Tom Verducci's book. Great work pivoting between each game of the Series and how the Cubs were built.
You can read the book as it balances on your boner.
Quote from: Quality Start Machine on April 23, 2017, 08:18:35 PM
Tom Verducci's book. Great work pivoting between each game of the Series and how the Cubs were built.
You can read the book as it balances on your boner.
Better than Al's, or nah?
Quote from: Quality Start Machine on April 23, 2017, 08:18:35 PM
Tom Verducci's book. Great work pivoting between each game of the Series and how the Cubs were built.
You can read the book as it balances on your boner.
Sounds like he stole the framing device Jane Leavy used in her Koufax biography (which is terrific).
Quote from: Saul Goodman on April 24, 2017, 11:27:27 AM
Quote from: Quality Start Machine on April 23, 2017, 08:18:35 PM
Tom Verducci's book. Great work pivoting between each game of the Series and how the Cubs were built.
You can read the book as it balances on your boner.
Better than Al's, or nah?
It's thicker, so better to bludgeon Alvin. And get this...print on every page!
It was very good, the framing device was excellent, that all of the big players got their own section and story was nice. I was annoyed somewhat by how frequently he repeated himself (it feels like he tells the story of how Theo got the idea of individual player development plans from that guy in Boston who complained that none of his coaches ever told him he had to get quicker at turning the double play three times).
Overall a fantastic book with a lot of good, sometimes surprisingly honest background info.
Also gorsh, I wonder who the unnamed veteran player was that Joe had to pull into his office to lecture about being an asshole to the young guys.
Quote from: SKO on April 25, 2017, 08:20:11 AM
It was very good, the framing device was excellent, that all of the big players got their own section and story was nice. I was annoyed somewhat by how frequently he repeated himself (it feels like he tells the story of how Theo got the idea of individual player development plans from that guy in Boston who complained that none of his coaches ever told him he had to get quicker at turning the double play three times).
Overall a fantastic book with a lot of good, sometimes surprisingly honest background info.
Also gorsh, I wonder who the unnamed veteran player was that Joe had to pull into his office to lecture about being an asshole to the young guys.
Mitch Lackey?
Quote from: Quality Start Machine on April 25, 2017, 08:58:54 PM
Quote from: SKO on April 25, 2017, 08:20:11 AM
It was very good, the framing device was excellent, that all of the big players got their own section and story was nice. I was annoyed somewhat by how frequently he repeated himself (it feels like he tells the story of how Theo got the idea of individual player development plans from that guy in Boston who complained that none of his coaches ever told him he had to get quicker at turning the double play three times).
Overall a fantastic book with a lot of good, sometimes surprisingly honest background info.
Also gorsh, I wonder who the unnamed veteran player was that Joe had to pull into his office to lecture about being an asshole to the young guys.
Mitch Lackey?
The way he framed it in the story, there was an implication that it may have been a veteran who was seeing reduced playing time to one of the young stars. I feel like Miggy is the obvious guess in this case.
Miggy is currently batting .059/.200/.059 in Toronto. I'm not sure I've ever seen a negative OPS+ before.
Quote from: Tonker on July 20, 2017, 08:53:25 AM
Miggy is currently batting .059/.200/.059 in Toronto. I'm not sure I've ever seen a negative OPS+ before.
#HeIsDone
Quote from: Tonker on July 20, 2017, 08:53:25 AM
Miggy is currently batting .059/.200/.059 in Toronto. I'm not sure I've ever seen a negative OPS+ before.
Jesus, that's comically bad. His walk-up music should be a kazoo.
So, I made the mistake of reading this book immediately before I started reading "Teammate," by David Ross. Not that there's anything wrong with Teammate -- it just, obviously, isn't going to be as good as something written by an actual writer/journalist, and it doesn't even approach the level of depth as "The Cubs Way." That said, both are worth reading, albeit one dramatically moreso than the other.
Quote from: Canadouche on July 22, 2017, 11:41:02 PM
So, I made the mistake of reading this book immediately before I started reading "Teammate," by David Ross. Not that there's anything wrong with Teammate -- it just, obviously, isn't going to be as good as something written by an actual writer/journalist, and it doesn't even approach the level of depth as "The Cubs Way." That said, both are worth reading, albeit one dramatically moreso than the other.
I just read "Teammate", and they're kind of interesting in the paths they take. While Verducci talks about what makes an impact player, Ross talks more about what does/doesn't make a good teammate. After reading it, and thinking about what Jepstink thought of Schwarber in Verducci's book, and what they looked for out of Ross as a teammate and what Schwarber delivered there - being on the bench on crutches, making meetings, always lending support - it seems like he's pretty much going to be a Cub for as long as Jed and/or Theo are around.