Rating: 
Summary: Inside Stuff
Review: There has been a geat deal written about Leo Durocher, but this book offers a tighter insight into who he really was than anything so far. It also gives the reader a flavor of the era, you can feel the energy and drum-beat of the 60s throughout. More than being a trip down baseball's memory lane, it provides solid answers and clear explanations as to why this very famous team performed (and didn't perform) the way it did. Well-researched and well-written, it provides insight from the inside.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a Bad Read
Review: This book is great if you are a fanatic for statistics that go above and beyond what you usually get...seasonal batting and pitching statistics. But, I do not go much past those statistics and the author uses them far more often than I as a reader wanted to see, mainly because it fragmented much of the narrative. The author does well in explaining their purpose, I just didn't care for them. Now, as far as baseball history goes, if you have read or know little about the Cubs seasons during the tenure of Leo Durocher, this book will be very insightful in many respects. Otherwise, it's just another baseball book with too many statistics added. I would have preferred something with interviews from more of the players that made up the Cubs teams as they recounted what happened that kept them from winning the division. The one thing the author really did a great job of pointing out was the ineffectiveness of Kessinger and Beckert at the top of the order. Although they were all-stars, they weren't the tablesetters that Williams, Santo, and Banks really needed in front of them. All in all, I did get enjoyment from this book, but I can't see myself reading it over again as I have with many others in my library.
Rating:
Summary: I Had Hoped For More
Review: While this book does provide insight into the conflicts between the Cubs' players and Manager Leo Durocher, I thought the book contained too much statistical analysis and game by game detail. Leo, as manager of the Cubs, apparently wasn't the same manager who led those earlier Brooklyn Dodger and New York Giant teams of the late 40's and early to mid-50's. Perhaps one who loves statistics would be more interested in analyzing why the Cubs lost during Durocher's tenure. What it boils down to is that it was a combination of reasons such as Durocher not resting his regulars periodically in favor of bench players or failure to use relief pitchers other than Phil Regan, and players partying out on Rush Street at 3:00 a.m. rather than getting the necessary rest to play the game the following afternoon. The book was okay, but I guess I expected more.
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