Time for racin'

As the weather gets warmer and spring slowly morphs into summer – or something like that – the running and racing season gets into full swing. These days, certainly, there is no dearth of racing opportunities for anyone looking for a 5k anywhere on any weekend, but the well known, long-standing road races are looming.

Around here there is something called the Red Rose Run that is quintessentially a local five-mile run as opposed to a five-mile race that attracted world-record holders and Olympians that it did during its heyday. That’s fine, I guess, because I doubt most people really care if it’s Kenyans or local racers at the top of the leaderboard. Most people who run (based on my uneducated experience) don’t particularly care if they get faster from race to race or what place they finish. Everyone has a reason for running, and sometimes one doesn’t have to be fast to enjoy it – that’s the beauty of it.

Nevertheless, there are a few of us who don’t do this for our health. Deep down we’re aggressive, hostile and competitive. Running is the perfect place to channel those feelings.

Anyway, speaking of racing and really good runners, Khalid Khannouchi was back racing in a 10k through Central Park last weekend after dropping out of the London Marathon in April. Actually, the fact that Khannouchi was racing in New York was such a big deal that The New York Times offered a pre-race feature on the runner as he prepared to race against American Dathan Ritzenhein and Australian Buster Mottram. After the race Ritzenhein told reporters that he was “intimidated” at the starting line to see Khannouchi, the American record holder in the marathon, standing there.

As followers of the sport know, Ritzenhein finished the race in a Central Park-record 28:08, 17 seconds ahead of Mottram. Khannouchi, meanwhile, was 14^th in 30:06.

Perhaps the injuries that plagued Khannouchi in London resurfaced in Central Park? I couldn’t find any post-race comments from Khannouchi online aside from a rhetorical question posted on his web site:

Is Khalid back?
Obviously, not yet!!

According to the story in The Times, Khannouchi wants to race in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games and then call it a career. First, however, he has to make the U.S. marathon team, which doesn’t sound too difficult noting that he has the fastest qualifying time for the trials and that he is the only man in history to run under 2:06 three times. Khannouchi’s five best marathon times make him the fastest ever.

Yet for some reason his name doesn’t enter the conversation when talking about who will finish on the podium and make the Olympic team at the marathon trials in November. Never mind that there is no other American within three minutes of his best times. For some reason Ritzenhein, Ryan Hall, Alan Culpepper, Brian Sell, Meb Keflezighi and Abdi Abdirahman are the runners to beat, while Khannouchi seems to be forgotten in the, “oh yeah… him,” sense.

Is that because he missed the trials in 2000 and 2004 with injuries that some whispered weren’t serious enough to really keep him out of a race like the Olympic Trials? Is it because of his age (he’s 35)? Could it be that he has completed just two marathons since running Chicago in 2:05:56 in 2002? Forget that only one American was even in the neighborhood of the times he did register (2:07:04 in London in 2006 and 2:08:44 in Chicago in 2004); he has run 2:05… three times!

Either way, the trials in Manhattan in November should be quite interesting. Take Khannouchi out of it and it’s the deepest American field in a long, long time. Add him into the mix it’s possible that the American marathoner could be one of the strongest teams in Beijing in 2008.

Anyway, I think I’m getting closer to deciding whether I will run a local road race or two in the upcoming weeks. Aside from that, I’m also continuing to build up for a marathon in October and/or November. So far my strength and recovery is pretty good but my speed… well, let’s just say I’m strong.

Here’s how the week of May 14 to 20 broke down:

Monday - 18 miles in 1:59:38
I was consistent and strong for the entire run. It helped that the weather was perfect, of course, but this was a good one. I only started to feel slightly tired toward the end and I'm quite sure that I could have busted out another hour with no trouble.

First 5: 33:21
2nd 5: 33:05
3rd 5: 32:56

Aside from a slow first loop, I was pretty rock steady consistent.

Tuesday - 13 miles in 1:26:48
Felt pretty good in the beginning. My legs had a little snap and I was raring to get out the door and get busy. But it was hot and sunny, which slowed me down as the run wore on. It wasn't anything major, but it was quite obvious that the sun and heat were a drag.

Splits:
1st 5: 33:05
2nd 5: 33:24

Elsewhere, I read that Deena Kastor has skin cancer and has been battling the issue for a little while. Not so seriously (except for where it pertains to my finances), my car came dangerously close to overheating and I had to take it to the garage. Hopefully it's not too major.

Tomorrow: ART.

Wednesday - 13 miles in 1:26:16
I actually veered into the Brick Yards today for some reason. I also had a fairly quick pace thanks in part to hard winds blowing a nice tailwind. Better yet, the wind and approaching rain storm brought the temperatures down to something more conducive to distance running. If only the weather would be 55 and overcast for two hours every day...

Thursday - 10 miles in 64:00
I didn't sleep well, so I decided to get up and run early. Surprisingly, it went fairly well. I kept the pace steady and ran a few surges, though nothing that would constitute speed work or to get too excited about.

Friday - 15 miles in 1:36:49
This was really good one. The weather was perfect -- 55, cloudy with drizzle -- and despite feeling a little tight when I woke up, I was solid and smooth the entire time. Who knows... maybe I'm starting to get into shape.

Saturday - 12 miles in 1:18:24
I ran well and felt strong. I'm sure I could have put in many more miles, but I don't want to overdo it quite yet. I guess I stopped because I want to pace myself. On another note, I added a few faux strides when I was finished. I definitely feel as though I have to do a better job with my speed work.

Sunday - 6 miles in 36:32
This one proved that I'm not in great shape and/or that I need to start getting busy with the speed workouts. I tried to run up tempo with the possibility of running a 5k time trial, and it didn't really go as planned. I ended up just doing a tempo run, which wasn't spectacular. I didn't push it because I didn't feel too good, but the times when I did push it ever so slightly, it didn't feel good either. I ended up doing five miles in 29:24, which was disappointing, but at the same time, I really didn't push it. Nevertheless, the point is that I have to get to work.

That’s 87 miles for the week.

It's not the science, it's the circus

Most nights my ride home the ballpark can be a pain. Firstly there is the Schuylkill, which quite possibly could be the worst stretch of paved road in the world. On top of the Surekill, there is some construction linking the Expressway near Valley Forge to the Turnpike that makes the 24 Hours of Le Mans look like a Sunday drive through the country.

Finally, there’s the distance, which comes to approximately three hours round trip. Sometimes the drive can be quite taxing, but I guess it’s my fault for living out in the middle of nowhere. That said, it’s much nicer here than in any of the neighborhoods that I surely would be priced out of – it’s a little slow to adapt to modernity or new ideas out here, but at least the sprawl has been fairly well contained (in comparison) for the time being.

Anyway, the drive back to the boondocks gives me plenty of time to listen to a bunch of the podcasts I subscribe to. A favorite is a radio show based out of San Diego called The Competitors Radio Show, hosted by former world class triathletes Bob Babbitt and Paul Huddle. Needless to say the show focuses on endurance sports like triathlons, running and cycling, which for geeks like me is really fascinating. As far as I can tell, Babbitt and Huddle host the only show like The Competitors and that’s a shame.

So while driving home on Friday night I listened to a rebroadcast of an interview with Greg LeMond, the three-time champion and first American winner of the Tour de France. LeMond is the man who put cycling in the U.S. on the map. In places like Philadelphia and Lancaster, cycling (and running) are mainstream participatory sports that exploded after LeMond won his first Tour in 1986. But frankly, that’s about all I knew about LeMond. Sure, I had heard about the comments regarding Lance Armstrong and now Floyd Landis, but it really didn’t seem like much of a big deal.

Isn’t every cyclist suspected of doping these days?

Still, some had written LeMond off as a bitter jerk since his record in France had been broken. No one seemed to notice when LeMond said Armstrong’s record run was the best thing the ever happened to cycling. But in July 2004 when LeMond said that “If Armstrong's clean, it's the greatest comeback. And if he's not, then it's the greatest fraud,” well, that made all the papers.

