Matthew

The Sparrow: Mary Doria Russell

Kamasi Washington: Heaven and Earth

Sometimes what seems easiest is the hardest, eg., no matter how hard I try, I make a totally crappy pot roast! I'm hopeless at it, and I know people who can't boil an egg, and they make a better pot roast that I do.

I still think the Giants have a shot if they get serious about signing Harper. The Giants are a really good fit for him, and, for some reason, I don't think the Yankees are -- but what do I know! It's just that Harper is good, really good, but to give him so much money for so long, has that ever worked out to a clubs advantage?

Also very bad air quality here in the Napa area, AQI is 181. Fires are scary things, they travel so fast and destroy so much...

The noise here in San Francisco is that the Giants are going to make a run at Harper. Makes sense, as he could be someone to build around, and the Giants have a desperate need for someone who is alive! The past two years, the Giants players have been dead; how I wished there was a hot-head around (other that Baumgartner going after Puig all the time) to put some fire in the players. Bochy likes a certain style of player, the Buster Posey type, who plays with no emotion, Harper would change that quick.

Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway Revolution by Todd S. Purdum

Can't tell you how many times I saw McCovey play as a Giant and Padre, it was a lot! Had such a graceful, looping swing, and when he connected, the ball seemed to jump off his bat. Sad to see him in a wheelchair in his final years, but he seemingly had a good attitude, and was always a gentleman, to use that old-time phrase.

Think Roberts wants to help Boston win another World Series. I've never liked the way Roberts manages, last year, when he called for a bunt in the 7th, during that 13-12 game, I was like

O.M.G. It was bad enough hearing about Hunter Pence all the time, now Sales! *puke*

Think it will be a high scoring game tonight. My call: 11-10 Dodgers. Book it Dano!

Hardly a classic game, way too much dead time where strikeouts, fly balls, and 3-2 counts ruled, but such is the game today. What is amazing, and so common no one says anything, but every pitcher was 95+ mph, back-in-the-day, that was very rare.

One out, bottom of the 9th, and you get picked off. Why??????????????????????

Thanks for the good wishes!

Can't tell you how many times I've seen the last out be some fool trying to steal third base, trying to stretch a double into a triple, or some equally dumb play. So many occasions in the past couple of years I've wondered: "what was he thinking????"

Feakin' Joe West! It's always Freakin' Joe West!

I actually liked the last volume Hearing Secret Harmonies very much, thought it ended the series on a somber, but real note. To my reading, Temporary Kings (volume 11) is a total shambles, advanced nothing in the various story-lines. I'll be interested to see if I'm of the same opinion this time through.

Joe West? Amazing, you know an umpire is bad when players call out West, by name -- no anonymous player quotes, players willing to be named. It's a short list of umpires who are that bad, the only others I can think of are Hernandez, Eric Gregg and Dave Palone.

Joe McPhee: As Serious As Your Life

A Question of Upbringing by Anthony Powell. Heaven help me, but I've started my fourth go-round on Powell's A Dance To The Music Of Time. It takes a long while to read everything, but at the end, it's always worth it. This is volume one, where a number of important players are introduced, sort of the beginning of a spiders web, where the interlocking of lives develop. Also making my way, intermittently, through Ian Ker's biography of John Henry Cardinal Newman (my second time), who still strikes me as an unsympathetic character for some reason.

I assumed David was joking... the only umpire I could think of that could be worse that even Leslie Nelson was Cowboy Joe West, truly the equal of Hernandez in all ways..

No way! Hernandez's replacement is even worse... Joe West!

I try to make life easy on myself, my internet law is: If I don't like it, I move on. I mean, one click, and I can see something else.