Kevin > Recent Status Updates

"I decided that any team with both God and Nixon on their side was fucked from the start." A toss off line in the middle of the "Epitaph" that focuses on the 73 Super Bowl instead of the 72 campaign but that somehow sums up the entire attitude and feeling of the book.

This is a perfect time to be reading this book with the 2016 presidential election looming. Just when you think HST might be taking things seriously he drops in a random aside about one of his Dobermans terrorizing a truck driver outside an all-night coffee shop where he just got done smoking with two freaks that he met with his .357 in hand on the side of the road after mistaking one for a giant white gorilla.

A fifth of the way into this thing and we haven't even started the season that's supposed to form the basis for this book. Major pacing problems already and tons of unnecessary and uninteresting background. I did find it amusing to learn that Glavine wrote a biography in 1996 titled "Nothing But the Braves." Just shows that it's always dangerous to write and title your life story too soon.

I'm starting to see a slight comparison between Veeck and Mark Cuban. Fortunately for Veeck and baseball fans, he was able to buy several teams and invigorate those franchises. Cuban has been flat out barred from buying in by the other owners. I don't know that Cuban would be as eccentric or amusing as Veeck was, but he would certainly be more lively than anyone else currently owning a team.

The first chapter tackles and embraces the Eddie Gaedel story. Not only does Veeck fully understand that sending a midget up to the plate is his legacy, he's perfectly fine with it. Also interesting is the glossed-over story of Veeck approaching Al Capone in post-Prohibition Chicago to get champagne for his dying father. They don't make owners like this anymore.

Getting fairly deep into the rankings of the top 100 players at each position. Makes you realize that you only really need a few good years to rank in the top 100. Maybe the outfielders section will be better, but reading about the best catchers (or second basemen or third basemen) ranked 51-100 through 2000 is starting to get tedious.

Just about a quarter of the way through this behemoth. Very in-depth. Reminds me a lot of Ken Burns' Baseball documentary. Wish he would provide some more context for certain items (I didn't know what some of his "awards" referred to until I looked them up online). Starting to understand why Bill James is the man when it comes to sabermetrics.

Not sure how you can be a self-described die hard Yankees fan and openly admit to both liking and cheering on the Red Sox. Also, I wonder if he had lived through the Mitchell Report, the Congressional hearings, and Canseco's allegations if he would still be as upbeat about the home run prowess of McGwire and Bonds.