio (DER) - meaning the percentage of times a batted ball was turned into an out by his fielders - was third worst in the league. Further, 68% of Contreras’ ground balls allowed went for outs - compared to the league average of 74% - and Jose gave up more runs per grounder compared to the average big league pitcher. Via the stats in The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2008 you can see that Jose Contreras was not a very lucky pitcher in 2007.

You just can’t get stats like these in very many places - which makes The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2008 incredibly unique and useful.

When you factor in the retail price of $19.95, there’s really no excuse for a zealous baseball fan not to pick up The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2008. (And, if you know a baseball fan, and are looking to buy them a gift this holiday season, you will do no wrong by getting them this book.)

In 2005, I wrote:

I highly recommend The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2006. I’ve read many books like this over the last 25 years and this one is right up there among the best of the group.

And, in 2006, I wrote:

The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2007 is batting 1.000 - in terms of providing great and ground-breaking baseball analysis. It’s a worthy pick-up.

Having now read The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2008, in summary, I have to “borrow” from what I wrote about its predecessors and say:

I’ve read many books like this over the last quarter-century and this one is right up there among the best of the group. In terms of providing great and ground-breaking baseball analysis, The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2008 is an excellent learning tool and valuable resource. I highly recommend it.

December 16, 2007 | Filed Under Reviews | 2 Comments

The Yankee Squirrel

There’s a relatively new Yankees blog on the scene: The Yankee Squirrel

If you stop by, tell them that WasWatching.com sent ya!

November 8, 2007 | Filed Under Reviews | Leave a Comment

The Bill James Baseball Handbook 2008

For 13 years, STATS Inc. published the STATS Major League Handbook. However, in the fall of 2002, STATS Inc. all but suspended its publishing operation. At that time, it had appeared that 2002 would be the end of the Major League Handbook (that so many had grown fond of over time). However, in June of 2003, thanks to the good folks at Baseball Info Solutions and Acta Publications, The Bill James Handbook (as this grand annual was renamed) reappeared on the scene - and it has continued to be available in the years to follow.

On November 1, 2007, The Bill James Handbook 2008 was released.

As usual, this version of the Handbook contains team statistics from last season - including Bill James’ Team Efficiency Summary, a register of career stats for everyone who played in the majors this past year, 2007 fielding stats - including the 2007 Fielding Bible Awards, manager records and tendencies, park data, player splits, leader boards, win shares data, and 2008 player projections.

In addition, this version of the Handbook contains some new and expanded features. These include:

* Bill James’ Young Talent Inventory - with good grades for the Rockies, D-Rays and D-backs…and bad grades for the Astros, Cubs and Tigers.

* Bill James’ Manufactured Run Analysis - which notes that, last season, manufacturing runs was slightly more a trait of successful teams than preventing teams from scoring them.

* Bill James’ Player & Team Baserunning Analysis - that shows why Mike Cameron is the king of going first to third and why Jason Varitek is a station-to-station guy…and that the Angels, as a team, will first to third you to death whereas the Astros killed themselves on the bases as a team.

Granted, in the past, the STATS Major League Handbook had an edge that is no longer available for The Bill James Handbook. Both books provide reams and reams of great baseball data and were/are the earliest “baseball annual” each year. For the STATS Major League Handbook, these two wrinkles were a major draw as, at that time, there were not web-sites that provided (both traditional and sabermetric) baseball data on a real-time basis. Nor, for the most part, were there software programs that contained this information. Therefore, if you wanted baseball data like this, and you wanted it “ASAP,” the STATS Major League Handbook was your source.

However, while not having an edge in terms of exclusive data and publication timing, The Bill James Handbook does provide you with something unique - call it a serendipitous benefit - with its retro-style media format. In simple words: It’s a book!

Being a book, you can do something with The Bill James Handbook that you can’t do with a web-site or software program - meaning you can read it…like a book.

You can sit with it for an hour, or just a few minutes, and no matter how much time you spend when looking at the Handbook, you will find abundant nuggets of baseball enlightenment and amusement. With every turn of a page - albeit if you start at the first page of it or just pick a starting page at random - you can begin a fun journey into the land of baseball statistics. And, again, because it’s a book, The Bill James Handbook lends itself towards being used in locations and/or times, and in a way, that web-sites and/or software programs cannot provide the same satisfying results.

Think of it this way: You need a screw-driver. You know where to find it. It’s in a tool-box on a shelf in your garage. So, you go exactly there, and get the exact screw-driver that you need. That’s nice and satisfying feeling. You have a need, you know the best place to address it, and it’s easy to complete that need at that place.

