Books>Movies

I bought Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" the other day. I have never read any of Mr. McCarthy's other novels ("No Country For Old Men," "All The Pretty Horses"), but the book flap hooked me.

DIGRESSION
I don't generally read fiction but every so often it is a nice distraction. I had begun three nonfiction books before I decided I needed a distraction. I call my tendency nonfunktion. It's when I start several nonfiction books but get stuck (in a funk) before I can finish. Usually a good fiction can kick out the funk. (In case anyone cares, I was reading a biography of the "number"/idea zero, "The Mother Tongue" by Bill Bryson and "The Education Of Henry Adams" by Henry Adams.)

BACK ON TOPIC
"The Road" revolves around an unnamed father and son who are trying to survive against all hope following nuclear war. I won't describe more of the novel other than to say that it is extremely bleak (so far) and horrifyingly realistic (as far as my notions of nuclear fallout go). The story is rather relevant following a certain tyrant's recent nuclear testing.

It is like finding a pearl in a mollusk when you run across a book that make you feel strong emotions. I've never read any Stephen King or R.L. Stine (ha) so I'm not used to feeling fear when I read a book. Oftentimes I have felt tension, but reading "The Road" before bed last night completely wore me out. The descriptions and horrors were so palpable I had trouble turning out the light. I'm still thinking about it today -- a lot -- and I haven't even finished it.

I can't fully endorse the book until I've finished it, but if you have a strong stomach and are in the mood to be totally depressed, give "The Road" a turn.

Full Beauchamp endorsement: "Gilead" -- Marilynne Robinson; "Devil In White City" -- Erik Larson; "Short History Of Nearly Everything" -- Bill Bryson.

Update
In the time between the original post and this update (Oct. 27), I have finished "The Road" and McCarthy's "No Country For Old Men." I've also begun "All The Pretty Horses."

Simply put, "The Road" is a masterpiece. It is absolutely required reading. McCarthy can be maddening; he doesn't use puncuation unless meaning would be lost by its exclusion, and it can be difficult to determine who is talking as he uses a running dialogue. He doesn't write down what his characters are thinking apaart from what they say and how they do something. Hence, it is sometimes confusing to understand their intentions and motivations. Still, this is probably the most important book I've read in the last decade (and I'm only 25).

Read it. Experience it. Don't let me oversell it.

(Too late)

October — Huzzah!

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

It's time for postseason baseball.

What is football? What is basketball? Although I love them, what are hockey and the EPL?

October means falling leaves and suicide squeezes. I thank God for both.

At the beginning of this season (before this blog was in existence) I selected my postseason-bound teams. Here is what I came up with:

NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers (correct)
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals (correct)
NL East: New York Mets (correct)
NL Wild Card: Atlanta Braves (San Diego Padres)

AL West: Oakland Athletics (correct)
AL Central: Chicago White Sox (Minnesota Twins)
AL East: New York Yankees (correct)
Wild Card: Anaheim Angels (Detroit Tigers)
Five out of Eight isn't too bad.

The Athletics were my preseason pick to win the world series.

Here are my adjusted postseason picks.
NLDS
Dodgers over Mets (3-1) (Mets' pitching an oxymoron; Bums led league in team BA)
Padres over Cardinals (3-2) (Padres have best bullpen in the league; Cards sinking)
ALDS
Athletics over Twins (3-0) (Twinkies can't hold candle to best pitching in league)
Yankees over Tigers (3-0) (1. Damon, 2. Jeter, 3. Abreu, 4. Giambi, 5. Sheffield, 6. A-Rod, 7. Matsui, 8. Posada, 9. Cano. Best lineup ever)
NLCS
Padres over Dodgers (4-3) (Padres, owners of Dodgers' number)
ALCS
Athletics over Yankees (4-3) (Pitching wins championships, even against the above lineup).
World Series
Athletics over Padres (4-1) (PWC)

Season Awards
NL Coach of the Year (Note: I believe baseball managers have one of the easiest jobs on the planet. Managers are more responsible for losses than wins. I'll riff on this in a later post.)
1. Joe Girardi (Baseball: a true meritocracy. Better luck next owner, Joe.)
2. Bruce Bochy (How did this team do anything?)
3. Grady Little (Our beloved Grittle was dealt a team without it's lights-out closer and an ever-changing bullpen. Welcome to L.A.)

NL Rookie of the Year
1. Takashi Saito (I'm no homer. Sure he's old, but if Sasaki and Ichiro could win it Saito is more than eligible. Consider: 2.07 ERA; 24 saves; 107/23 K/BB ratio (for the uninitiated, that is sick); better than 11.5 Ks per nine innings.)
2. Hanley Ramirez
3. (tie) Dan Uggla and Russell Martin


NL MVP
1. Albert Pujols (1.102 OPS, 49 HR, 137 RBI, 92 Walks-50 Ks.)
2. Ryan Howard (1.084 OPS, 58 HR, 149 RBI, 108 Walks-181 Ks!)
3. Rafael Furcal

NL Cy Young
1. Brandon Webb (16-8 (although wins are overrated), 3.10 ERA, Five complete games (three shutouts), 1.13 WHIP, 3.56 K/BB.)
2. Roy Oswalt
3. Chris Carpenter


AL Manager of the Year
1. Jim Leyland (The Tigers?)
2. Ron Garendhire
3. John Gibbons

AL Rookie of the Year (Best year ever)
1. Justin Verlander (If a starter earns it, I will never give it to a reliever. Starters are worth more than relievers!)
2. Francisco Liriano
3. (tie) Jonathan Papelbon and Jared Weaver

AL MVP
1. Justin Morneau (The time bomb has ticked it's last)
2. Jermaine Dye (It was his if the Sox made it)
3. David Ortiz

AL Cy Young
1. Johan Santana (Hands down the best pitcher in the game for the last three years (until his staff mate Liriano takes over))
2. Verlander
3. Roy Halladay

Biggest Surprise
1. Frank Thomas resurgence (don't let batting average spoil your fun, Hurt)
2. Nomar plays more than 60 games, hits two walk-off slams.
3. Red Sox miss playoffs/Tigers make playoffs.


Game of the Year
Dodgers hit four consecutive home runs to tie in ninth inning. Nomar wins it in 10th on two-run walk away.

Ten to Watch in 2007
1. Delmon Young (D-Rays)
2. Nick Markakis (Orioles)
3. James Loney (Bums)
4. Matt Kemp (Bums)
5. Andy Marte (Indians)
6. B.J. Upton (D-Rays)
7. Hanley Ramirez (Marlins)
8. Andre Ethier (Bums)
9. Josh Willingham (Marlins)
10. Carlos Quentin (Diamondbacks)


Young Guns in 2007
1. Liriano
2. Verlander
3. Weaver
4. Felix Hernandez (may be the pick o' the litter)
5. Chad Billingsley (Bums)
6. Cole Hamels (Phils)
7. Joel Zumaya (Tigers)
8. Hong Chih Kuo (Bums)
9. Jonathan Broxton (Bums)
10. Anibal Sanchez (Marlins)


My Pet Project for 2007
1. Bring it back: Ground Rule Doubles should be Ground Rule Home Runs like back before the War (if it's out of the park, it's out of the park).

Coming soon: Thoughts on the Bums being back in the playoffs.