Customer Reviews

Phillies Confidential: The Untold Inside Story of the 2008 Championship Season (Confidential)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Inside story? You got to be kidding me. I thought I would be getting an inside view of the team, learn more about what the players were going through, etc., and this book is nothing like it purports to be. I am a lifelong Phils fan (from Scranton) and follow them religously. I was even at Games 3, 4, and 5 of the NLCS (as I now live in So Cal) and I even make an appearance on the Perfect Season DVD's shots of the celebrating crowd after Game 5. I devour everything written about the Phils and have all the DVDs. I re-watched all the Phils games on the DVD set. I still have post game celebration on my DVR. Why am I telling you all this? Because I am bored out of my mind reading this book. It's just Gary's ramblings that took 5 minutes to do a few nights over the course of the season. There's no analysis, no inside look. A lot of it is just his reflecting on his time with the Cubs years ago. I've really lost interest. I can barely force my way to get through it even though I am a diehard. That should tell you to not waste your time.

Gary Matthews must be one of the nicest, most personable men in baseball. I mean, he'd have to be for writing of this caliber to actually be published.

I was very excited when I heard about this book, and to be honest it is laid out very well. The story is told by month, and it alternates between a well-written newspaper-style summary of a particular game or story and a not-so-well-written Gary Matthews' first-person take on that particular story. What ruins it is Gary Matthews himself. I am convinced that all Matthews did for his piece was speak into a tape recorder after a selection of games or evenings and then transcribe his thoughts word for word into the book. It was obviously done as the season progressed and not retrospectively, and it is purely his opinions with very little about his conversations with players, experiences, or behind-the-scenes trivia. I'm also convinced that the process of editing was forgone in favor of getting the book to press, as no editor in his right mind would have let this go without at least correcting some grammar and repetition. Often times, Matthews doesn't even provide a coherent opinion.

Case in point -- Gary Matthews talking about Jimmy Rollins' early season injury: "I'm sure it's tough on him. I'm sure he wants to play. But no, I haven't really talked to him about it--having gone through injuries myself, you're either in the party or you're not, you're either playing or you're not. Period. You can do all of the talking in the world, but you're either out there or you're not. Sure, guys sympathize with you when you're hurt, but the sympathy really comes from wins and losses. It's a hard fact, but that's just how it goes." What in blazes is the point of this paragraph? What insight is revealed? Wouldn't it be more desirable to save the environment by just saying "I feel bad for the guy" and saving half a page & the trees killed to produce it? Sadly, the writing generally goes downhill from this on many pages.

Finally, I am disappointed with the minimal-to-zero references to the Phillies fans. Almost nothing is written about interaction between the players and the fans or fan opinion / sentiment during the season. When it comes down to it, isn't baseball all about the fans, especially the great ones we have in the Delaware Valley? The book smacks of Phillies organizational bias for this reason.

Other than the chronological recap, I have been disappointed by what I had hoped would be the best Phillies World Series literary recap on the market.

Gary - In the future, please remember that people generally shouldn't write the same way that they broadcast. This especially goes for you.

It's a fun read for Phillies fans looking to relive the championship season, but Gary Matthews' "writing" is clearly just transcribed talking. Matthews repeats himself frequently and occasionally contradicts himself, but more annoying is the focus he puts on his own playing days and stories about the Cubs that are barely relevant.

Thankfully, the portions written by Gary Matthews alternate with better-written portions by journalist Scott Lauber. (For some reason, Lauber's passages are typeset in a condensed sans serif font that is difficult to read. Matthews' passages, while barely coherent, are at least set in a traditional serif font.)

It's written as a diary, which lets fans experience the highs and lows of the season as they happen, rather than from the perspective of knowing that they've won it all. If you can get past (or just skim) Matthews' sections, it's a lot of fun.

This book is a nicely written book that is a bit of two books really. The first story would be one from the Phillies beat writer, Scott Lauber, from The News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware. This is a well written excerpt from the press point of view. The other prospective is by Gary Matthews. He's a former Phillies ballplayer, and a fan favorite over the years and now has several years as broadcaster for the Phillies. His story is told along with Scott's and it brings you inside the season when the Phillies were trying to put all of the pieces together to win it all in 2008.

I interviewed Scott on this book for an internet show I do called, 'Phillies Talk' which you can find at [...] on the net. You can also go here and replay the show from December 2008 when Scott tells us all about this project and how it was written. I really like this book, it's one of my favorite Phillies books ever because it is a true account of what happened the year the Phillies won it all, and what it took to get them the World Series championship.

I love the Phillies and will always cherish the 2008 World Series Championship, however, this book added nothing to the experience or memory. There is nothing in the book I haven't heard or read many times over through basic outlets like newspapers. The book contained nothing that was confidential and clearly nothing that was close to untold.

Nice keepsake. Looks good on the bookshelf but really lacked in content.

For fans of Eastbound and Down, this is what would happen if they actually published Kenny Powers' audio book. This is just Sarge rambling about different news stories throughout 2008. There is no "untold inside story" at all.

I have read many baseball books especially books that envolve the Phillies. Please do not by this book it is not a good read even though the Phillies were a great team that year. Gary Matthews talks about his son and his career more than the 2008 team. Dont buy this book I repeat DON'T BUY THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!

Very enjoyable book for Phillies fans written by Gary Matthews (former player now broadcaster). Lots of personal info, scoops, stories & fun facts about the players & people connected with the team. It's a unique look at the 2008 Champion Phillies from 'behind-the scenes".

A lot of behind the scenes stuff that you don't see on TV or read about.

Received the book yesterday and could not put it down. Even though I knew how it was going to end, it was great reading about the entire season again. Seeing it from Sarge's viewpoint was fantastic. Great book!