Now, think about this situation: You have some time to kill. Just for the heck of it, you go for a walk in the neighborhood. As you are strolling, you run into an old friend that you haven’t seen in years. You talk to them and start to realize how much they had to offer in terms of enjoying their company. Then, as you’re talking, someone that you never noticed before comes by and joins your conversation - and you start to realize that this new person also offers insight that is something that you never thought of…and, you find it useful and enjoyable as well.

Both of these situations benefit you. But, going for that screw-driver is not going to deliver the same benefit that you get from that random and chance meeting with old and new friends. And, chances are, if you needed a screw-driver, the best route was that direct line to that tool-box on a shelf in your garage - rather than hoping you might find one, or run into someone with one, if you went for a walk around the block.

Still with me? What I’m trying to say here is that using a web-site or software program to get baseball data, is like the screw-driver situation. If you know what you need (or want), specifically, and you know the quickest place to get it, then going there makes sense. However, if you’re looking to take some time, and allow yourself to find something - that you’re not specifically looking for - and want it to be a positive experience, then a more indirect and broader route is the better way to go…like taking that walk and rolling with chance meetings…or like picking up The Bill James Handbook, reading it, and seeing what you’ll find out.

It’s for this latter reason that I highly recommend The Bill James Handbook 2008. Just don’t get it for all the great data and analysis that’s inside it - get it because of the way in which it can be used…and enjoyed…in a manner that only a book can provide.

November 7, 2007 | Filed Under Reviews | 2 Comments

Yankee Stadium’s Misfits of Row X

There’s a relatively new Yankees blog on the scene: Yankee Stadium’s Misfits of Row X

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November 6, 2007 | Filed Under Reviews | Leave a Comment

The Bronx is Burning DVD Set

I’ve been meaning to share this for a while now. I recently had a chance to watch the The Bronx is Burning on DVD. When the series was on ESPN, I never really got into it - probably because of when they were airing it. Still, I was happy to see if come out on DVD - because the 1977 Yankees interest me.

On the whole, I truly enjoyed The Bronx is Burning DVD set. I can testify that this series, on certain things, was dead-on with the facts. The forces behind the production must have gone to great lengths to make sure they mirrored exactly how things happened.

Sure, there were some parts of the story that I would be willing to bang heads on…the role of Fran Healy being one. The series made Healy out to be one of the clubhouse leaders on the team. That’s not something that I recall happening back in 1977. But, then again, Healy was one of the “consultants” to the series, so, that could have something to do with it.

Also, certain players had large roles in the series - as you would expect. And, other players had smaller roles. But, Roy White was just about completely MIA. And, there was no mention whatsoever of Dave Kingman being on the team - and, that was a story, somewhat, in 1977 (because of his Mets connection).

Of all the acting performances, I was most impressed with Oliver Platt as Big Stein - and, I came into this one with reservations on that casting. But, having now watched his performance, I thought Platt nailed it - and I will think of his performance, now, and probably forever, when I think of George Steinbrenner.

The DVD set also comes with bonus extended interviews with Reggie, Stein, and Billy Martin Jr., which are insightful.

Having now watched it, I would recommend The Bronx is Burning DVD set for Yankees fans. I enjoyed it. And, I’ll probably watch it again over the winter for a baseball fix (at some point).

November 4, 2007 | Filed Under Reviews | 2 Comments

iYankees

There’s a relatively new Yankees blog on the scene: iYankees

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November 4, 2007 | Filed Under Reviews | Leave a Comment

Yankee GM Blog & Inspired Numbers

There’s two relatively new Yankees blogs on the scene: Yankee GM Blog and Inspired Numbers.

If you stop by, tell them that WasWatching.com sent ya!

October 30, 2007 | Filed Under Reviews | Leave a Comment

Phil Allard Live!

FYI, Phil Allard will be running a daily and in-game blog during the playoffs over at NYYFans.com. It will be on the front page of the site around game time this evening. You may want to check it out. Sounds like fun.

October 4, 2007 | Filed Under Reviews | Leave a Comment

The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth

Eleven days ago, I picked up a copy of Leigh Montville’s “The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth.” Since I don’t have a lot of time to read, I’m only about halfway through it now. Nonetheless, I wanted to share with you that this is an incredible book and one that I think any Yankees fan would enjoy.

Since it’s already a national bestseller, I won’t go on and on about it here. If you look around, you’ll find that this book has received good reviews.

What’s amazed me so far in the story is just unencumbered Babe Ruth was - in the way that he dealt with everything in his life. Sure, we’ve heard stories about him, on this, before. Still, Montville paints the picture of this aspect of the Babe with such focus that it’s enlightening beyond what I’ve imagined.

If you’re looking for a great baseball book to read, and you were on the fence about “The Big Bam,” or, if you were not aware of it, you should grab this one. It’s probably one of the better baseball biographies ever written - certainly in the top twenty-five ever.

