Game 5: Three outs to go

When the Red Sox were three outs away from beating the Cardinals in the 2004 World Series, I woke up my then six-month old son and made him sit there with me to watch it end.

I thought the proper fatherly thing to do was to make sure that my son could say that he watched the Red Sox win their first World Series since 1918. After all, the last time the Red Sox had won the World Series, my grandmother was my son’s age.

But like my 88-year old grandmother, my son was born into a world where the Red Sox were the defending World Series champions.

Tonight, my son is 2½ and fast asleep. I’m not going to wake him even though the Cardinals are three outs away from winning the World Series after Jeff Weaver mowed the Tigers down in the eighth and picked up his ninth strikeout of the game. These days it’s just too hard to get him back to sleep, especially with the threat of monsters moving into hiding places in his room while he watches the end of the game.

Besides, he’s already seen the Red Sox win it all. I’d never seen it until my mid-30s.

Generally, though, I don’t root for teams, but I’ll admit that I’m happy for Scott Rolen. He’s my favorite player to watch and as I’ve stated on these pages before, if my son is ever interested in playing baseball and wants to learn how I’ll tell him to copy No. 27 for St. Louis.

It would be much more fun if I could say No. 17 for Philadelphia.

But there is no sense re-hashing all of that.

St. Louis sits on the verge thanks to eight errors by the Tigers. I suppose that’s how this series will be remembered. The Pirates in 1979 was the last time a team made errors in each of the first five games of the World Series. But unlike “The Family,” the Tigers didn’t have the fire power – or Willie Stargell – to overcome their ineptitude.

Three outs to go. The boy is fast asleep.

Game 5: Pitching and defense

It seems as if Placido Polanco is doing his imitation of Scott Rolen's 2004 World Series. That's kind of ironic, I guess, since the pair were traded for one another in 2002 from the Phillies and Cardinals.

Polanco isn't swinging that bat poorly in this World Series, but he's 0-for-17. This oh-fer comes after Polanco was the MVP of the ALCS. In 2004, Rolen went 0-for-15 in the World Series against the Red Sox after slugging the game-winning home run in Game 7 of the NLCS against Roger Clemens.

Polanco seemed to snap his skid in the seventh, but Albert Pujols may have made the play of the series to rob him. Far off the bag at first, Pujols dived to his right and snagged the ball in the web of his far-extended glove. But in order to nail the reasonably speedy Polanco, Pujols had to roll over to his rear, find pitcher Jeff Weaver streaking for first, and hit him with a hard throw from the seat of his pants just to nip Polanco by a step.

Meanwhile, La Russa started the seventh with a new right fielder and left fielder. So Taguchi shifted from left to right and Preston Wilson entered the game. It's all about pitching and defense now, especially since the Cardinals have three outfielders who all have spent significant time as center fielders during their careers.

Defense continued to be a bane for the Tigers in the bottom of the seventh when David Eckstein reached first with an infield single when shortstop Carlos Guillen double-clutched on the throw to first. That was followed by a walk to the free-swinging Preston Wilson from reliever Fernando Rodney, who started the frame.

Perhaps his crooked hat, fashionably askew atop his head knocked him off kilter during the first two hitters of the seventh?

But Rodney got Pujols to pop out, and Edmonds to do the same. With two outs and two on Rolen dumped an RBI single to right just a few feet in front of Magglio Ordonez in right field.

Not only did that hit extend Rolen's hitting streak to 10 games, but also it should have cinched the MVP Award for the former Phillie if the Cardinals can hold the lead.

The Cardinals ended the seventh with the 4-2 lead. They have six outs to go.

Game 5: More errors

Not too long after Tim McCarver made a salient point about Chris Duncan playing right field in the sixth inning of a one-run game, the young outfielder goes ahead and plays a fairly routine warning-track fly ball into a double for Sean Casey.

McCarver said: "At this point you go to four innings of defense."

Actually, nine innings of defense helps, but the point is the Cardinals should worry less about Duncan's offense and more about defense.

But shouldn't the genius Tony La Russa know this?

Defense is the most underrated aspect of the baseball. In fact, Bill James wrote something that got my attention which stated that half of good pitching is really good defense. After presenting this to long-time Major League general manager Pat Gillick, he responded with (essentially) a, "well, yeah... "

Kind of like, "duh."

Proof? Check out the Tigers and the eight unearned runs this series.

Gillick is a self-described pitching and defense guy. I guess I am, too. After all, a baseball team wins more games with good pitching than good hitting.

Nevertheless, Duncan's "error" was a no-harm, no-foul type. Weaver was able to dance out of the sixth with his 3-2 lead to put the Cardinals within nine outs of the title.

On another note, how come I haven't heard anything about former Cardinal Tim McCarver and Cardinals' announcer Joe Buck calling these World Series games?

Game 5: Wha happened!

So I step away for a minute to put the wash in the dryer and another load in the washer and the Cardinals have the lead? Another throwing/fielding error by a Tigers pitcher?

What gives.

