They win when they should lose. And when it comes to being the worst, no team in sports has ever done it better than the Mets. In So Many Ways to Lose, author and lifelong Mets fan Devin Gordon sifts through the detritus of Queens for a baseball history like no other. Remember the time the Mets lost an All-Star after he got charged by a wild boar? Or the time they blew a six-run ninth-inning lead at the peak of a pennant race? Or the time they fired their manager before he ever managed a game? Sure you do. It was only two years ago, and it was all in the same season. The Mets have an unrivaled gift for getting it backward, doing the impossible, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, and then snatching defeat right back again. And yet, just ask any Mets fan: amazing and/or miraculous postseason runs are as much a part of our team's identity as losing 120 games in 1962. The DNA of seasons like 1969, the original Miracle Mets, and the 1973 “Ya Gotta Believe” Mets, who went from last place to Game 7 of the World Series in two months, and the powerhouse 1986 Mets, has encoded in us this hapless instinct that a reversal of fortune is always possible. It’s happened before. It’s kind of our thing. And now we've got Steve Cohen's hedge-fund billions to play with! What could go wrong?In this hilarious history of the Mets and love letter to the art of disaster, Devin Gordon presents baseball the way it really is, not in the wistful sepia tones we've come to expect from other sportswriters. Along the way, he explains the difference between being bad and being gifted at losing, and why this distinction holds the key to understanding the true amazin’ magic of the New York Mets.

    With "The Gashouse Gang," John Heidenry delivers the definitive account of one the greatest and most colorful baseball teams of all times, the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals, filled with larger-than-life baseball personalities like Branch Rickey, Leo Durocher, Pepper Martin, Casey Stengel, Frankie Frisch, and—especially—the eccentric good ol' boy and great pitcher Dizzy Dean and his brother Paul. The year 1934 marked the lowest point of the Great Depression, when the U.S. went off the gold standard, banks collapsed by the score, and millions of Americans were out of work. Epic baseball feats offered welcome relief from the hardships of daily life. The Gashouse Gang, the brilliant culmination of a dream by its general manager, Branch Rickey, the first to envision a farm system that would acquire and "educate" young players in the art of baseball, was adored by the nation, which saw itself—scruffy, proud, and unbeatable—in the Gang. Based on original research and told in entertaining narrative style, "The Gashouse Gang" brings to life a bygone era and a cast full of vivid personalities, and unearths a treasure trove of baseball lore that will delight any fan of the great American pastime.

    Amare is willing to do whatever it takes to protect Corryn even if it means a life must be lost. Will they survive the drama that Pitt is causing them? There's another snake close to Corryn that she would have never expected, will she be able to catch the betrayal in time? Amena and Wesley are working on being couple goals, but the past will come back to bite them at the worst time. When secrets are uncovered, Wesley will have to make a decision but will his choice end his and Amena's relationship before it even gets started? Will Amena be willing to stick beside Wesley through it all? With Kenton focused on being the man in the streets, he somehow managed to keep that life totally separate from his family. However, his baby mother, Tara, doesn’t play fair when it comes to his children and always find a way to make parenting a difficult task. Soon Kenton will find solace in someone else who he feels understands him and gets along with his family. Is it even possible to keep your street life and family life separate or will Kenton have to accept that both worlds are intertwined? With all the jealousy and drama going around, everyone just wants to be happy. Snakes have to be eliminated by any means necessary, if that means death then so be it. Amare, Wesley and Kenton are here to prove that When a Hood Legend Claims It All, it is always for keeps

    Illustrated with 16 pages of photographs.

    Then a brutal encounter leaves her pregnant at seventeen. Unwilling to break her widowed mother's heart, Beth bears her secret alone and gives up her baby daughter for adoption. It seems her desperate gamble has succeeded. She finishes school, takes on a challenging job and meets Michael, charming eldest son of the wealthy Rushton family. She has to fight both class prejudice and the jealousy of her old enemy Ursula to win him - but when he asks her to marry him, Beth faces a dilemma. Does she dare tell Michael her guilty secret and risk losing him? And even if he stands by her, can she bear the certainty that the brutal stranger who fathered her child will be at her wedding?

