I’ll post something tonight and/or tomorrow (or the next day), so hang in there… topics might include The Mitchell Report, sports as entertainment (what else is it?) and how Brian Westbrook just might have destroyed fantasy football forever…
Or at least for one week.
The Mitchell Report (pdf)
Oh, I’m sorry… you just want the names. Here they are:
New names
Chad Allen
Mike Bell
Gary Bennett
Larry Bigbie
Kevin Brown
Alex Cabrera
Mark Carreon
Jason Christiansen
Howie Clark
Roger Clemens
Jack Cust
Brendan Donnelly
Chris Donnels
Matt Franco
Eric Gagne
Matt Herges
Phil Hiatt
Glenallen Hill
Todd Hundley
Mike Judd
David Justice
Chuck Knoblauch
Tim Laker
Mike Lansing
Paul Lo Duca
Nook Logan
Josias Manzanillo
Cody McKay
Kent Mercker
Bart Miadich
Hal Morris
Daniel Naulty
Denny Neagle
Jim Parque
Andy Pettitte
Adam Piatt
Todd Pratt
Stephen Randolph
Adam Riggs
Armando Rios
Brian Roberts
F.P. Santangelo
Mike Stanton
Ricky Stone
Miguel Tejada
Ismael Valdez
Mo Vaughn
Ron Villone
Fernando Vina
Rondell White
Jeff Williams
Todd Williams
Steve Woodard
Kevin Young
Gregg Zaun
Previously mentioned
Manny Alexander
Rick Ankiel
David Bell
Marvin Benard
Barry Bonds
Ricky Bones
Paul Byrd
Jose Canseco
Paxton Crawford
Lenny Dykstra
Bobby Estalella
Ryan Franklin
Jason Giambi
Jeremy Giambi
Jay Gibbons
Troy Glaus
Juan Gonzalez
Jason Grimsley
Jose Guillen
Jerry Hairston Jr.
Darren Holmes
Ryan Jorgensen
Gary Matthews Jr.
Rafael Palmeiro
John Rocker
Benito Santiago
Scott Schoeneweis
David Segui
Gary Sheffield
Randy Velarde
Matt Williams
Tune in at 6 p.m. when the MLBPA fires back.
As everyone (or at least baseball fans and media types with no lives) try to play the guessing game over which players and ex-players will be on The Mitchell Report, a handful of names are beginning to leak out.
According to a report on ESPN, Yankees Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte are reportedly on Mitchell’s list. Yet as the dangerous game of implicating people without any acknowledgment of the league’s collective bargaining agreement or due process continues, the speculation runs rampant.
That’s human nature, we suppose.
Around these parts folks are wondering which Phillies (or ex-Phillies) will be on Mitchell’s Report. We can’t get into that, but we know for a FACT that all-time favorite Phillie, Doug Glanville, WILL NOT be implicated on the Mitchell Report.
Former Senator George Mitchell will release his long-awaited report on his investigation into baseball’s alleged performance-enhancing drugs problem. Senator Mitchell will make an announcement at 2:30 p.m. in press conference from New York City.
At 2:32 p.m. tumbleweed will blow across Mitchell’s podium and one lone cricket will chirp. At 2:34 p.m. Major League Baseball will go back to business as usual.
By 2:40 p.m. all of the sports media and a few selected congressional-type bureaucrats will pontificate about something or other, and by 3 p.m. it will all be over.
However, at 4:30 p.m. at a seperate press conference, commissioner Bud Selig will announce that he is shocked — shocked! — at the Mitchell Report’s findings.
Then he will fly back to Milwaukee and have a hot dog and a coke at Gilles Frozen Custard stand.
Do you think that maybe they can get Sam Elliott to narrate the thing just to liven it up a bit?
Throughout the team’s history, the Phillies have always been attracted to those hitters that always seem to swing and miss a lot. Mike Schmidt was one of those guys. During his career he whiffed 1,883 times, which is the seventh-most in the history of the game.
Schmidt’s teammate Greg Luzinski averaged 133 strikeouts per 162 games. That duo of Schmidt and Luzinski led the National League in strikeouts five times.
Dick Allen, Lance Parrish, Bobby Abreu, Juan Samuel, Pat Burrell, Scott Rolen and Darren Daulton all routinely whiffed more than 100 times per season, though those guys were hardly in the same league as Jim Thome and Ryan Howard.
Thome, the heir to Schmidt, is third on the all-time strikeout list and set the club record for whiffs in a season with 182 in 2003. Like his time in Philadelphia, Thome’s reign on the top of that list was short when Howard racked up 181 strikeouts in 2006 before establishing the new Major League record in 2007 when he nearly became the first man to reach the 200-strikeout plateau with 199.
Just think what type of numbers Howard would have posted if he hadn’t missed nearly all of May.
But they wouldn’t be the Phillies if the strikeouts were exclusive to the batters’ box. Oh no. Actually, the entire franchise is kind of one big caught-looking enterprise. They do strikeouts well. After all, no professional team in the history of sports has surpassed 10,000 losses like the Phillies have and it seems as if there is no executive in league history to have been spurned more than Pat Gillick has this winter.