While I was away, Verlander fielded a bunt (it was a bunt, right?) cleanly, but his throw to third was behind Inge and skittered into left field. As a result, Molina and So Taguchi scored to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead.

Molina, the worst-hitting starter in the National League during the regular season, picked up his second hit of the game and currently has a .400 average in the World Series.

But more importantly, what's with the errors and the Tigers pitchers? That's one in every game of this series and they aren't hustling, hard-luck errors, either. The Tigers' errors are simple, routine errors on every day plays. Because of the errors, the Cardinals have scored eight unearned runs this series and there is still a bit to go.

Then again, Weaver picked up two more strikeouts (he has six in five innings) to get through the fifth.

It's 3-2 and the Cardinals are 12 outs away.

Game 5: 1982 Cardinals

The last time the Cardinals won the World Series, a dude from Lancaster was on the mound to get the last out. Justin Verlander wasn't born yet.

Better yet, the Cardinals' second baseman was also from Lancaster.

In that regard, I wonder what Bruce Sutter, newly inducted to the Hall of Fame this year, and Tom Herr are thinking right now.

I wonder if they're watching?

Sutter has become something of a de facto Cardinals celebrity this summer with his No. 42 retired alongside Jackie Robinson's famous 42. He seemed genuinely touched by the gesture, too -- much more than most players who receive the honor.

I vaguely remember Sutter as a pitcher. The intricacies of pitching were lost on me at such a young age, though I remember how people talked in hushed tones and awe of Sutter's now-famous split-finger fastball. I remember a lot of hitters swinging and missing it when Sutter was pitching for the Cubs, Cards and Braves.

Tom Herr, the second baseman from the '82 Cards, lives very near where I'm sitting right now. According to baseball people that I have talked to who remember Herr from his playing days, the second baseman was not always very popular with his teammates or the media. A lot of people say he was a bit of a clubhouse lawyer and a sometimes uncooperative. A little arrogant, too, they say.

What do I know, I wasn't there.

But if I had to guess, it could be that reputation that kept Herr from becoming a Major League coach or manager after his playing days ended with an unceremonious trade from the Phillies followed by his releases from the Mets and Giants.

Herr is back now, though... kind of. He spent the past two summers managing the independent league Lancaster Barnstormers. They even won the Atlantic League title this year. Whether that re-opens some doors to the Majors remains to be seen. From what I have learned in my six years is that grudges die hard all over the big leagues.

Meanwhile, the game has been a bit sloppy thus far. Aside from Inge's error, the third baseman ran the Tigers out of an inning by getting caught too far off second base on a grounder hit to the left side of the infield.

In the bottom of the the third, Albert Pujols was caught stealing on the back end of hit-and-run in which Jim Edmonds whiffed.

Chris Duncan muffed an easy fly ball in right field with one out in the fourth when Edmonds decided to do his Kelly Leak impression. Duncan's error -- no thanks to Edmonds -- allowed Magglio Ordonez to reach base so that Sean Casey could pound a long home run just inside the foul pole in right.

Just like that and it's 2-1 for the Tigers.

Verlander has the lead.

Game 5 2nd inning

According to a story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today, the BBWAA is disappointed with the quality of the press box at the brand-new Busch Stadium. All I can say is it’s a good thing the Washington Nationals didn’t make it to the playoffs.

Also, I didn’t hear too many complaints from the BBWAA about Shea Stadium, which is the worst press box I have ever been in, excluding the one at Conestoga Valley High School.

The biggest complaint about the new Busch is that unless one is sitting in the first row of the press box, certain portions of the outfield and the scoreboard cannot be seen.

To that I say that based on my seat in Citizens Bank Park, I never knew there was a scoreboard.

Still, I guess I can understand the problem. The BBWAA wants proper working conditions, which is fine. But I also think the BBWAA is attempting to keep some semblance of a firm grip on the coverage of the game while readers and writers slip away to the growing influence of the Internet and blogs.

Sorry guys, you are nearly irrelevant.

Aside from this cutting edge blog (he said with tongue firmly planted in his cheek), the NY Times – the voice of the establishment – has a live blog going, too. I’m sure the dude at Deadspin is busy tap, tap, tapping away on his keyboard in front of the TV, too.

As someone straddling both sides of the fence between the new media and the establishment, I honestly can say I much more excited about the new stuff. Sportswriting and journalism must adapt.

Or die.

But as a member of the corporate media, all I really want is access. I want to be able to see someone’s face when they answer a tough question and hear the tone of their voice. I want to be able to have the chance to shoot the breeze with a player and get inside what they do to prepare, recover and the process in which makes them a professional athlete practicing their craft.

At Citizens Bank Park, all I can do is watch the game on TV like everyone else. The view from the press box stinks, but the bathrooms are nearby and it doesn't take too long to get to the clubhouses or field.

Anyway, the Cardinals took the lead in the bottom of the second on a throwing error by Brandon Inge. David Eckstein (he’s small and scrappy) grounded a broken-bat grounder to third with two outs and Yadier Molina at third. Inge fielded the ball close to the line, but in his haste to throw out Eckstein, chucked the ball past Sean Casey at first and into right field.

