Victory, after all, could come down to choosing between the supposed sleeper and the overrated prospects who won't be able to fool people in the Show like they have down on the farm.    Nearly every major-league team has sought the advice of current or former Prospectus writers, and readers of Baseball Prospectus 2014 will understand what all those fans have been raving about. "If you're a baseball fan and you don't know what BP is, you're working in a mine without one of those helmets with the lights on it."—Keith Olbermann "The first time I saw the PECOTA projections, I realized that someone out there understood." —Jeff Luhnow, General Manager, Houston Astros "For me, every year baseball begins with the big, brilliant, beautiful book you are holding in your hands right now."—Joe PosnanskiBaseball Prospectus 2013 correctly predicted:*Disappointing performances by Albert Pujols, Dan Haren, Michael Bourn, Justin Upton, and Tommy Hanson.*Breakouts by Paul Goldschmidt, Freddie Freeman, Kyle Seager, Matt Moore, Shelby Miller, and Jason Kipnis, as well as bounceback seasons from Jayson Werth and Shin-Soo Choo.*That Max Scherzer would be a Cy Young contender and Michael Wacha ace-in-waiting for the Cardinals.*That Wil Myers would be a middle-of-the-order bat for Tampa Bay and Josh Donaldson would finally win the Rich Harden trade for the A's.*That CC Sabathia's velocity drop could be a problem, but Felix Hernandez's would not be. *That Joaquin Benoit, Kenley Jansen, and Koji Uehara were better bullpen bets than pre-season closer picks Bruce Rondon, Brandon League, and Joel Hanrahan.

    Michael Jackson Treasures pairs a compelling exploration of his story with photographs and memorabilia that illuminate h is fascinating, complicated life. Featuring a number of rare pieces, including selected pages from the Jackson children’s high school yearbook, the patent for the antigravity lean shoes from “Smooth Criminal,” and a fancifully die-cut mask from the Dangerous Tour, Michael Jackson Treasures is a trove of powerful images and ephemera from a truly global superstar.

    It is also the best route to enjoying the landscape of Great Britain. Within these pages Vicki Pipe and Geoff Marshall from All the Stations (YouTube transport experts and survivors of a crowd-funded trip to visit all the stations in the UK) help you discover the hidden stories that lie behind branch lines, as well as meeting the people who fix the engines and put the trains to bed. Embark on unknown routes, disembark at unfamiliar stations, explore new places and get to know the communities who keep small stations and remote lines alive.

    This book is geared toward the absolute novice and assumes you know little or nothing about the craft. Filled with lots of step-by-step photos, useful sewing tip sidebars, and a painstakingly detailed glossary, Sewing 101 teaches you how to sew successfully. You will learn terminology used regularly in sewing, as well as all the basic skills that are the building blocks of the art. From threading the machine to sewing a straight stitch, to more complicated procedures such as installing zippers and following patterns, everything is covered. Chapters include such topics as: the sewing machine and its accessories, sewing supplies and how to use them, how to shop for, prepare, measure and cut fabric, and more. Each new technique is taught via the creation of an actual project, such as a pillow, window treatment, t-shirt, or baby blanket, thereby allowing you to learn a new skill and create an item to wear, display or use in your home. Dust off that machine and begin sewing for fun and function!'

    Everything a busy traveler needs is easy to access: a neighborhood overview, city walks and tours, sights, handy food and accommodations charts, an appendix packed with information on trip planning and practicalities, and a fold-out city map.Rick Steves Pocket Barcelona includes the following walks and tours:• Ramblas Ramble• Barri Gotic and Cathedral Tour• Picasso Museum Tour• Eixample Walk• Sagrada Familia Tour

    Their hits, including Golden Brown, No More Heroes and Always The Sun, were written against a background of spectacular success, dismal failure, drug dependency, financial ruin, infighting and misfortune. Understandably, the band have been loath to reveal the true meaning behind their songs, instead revelling in the mystery and confusion they created. As a response to David Buckley's one-sided biography of the band (No Mercy, Hodder & Stoughton, 1997), Hugh Cornwell, founding member and songwriter, is determined to set the record straight, displace the myths and explain for the first time the real stories behind The Stranglers, his departure and the origins of all their songs.

