Synopsis
The ultimate misdirection play, responsibility for the Cubs' near- century-long championship drought is placed on curses, hexes, billy goats, black cats, and other perceived supernatural forces. Yet, the team's crazy, quirky history is far from unexplainable. Management decisions and on-field strategies have resulted in Wrigley Field's incessant October silence since 1945--the season of the team's last National League pennant. The Cubs' status is unlike any other team in baseball, and the team itself operates like no other team in the game--especially a big-market team with such abundant financial resources at its disposal. Author George Castle takes the reader behind the management philosophies and inside the Cubs clubhouse in a unique manner rarely employed by the media. This book details the Cubs' unbelievable situation in the words of the front office, the many managers, and the players themselves. Incorporating Castle's coverage of the Cubs over the past 25 years, Entangled in Ivy emphasizes the flow of the franchise since the turn of the millennium. The author has developed a wealth of relationships, past and present, at all levels of the organization, and he uses that access to deliver a one-of-a-kind perspective. From 95-loss seasons to the seminal moment of Cubs history--The Bartman Incident--and back again, Castle weaves the story of one of the country's most popular sports franchises and analyzes why its history of shortfalls has continued despite its efforts to succeed. Fresh interviews from Cubs personnel past and present--including former team president Andy MacPhail, current GM Jim Hendry, former manager Dusty Baker, former Cubs great Mark Grace, and several others at all levels of the organization--provide remarkable insight into the greatest mystery in baseball. Entangled in Ivy is a must-read for any fan who desires to go beyond the stereotypes and simple play-by-play, who wants to look at the Cubs from the inside out, who needs to understand why this beloved team has not been able to drink from baseball's holy grail for nearly 100 years.
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About the Author
Lifelong Chicagoan George Castle has turned an avocation into a vocation. Growing up in Wrigley Field's right-field bleachers and upper-deck grandstand, Castle followed the Cubs as a fan in the 1960s and 1970s before entering the sports media in 1980. He has worked for a variety of newspapers and magazines in covering baseball. Starting in 1994, he covered all Cubs home games, spring training, and postseason runs for The Times of Northwest Indiana, the Chicago- area's fourth-largest daily newspaper. In 1994, Castle also began his syndicated weekly baseball radio show, Diamond Gems, which top baseball newsmakers and often-rare vintage baseball broadcast highlights.
In 1998, Castle ventured into baseball book authorship. He penned books on Harry Caray, Sammy Sosa, and the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry. In 2000, he published the previously most comprehensive book on Cubs ownership and management, The Million-To-One Team. Following that work were books on throwback old-school players, baseball's relationship to the media, and a "where are they now" look at former Cubs. In 1994, Castle also began his syndicated weekly radio show, Diamond Gems, which broadcasts top baseball newsmakers and often-rare vintage baseball highlights.
Castle lives in the northern Chicago suburbs with wife, Nina; brother-and-sister golden retrievers and an African grey parrot that mimics him perfectly. Daughter Laura is a student at Columbia College Chicago.
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Entangled in Ivy
Seller: Orion Tech, Kingwood, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
paperback. Condition: Fair. Seller Inventory # 1596701897-4-37256855