It's been a few weeks since my last entry. Let’s not waste any time and get right to what I have been reading (two noteworthy books of 1990s vintage) and what I am reading (a newly published goldmine every serious fan should order before opening day) right now.

“The Power and the Darkness: The Life of Josh Gibson in the Shadows of the Game.” One of the things I do in observance of Black History month is to delve into at least one Negro Leagues baseball book. Recently, I finished Mark Ribowsky’s biography of Josh Gibson, a valuable if blemished effort.

In order to have a well-rounded depth of knowledge about baseball history, one has to learn about the Negro Leagues and their place in the American game. The redoubtable era of lawful segregation in America forced many of baseball’s best players to play in leagues outside of Organized Baseball. Satchel Paige. Buck Leonard. Cool Papa Bell. Rube Foster. Oscar Charleston. Those are among the most recognizable names in the Negro Leagues’ rich, troubled, unfortunate history. There are also many stories — some true, others terrific legend — worth discovering.

Of course, perhaps only Paige’s star is brighter than Gibson’s in the annals of Negro Leagues history. Gibson’s life was full of it’s own tales, some tall, others simply meaningful chapters in the life of an all-time great baseball player. Perhaps the greatest catcher in Negro Leagues history, Gibson was known foremost for his ability to hit a baseball. Record keeping in the Negro Leagues was sketchy at best, but it has been said that Gibson once hit 84 home runs one season (though not all of them came during league play). Often called “The Black Babe Ruth,” anecdotal evidence of Gibson’s ability provided in this book is more compelling than the numbers.

To his credit, Ribowsky, who also wrote “Don’t Look Back: Satchel Paige in the Shadows of Baseball,” a biography of Paige, paints not only an intriguing look at Gibson's career but of his tragic life, one filled with disappointment, personal moral failure and heartbreak. Ribowsky does an excellent job explaining Gibson’s illnesses (including rampant alcoholism) and his supposed hopes about being the player to break Major League Baseball’s color line.

The author’s prose is not without its errors. Readers will be stunned to learn, for example, that the St. Louis Browns won — not lost — the 1944 World Series, that Rube Marquard’s name is spelled differently than they remember, or that Gibson’s father worked in a steel mine, not mill.

Yet the book is a primer on Negro Leagues baseball during Gibson’s playing days and a knowledgeable look at a complex figure. “The Power and Darkness” is an apt title and Ribowsky is an authority on his subject. The author did a fine job with research. The book is worth your time.

“The Pitch That Killed.” Mike Sowell’s retelling of the story of Carl Mays, Ray Chapman and the 1920 season is a without question a classic. The only thing I am shocked by is the fact that it took me so long to discover it.

An exhaustively researched book and a well-crafted story, this book is a fantastic tale of something bad happening to a good guy at the hand of a man with suspect character and questionable motives.

Sowell does a brilliant job of weaving the players’ life stories into a narrative that taught me something new on nearly every page. Learning the history of 1920 season all by itself is enough reason to read Sowell’s work.

This is one of the best baseball books I have read in recent memory. If you haven’t yet discovered it, don’t waste time.

“The 2003 Baseball Prospectus.”  By now you likely are either a believer or a non-believer in the work of Baseball Prospectus team, which includes Chris Kahrl, Dave Pease and Gary Huckabay, among other baseball experts. I bought the prospectus for the first time last year. Now I can’t imagine prepping for another season of baseball enjoyment and roto management without it.

The book, which was just released in time for the 2003 season, provides performance analysis of more than 1,600 players — from today’s stars all the way down to rookie ball and 2002 draft picks. The 2003 edition includes essays on every team, with evaluations of at least 50 players per organization. There is also a top 40 prospects section that alone is worth the price of admission.

There are several new and improved features this season, including a new format that presents both actual data and performance analysis for every player covered, and adjustments for performances across leagues and ballparks to give fans as accurate analysis of hitters and pitchers as possible. Also new is the unique PECOTA projection system, a wrap-up of baseball’s labor situation and a primer on baseball injuries and recovery.

Every year the prospectus experts make startling projections that amazingly play out on the diamond. The hefty book is a successor to Bill James’ historical abstract — with many fewer errors. If you haven’t ordered one yet, I can’t understand why.