    There, he fell in with a subculture of young musicians playing some of the most original and brutal music in the world. Turns out the chaos of Pearson’s bands — The Locust, Swing Kids, and Some Girls — is nothing compared to the madness of his life.An icon of the West Coast noise and punk scene, Pearson managed to arrive at adulthood by outsmarting skinheads and dodging equally threatening violence at home. Once there, the struggle continued, with Pearson getting beat up on Jerry Springer and, on more than one occasion, chased out of town by ferociously angry audiences.From the Graveyard of the Arousal Industry is the outrageously candid story of Pearson’s life. In loving, meticulous detail, Pearson gives readers the dirt behind each rivalry, riff, and lineup change.

    A student of Anton Rubinstein and a leading exponent of the works of Chopin, Liszt, and Schumann, he always balanced his virtuoso playing with a firm adherence to the piece as written. It is this balanced approach to piano playing that he advocates in this highly regarded volume on piano technique.The first section of the book contains a discussion of the rules and tricks of correct piano playing: touch, methods of practicing, the use of the pedal, playing the piece as it is written, "How Rubinstein Taught Me to Play," and indispensables in pianistic success. The second, much longer, section contains Hofmann's answers to specific questions sent to him by piano students and amateurs: questions on positions of the body and hand, actions of the wrist and arm, stretching, staccato, legato, precision, fingering, octaves, the pedals, practice, marks and nomenclature, phrasing, rubato, theory, transposing, and much more.Full of important background information that is highly useful to every piano player, this book will set students on the right track in their studies and allow every amateur to measure the level of his commitment and the quality of the instruction he is receiving. For insight into many facets of playing the piano, there is no better guide than Josef Hofmann.

    Now guitarists can have all three volumes of this classic guitar method in one convenient book! Created by popular demand, this new edition of the method used as the basic text for the renowned Berklee College of Music guitar program is a complete compilation of the original Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Innovative solos, duets and exercises progressively teach melody, harmony and rhythm. Perfect for the serious guitar student and instructor alike.

    Well, you don't have to resemble a model to achieve a Bowflex body. Now, you can apply the complete science behind what it takes to get that lean, muscular look. The course of action you're holding in your hands contains the best-possible routines and practices that, combined, cause greater and faster results.The Bowflex exercise system is based on the simple bow-and-arrow principle. Its patented Power Rod technology flexes and extends to provide force or resistance, part of your week-by-week workouts, which focus on all major muscle groups. Merge the recommended Bowflex routines with Dr. Ellington Darden's guidelines on eating, hydrating, and resting, and you'll be well on your way to getting the results you've always wanted.In addition to four fat-loss meal plans, you'll find complete programs for out-of-shape athletes, women who want to reduce their hips and thighs, and individuals who wish to focus on their abdominals. Choose the one that's right for you, depending on your age, experience, body type, and personal goals. Throughout these pages you'll be inspired by reports and photographs of real results from real people using a real Bowflex machine.With a little discipline and patience, you'll see your extra fat begin to vanish, revealing your muscles' lean lines. In only six weeks, a man could drop 35 pounds of fat and 5 inches from his waist. A woman could lose 19 pounds of fat and 4 inches from her thighs. And both can build 3 pounds of muscle. Best of all, you will experience strength, firmness, and muscular refinement as never before.Elegant, instructive photographs of Dr. Darden's top 23 Bowflex exercises make this the ideal fitness manual for both men and women-- those who already use the Bowflex system as well as the many new users of this fast-growing home-exercise system. The only authorized book on the subject, The Bowflex Body Plan will help you lose fat, build muscle, and reshape your body-- fast.Soon you will have the results you've always wanted. Soon you will have a Bowflex body.

