set-up man closes the show
355104
If, like me, you'd been railing at the universe for the dearth of fiction literature that mashes up murder mysteries and sports, well, rail no more. The other day T.T. Monday observed this dire need going unaddressed and jumped all over it. Ergo, The Set Up Man.

Meet Johnny Adcock, a southpaw Travis McGee. Johnny is a lefty relief pitcher in the major leagues. At 35 years old, he's steadily on the decline. His hard-throwing days are in the rear view. Nowadays he relies more on guile and experience, on pitch location and on changing speeds, to outsmart the guy at bat. But that's his day job.

Johnny moonlights as a gumshoe, his clientele more often than not composed of his baseball colleagues. It's a side gig that started ten years ago on a whim, and that's long enough ago for word to get around. His teammate, Frankie Herrera, a promising backup catcher, approaches him about a damning porn video featuring his wife that surfaced on his cell phone, anonymously sent. Obviously, Herrera dreads the impending blackmail demand. But before Johnny can even launch into his snooping, things take a turn for the worse. So, yeah, put your feet up for a bout of good reading as this likable, aging professional athlete try to stay relevant in his sport even as he's up to his neck in an alarming case that yields murder, sex trafficking, and savage Mexican cartels.

Cracking open the book, I had this vague hope that T.T. Monday would live up to that tradition established by perhaps my favorite mystery/suspense author Dick Francis. Francis, once a jockey, managed to work in varied elements of the horseracing world into his stories and somehow made this a welcome intrusion, kudos to his knack as a storyteller. Now, given, Francis rarely wrote sequels so it's really impressive to me that, with each novel that came out featuring a new protagonist, he draws you anew into the horseracing world. If The Set Up Man proves to be a hit, it'll be the first in a series, so there won't be that issue of "prove it to me all over again - make me like baseball again with this new character." I like the contrasting elements of this book: Johnny Adcock as a sleuth versus his time on the mound. I enjoyed the author's descriptions of the ups and downs of being a player in major league baseball, the rewards and the perks as well as the minutiae of it, the mind-numbing routine and the ennui and the ephemeral nature of it. No, Adcock's internal monologues aren't as catchy or as instantly quotable as the lines from, say, Bull Durham or Major League, but there's no denying that there's insight to Adcock's world-weary observations, particularly, when it concerns the workings of a relief pitcher. It's funny to me that Adcock feels worse about surrendering a game-winning homerun than from getting tied up and beat up by brutal thugs.

T.T. Monday resides in San Jose, so there's that Bay Area flavor suffusing the narrative. This is the bit where I'd normally laud the first time novelist's unexpected polish and surprising authority. Except I read somewhere that "T.T. Monday" is actually a pen name for established author Nick Taylor (who'd written the historical novels,&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Disagreement-A-Novel/dp/1416550658/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Disagreement: A Novel</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Father-Junipero-s-Confessor/dp/1597142611/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Father Junipero's Confessor</a>). So, instead, I'll say that The Set Up Man goes down real easy, that it's informative in the ways of America's greatest pastime and that the noir elements are smoothly worked in. I expect to see more of Johnny Adcock. And for baseball insiders, that player who becomes a call-in radio host - whose show Johnny calls to rip his former teammate - that guy is supposedly based on Jesse Orosco.
324816
I got this item, set it up and it worked great for an hour or so,  than it stopped, no idea what is wrong with it, I returned it which is a hassle
1447686
i enjoyed this DVD but was somewhat annoyed that the video did not have any breaks as it is rather lengthy show in this instance. but it does wrap up the series quit nicely
1112567
Fiddly to set up and probably depends on your action whether it works or not. I can't really see how it'd be possible to set up on stage during a show so better have a guitar tech in the wings. Interesting to play with, though.
2559071
This offers a glimpse into the amount of work it takes to tour with a show this large. It also offers a glimpse into how much strain is placed on the headliner. Conan really can be a whiny little bitch at times. I understand his exhaustion with the process and this whole tour was birthed out of anger, but, he can be a bit of a premadonna as you will see.
2526954
Milking ur fans....pimping ant easy, Give us some substance....
Some happy endings, some closure. It's ok to say "The End". #pimpingyourreaders, #bootleggingbooks
3154639
What happened to the old Ron with really good stuff? "The anaconda in his pants, squirrel man, sweating scotch out of my pores riding the donkey up the hill", etc. Larry the cable guy he is not, and he always repeats versus from other shows which gets old. Way too many references to his wife which might be ok but she is not the one on stage. Cute dogs at the end I guess.
178061
Bob the tech support guy from Amcrest has done a greeeeeeat job for us today. He helped us in resetting the cameras and all the devises. Thank you Bob and the Amcrest team.
4397932
I am trying to get rid of the TV.  I bought the lamp and replaced it then the circuit board started to go.  I was getting a screen full of stars when the lamp went out.  Got a LED TV.  Now the price of the parts have come down.  I may fix it for a garage TV if I can't get any money from it.
926865
A SUPER show comes to a SUPER conclusion.  Had been a big fan of this show, and all great things must come to an end, so this season brought this show to an appropriate conclusion as ***SPOILER ALERT*** Clark finally puts on the red and blue tights and takes flight. One of the best series finales I have ever scene (pun intended) between the music and bringing back characters who had been killed off over the years.
4040985
this set includes 3 discs which I believe were the last half of the 6-7 hour set.  I think some live sets just arentt meant to be recorded.  Didn't leave as much impression on me as his previous studio sets.  My favorite would have to be the London series
2754781
I think that Tom has lost his enthousiasm in his recording . Due to the lack of air time, and stations playing only what the "numbers" say people want to hear. And that's sad for both the listener and the artists.
715926
Wonderful show! Sorry you missed it! Thank heavens we have the recording. Note that Sting wasn't in this session I saw him in the show but can't say I missed  him in the original cast version
155483
The live show was more revealing than the booklet that came with it. The booklet didn't make any sense to me only contradictory statements. I was hoping the booklet would provide more details like why it was put together (meaning the show). How Eartha Kitt and people like Diahann Carroll and Barbara Luna came to his show. Were they invited or just heard he was performing and thought they wanted to stop by? Towards the end of the show someone says, 'Where's Jeanne?' after Jeanne was mentioned at the beginning of the show to be there. It seemed she left. Did she really leave or was that just a part of the show? Although his show was great, the booklet did not provide details on the show, just random crap that people already know about Dean Martin.
3132539
I will forever miss this mans quick witt as a stand up comedian. He was and stiil is the funniest man that has passed our eyes and minds forever. His retuine was absolutely flawless, his response with the audience remarkable. What a clever man he was, I hope he will forever rest in peace, he was the perfect entertainer.
1453116
The man was hilarious this night as always. He will be missed!
2287825
I enjoyed watching the concert but the loud audience in the background detracted from the overall concert. I have several recorded concerts but this is the only one where the loud audience became annoying. The person in charge of the sound could have done a better job.