Aliens beat vampires

The Host book review

8/10

After reading Twilight by author Stephanie Meyer, I had no interest in continuing in her vampire series. Way too much teenage love angst for my taste, and the book got a little boring in the middle (may have had something to do with the teenage love angst). And then there's a big vampire brawl at the end, but because the book was written from the perspective of the heroine who was passed out, we don't even get the fight. Yikes.

So when my wife suggested I read Meyer's non-vampire book The Host, I wasn't really interested. She said it was very different than Twilight, no teenage love story. And she said it was the kind of tense sci-fi thriller I enjoy. And heck, the cover of the book has an endorsement from Orson Scott Card.

Several weeks ago I decided to give it a go. And it was really good.

Let me start with the negatives. There is nothing incredibly original here; as far as sci-fi is concerned, the concept of parasitic aliens is nothing new. It also has some 'sci-fi' holes, where if you think too much about them, the universe she's created seems to unravel. Lastly, about 3/4 through the book, the rhythm of the book seems to stall before a stunningly well-done ending.

So let's get to the positives. Much like Twilight, she creates compelling characters you care about, characters with depth and feeling. All of the main characters (with the possible exception of one) were painted beautifully. Most sci-fi books fall short in this area, but not Meyer's.

This was your classic page-turner. Once you get into this book, it will posses you. Though I did see the ending coming about 30 pages before, the rest of the book was an intriguing path of twists and turns, most of which I did not see coming. It was a very refreshing piece of fiction set in an interesting, compelling world.

I would definitely recommend it, even if you have no interest in her vampire series. This is not the same kind of book, and almost feels like it was written by someone else, which speaks to Meyer's versatility as a writer.

Now my wife is trying to get me to read the second book in the Twilight series. I should probably just take her recommendation instead of resisting.

A night of sports

My wife and two daughters left several hours ago to go visit family in Utah. So how am I handling it? Not well, but I will watch enough sports in the next 10 days that I'll probably be sick of them...nah.

So I've sat here watching the basketball and am now watching the WBC. So here are some diary thoughts, Bill Simmons style.

- BOILER UP!

- Why is it that teams forget how to play defense in the last 15 seconds? I'd feel bad for Western Kentucky if they hadn't let a wide-open drive beat them at the end. Guys, even an open three pointer is harder to make than a wide-open layup.

- What does Coach K have in common with Vlade Divac, Danny Ainge and Tim Duncan? Whining. As I say to my two-year-old: Stop whining! You get all the calls anyway (including two weak calls at the end of the Texas game).

- Why on earth did I pick West Virginia to go deep in the tournament? Oh yeah, because I'm an idiot. Thanks chokin' Bob Huggins.

Now, on to the World Baseball Classic matchup between Korea and Venezuela.

1st Inning
- Really Luis Sojo? You start Carlos Silva over Felix Hernandez in an elimination game? You deserve to lose this game. Silva got hit around more last year in Seattle than Don Flamengo in the old Mike Tyson's Punchout.
- Five of the first hitters for Korea are named Kim or Lee. I'm pretty sure Joe Morgan will get someone confused before this game is over.
- OK, I promise I wrote the first point before Silva got lit up like a Christmas tree.
- The Yankees let Bobby Abreu go for several reasons, but a lot of this had to go with his defense. Nice catch and throw, slick.
- After the top of the first, 5-0 Korea, a team which has pitched brilliantly in this tournament. I agree with Steve Phillips. Felix Hernandez better start the second.
- And the Venezuelans go down quietly in the first.

2nd
- Luis Sojo is a winner. He was an unimportant part of like ten World Series champions. He just knows how to win.
- Yes, Silva starts the inning, and Felix is not even warming up in the bullpen. Sojo is a moron. What are you saving Felix for? Seattle's playoff run?
- One of the Kims hits it out. 7-0. Several thousand Korean children this year will be named Luis Sojo Kim or Luis Sojo Lee.
- There are pitch limits in the WBC? Really? I hadn't heard about that.
- Another Venezuelan error. Yikes. Too bad there's not a mercy rule this round.
- Managing is actually pretty easy. You just need to not over think it. Like batting Ordonez 6th or starting Silva just because he's pitched a little better the last couple of weeks.