In terms of striking out on the free-agent market, Gillick and the Phillies have made Howard, Thome and Schmidt look like Wee Willie Keeler.
Yes, it happened again on Wednesday afternoon. In what has become a weekly rite during the winter the Phillies were told thanks but no thanks by a player that the team really could use in order to recapture the National League East. First it was Mike Lowell, who would have been the team’s answer at third base. Instead of signing on with the Phillies to play in cozy little Citizens Bank Park where he once slugged three homers in a game, Lowell took a lesser contract offer to remain with the Boston Red Sox.
Apparently, there was just something about all the money and the years that turned off Lowell about the Phillies.
Then there was Randy Wolf, the left-handed starting pitcher who came up through the Phillies system, pitched for the team for eight seasons and earned his first (and only) All-Star appearance with the club during the 2003 season. But after recovering from Tommy John surgery in 2006, Wolf took a lesser deal to pitch for the Dodgers in 2007. Two weeks ago the Phillies came knocking again and – once again – Wolf took a incentive-laden (in the parlance of the game) one-year deal to pitch for San Diego.
Gillick and Wolf’s negotiations went something like this:
Gillick: We really like you, Randy, and we really want to sign you to a multi-year deal. Is that something you would be interested in?
Wolf: Well, Pat, I grew up in Southern California and all my family is here and I would really like to be closer to them. Plus, the ballpark is a little more conducive to my style of pitching. It’s nothing personal and I really liked pitching for you guys for eight years, but I think I’m going to go to San Diego.
Gillick: Whore.*
No one wanted to sign with the Phillies. Not even Tadahito Iguchi, the second baseman who asked for his release and eschewed arbitration, passed up a chance to be the Phillies’ everyday third baseman by signing a one-year deal with San Diego, too.
So let’s add it up. Lowell to Boston; Wolf to San Diego; Iguchi to San Diego; Melvin Mora – no dice; Curt Schilling back to Boston; Geoff Jenkins, maybe; and Scott Rolen, anywhere but Philly or St. Louis.
What do the Phillies have to do? Move the franchise to San Diego? Configure a more pitcher-friendly ballpark on the parking lot where the Vet used to be? Give Kyle Lohse or Carlos Silva the worst contract in the history of Major League Baseball?
All of the above?
Really, though, the more interesting question is how does Aaron Rowand fit in here? If they just could have lured Rowand back into the fold it all would have been OK. Right…
Sigh!
By all accounts, Aaron Rowand, the fan and media favorite, really, really wanted to return to the Phillies for 2008 and beyond. It’s just that he didn’t want to do it for less than five years. Only the Phillies offered three and apparently there was no middle ground. They couldn’t split the difference and get together on four years.
And what’s four years in the scheme of things? Come on, really… Four years is a presidential term? It’s 80 percent of one’s collegiate work? It’s just four years! That’s it. It goes by in a heartbeat.
Instead, Rowand got his five years (and, he says, the cash he was expecting) from the San Francisco Giants – a team that came in last in the NL West last season at 71-91. With Barry Bonds gone and a young corps of pitchers still finding their way around in the unforgiving world of Major League Baseball, the Giants should be slated for the cellar again in 2008. But Rowand will be there, crashing into walls, charming the fans and doing what he can to help the Giants get better.
It’s doesn’t seem as though Rowand will duplicate the offensive statistics he posted for the Phillies during the 2008 season at whatever corporation currently owns the naming rights for the Giants’ ballpark these days. But does that really matter? All that matters is that he won’t be doing anything for the Phillies anymore and that’s the really big whiff.
One thing is for certain – the “sources” were only off by a year and $25 million. But, again, that doesn’t help the Phillies much.
——————————————————————————————
* Actually, Gillick said: “Maybe it was a blessing in disguise. We went after him a couple times, and it didn’t work out last year and this year. So, it’s pretty evident that he doesn’t want to play for our team. If someone doesn’t want to be part of the team, it’s better if he plays somewhere else.”
Is everyone ready for The Mitchell Report? Oh, I’m sure it will make all the papers. If not, here’s what to expect.
According to a story in The New York Times, approximately 50 players will be named in the report. That number jibes with the report from last year that at least two players from each team tested positive for performance-enhancing substances.
Will (or which) Phillies will be named in the report?
There have been a few comebacks recently. Of course there was Sly Stone a few weeks ago playing a gig in New York, and the rumor is the big music festival set for Vineland, N.J. (it was originally going to be held in Philly, but red tape, government and local agency interference, etc., etc., etc. ruined that idea) is that the newly reunited Rage Against the Machine[1] (and corporate shills Sony recording artists) will headline.
That’s cool, I guess. People seem to like Sony’s Rage Against the Machine.
But the biggest and most anticipated comeback was Monday night’s big Led Zeppelin reunion gig in London. Mythologized and held at an otherworldly status for four decades, Led Zeppelin had not played as a so-called full unit since drummer John Bonham drank himself to death in 1980. Sure, there have been half-hearted attempts at a “reunion,” such as the 1985 Live Aid show at JFK Stadium, which was largely panned by critics. Then, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page teamed up for a tour in the mid-1990s (I think) that people generally seemed to enjoy. I missed the mid-90s thing (I guess I was too busy to notice), but I remember watching the Live Aid performance and being very underwhelmed. As I recall, Queen stole the show. But that’s just what Queen always did.