    Who even am I, and how will I keep going? We need someone in our corner to travel this journey with us and help keep our spirits up. This book is a gentle guide for navigating loss, grief or other sad times - a resource both for those who are downhearted and those supporting a loved one. With thoughtful advice on dealing with friends and family; healthy tips for eating and exercise when you don't feel like it; and a just-keep-yourself-going '101' for when you're feeling very low. It's the bolstering force we need to feel a bit closer to ourselves, or find a bit of peace. For years Pip Lincolne has had a dedicated readership through her blog Meet Me At Mike's and frankie magazine. She wrote When Life is Not Peachy during some tough times of her own, in the hope that what she learned might help someone else feel a little better some day.

     The pianist Leon  Fleisher—whose student–teacher lineage linked him to Beethoven by way of his instructor, Artur Schnabel—displayed an exceptional gift from his earliest years. And then, like the hero of a Greek tragedy, he was struck down in his prime: at thirty-six years old, he suddenly and mysteri­ously became unable to use two fingers of his right hand. It is not just Fleisher’s thirty-year search for a cure that drives this remarkable memoir. With his coauthor, celebrated music critic Anne Midgette, the pianist explores the depression that engulfed him as his condition worsened and, perhaps most powerfully of all, the sheer love of music that rescued him from complete self-destruction. Miraculously, at the age of sixty-six, Fleisher was diagnosed with focal dystonia, and cured by experimental Botox injections. In 2003, he returned to Carnegie Hall to give his first two-handed recital in over three decades, bringing down the house. Sad, reflective, but ultimately triumphant, My Nine Lives com­bines the glamour, pathos, and courage of Fleisher’s life with real musical and intellectual substance. Fleisher embodies the resilience of the human spirit, and his memoir proves that true passion always finds a way.

    The Drive-By Truckers, as they named themselves, grew into one of the best and most consequential rock bands of the twenty-first century, a great live act whose songs deliver the truth and nuance rarely bestowed on Southerners, so often reduced to stereotypes.Where the Devil Don’t Stay tells the band’s unlikely story not chronologically but geographically. Seeing the Truckers’ albums as roadmaps through a landscape that is half-real, half-imagined, their fellow Southerner Stephen Deusner travels to the places the band’s members have lived in and written about. Tracking the band from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to Richmond, Virginia, to the author’s hometown in McNairy County, Tennessee, Deusner explores the Truckers’ complex relationship to the South and the issues of class, race, history, and religion that run through their music. Drawing on new interviews with past and present band members, including Jason Isbell, Where the Devil Don’t Stay is more than the story of a great American band; it’s a reflection on the power of music and how it can frame and shape a larger culture.

    No practical aspect of instrumentation for the orchestra is neglected, and comprehensive treatment is given to each significant component. The author approaches orchestration from the premise that the principles can best be presented by analysis of music as it has been written.The essentials of instrument combination discussed here are those which can be observed operating in the scores of great composers from Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven down to our own day.Orchestration is notable for the clarity and logic of its organization. From a consideration of the individual instruments and their technical problems the author skillfully develops his analysis of orchestration, covering his analysis of orchestration, covering instrumentation of primary and secondary melodies, part-writing, chords, and contrapuntal techniques. Finally, he discusses typical problems in orchestration together with some examples of their solutions.Orchestration is profusely illustrated with hundreds of musical examples and with drawings of the various musical instruments that make up the modern orchestra.

    With this fun and friendly beginners guide, you will quickly grasp how to play Minecraft in the three modes of game play: survival, creative, and hardcore. The easy-to-understand writing style walks you through every step of the way, from downloading the game to choosing a gaming platform to defending your creations against monsters and winning the game by defeating the Ender Dragon. Explains how to use blocks to build amazing creations and engage in gameplay with other players Details techniques for travelling across the biomes Zeroes in on playing wisely in Survival mode so you can acquire resources to maintain your health and hunger Shares tips for playing carefully in Creative mode, using your unlimited supply of resources, the ability to fly, and more Helps you play in Hardcore mode Minecraft For Dummies, Portable Edition goes where you go as you create a world you won't want to leave!