A Tale of Two Cities: The 2004 Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry And The War For The Pennant

by John Harper and Tony Massarotti

When the Boston Red Sox faced the New York Yankees in the historic 2003 American League Championship Series, the meeting seemed to serve as the climax to perhaps the greatest rivalry in professional... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1592287042
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Lyons Press
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.2"

Customer Reviews

Yankees/Red Sox rivalry from the scribes who cover them!

Like any argument there are two sides and who better to rely on than two sportswriters who make their living covering the year-in-year out battle between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. While this 2005 release has the familiar ring of the classic written by Charles Dickens, it took two authors to produce a work that is worthy both of the name and the plot line of this modern day baseball classic. Baseball beat writers John Harper of the New York Daily News and Tony Massarotti of the Boston Herald have shared writing space as well as barbs about their two hometown teams and now take their grievances public in "A Tale of Two Cities." The idea for the book took shape just moments after Aaron Boone's ALCS-winning homer cleared the fence at Yankee Stadium in 2003. The two minds agreed that their combined beats and insights gave the reader a truthful and exciting behind the scenes look at this historic battle. Massarotti opens his first chapter just days after Boone's fateful, memorable shot and rolls into the firing of Boston Red Sox manager Grady Little, the placing of Manny Ramirez on waivers, the courtship and subsequent rebuff of Alex Rodriguez, the stage being set for a divorce with Nomar Garciaparra and the acquisition of Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke. Harper responds with the news that the Yankees knew of Boone's knee injury during a pick-up basketball game for two weeks prior to releasing it to the media as well as other teams. He explains how GM Brian Cashman worked the phones, creating the trade for A-Rod along with the selling of the former Texas Ranger on a move to third base. The Daily News beat writer also includes the clandestine efforts Cashman took to prevent word from leaking out about the trade, all before taking it to George Steinbrenner. The two authors provide insight to each team's manager, for Harper, the ex-skipper Grady Little as well as the newly hired Terry Francona after his unsuccessful stint with the Philadelphia Phillies. Harper takes the reader into the boardroom and private dining room of Steinbrenner as he proposes to extend Yankee skipper Joe Torre's contract and why the manager waffled before finally accepting. Once the 2004 season was underway, both writers give their viewpoints to key meetings between the two squads throughout the year and no subject is off limits. Read how Massarotti complains of the visiting press box at Yankee stadium, the air of New York fans and players. Harper pounds back with his own tongue-in-cheek shot about "Red Sox Nation" along with his own personal hatred of Pedro Martinez. The drama continues on and off the field as the AL pennant race heats up, in April. Pedro Martinez is without a contract, Manny Ramirez becomes a U.S. citizen, Schilling has a bum ankle and his cell phone has local sports talk radio station WEEI in its speed dial, for starters. For the Yankees, Harper reveals how boring Derek Jeter is with the media along with how fake Alex Rodriquez is with the same h

A Fun, Behind the Scenes Read of This Storied Rivalry

While any reader of this review most likely already knows how the events of the 2004 MLB season unfolded, A Tale of Two Cities takes the reader beyond the dirt and sod of the ball field to the personalities and emotions that are not always evident to the casual fan. As a native New Englander, I loved the book's insights and vignettes which go well beyond the headlines to the foundations of what makes the Red Sox - Yankee rivalry so great. As a lover of sport and human drama, the juxtaposition of events as told from the both the Boston and New York perspectives were truly revealing and well crafted. I enjoyed the book thoroughly - so much so I finished it in a single sitting.

A Terrific Baseball Book

No, it's not Dickens, but it's still a heck of a book. "A Tale of Two Cities" follows the Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees rivalry throughout the 2004 baseball season. Chapters alternate between Tony Massarotti of the Boston Herald and John Harper of the New York Daily News. Their writing is clear, efficient, and totally engrossing. Each of the head-to-head meetings between the Red Sox and Yankees is examined in detail, culminating with a fantastic account of the American Leaugue Championship Series. Massarotti and Harper offer many fascinating and thoughtful insights, plus some looks behind the scenes and psychological portraits of a few of the players. Each series is covered by a chaper by each author, so the reader gets a very balanced perspective. The only thing I didn't care for was the way the typeface changes inexplicably. The first four chapters are in one font, then the fonts alternate every two chapters. The authors alternate every chapter, so the font changes don't reflect who is writing.

Excellent season-long analysis of the greatest rivalry...

As a baseball fan, I was glued to this book and could not put it down, even though I knew who won in the end... Tony Mazz and John Harper did a great job giving the reader a feel for what each city was experiencing during the 2004 season. The behind the scenes stories and quotes added a critical element to the book and made the reading fun. If you want some inside information on Pedro, A-Rod, Schilling and others, this book is for you. The off-the-record quotes are stunning. I really enjoyed this book... and I've read a lot of baseball books over the years. This is one of the best.

The truth be told!

The authors do a great job of revealing facts about the stars (Pedro, Nomar, A-Rod, Jeter, etc.) and how they fit (or did not fit) in with their teammates. In addition there are several great stories about the relationship with the athletes and the media (the Mussina and Mike Kay relationship). Even with all of the books I have read concerning this great season I had not seen any mention that the Sox were the first team since '29 to have 5 pitchers with 175+ innings for the season. Even more enlightening is the fact that once Arroyo was put into the rotation the starting 5 did not miss a start the remainder of the season. Truth be told I found it a book that I hated. I hated to put it down, and I hated to finish the last page. What a masterful job both authors have done. Too bad your highest rating was only 5 stars!