Smooth... like banana-berry

The most important aspect (for older dudes like me) when it comes to work outs is the recovery. If you want to be able to get out and run the next day - let alone walk - the recovery has to start almost as soon as the last step. The good thing about this is that the body is cooperative. It wants to recover as well. In fact, there is this thing called the "glycogen window," which is about an hour-long period after a workout where your body will replenish its lost stores most effectively. In other words, if you take in the right kind of food or drink as soon as you get home after that 20 miler, you can replace all the lost energy you will need for the rest of the day and beyond.

Physiology is a crazy thing, man.

Anyway, sometimes I'm asked: "How do you do it?" That question usually follows, "Why do you do it?" Both are difficult to answer, but for the how part the biggest reason is fruit. Actually, the banana is usually the first thing I eat or drink after any type of sporting activity because it's going to keep the muscles from going all wacky.

Oh, but there are other fruits, too. Nature's candy, as we like to call it. Perhaps the best way to replenish as quickly and deliciously as possible is to gather a bunch of fruits, mix them up in a blender and drink it down. In places like Colorado and California, such concoctions are big business. In some places the Smoothie joints rival the coffee bars. Sometimes they even combine the two businesses.

I call those places Xanadu.

But not everyone can make the trip to Xanadu. However, if you have a blender you can play make believe and take a special, magical trip without even leaving your couch. Here's what you'll need to do it:

• 1 banana (2 if you want to push it)
• A couple of handfuls of berries, particularly straw-, rasp- and blue-. Strawberries are a big endurance sport fruit, which I learned when reading about the training and nutritional methods of German triathletes. One fellow, in particular, noted that during the buildup for an Ironman race his main food was strawberries. Apparently he ate them all the time and all day long. It was later revealed that he also had a taste for EPO, but that's another issue.
• Two heaping spoonfuls of non-fat yogurt. Soy milk is fine, or soy yogurt is better. Don't do three spoonfuls.
• 1 cup of freshly squeezed (organic) orange juice... this is optional
• A couple of handfuls of ice - or a little water... it's the same thing
• 1 spoonful of honey... this is optional, too

Dump all of the ingredients into the blender, turn it on and mix it for two or three minutes. It will look purple. Very purple, in fact. Pour the purpleness into a cup and drink up. Tomorrow you will be fired up and ready to go.

Fiendishly clever

First of all, a Major League Baseball player - a union one at that - can't get traded to Japan. Come on... suggesting something like that and then getting everyone involved the way the Phillies did in attempt to pull a prank on Kyle Kendrick in Clearwater yesterday, is just mean. Really, who doesn't know a player can't be traded to a team in Japan? So ultimately, as documented everywhere, the Phillies and the press took delight in the shortcomings of another person. It was a poor unsuspecting rube who wasn't aware enough to know that he can't get traded to a team in Japan. Nor did he know that as a member of a union, he and his agent probably had some say in a trade to another league, let alone a league in another country... if it were allowable. Which it's not. But you know what they did? They laughed at him, and wrote about it and put it on TV.

Really nice.

Whatever happened to lighting someone's shoes on fire or the ol' football to the groin? Perhaps the Kendrick prank demonstrates the reason why reality shows and things in which people are voted off or forced to be humiliated by D-list "celebrities" in front of a large audiences are so popular - it's because we're a bunch of mean people who enjoy watching others "get what they deserve."

Harumph!

Look, baseball players are on edge about getting traded or waived this time of year anyway. Then there are injuries and the like that makes a ballplayer's job hang by such a tenuous thread. It's like walking around newspaper guys talking about buyouts and layoffs even though the company is still producing double-digit profit margins. Why mess with a guy's head like that?

Anyway, the point is: don't make fun of people who aren't... well, smart. It isn't nice. It's just like awful thing Jay Leno [1]used to do where hit the streets to ask regular citizens basic knowledge questions only to yuck it up when he could prove that someone didn't know the significance of July 4. That's not funny, it's sad.

Still, traded to Japan? And they got him to believe it? Nice.

Never mind Remember when I wrote that signing Kris Benson was a bad idea, especially when the Phillies could get a player who could jump in now and help the team? Remember? I think it was a few days ago or something... hell, maybe I didn't even write it all. Maybe I just thought it and assumed I wrote it.

You know, because sports writing is so vital to the national discourse...

Anyway, because the Phillies are paying Benson a minimal base salary with incentives that could reach $5 million if he tallies up 200 innings and 30 starts, it's a pretty good deal.

It's a bargain, actually... like shopping at T.J. Maxx or knowing a guy who knows a guy who can get some stuff from time to time.

So the Phillies picked up a deal for a low price. Good. Now if he can last the year it's even better.

Oh yeah... Benson is married, too. Everyone is writing about how his wife is going to turn up in Clearwater or something. But since we have never written about ballplayer wives before, there's no reason to start up now.

If she can pitch or has another noteworthy talent, then that makes it a different story.

---

[1] I can't believe I'm admitting to have knowledge of Jay Leno's awful show. Truthfully, I've had dental work that got more chuckles than the best episode of Jay Leno's show. Then again, my dentist is funny... gotta give him credit there.

Wildcat

I just was the guest on a radio show and I think it went as well as this one: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj1DZKOeZhI&rel=1]

If you don't have anything nice to say...

... get a blog. Or better yet, just invite the writing media over to the locker to chat instead of those pesky TV folks with their makeup and those white, hot lights and cameras. Besides, talking to actual humans instead of inanimate objects like cameras and TV reporters is much more revealing anyway. Sure, the fans might like tuning in from so far away to watch a guy talk with those lights and the microphones bearing down, but come on... no one really enjoys it. At least that's the way it was for Ryan Howard in Clearwater today. Rather than do the whole big ballyhoo and faux production of a made-for-TV inquiry about his contract and whether or not animosity has festered like a bad blister because the Phillies only want to pay him $7 million for 2008 instead of $10 million just chatted up a few scribes and some inanimate objects in the clubhouse.

It made for a more contemplative, more intimate, more revealing and perhaps even a more trenchant conversation. That's the key word there - conversation. Look, when dealing with athletes, pro writers are dealing with a short deck mostly because they don't know a damn thing about exercise or fitness or training or anything. But that's beside the point. When the glare and scrutiny beats on a guy, it gets hard to explain things, so everyone loses.

Or something like that. Who knows. I'm just making this all up as I go along and I'm sure that five minutes from now I'll have no idea what I wrote. But don't let that stop anyone from acknowledging that sooner or later Ryan Howard will have to answer questions about his contract. What, do you think the writing press is a bunch of shrinking violets? Hey, they might not know the ins and outs of exercise or physiology, but that's not going to stop them from using clichés oh so cavalierly.

You know, whatever.

*** Here's a question: is it worse that someone made a typographical error in typing up a document filed yesterday in the Barry Bonds perjury case that erroneously stated the player tested positive for steroids in November of 2001, or is it worse that so many media outlets blindly jumped on the story without checking it out first.

Look, people trust the wire services and the big names in the media business without giving it much thought. But even the tiniest bit of research over the false Bonds report should have had folks scratching their heads a bit with wonderment over why the star-crossed slugger would have taken a drugs test in 2001.

Plus, knowing that there are no more secrets anywhere and that the truth always rears its troll-like face, the notion of a failed drugs test by Bonds in November of 2001 should have had the fact-checkers scrambling.

Alas...

Nevertheless, the underlying problem was evident: Media types are too worried about being first instead of being right.

*** Finally, my favorite story of the day comes out of the Mets' camp in Port Saint Lucie where Pedro Martinez rightfully claimed that he stared down the so-called Steroid Era and plunked it on its ass.

According to Pedro, "I dominated that era and I did it clean.

"I have a small frame and when I hurt all I could do was take a couple of Aleve or Advil, a cup of coffee and a little mango and an egg - and let it go!"

It sounds like Pedro (and Cole Hamels) are wannabe marathon runners who wake up every morning with everything hurting, shuffle stiff-legged downstairs for some coffee, a vitamin, maybe a Clif Bar or even an ibuprofen with the thought of visiting the chiro for some Active Release Technique therapy before heading out the door for the first of two brutal workouts.

Drugs tests? Where the cup...

"I wish that they would check every day," Pedro said. "That's how bad I want the game to be clean. I would rather go home (than) taint the game."

Here's a theory: the pitching during the so-called "Steroid Era" wasn't so bad. Oh sure, certain media types -- blabbermouths on certain radio stations in particular -- are quick to point out how today's pitchers can't throw strikes, won't work deep into games and how some of them shouldn't be in the big leagues. Expansion, they say, has watered down the game.