3rd - I really like listening to Jon Miller. He is one of the best around. I wish he could do the World Series instead of Joe 'I'm not as good as my dad' Buck, and Tim 'I suck' McCarver. - Are the Venezuelans getting something going? Two on, one out. - Mora's RBI single puts Venezuela on the board, 7-1. This game isn't over, even with the handicap of having Sojo in the dugout. - A defensive replacement in the 3rd? I've never seen that before, but it's a great move. An American (or Venezuelan) manager would never do anything that smart.
- Cabrera ends the inning with a loud out.

4th
- And of course the defensive replacement launches a double.
- Had to look it up: Sojo was on 4 Yankees championship teams. His teams won 11 of the 13 postseason series they were in. His career postseason batting line: 257/284/317. He's a winner.
- Nothing's better than a pick-off move to second when both SS and 2B cover.
- Another bad play by the Fat Cat at 1B, the team's 4th error. 8-1 Korea.
- Joe Morgan just told us that the Venezuelans are in trouble after giving up the 8th run. I'm pretty sure the trouble started before that when Sojo wrote Silva's name on the lineup card.

5th
- The Venezuelans get robbed on a close play at first. I was hoping Sojo would get thrown out. It might have helped their chances.
- Well, they get the call right back after Scutaro dives into first. I'm with Joe Morgan. Diving into first is pointless. Kind of like voting Democrat.
- Wow, Sojo couldn't do any worse. Yes, you're down seven runs. Send the runner and waste your precious outs.

6th
- And Venezuela trots out the corpse of Victor Zambrano. All 10 Tampa Bay fans are smiling at this moment. Mets fans just threw their Darryl Strawberry bobblehead at the TV.
- Thunderstix were invented in Korea, and they've cloned a dog? I am now rooting for Venezuela.
- After DH Lee almost hits it out, he pokes it to left, 9-1 Korea. I'm starting to get sleepy.
- They just showed a graphic of Korean players missing from the 2006 WBC team, including BK Kim, who's had a perpetual pouty face since the 2001 World Series.
- Man, the Venezuelans (who've looked so good in this tournament) look like a high school team. Throw home, catcher misses it, pitcher throws ball to third and luckily it's snagged by the SS backing up 3B. I'm pretty sure that only Magglio Ordonez will be safe from the wrath of Pres. Chavez when they get home.
- A wild pitch results in the third out. What a crazy game. 10-1 Korea.

7th
- Carlos Guillen hits a bomb. 10-2.
- In each and every WBC game, the announcers debate the format of the WBC. Guess what: it's fine how it is. Jayson Stark at ESPN has a solution, which is just as bad as the rest (doing it over the All-Star break). There's not perfect way to do this. People need to stop whining. Just like Coach K.

8th
- I'm pretty sure someone will sign TK Kim, big 1B dude for Korea. And I'm pretty sure he'll hit .230 with 20 bombs and a lot of Ks.
- They keep showing international soccer scores. Why? US baseball fans suddenly care about the English Premiere League? (Yes, I'm getting really bored.)
- The Koreans finally make an error. And it doesn't matter.

9th
- Game over. This was fun. I'm going to bed now.

World Baseball Classic: Round 2 preview

The World Baseball Classic excites me for several reasons. First, I'm a baseball junkie. Baseball and football are by far my favorite sports, with basketball a distant third. Second, ever since I was a kid, I've envisioned a tournament like this with the best players in the world participating. And third, I'm a baseball junkie.

Yes, I understand all the criticism surrounding the tournament. In 2006, many pitchers who participated were either injured later in the year or had bad seasons. Of course, this happens every year to pitchers; injuries are a part of an unnatural motion repeated over-and-over. But if teams believe this early, intense pitching leads to a higher chance of injury or ineffectiveness, than you can't blame them (or their fans) for wanting to protect their pitchers.

