so i was at the library (who goes to the library? hello. these days, we use the internet, usually to research toasters.) on friday afternoon and i decided to pick up the bill james historical baseball abstract, his 2000 update of his 1985 "classic."

for a geek as myself (perhaps flax would qualify as well - i don't know if anyone else will), this is just a supremely enjoyable read. about 1,000 pages in length, the book goes through a decade-by-decade history of the sport, beginning in 1870, and rates the top 100 players at every position. (interestingly, 'pitcher' is listed only as one position. i would have preferred to have lefties and righties divided.)

of course, the decade histories aren't really histories in the traditional sense of the word, but instead a series of anecdotes, essays on historical minutiae, and an all-encompassing box which mentions, among other things, the decade's winningest pitcher, its ugliest player, and its most dishonorable star.

but the more fascinating section is, as is to be expected, the top 100 players at every position. i mean, i get to read about rennie stennett, and bubby murcer, and pirates greats don slaught and mike lavalliere. the descriptions range from eight-page career rundowns, to strange anecdotes about their youth, to lists of similar players, to 'what might have been' stories about guys like pete reiser. my favorite description is of delino deshields (2B, #74), whose comment is "Still building his legend." and indeed, he is.

in other news, i've received two written treatises regarding how a non-northwestern/non-bowling green fan could possibly be interested in seeing the motor city bowl. one included an exclamation point, and the other was a well-thought-out statement that essentially boiled down to "beer is good." and it is.

this week's sign that the apocalypse is upon us: flax is writing the classic "boring fantasy football post."

bowl season starts tomorrow. gots to make my picks. adios.

(p.s. it appears that old comments are, as guster would say, "lost and gone forever." it happens, i guess.)