Breslin is perhaps the greatest American journalist ever to live, certainly the greatest columnist, and here he turns one of the most astonishing stories in American professional sports into a languorous ramble through what is the losing-est season in Major League Baseball, what it means to love a sports team, what it means to love a losing sports team, what it means to be a loser. He quotes someone, then cites a fact that's as sharp as a needle popping a balloon. The difference between being a journalist and being a non-fiction writer has never been on better display here, with journalism carrying with it its own merits. Exceptional.