TATB review: Red Sox Rule

I enjoy listenig to Dale Arnold and Holly ,i think they make a pretty good team. .Dale ,
also did a good job with the Bruins,and seems to do a good job with the RedSox. What do you think?

Ummm...Chad, this is an obvious sell-out. I've been a quiet but loyal reader for a long time, and the style of this post is unlike any other I've read. This is a terribly written book with no information content.

This is your worst post ever--I hope the move to the Globe isn't changing you. In fairness, the rest of your Globe posts have been fine.

Roger, I think I liked you better when you were quiet.

I liked the book, probably because my expecations were lower, but also because Francona was a pretty entertaining subject. And while there wasn't a ton of new info, a lot of interesting stuff was elaborated on. It was an easy, enjoyable read.

And the sell-out comment is just ignorant. I just felt like reviewing a book, and I'll do it again, just as I would have at the old site. Yeah, I worked at the Globe with Holley for a brief time, but we met exactly once. I have no bias for or against him other than thinking he's a nice guy who couldn't make deadline.

Chris, Dale and Holley is the best daily show on 'EEI, which is the defininition of damning with faint praise.

I love when they play that song right before they are going to blow some idiot up.

just a couple things:

1) channel surfing the other night was a pain in the &%$&# sox->celts->the office->celts->the office->sox etc. i need tivo

2) to pay a compliment we usually save only for white folk, leon powe plays the game the way it should be played.

3) i don't read books anymore, but if i read holley's book, i would not like it very much and would also call you a sell-out (picture me with tongue protruding)

Who was his ghost writer?

Yeah Chad, you corporate shill! Sell-out! When should we expect the plugs for your curly-haired boyfriend!

OK, not too clever, and you parried that nicely anyway. Couldn't resist commenting, though.

Dale and Holley is the only listen-able program on EEI.

Mike wins.

Agreed. Mike does win. That made me laugh.

Chad, I agree, I liked Patriot Reign, but it left me feeling that you just knew he had a thousand better stories than the ones he put in the book.

It's a pleasure to listen to Dale and Holley. They talk (not yell) about sports, I don't have to listen to Callahan pontificating from just to the right of Atilla the Hun, and both Arnold and Holley have something Ordway doesn't: the ability to fathom that they might not always be right.

'Dale and Holley' is the diamond in the rough on that station. Its not because Dale or Holley know more about sports than any of the others, its that there are just the two of them. They have a natural give-and-take that moves a conversation wether they are talking about The Red Sox, The Patriots, Dale's beloved hockey, Holley's beloved rap music or the Matrix movies. On the Big Show there are four or more guys fighting with each other to get their often misguided points across.

Chad, I don't care if that review was a globe-mandated plug or your ernest opinion. Everybody in the TV, Radio and Print medias has to shlep something for someone. The days of labeling people as sell-outs are over. If people din't sell-out a litlle bit how would our favorite media personalities reach wider audiences? I like Holley. I liked "Patriot Reign" and I enjoy your blog so if you give his new book a thumbs up than thats all I need.

Also, I don't know if you read it or reviewed it on your old site yet but if you are going to review more sports books may I suggest "The Assist" by Neil Swidey. Its the story of the Charlestown High Hoops teams (and their coach) that won state titles back in the late 90's. Oh yeah, I picked up on that book from the Dale and Holley show.

Calling this a "sell-out" is eight loads of funny. Good book, and I think you pegged it 100%, Chad.

Had no problems with Chad's interviewing this book. There are so many Sox books out that I was glad to see the review.

As for Dale and Holley, I also agree with the posters here that it's the best show on EEI. I find it difficult to listen to the Big Show because it's loud and chaotic, too many guys talking at once, cutting each other off, and sometimes wasting time with their banter. And then the obnoxious callers call and it's like noise pollution. I often turn off the radio during certain calls because it's just so unpleasant and I seldom tune in anymore.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually prefer the New York sports stations over the Big Show (but then again, the NY teams are struggling so it's entertaining.) btw, the NY radio hosts and their callers all used to mock the Red Sox. Then 2004 happened, and 2007 happened, and there's definitely more respect now.

When I read "Red Sox Rule" the first thing I thought was that the "Francoma" bozos are absolutely going to hate this. What I found most interesting was the tale of how he came to be hired (and the interview process), and how he appears to be the prototype of the "new age" manager (which appears to be the radical notion that you treat ballplayers as human beings and use statistical analysis and scouting).

Thanks for the review.

What's next, a review of Bradford's Lowell book?

Nighthawks are so disrespectful these days. (Sigh.)

The book is written in an unnecessarily disjointed way. The description of Francona's near-death experience is nearly unintelligible -- I had a hard time understanding what was happening when. I agree that there are some interesting "nuggets" in the book, but they are lost because of the style in which it's written.

As with Patriot Reign, I would recommend the books to die-hard Boston sports fans because there is just enough interesting content to make slogging through the prose worthwhile.