LeMond is right, of course, but you know…

Regardless, during the interview LeMond explained he realized doping took a firm grip on cycling when guys he never heard of rode by him like he was standing still – and he was in the best shape of his life with three Tour de France titles. Listening to LeMond it sounds as if cycling and baseball hit the doping era at the same time with similar results. While no-name riders were doing wheelies by the best rider in the world, the 50-homer plateau was topped 22 times from 1996 to now. From 1977 to 1995, one player hit 50 homers. Meanwhile, from 1961, when Roger Maris beat Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record, to 1996, only three players hit 50 homers in a season.

From listening to LeMond it sounded as if all cyclists Brady Andersons were slugging 50 homers every year.

LeMond also revealed that during Floyd Landis’ ride for the Tour de France title it appeared as if the statistics were back to normal. He noted that he was withholding judgment about the defending champion (for now), and that he had a confidential conversation with Landis that he was going to keep private. This interview was originally recorded last August.

Needless to say, a lot has changed since then.

Dressed in another bold, yellow tie with a dark suit, Floyd Landis faced cross-examination on Tuesday in the USADA arbitration hearing. It is from the those hearings at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. where it will be determined whether or not the Lancaster County native gets to keep his Tour de France title or becomes the first rider in the long history of the race to be stripped of his yellow clothing.

Oddly, though, a majority of the questions Landis faced were regarding LeMond and his role in a potential witness tampering, which bordered on obscene and insane. Instead of answering questions about whether he used performance-enhancing drugs during the now infamous 17th stage of last summer’s Tour de France, Landis had to explain his actions regarding Will Geoghegan, his “friend” and former representative who threatened LeMond by telephone last week by threatening to reveal that LeMond had been sexual abused of which as a child, and which only Landis knew about.

From Eddie Pells of the Associated Press:
“Would you agree, that as my mother used to say, that a person's character is revealed more by their actions than their words?” U.S. Anti-Doping Agency attorney Matthew Barnett asked Landis.

“It sounds like a good saying,” Landis said.

Then, it got ugly, as Barnett dredged up events surrounding testimony LeMond gave last Thursday. On that day, the three-time Tour champion testified he'd received a phone call the night before from Landis' manager, Will Geoghegan, who threatened to divulge LeMond's secret.

USADA lawyers cross-examined Landis about everything from the color of his tie to the timing of his decision to fire his manager.

Barnett tried to portray Landis and Geoghegan as scheming together to keep LeMond from testifying, then not showing remorse until they got caught.

Landis said that although he was sitting near Geoghegan when the manager made the call last Wednesday night, he didn't know what was going on until later.

Barnett tried to pin him down on when, exactly, he told his attorneys of the call, and why he waited to fire Geoghegan until after LeMond revealed details of the call on the witness stand.

Landis testified that he told his attorneys about the call as soon as he arrived to the hearing room Thursday, though nobody thought to fire Geoghegan until after LeMond's testimony.

“In hindsight, I probably should have fired him immediately, but I needed someone to talk to,” Landis said.

USADA attorneys tried to portray Landis as an active participant in the LeMond plan. They pointed to his wardrobe that day -- a black suit with a black tie instead of the yellow tie he's worn every other day of the hearing -- as evidence that he had it in for LeMond.

“That's why I wore the black suit, because it was a terrible thing that happened,” Landis said. “It wasn't a thing to celebrate by wearing a yellow tie.”

Was the black tie symbolic support for LeMond?

“No. It was a disaster. Nothing good could come out of that day,” Landis said.

Landis was also questioned about some unflattering Internet postings where he called LeMond a "pathetic human," though didn’t seem to face much heat when it came to discussing doping.

The focus, as it appears, will be on the circus and not the science. That shouldn’t be too surprising, though. Credibility is the real issue in the arbitration hearing and to most folks it doesn’t seem as if Landis has any no matter what the science might say.

Why? Will Geoghegan, of course.

My mother used to say that a person is known by the company they keep. Or, as Rocky Balboa said in the original film, “If you have knucklehead friends, people will think you are a knucklehead.”

It’s difficult argue with that logic.

Look, we want to give Landis the benefit of the doubt and it seems like something is amiss with the tests and the ratios and everything involved in the epic ride to the Tour de France victory that should have been the best sports story of the year. But if Floyd is so willing to get down and dirty with a seemingly scorched earth attack where something as horrible as sexual abuse of a child is fair game.

Certainly Geoghegan was the one who made the calls to LeMond and Floyd said he was embarrassed by it all – but he didn’t do anything about it when it happened. To me that makes Landis complicit.

According to Lee Jenkins' story in The New York Times:

Landis and Geoghegan were clearly close. Landis said he gave Geoghegan all of his phone numbers, including LeMond’s. And Landis told Geoghegan that LeMond had been sexually abused as a child, after LeMond shared that secret with Landis.

Landis’s choice of friends and clothes were both on trial Tuesday. Barnett asked Landis why he showed up in court for LeMond’s testimony Thursday wearing all black, when he showed up the other days in much brighter colors. Landis has an obvious preference for yellow ties, evoking the yellow jersey worn by the Tour de France leader.

Through it all, watching from the gallery were Paul and Arlene Landis, the Mennonite parents of the most notorious bike rider in history. I wonder what they were thinking?

For the best recaps of the arbitration hearing, check out Trust But Verify, Steroid Nation and ESPN’s page of stories. Better yet, check out The Competitors Radio Show interview with San Diego Times-Union writer, Mark Zeigler. Good stuff.

***
Meanwhile, in baseball Jason Giambi says baseball owes the fans an apology for something and MLB wants to investigate. I guess being in baseball means you never have to apologize?

***
Tomorrow: Back to Baseball.

Stay tuned…

Tomorrow I will write an entire post about Floyd Landis, Greg LeMond, Falcon Crest and the latest in the USADA's arbitration case against the current Tour de France champ. I'd write about it today, but I really need to let my head to stop spinning so I can figure out what the hell just happened there…

Talk about a plot twist.

Anyway, for all your up-to-date information on the streaker at yesterday's Brewers-Phillies game in South Philly, I direct you to The Zo Zone, where our man Todd Zolecki takes you inside the mind of a public nudist that is so organic that it almost makes you want to double check to see if you haven't accidentally lost something.

Hey, I told you so…

The idea this winter was that catcher Carlos Ruiz wasn’t quite ready to handle the intricacies of playing every day in the big leagues. So to help out the rookie backstop, the Phillies spent $3 million on Rod Barajas. But so far this season Barajas has struggled and his playing time has waned, while Ruiz is second amongst all rookies with 17 RBIs and fourth with 28 hits in just 98 at-bats heading into Thursday’s action.

Interestingly, the Phillies very easily could have had Ruiz and Chris Coste as the team’s catchers for the league minimum… or Mike Lieberthal for a third of Barajas’ salary.

So in our first installment of, “Hey, I told you so… ” Dennis Deitch of the Delaware County Daily Times offers a reprint of his story on the day the Phillies signed Barajas.

Phillies sign catcher Barajas
By DENNIS DEITCH

PHILADELPHIA – When Pat Burrell offered so little protection to Ryan Howard in the batting order that the eventual MVP couldn't get a pitch to hit, the Phillies turned to Jeff Conine, who offered some professionalism to the fifth spot in the batting order.

When Mike Lieberthal's injury-plagued career with the Phillies wound to an injury-plagued conclusion last season, Chris Coste filled the gap and hit .328, including .356 with runners in scoring position.

Conine and Coste received nifty Christmas presents from the Phillies Thursday for their 2006 efforts: Conine got a one-way ticket to Cincinnati, while Coste watched as Rod Barajas signed a one-year deal with the Phils to relegate last year's feel-good story to third-stringer.

Next up for Pat Gillick: A Christmas Eve reindeer hunt.

Actually, the Phillies' general manager isn't out to ruin the holidays for anyone – at least not purposely. But you have to wonder whether his personnel decisions in recent days are improving the Phillies.

According to Gillick, the signing of outfielder Jayson Werth Tuesday didn't leave much playing time for Conine in an outfield that includes Burrell and his disappearing act, Aaron Rowand and his well-worn Blue Cross/Blue Shield card, and Shane Victorino.

