We are giving away a copy of Haunted Baseball. This is a cool book that talks about the legends, curses, ghosts and other stories surrounding baseball. The tales are compiled from players, fans, front office staff, stadium personnel, umps and other people around baseball.

So how do you win? Well all you have to do is caption this photo of Alex Rodriguez and his soon-to-be ex-wife. (Have you heard about the A-Rod and Madonna sex tape!)

Leave your caption in the comments below and you’ll be automatically entered into the giveaway.

On Friday, August 1 at 8:00pm, I’ll do a random drawing from the entrants to determine a winner. Only enter once and leave your actual email address so that we can contact you.

Comment to enter!

Check out more giveaways going on right now at Bloggy Giveaways.

Photo credit: Newscom and Amazon

Eric Seidman at Statistically Speaking is liveblogging his re-reading of Moneyball. Yeah, that’s pretty much what it sounds like:

I am going to spend today re-reading Moneyball and live-blogging what does and does not happen, chapter by chapter. I could wait until the end and just post a progressive review, but I feel it will be much more genuine if I write as I go instead of merely taking notes and relying on my memory (my friends call me a robot due to my ability to quickly and efficiently memorize things).

Get on over there and check it out yourself. It’s a lot quicker and easier than re-reading the book.

The good folks at BallHype invited me to write about the process involved in writing the Ducksnorts Baseball Annual, so that’s what I did. From the article:

The big lesson is to start sooner. You really can’t get started on a project like this soon enough. Have a plan. Be flexible within that plan, but have a plan. Talk to people about the project. I’m not the most outgoing person, so this is a struggle for me, but getting the word out is huge. Contact your fellow bloggers, contact the local media, tell people you meet on the street. Well, not just anyone — but if they start talking about baseball, I try to sneak in a quick mention.

I also walk folks through the steps I took to make these books happen. Everyone’s experience is different, of course, but I can only speak to what worked for me.

Anyway, if you have some interest in writing a baseball book or just want to learn more about one person’s journey, be sure to check out the entire article. Oh yeah, and buy the book.

Friend of Knuckle Curve John Fitzgerald, producer/director of The Emerald Diamond (movie about the Irish national baseball team), is at it again. He’s moved to the small screen for his latest project, Playing for Peanuts, which is… well, I’ll let him describe it:

“Playing for Peanuts” is a new TV show about minor league baseball. The show uses reality TV and documentary techniques to follow the South Georgia Peanuts in their inaugural season. The Peanuts are made up of a mix of rookies and veterans, all hoping to get back into affiliated minor league baseball. The Peanuts are managed by former Major League second baseman Wally Backman.

Mike Caruso, who will show up in a future installment of our look back at Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects of 1998 (he was #34), plays on the team, as does the ultrafast Curtis Goodwin. You can learn more by visiting the show’s web site or accompanying blog.

Is it the height of conceit to display a photograph of oneself reading one’s own book in an attempt to lure people into buying said book? Quite possibly it is. Regardless, I’m pleased to announce that the Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual is now available. You can buy it as a hard copy or a PDF download, depending on your taste.

The book is subtitled “More than any sane person should ever need to know about the San Diego Padres,” and I think that pretty well covers it. You’ll find 200+ pages of analysis and commentary on the 2007 Padres season, the farm system, Tony Gwynn’s induction into the Hall of Fame, GM Kevin Towers’ trading record, and more — including a foreword by Matt Vasgersian, TV play-by-play announcer for the Padres.

Still not sure? Try the free PDF download of excerpts. If you like it, then go for the whole shebang.

Enjoy, and spread the word!

Just a quick heads-up to the Padres fans in the crowd. Yeah, I can see both of you from here.

Anyway, my latest book, the Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual, is scheduled for publication the week of February 25. While we’re waiting for it to hit the bookstores, here are two items of potential interest:

• Book details
• Free download of excerpts from the book

Thanks much for your time and consideration. We now return to you regularly scheduled baseball coverage…

First off, I apologize for the recent downtime we had around here. There aren’t many things worse in life than suffering through a New York/New England Super Bowl, but a withdrawal of baseball blogginess might be one of them.

Anyway, thanks to our crack staff, we should be good to go, which means… more stuff!

Okay, that was lame. It’s Friday and I’m on my first cup coffee. So, what’s going on? Glad you asked:

• In case you missed it, I’ve kicked off a look back at the top prospects of 1998; the first installment covers #91-100 (and yes, Eric, that teaser at the end is a nod to Mr. Ortiz). These will be running every Thursday for the next — eh, you do the math.
• My latest article at Baseball Digest Daily examines “baseball family trees.” It’s sort of an attempt to connect players from different eras. For example, we can look at Sean Casey and see that he was kind of like Hal Morris, who was kind of like Chris Chambliss, who was kind of like Wes Parker, and so on back to Fred Merkle. The method is a bit crude (hey, I’ve been called worse!), but I think it’s fun.
• Finally, I’m pleased to announce that the Hardball Times Season Preview 2008 is almost upon us. I contributed the chapter on the San Diego Padres, so there may be some bias here, but I think we’ve got a pretty rockin’ book this year. If you don’t believe me (then why are you reading my stuff, but that’s a different story), here’s my esteemed colleague David Gassko to tell you more:
  • It’s the Hardball Times Season Preview 2008!
  • The Hardball Times Season Preview 2008: A sample chapter (Red Sox content warning)
  • Ten things I learned from The Hardball Times Season Preview 2008
  You can buy the book at all the usual outlets, but if you order directly from the publisher, THT gets a higher cut. More money, of course, means more books. Not that I’m telling you what to do or anything, but… oh wait, yes I am.

This was a weird post. What’s in my coffee, anyway?

Al at Bleed Cubbie Blue reviews Steve Goodman: Facing the Music, which sounds like a must-read for any fan of the Chicago Cubs. I’d been vaguely aware of Goodman, mostly through his song, “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request,” but apparently there was much more to the man. Among other things, Goodman penned “City of New Orleans,” made famous by Arlo Guthrie.

Goodman battled leukemia for most of his adult life before succumbing in 1984. By all accounts, he was a fascinating character who, at age 36, left us much too soon.

Okay, this is very cool. The Sporting News is making its 2007 Complete Baseball Record Book available free for download. As far as I can tell, there are no strings attached.

[Update, Sep 24, 2007: Steve Gietschier, the book's editor, confirms that there are no strings attached. That is outstanding! Thanks, Steve.]

The book is 461 pages long and comes in 11 PDF files (viewable with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader) that total about 9 MB. If you’re on broadband, it’ll take less than 2 minutes to download all the files. Happy reading!

So, I’ve been holed up in a cave the past 3 1/2 months, writing a book. And today I’m happy to announce that it’s finally done:

• Ducksnorts 2007 Baseball Annual

The book features analysis and commentary on the current San Diego Padres, as well as some historical information and lessons the organization can learn from other successful “small market” teams around MLB. The book runs 193 pages and includes a foreword by Padres CEO Sandy Alderson.

I hope you enjoy it.