Maybe so. But try this out: in facing hitters with baseballs that are wound tighter and who are using harder bats made of harder wood against a tinier strike zone in ball parks that are smaller still, pitchers have to add guile to the repertoire. And we didn't even get into the performance-enhancing drugs part yet. Nonetheless, pitchers just can't lean back and huck it up there as fast as they can -- pitchers have had to pitch in the post-modern era of baseball.

*** Speaking of doing it the right way for a long time, Sully Salisbury turned in a great story on the meritorious Jamie Moyer, who is heading into his 22^nd big league season.

A few minutes in the presence of Moyer makes it easy to believe that you never, ever have to get old. You never have to burn out, get tired, act old, compromise, get mediocre or slow down. Moyer turned 45 last November and be sure that there are players on the Phillies who are "older" than he is - they've stopped being engaged, they know what they know and they don't want to be exposed to anything new. They are already completely formed and they might only be 23 years old.

Not Moyer, though. In a conversation last October, the pitcher says one of the best parts about playing for so long has been the exposure to new people and ideas.

"A lot of times, I just focus on the simplicity of things, and not be the focus of what should be going on here, and just keep things simple. I call it the K.I.S.S. factor -- keep it simple, stupid," he said last October. "I look back on instances in my career like that -- good and bad - but things that I've learned from, and try to re-educate myself and rethink things, and reinforce what I already know. A lot of times, we can overlook things and forget, and after the fact, after the mistake is made, you're like, ‘Oh, I knew that. Why did I do that?' You can't catch everything. But if you can catch some of it, hopefully, it'll work out. What's been fun is being around this group of guys and the energy they bring."

As Moyer told Sailisbury yesterday:

"I'm not as proud of the age thing as I am of the ups and downs I've overcome to create some longevity," Moyer said after yesterday's workout. "I've enjoyed that part. I can smile and say I'm doing what I want to do."

More fun with sports and elected officials

"I don't know if it rises to the level of the destruction of the CIA Tapes. Well, of course it does." So said Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) last week. The topic...

Alberto Gonzalez?

Illegal wiretaps?

Torture of detainees?

Squalid living conditions for returning troops at Walter Reed?

Scooter Libby?

Nope. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong.

Try the New England Patriots. Yeah, the football team in the NFL. Apparently, the U.S. Senator from the East Falls section of the city is so fired up following his one-on-one meeting yesterday with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that there is a strong possibility that Specter could call Congressional Hearings about the matter.

Yes, we're still talking about football here.

You see, Specter, as he told reporters, is a fan of football. In fact, he's been a fan for a really, really long time. Actually, Specter is so much of a fan that he seems to believe that the sovereignty of our union is at stake unless we get to the bottom of why (oh why!) the Patriots, at the order of coach Bill Belichick, secretly taped opponents as they practiced the plays they were going to use in a game in final walkthroughs. Never mind that Specter and his colleagues <i>refused</i> to force members of the executive branch to speak under oath for other investigations, but the thought that the Patriots are getting away with something and the evidentiary tapes were destroyed by the league...

"The commissioner sought to downplay the issue about the utility, but from information we've received, there was opportunity for the signal to be transmitted to the quarterbacks so they could utilize these signals that they taped in violation of NFL rules," Specter told the L.A. Times. "I found a lot of questions unanswerable because of the tapes and notes had been destroyed."

Shudder!

With his writers back in the office, Jon Stewart tackled (hey, a pun) the football controversy on "The Daily Show."

But when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, Specter's delving into the "Spygate[1]" controversy just goes deep into the pile of legacy-making material for the Senator. Think about it - as the assistant counsel for the Warren Commission, Specter authored the "single-bullet theory," thus eliminating the threat of conspiracy from the official record of the Kennedy Assassination.Recently, of course, Specter had been critical of the Bush Adminstration's wiretapping of U.S. citizens without warrants and threatened to hold hearings on the matter. However, when he called then attorney general Alberto Gonzalez to speak to the judiciary committee, he was allowed to do so without taking an oath.

In other words, the investigation was a great, big show. Kind of like what's going on now.

---

[1] I really hope that someone trademarked the -gate suffix. Hopefully, a nickel in royalties goes to the remaining members of Richard Nixon's criminal gang, or at least to the general fund of his library in Yorba Linda. But I suspect that if there is a trademark on the -gate suffix that Woodward, Bernstein or Bradlee are raking it in.

Following the money

Following today’s testimony by Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the notion that members of Congress split along party lines during their questioning was prevalent. The idea that Democrats were tough on Clemens and more apt to find McNamee credible, while Republicans drilled McNamee and were soft on Clemens has some legs. That got me thinking a little bit – is Roger Clemens a donor to any specific politicians or political groups. It’s well known that Clemens, a Texan, has a relationship with the Bush family, but when it comes to writing checks to politicos Clemens is about as revealing as his today’s testimony.

In other words, there is nothing there.

According to the report on federal campaign contributions filed as of Feb. 11, Clemens has never donated more than $200 to any politician or political special interest group since 1978. The same goes for Brian McNamee.

In fact, amongst active team-sport athletes the political contributions aren’t overwhelming. Shane Battier, Lance Berkman, Peyton Manning, Dikembe Mutombo and Alex Rodriguez are the most notable donors.

Locally, all of the team owners and chairman have made political contributions, with Bill Giles of the Phillies and Jeffrey Lurie of the Eagles giving away the most. According to the filings, Lurie wrote a check for $10,000 to Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee last November and dished out a pair of $2,300 checks to Hillary Clinton for President on Sept. 18, 2007.

But like Giles, who has donated to both Republicans and Democrats, Lurie’s money has no party alliegience.

Meanwhile, Eagles coach Andy Reid recently donated $2,300 to Mitt Romney’s campaign for President.

Anyway, if the reason why Republicans were softer on Clemens than McNamee today and Democrats grilled the pitcher, but were sympathetic to the ex-trainer, it isn’t because of political contributions.

Meanwhile, there are a lot of folks who have wondered why Congress is digging into baseball’s drug problem instead of more pressure issues.

“Don’t they have anything better to do?” people have asked.

No. No they don’t.

For more on who gives money to whom, click here.

To tell the truth: The Clemens, McNamee edition

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) just gaveled closed the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s hearing on steroids and baseball. It came a few seconds after he pounded his gavel onto his podium and told Roger Clemens to shut up.

That little moment were just the sprinkles atop of the sundae during the four-plus hours that Roger Clemens and his ex-trainer Brian McNamee met with the Congressional Committee to discuss the Mitchell Report’s investigation in illicit performance-enhancing substance abuse in baseball. Most of the testimony and questions were quite testy and went so far as for several U.S. Representatives to call McNamee a “liar” and a “drug dealer.”

Aside from the final gavel down from Waxman, Clemens was treated much more respectfully than McNamee than members of Congress, though the questions were hardly deferential and the responses were greeted with loads of skepticism.

So after four hours of accusations, anger and the threat of further hearings, here’s what I learned from watching Clemens, McNamee and Congress joust for the better part of the afternoon:

• Andy Pettitte is a problem for Clemens. Actually, it seems almost Shakespearean in that Clemens’ best friend in baseball could be the one guy to bring him down.

• Whether he is telling the truth or not, Brian McNamee did not come out of the hearings looking very good.

• Whether he is telling the truth or not, Roger Clemens does not look good for hiring a trainer/body man like Brian McNamee.

• Athletes like Roger Clemens continue to perpetuate the notion that they do not know what they are taking or have taken. Just the thought of such a thing is such a load of bull----. Every elite-level athlete knows very well what they take and they sweat over the details. Those who don’t pay attention to such things don’t last very long. So for someone like Roger Clemens to say he was not aware or was duped by a trainer, nutritionist or doctor… well, perhaps they aren’t exercising the best candor.

• Most importantly, Roger Clemens is not a vegetarian. When asked if he was a vegan, Clemens looked confused and said: “I don't know what that is. I'm sorry.”

So if Clemens is neither a vegetarian nor a vegan, we should assume that he has ingested steroids… sorry, there I go again.

Anyway, the question remains – what was accomplished with having Clemens and McNamee in front of the committee.

“Not as much as we would have liked,” Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) told ESPN, who also chastised Major League Baseball and its players for its “code of silence” in regards to its drug problems.

“I found Clemens almost as believable as Rafael Palmeiro,” Rep. Souder told ESPN.