"We think we weren't going to be able to give Jeff the playing time we were a month ago, six weeks ago," Gillick said. "When Werth was completed, we thought the best plan for us was to move Jeff on. I know he wants playing time. Right now, we project Werth is going to get a majority of the playing time that Jeff had.

"We acquired a player who can do similar things. I'd say that at this point, Werth is a better option."

Hmm. That guy who does similar things is the same Werth who didn't play a game in 2005; who has had two surgeries to correct a wrist injury suffered 21 months ago and admittedly isn't completely healed; who has a shade over 800 big-league plate appearances and a career .245 average, compared to Conine and his 7,500 plate appearances and .286 lifetime average.

At least the Phils got a pair of underwhelming prospects in return – a no-bat third baseman named Brad Key, and outfielder Javon Moran, who originally started in the Phillies' organization, but was traded to Cincy for Cory Lidle in 2004.

"It was a little bit of a surprise a couple of days before Christmas to get the call from Pat Gillick," "Obviously I didn't have a long tenure there in Philadelphia."

As for Barajas, he received a $2.5 million contract from the Phils for 2007, with a team option for 2008. Barajas started about two-thirds of the games behind the plate for the Rangers over the last three seasons and averaged 16 homers and 53 RBIs per year in that span while batting a lukewarm .252.

It should be noted that Barajas put up those numbers in the American League, where the No. 9 hitter in the lineup often sees a healthy dose of fastballs. That particularly was the case for Barajas, who was hitting in front of players like Gary Matthews Jr., David Dellucci and Michael Young while in Texas.

There was some controversy when Barajas changed agents after some reports had him reaching a verbal agreement with the Blue Jays last month.

"I wanted to the right fit for me," Barajas said. "This feels completely right."

According to the Phillies, Barajas and Carlos Ruiz will share time behind the plate, with performance determining which catcher makes the majority of starts.

So, does Coste at least have a spot on the club as a bench player solidified?

"I can't use the word solidify," Gillick said. "We still need a left-handed hitter. The fact that Werth can catch some … there's some flexibility there. If we acquire a left-handed hitter, someone could be in jeopardy."

Hard to believe a guy who hit .328 who showed a knack for clutch hitting and delivering in the pinch might be at peril … but so says Gillick.

When it comes to protecting Howard in the order next season, Gillick said, "If we don't get another hitter, we'll probably make an internal adjustment to back up Ryan."

Keep on dancing

Since the first time I went to a Major League Baseball game in 1976, I’ll guess that I’ve been to over 1,000 games. Add in little league games, legion games, high school and college to go with a bunch of minor league games and it could be another thousand ballgames.

Whatever the actual total is, it’s a lot of games.

Yet of all those games I’ve seen exactly one – ONE – no-hitter. I watched a few on TV, but as far as being in the park to witness a no-hitter that honor goes to Kevin Millwood when he blanked the Giants at the Vet in 2003. I saw Eric Milton get to within three outs of getting one and Vicente Padilla come four outs away. I also saw one-hitters from Jim Gott/Roy Lee Jackson in 1982 and Randy Wolf at the Vet against the Reds in 2001.

I’ve seen more cycles at the Bank (David Bell and Brad Wilkerson) than no-hitters, ever.

Nevertheless, I thought I was going to witness one last night, though in the end it really didn’t get that close.

Cole Hamels, of course, carried a perfect game into the seventh inning and came within nine outs of finishing the no-hitter. That’s close, but still an inning away from it really getting interesting. Regardless, in facing one of the better hitting teams in the Majors (the Brewers lead all of MLB with 51 homers) Hamels seemed like he was the Harlem Globetrotters with the bucket of confetti and the ball on the string against the Washington Generals.

Quite simply, Hamels can pitch the way most people breathe, eat or go into out-of-control credit debt.

But what’s most interesting about this fact is that Hamels knows he is very, very good and doesn’t mind saying so. Better yet, he does this without arrogance or coming off as too overbearingly cocky. Instead, he’s just refreshingly confident and candid. In the clubhouse after the game last night, Hamels was asked if he thought he was going to get the no-hitter and if he believes he will get one in sometime soon in the future and he didn’t even hesitate with the answer.

“Oh course,” he said. “I try to think that every night… ”

Or:

“Of course. Every year I go out there and try to get at least one.”

It doesn’t sound outlandish that Hamels will someday toss a no-hitter, but then again people used to say it was just a matter of time before Steve Carlton threw one, too. When his career had ended, Carlton had six one-hitters to his credit and zero no-hitters.

***
Last night Brett Myers pitched in the third game in a row and his fifth of the last seven despite the Phillies holding a comfortable four-run lead and a bullpen full of relievers waiting to get a little work in. Manager Charlie Manuel has always maintained that he views four-run leads as save situations in cozy Citizens Bank Park, but even so using Myers in such a situation was a little curious.

Sure, Myers is stretched out and pitched around 200 innings for the last few seasons, but there has to be a delicate balance for how much a reliever can pitch…

Right?

Nevertheless, when asked if he would be ready to go today if he got another call in the ninth, Myers was succinct.

“Yep,” he said.

Meanwhile, much has been made about Myers’ choice of entrance music that is played over the PA as he makes the jog from the bullpen to the mound for the ninth inning; though it wasn’t queued up for last night’s outing because no one thought he’d get into the game.

Anyway, Myers wants “Children of the Grave,” the White Zombie version of the Black Sabbath song, to be played as he comes into the game. Apparently, in some sort of faux machismo, Myers believes Rob Zombie and the gang get the crowd “pumped up.”

“Doesn't it have that aura about it?” Myers asked.

Uh, no. No it doesn’t.

If you're going with Sabbath, it has to be "War Pigs."

However, here’s an idea – instead of some pretend phony toughness delivered through the majesty of song, maybe it would be more of a mind scramble if Myers entered the game to Lesley Gore's "Sunshine and Lollipops?"

Better yet, I have always believed that if a player was going to take the time to select a song in which to choreograph his appearance in a baseball game, that player should also perform an interpretive dance or performance art piece using the song on their way to the batters’ box or mound.

Hey, it’s a game, right? Let’s have some fun.

Here we are now, entertain us.

More: Lesley Gore – Sunshine and Lollipops

Re: Add to Cole Hamels facts

You cannot jinx Cole Hamels. Cole Hamels jinxes you.

Waiting out the rain

While sitting here waiting out the long rain delay before the Phillies-Brewers game where ace Cole Hamels will take on Jeff Suppan, I thought it would be a good idea to break out the old-time baseball shows to keep busy. Here’s an episode of “The Baseball Bunch.”

Stay tuned… more pithy comments on sports and sports byproducts to follow.

***
Some people say there is a statistic to prove anything. Numbers, they say, can be manipulated to make just about any argument.

With that in mind, a story on Slate magazine argued that Roger Clemens is worth every penny the Yankees will pay him for pitching for four months this season. Better yet, they have the statistics and a formula to prove it.

The formula looks like this:

PCT = RS2 / (RS2 + RA2)

Yeah, I have no idea what it means and I’m not sure I want to risk the headache by attempting to think about it either. But if anyone out there wants to argue the argument, give it a go by checking out the Slate story.

From here on out there will be no math.

***
Speaking of numbers, it should be noted that a Sherpa named, simply, Apa, broke the all-time record for climbs to the top of Mount Everest on Wednesday. Apa Sherpa, as he’s known, reached the summit of the world’s tallest mountain for the 17th time to break the record of 16, which he held. The most ascents following Apa is Chewang Nima, who at 41 completed his 14th climb last year.

Apa is 47 years old and first reached the top of Everest on May 10, 1990 and has completed the climb every year since, except for the infamous 1996 expedition that was chronicled by Jon Krakauer in Into Thin Air. Interestingly, Apa is the leader of a group of guides called The Super Sherpas.

New Zealander, Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay, are credited as the first men to reach the rooftop of the world in 1953, though there is some belief that English climber George Mallory made it to the top during his ill-fated climb in 1924.

