Three Nights in August: Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager
by Buzz Bissinger
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Book Summary Information
Author: Buzz BissingerEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Format: Audiobook, Unabridged
Published: 2005-04-07
ISBN: 1565119762
Publisher: Highbridge Audio
Book Reviews of Three Nights in August: Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager
Book Review: does not live up to its' promise
Summary: 1 Stars
For all of the hype and attention this book received, this has to be one of the most disappointing baseball books I have ever read. I read this book hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the inner workings of managerial strategy than a fan usually has; instead I was treated to excessive fawning over simplistic ideas and well as a lack of understanding of baseball and its' statistics. The author italicizes the phrase "hit and run" as if it were a copy writ invention of Tony LaRussa. He acts amazed at the idea that managers and pitching coaches actually plot out pitching matchups in advance [and refers to that plan as the Thing of Beauty (his caps, not mine) ad nauseum]. He describes a curveball that doesn't break as going from "a killer 12 to 6 morphing into a very mortal 12 to 3" when what he is trying to say is that it flattens out in the center of the plate. He quotes the statistical line of pitcher Garrett Stephenson from 2000 and 2001 to show how off of a year he is having when anyone can see that the only significant change is his won-loss record, which is more of an indication of run support from teammates. He tries to prove that Albert Pujols has the best start of a career of "any player in the history of the game" by comparing his early career stats to those of Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez, as if they are the two best players in the history of the game, and as if that would in turn mean that they had the best two year start of a ny players.. He refers to the video room operator as the Cardinals "secret weapon", as if they are the only team to do this. He calls Rich Ankiel a "once in a millennium" lefthander, which not only would make him the best lefthander in the history of baseball but also as likely to remain so for the next 900 years. He describes an early August game between the Cardinals and Cubs (who are about tied for first place) as one that "the Cards cannot lose if they want to remain in the division race". I could go on and on but the basic idea is that one gets the impression that Bissinger just DOES NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BASEBALL. In addition, he has an atrocious writing style, with overstated metaphors and similes on almost every page. I would recommend this book for masochists who enjoy having their blood pressure shoot through the roof, as well as to any immediate family members of the author who would be so proud as to render them oblivious to the books' faults.
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Summary of Three Nights in August: Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Friday Night Lights follows 2004 National League Champion St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa through a three-game series with the arch-rival Chicago Cubs. Bissinger chronicles the process by which the manager leads his players to victory and distills the essence of the game from locker room and front office to dugout and field of play.General Books
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