The problem is that McNamee came off just as believable in a circus of events in which it seems as if the man who was not present came out with his reputation intact. That’s the curious part, especially considering that several Congressman wondered aloud about why Andy Pettitte was not taking questions, too.

Where was he?

Time to stretch

I'm not an expert on much, but it seems to me that there is much more anticipation about the official opening of spring training this year than in the past. Folks are charged up about baseball and spring training as if the day pitchers and catchers are expected to report to camp has some sort of significance. I don't know - maybe it is significant. But it's kind of like the first day of summer or something in that it might be hot for weeks leading up to the "official" day, but it's not really summer until the third week of June. Spring training "officially" begins this Thursday, but it's largely ceremonial - a made-for-TV moment, if you will. The fact is most of the ballplayers have been working out since November and shifted their regimes to Florida or Arizona earlier this month. This Thursday teams like the Phillies will stretch and run formal drills with the wags from the press in attendance. But really, nothing changes for another few weeks when they kick-off the exhibition season.

Still, who doesn't like the first days of spring training? Watching ballplayers stretch and go through old-timey calisthenics under sun-soaked skies from snowed-in northeastern cities is a way to mark the seasons. TV folks trot out the standard clichés while the newspapermen get to work on the issues facing the club, such as when will the team add another arm to the pitching staff and when will they come to terms on a contract with the top slugger.

New year, same themes.

So while the ballplayers go through their stretches and cover-first drills, I'm going to hang out up here in the snow and cold until Feb. 25. That's when I'll go to Clearwater for all the color and pageantry of spring training. Besides, spring training is the best part about baseball.

Until then, it's back to the ol' grind.

Here are a few sports-related stories that actually turned my attention away from the stuff I normally read about for a spell:

*** Bryant Gumbel's Real Sports on HBO is easily the best sports show out there. The reasons for that are myriad and too long to get into now, but it's always enjoyable to watch and listen to topics that get into issues.

One of the issues tackled by Gumbel in the latest episode of the show was the ethics of Roger Clemens' lobbying of Congressmen ahead of tomorrow's hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Gumbel questioned whether Clemens' overt wooing of specific Congressmen would affect the legitimacy of the hearings and closed the show with this:

"Finally tonight, a few words about flattery. Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state and notorious self-promoter, once observed that ‘Those who say flattery doesn't work have never had it practiced on them.'

"That quote would seem to have registered with Roger Clemens, who, facing congressional hearings this week into his alleged steroid use, suddenly became civic minded last week, and made a number of personal house calls on Capitol Hill. Given Clemens' well-earned reputation for surliness, his transparent charm offensive was to many--- exactly that. Aside from the obvious question about why elected officials would consent to meet with a freshly deposed witness in advance of his testimony, you've also got to wonder just how much Roger's shameless slurping may have compromised the objectivity of those slated to question him.

"Following some face time with the accused, one California Republican came away gushing about how much Clemens was the kind of guy you'd want as a neighbor. Since neither party has a monopoly on bad judgment, a Democratic congressman from Brooklyn named Edolphus Towns, all but fell at Clemens' feet. Parroting the pitcher's defense after their meeting, Towns claimed his half hour personal visit had made him a believer in Clemens' character.

"Now I obviously have no idea if Roger Clemens is guilty of that which he is accused. Maybe he is. Maybe he isn't. But you do have to wonder why someone who'll be under oath and claims he's innocent would engage in what looks like the political equivalent of jury tampering to try to influence his reception before a House committee. You could argue it's good insurance. Or you could conclude that on the heels of an interview, a press conference, a taped phone call and a deposition...he doth protest too much."

It makes one wonder not only about the relevancy of Congress tackling the issue of steroids in baseball, but also if the hearings are nothing more than the typical political dog-and-pony show. The New York Times examined the issue, noting Congressmen in charge of questioning the pitcher posed for pictures and got autographs during Clemens' lobbying jaunt.

*** According to published reports, The Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue was released this week. Hey, who doesn't like swimsuits? But really, does the SI swimsuit issue really matter anymore? With all the stuff out there on the Internet - swimsuit or not - is the issue just another media anachronism from another tired magazine?

Hey, I'm not telling them to stop...

*** One of my favorite sporting events takes place this weekend in San Diego where some of the best runners in the country will battle it out over the hills and dales in the U.S. Cross Country Championships. This being an Olympic year with the Trials in Eugene quickly approaching, some runners decided to sit out, like defending champ Alan Culpepper. But the top two finishers in last November's Marathon Olympic Trials will be there.

Undoubtedly, the 12-kilometer championship race will be hyped as the match-up between tough Dathan Ritzenhein and the American distance running's great hope, Ryan Hall. Runners Dan Browne, Andrew Carlson, James Carney, Anthony Famiglietti, Jason Lehmkuhle and Jorge Torres will also be in San Diego fighting for both a national championship and a spot on the national team for the World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland on March 30.

So who's going to win? Certainly it's hard to bet against Ritzenhein and Hall, who clearly are the class of the field. Dan Browne is another Olympian and a veteran of some big-time races, while Torres is an excellent cross runner and Famiglietti has the pedigree, too. But my dark horse is James Carney, a graduate of Millersville University, who won the U.S. championship in the half-marathon last month in Houston.

With the way he has been racing, Carney could make the Olympic team in the 10,000-meters if he isn't careful.

*** Speaking of the Olympics, there was an interesting story in The New York Times on how the USOC will supply athletes with American food and chefs while in Beijing for the games. Now we all know that holding the Olympics in China is wrong for thousands of reasons, with pollution, environmental and human-rights concerns right at the top.

But according to the story in The Times, an American delegation traveled to Beijing and tested out the food sold in Chinese supermarkets… let’s just say it didn’t go well.

While in China, USOC caterer Frank Puleo picked up a 14-inch chicken breast and had it tested – the results:

“We had it tested and it was so full of steroids that we never could have given it to athletes. They all would have tested positive.”

That’s really saying something considering how full of hormones and steroids (and other things) meat sold in the U.S. is loaded up with. That is, of course, if author Eric Schlosser is wrong… which he is not.

*** Finally, it's interesting to note that the Twins signed Livan Hernandez for $5 million for one year. An innings-eating right-hander, Hernandez hasn't missed a start in years and routinely piles up 200-plus innings every season. Even last season when his Ks-per nine innings were way, way down, Hernandez still threw close to 220 innings (counting the playoffs).

Knowing that it only took $5 million to get Hernandez, 32, to sign with the depleted Twins, would it have been wise for the Phillies to take a shot at the righty? I say yes because I like sure things. Hernandez is almost guaranteed to turn in another 200-innings season in '08.

Other people's money

It is always easy to overspend when the money isn't yours. That's especially the case with sports franchises, which all would be out of business or in bankruptcy court if the majority of fans and media were put in charge. "Just spend the money... stop being cheap!" folks always implore the local teams.

Yeah, and that's exactly how things are run at your house. Right?

So this is a short, little missive for the Phillies imploring them not to spend the money on oft-injured pitcher Kris Benson, be it for a minor-league deal or one of those look-and-see-and-then-go-away pacts that dot pro sports like the accessories they are.

You get your money for nothing and your chicks for free...

No, the Phillies should not watch Benson workout anymore. They should burn the jet fuel thus turning their carbon footprint to Sasquatch proportions travelling around to Georgia or Arizona or Timbuktu to watch him throw breaking pitches or see him attempt to hit 90 mph on the JUGS gun.

Oh sure, Benson is one of those high-reward, low-risk type of pitchers that like the confetti of currency also dots the sporting landscape, but big deal. These days Benson is a dime a dozen. IF he can pitch he's nothing more than a well-known name because a long time ago he was a top draft pick and his wife flashed and cursed her way into the sub-culture consciousness.

Besides, Benson seems to have spent more time on the disabled list than in active duty, having missed the entire 2001 and 2007 seasons for surgeries. That makes him a pretty good bet to get hurt again, which seems like a waste of time considering his lifetime ERA is only slightly better than the league average and steadily rising.

So no, the Phillies should put the checkbook away and move past Kris Benson...

Instead, if the Phillies really need to add another pitcher (and they do), they should overpay right-hander Kyle Lohse.

Unlike Benson, Lohse is a known entity. They know he can pitch - maybe not as well as they'd like, but he's a pretty sure bet to take the ball every five days and/or as a reliever for a handful of days in a row.