Mallory is credited with the using the quip, “Because it is there,” when asked why he wanted to attempt to climb Everest.

This could be the last time I ever get to write anything about Sherpas, specifically Apa Sherpa, so I’m taking full advantage. Thanks for indulging.

***
Speaking of taking one giant leap for mankind, Ryan Howard trotted around the field before the heavy rains poured over South Philly today. Still on the disabled list with a strained quadriceps muscle, Howard will start working out with former team trainer Jeff Cooper (and currebt medical staff consultant) next Tuesday before heading out on a rehab assignment to Lakewood on May 23 and 24.

***
Anyone who reads the stuff I write on this site knows that I am a running freak. Besides that, readers will note that I often write about marathoner Deena Kastor, who is currently the best American distance runner out there and probably the best since Joan Samuelson. If Joanie is No. 1, Deena is an Olympic gold medal away from replacing her – she already broke her old marathon record twice.

So it is with great concern and trepidation that we wish Deena a speedy recovery and long term health from her latest bout with skin cancer. Deena updates her progress on her site and cautions runners and outdoorsy types to be smart about sun exposure and diligent in getting regular screenings. Sometimes it’s a pain, but it’s not too difficult to wear proper clothing or to apply sunscreen before going outside. I certainly know that I’m often lazy about this basic bit of prevention, but I’m going to say it anyway:

Wear your sunscreen! Better yet, make sure your kids wear it, too.

Anyway, send good thoughts or prayers or whatever positive vibes Deena’s way so she can get back to the business of kicking ass with a 100 percent bill of health very soon.

Every day is game day

The good thing about baseball is that anytime you need to take a day or two away, the game will be there when you get back. Baseball is not like the second part of a movie or an episodic television show where a person needs to keep up with the back story in order to enjoy it. Sure, it helps, but it’s not really necessary.

It is just baseball after all.

So after taking a few days away from following the baseball team to travel around with my family, it’s pretty easy to jump back in. The Phillies are still fighting to get back to .500, the bullpen is still a question mark and Ryan Howard’s struggles continue when he was sent to the 15-day disabled list with a strained quad and a sore knee.

As the season progresses the Phillies should continue to be a team of streaks and should win more than they lose. The bullpen, unless Pat Gillick can make a deal to get some help, will remain a sore spot. And Ryan Howard will continue to have trouble with his knees and legs until he gets in shape.

It’s pretty simple.

Howard, as he says and everyone noticed when he was a minor leaguer, is a big dude. But when he showed up in Clearwater for spring training he was an even bigger dude. Frankly, he looks soft and it’s funny to see him and remember that some speculated that he could have used performance-enhancing drugs during his breakout season last year. If he was taking steroids, it was pointed out then; he was taking the wrong kind.

Certainly baseball is littered with the failed careers of players who simply couldn’t keep in shape. Along those lines, many more careers were cut short for the same reason. In that regard, John Kruk comes to mind. Greg Luzinski, too. Mo Vaughn was another slugging first baseman whose injuries seemed rooted in his lack of fitness.

The good folks at Baseball Prospectus took note of Howard’s physique when putting together their annual yearbook in which they surmised that Howard, at 26, could be peaking:

Historically, players like Howard, big-bodied guys with limited defensive skills such as Mo Vaughn and Boog Powell, tended to have high but brief peak periods. Their legs just couldn’t carry that much mass for very long, and around 30 their defense plummeted, their playing time dropped due to nagging injuries, and their singles dried up and disappeared. The Phillies should have a three-year window in which they can expect this kind of production from Howard, but should not plan beyond that.

Mo Vaughn was washed up at 34. Greg Luzinski played his last season when he was 33. John Kruk walked away for a pinch runner after getting a single in a late July game for the Chicago White Sox when he was 34. Their bodies just couldn’t take the rigors of a baseball season any more.

Ryan Howard is a big dude looking for an even bigger paycheck. A good way to get to where he and the Phillies need him to be is to get in shape.

***
Chris Coste took Howard’s place on the roster when he was placed on the disabled list. But unlike last May when Coste’s call-up led to a nearly a full season of MLB service time, don’t expect this stint to last too long. The talk around the club is that Coste will go back to Triple-A Ottawa when Howard is ready.

Then again, no one expected his stay to last too long last year, either.

***
I have a theory that if baseball or soccer were introduced to Americans in 2007 with no prior knowledge of its existence, people would hate it. Baseball, more than any other sport, seems to be one that’s passed down from father to son or whomever – and yes, that’s as close to getting all Field of Dreams on anyone. That crap is just so annoying…

Nevertheless, it’s fair to say that Major League Baseball isn’t exactly a flashpoint with folks involved in the endurance sporting world. In fact, the runners, cyclists and triathletes that I’m friendly with don’t really keep up with more than one of the major sports – typically that one is football or hockey.

To a lot of them, a baseball game is a good way to wile away an afternoon with some junk food and a beer or two following a hard training session.

So when Outside magazine – billed as a periodical “dedicated to covering the people, sports and activities, politics, art, literature, and hardware of the outdoors...” – offered a small feature on a baseball player in its June issue…

Whoa.

The player, of course, is Barry Zito and the feature (an interview) didn’t cover much ground or space. The topics ranged from surfing and how it has helped Zito with his pitching, to meditation and yoga, which Zito is a well-known practitioner of.

An excerpt:

Question: You also do yoga and meditate, which has led the baseball press to label you as flaky.

Zito: The most outdoorsy these guys get is playing golf or hunting. So if I play guitar or surf or do yoga, I’m some weirdo. But you have to take it for what it is. Baseball is one of the oldest games in the country. There are definitely stereotypes, but I think we’re breaking through those things.

Given the choice of a DVD of Point Break or The Natural, Zito says he’d take Point Break.

Now that’s weird. The yoga and meditation is hardly anything unoriginal or flaky. It’s smart.

***
I’d love to write much more about the Floyd Landis arbitration hearing, but I’m pacing myself. Interestingly, though, I thought the yellow tie Landis wore to yesterday’s hearing was a nice touch and sent a bit of a message.

Yellow, of course, being the color of jersey the leader (and winner) of the Tour de France wears.

Another interesting point came from Juliet Macur of The New York Times:

TOMORROW, the American cyclist Floyd Landis, the would-be heir to Lance Armstrong, steps before an arbitration panel in California to rebut the charge that his come-from-behind victory last year in cycling’s most celebrated race was a fraud.

If he loses, Landis will become the first winner in the 103-year history of the Tour de France to be stripped of the victor’s yellow jersey because of doping. The disastrous toll his case has exacted on cycling’s credibility — races canceled for lack of sponsors, teams abandoned by their corporate underwriters, fans staying home — offers a stark picture of what can happen when a sport finally confronts its drug problem in a serious way.

This couldn’t be where baseball is headed, could it?

Very interesting.

Stayed tuned...

We will return in full force tomorrow chock full of fun facts (or whatever) on Ryan Howard, Chris Coste, Barry Zito and Floyd Landis. Until then...

A different element

Adaptability is pretty important in running. Because runners and running, by nature, is a selfish act, occasionally one has to alter his plans, regime or surroundings if they are going to a session in. For me that usually means getting up out of bed and out the door hours before normal so that I’m all finished before I typically even wake up. I keep late-night hours so this is difficult, though necessary.

But if that’s what it takes from time to time, so be it. As long as I get the work in, I feel good.

I suppose all runners are like this, too. In fact, I remember reading an interview with Bill Rodgers where he talked about squeezing in runs while waiting for a flight at the airport. Of course doing something like that these days would be nearly impossible with the raised levels of security, but it seems to me that real runners have put in some work on the access roads around the airport. That’s a definite hardcore running act that makes my list next to having just two remaining original toenails, urinating blood, or not quite making it to the bathroom in time and dropping the deuce in those microfiber shorts.

It really is quite a durable fabric.