It’s 1-0 Cardinals. They need 21 more outs to become World Champions.

Game 5: 1st inning

I dislike listening to the announcers, but Tim McCarver might have a point in noting that Justin Verlander is nervous. The kid has a nasty fastball, but it appears to be all over the place in the bottom of the first. Infielders and catcher Pudge Rodriguez have paid a few visits in attempt to settle the kid down. The pitching coach even went out to the mound to relax Verlander.

It doesn’t appear as if manager Jim Leyland is going to mess around tonight. Just one out and two free passes into the game and Leyland has the ‘pen up. It’s definitely an all-hands-on-deck game for the down-to-the-wire Tigers.

According to the media guide, Verlander was born in February of 1983. That was the sixth grade for me where a school year was heading toward the backstretch and the move from James Buchanan Elementary to Wheatland Junior High was quickly approaching. If someone were to tell me what I was doing on the day Verlander was born, I probably can remember it.

My guess is it involved something at John May’s house on Wilson Drive. We probably played basketball or threw mulch at cars as they drove past.

Hey, it was Lancaster, Pa. in 1983. We only got MTV a few months earlier.

Anyway, Verlander is only 23. When I was 23 I wasn’t pitching in an elimination game of the World Series. I most likely was hanging around some people who didn’t really like me all that much in Philadelphia. Luckily for everyone involved, I doubt those people and me have seen each other since I was 23.

In case they are reading this (which they aren’t) I still look the same, but I’m much thinner now.

Yet despite the three walks and two wild pitches, Verlander escaped the inning unscathed when Carlos Guillen made a dynamic on-the-run throw to cut down Ronnie Belliard at first. Before heading to commercial, the Fox cameras caught Verlander giving an emphatic fist pump kind of like Johnny Drama’s “VICTORY!”

Is that what the kid needed to relax?

Game 5: Live updates

Are the Cardinals the worst team ever to win a World Series? Are they the worst team to ever be holding the cards in a World Series elimination game? Some think so, but I don’t. At the beginning of the season if one were to say the Cardinals would win the World Series, it wouldn’t be crazy. That was especially the case after watching them rip apart the Phillies in a season-opening sweep at Citizens Bank Park in April. The Cardinals were really good back then. They were also pretty good through the first half of the season. But then the injuries came and the Cards limped into the playoffs with many believing they wouldn’t get past the first round of the playoffs.

They’re lucky they didn’t have to play the Phillies.

Then again, maybe it didn’t matter. The Cardinals appear to have gotten healthy while tightening up the play at just the right time. And as someone much smarter than me once said, “Once you get into the playoffs anything can happen.”

Maybe that was Charlie Manuel who said that? Sounds like something a lot of baseball people say.

Nevertheless, the top of the first opened with California kid Jeff Weaver striking out the first two hitters with a curve ball that bent like a wiffle ball. Weaver might have it tonight. The perfect inning ended with a weak fly to left.

As for the worst team to win the World Series – How about the 1969 New York Mets? They ended up winning the supposed superior Baltimore Orioles in five games.

More hours in the day, please...

People who can juggle kids, jobs and running with calculated efficiency, always amaze me. Those folks who can get up at 5 a.m. in order to get a run in at 6 so they can be finished in time to get the kids out the door by 8 are Supermen and women.

(right: The Breakfast of Champions.)

Even better, some of them even add a second run at the end of the day or during a lunch break. It really is very amazing.

I can’t do it. Even when I didn’t have a real job, a mortgage, bills, kid, etc., I was never one who got up early. Before I actually began writing about baseball and sports I kept “baseball hours.” That means if I get to bed before 2 a.m. I must be sick or really tired or something.

Because of this schedule and lifestyle, racing is often difficult since they are usually held early in the morning. In order to race, I have to make a real commitment to a particular event and then make sure I’m in bed or horizontal very, very early – for me. Nevertheless, the day before a marathon I make sure I’m finished walking for the day at 5 p.m. and in bed at 8.

The rest is just that important. I never realized that until I went to race a couple of months ago and just couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t able to get loose or run the way I had been in workouts. When I expressed this to my wife she smartly told me why I was slow on that particular day.

“You got up in the middle of the night to run. You’re usually asleep at the time the race started so you intentionally got yourself up in the middle of your natural sleep time to run. You were tired.”

She’s very smart.

Fortunately, I have the luxury working out when I am well rested. My wife is to thank for that. While I keep my baseball hours, she keeps her schoolteacher hours. That means she is up by 6 a.m. even on days when she can sleep in. But she’s always been that way, I’m told. So while she tends to our son and gets him ready for school, I ease into the morning. I can get all the sleep I need, wash up, get my coffee, do a few hours of work and then start my workout. Afterwards, I pick up the boy and we wait for her to get home.

It definitely works out well for me.