Perhaps the question is this: Which pitcher is a better value? Is it Benson who may or may not be able to make the team , but won't cost all that much in length of the deal or the salary? Or is it Lohse, who has not yet turned 30, has seven straight big league seasons under his belt and will hold down a spot on the pitching staff for the length of his contract?

The caveat in that is that it might cost the Phillies three years and a few dozen million dollars.

But then again, sometimes you get what you pay for.

The Saturday night dance party

I got a newslettery e-mail from (name dropper alert) Henry Rollins the other day to alert me that the great Ian MacKaye will be the guest host of Hank's "Harmony in my Head" radio program from Los Angeles' Indie 103.1 radio station. This is big news to me because I've never heard of a time where the great Ian MacKaye hosted a show or even appeared on a commercial radio station. Sure, there are a few interviews floating around here and there, but generally they're on college radio where the host simply hasn't done the research or whatever. It always ends up being a letdown... Let that be a lesson to you college kids out there - do your homework. There is nothing more revolutionary than knowledge.

Anyway, just Ian spinning records and telling stories sounds like a rollicking good way to spend an evening so I'm going to make sure I log on and tune in. But in the meantime, I thought it would be fun to post a random playlist from the week. Hell, I'll even post an mp3 or two for good measure.

Here we go:

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Down on the Corner A friend has a theory that at any time of the day there is some radio station playing a Creedence song. I guess that could be true about Black Flag, too. After all, there are a lot of radio stations out there. I bet some of them even play really bad music, too.

Creedence isn’t bad music. How can it be if The Dude loves it? When his car was stolen the first thing he wanted returned wasn’t a leather case supposedly filled with money, it was his Creedence cassette. And with songs like “Down on the Corner” about Willie & The Poor Boys, who can blame him?

I love stories. I’ve been known to travel great distances to either hear a good one or to attempt to write one, and this song is a good story. Actually, it makes me think about the kids that hang out on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colo. You know the ones – they roll up in a Land Rover wearing $75 sandals and $200 peasants’ shirts and then sit outside of the shops kicking hacky sacks, strum “Scarlet Begonias” on 12-string guitars, or beg for change with babies on their laps.

I spent my early childhood in Washington, D.C. and my college years in Philadelphia and New York City. Currently I live in Lancaster (went to its inner city high school) and work in Philadelphia, so it’s fair to say that I’m a bona fide Northeasterner.

Do you really want to know what I say to those kids when they ask me for change?

You really want to know? OK… we start with, “GET A BLEEPING JOB!” And then we work from there.

Quicksand – Dine Alone This group was fronted by Walter Schreifels, who also led the late ‘80s NYC hardcore band the Gorilla Biscuits. As I was heading off for college in 1989 the Gorilla Biscuit’s Start Today was the heavy rotation cassette in my walkman and it might be a good idea to replace that tape with some digitalized computer files. Either way, Quicksand strikes me as a band that was swept up in to a major label contract during that post-Nirvana rush on organic, guitar-based rock music. For Quicksand one of those albums was called Slip, released on Polydor Records, that sounds a tad over-produced.

That’s not bad, it’s just that it doesn’t have that same “heaviness” as the Gorilla Biscuits records. Take that for what it’s worth, though. The fact remains that there were and are a lot of bands that took its sound from the music Schreifels and his bands were putting out.

Bob Dylan – Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat It’s hard not to think that Dylan was writing about Edie Sedgwick or perhaps offering an ode to Jackie O in the one. Nonetheless, it’s really funny and you can tell Bob is yucking it up and having a good time singing it.

The song comes from Blonde on Blonde, which aside from being considered one of Dylan’s best is also thought to be the first double album in popular rock history. Song by song, though, this is probably Dylan’s best album and collection of tunes. However, I’m still partial to Highway 61 Revisited simply because my mom gave me a copy of the LP when I was a boy, explained who Dylan was and told me, “this is different. He’s a poet.”

Rollins Band – Low Self Opinion It’s hard not to admire ol’ U St. Hank. There are very few people who stick to their guns or follow their muse as devotedly as Rollins. Better yet, he has become his own D.I.Y. media conglomerate that continues to produce high-quality and thoughtful work. Even his books are well-edited, which is a surefire way to measure intelligence and devotion to detail.

Besides, if a person can write they can do anything.

Here’s another detail Rollins paid attention to – his band is really, really good. Ol’ Hank gets all the attention, of course, since it’s his name, face, words, voice and black shorts, but don’t sleep on his band. To coin a phrase, Rollins with a lineup of Sim Cain, Melvin Gibbs and Chris Haskett rocks.

David Bowie – Ashes to Ashes I have to admit that it took me a while to “get” David Bowie. My mom tried to get me into the Ziggy Stardust stuff when I was a kid, but it just didn’t stick. Perhaps one has to be an adult to do understand Bowie.

This one, however, did stick. I think it was the lyrics that did it:

Ashes to ashes, funk to funky We know Major Tom’s a junkie Strung out in heavens high Hitting an all-time low

I recently read that this song was Bowie’s ode to the end of the 1970s. OK, that works. But to me it sounds like an ode to childhood heroes and the feeling one gets when they grow up and learn that the people they idolized were regular people, too, or worse. I can definitely relate to that. When I was a kid my favorite baseball player was Larry Bowa. When I grew up and got a job writing about baseball, Larry Bowa was… well, let’s just say he isn’t the nicest man on the planet.

Perhaps the lesson learned is that just because someone plays baseball doesn’t mean they are special. It’s just a game.

Sinead O’Connor – Three Babies This is another artist I didn’t particularly like or “get” during her so-called hey-day. I guess I wrote it off as trifle pop music made by yet another egomaniacal diva. But now that I’m older it seems as if this one was ahead of its time… or maybe I was a late arrival. Perhaps it’s because I have two kids of my own, but a few tracks on this album – “Three Babies,” “Feel So Different,” “Black Boys on Mopeds,” “The Last Day of Our Acquaintance,” are all just bleeping killers. They tear right through bone and leave you in a pile on the floor.

Public Enemy – Pollywanacraka I guess I like Chuck’s voice on this one. Then again, I like his voice on all of them.

 The Beatles – Sun King I don’t know anything about recording or producing records, but the mix of this song sounds amazing. But then again, the Beatles with George Martin were recording geniuses. … and that just might be the understatement of the century.

Here’s a fun fact about the Spanish phrasing in the middle of this song. According to John Lennon (who wrote it):

We just started joking, you know, singing 'cuando para mucho'. So we just made up, ah, Paul knew a few Spanish words from school, you know. So we just strung any Spanish words that sounded vaguely like something. And of course we got `chicka ferdi' in. That's a Liverpool expression – just like sort of – it doesn't mean anything to me but 'na-na, na-na-na'.

Dag Nasty – Wig Out at Denko’s The first proper “punk” show I saw was Dag Nasty at the Chameleon in Lancaster, Pa. on July 4, 1987. That was the month when Wig Out at Denko’s was released. For a lot of my friends, this album changed everything for them. Hearing this record for the first time was, I believe, a seminal moment in their lives. For teenage boys in the exurbs in the mid-1980s, this was the record.

Suffice it to say I listened to it a lot. I liked it very much and I’m sure I played it regularly for five years after that July in 1987. I still listen to it on occasion now, though I no longer seek it out and I prefer the preceding album to this one. Still, 20 years later Brian Baker’s guitar work really holds up.

John Frusciante – Omission/A Firm Kick It’s hard to stop playing those Frusciante tracks. Luckily for me, two came up right in a row.

TV on the Radio – Staring at the Sun Let me preface this by saying I don’t know anything about the new bands. I don’t know what they look like, where they’re from, what genre they belong to, or whether they rightly believe that Fugazi is the greatest band in the last 40 years. I don’t think I care to know that information either.

I am not a hipster.

So it goes without saying that I don’t know a thing about TV on the Radio. In fact, the first time I heard this I thought it was one of Frusciante’s B-sides from his earlier albums. Actually, I think I heard it as it played over the credits of some HBO show. Entourage maybe?

Luscious Jackson – Life of Leisure People make mistakes. That’s what makes them human. One of my mistakes came during 1994 at the Lollapalooza show in Philadelphia at FDR Park. My mistake that day was watching Luscious Jackson at the Second Stage instead of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds on the main stage.

Yeah, tough one.

Perhaps because of some sort of personal depression I decided to skip Mr. Cave’s realism and poignant music for the happy-go-lucky nature of the ladies of LJ. Plus, they were (and are) good-looking ladies. Nick Cave seemed a little too brooding for me that day.

