I took most of the weekend off from technology. Out somewhere in the woods of Wisconsin, where m cheap cellphone earns its stripes by not getting service. I turned it off a good half hour from the destination and didn't turn it back on until I had procured a 6-pack of New Glaurus' Moon Man No Coast Ale on the way back to the Twin Cities; buying beer -- especially really good beer -- on a Sunday is something of a thrill. Yes. Living in the Upper Mid-West has its own flow.

Fortunately, I missed what should prove to be Freddy Garcia's last start for the Yankees for some time. He sure did earn his demotion to the bullpen and GM Brian Cashman must be thinking that he picked the wrong, fat pitcher this off-season. Meanwhile, when Garcia couldn't get out of the second inning, there's BIG Bartolo Colon throwing into the ninth (foolishly as it clearly would turn out for the A's) the same weekend.

All that surplus of starting pitching and the adages of "you can't have too much" and "these are the decisions you love to have" hasn't quite panned out the way it looked on paper in March. The Pineda injury looms largest, but for now it's something that needs to just be forgotten about. Ironic that it's Schilling who made Yankee fans feel best, but now all we have to do is hope that the young pitcher follows the rehab from surgery to a "T" and comes back in great and healthy shape to pitch in 2013. Hughes could be next delegated to the bullpen if he doesn't start pitching like the starter he was a few seasons back.

But no one in their right mind can complain about the effort CC Sabathia made yesterday afternoon in the Bronx in the rubber-game against the Tigers. Needing innings after the Garcia debacle, CC handed Girardi eight strong and despite leaving a week's worth of runners on-base (including leaving the bases sacked three freaking times) the Yanks' bats did enough, scored a few late en route to a 6-2 victory.

Alas, being away from the computer and the social-media, DIY marketing of my book, "A Rose by Any Other Name" meant out of mind for everyone else. Reviews have been great, but sales remain a sticking point. I don't want to turn this blog into a "pledge drive," but, here you go:

A Rose by Any Other Name

An Alphabet of Tales About a Man & a Woman

Authored by Brian Mazo
"A Rose By Any Other Name: An Alphabet of Tales about a Man and a Woman" is a collection of twenty-six snap-shot short stories, each about a moment between two people at a crossroads. From New York to Los Angeles, from Black Rock City, Burning Man and back to Brooklyn, the tales give us a voyeur's view to sweet first kisses all the way to the bitter final ones:

A man in the midst of an ugly break-up rips out the last page of each of his lover's book collection and then wishes he could change their ending ("Last Paige"). 

A flower-bearing man, who hates taking taxis, has the duration of a ride to win over his cabdriver and her alluring smile ("Hail Mary"). 

A piece of jewelry solves a mystery and leads to a twisted tryst ("The Cross of Lorraine"). 

An unexpected, second chance at love and happiness amongst Senior Citizens in Florida is sparked by a hurricane and the ability to drive at night ("Mustang Sally").

Also included: a tale of breakups and breakdowns ("Nina, the Pinto & the Santa Ana Winds"), fortunate mistaken identity ("A Rose by Any Name"), one man's obsession with his bartender ("Fiona, the Irish Girl"), sex during a torrential downpour ("Hannah & the Hitchhiker), jealousy ("Charlotte's Web)", deceit, ("Victoria's Secret") and one woman's first foray into nude modeling ("Ursula, Undressed").

https://www.createspace.com/3527985

You can purchase my book for the low, low price of $14 in print edition and less than half of that on Kindle.

Thanks for reading,
Brian