Another Slow Day

Nothing exciting on this front. No word on the mower, which means no mowing. Cards were off today after winning last night. So, after a word about that, another little bit about me.

Cards really pounded on the Marlins last night, winning 10-5. Hector Luna almost pulled off the cycle, needing a single in the ninth to get it. The ball was hit in a good spot, but a little too slow and the shortstop cut it off and threw him out at first. Great night for Luna, though!

Even if he had gotten the cycle, though, he'd have been overshadowed by another piece of history. Jeremy Hermedia (I believe how the name goes) of the Marlins was called up the day before and pinch hit in the 7th with the bases loaded. It was his first major league at-bat, but you couldn't tell by the results--he smoked one out of the park for a grand slam! He was the first person to hit a grand slam in their first major league at-bat since 1898. Thankfully it was 10-0 at the time, which is about the best time to give up a grand slam!

Looking forward to see who the Cards call up. The buzz says Rick Ankiel, but I think some of baseball's logistics and rules will wind up keeping him on the farm instead. Anthony Reyes will be back, though, which will be a very good thing for Cardinal Nation.

To move to the next phase of the post, books are a big thing with me. I've told my wife numerous times that "Happiness is a pile of unread books." I love having 6, 7, 8 books or more ready to be read. Something great about that. My pile is dwindling now (after having been pretty strong most of the year) so it might be Christmas before it builds back up.

But what am I reading now? Depends on where I am. I usually have 2-3 books started at one time. I usually can't have a meal by myself without reading a chapter or two. I've got to have a book close by for various times, so a number of them get started.

In my car right now I have Harry Turtledove's The Victorious Opposition. Turtledove is a leading alternative history writer, which I love. He started a book series on one single changed event, and now the world doesn't look a thing like the real history. He postulated that the Confederate officer that dropped battle plans that in real life were found by the Union were recovered by the South instead. They go on to win the Civil War in his book How Few Remain. After that, we jump ahead to the time of WWI and the two countries are fighting again in that trilogy of books. Then there is a trilogy (which TVO is the end of) set between the two wars, but closer to the 1940s. I usually wait until they come out in paperback, and the sequel to this book should be coming out soon.

In my kitchen is the book What If? 2. It's actually another alternative history-type book, as a number of scholars have written short essays projecting what would have happened if this hadn't happened or that had happened. For instance, what if Pilate had spared Jesus? What if William didn't win at Hastings? Stuff like that. I had the first What If? and enjoyed it a lot. I'm not too far into this one, but it's pretty good as well.

And finally, in my bedroom is Moneyball. It was the baseball book to read last year, as everyone was talking about it. You could hardly turn on an ESPN game without them discussing it, and you still hear it referenced when the A's are playing. It's a behind the scenes look at how the A's do things statistically instead of subjectively. It's pretty good so far, and I agree with a lot of the stuff in it, but the author comes across very condesendingly and arrogant, like this is obviously the only way to go. I'm not sure I agree with that. The stats are important, but there is still something to be said for scouting and some gut feeling, as Tony LaRussa indicates in the baseball book for 2005, Three Nights in August (which is a great book, by the way!).

If you've got any book recommendations, feel free to post below!