Short Book Review

It was not that it was short so much that it seemed odd that, upon finishing it, one was surprised it was not contained in a taller book.

Shirley Povich "All Those Mornings at the Post". From his final column, a trace of what seems like, today, innocence.

"McGuire weighs 245 pounds, stands 6 foot 5, and bulked up by strength coaches and Nautilus weightlifts, plus the new diet of "nutrition shakes" popular in the clubhouses, may well hit the ball farther than the 215-pound Ruth, although there are stubborn non-believers."

Bulked up by "nutrition shakes". Damn. Or did Shirley think something else was going on? Was he a stubborn non-believer? Maybe he just thought Ruth the better man, one for whom whiskey with a beer chaser and a cigar with John Sullivan was all the nutrition needed.

Its a shame. We don't need another Bonds or McGuire. We need another Sullivan or Ruth. At best we have Bill James.  In other words we don't have great players, so much as great managers and analysts. Which is better than nothing.

Politically, we may be at a crossing point. But I can't think that any of the candidates are particularly well suited to the current crisis or the ones that will follow.

Maybe part of the problem is the focus. We want a John Sullivan who will bash all comers into submission. Problem is, even the great Sullivan couldn't last forever. People generally aren't cooperative with grand schemes, especially when they don't make sense (at least to one side or the other). We need a Sullivan with substance and style and also a little backbone. I don't see it yet in any of the current crop.

One thing's for sure, when things really begin to break, the solutions will begin to suggest themselves and at that point, we'll come to a consensus, or not.