Anyway, I did three runs where I was finished for the day and showered before 9 a.m. Two of those three were in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware where my wife, son and me spent the weekend. Frankly, though, the toughest part wasn’t waking up early because after chasing around a 3-year old boy every waking hour, I was too trashed to keep my normal schedule. I had no other choice but to be in bed not too long after the sun had set.

Here’s the week of May 7-13:

Monday 15.3 miles in 1:42:20
Still nursing the remnants of my cold, but, surprisingly, I ran very well. Despite the day off I was very strong and kept a solid pace. A few more runs like this and I'll be feeling much better.

Tuesday 15 miles in 1:39:46
I did the entire run on the field and was very solid with my pace for the first 11 miles. After that it faltered slightly, but not too much. Anyway, I kept a steady 6:37 pace for 11 miles with very little effort. What made it telling (or something) was that I was (and am) phlegmy and stuffed up from my cold/allergies. The damn late spring is wreaking havoc with my head.

Wednesday 13.2 miles in 1:27:53
This was a weird one. I woke up in the morning feeling like I had to throw up. I don't know if that's because of allergies or a cold or what, but my stomach felt quite quesy and it really affected me. Running-wise I felt great, albeit a bit tired, but the entire time I felt like I needed to throw up.

Thursday 13 miles in 1:27:37
This was definitely a beater. The humidity mixed with tired and stiff legs didn't make this run fun. Plus, I still have remnants of my cold/allergies wreaking havoc with my head. I even took a sudafed-type pill, which contains a substance that is banned (if used in large quantities) by the IOC or WADA or whomever. Then again, if it were up to Dick Pound and WADA, shoes would be banned. Digressing, I toughed it out for 13.

Friday 10 miles in 66:03
Got up early to run before driving to Rehoboth and surprisingly did well. Maybe there's something about running at 7 a.m.?

Saturday 10 miles in 67:16
Did another early morning run and felt nearly as good as yesterday. It was kind of fun to run in a different place (I went from weaved my way around Rehoboth and Dewey Beach), but truth be told, I like my regular routes the best. I'm not saying I didn't have fun, but it's very evident that some serious work has to start soon.

Sunday 5.5 miles in 36:47
Retraced some of the same tracks I ran yesterday, only not as long. For the third day in a row I was finished running before 9 a.m. and I even did this one in a misting rain with ocean winds (trade winds?) blowing fairly hard. Midway through this one I felt really strong and ready to crank out some miles... not today.

That’s 82 miles for the week. There are 21 weeks to the Steamtown Marathon on Oct.7. I wonder if I can get close to 2:30 again? Either way, I have to make a decision about which race I’m going to do and when I’m going to do it.

Our man Chuck

Most former NBA stars rarely do interviews with The New Republic or magazines of that ilk. That's of course if one ignores the position paper on Keynesian economics that Larry Bird wrote for The Financial Times a few years ago.

But in the latest offering of The New Republics' web site, Charles Barkley speaks (surprise!) candidly about everything but basketball. Called Beyond Basketball: Race, Class, and Politics, Chuck lays it out.

Apropos of nothing, how great would it be to have someone like Charles Barkley playing for a Philadelphia team now?

More: Charles Barkley hates on xenophobes...
Beyond Basketball: Race, Class, and Politics

It ain't where you're from...

While perusing the rosters of the Atlantic League clubs, the independent baseball league centered in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, there was one particular name that jumped off the page. The player spent a little bit of time with the Phillies with a legitimate chance to earn a spot in the bullpen – or maybe even as a spot starter – until an arm injury knocked him out of commission. Four years and three big league organizations later and ex-Phillie is pitching in the Atlantic League.

That’s the way it goes sometimes.

But upon seeing his name I quickly contacted a Phillies insider to tell him about my “sighting.”

“Good guy, super smart and really had a chance to stick around. It’s a shame he got hurt. That’s quite a fall to be pitching in that league.”

Frankly, I like it when guys refuse to quit. That’s especially the case with players who were right there and all they had to do in order to put together a decent Major League career was to do the work. It’s a simple as that – work hard and be rewarded. But then those killer injuries come and wipe out all that development and it’s back to the end of the line.

It happens too many times to count.

Feeling indignant and a little saucy, I figured it would be interesting to tweak my mystery baseball insider to see what kind of reaction I’d get.

“I bet Pitcher X could be in the Phillies bullpen right now. What do you think?”

“No.”

“What do you mean no? You mean to tell me the Pitcher X isn’t as good as Francisco Rosario or Clay Condrey?”

“No, I’m not saying that at all. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Pitcher X was as good as a quarter of the guys pitching on big league staffs. That’s not the point.”

Then he dropped the dozy.

“There are no secrets in professional baseball. If someone can play, we know about him. And there is a reason why someone is playing in the Atlantic League… ”

I thought about that as I watched Pete Rose Jr., Carl Everett, Edgardo Alfonso and Damian Rolls take their hacks at Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster tonight. I especially thought about it when Everett – who seemed to struggle with a mid-80s fastball thrown by the Lancaster pitcher – came to the plate and my wife started reminiscing about a game at Fenway the day before the 2000 Boston Marathon when Jurassic Carl slugged a walk-off homer to win it for the Red Sox. For about five minutes, Everett was The Man with the Sox. Now he hits cleanup for the Long Island Ducks behind Petey Rose.

It can be a cruel game sometimes.

***
Everett went 0-for-2 in the plate appearances I saw, though Rose was 2-for-2 with a home run that just cleared the high right-field fence in Lancaster. A few pitches later I took off for home partially because it was raining, partially because it was just about bed time for my three-year old and mostly because it took nearly 60 minutes for them to play two full innings. That’s right on pace for a 4- hour, nine-inning game.

***
The first thing I noticed about Ryan Howard watching him play for Reading and a call-up with the Phillies a few summers ago, it was how quickly made adjustments in his stance and swing at the plate. In fact, he didn’t simply make changes from at-bat to at-bat or game to game, but instead he made them from pitch to pitch.

Even when he struck out – which was (and is) often – Howard looks like he has a plan.

So just before he smashed his game-winning, pinch-hit grand slam to help the Phillies beat the Diamondbacks yesterday, it appeared as if Howard did something different. Maybe he was more open or had his weight more evenly distributed than putting the bulk of it on his sore back leg – who knows. Whatever it was it worked.

And it was something different than the noticeably upright stance he used the day before in a pinch-hitting role when Howard clearly was having trouble with his injured left quad. Needless to say, the over-compensation on Wednesday night was on the money.

***
Bruce Sutter did it. So did Goose Gossage and Rollie Fingers. Now Brett Myers has done it, too.

What’s that, you ask?

A two-inning save.

Having not pitched all week and with a much-needed off-day looming, Charlie Manuel rightly chose to use his closer for six outs to avoid, I mean give his ‘pen an extra day of rest.

Where to turn?

If one really wanted to know what Charlie Manuel thinks about the arsenal of arms he has in his bullpen, look no further than the seventh inning of last night’s game in Phoenix during the 3-2 loss to the Diamondbacks. Rather than pinch hit with Ryan Howard, Wes Helms or Jayson Werth for starting pitcher Adam Eaton with runners on first and third with two outs, Manuel decided to roll the dice on Eaton.

It didn’t work.

Eaton grounded out to end the inning before going out to the mound for the bottom of the seventh where he gave up a two-out titanic homer to pinch hitter Tony Clark.

That’s your ballgame right there.

After the game Manuel said he went with Eaton to hit in that spot because if he would have sent Howard up the D’backs would have intentionally walked him to load the bases… as if that’s a bad thing. Frankly, it’s a 50-50 shot if the D’backs would have walked Howard simply because it doesn’t appear as if he can put any weight on his back leg when he swings. Right now, Howard is an easy out. Besides, if Howard gets walked, Aaron Rowand comes up and he’s hitting .407 with the bases loaded.

I doubt Charlie knew that – or cared. Simply, Manuel would rather have Eaton out there in the seventh than turn to his Posh Spice-thin bullpen. With the way Manuel is using his ‘pen, it’s clear he has some faith in Geoff Geary and no one else before the game is turned over to Brett Myers.

