In what is the most exhilarating and nerve-wracking day of my year, I have an announcement.
Here’s what’s up:
And below is a brief sampling:
Now, a personal appeal. Click to continue »
Good news — my proof copy of White Sox Outsider 2010 is hitting the printer. I’m going to give it a once-over for quality control, and when it (hopefully) passes the test, I should be able to put it up for sale sometime next week (Tuesday? Wednesday?) . Thank Johnny Damon and my corrupt database for the delay. And thank you for your patience.
A simple link dump will have to suffice today. I’m through with you, words.
In case you’re wondering where I’ve been, it’s been at my computer, slaving away on finishing up White Sox Outsider 2010. Here’s what it’s like to sit at my desk, as well as a sneak preview of a couple pages of rough draft:
Click on the picture for a slightly more readable version.
So that’s where I sit. Now, here’s where we stand with the book:
*All the writing is done (I hope). I finished the afterword and promotional text. If the Sox surprise with a Johnny Damon signing, we have a decision to make.
*Only indexing remains. Once I get the entire thing into PDF form (should be later today), I can fill out the table of contents and the index, which is the most mindnumbing night of the year, reading the thing and taking note of every proper noun.
*To publishing! Once the index is complete, I will upload it for publishing. There’s usually five to seven days between publishing and me receiving a copy, and then a couple days to read the entire thing and make sure it’s of selling quality. Hopefully, I will only need to do this part of the process once, now that I’ve done it before.
It’s a crawl to the finish line, but I’d rather oversee the whole process, instead of putting it into the hands of somebody who might literally turn an “annual” into an “anal.”
Wooooooooo!
On the heels of a big announcement about numbers, I have one of my own.
Ladies and Gentlemen, White Sox Outsider 2010 will be about five pages longer than its predecessor!
It’s checking in at 226 pages, not counting the extraneous pages before (title, contents, etc.) and after (index). Rough math suggests that the new book will be 2-3 percent better.
Later tonight, I’ll be taking it to Kinko’s and printing it out, putting it a binder and reading the entire thing, making sure the pages flip right and nothing ends abruptly.
In the meantime, Carl Skanberg has posted one of the section fronts at Smells Like Mascot.
FURTHER BULLETINS AS EVENTS WARRANT!
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Omar Vizquel didn’t want to risk letting No. 17 injure him, so instead he called a Hall of Fame shortstop for a favor. The result?
The White Sox announced Monday that Aparicio has given his consent for Omar Vizquel to wear No. 11 in his first year with the White Sox, as the number will be un-retired by the organization for Vizquel to wear in tribute. Vizquel termed such largesse coming from his countryman as a “tremendous honor.”
I wasn’t thrilled by this development initially, being a noted White Sox historian (*COUGHWHEEZESPUTTER*) and all. Then I read the story, and stopped caring for two reasons.
No. 1: It’s a Venezuelan thing. Ozzie Guillen wears No. 13 in tribute of Dave Concepcion. That’s the same number Vizquel wore before joining the Sox. Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland’s Venezuelan shortstop, also wears No. 13, and for the same reason.
If Vizquel isn’t able to honor any of the most recent Venezuelan shortstops, I don’t see the problem in letting him ask the most legendary living fellow countryman. It’s one tradition butting heads with another, and Aparicio is probably a better arbiter than Guy Whitey Corngood over here.
No. 2: White Sox numbers ain’t sacred. Some franchises treat retiring numbers more seriously than the Vatican considers canonization. Jerry Reinsdorf, on the other hand, panicked on one July 1989 day and retired Harold Baines’ number as something to remember him by. That’s a precedent preventing me from being aghast right there. The Sox have played fast and loose with the unwritten rules before, and that they are possibly bastardizing an institution they previously cheapened doesn’t strike me as being worthy of horror.
February is here, so here’s a look at the back cover of White Sox Outsider 2010:
The back’s design, like the front’s, is by Carl Skanberg.
You got Palehose in my Sox Machine!
You got Sox Machine in my Palehose!
You got that right, boys and girls — along with all the insight and wit you come to expect from the Sox Machine brand, White Sox Outsider 2010 will feature the terrific artwork of Palehose cartoonist Carl Skanberg.
I’ll release more details about the books in the coming weeks, but I’m holding off for the time being as I hold my breath to make sure the Sox don’t do anything to blow up my in-depth pieces and farm system report. If you bought White Sox Outsider 2009 (and of course you did… didn’t you?), just picture it with 2009-10 content, different essays and cartoons that drive points home, and you’re most of the way there. It’s truly two great tastes that taste great together.
And if you didn’t buy White Sox Outsider 2009, there’s still plenty of time. Others can speak up for it, but in re-reading it many times while working on the site and the upcoming book, I think it holds up well.
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Christian Marrero Reading Room:
*Speaking of Carl, he sums up the DH predicament at Smells Like Mascot.
*Speaking of which, the slow dance continues to play out. Jim Thome says all the right things to Scott Merkin. Meanwhile, the Sox are still sponsoring his charity event for the Children’s Hospital of Illinois in Peoria. In my mind, I’m thinking, “Will you two just get it on so I can figure out if he’s a eulogy or a preview?”
State of the Sox