The worst part of this story is that Luscious Jackson were actually taunting Nick Cave from their spot on the side stage. Yeah, really. In retrospect I guess that’s all they can do because they can’t write songs better than he can.

On another note, I saw Girls Against Boys that day. They went on the little side stage just before Luscious Jackson hit it. In that regard I guess it all worked out.

The Evens – All You Find You Keep My current music obsession when I decide to give End Hits a break. This one seems to be about the Patriot Act. Really patriotic that Patriot Act.

The Breeders – Divine Hammer On the same day I saw Girls Against Boys, and Luscious Jackson, but skipped Nick Cave, I saw The Breeders. They did this song, but the highlight of their set was a Guided By Voices cover. I’m not a huge Guided By Voices fan, but their song was better than the ones the Breeders had.

The Evens – Blessed Not Lucky More Evens. Too good.

Pearl Jam – Faithfull This is from a live show recorded on July 5, 2003 at Camden’s outdoor music venue. I forget the name of the corporation that bought the rights to place its name on it… anyway, it’s Pearl Jam. Nothing new to add there except for the fact that I actually saw Eddie Vedder on this day. He showed up at the ballpark (Veterans Stadium), took batting practice and hobnobbed with a few players. He also had a big, burly body guard with him so I took that as a sign that he wasn’t interested in being in approached in public – kind of like a porcupine with its quills or a skunk with its stench.

Besides, what do you say to Eddie Vedder that he doesn't already know? I'm sure he didn't need me to tell him that Fugazi is better than his band. That's probably all I had to offer him anyway. What? Do you think he would have wanted to talk about baseball?

To make a long story short, the thing that most struck me about seeing Eddie Vedder from two feet away was how incredibly short he is. He might be 5-foot-8.

On another note, Jakob Dylan is waifishly thin. Like model thin.

Frank Black – Velouria This is from an album of Pixies songs that features nothing more than Frank, a guitar and maybe some string arrangements. It’s really, really interesting. Hearing those Pixies songs presented in a totally new and different way from the man who wrote them really opens them up… or something like that.

Interestingly, I was at a party on one of the days after this past Christmas where I got really drunk on Yellow Tail shiraz (what, no Heineken?) and introduced myself to strangers as Frank Black. Actually, I told them I was Francis Black, but they could call me Frank. Or Frankie. I don’t drink that often and get drunk maybe twice a decade, so it was fun to entertain myself and a few others with a nom de drunk. Perhaps I should have pulled out my iPod and blasted this record instead?

Superchunk – From the Curve For about two weeks I listened to the Superchunk album (On The Mouth) from which this one is culled. It’s entertaining. Energetic even. It’s not exactly cutting edge or ridiculously memorable, but I can understand how a band like Superchunk became popular in certain indie circles. I guess it used to be called “college music.” Do they still call it that? I hope not, because that’s a really dumb name for a classification or sub-genre.

DMX – What’s My Name I like to listen to this one before I run in a race. I think it would be hilarious to show up a race in some non-descript suburb with this one blasting from my car. I have a Saturn Vue, which would make the scene even funnier. Maybe I should rent an Escalade so I can blast DMX before the local 5k… good idea?

Minor Threat – Minor Threat Imagine being 14-years old and hearing Minor Threat for the first time. Tell me that wouldn’t change your life. At least that’s what happened to me. I can remember the day of the week, the place, the way the lights were lit, who I was with and the smell of the air the very first time I heard Minor Threat. Needless to say, moments like that deserve to be preserved in such a manner. After all, hearing Minor Threat for the first time is just one of those life-altering stitches in time.

Does Nyquil count as doping?

They say the body is at its weakest when it is tired. Stress levels rise, energy dwindles and those nasty parasites find a host. They dive in and treat your body like a roadside motel off the state highway. The good part is those unwanted guests will move on. But the bad part is they will go when they damn well please.

Actually, I don't know if "they" say that at all, but it sounds right. The reason why it sounds right is because one night I stayed up way too late, didn't get the proper amount of rest and then the next thing I knew, I was coughing and wheezing and squeezing my temples as hard as possible with my fingertips.

I blame my kids. Yeah, that's right I said it. I know they're little and are unwitting victims of every germ, virus and mutant strain that passes from snotty nose to hand to mouth as the veritable bacteria frappes that they are, but whatever. They made me sick. It wasn't the other way around.

How do I know? Well, I guess I don't. I am neither a physician nor have I visited with a medical professional during the past six months1]. But I am damn sure that I would have been properly rested and strong, thus making me less susceptible to injury and ailment had I been in bed at 5 a.m. instead of trying in vain to help a little boy with an ear infection fall asleep. That's no easy task based on what we know about the human ear. That is where we seem to find our balance or equilibrium, if you will, and if that delicateness is disturbed the entire system falls apart.

So any time the little guy put his head onto the pillow, all the fluid and garbage floating around in those narrow canals floated to-an-fro and clogged up pathways for other important signals. As a result, the poor kid was up screaming and I was up just trying to help him keep it together, which is about all anyone can do when spectating at an old-fashion ear event. Sympathy is for suckers.

As a result I picked up a headache and a chest could/cough that is more annoyance than illness. The baby brother got the coup de grace - a double ear infection, as they call it in the biz. Combine that with a stuffed nose and the baby doesn't know whether he's coming or going.

Nevertheless, I've been curiously lucky enough to get in my workouts despite the madness at the house. Except for Monday, when I was simply flat-out whipped from sitting with the kids all night and day, I was able to get out and put in the regular amount of training that has become the norm over the past few weeks. In fact, a few of the days I even went out twice.

How about that?

That's a funny thing within itself, I have to admit. Though I never revealed it anywhere else, my guideline for training was to do two weeks "on" and one week "off." During the so-called "on" weeks the plan was to pile on as many miles, hills and whatever else I could and see where I was at the end of the week. For an "on" week, there is no ceiling. However far I can go, that's the workout.

There are limits, of course. My recovery time is different than the good runners in the country simply because I don't have the support of a sponsored athlete. I can't get a daily massage because there is work to take care of, bills to pay and the agony of an earache to rubberneck. Plus, massages cost money. So do shoes, and food and drinks and ice. That means more work on top of work, which makes me no different than anyone else...

Aside from those two-a-days, of course.

Anyway, since I was last heard from here, the work has been steady. So too has the rattling in my chest and the pounding against my temples.

The self-indulgent running stuff is here

---

[1] The dentist doesn't count, does it? If so, everything is ruined. I went to the dentist a few weeks ago. Everything looked good, I was told. Crooked, but clean.

Too good to be true?

The Phillies came to an agreement on a contract with Eric Bruntlett today, which means the team will head into the opening of spring training next week with everyone signed, sealed, delivered and happy. Well, all except for that one guy.

In signing Bruntlett, the new utility infielder ace (you know, like Tomas Perez except for he went to Stanford and doesn't strike out as much), only Ryan Howard remains unsigned for 2008. Eligible for arbitration for the first time, Howard will set a record if his case makes it to the hearing room on Feb. 20. The record, of course, will be for his salary for a player with his limited service time. With only two complete seasons under his belt, Howard will make at least $7 million for 2008 even if he loses his hearing. If he wins the case Howard will get a cool $10 million for the upcoming season.

Of course the Phillies and Howard could come to an agreement beforehand, but that seems unlikely at this point.

There are a lot of interesting variables in Howard's case from all points of view. The main one appears to be the notion that Howard doesn't seem to wait his turn and put in the service time that seems to the requirement for one to achieve a certain salary status. It also seems to be yet another one of baseball's anachronisms that litters the game. Players have to pay their dues in baseball even if they are stuffed in the minors for far too long because an aging superstar had blocked the path.

Then there is the fact that the Phillies have never lost an arbitration case, ever. With ex-general manager Ed Wade known as one the all-time great hatchet men when it comes getting the arbitrator to see things his way, the Phillies have been second-to-none when it came to shredding up their own guys. Just the thought of Wade in a hearing room was enough to get players to sign on the line.

But that's not the case with Howard. The big fella seems poised for a fight that won't end on Feb. 20 and very well could be an ongoing battle that lasts until Howard is finally eligible for free agency following the 2011 season. In terms of this season, however, it will be very interesting to hear how the Phillies will present their case.