    Perfect for fans of Val McDermid, Karin Slaughter and Patricia Cornwell.'The Queen of Crime' - Woman & Home on Hard GirlsThe deadly DI Kate Burrows trilogy: the only time Martina's written from the Old Bill's perspective.Kate is the hard-but-fair copper whose investigations - and heart - become dangerously entwined with London's most infamous gangster, Patrick Kelly. But when there's a killer on the loose, Kate Burrows is the only woman for the job. THE LADYKILLER. BROKEN. HARD GIRLS.

    

    Up-and-coming cities that wanted teams of their own were being rebuffed by the owners, and in response Congress was threatening to revoke the sport's antitrust exemption. These problems were magnified by what was happening on the field, as the New York Yankees were winning so often that true competition was vanishing in the American League.In "Bottom of the Ninth," Michael Shapiro brings to life this watershed moment in baseball history. He shows how the legendary executive Branch Rickey saw the game's salvation in two radical ideas: the creation of a third major league--the Continental League--and the pooling of television revenues for the benefit of all. And Shapiro captures the audacity of Casey Stengel, the manager of the Yankees, who believed that he could bend the game to his wishes and remake how baseball was played. Their stories are interwoven with the on-field drama of pennant races and clutch performances, culminating in three classic World Series confrontations.As the tension built on and off the field, Rickey and Stengel would find themselves outsmarted and defeated by the team owners who held true backroom power--defeats that would diminish the game for decades to come. Shapiro's compelling narrative reaches its stunning climax in the seventh game of the 1960 World Series, when one swing of the bat heralds baseball's eclipse as America's number-one sport.

    Two teams from the same city squared off against each other in an intracity World Series, pitting the heavily favored Cubs of the National League against the hardscrabble American League champion White Sox. Now, for its centennial anniversary, noted historian Bernard A. Weisberger tells the tale of a unique time in baseball, a unique time in America, and a time when Chicago was at the center of it all.At the turn of the century, American baseball and America itself were, to a modern observer, both completely alien and yet timelessly similar to what we know today. In 1906 the sport of baseball was still mired in the "dead ball" era, when defense won championships, and players didn't need bodybuilder physiques in order to be competitive. The league was racially segregated. A six-day workweek was threatened by early game times, as the first night game wouldn't be played for another three decades. There was no radio to broadcast the contest. Only one ball was used throughout the game. And yet it was still ninety feet between bases. The home team still batted in the bottom of the ninth inning. And the final score could still capture the attention of a nation.It was a time when the accomplishments on the field mirrored those beyond the diamond. America was the land of the self-made man, the land where hard work and determination could make a person's fortune. A. G. Spalding proved instrumental in making baseball what it is today -- a thriving business and a national pastime. Charles Comiskey worked his way from scoring runs as a player to becoming one of the most influential owners in baseball history. Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown overcame a horribly disfiguring injury to become a Hall of Fame pitcher for the Cubs. And Tinkers-to-Evers-to-Chance proved that you could use teamwork to stand out as stars.A city that had rebuilt itself from the ashes of the Great Fire thirty-five years earlier was now the focal point of an entire baseball-loving country. The contest that could be called the Great Streetcar Series would electrify the city of Chicago, and prove to be one of the most unique and exciting World Series ever to be played.

    Play to win. Play like a champion.In Winning Fantasy Baseball, Larry Schechter discloses the secrets of his proven methods. Packed with commonsense, easy-to-use strategies for beginners through experienced players, Schechter supplies readers with a toolkit to achieve the most important thing in fantasy ball--winning! Some have called Schechter one of the best fantasy baseball players in the world. He is the only two-time winner of the CDM Sports national salary-cap challenge, having defeated 7,500 competitors in 2002 and 6,000 in 2005. He is also a five-time winner of the renowned Tout Wars experts league and a member of the USA Today-sponsored League of Alternative Baseball Reality (LABR).Readers will learn directly from the champ everything they need to know about:- how to project player stats;- how to convert those stats into a specific value;- strategy for snake drafts, and mono-league and mixed auctions;- selecting teams using a salary cap;- playing in keeper leagues;- and performing in-season management.Although the book is primarily about fantasy baseball, many of the concepts also apply to fantasy football and other fantasy sports.