Jake Peavy was part of the disappointing 2006 squad, and according to several announcers, he was a cheerleader to get guys on the team. He takes a lot of pride in putting the USA jersey on, and he enjoyed his experience from three years ago. But in 2006 in his MLB season, Peavy was an average pitcher, when he's usually one of the best starters in the NL. He went on to win the Cy Young in 2007.

But despite that, he came back. And I guess that's another reason I love the WBC. The national pride adds another intriguing piece to the competitive puzzle.

So without further adu, I've ranked the final eight teams and given my predictions.

Round 2 Losers

Netherlands. That clincher against the DR was one of the coolest games I've ever watched. It had the tension of MLB playoff baseball, with the added intrigue of the fact that the Dutch team had no business beating the DR All-Stars once, let alone twice. I thought once A-Rod was taken off the roster, the DR would loose it's choking reflex. I was wrong. Regardless, I think the Dutch run has come to an end. I think Venezuela will beat them, and then they'll lose to the loser of the Puerto Rico-USA game. Still, what a run.

Mexico. Truth be told, Adrian Gonzalez could get hot and carry Los Mexicanos into the final round, but otherwise the lineup is thin and the pitching is thinner. And once those hitters get to sea level, don't expect more double digit explosions (I'm talking to you, Karim Garcia).

Puerto Rico. This one was tough, as I chose Venezuela over Puerto Rico. I just don't think they have the pitching. They don't have a single pitcher who strikes fear in anyone. Yes, Delgado and Carlos Beltran could get very hot and win some 10-7 games, but anytime the artist formally known as Bernie Williams is involved, let's just say I don't think they'll be waving him home again anytime soon. He looked like a beer-leaguer who had been shot rounding third.

Korea. This is a tough team for me to analyze because I don't really know much about the key players. That being said, from what I watched in the first round, I think they're pitching will be unable to beat Cuba. They need to pray for Cuba to lose against Japan and then possibly Mexico. That could carry them in.

The Final Four

4. Venezuela. I like a couple of their pitchers and the lineup is well-rounded and solid (even if it's dominated by Detroit Tigers). Their middle relief is a little weak, but that's a weakness most of the teams share. I guess I just don't like any of these pieces enough.

3. Cuba. Not as much juice as the 2006 team, but man there are some good players. The batters were probably inflated at 10,000 feet in Mexico City, but some of their pitchers looked awesome, including 6-3 lefthander Aroldis Chapman.

2. Japan. Japan's pitching has been fantastic, and though their lineup lacks the power of Cuba, Venezuela and the USA, their pitching, defense and beyond-solid fundamentals will carry them far, maybe even to a second consecutive WBC title. The player to watch is 6-5 righty Yu Darvish, who is like a foot taller than everyone else on the team.

1. USA. Listening to Rick Sutcliff (one of my least favorite announcers in any sport), you'd think the 2006 team was filled with a bunch of losers, but this year's squad all loves each other, goes to dinner together, and will all be naming their next son Derek. I think that's a load of crap. The USA will win behind the pitching of Peavy and Oswalt and a superior lineup (as long as Davey Johnson starts Rollins over Jeter at SS and leaves DeRosa and Granderson on the bench where they belong). The Achilles heal of Team USA is a weak middle relief corps. If they can get the ball to Putz, they will win. But it could be a bumpy ride to get there.

'My Favorite' Nine

Recently I ran through my favorite Red Sox players by position. So I thought I would give it a try but for non-Red Sox players. As a huge baseball fan, I follow all of baseball, and not just the Olde Towne Team. The team listed is the team I indentify the player with most.

c-Mike Piazza, New York Mets (92-07). OK, so he wasn't the greatest fielder of all-time (probably very rarely the best fielding catcher in any game he played) and he'd be lucky to throw out my 2-year old. But man could he hit. He was awesome every season from his rookie of the year season (1993) until he turned 34 (2003). That is quite a peak, and I needed a couple of mustache guys to make the team.