Ideally, Manuel needs a couple of complete games and a few days of rain.

Hamels and Moyer and pray for rain…

There has to be something snappier we can come up with – what type of dramatic weather event rhymes with Moyer?

***
Speaking of Jamie Moyer, the ol’ lefty matches up against 43-year old Randy Johnson for today’s series finale. I’ll spare you all of the old pitcher comparisons, except for this one – Moyer and Johnson have faced Bob Dernier in a combined 21 plate appearances. “White Lightning” has five hits, a stolen base and two strikeouts against today’s starters.

***
Unfortunately for my six readers, I’m going to miss this weekend’s series against the Cubs because my wife, son and I are going to Rehoboth Beach for an extended weekend. With a new addition coming in August, the annual summertime trip to Estes Park, Colo. is out for 2007, so our old vacation haunt gets the another off-season call.

Nevertheless, we’ll continue to post here when the opportunity arises, especially after tomorrow night’s walk through the F&M campus to Clipper Stadium to see the local sandlot team, the Lancaster Barnstormers play the Long Island Ducks.

This is Atlantic League Baseball, which, stunningly, is much worse than I had anticipated. In fact, watching more than two innings of the Barnstormers "play" is so frustratingly agonizing that watching someone have a suit tailored is much more interesting. Regardless, the quality of the baseball is clearly not the point at a Lancaster Barnstormers game – in a city with a dearth of excitement, the night out while attempting to corral a three-year old is the main pursuit.

Baseball-wise, Lancaster’s second baseman is Bo Hart, who may be remembered as Fernando Vina’s replacement for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2003. Long Island has former All-Star Danny Graves in the bullpen; former Cardinals and Yankees pitcher Donovan Osborne, as well as outfielder Carl Everett, former Mets standout Edgardo Alfonzo, and an infielder in his 19th season of pro ball named Pete Rose Jr.

Yeah, how about that?

Anyway, the game starts at 7 p.m. and I should be back home no later than 8:30 or until Jurassic Carl knocks one onto Harrisburg Pike... whichever comes first.

'Dear Mr. Dork'

It’s time to add a new favorite player into our elite group of baseball players. To get into this veritable Hall of Fame, the criterion is very cut-and-dried – personality matters. Forget talent and style. Those things matter, but they’re way down the list. To make my list of top baseball players, nothing is more important than entertainment value. That’s why players like Aaron Rowand and Jamie Moyer are better than Roger Clemens or Alex Rodriguez.

Besides, who wants a ballplayer that recites lines scripted right out of Bull Durham?

There’s another guy to add to the list, but not for anything he said to the press or did on the field. Actually, it’s how he interacted with a fan during the middle of a game that got this star superstar status.

That player? Vernon Wells.

Here’s what happened:

Apparently the Blue Jays’ Wells had been heckled mercilessly by a couple of guys in the cheap seats (actually, there are no cheap seats anymore, but until there is a more apt term we’ll stick with the popular nomenclature) in Cleveland. As the game wore on, the yapping from the fans grew louder and louder as more fans piled on.

Finally, after taking the abuse for six innings, Wells wrote a message on a baseball a tossed it to the ringleader. The message read:

Dear Mr. Dork,
Here is your ball! Can you please tell me what gas station you work at, so when you are pumping my gas, I can yell at you!!! Now sit down, shut up and enjoy the game.
- Your favorite centerfielder

Vernon, you had us at “Mr. Dork.”

On another note, Wells and the Blue Jays come to the Bank next weekend. Perhaps the Jays should pack an extra bushel of balls to write out messages for the hometown fans?

More: Indians fan wants last laugh
More: Interview with the ringleader heckler

***
No one asked, and I’m not particularly interested in football during baseball season or the months between January and December, but it seems as if the Eagles have quarterback controversy over who will be the starter three years from now.

Things like that always remind me of a quote from Tug McGraw, who upon calmly and coolly slipping out of a jam against The Big Red Machine’s murder’s row of Joe Morgan, George Foster, Tony Perez and Johnny Bench with his typical aplomb, Tug was asked how he kept his composure: “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.”

Just like we won't care that the Eagles drafted Kevin Kolb in the second round when Donovan McNabb, still 30, was coming back from yet another injury.

Still going...

I never really got too many colds or had allergies until two things happened. The first was when I bought my first house in Delaware in 2002. As any first-time home owner I was very diligent about cutting the grass, trimming the edges, planting the flowers and trees and making sure to maintain all of the little maintenance issues to keep them from turning into something bigger. After selling that house and buying another, I don’t go as crazy with all of the yard work and everything. A lot of that has to do with the fact that I’m tired of it and simply choose to, as they say, pick my spots.

It’s similar to my approach during college when I studied like crazy during my first two semesters before coming to a realization that it wasn't so hard after all. From there, I coasted, which isn’t what I’d recommend, but what are you going to do now?

Anyway, from the time I started cutting the grass regularly the allergies and head stuffiness came along, too. Sometimes it knocks me right on my ass for a couple of days, other times it’s just uncomfortable. Always, it alters my workouts.

The second element is my three-year-old boy. The kid is a veritable frappe of bacteria and germs, which is especially fun when he decides he wants to pretend to be a dog and lick me or give me the raspberries an inch-and-a-half away from my face. I guess I can’t be too upset about it since I do it to him, too… except for the dog part. My biggest worry with him is how he mimics my voice. That’s just not fair and I don’t recall reading about how to handle that in any of those parenting guides. Worse, the kid has the nuances of me down cold which will only improve and get sharper when he gets older.

Yeah, I’m in trouble here.

So a combination of mowing the lawn and hanging out with my boy could have led to the late week cold that had me fighting to get out and coughing up some fascinating fluids to hack out during my runs. It’s a veritable science experiment, in fact.

Anyway, here’s the week of April 30 to May 6 where I continue to train for something:

Monday: 15 miles in 1:40:29
This was a weird one. Before I started my stomach was a little upset from eating a bunch of sweets the day before -- normally moderation is my tact when it comes to junky food, but for some reason I went a little crazy. Either way, I started out running pretty well at 6:20ish pace. In fact, I had to slow myself down because the sun was out and it was a little warm. Thankfully, there was a stiff breeze going which kept the temperatures from making me wilt.

Anyway, I tore through the run at a fair clip and my legs felt great, but my stomach bothered me the entire time. I thought I was going to have to veer off into the woods or something, but luckily I finished without incident...

Until I got home. For about three hours I was in agony with nasty stomach cramps. I assume some of it was from dehydration and the heat and the rest from my crappy diet. Nonetheless, I guess it's time to make sure I'm loaded with electrolytes before I run.

Tuesday: 13 miles in 1:26:51
It felt like I was going to continue to have trouble with my stomach when I started out. But once I got going and settled in I felt great. I definitely could have cranked out the miles and even the 6:20s I was running for the first 5 or 6 miles felt very easy. Better yet, the weather was as perfect as it could be -- the temps were around 60-65 with a nice breeze. Perfect.

Wednesday: 1st run: 13 miles in 1:25:17
2nd run: 4 miles in 28:05
Doubled for the first time in a long time. I guess I feel the need to work on my base. Plus, with the weather as perfect as it's been for the past two days how could I not do two runs?

Thursday: 10 miles in 68:19
Got a late start because I had the boy all day. That wasn't the bad part... what was bad was that I stayed up until 3 a.m. writing, watching baseball and old Sopranos episodes. I was cranky and tired all day. But once I settled into the run I felt really good.

Friday: 15 miles in 1:40:57
I'm very strong. In fact, it's safe to say that my strength is my strength. Now if only I had some speed to go with it, then, perhaps, I'd be an ass kicker. Instead I'm just a strong dude who can hold a steady pace for a long time.

Saturday: 7 miles in 49:17
Ran OK considering I got up after five hours of sleep, drove for three hours (to Jennerstown, Pa. for a wedding) and ate lunch. I never do any of those things -- mix that with being at 2,000-feet of altitude and a throat/head cold and I think I did OK. I could have gone longer, but whatever...

