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(CNN) -- I could start this column with Jacques Barzun's quotation about learning baseball to know the heart and mind of America, but that would be too easy.

Better to start it with one from former baseball commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti: "The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone."

Or broadcaster Ernie Harwell: "Baseball is a lot like life. It's a day-to-day existence, full of ups and downs. You make the most of your opportunities in baseball as you do in life."

Or maybe broadcaster and former infielder Jerry Coleman: "And Kansas is at Chicago tonight or is it Chicago at Kansas City? Well, no matter as Kansas leads in the eighth 4 to 4."

OK, maybe Coleman doesn't quite work. But it is baseball season, which means that spring is here, metaphors are ripe and the Cubs are in the thick of the hunt ... for now.

It also means that publishers and other media companies are rolling out their baseball-oriented books and videos. Some are recapitulations of recent history. Others go back into the game's nascent days.

Eye on Entertainment offers a sampling.

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Eye-opener

Baseball Prospectus (http://www.baseballprospectus.com/) has become the go-to Web site for baseball information. It's also a fascinating source of offbeat baseball information, following in the footsteps of folks like Bill James and Allen Barra.

Now some of the authors behind the Web site have put their thoughts in hardcover with "Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know About the Game Is Wrong" (Basic Books). Is batting order really important? Is Derek Jeter overrated? This book has the answers -- or at least some theories.

The most publicized baseball book of the spring -- a book which, sadly, says more about the game and other professional sports than most statistics -- is "Game of Shadows" (Gotham), which claims to have solid proof of Barry Bonds' steroid use. The work, by San Francisco Chronicle reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, actually spends more time delving into BALCO, the Bay Area lab that allegedly supplied several athletes with performance-enhancing drugs.

Mike Schmidt, the Phillies' Hall of Fame third baseman, offers his take on the state of baseball with "Clearing the Bases" (HarperCollins). Schmidt has been blunt enough to say that if steroids had been common in his era he may have taken them, too, and also chimes in on Pete Rose and learning the basics.

Mark Lamster's "Spalding's World Tour" (PublicAffairs) describes the 19th-century international trip of player/sports magnate Albert G. Spalding, who sought to popularize baseball around the world. Spalding was a conniver and a tale-spinner -- he led the commission that named Abner Doubleday the game's inventor -- but one can't deny his profound impact.

Leigh Montville, who wrote a splendid biography of Ted Williams a few years ago, goes after the biggest bat of all: Babe Ruth, in "The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth" (Doubleday, due May 2). Montville has some big shoes to fill -- Robert W. Creamer's "Babe: The Legend Comes to Life" is considered one of the best baseball biographies.

Also not yet out but coming soon is David Maraniss' life of Roberto Clemente, "Clemente" (Simon & Schuster, due April 25). Maraniss, who's written excellent biographies of Bill Clinton and Vince Lombardi (as well as a fine book about the impact of Vietnam era events on a group of soldiers and students) has already earned raves for this latest work.

Howard W. Rosenberg, who prefers 19th-century star Cap Anson to Ruth, continues his series on that era's baseball with the controversial Chicago captain and manager at its center. Rosenberg's new book is "Cap Anson 4: Bigger Than Babe Ruth: Captain Anson of Chicago" (Tile Books).

Finally, Ernest W. Thayer's poem "Casey at the Bat" gets a new edition (KCP Poetry) with the striking illustrations of Joe Morse, setting Thayer's tale in a gritty, muscular urban arena.

Oh, yeah. For those fans who can't get enough of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, Shout! Factory has a DVD for you: "Red Sox vs. Yankees: The Ultimate Rivalry." There's some old history on the disc, including a newsreel from 1949, but the meat of the thing is the teams' recent machinations, complete with commentary tracks from Red Sox manager Terry Francona and Yankees manager Joe Torre.

Play ball!

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On screen

"The Benchwarmers" stars David Spade, Rob Schneider and Jon Heder. Schneider used to be funny as the copy guy on "SNL." Spade was amusing on "Just Shoot Me." Heder was entertaining as "Napoleon Dynamite." So why do I think this movie isn't going to be funny? It opens Friday -- and won't have any advance screenings.

"Lucky Number Slevin" stars Lucy Liu and Josh Hartnett in a tale of mistaken identity and gangsters. The cast is terrific: Ben Kingsley, Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman also star. Opens Friday.

"Take the Lead," with Antonio Banderas, sounds kind of like "Shall We Dance" crossed with "Dangerous Minds" -- which was probably the way it was pitched. Opens Friday.

Mo'Nique tries to fit with a group of much thinner peers in "Phat Girlz." It opens Friday.

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On the tube

Kevin Smith works "DeGrassi: The Next Generation," 8 p.m. Friday, The N.

"Tim McGraw: Reflected" offers TV audiences a chance to see the country star live. 8 p.m. Friday, NBC.

Richard Dean Anderson -- yes, "MacGyver" -- is kidnapped by his biggest fans, Selma and Patty, on "The Simpsons." 8 p.m. Sunday, Fox.

The History Channel picks "10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America."

The series, which features contributions by several notable filmmakers, begins 9 p.m. Sunday on the History Channel.

Kudos to "The Daily Show"

for regularly featuring thoughtful books and writers with ideas among its always sharp-edged comedy. (Last week, the show welcomed Studs Terkel; other visitors have included Fareed Zakaria and Bernard-Henri Levy.) Who will it bring on next? 11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, Comedy Central.

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Sound waves

"The Capitol Albums Vol. 2" (Capitol), a collection of the Beatles' late 1964 and 1965 albums up to (and including) 'Rubber Soul.' " comes out Tuesday.

"You in Reverse" (Warner Bros.), Built to Spill's new CD, comes out Tuesday.

Buckcherry's latest, "15" (Eleven Seven), comes out Tuesday.

"Todd Smith" (Def Jam) finds LL Cool J using his real name -- at least in the album title. The rapper's new release comes out Tuesday.

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Paging readers

The paperback release of James Howard Kunstler's intriguing "The Long Emergency" (Grove) comes out Tuesday.

"High Lonesome" (Ecco), a collection of Joyce Carol Oates' short stories (is this woman ever NOT writing?), comes out Tuesday.

In "My Life in France," the late Julia Child tells the story of how she came to love the nation she moved to in the late '40s -- and, especially, its food. Her husband Paul's grandnephew Alex Prud'homme helped put the book together after Julia's death. It's out Friday.

"Beckett Centenary Editions" (Grove) collects major and selected works by the Nobel Prize-winning playwright and author Samuel Beckett in a gorgeous four-volume set. Out April 13.

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Video center

"The Bob Newhart Show: The Complete Third Season" comes out Tuesday.

"Fun with Dick & Jane," the Jim Carrey-Tea Leoni version, comes out Tuesday.

"Death Cab for Cutie: Directions" is a collection of videos inspired by songs on "Plans." It comes out Tuesday.

In all the deserved hoopla over "The Office," a similarly biting Canadian show, "The Newsroom," has been overlooked. Now there's no reason not to know about it: its "Complete Third Season" comes out Tuesday. (Yes, the first two seasons are already available.)

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