Herzog is off-puttingly self-congratulatory, and I wish he hadn’t bothered mentioning all the players he could tell had drug problems if he’s not going to name some damn names, and I know it’s the fashion to whine about how small-market teams get screwed all the time, and it’s not that I don’t agree or that I don’t think MLB should try to even things up a bit somehow — but after the umpteenth harp on how Kansas City is taking it up the ass and it’s Rupert Murdoch’s fault, it’s like, okay, message received!   Rich teams = evil!   I cannot tell you how tired I get of hearing how the Yankees have RUINED BASEBALL FOR EVERYONE, because they just haven’t, for chrissake.   If you still give a shit about the game, the Yankees haven’t ruined fuck-all, and also, write a letter to BUD SELIG, NOT TO ME, because I just root for the team; I didn’t trade for A-Rod, I didn’t let Pettitte go, and I hear you, but it’s NOT MY GODDAMN FAULT.   JEE-sus.   Okay, what was I saying?   Oh yeah, the book.   Herzog is kind of annoying, but his ghostwriter is really good; he has such a distinctive voice, and it’s overly folksy at times, but the prose is like a warm bath, which is cool.   A lot of sports autobios read so clunkily that it’s hard to get through them.   And he does have some interesting ideas about how to improve the game, which I’ll address in a full-length column at some point.   SHORT FORM: Definitely worth reading for long-time fans, and folks who grew up with the teams he managed.   (4/30/04)

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