Sunday: goose egg
Just beat. I felt like crap because of my cold and then I drove three hours to get home from Jennerstown, Pa. After some Mexican food, The Sopranos and Entourage, I went to bed.

That’s 77 miles for the week. Not bad, but I was on to something better.

Garcia improving, Howard not

Freddy Garcia injured himself by running full speed into a maintenance vehicle parked on the field during batting practice in San Francisco last weekend, which left the Phillies wondering if he could make his start in Arizona on Monday night.

There was no report on how much damage was done to the vehicle.

Not only did Garcia pitch after smashing into the maintenance cart, but he also turned in his best outing as a Phillie. No, that’s not a backhanded compliment considering that Garcia had not pitched past the fifth inning since joining the Phillies and had an ERA north of 6, but it’s something to build on.

Nevertheless, at times it appeared as if Garcia was limping or favoring the soreness in his shin after the accident. He also pitched just as deliberately (read: slooooooooow) as he typically does, as well.

But Garcia pitched well and felt good. That’s important for the Phillies. If he didn’t have to come out for a pinch hitter at the end of the sixth, Garcia could have gone deeper into the game since he only threw 70 pitches.

Regardless, there is no truth that Garcia plans on running into a wheel barrel or stepping on a rake before his next outing.

***
Speaking of injuries, Ryan Howard really looks like he could be hurt because his swing and stance appear off. I’m no doctor or Walt Hriniak, so this is based purely on watching the games on TV, but it seems as if Howard is more upright and open than usual in his stance. It also seems as if he’s having difficulty distributing his weight during his swing.

Howard said: "My quad hasn't been the best. It's my back leg. It's my leg that I push off of that helps generate that power. When you're off, you're rushing things. You're off balance. Right now, I just can't stay on my back side, so I'm pushing everything forward and trying to go get everything instead of letting it come to me. It's just a matter of getting back to trusting myself, being relaxed and having fun."

Based on reports from Arizona it seems as if there is some concern about Howard’s balky left quadriceps and a trip to the disabled list is not out of the question.

The new closer

For the second straight time in a victory, the Phillies got a 1-2-3 ninth inning from their closer. Interestingly though, one of those was from the closer who went to the All-Star Game in 2006 and saved 34 games. The other, on Thursday night, came from the team’s 2007 Opening Day starter who has pitched nearly 200 innings for the past four seasons and signed a three-year, $26 million deal during the winter.

The closer, Tom Gordon, as we all know, is gone for the time being. The timeline for his return is unknown after it was reported that he had another dose of cortisone injected to his injured shoulder and will be unable to attempt to throw a baseball for at least a week. From a strictly knee-jerk point-of-view it seems rather unlikely that Gordon will return as the closer this season. It seems more apt that Brett Myers, the new closer who is 1-for-1 in save chances for his entire career, will keep the job as long as he wants it.

Who knows, perhaps the closer role is one that Myers destined for all along? When Larry Bowa was manager of the Phillies there was talk of how Myers was the “closer-of-the-future.” His demeanor and repertoire of pitches, it was said, could be better suited for that role. Those ideas resurfaced during spring training when one intrepid scribe broached the subject with the Phillies’ brass. Before anyone could say, “great beard of Bedrosian!” talk of such a move was all over the television, papers, and the Internets.

Here’s what I’m wondering: based on the way Gordon ended the 2006 season, was the plan always to turn Myers into the closer? And secondly, when was the last time an Opening Day starter had a save before he had a win? Has there ever been an Opening Day starter that turned into the teams' closer by the 28th game?

Anyone have the number for Elias?

Re-thinking La Russa

For the past week I’ve been wrestling with the nature of Josh Hancock’s death and what role baseball and or the Cardinals played – directly or indirectly – in it. Were they complicit, enablers or just looking out for themselves? I know it’s much too easy to simply blanket the survivors with easy criticisms in such a complicated course of events.

Nevertheless, it’s hard not be critical of Cardinals’ manager Tony La Russa.

Certainly La Russa has taken a lot of shots in the past week, some have even been fair and thoughtful, while many others seem to be nothing more than piling on. But it is fair to wonder how truly effective a leader of men La Russa can continue to be after Hancock’s death.

Yes, Hancock was an adult and La Russa is not paid to be a babysitter by the Cardinals. In fact, La Russa revealed just today that he had a long discussion with Hancock regarding the pitcher’s drinking as it related to his tardiness three days prior to the fatal accident.

If Hancock would have walked out of the meeting with La Russa and thought to himself, “What a self-righteous hypocrite,” he would have been right. After all, La Russa was busted for DUI on March 22 during spring training. According to the report from the arrest, La Russa was found asleep behind the wheel of his SUV at a traffic light and then struggled to recite the alphabet during a field sobriety test. Currently, La Russa is waiting to go to trial for misdemeanor charges from his arrest.

The Cardinals and MLB are nothing more than pushers of the last legal drug, as alcohol is called by some (and that’s a bigger issue), but La Russa doesn’t set that agenda. His job is to win baseball games and it’s something he does very well. In fact, La Russa seems to have a laser focus on winning games to the point that nothing else matters.

For instance, La Russa has been an ardent defender of Mark McGwire and the allegations of performance-enhancing drug use during the former player’s assault on the single-season home run records. In 2006, after McGwire’s infamous showing before the Congressional House Government Reform Committee, La Russa continued to maintain that his former player was “legal,” which is a bit semantical. McGwire admitted to using then-legal steroid, androstenedione.

“I have long felt, and still do, there are certain players who need to publicize the legal way to get strong,” La Russa told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in March of 2006. “That’s my biggest complaint. When those players have been asked, they’ve been very defensive or they’ve come out and said ‘Whatever.’ Somebody should explain that you can get big and strong in a legal way. If you’re willing to work hard and be smart about what you ingest, it can be done in a legal way.”

Nothing has dissuaded La Russa from believing McGwire was clean.

“That’s the basis of why I felt so strongly about Mark. I saw him do that for years and years and years. That’s why I believe it. I don’t have anything else to add. Nothing has happened since he made that statement to change my mind.”

La Russa managed the Oakland A’s when McGwire and Jose Canseco were the most-feared slugging duo in the game. Canseco, of course, detailed his (and McGwire’s) steroid use in his book, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big. But when he played for La Russa, Canseco was something of a “steroid evangelist,” as Howard Bryant wrote in his book, Juicing the Game:

He talked about steroids all of the time, about what they could do and how they helped him. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Canseco put the A’s in a difficult position. The question of his steroid use and the possible use by another teammate, budding superstar named Mark McGwire, grew to be an open suspicion.

Deeply compromised was Tony La Russa. Canseco often spoke unapologetically about steroids, yet La Russa did nothing about it. … La Russa knew about Canseco’s steroid use because Canseco had told him so. Under the spirit of baseball’s rules, La Russa could have contacted his boss, Sandy Alderson, who in turn could have told the Commissioner’s office. That’s how the chain of command was supposed to work, but Canseco was a superstar player, an MVP, and the cornerstone of the Oakland revival. Turning him in would have produced a high-profile disaster. La Russa, knowing that his best player was a steroid user, did nothing.

In fact, La Russa did more than nothing. He not only did not talk to Alderson, but actively came to Canseco’s defense. …

But perhaps the best example of La Russa’s unwavering focus on winning baseball games at the sacrifice of everything else came when he was just beginning as Major League manager for the Chicago White Sox in 1983. Just as the White Sox had broken camp and were to begin the ’83 season that ended with the White Sox winning the AL West, La Russa’s wife, Elaine, called from Florida to tell her husband that she and their 4-year old and 1-year old daughters would not be joining him in Chicago because she had, as detailed in Buzz Bissinger’s 3 Nights in August, been diagnosed with pneumonia and required hospitalization.

According to Bissinger:

La Russa responded to the news with a fateful decision, one that would cement his status as a baseball man but would define him in another way.