1b-Will Clark, San Francisco Giants (86-00). Will the Thrill had one of the purest swings you've ever seen. I loved watching him play, as the Giants were good during much of his tenure with the team. His power numbers don't look gaudy by 1990s standards, but he was a guy who hit for average, walked a lot, and provided some pop. He also won a gold glove in 1991. Honorable mention: Wally Joyner, California Angels.

2b-Ryan Sandberg, Chicago Cubs (81-97). He was just awesome to watch. In 15 seasons with the Cubs he made only two playoff appearances, but he made 10 All-Star teams, won 9 Gold Gloves, and ranked in the top ten hitters in the NL (measured by OPS+) three times, pretty remarkable for a slick-fielding 2b. (For comparison, Roberto Alomar only hit the top 10 once.)

3b-Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia Phillies (72-89). My wife and I used to watch a lot of the Game Show Network. We once saw an old Family Feud pitting the 1980 World Series teams against each other, the Phillies and the Royals. It was high comedy, and Schmidt (dressed like a 1980 fashion model) was the best. Oh yeah, he also won three MVPs and played Gold Glove defense. But he makes my team because of his performance on Family Feud.

ss-Barry Larkin, Cincinnati Reds (86-04). What if I told you that the only shortstops of my lifetime with better offensive numbers are named A-Rod, Nomar and Jeter? What if I told you he was a better hitter than Cal Ripkin? What if I told you he was a 12-time All-Star and a 3-time Gold Glove winner? So why isn't he talked about in the best five shortstops of all-time? That's a complete mystery to me. This guy was Derek Jeter, but didn't play in New York (and he was a better fielder).

lf-Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants (86-07). OK, I know some of you will hate Barry forever for taking steroids, for being a jerk, for whatever. But I saw him at PacBell one summer, and he hit two out, including one into the bay. It was one of the highlights of my baseball-loving life. He's probably the best hitter in the history of the game, or at least in the discussion with Ted Williams and Babe Ruth.

cf-Ken Griffey Jr., Seattle Mariners (89-current). Speaking of pure baseball swings, the Kid has one of the greatest. I even betrayed my Red Sox at one point and bought a Seattle Griffey shirt, and I usually tried to make at least one game when he was in town. The magic kind of disappeared for me when he left Seattle, though he did have one very good season for the Reds (2005). Still, I'll always remember that slick-fielding, power-hitting kid patrolling center in Seattle. Honorable mention: Kirby Puckett, Minnesota Twins.

rf-Larry Walker, Colorado Rockies (89-05). This one was tough because no rf's jumped out at me. I almost did a cop-out and put Kirby Puckett in here, but decided against it. If I told you that Walker was one of the best 100 hitters in the history of baseball, would you think so? I do (not that I've ranked them all). When he won his MVP in 1997, he was awesome: 178 OPS+ and 33 stolen bases. He may not have the career stats to get into the Hall, and many hold Coors Field against him, but even when you adjust for his homepark advantage, he was truly an awesome hitter.

dh-Frank Thomas, Chicago White Sox (90-current). If you take out Barry Bonds' four best seasons, Frank Thomas' strike-shortened 1994 is possibly the best hitting season of my lifetime, next to Jeff Bagwell's similarly awesome 1994. He was a 2-time MVP. He finished 1 or 2 in OPS+ in the AL a whopping seven straight times (91-97), one of the greatest peaks of all-time. While everyone waxes philosophical about Manny Ramirez being the greatest right-handed hitter of the past 30 years, you could easily make the case the Big Hurt was better (or at least every bit as good).

sp-Orel Hershiser, Los Angeles Dodgers (84-00). Before I moved to Boston in 1987, I was a Dodgers fan, and the Bulldog was, by far, my favorite player. Is he a Hall of Famer? No, his peak was too short and he only had one really good season after he turned 30. But when I was ten, I thought he was the best pitcher in the game.

sp-Jim Abbot, California Angels (89-99). I saw Jim Abbott in person at Fenway in 1989, and I was blown away. Here was a guy with only one fully-functional arm pitching in the majors. The guy even skipped the minors and went straight to the Angels out of college in 1989. He had two awesome seasons, three really good seasons. I will always admire his career.

