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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.3570977866
EAN num: 9780618710539
ISBN number: 0618710531
Label: Mariner Books
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 320
Printing Date: April 04, 2006
Publishing house: Mariner Books
Sale Popularity Level: 23712
Studio: Mariner Books
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Product Description:
Three Nights in August captures the strategic and emotional complexities of baseball's quintessential form, the three-game series. As the St. Louis Cardinals battle their archrival Chicago Cubs, we watch from the dugout through the eyes of legendary manager Tony La Russa, considered by many to be the shrewdest mind in the game today. In his twenty-seven years of managing, La Russa has been named Manager of the Year a record-making five times and now stands as the third-winningest baseball manager of all time. A great leader, he's built his sucess on the conviction that ball games are won not only by the numbers but also by the hearts and minds of those who play.
Drawing on unprecedented acess to a major league manager and his team, Buzz Bissinger brings a revelatory intimacy to baseball and offers some surprising observations. Bissinger also furthers the debate on major league managerial style and strategy in his provocative new afterword.
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Rated by buyers 
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For all of the hype and attention this book received, this has to be one of the most disappointing baseball books I have ever read. I read this book hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the inner workings of managerial strategy than a fan usually has; instead I was treated to excessive fawning over simplistic ideas and well as a lack of understanding of baseball and its' statistics. The author italicizes the phrase "hit and run" as if it were a copy writ invention of Tony LaRussa. He acts amazed at the idea that managers and pitching coaches actually plot out pitching matchups in advance [and refers to that plan as the Thing of Beauty (his caps, not mine) ad nauseum]. He describes a curveball that doesn't break as going from "a killer 12 to 6 morphing into a very mortal 12 to 3" when what he is trying to say is that it flattens out in the center of the plate. He quotes the statistical line of pitcher Garrett Stephenson from 2000 and 2001 to show how off of a year he is having when anyone can see that the only significant change is his won-loss record, which is more of an indication of run support from teammates. He tries to prove that Albert Pujols has the best start of a career of "any player in the history of the game" by comparing his early career stats to those of Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez, as if they are the two best players in the history of the game, and as if that would in turn mean that they had the best two year start of a ny players.. He refers to the video room operator as the Cardinals "secret weapon", as if they are the only team to do this. He calls Rich Ankiel a "once in a millennium" lefthander, which not only would make him the best lefthander in the history of baseball but also as likely to remain so for the subsequent 900 years. He describes an early August game between the Cardinals and Cubs (who are about tied for very first place) as one that "the Cards cannot lose if they want to remain in the division race". I could go on and on but the basic idea is that one gets the impression that Bissinger just DOES NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BASEBALL. In addition, he has an atrocious writing style, with overstated metaphors and similes on almost every page. I would recommend this book for masochists who enjoy having their blood pressure shoot through the roof, as well as to any immediate family members of the author who would be so proud as to render them oblivious to the books' faults.
Rated by buyers 
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If you've ever wondered what it takes to be a leader -- the commitment, the focus, the almost obsessive compulsion that drives excellence then this book is a great backdrop. La Russa demonstrates what it takes to lead a team at such an elite level, the impact winning and losing has on his players and himself and how he develops the talent and manages ego...sounds eerily similar to the business world.
Rated by buyers -
I must admit I'm a Cardinal fan of more than 50 years, but I really felt this is one of the FIVE BEST BOOKS I've ever read about baseball. The description of the inner workings of today's clubhouse and management structure were fascinating and very well written. I can see where people get the impression that LaRussa is a self-absorbed egotist, as this book would seem to support that impression. I am a 59-yearold male.
Rated by buyers 
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Loving baseball, though not necessarily the Cardinals, is a pre-requisite for enjoying this book. I've never been much of a LaRussa fan, but Bissinger does a very nice job of capturing LaRussa's intensity and philosophy of baseball.
The book uses a three game series against the Cubs in August 2003 to structure a narrative that includes flashbacks to the careers of LaRussa and others to give context to the particular moves and situations confronted during the series. It's a very nice narrative device, used effectively by Jane Leavy in her biography of Sandy Koufax, which was structured around Koufax's perfect game against the (who else?) Cubs in September 1965.
LaRussa's appeal is his ability to combine Joe Torre's approach to managing personalities, the instincts of an old time baseball man, and a willingness to question old baseball dogmas in the light of experience and new data. I've always thought that LaRussa overmanaged games, but Bissinger's book does a lot to promote LaRussa as one of the game's top managers.
Bissinger credits LaRussa with the major innovations in the evolution of the bullpen (i.e., one inning closers, set up men, and the idea of the bullpen as a calling rather than as a dustbin for rejected starters) and use of videotape. That's a bit of an overstatement. I remember the Yankees using Ron Davis to set up Gossage and even before then I remember Dick Williams using Knowles to set up Fingers. But LaRussa certainly was an important part of this trend.
The true baseball fan will love LaRussa's experimentation with replacing the one starter with a cadre of relievers, LaRussa's rejection of the closer-by-committee concept, his strategic calculus during the series, his handling of difficult player personalities, and how LaRussa deals with the beanball. Also, Dave Duncan comes across as one of the great pitching coaches, rivaling old timers like Sain and the more recent gurus like Mazzone. Finally, I was unaware of the influence of Paul Richards on LaRussa and the generation of managers who came to the fore in past 25 years.
On the downside, Bissinger overwrites. His flowery and overblown language gets in the way of the story. And he is, of course, too close to LaRussa given the constraints of a project in which he is essentially hired by LaRussa to tell LaRussa's story. Should LaRussa have gotten more out of a player like J.D. Drew? What about the tension between him and a class act like Rolen? Does his intensity and tactical assumptions get in the way of managing personalities to get the most out of them? What about his handling of steroid and substance abusers? These issues would have been explored more thoroughly by a more objective observer.
This is definitely a worthwhile book for the baseball aficionado. The general reader may want to steer clear.
Rated by buyers -
3 Nights in August provides an interesting narrative to talk about a baseball team including the players, managers and all of the supporting staff. By limiting the book to just one series of three games, it uses small incidents to imply season-long issues. Yet, the author does blend in backstory to provide context.
This is one of the very first books I have read that effectively counters sabermetric studies by giving more a detailed view of how a manager is treating particular players on a given night. The book includes glimpses such as LaRussa trying to manage the hurt feelings of millionaire players. Rather than showing sympathy for anyone, it provides a straight look at why LaRussa, who has never been known as a softie, must balance player personalities with their skills or risk having professionals act unprofessional.
Since the book is essentially told from LaRussa's point of view, it does gloss over some of the most significant criticisms of the manager. However, that is not the point. Since LaRussa is known for being a manager who feels the weight of every loss, this does a nice job of communicating how last night's game impacts this manager's view of tonight's game. All-in-all, I would recommend the book to any baseball fan who wants a closer look into the dugout.
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