But today’s schedule had a bit of a monkey wrench throw into it. There was no school for the boy, which meant an extra-early wake up call for me. Usually this means I have to start my run when my wife gets home around 4 p.m., but with an ART appointment as well as the threat of 24-hours of downpour looming, I was left scrambling for a mid-day sitter, which isn’t exactly the easiest thing to find in the world.

But my mom came to the rescue by taking an extended lunch break. I guess 30-plus years of service at her job has its benefits… for me, too.

Thanks to my mom I was able to squeeze in a quick 13-miler, which I completed in 1:27:10. That’s not so bad when the fact that I did it on five hours sleep a days after doubling up for 21.5 miles. It took some extra effort to keep the pace in the early going, and loosening up wasn’t fun, but it’s definitely one I’ll take.

I just wish I could have gone longer. This is “Blast Week” after all. Perhaps if the rain holds off until the boy goes to bed and I’m not too tired after the ART, I’ll double-up again.

Stats: 13 miles in 1:27:10. The first nine went in 60:01. Not bad for a sleep-deprived dad.

On another note, my boy Michael and I had a lovely breakfast at Starbucks this morning. He had one of their apple streusels and organic chocolate milk and I had a venti Colombian with a Clif Bar. He enjoyed the overstuffed chairs and the broad windows. I enjoyed the company. If mornings like that is the reason to put off workouts, I’ll have no qualms about becoming a slouch.

A tremendous slouch.

Running nugget
Runnersworld.com reported that Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France champion, would get some help in his marathon debut on Nov. 5 in New York City.

According to the brief, Armstrong’s sponsor Nike is putting together a pace team that could include 1984 Olympic gold medal marathoner Joan Benoit Samuelson, three-time New York City Marathon winner Alberto Salazar, and 2004 Olympic 1500 and 5000-meter gold medalist Hicham El Guerrouj.

So a guy hoping to run 2:45 or so gets a team of rabbits? Wow. If Nike wants to send someone to Harrisburg on Nov. 12 to help me snap 2:40, I’m ready.

Best bets

Last week: 2-1
Year-to-date: 8-5-1

I almost forgot about the football picks for this week. With the World Series and running workouts reaching a fever pitch, it’s amazing that I forgot to brag about the 7-1-1 record over the last three weeks. And here’s the best part – this knowledge is free. Anyone who wants a football pick only has to check this site, or, email me. I’ll even go off the board, one-on-one, for those who need the help.

Anyway, here we go:

Eagles minus 4 over Jacksonville
The logic on this one is that the Eagles lost two straight games on last-second kicks and desperately need a victory. Plus, Jacksonville’s quarterback is banged up and coming off a bad game. Sure, people tell me the Jags’ backup is decent, but aren’t they all? Nevertheless, this one could be the easiest win of the year for the Eagles.

Giants plus 1 over Cleveland
I don’t know… the line looks good. Plus, I have Tiki Barber on my fantasy team. That’s reason enough, right?

ed. note: it turns out that the New York on the odds sheet I was looking at was the Jets not the Giants. Apparently, there is more than one New York team even though the only team in the NFL that actually plays any games in that state is Buffalo. In that case, I love that Chad Pennington dude. Go Jets. J-E-T-S! JETS! JETS! JETS!

Colts plus 2½ over Denver
There has been a lot of snow in Colorado this week, which probably means the Broncos have been practicing indoors. The Colts are a dome team and always practice indoors (I don’t know if this is fact, but it sounds right) so that makes it all even. Add in the fact that it’s expected to be a temperate 64-degrees and dry in Denver on Sunday, which makes it feel like the indoors, and it’s still level.

Huh?

Just go with the Colts.

For the record, my favorite football picker is Jeff Johnson, who wrote excellent prognostications for McSweeney's. I don't think he does much of it anymore, but the old stuff is really good and worth the read for those who like good writing.

It's Game 4!

More observations from Thursday night's telecast of Game 4 of the World Series:

* Here’s something from Slate that says people dislike the Cardinals because they read Moneyball.

I’m not sure about the argument, though. Tony La Russa might have something to do with people’s dislike of the Cardinals, and around here Scott Rolen may have checkered some reaction to the Cards’ run to the World Series.

* Speaking of Rolen, it might not be too far-fetched to believe he could be the MVP of the World Series if the Cardinals win. After four games Rolen’s batting average is just a shade under .500 and his .813 slugging percentage for an 1.284 OPS. Players with lesser numbers have been named the series MVP.

The drawback, of course, is the RBIs. Rolen has just one in the series, and one in the entire post-season. Excluding pitchers, the fewest amount of RBIs by a World Series MVP are two by Derek Jeter in 2000, Rick Dempsey in 1983 and Pete Rose in 1975.

Perhaps Rolen needs just one more?

* Jayson Stark wonders if La Russa is toying with the Busch Stadium radar guns just to mess with Tigers’ reliever Joel Zumaya’s head.