Summer of '69

As has been pointed out elsewhere, if you think Bud Selig and baseball writers couldn't have reasonably known about the performance-enhancing professional athlete culture, check out this 1969 article from Sports Illustrated.

To sum up: Professional and collegiate athletes were using whatever they could get their hands on back then. Most of it was legal (and provided by team physicians), many drugs which are now illegal or against the rules of the game.

So let's stop with the 'sanctity of the game' rubbish. If Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle had access to the PEDs back in their day, they probably would have lined up behind Bonds, A-Rod and Clemens. Did modern baseball players cheat and break federal law? Yes, some of them. But we have no idea what actual effects the PEDs had on individual performance, and this isn't a problem that started in 1998.

So please, Bud and you sanctimonious sports writers, lets not let a good story get in the way of some good facts.

'My favorite' Nine: The Red Sox

One of my favorite web sites, Fire Brand of the American League, recently ran an article about one writer's favorite Red Sox of all-time. I've had that conversation in my head many times (yes, I know, it's a little weird that I have conversations in head), but since I have my own blog, I can do things like this.

c-Jason Varitek (97-current). The captain is definitely my favorite catcher, despite that bad year in 2008. He always seemed to get big hits at the right time in 2004 and 2007. And to think we traded Heathcliffe Slocumb to get Tek and Derek Lowe. Thanks Seattle.

1b-Mo Vaughn (91-98). Though Youk is my favorite player right now, Mo was awesome. He declined rapidly during his non-Red Sox years, but he was great in Boston. He slugged better than .550 from 1993 to 98. And I once saw him at Celtics game. He was a big dude.

2b-Jody Reed (87-92). This was a tough one. As much as I wanted to say Pedroia, Reed ended up as my choice because Pedroia's a little too new. Over his three season peak, Reed hit 40+ doubles each season, and had on OBP higher than .349. Of course, he never hit more than 5 HRs in a season, and never slugged above .400 in a full season. But I really liked the doubles machine, so he makes the list.

3b-Bill Mueller (03-05). This gamer had his career season with the Sox in 2003 (326-398-540) and two very good ones. He was solid with the glove (especially in 2003), and got big hits along the way to Boston's big 2004 World Series victory. Honorable Mention: Wade Boggs.

ss-Nomar Garciaparra (97-04). This was the easiest call of the list. From his Rookie of the Year season in 1997 to his last full season with the Sox, he was easily the best shortstop in baseball not named Alex. Don't think so? His peak from 98-00 was the second best statistical run of any shortstop ever (besides the aforementioned A-Rod). Jeter may end of having more career value, but Nomar was the better player (in the box and in the field) at their primes.

lf-Mike Greenwell (85-96). This was one of the toughest calls, as I bypassed Manny because his departure still bothers me. I loved Greenwell when I was a kid -- and he had two awesome seasons for the Sox (87, 88) and a few more good ones. He deteriorated quickly after he turned 30, but I have a lot of fond memories.

cf-Ellis Burks (87-92). He may have had his best years after he left Boston, but Burks was another one of my favorites. He never truly fulfilled his promise, but he was a pretty darned good cf for three seasons (88-90). In case you're wondering: Johnny Damon is dead to me.

rf-Dwight Evans (72-90). RF has been an interesting position for the Sox since I moved to Boston as a kid in 1987. Dewey, Tom Brunansky, Troy O'Leary, Trot Nixon, and now J.D. Drew. No one has been able to replace Dewey, and some of my first memories in Fenway revolve around seeing him patrolling rf from my seat in the bleachers. I also just noticed I picked the starting OF from 1988.

dh-David Ortiz (97-current). This one was easy. Big Papi helped bring in two world championships and is a joy to watch swing the bat. Who'd you think I was going to pick, Jack Clark?