Based on a strong finish in 1982, the expectations were high for the White Sox in 1983. But the season got off to a wretched start, mired at 16 and 24. Floyd Bannister was having trouble winning anything. La Marr Hoyt had a record of 2 and 6 and Carlton Fisk was a mess at the plate. In the middle of May, the team had lost eight of nine games. Toronto swept them; then Baltimore swept them. La Russa found himself fighting for his life, or what he mistook for his life. He had a team that was supposed to win, that had spent money on free agents and had good pitching and still wasn’t winning. The only reason he was still around was because of the vision of White Sox owner Reinsdorf, who continued to stand by him. So he did what he thought he had to do: He called his sister in Tampa and asked whether she could take care of the kids so he could take care of baseball.

Bissinger writes that La Russa regretted the decision and has never forgiven himself, but a pattern of behavior that put baseball before anything and everything else was in motion.

I cannot judge whether La Russa could have done anything for Josh Hancock. We are, after all, blessed with free will and the ability to make our own decisions. But it appears very certain that La Russa hasn't done anything different than he had done in the past.

More: La Russa and Cardinals sent wrong message before Hancock's death

What in the name of Mike Jackson...

You have to give credit where credit is due, and in this case kudos go out to the Phillies. Big kudos.

The Phillies, finally, have figured out how to misdirect (read: lie) everyone without tipping their hand. Oh sure, in this particular instance there were plenty of clues as well as the proverbial writing on the wall, but when pushed and shoved and asked all the probing questions, the Phillies stayed on message, stuck to the story and never wavered.

Boy how things have changed. How so? Well, there was a time – back in 2004, I suppose – where Jim Thome was held out of a game and then not used in a late-inning, pinch-hitting situation against a right-handed pitcher even though the tying runs were on base and a home run could have won it for the Phillies. When pressed on why he didn’t use Thome in that particular situation, manager Larry Bowa tersely answered that his slugger was “unavailable.” Time and time again Bowa repeated those words… “He was unavailable.” Or, “I told you he was unavailable.”

Over and over again, like a broken record, he spoke.

But upon some reflection, Bowa slowly and thoughtfully sauntered back into the clubhouse, called over the writers as he propped himself up on the table in the middle of the room and waited for a few stragglers to gather around.

Then he confessed.

I know, Larry Bowa.

Bowa just didn’t feel right about hiding Thome’s injury and used the notion that the opposition would read the stories and use that knowledge in an attempt to expose the slugger’s weakness. After all, ballplayers do not talk amongst themselves and rely on the daily coverage from the press for their information for all of the happenings around Major League Baseball. Nevertheless, Bowa couldn’t keep the secret, though, like any self-respecting baseball manager, he blamed the press the same way Ol’ Man Johnson did with “those meddling kids” in the Scooby Doo cartoons.

"I would have gotten away with keeping Thome on the bench if it wasn't for you muckracking little newshounds... drat!"

In the caper of Tom “Flash” Gordon and his meddlesome shoulder, however, Charlie Manuel never charted off message. When his closer was spotted at the Tampa International Airport waiting to board a plane back to Philadelphia, Manuel and the rest of the Phillies’ brass stuck to the script.

“He’s just going back for a routine check-up,” they said. “Nothing to worry about.”

Nah. Gordon had to have his arm checked out during his first spring training with the Phillies and went on to have a first half worthy of an All-Star nod. At the time the news of the check-up conjured up images of Mike Jackson and the 2000 Phillies. Remember that? Think of where the Phillies would have ended up that season if they didn’t have Jeff Brantley… wait, 2000? Never mind.

But, when Gordon stumbled out of the gates, blowing three save chances in April and complaining about his strength and inability to through his curve with his normal panache, the Phillies followed the lines.

“Gordon still has good stuff,” they said. “The fact he's gotten hit is the location of the pitches he's thrown.”

When Brett Myers, the Opening Day starter, was bumped out of the rotation and into the role of set-up man for Gordon, the answers remained the same. Myers to the ‘pen? It was just a way of shoring up the team’s weakness. Why would anyone think anything different?

“Gordon is our closer and we're committed to him until Brett becomes better,” they said.

So wouldn’t you know it that after Gordon’s first perfect inning of the season for a save in Tuesday’s victory in Atlanta that everything would come unhinged? The day after that outing, where he got a pop out and a pair of strikeouts for his fifth save, Gordon told leading bulldog and Delawarean, Scott Lauber, that his shoulder wasn't feeling so good and that probably wouldn't be able to pitch regularly until it starts to feel better.

After the game, and nearly past the deadline for most of the newspaper writers in Atlanta, Manuel finally revealed the truth. Gordon was hurt with an injury similar to the one that sidelined him for most of last August. Gordon, 39, reportedly could miss significant time.

“Since spring training, I’ve been concerned about Flash,” Manuel told the writers late last night.

What?

“He was sore in spring training when we kind of shut him down,” Manuel told the writers last night. “He was a little stiff and sore.”

Come again?

“I don’t want to speculate,” he told the scribes. “Hell, I’m not a doctor.”

Huh?

“I'm sure Brett will get some opportunities to close,” he revealed to the writers.

Uh, yeah. Anyway, as his teammates headed for a charter flight to the coast where they open a four-game series against the Giants tonight, Gordon jetted back to Philadelphia to be examined – again – by team physician, Dr. Michael Ciccotti. When he returns is anyone’s guess.

More: Phillies lose game and Gordon
Even more: Ouch! Gordon ailing as Phils fall again
Sweeps week bonus coverage: Gordon out, Myers in

It's go time!

When the Yankees’ Philip Hughes came out Tuesday night’s game in the seventh inning despite working on a no-hitter, it didn’t really seem like that big of a deal. After all, it was just Hughes’ second start as a big leaguer and it’s much better to be safe than sorry with the franchise’s top prospect.

But upon hearing it was a hamstring injury, I thought something was amiss. With Hughes out with a hamstring injury, he joins teammates Hideki Matsui, Mike Mussina and Chien-Ming Wang on the sidelines with hammy injuries. Mix that with Andy Pettitte (sore back from lifting weights) and Johnny Damon and his calf injury (calves and hamstrings are related) and it’s easy to wonder what in the name of the assistant to the travelling secretary is going on in the South Bronx?

So it really didn’t come as much of a surprise when the Yankees announced that they had fired their strength coach on Wednesday. But when reading the story about the strength coach, 34-year old Marty Miller, it’s not surprising that he was a little unpopular with the players on the Yankees. Most baseball players, believe it or not, take fitness very, very seriously. Miller just didn’t seem to have the credentials to be in charge of keeping the Yankees loose and limber for a 162-game season.

Why not? Well, Miller had not worked in baseball for 10 years before general manager Brian Cashman hired him just before spring training. Prior to that, Miller’s previous job was director of fitness at the Ballen Isles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

The Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.? What, the Judges and Stewards Commissioner for the International Arabian Horse Association didn’t want the gig? Was Izzy Mandelbaum available?

Regardless, reports on the Internets indicate that Tim McCarver had the answer for all the hamstring trouble plaguing the Yankees and other clubs during last weekend’s telecast of the Yanks-Red Sox game… how about mandatory yoga? Yeah, that’s right, yoga.

Oh don’t laugh. Yoga is extremely popular with not just baseball players, but also many other top-level professional athletes. On the Phillies, Mike Lieberthal was a devotee for years, which influenced many other players on the team to take it up. Geoff Geary tells some entertaining stories about his Bikram Yoga sessions.

McCarver is definitely on to something, and maybe Miller (Marty, you’re doing a heckuva job… ) wasn’t quite hip to the trends of fitness, who knows. Either way, I will go out on a limb and say there is no better stretch than the downward facing dog, though my best pose is savasana.

***
Remember when Bobby Abreu played for the Phillies and fought the notion that he could be one of the best leadoff hitters in the game if he would just agree to moving up on the batting order? Remember all of that? Well, guess who has hit leadoff twice already this season?

You got it, Bobby Abreu.

For the record, Abreu hit leadoff for the Yankees for the first time since Larry Bowa bumped him up there for about 20 at-bats with the Phillies in 2003.

***
Someone told me that the NBA Playoffs were going on… really?