* This is just a guess, but I would not be shocked if everyone is sick and tired of hearing that John Cougar Mellencamp song on that car commercial. In fact, I’m so annoyed by it that I don’t even know what type of car it’s for. Worse, it is now officially more annoying than Bob Seger’s “Like a Rock” car commercial song.

I don’t know what type of car that was for either, but chances are it’s not a car I’d buy.

* ESPN is taking on the ambitious task of adapting Jonathan Mahler’s wonderful book, Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning. The eight-hour adaptation, starring John Turturro as Billy Martin and Oliver Platt as George Steinbrenner, is supposed to be ready for air next summer.

If ESPN re-creation is half as good as Mahler’s book that documents the summer of tumult in 1977 New York City, it will be well worth sitting still for eight hours to watch the movie.

I’m curious if ESPN will stick strictly with the Yankees aspect of the book or attempt to reach into the political and societal narratives. If so, I’m dying to know who will play Bella Abzug.

* If I were David Eckstein I would be very tired of every talking head pointing out that I’m “little” and “scrappy.” Just once I would like to hear a guy like Eckstein look at an interviewer like Chris Myers and say, “Is that all you can come up with? I’m small? Come on, dude… people out there want your best work.”

* La Russa's move to bring in closer Adam Wainwright for five outs was really smart. Perhaps a starter or two will be in the bullpen as the Cardinals attempt to close it out on Friday night.

* The Cardinals led the Royals 3-1 in the 1985 World Series and the Tigers 3-1 in the 1968 series. They lost both of those. Moreover, in the two previous meetings between the Cardinals and Tigers in the World Series, the team that won Game 4 went on the lose the series.

Hmmm...

In the 1982 World Series, the last time the Cardinals won one, St. Louis trailed Milwaukee 3-2 before winning games 6 and 7.

Off the fence

I always have believed that a person’s religious and political beliefs should be kept out of the workplace. I know that a lot of people define themselves by these tenets and I know that a lot of corporations, including the one I work for, donate a lot of money to specific political candidates.

In fact, in the past I have worked and campaigned for several political candidates and if one (or two) of my friends run for Congress, mayor or district attorney, I will be there for them for whatever they want me to do.

But you will never read about it here, nor will anyone at work hear about it either.

I’m not apolitical – far from it. My political views are hardened by a childhood spent in Washington, D.C. and time spent studying history and politics in school. As I have mentioned in previous posts, in another time my aspiration was to be a political and presidential historian. Because of this I’d like to think my views are well formed and investigated.

Then again, everyone thinks that about himself.

The reason I bring this up is because Cardinals’ pitcher Jeff Suppan, slated to start tonight’s Game 4, is involved in a bit of a controversy because of his role in a political campaign ad in Missouri. Suppan (along with Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner and Kansas City Royals first baseman Mike Sweeney), it seems, has come out against stem-cell research in response to an advertisement featuring actor Michael J. Fox. The actor, as has been well documented, suffers from Parkinson's disease and actively campaigns for stem-cell research.

I’m not going to include anything Suppan or Fox said in their ads because neither man is an expert on the subject or a scientist.

Nevertheless, in six years of being in close quarters with professional athletes, this is really the first time I can remember one jumping into the political fray. Actually, in retrospect, I can remember a handful of political conversations with a baseball player whose views were similar to mine, but that's about it. Some jocks have bumper stickers on their cars with a political bent, but rarely bring those ideas into the clubhouse or near the field.

No, I won’t reveal anything here either.

The point is I think it’s good that Suppan is politically active. A generation ago most athletes were very active in the politics of the United States and their sports. They protested, formed unions and engaged the entire process.

Now, generalizing a little (but not much), professional athletes engage in X-box and gambling or both with a lot of dodging the media and the fans mixed in. Some have no idea about the battles waged and the precedent set by the athletes that came before them.

So before anyone rips Suppan for his political stance, which definitely is fair game, let's hope that his interest in the process sparks more from athletes on all angles of the spectrum.

Let’s just keep it off the field and off these pages.

Blasting away

This one felt like the old days, though I don’t remember feeling so refreshed after a 15-miler before.

Yeah, refreshed.

I wasn’t sure how the run was going to shape up this morning since my right calf was a little sore and I ran 18 miles the day before, but Thursday’s outing was very solid. My turnover, stride and breathing were as good as I can ever recall. This is despite another windy, gusty day that made the 50-degree temperatures feel much chillier. In fact, it felt like I didn’t run at all.

I guess I’ll have to double up.

Anyway, I ran the first five miles in 33:10, the second five in 31:57 and the final five in 30:55. The last 1.5 miles were run faster than marathon-race pace – maybe even 5k pace – yet I didn’t breathe hard at all. It was just smooth sailing.

Final stats: 15.3 miles in 1:39:02 (6:28 pace).

So I mentioned the old days? Actually, the run reminded me of the workouts my friend Tom Levering and I used to do along Kelly and West River drives behind the Art Museum in Philadelphia when he was going to Wharton in 1997 and training for the Philadelphia Marathon.