August 17, 2007 | Filed Under Reviews | 3 Comments

Five O’Clock Lightning

There’s a relatively new Yankees blog on the scene: Five O’Clock Lightning

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August 7, 2007 | Filed Under Reviews | Leave a Comment

1977 World Series Collector’s Edition DVD Set

For the last week or so, I’ve been playing around with the Yankees 1977 World Series Collector’s Edition DVD Boxed Set. This is a new collection that was released three months ago. If you haven’t checked it out already, you’ll want to get this one for your collection.

There are seven DVDs in the set - All six ‘77 World Series games against the Los Angeles Dodgers plus Game 5 of the ALCS against the K.C. Royals. There’s also lots of post-game footage following Game 6 of the World Series and interviews from people like Reggie Jackson, Willie Randolph, Ron Guidry, Lou Piniella, George Steinbrenner, Paul Blair, Brian Doyle, and others.

The video quality is not always the greatest - in terms of being what one expects from a DVD - but, it’s not at the level where it’s an issue for your eyes.

Personally, it was fun to watch Game 1 of the ‘77 Series - since I never saw that one on TV (as I was there, in-person, at the Stadium that night). Heck, it’s just interesting to watch games at the Stadium from that time period - with the distances in the outfield being 430 feet to left-center and 417 feet to dead-center. Billy Martin had a lot of confidence in Lou Piniella - playing him in that big left field.

Speaking of Piniella, in one of the later-day post-series interviews found on the bonus footage, Lou said that he couldn’t remember Reggie’s third homer from Game 6 of the Series…even though he knew that Jackson had three that night. How bizarre is that?

It was almost as bizarre as watching the 1977 post-game footage of Reggie being interviewed after Game 6…and seeing a baby-faced Dan Shaughnessy (aka “the CHB“) looking like a deer in head-lights during the whole thing.

Like I said, there’s some cool stuff in this set. And, watching the games on these DVDs is easy…I love the way the menus are set-up…so that you can go to any half-inning that you want at any time.

The World Series games were covered by ABC - so, for those games you get Keith Jackson, Tom Seaver, and Howard Cosell doing the games. (Cosell was in Cosell-form for these games too.) But, for Game 5 of the 1977 ALCS, you get the WPIX coverage of the game.

For me, having this game, with Phil Rizzuto, Frank Messer and Bill White covering the contest, is the prize of this set.

First, just watching the game is awesome. It reminds me that George Brett and Hal McRae were the Manny Ramirez and David Oritz of their time - as they were major pains for the Yankees. And, it reminds me of how important Mike Torrez was to New York in the ‘77 post-season. (If there’s such a thing as an overall MVP to the post-season, Torrez was it for the Yankees that year.)

Secondly, you get to see how Rizzuto, White and Messer handled games back then…mixing and matching between play-by-play and color (while also doing the radio on WMCA).

In this game, White did the play-by-play, with Rizzuto doing color, in the first three innings - with Messer on the radio. For the middle three innings of the game, Rizzuto did play-by-play, with Messer doing color - and White did the radio. And, for the last three innings, Messer did play-by-play, White was the color man, and Rizzuto closed out the game on the radio.

As a kid growing up, following the Yankees, this broadcaster set-up was the norm for me. And, I think it was the best - everyone got to do it all…and you, as a fan, got to hear your favorites…no matter if you were watching on TV or listening on the radio. Ah, memories.

And, that’s what this DVD set is all about - bringing back some great memories - for me. For others, who are not as old as me, I think it would be a great primer to see what it was like to watch the Yankees, thirty years ago.

I highly recommend the Yankees 1977 World Series Collector’s Edition DVD Boxed Set. It’s the story of a great team’s October. And, it’s a time-machine dream for Yankees fans.

July 24, 2007 | Filed Under Reviews | Leave a Comment

The Yankee Trough

There’s a relatively new Yankees blog on the scene: The Yankee Trough

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July 13, 2007 | Filed Under Reviews | 2 Comments

Pags Radio

Former Yankee Mike Pagliarulo (and Adam White) are now running a show called The Baseline Report. As per their MySpace Page:

The Baseline Report will set the record straight on baseball. We’ll analyze major league baseball decisions and performance without bias and we’ll always explain why we feel a certain way. We will challenge all suppliers of baseball content and data to do the same.

It’s about time the “Perception of Baseball” got closer to the “Reality of Baseball”.

We’re starting a radio show on ESPN 890/1410 in Boston on Sunday July 8th, from 10am to 11am. Straight baseball talk from baseball experts.

If you can pick up ESPN Radio in Boston, you might want to check them out. And, check out their blog on the MySpace Page. There’s some interesting stuff there.

July 9, 2007 | Filed Under Reviews | Leave a Comment