A Tale of Two Cities: The 2004 Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry and the War for the Pennant [Paperback]

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.

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.

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 hoard, but at least he can give you something for your notebook.

Harper also goes so far as to mock his Boston counterparts while filing on deadline after a loss to the Yankees as well as describe the difference in how the media is perceived in the two East Coast cities.

The two authors focus on the competing shortstops, how Jeter exemplifies style, grace and competitiveness, while Garciaparra is often portrayed as shallow, selfish and sometimes weak.

The work of these two authors who have the pleasure of writing about these two ball clubs comes together brilliantly as their passion of the game and their beats glows on the work's pages.

Whether you bleed Yankee Blue or are a card carrying member of Red Sox Nation, "A Tale of Two Cities" must become a part of your baseball collection.