     DROP DEAD BEAUTIFUL From Miami to Beverly Hills, from Mexico City to Acapulco to Las Vegas, dynamically sexy Lucky Santangelo and sweet-as-sin daughter, Max, are turning up the heat. So is Anthony Bonar, the son of Lucky's one-time godfather and lethal enemy, Enzio Bonatti. Lucky is preparing for the opening of her multibillion-dollar hotel complex in Las Vegas, The Keys, but Bonar-a vicious killer-is out to stop her any way he can. Meanwhile, sixteen-year-old Max has run off to Big Bear with a man she's met on the Internet. But he turns out to be a vengeful predator with a long-standing grudge against Lucky... So begins a non-stop thrill ride as Lucky builds her dream resort-and Max follows her dreams, and proves she's more than just a little Lucky. She's a kick-ass survivor. GODDESS OF VENGEANCE Passion. Beauty. Brains. Success. Lucky has everything her name implies. And as the force behind a high-profile casino and hotel complex, Lucky has exactly what billionaire businessman Armand Jordan is determined to take from her-and he's not afraid to play dirty. Meantime, Lucky's son Bobby is dealing with shady Russian investors and a hot new girlfriend, who happens to be a deputy D.A. While teenage Max is busy embarking on an affair with a sexy young movie star. It's business as usual for the Santangelo clan...But this time, it just might take more than Lady Luck for them all to come out on top.Jackie Collins knows a thing or two about life in the fast lane [with] her wry sense of humor and spitfire approach. -BazaarThis edition of the book is the deluxe, tall rack mass market paperback.

    As a young woman, her worst childhood fears were confirmed when her fiance broke off their engagement without an explanation. Heartbroken and vulnerable, Sheila was easy prey to the worst type of man - a man who turned his back on her when she told him she was carrying his child. In Fifties Britain, an unmarried, pregnant girl received,not sympathy but censure and contempt. Shunned by most of her family, Sheila ended up in a Church of England home for unmarried mothers, with no apparent alternative than to give up her child for adoption. But when she held her newborn daughter in her arms for the first time, Sheila knew she had to do the unthinkable: bring up her baby on her own in a society that would condemn her for it. Sheila Tofield is a proud grandmother living in Chichester and The Unmarried Mother is her first book. Her touching story was picked up by Penguin when she entered the hugely successful life story competition with Saga Magazine.

    After all, he has secretly had a vasectomy. This is just the first of a series of blows that start to rain upon him. His chain of dress shops that was intended to lift him to the heights of prosperity that he had always dreamed about is feeling the chill winds of recession, and his teenage son has decided to make a mysterious trip to Spain instead of launching himself on the career that his parents expected. 'Life is a tease, ' Max decides, 'a series of receding targets designed to keep you on the move, like a laboratory experiment with rats.' His two drinking companions, Alec, a headmaster, and Laurie, a swashbuckling businessman, also find that middle age doesn't bring peace. Alec for years has secretly being living in sin; putting the matter right doesn't bring its expected happiness. And Laurie is married to an aggressive lady who thinks nothing of clipping off his moustache while he sleeps, or serving him a dog-food omelette. Worst of all, the three of them discover that the years spent being devoted parents have not produced the fine young offspring that they had set their hearts on. So what can the future hold for Max, with a child of unknown provenance on the way? At least there is always the solace of the Comedy Hotel.

    

    Tom Glavine and Mike Mussina have seen it all in the Major Leagues and both entered 2007 in search of individual milestones.