And with the acknowledgement that this will be the unpopular view, the Phillies will be very smart not to give in to Howard's demands. Why should the team voluntarily overpay a player? Why would they do it knowing they will have a limited amount of cash to spend on free agents every off-season? If locking up Howard on a mega-, multi-year deal means the Phillies won't be players for a top free agent pitcher in the future - one they will surely have to overpay because of the bandbox of a ballpark they play in - then take the animosity and the ill will. Surely Howard can feed his family on $7 million for 180 days of baseball, right?

Besides, isn't so very easy to spend other people's money?

Nevertheless, when Howard is eligible to be a free agent when he is 32, he very well could have one foot out the door or at least be standing at the threshold of his declining years. Would it be smart for the Phillies to overpay a player at that point the way they did with Darren Daulton and Lenny Dykstra all those years ago? General manager Pat Gillick has been around baseball for more years than anyone on the Phillies has been alive (including Jamie Moyer). During that time Gillick surely has seen those big 260-pound plus sluggers who have to play the field wear themselves down before they even hit their 35^th birthday. Could it be that the Phillies are loath to sign Howard to a long-term deal because they are worried that they still could be paying him even when he is long gone from playing?

Maybe.

But as it pertains to the here and now, Howard might have a very strong case. As a first-time eligible player heading to arbitration, Howard's marker will be Miguel Cabrera - a player who went into arbitration for the first time last winter and received $7.4 million. In comparison, Howard dwarfs Cabrera in homers, RBIs, on-base percentage, slugging, walks and strikeouts. Cabrera takes it in batting average.

The Phillies will likely cite Howard's experience, size and strikeouts as reasons why he should only get $7 million for 2008. After all, Howard set the all-time record for whiffs in a season in 2007 with 199 in a year that he missed most of the month of May. Prior to that, the big slugger struck out 181 times in 2006. No player has ever topped those numbers.

However, when it comes to smacking homers Howard has no peer. Better yet, despite his size and the potential for injuries and wearing down over the course of a long season, Howard has been surprisingly resilient. Actually, in searching for a hole in his statistical record, Howard has been a better slugger during the second half of the season. In fact, Howard's most productive month in his big league career has been September/October.

Could it be that Howard is too good to be true? If that's the case maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing for the Phillies to take a defeat in the arbitration hearing.

I've got nothing...

Happy belated Super Fat Tuesday, folks! Here's hoping everything turned out just the way you wanted ... The Super Bowl is over, the start of spring training is just one week away and there really isn't much else to talk about. Well, there's the weather... it's early February and it's 60 degrees, but the word on the street is that it will be just 10 degrees come Sunday night.

That Mother Nature... she's just so fickle.

Capriciousness aside, there really isn't much to say. The Flyers are in first place, which is cool. However, it seems a little too early in the season for the Stanley Cup chatter to heat up. The Sixers are... well, let's just hope they get the right portion of ping-pong balls.

Since I don't have anything new to write about (pertaining to Philadelphia and its sports teams), I'll just do a little hit-and-run on a few items.

• So trainer Brian McNamee reportedly has physical evidence that Roger Clemens used performance enhancing drugs. What, is this the blue dress of the sporting scene? Did McNamee really save the residue from giving the Rocket a shot in the derriere? Wow.
• Though I'm no football expert, I suspect the Giants' victory in the Super Bowl indicts the Eagles' inability to win the big game in some way. I just don't know what that is.
• How come the Giants can win the Super Bowl and the Eagles can't?
• After Bill Belichick abandoned his team and left his defense on the field so he could go into the locker room and sulk after the loss in the Super Bowl, it's fair to say, "Thank God Bill Belichick is a football coach." After all, the delicate genius that is Bill Belichick could be using all his wisdom and grace to be doing unimportant things like solving poverty, designing programs for world peace or delve into cancer research. But instead - and lucky for us - he's a football coach. We should all knee down and soak in the aura that such men emit.

As Tom Cruise said to Craig T. Nelson in the epic Western Pennsylvania football film, All the Right Moves, "You are just a football coach!" Then he ran away. Fast.

• Aside from not having updated spy films, perhaps the Patriots lost to the Giants because it was the first time they played a good team twice. All of the other teams the Pats played twice were in the AFC East, who combined for a 12-36 record.
• Is Kris Benson a low-risk, high-reward possibility or is he simply a potential annoyance for the Phillies? Oh, it's not Benson who is annoying. By all accounts he's nothing more than a typical baseball player, which means he's just like everyone else only more entitled. The "problem" with Benson is the baggage he brings - that stuff is all fine and dandy when it happens somewhere else like Pittsburgh, New York or Baltimore. We have enough to deal with as it is already.
• I really enjoy eating with chop sticks.
• Now that Sen. Arlen Specter has decided to take on the Patriots' alleged spying in his role as de facto commissioner of the NFL, it's quite interesting how there is quite a bit of bad press. Suddenly, sports media types are indignant and calling upon Congressional leaders to "focus on more important issues." Well, yeah, Congressional involvement is sports seems more than a bit silly. It's silly that leagues have antitrust exemption just as it's ridiculous that government funded agencies can suspend athletes without proper due process.
  But perhaps the biggest reason why sports media/fans don't want Congress involved in the Patriots' alleged spying or steroid use in baseball is because they don't want to know the truth. No, Congress is hardly the beacon of trust or the arbiter of truth and justice, but the fact is they are smart enough to take on cases and issues they know they can't lose. Congress likes sure things and because it looks like they have one with baseball and maybe even the Patriots, maybe some folks are worried that the curtain will be pulled back for everyone to take a good look.

Super Bowl predictions

I don't hate the Super Bowl. I don't know where that came from. I dislike the Wing Bowl, which I believe is one of the biggest reasons why the rest of the world hates America and why the rest of America thinks Philadelphia and Philadelphians are ugly. At least that's what Americans told a slick travel magazine a few months ago. But that's a different story. In the meantime let's just be glad that the Wing Bowl is a radio event because I saw pictures of the contestants, the deejays and the scantily clad women hired to flash the audience and... how do we put this delicately... um... bowwow.

Look, I'm not George Hamilton, but geez. Cover up, people!

Anyway, the Super Bowl is set to be played sometime this weekend. That means we will be deluged with many of the worst parts of America not excluding crass commercialism, marketing and consumerism. In fact, some folks claim they watch the Super Bowl just for the new commercials. Really. Now how pathetic is that?

"Please, please, please tell me what to buy and how to think. Yes, yes, I know that if I drink your brand of light beer I will be as fiendishly clever and debonair as those hipsters with their meticulously messy haircuts and cavalier outlook on life. Drink up!

"That Spuds McKenzie! Rock on!"

Like Major League Baseball, the NFL has an alcohol problem it doesn't want to admit. But we'll save that issue for another time - or at least until the city police decides to set up DUI checkpoints outside the Linc after Sunday home games. Meanwhile, the beer companies have a problem because they can no longer produce commercials like this:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GXerZ0i1BQ&rel=1]

Never mind the fact that the Super Bowl is to football fans what New Year's Eve is to those on the pro party circuit - it's strictly amateur hour. But be that as it is, you make sure you tune into the game. Missing it would is like being stuck at home while everyone else is having a rockin' time with Dick Clark.

So to help out the football novices out there enjoy the game better, I sent out a mass email to some of the best minds in the sports business to provide a trenchant analysis of the big game.

Here's the results:

John Finger - Comcast SportsNet/Raconteur Giants I think I watched three or four football games from start to end this year and they all involved the Giants, Patriots or Brett Favre. I like Favre because he seems crazy - not crazy like he should be institutionalized, or crazy like he painted the windows black and allowed a bunch of dogs kill each other. But crazy in a way that I bet he would drink a champagne glass mixed with whatever liquid was left on the table if there was enough cash in it. For instance, if we're hanging out at a wedding with Brett and we combined a little champagne, a few floaters of beer, maybe a bit of a gin & tonic, eight olives and some sudsy bubbles left over from greeting the bride, I bet it would only take $11 to get him to drink the whole mix.

So yeah, I'm picking the Giants just to be different.

Todd Zolecki - Philadelphia Inquirer Patriots Because Bill Belichick is such a humble guy, I can't help but root for him.

Lance Crawford - Comcast SportsNet/mountain climber Patriots I see the Giants keeping it close for 3 quarters, making one fatal mistake and losing by the final of 31-21.

Kevin Roberts - Camden Courier Post Patriots I predict that during the halftime concert, Tom Petty will accidentally show a nipple. No one will care. On the field, the Patriots will win 87-2.