During those runs, Tom and I would take turns trying to beat the crap out of each other for 10 miles starting at the Penn Towers, through parts of West Philly before circling the trail to the Falls Bridge and back the other side. More often than not, Tom would push through the first part while I hung on for dear life. But as soon as I got my legs underneath me, I’d push to the end.

I can honestly say that I only really tried to drop him once, but it took a 5:10 mile seven miles into the workout to do it.

Those workouts were some of the most fun I had running, and looking back on my nearly decade-old logs I see a lot of 61 and 62-minute runs written down. The crazy part was that Tom was never a runner, though he was an excellent athlete and a standout high school basketball and baseball player before turning into a college rower.

But based on how he pushed during those runs, maybe he should have been a cross-country runner or a miler on the track.

Post script
Added a brisk 10k in 41:39 in the evening to give me 21.5 miles for the day and a little more than 79 miles for the week. I felt strong enough to really hammer during the evening run, but I reigned it in because my right calf is still achy.

Luckily, I have an appointment with my chiropractor for some ART treatments tomorrow afternoon.

More coffee, please

In the old days, before I went to bed, I made an intricate mix of green tea, honey and lemon juice in an ice-tea machine so it would be ready in the morning before my run. So sure that the green tea made me run better that I lugged that old tea machine with me whenever I traveled to a race or even a pleasure trip.

Nobody knew how to make the tea the way I liked, I reasoned, though a few places came close. If I can recall correctly, the Adams Mark in Clearwater, Fla. had excellent ice tea.

I still have that tea maker and a taste for good ice tea with the right amount of honey and lemon, but I don’t really make it any more. These days, the magic elixir to make me run better every morning comes from Kind Coffee in Estes Park, the stand at Lancaster’s Central Market owned by those guys with interesting facial hair and t-shirts with pithy sayings, or Starbucks everywhere.

Coffee, baby. Coffee.

Apparently, while sitting in the press box at Citizens Bank Park, I wrote about coffee and caffeine as a performance enhancer, so I won’t delve to deeply into it again. However, I wonder what is going to happen when I dial down the training in late November and December…

I’m hooked, huh?

On another note, the Gatorade and Red Bull mixture I have been testing on occasional long runs is not only beneficial to the running, but delicious, too. I was extolling the virtues of the sugar-free Red Bull I drink with my sister recently and she was right there with me.

“You should try it with vodka,” she said.

It's a rain out!

Was it me or did it seem that Joe Buck was laughing at us when he said, “So we’ll send you back to ‘The War at Home’ while we wait out the rain delay in St. Louis.”

It seemed that way to me. Smug and pompous, Joe was taunting us as the camera melted away from the raindrops falling heavily on the tarp at Busch Stadium. Instead of watching Michael Rappaport in some schlocky sit-com, Buck was able to watch it rain. Had he just painted a wall he could have watched it dry instead of watching episode after episode of that show.

Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks this way.

But while waiting for a game that was never to be played on Wednesday night, I did a little thinking and here’s what I came up with: “comedy” isn’t as funny as it used to be.

Yeah, I know. I’m some old guy saying, “things sure were better in my day.” Well… wasn’t it? Does any one think that half of the sit-coms on TV now would have had a chance in the 1980s? Now, it seems as if watching network television is like having a lobotomy without the surgery.

The same goes for comedy movies. Just for comparisons sake, I watched Animal House to see how it held up nearly 30 years after its release. If you want to know the truth, it’s better than anything being produced now.

The reason, I think, is there was actual character and plot development in the old-time comedies. There was a motivation and a familiarity with the characters, while in the Ricky Bobby picture, for instance, it was just a highlight film of one-liners and slick editing.

Don’t get me wrong, Will Ferrell was brilliant in Old School, which I believe is a “throwback” to the glory days of motion-picture comedy, but I’m not sure if he can carry a picture. Take Ron Burgundy -- it was funny and I enjoyed the character, but the movie stunk.

So that’s what we get with the rain out of Game 4 – bad comedy and a bad blog post.

On another note, my 2½-year-old boy has been having trouble sleeping at night lately. It seems as if we have a problem with monsters here on Landis Ave. that I’ll have to take care of soon. Nevertheless, the boy and I spent part of Monday night flipping through the dial, watching old movies hoping it would relax him and get him to fall asleep. However, when his mom got home I knew I was in trouble when he walked over to the TV and pointed at the robust and portly man on the screen.

“Belushi!” he told her. “Belushi!”

The kid is learning... maybe too much.

Blast Week

This is “Blast Week.” Back in the old days in my lead up for the 1998 Boston Marathon, I cranked out a 110-mile week with a pair of two-hour runs just three weeks before the big race. As I recall, I didn’t plan on running so much that week because a warm snap sent temperatures up near 90 degrees. The heat would wear me out, I reasoned.

But after the 2:30:41 (2:30:40 net – I was up front), as well as a then five-mile PR of 26:18 a week before the marathon, I figured I was one to something and decided that the third week out from every marathon would forever be called Blast Week. It would be the week where I tried to incorporate every type of training possible every day.

