I love baseball, and since the season started this month I decided to bump this chronicle of the 2004 Red Sox season up a ways on my reading list. In general, it was an enjoyable read, with great quips coming from both O'Nan and King at varying times. The story is basically told in diary form, with the bulk of the work coming from O'Nan (I was honestly a little bit disappointed we didn't get more from King), a Pittsburgh Pirates fan who slowly evolved into a member of Red Sox Nation. King, of course, is a lifer.
There were a few things that bothered me about the book. One is that O'Nan seems needlessly fixated on the ongoing BALCO case and particularly on Gary Sheffield's potential steroid-filled past. Considering that there's been no proof whatsoever that he partook of such substances (other than fleeting accusations and the fact that he is great friends with Barry Bonds, thereby taking workouts with him), the fact that O'Nan harped a lot more heavily on Sheffield than Jason Giambi, an admitted user, aggravated me. Also, I'm just frankly sick of hearing about steroids. It's become a ridiculous witch hunt and while I don't agree that people should be able to enhance their performances by using them, I also loathe that every other sports story I hear involves either *this* guy or *that* guy being accused of using. Just let them play, already, especially since the stuff wasn't on the banned substance list in MLB until this year anyway.
The other thing that I didn't like about the book was the ending, though of course that's just because I'm a lifelong Cardinals fan and reliving the horrible World Series was almost too much to bear.
For the most part, though, I think the book is a terrific read for baseball fans in general and probably ought to be required reading for Red Sox fans specifically. Also, I was thrilled to see Kevin Youkilis, the Greek God of Walks from Michael Lewis' Moneyball, get so much play.
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