Courtney Holt - CSN/diva Patriots The evil hoodie strikes again! Brady and his boot (not Giselle) strike early and often against crappy Giants secondary. Randy Moss finally gets a ring and is disappointed to find it's not a good substitute for his bowl. Eli will rest his head in the space between Strahan's teeth and sob for 3 minutes, then hits the Waffle House off of 101 North with his fraud brother where they shoot a commercial.

Jim Salisbury - Philadelphia Inquirer Patriots The Pats will push the Giants off the elevator, 28-21.

Ellen Finger - teacher You're all winners! Seeing as I am one of the many schmucks who works tirelessly to make sure No Child is EVER Left Behind, I would like to propose that the Giants and Patriots simply play football for three hours. Then, whichever team is behind when time runs out should get a chance to kick field goals until they catch up to the other team. Or, better yet, maybe they should play but not keep score. During huddles the defense should be told exactly what play the offense is going to run. And at the end everyone will get a Super Bowl ring, an endorsement with Wheaties, and boatload of self esteem.

Marcus Hayes - Philadelphia Daily News Patriots With the eyes of the nation and his brother upon him, Eli Manning reverts to his pre-hypnotic state, channels Kerry Collins and throws four picks. Patriots 35, Giants 17.

Dennis Deitch - Delaware County Daily Times Patriots Patriots 38, Giants 27... I love the Pats and Moss on the fast track, particularly because Maroney has been giving their running game a little credibility. But the oddsmakers are in the zone with the betting line. The Giants will score some points, although I could see 7 or 10 of them coming in the final five minutes when it doesn't matter.

I like the over, of course. I also like prop bets for nine touchdowns scored (+750) and Todd Zolecki throwing a beer on a Giants fan in a first-half drunken rage at a Manayunk bar, then sprinting out the door to his home to avoid being pummeled (-110).

Scott Lauber - Wilmington News Journal Giants Giants 35, Patriots 32 ... Eli Manning isn't as bad as you think. Plus, it's always more fun to pick the underdog.

Martin Frank - Wilmington News Journal Patriots New England 38, NY Giants 17... I have no clever reason, or funny anecdote. I just think the Pats are much better than the Giants and now that Belichick has had 2 full weeks to spy on them, he'll probably know every single play Eli Manning is going to run.

2008 Phillies: Playing for 2nd place

It could go down that Johan Santana was involved in two of the most lopsided trades in baseball history. In addition to landing with the Mets from the Twins for a pile of potential prospects, the two-time Cy Young Award winner was once traded from the Marlins for a dude named Jared Camp. That was after the Marlins plucked him away from the Astros in the Rule 5 Draft.

So yeah, there are a lot of smart baseball folks that missed the boat on Johan Santana. The Mets, however, are not one of those "smart" teams. Instead of feeling the knee-jerk blather from fans, pundits and Billy Wagner regarding the dearth of wintertime moves, the Mets now have the best pitcher in baseball at the top of the rotation.

We'd get into the analysis of how good Santana is with his statistics and all of that stuff, but what's the point? He's a lefty, he's nasty and he's better than everyone else in the game. Go look up the stats yourself, though I will give one warning before you click on the link - they should make Phillies fans a little sick in the stomach.

Out here in the hinterlands I really don't get the full affect of the Philly sporting press's deconstruction of the Santana deal, but then again who needs it. After all, it's not the balance of power in the NL East that shifted with Santana's arrival in Queens - it's the balance of power in the entire National League that shifted.

Playoff baseball at Shea one last time, anyone?

The big question, of course, is what does it all mean for the Phillies. Well, for starters the Phillies will have to root for an even bigger and more epic collapse from the Mets down the stretch. They also have to root for an injury to Santana, though the guy hasn't missed a start since 2004. In that regard the Phillies might be better served with a voodoo doll.

More concisely, facing Santana a handful of times in 2008 will have a profound effect on the Phillies' lineup. That's especially the case when one notes that Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Geoff Jenkins are all lefty swingers.

It is worth noting that switch-hitters Jimmy Rollins hit .321 against lefties in 2007 and Shane Victorino went at a .291 clip. But then again, Santana has been just as tough on righties (.220) as lefties (.223) during his career.

Here's what else Santana-to-the-Mets means for the Phillies:

It means they should go out and make an offer to a pitcher like Kyle Lohse or Livan Hernandez and hope they sign on...

Before the Mets get both of them.

Bob Barker's vegan enchilada bake

As most folks know, game-show host Bob Barker is one of the better known advocates for animal rights. And when Bob isn't giving away cars or yachts in the Showcase Showdown or urging us to spay or neuter our pets, he's a damn fine advocate for vegetarianism and veganism, too.

Two of my favorite -isms, by the way.

Bob also is my favorite vegan (behind my sister) mostly because he kicked the crap out of Adam Sandler in that stupid golf movie.

But more important than beating Sandler's ass, Bob knows his way around the kitchen and loves to share his ideas with fellow veggie dudes like me.

So this is Bob's famous (and delicious) enchilada bake recipe. Word has it he submitted it to Esquire, too. That means it has to be good because they're always getting Klosterman and Junod to write about steak and whatnot.

Anyway, here's the recipe... I'll be gobbling it up before the big football game this Sunday:

• 12 oz frozen vegan burger-style crumbles (Boca works well) • 1 packet taco seasoning • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil • 1/2 cup finely chopped scallions • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour • 1 cup low-sodium vegetable stock • 2 cans black or pinto beans, rinsed • 2 cans enchilada sauce • 1 bag corn or flour tortillas • 3 cups vegan cheddar cheese, shredded • One 4-ounce can green chiles • 1 small bag of Fritos, crushed (this is optional, I guess... every time I make this I skip the Fritos. Nothing against Fritos, just an unexplainable hang-up)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees; spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with Pam. 2. In a bowl, coat crumbles with seasoning. 3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat; add scallions; cook 3 minutes. Stir in flour; cook 1 minute. 4. Add stock; stir 1 minute. 5. Stir in beans; set aside. 6. Cover bottom of pan with enchilada sauce. 7. Place one tortilla layer over sauce; pour bean mixture on top. 8. Follow with a third of the cheese and half the chiles. 9. Add more enchilada sauce and another tortilla layer. 10. Add burger crumbles, more cheese, the remaining chiles, and enchilada sauce. 11. End with the remaining tortillas, enchilada sauce, and cheese. 12. Cover with foil; bake 30 minutes. 13. Remove foil; sprinkle Fritos on top. 14. Pop back in the oven for 15 minutes.

Here's one from my favorite veg chef:

Ellen's Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

•    12 oz. bag of soy crumbles •    1 can French onion soup OR two packets veggie brown broth mix (your preference) •    1/2 large sweet onion, chopped •    8 oz. white mushrooms, wiped clean and chopped •    1 tablespoon olive oil •    salt and pepper •    1 1/2 lb. mashed potatoes •    10 oz. each of frozen corn and frozen peas

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook onion and mushroom over medium high heat with olive oil about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add soy crumbles and combine.

Add soup or broth. Allow meat(less) mixture to simmer about ten minutes. Meanwhile, defrost frozen vegetables.

Put "meat" in 11x7 glass baking dish. Top with peas and corn. Season with salt and pepper.

Then spread on last layer -- the mashed potatoes. Dot with butter or a healthier alternative (Smart Balance).

Bake in oven uncovered for 25 minutes.

Allow to set a few minutes before serving.

My favorite story ever...

According to The Wall Street Journal, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez is vegan. Here's the funniest excerpt from the story:

Living solely on plant food, a combination of nuts, fruits, vegetables, grains and the like, has long been the fringe diet of young rebels and aging nonconformists. Even the government recommends regular helpings of meat, fish and dairy. Vegans of late have gotten more hip with such best sellers as the brash "Skinny Bitch," and its more scholarly cousin, "The China Study." Both books argue vegans can live longer.

Yes, because the government knows exactly what people should eat... good one!

But aging nonconformists? That's not fair... conform to what? Stupidity?

Anyway, The New York Times got in on the investigation that eating meat might be... well, problematic. For even more fun, read Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser.

Swing batter

Again with the misdirection? First the Phillies say they need/want to add a third baseman and a pitcher only to admit that they will likely head into Spring Training with the team as constructed. That means Wes Helms and Greg Dobbs holding down the hot corner and staff that most folks agree needs one more arm. Nothing is ever good enough, is it?

Anyway, the Phillies signed third baseman Pedro Feliz yesterday to a two-year deal worth $8.5 million with an option for a third year. Most observers and fans like the addition of Feliz for a handful of reasons. One is that Feliz is an excellent fielder. He's so good that shortstop Jimmy Rollins said, "There won't be too many balls getting through on the left side," with the addition of Feliz. Not exactly a bit of humility from Rollins, but give the guy a break, he won the MVP and the Gold Glove.