A few months later, with the ’98 Marine Corps Marathon looming, Blast Week featured three two-hour runs, 57:17 10-mile tempo run and a personal record 131-mile week. Unfortunately, by the time the race arrived I was so burnt I was crispy. I got a cold a few days before the marathon and had difficulty breathing by the second mile of the race. By the time I crossed the Key Bridge into Georgetown not even an hour into the race, I knew I was cooked – it was all over.

Still, I blindly covered 21 miles in 1:55 only to finish in 3:02.

Yeah, it was pretty ugly.

Needless to say, I won’t break the record of 131 miles in this Blast Week. However, three days into my last full week of training before the Nov. 12 Harrisburg Marathon, two two-hour runs are already in the book.

Crazy? Not smart? Perhaps. But it’s what I like to do. It makes me feel strong and confident before a race. If things go well in a 5k I plan on racing in on Nov. 4, I’ll be bursting.

Just so long as I’m not crispy.

It should be noted that I love reading about marathon training. If given a chance, I’d read other people’s training logs and books on training principles all day long. Not only do I find it interesting and educational, but also it is entertaining. Simply, reading (and talking) about running is fun.

Almost as fun as doing it.

Over the past decade-and-a-half I’ve read a lot about training. Jack Daniels, Pete Pfitzinger, and recently, Arthur Lydiard, are just a few of the tested and true experts I’ve dug into in order to make myself a better runner. These men have produced results and plans that work. If one wants to be a better runner, just follow their plans.

Just don’t ask me – I don’t follow any plan. That much is obvious.

Actually, I guess that’s not entirely true. I do follow one plan – my own. The tenets are based on the principles gleaned from the masters, but basically follow a couple of basic rules.

They are:

* Run how you feel. If you want to go fast, go fast. If you want to run long, run long.

* Don’t run if you are hurt. If you have difficulty walking, don’t do something silly like run.

And my favorite:

* You can always do one more.

I got that last one from Floyd Landis.

Anyway, I have always thrived on high mileage, which is 100-miles a week or more. Of course it’s a slippery slope, too. The more miles a person runs, the better the chance for injury. That’s why I have cast aside track workouts (for now) and specific speed intervals in favor of fartlek and tempo workouts. This way, I can incorporate some time of speed work every day.

This might not be the best plan and I’m sure if I did something else – like work with a coach, etc. – I’d get a lot faster. But right now I’m having a lot of fun doing things my way. If I can run well in Harrisburg, perhaps it will be time to “take it to the next level.” Until then, I’ll go with what I know.

That means a 24 miler in 2:48 on Monday where I ran the first 13 miles at 6:35 to 6:40 pace. It was an easy, easy pace though it did take a tiny bit on concentration because of the hills and windy conditions. About 90-minutes in, I met up with Jeff Kirchner, who was out running at Baker Field with his dog, and I ran with him for about an hour. The pace dipped a bit, but wasn't slow.

But when Jeff left I ran for another 22 minutes by myself and I picked up the pace again.

The good part was that even after running for 2-hours and 20 minutes, I still had some turnover and could have taken the pace to 6 minutes.

One cannot have a Blast Week without running some hills. So after starting out slow and feeling a tad tight after the long run on Monday, I worked through the repeats and ran steady for 16 miles on Tuesday. Just like on Monday, I had a lot of turnover at the end of the run.

After recovering from the hills with some good sleep and a good cup of coffee an Clif Bar for breakfast, I spent the first 70 minutes of Wednesday’s run alternating between 5:50-mile pace and 6-minute pace.

I don’t know what this proves, but it was fun.

After the alternating drill, I ran at 6:40 to 6:50 pace through the hills for five miles before tying up a tad at the end of an 18 miler in 2:02.

So that’s the crux of Blast Week. If there is any science involved in it, it’s lost on me. Either way, tomorrow comes early and there is more running to do.

20 years ago today...

... the ball slipped through Buckner's legs at Shea. I believe there should be a plaque on the grass behind first base marking the site where it occurred, like a historical marker or something. Every time I'm in that tiny visitors' clubhouse at Shea I think about the scene after that Game 6 when workers had to tear down the podium and put away the champagne by the time the Red Sox made it from the dugout, down the narrow, plank board covered hallway and into the clubhouse.

During the entire inning, Bob Costas saw the entire scene unfold and was prepared to hand the Series trophy to Jean Yawkey and then MVP Award to Bruce Hurst.

Such a wild, wild game.

Here's a re-enactment:

Better yet, here's the Sports Illustrated account by Ron Firmite about Game 6 and the aftermath from Nov. 3, 1986.

Here you can pick up the bottom of the 10th with two outs and one on:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob7Z8GcP2QM]

New site

For all the running geeks out there, I moved all running-related writing, training and musings to another site. So if you find this kind of stuff interesting or just want someone to laugh at, check out the new site.

Oh good... another self-indulgent running site

Here’s the deal: I have received a lot of response regarding my training and the running posts on my “Finger Food” blog (trust me, I didn’t come up with the title), though it seemed as some of the posts are hard to find. In order to remedy this, I decided to move my training posts and some of my running writing this brand-new site.

