The Pride and the Pressure

Over on WasWatching, YFSF pal Steve Lombardi interviews the Post's Mike Morrissey on his new book, The Pride and the Pressure: A Season Inside the Yankee Fishbowl. Good interview, but we've been around the block here on this subject (NY and pressure), and, frankly, it's kind of a tired conceit. I'm sure Mr. Morrissey was hoping for something more than a first-round exit for the Yanks when he envisioned the book.

Comments

[Paul SF]

Yeah, luckiest author ever remains Stephen King, who after somewhow surviving being plastered by a minivan, decided to email back and forth with Stewart O'Nan about the Sox' 2004 season and publish a book about it afterwards. What are the odds?

[Andrew]

King also wrote "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" or something.

What a weird book.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Pressure? What pressure. There is no pressure playing baseball for the New York Yankees than anywhere else.

[Paul SF]

I liked that book, Andrew. It was definitely different -- straddling that line between horror and mainstream fiction (Lisey's Story and Bag of Bones are similar). I remember there being a lot of talk about how King cursed Gordon. He was injured the next season and left Boston shortly after.

It's easy to forget how loved Gordon was in Boston when he was here though. The book is kind of a reminder in that sense.

[5th of November]

Forget those junk books (King hasn't wrote anything good in years). I highly recommend the book "America Deceived" by E.A. Blayre III because it was pulled off Amazon. Reading it is like smoking crack, it feels good when you are doing it but you feel regret when you're done.
Last link (and sample chapters, before Google Books caves to pressure and drops the title):
America Deceived (book)

[Stephen King]

"...hasn't wrote anything good..."

Obviously a literary genius!

"...like smoking crack..."

Oh, that would explain it.

[Paul SF]

Now, normally, I'd say that the "Stephen King" who posted that is just someone trying to be funny, but after our Curt Schilling experience, I wonder...

At any rate, 5th of November, most critics (who famously hate most of his work) even would disagree with you about King's recent writing. They all loved Lisey's Story.

Anyway, "The Stand" is one of the best novels ever. So there.

[Richard Bachman]

"...someone trying to be funny..."

Gee, I thought it WAS funny! (I also loved Lisey's Story.)

[Conchita]

You know, I've always thought that being in a big media market like New York (but not limited to NY) adds a small measure of pressure and hassle to the 162-game grind. That said, I always thought the "adjustment year" for incoming stars was a load of bullshit.

But you know what? I've started to come around to believing in it. I've noticed several of the Yanks -- e.g., Mussina -- refer to certain guys being able to handle it, etc. Maybe it's "realer" to them than it is to us.

[Paul SF]

Maybe it's a self-fulfilling prophecy?

[babe ruth]

...how can you be sure it was the real curt shilling?...