If you think Rollins Cadillac-ed plays in the past, wait until 2008.

Regardless, Feliz is a good fielder and for a pitching staff that sometimes will need divine intervention playing in the bandbox in South Philly they're going to need a whole team of guys like Feliz and Rollins catching as many balls as possible.

Feliz can also hit a few homers. Playing in the pitching-friendly INSERTCORPORATENAMEHERE Park, Feliz hit 100 homers in the last five seasons and nearly had 100 RBIs (he had 98) in 2006. Substitute Citizens Bank Park for the ballpark in San Francisco for 81 games and Feliz suddenly is a 30-homer threat.

"We got better," manager Charlie Manuel told reporters yesterday. "He's a good defensive player. He's got power. He'll hit probably sixth, seventh, somewhere in there. I think putting him down in our lineup will help him. He was called on to hit in the middle of the lineup in San Francisco. A couple years ago, he might've been pressing to do too much because they had Barry Bonds there."

But most importantly, Feliz is not Wes Helms. Actually, Feliz's arrival could lead to Helms's departure if the Phillies can find a team willing to take his contract off their hands.

So there are the good parts, not to mention that Feliz will probably benefit from getting out of San Francisco. But Feliz is hardly the second coming of Brooks Robinson. Instead, he might be a more powerful version of the last third baseman the Phillies got from the Giants. Yep, remember David Bell? Statistically, Feliz seems to have the edge on Bell in the field and is a better slugger, but he makes a ton of outs and swings at everything. That's no exaggeration either - Feliz has a ridiculously low on-base percentage of .288 and averages 28 walks per 162 games.

But for as much as Feliz swings at nearly every pitch, he really doesn't strikeout too much. That's relative, of course, but last season Feliz hit 461 fair balls. That amounted to 3.073 per game and a .306 batting average on all balls put into play.

In other words, don't blink when Feliz comes to the plate because he's going to swing.

Back to the Bell comparison for a second: Feliz and Bell battled it out for the most grounded into double plays during 2005 and 2006 with Bell holding a 42-38 edge. However, by hitting all of those fair balls Feliz has been in the top 10 in making outs over the past two years. The leader in making the most outs? Jimmy Rollins.

It's that left side of the infield... gripping and ripping.

Never mind...

On second thought, I'm moving the running/training stuff back to the original site. It seems as if it works there better than here. Plus, now that I'm nearly waist-deep in all-out training mode, I have more excuses to update it more frequently. Anyway, for the running stuff, go to the other site. For rambling non-sense, stay put.

Good guy calls it a good career

For guys like me who are more interested in the entire person behind the baseball player, than simply the dude who plays ball, the news that Mike Lieberthal decided to retire after 14 seasons in the Majors - 13 with the Phillies - is newsworthy. Though most folks who watch the Phillies closely won't understand, Lieberthal probably personified the team from 1998 to the beginning of the Charlie Manuel regime. Trust me here - that's not all bad. First of all, Lieberthal was the Phillies' All-Star on a team that had no one. Sure, Scott Rolen won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1997, but he was hurt for much of 1999 and 2000, and was gone midway through 2002. Bobby Abreu still hadn't emerged into a perennial All-Star and Rico Brogna was an above-average player for a handful of seasons. That left Doug Glanville and guys like Mark Lewis, Desi Relaford, Marlon Anderson and Ron Gant to fill out the roster.

Pitching? Let's not go there.

The fact is that when Lieberthal was healthy he was a legit .275 hitter and 20-homers a season threat. For a catcher that's nothing to sneeze at... hell, Carlos Ruiz, Chris Coste and Rod Barajas combined to hit just 15 homers and bat .258 in 2007.

Perhaps most important in a team sport like baseball where the players sit together in a confined space as if in an overcrowded prison, Lieberthal was a guy the others followed. Again, this isn't bad. Even when Jim Thome arrived on the scene in 2003, Lieberthal was the guy veterans and up-and-coming players went to for advice and guidance. Sometimes a few players would just do whatever it was Lieberthal did figuring that it was the right thing to do. I remember one player telling me that he took up yoga during the off-season simply because it was something Lieberthal did.

"I figured if he was doing it, I should too," the player said. "After all, he is the catcher."

Lieberthal caught more games than any other player in Phillies' history - more than Bob Boone, Darren Daulton, Andy Seminick and Red Dooin. He also was plunked by more pitches than any other player in team history, too, though it shouldn't long until his good friend Chase Utley catches up.

Nevertheless, there were always those stories out there that Lieberthal didn't call a good game. You know, because the common sportswriter and fan really understands the intricacies of signaling for pitches and what needs to be called in every situation by taking into consideration the count, the hitter and the state of the pitchers' arm. It always seemed to me that the notion that Lieberthal could not call a good game was something planted by ex-manager Larry Bowa and ex-pitching coach Joe Kerrigan. That always made me curious because it seemed to me that Lieberthal nearly always looked over to the bench for the signal from Bowa or Kerrigan before flashing it to the pitcher.

Besides, when asked several pitchers tamped down the idea that Lieberthal couldn't signal a good game. Actually, I recall instances where three pitchers offered up the idea that Lieberthal called a good game without ever being asked. They just volunteered the information apropos to anything. Sure, a pitcher or two preferred throwing to Todd Pratt or Chris Coste or whomever, but why would anyone complain about Lieberthal?

Is there any better tribute to a player than to have others copying off of him? When it's so easy to write-off people as selfish or self-absorbed, the fact that Lieberthal was emulated and sought out as a mentor is a far better legacy than anything that trite and meaningless statistics can offer. That's especially true these days when baseball statistics have become more and more important to a certain segment of the fandom, yet are more trivial than ever before. Baseball was and always will be about stories and community - that's the best part about it. And that's why we keep coming back.

Stories in which Lieberthal plays a role are always good ones. Like the time when he was in the cage taking batting practice, rocketed a foul ball back through the netting and was oblivious to the fact that it caught Manuel flush in the groin[i].

My favorite Lieberthal moment - aside from listening to him deconstruct games in the clubhouse afterwards when he would recall pitch sequences in fine detail - was the time the poll of current ballplayers appeared in Sports Illustrated in which Bowa was named "Most hated manager" or something along those lines. It was one of those quiet days before a game where there wasn't much going on so in lieu of anything substantial, Bowa was asked about the results of the poll. Clearly bothered, Bowa went on and on about how it didn't bother him. Then he started in (without prodding, of course) on why players wouldn't like him. He was a winner, he said. He held players accountable, he pointed out. He wasn't all nicey nice like Joe Torre or Dusty Baker, he claimed. It went on and on until it actually became a story - Bowa was bothered by the poll even though he says he wasn't.

It was kind of like a person going around and volunteering information without being asked. For instance, if I were to walk up to a complete stranger on the street and say, "I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm not insane. I'll even wager that I'm the sanest person you have ever met. Good day, sir," the only rational assumption for the stranger to make is that I am, indeed, insane.

Who goes around claiming sanity? An insane person, that's who.

Anyway, out in the clubhouse a handful of players were asked about the results of the poll and the league-wide perception of their manager by the growing number of media-types and all that was offered were the politically correct answers. There were enough baseball clichés to go around to choke a Shetland pony. That was until Lieberthal wondered onto the scene. Unlike most athletes, Lieberthal wasn't very good at the cliché-riddled jock speak. Better yet, he had the uncanny ability to actually say something when asked a question from media folks - the inability to lie is a very rare trait, indeed, and even when he was attempting some verbal misdirection, the truth was always there near the surface.

So when asked about Bowa and the poll naming him the "most hated manager" or whatever it was, Lieberthal thought for half a second and said: "Well, if I were on another team I'd probably hate him, too." Then he went on to describe how players on other teams must have viewed the manager's dugout histrionics and bench jockeying.

Yeah, you had to be there.

Regardless, good luck to Lieberthal and his pregnant wife in life as a retired baseball player. Undoubtedly, those years will be filled with good cheer and fun times.

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[i] Why is the shot to the groin always so funny? Even mentioning the idea of hitting someone in the crotch is funny. For instance, last night I went to see the movie Juno and there was a line by the always solid J.K. Simmons where he states to his wife that the next time he sees the kid who impregnated his daughter he was going to, "punch him in the wiener." Hey, it made me laugh out loud.