This means I will update my progress and other running-related musings every day on this site. Oh sure, I’ll keep adding running stuff to the other “main” site, but this is where to come just for writing on running.

One more note: the weekly roundup format will be the same and will be posted on Sunday, but the rest is anything goes.

It's Game 3!

Here are a few observations from Tuesday night’s Game 3 in St. Louis:

* If I’m not mistaken, commissioner Bud Selig took the “boys will be boys” approach to the controversy regarding Kenny Rogers and his dirty hand during Fox’s pre-game show. In an on-the-field interview with the always-entertaining Penn alum, Ken Rosenthal, Selig said that if Tony La Russa didn’t do anything about it, why should he?

Selig said that La Russa has been known to be combative.

What Selig and player’s union president Donald Fehr were with Rosenthal for was to announce the new labor agreement that will last through the 2011 season.

Selig called the new deal “historic.” You know, like the Treaty of Versailles.

* Kevin Kennedy, one of Fox’s pre-game analysts with a penchant for dismissing everything controversial in the game, was on top of his game on Tuesday night. This summer he debunked all steroid and performance-enhancing drug accusations and controversies with a hand waving, “He never tested positive!” As well as, “Put your name next to it! Stop using unnamed sources!”

OK, Mr. Haldeman.

Much to our surprise, Kennedy was just as dismissive of the Rogers controversy.

“It happens all the time,” Kennedy said. “It’s part of the game.”

Could you imagine what Kennedy might say if he were in Uganda with Idi Amin when people just started disappearing.

“What? It’s no big deal. It happens all the time. That’s just Idi being Idi.”

Yes, I see how silly it sounds comparing a brutal, homicidal dictator to a baseball pitcher with dirty hands and an apologist announcer. Better yet, it reminds me of one of my favorite Tug McGraw quotes.

After escaping from a tough, late-inning jam against the Big Red Machine's Joe Morgan, George Foster, Tony Perez and Johnny Bench with his typical aplomb, Tug was asked by a reporter how he was able to stay so cool. “Well,” he said. “Ten million years from now, when the sun burns out and the Earth is just a frozen snowball hurtling through space, nobody's going to care whether or not I got this guy out.”

My favorite Tug quote is when he was asked what he would do with the money he got for making it to the World Series with the Mets in 1973.

“Ninety percent I'll spend on good times, women and Irish whiskey. The other 10 percent I'll probably waste.”

* I had Nate Robertson on my rotisserie team this season, Game 3 was the first time I saw him pitch. He’s a lefty… imagine that. He wears glasses, too. He’s also No. 29 like 1968 World Series hero Mickey Lolich and has been driving the same car for a really long time.

At various points of the season, I also had Jason Isringhausen, Anthony Reyes, Jason Marquis, Preston Wilson and David Eckstein of the Cardinals, as well as Pudge Rodriguez, Craig Monroe, Brandon Inge and Sean Casey of the Tigers.

I finished in ninth place of a 12-team league.

* Richard Ford’s new novel The Lay of the Land is out. This is the third of the Frank Bascombe series, which includes The Sportswriter and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Independence Day. The reviews look good, which isn’t too surprising since Ford is a bit of a media darling. Nevertheless, I’m anxious to dive in.

* I had the chance to tune into the radio broadcast of the start of the game while running an errand. ESPN radio’s Jon Miller and Joe Morgan handle the call on radio, which is filled with much more insight than the TV version.

Yeah, I know a lot of people are not fans of Morgan’s work for ESPN, but there were a few nuggets from Morgan and Miller that the more superficial TV broadcast would miss.

This is no fault of TV, I suppose. After all, if someone is listening to the World Series on the radio they are seeking it out. A non-baseball fan isn’t going to drive around and listen to the game, though that same non-fan person could tune in on TV. You know, maybe the batteries on the remote died or something.

Anyway, Morgan and Miller pointed out that Preston Wilson could be the key for the Cardinals in Game 3. The reason? Wilson is in the No. 2 spot of the batting order, one place ahead of Albert Pujols. It would be Wilson’s job to ensure that the Tigers cannot pitch around the fearsome Pujols.

Yet because Wilson is hitting ahead of Pujols, the duo pointed out, he should get a lot more pitches to hit than if he were batting in front of, say, Jim Edmonds or Scott Rolen. Plus, they said, Tony La Russa likes for someone with some power to hit ahead of Pujols in the No. 2 spot. That’s why Wilson is so important, the announcers said.

This is interesting, though if La Russa likes power in the two-hole, why not try Edmonds or Rolen there. Certainly they both have much more power than Wilson and strike out a lot less, too.

* In the first inning after Robertson came up and in to Pujols, Morgan made a joke.

“Looks like that one slipped. Maybe he needs some pine tar?” Morgan said.

“He plays for the Tigers,” Miller said. “I think I know where he can get some.”

It made me laugh.