I haven’t done one of these mishmash pieces in a while and am in need of a core dump.

DUSTED | Tim Marchman, whose excellent writings I’ve discussed before, is publishing division-by-division previews of the 2005 Major League Baseball season for the New York Sun. The latest preview covers the National League Central and includes a scathing smack down of Dusty Baker.

There isn’t much to like about blowhard Cubs manager Dusty Baker; when not waxing racist, overusing his pitchers, running good players and great broadcast teams out of town, or starring in obnoxious television ads, Baker is busy ruining young players’ careers. … Anyone who wants to watch a multiple-time Manager of the Year do a worse job of running a team than a random Azerbaijani should pay close attention to the words and wisdom of Dusty.

I couldn’t help it… one of my fantasy teams is now called the Random Azerbaijanis.

TRUMAN | I recently finished reading David McCullough’s Pulitzer Prize winning Truman and was mightily impressed. Despite its voluminous size, at well over 1,000 pages, McCullough manages to keep his narrative resonant throughout, demanding the reader’s attention and encouraging her to get through just a few more pages before putting it down. If Presidential biographies are your thing, you’ve almost certainly finished off this classic long ago. If not, it gets my highest recommendation.

HOMICIDE | As I mentioned in March of 2003, I have been anxiously awaiting the release of Homicide: Life on the Street on DVD. I’ve finally started watching the series from the beginning and the first season is even more fantastic than I remember. Interestingly, the show’s creator, Paul Attanasio, is the brother of new Brewers’ owner Mark Attanasio, something I only recently found out.