sp-Pedro Martinez (98-04). Another slam dunk. I was recently watching the new MLB Network and they counted down the 9 best pitching seasons of all-time. Pedro's 1999 came out on top, and they said his 2000 was possibly even better. Sox fan's were blessed to see one of the greatest pitchers of all-time at his absolute best.

sp-Roger Clemens (84-96). This one was tough because of the recent revelations about the Rocket, but from his magical 1986 season until he signed as a free agent with Toronto, each of his starts was an event. I remember sitting in the bleachers one game as he warmed up to pitch. My sister and I were completely amazed at his abilities. It was just really cool to watch him up close, and (like Pedro) you knew you were watching baseball greatness.

rp-Jonathan Papelbon (05-current). Most Sox relievers, even the good ones, have postseason heartbreak on their resumes. Not only did Paps deliver one of the greatest seasons ever by a reliever in 2006, he's also pitched 25 scoreless postseason innings in his career, including two wins and seven saves (move over, Mariano). Honorable mention goes to Keith Foulke, who's awesome 2004 season and postseason brought us our first modern World Series title. He probably destroyed his career with that season (he was only 31), so I will forever be grateful.

Coming up next, my favorite all-time baseball team, non-Red Sox version.

Much ado about nothing

If I see one more headline about performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) or A-Rod I'm really going to puke. Most of the articles are the same: A-Rod is a fraud and doesn't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, woe is baseball, bah, blah, blah.

One of the few intelligent pieces I've read on the issue was by Doug Glanville. Why aren't we talking more about rights and privacy? Imagine you took part in a confidential survey at work that included some potentially sensitive information about you or your co-workers, and you did it because you were promised anonymity and privacy.

But then a few years later, your results are published on the Internet. Wouldn't you be outraged? Oh, you might say, it's different. A-Rod's a cheater who got caught. Why should we have any sympathy for him? I wouldn't recommend sympathy, but I would recommend be worried that information from a governmental or organizational enquiry built around privacy can become public, and no one is being held accountable for that (though at this point we don't know where the leak came from).

Back to the baseball issue, as a Red Sox fan I've made fun of A-Rod so many times I've lost count. I almost bought a framed picture once of Varitek hitting A-Rod in the mouth. But he's one of the best baseball players ever born, and though I detest PEDs and condemn their usage, I would vote for him for the Hall of Fame without a second thought. I would also vote for Bonds, McGwire, Clemens, and anyone else from this era I thought was worthy.

Why? Because the hole era is tainted. We will never know who used and who didn't. Ken Caminiti (and later Jose Canseco) may have been right: half of league might have been juicing at the height of it. Should be just throw out the entire era? No records count, no one gets into the Hall of Fame? Or should we just punish those who've been exposed, and hide our heads in the sand about all the others?

I believe sportswriters are a hypocritical lot. They have blamed the PED situation on greedy, competitive players; on money-loving owners; on a union that only cares about revenues and not the long-term health of its members; and on Bud Selig for not taking a strong stance sooner.

But you know who else is to blame? The media. You can't tell me that some sportswriters, with all their access to the clubhouse and friendships with players and executives, didn't know what was going on. Some of them must have known, or at least had major suspicions, but let it pass, probably for the same reasons everyone else did: it seemed like it was good for the game at the time.

And then the hypocritical Bud Selig comes out and calls A-Rod behavior shameful. Well, yes, he's right. A-Rod lied previously about PEDs and condemned them, so he should be ashamed for all that he's done. But look at the source. Bud was at the head of the ship while PEDs were used for decades in his sport (let's not pretend the 80s were clean). Come of the soapbox, friend. Either Bud was stupid (which I don't believe he is), or he had suspicions and looked the other way like everyone else.

So, like the NFL, when someone gets caught as a cheater (Shawn Merriman, Rodney Harrison), can't we punish them and move on? Does it have to become such a big issue in baseball? I can't wait for the World Baseball Classic, and the start of the season. Then maybe these talking heads can get off their soapboxes and actually cover the sport.