Scott Martelle
journalist/author

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Some of my
journalism

There's more to Gilroy than garlic

On singer-songwriter Peter Case

On Jon Clinch's Kings of the Earth

On anthropologist Jennifer Perry, and California's Channel Islands

A look at political polemics in hardcover

Of Scott Turow's Innocent for the Cleveland Plain-Dealer

Interview piece with Scott Turow

On Ludlow, and the West Virginia mine tragedy (for the LA Times)

On Exene Cervenka for Orange Coast

On Mark Twain's image problem

Profile of Elif Batuman for Publishers Weekly

On Terry Teachout and Pops, his new bio of Louis Armstrong.

A look in the LA Times at the launch of Sarah Palin's memoir.

On The Fourth Part of the World, a history of how America got it's name, in The Washington Post

On Barbara Demick's forthcoming Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

Short profile of critic Terry Teachout on his forthcoming bio of Louis Armstrong.

Kazuo Ishiguro's short story collection, Nocturnes.

On Dan Brown and The Da Vinci Code

"Harry Helling's Uncertain Voyage"

Profile of author Maile Meloy.

On AAA baseball in Fresno, the budget alternative to the bigs.

Pat Conroy's South of Broad, not up to his full narrative power.

Fun piece on a yacht club without a yacht, a dock or, nowadays, a clubhouse.

Of Nick Reding's Methland, exploring the devastating effects of meth on small-town America.

Another version of the Reding review, this in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

A road trip up the California coast -- from brewpub to brewpub.

Elizabeth Edwards' Resilience in the LA Times.

Of J. Robert Lennon's Castle in the LA Times.

Short interview/profile of Reza Aslan, author of No God But God and How To Win A Cosmic War.

On Barry Rillera, former Righteous Brothers guitar player who shared a secret with The Beatles.

Ifill and Asim books on Obama, race and politics.

On Detroit's Focus:HOPE

"It was cool outside. The rain had stopped, but the dampness seeped into our bones with the chill of death."

A piece on eco-friendly travel to San Diego.

Advancing the annual Hatch, N. Mex., chili festival.

An Hour Detroit piece on bipolar disorder and Heinz Prechter's suicide.

Rick Wartzman's book on the burning of The Grapes of Wrath.

Long-shot presidential contender Duncan Hunter.

On the semi-annual opening of the Trinity site - where the first atomic bomb was detonated

Readings

Quite the World, Isn't It?

On baseball, and lowered expectations

June 4, 2010

Tags: baseball, galarraga, joyce, detroit tigers, perfect game

Well, it's taken baseball, and a blown call, and a perplexing public reaction to shake me out of my non-posting doldrums (actually, been awfully busy, including a few fun days in Las Vegas).

You've all seen the chatter about Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga's bid for a perfect game -- no base runners allowed through nine innings -- dying when the first base umpire, Jim Joyce, mistakenly called the 27th batter safe in a not-so-close play.

It's baseball. It happens, and it's that unpredictability that makes the game so much fun to watch. And Joyce, once he saw the replay, admitted he blew the call, found Galarraga and apologized, which Galarraga accepted. Two pros doing the adult thing.

What's jarring, though, is the response from all corners -- regular folks to the talking heads on the sports channels -- that it was refreshing that both men acted in such a professional manner. How low are our standards, and expectations, that it becomes such a big deal when two people don't act like jerks?

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