I also remember that it was hot in Philadelphia that day.
But as far as a full group show with the original three members (Plant, Page and John Paul Jones) and Bonham’s son, Jason, playing the drums, well, people have been waiting for a long, long time.
At least that’s the way it seemed from reading the breathless dispatches from London. And it’s all so damned interesting.
Perhaps the fact that I find a Led Zeppelin reunion interesting is the interesting part. Because frankly I always consciously went out of my way to ignore Led Zeppelin and believe that (in nine times out of 10) all self-respecting rock bands that break up should stay broken up. To me, that’s the rock and roll thing to do. Just break up and leave people asking for more. After all, most bands (in nine times out of 10) will never be able to duplicate the urgency or majesty of the first go through.
But then again it’s that way with a lot of things.
Besides, there just seems to be nothing worthwhile appealing or “Rock and Roll” about those highly corporatized and overwrought reunion tours that groups like the Rolling Stones, The Eagles and the Police insist on staging. In this day and age those tours seem so bloated, impractical and non-spontaneous and that’s exactly what they don’t want to be.
Look, I’m all for doing what it is one does for as long as possible. In fact, I hope I can still run marathons when I’m 60 and 70. I also hope that I give a rat’s ass about new ideas and trends and whatever else at that age, too. I hope it never gets to the point where I’m told I should go hang ‘em up, though I don’t have any delusions. Frankly, I’ll probably rust rather than burn out.
I don’t suspect I’ll be smart enough to know when to stop, which is just the way it is sometimes. People always want to reach back to see if they can recapture the magic from their youth. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just that – to paraphrase a Lou Reed quote from 1989 – when someone is doing teenaged party music when they are 60 it’s stupid.
For instance, take the ongoing tour by the Police – according to most open-minded observers and even Stewart Copeland, the band just doesn’t have it any more. Sure, they’re all still playing well as individual musicians and still get excited about playing music. It’s just that nearly 30 years after the fact; “Message in a Bottle” just doesn’t mean the same thing.
The thing about that is the Police can tour around the world and charge $250 for one ticket. That’s good work if you can get it, but it seems to me that it might be like watching a losing team play out the string during the final month of the season. I also suspect that the money was the reason why the Police decided to get back together after all those years apart, which makes the whole act so unseemly, completely uninspiring and totally not worth the money.
In art, perception is everything. OK, maybe it’s not everything, but it’s a lot of it. Look at Britney Spears (how can you not… she gets more coverage on the TV news than Iraq), though her once fledgling musical career was always regarded as… well… crap, how are we to know that she isn’t the one playing her public like a pre-recorded vocal track? Are we to categorize her a certain way just because we have pre-conceived ideas about her audience and the machinations in place to put her in the public forum to begin with? Yeah, Britney is probably a bad example, but you get the point. In the case of Led Zeppelin I looked at them as a certain product based on the machinery and the audience. I’m sure some of it had to do with the fact that I was in the third grade when Bonham died and the group disbanded, but the real reason was much more superficial.
Led Zeppelin was the establishment. They were the mainstream. They were Plant was singing lyrics to songs that made imagery from Henry Miller look deep. Page was the template for every wannabe, big-haired guitar god and Bonham (with Keith Moon) was exhibit A of what happens when Rock and Roll goes along unchecked.
Plus, when I was beginning to find my identity and follow my own artistic path, Led Zeppelin just didn’t seem to fit. After all, this was the 1980s and even though I didn’t know it at the time, I was worried about Ronald Reagan. What was he going to do to the middle class in America? Was he just crazy enough to “start the bombing in five minutes…” Certainly Robert Plant wasn’t singing about this world and the guys in the Zeppelin midriffs smoking Marlboros while blasting “Kashmir” from their Firebird weren’t too concerned about any of those questions either.
But Joe Strummer and The Clash were concerned. So too were The Ramones and that gang in D.C. with Ian MacKaye and Henry Rollins. Led Zeppelin, by that point, was ubiquitous. It was elevator music and I had heard it crackling through the cheap plastic speakers of the family station wagon way too many times. Led Zeppelin, I rationalized, was what they wanted us to hear.
Better yet, think of how much money and waste went into the production of those records and tours. Think of the budget that went into the photography for the album covers for something like Physical Graffiti. Meanwhile, just around the corner from where that photo was taken on New York’s lower east side, the Bad Brains were recording the famed ROIR cassette in a broom closet. It may have cost $50 to make and no one can tell me that the opening bars of “Attitude” don’t kick ass and aren’t as strong as anything the scores of production techs tweaked and tuned out of Page’s guitar. Give the Bad Brains $50 more and they could have melted the tape.
Based on that thinking the choice was easy. I went with Joe Strummer, Joey Ramone and Ian and Hank. Actually, it really wasn’t much of a decision at all.
As time passes and people get older, they notice certain things. Like why aren’t Led Zeppelin songs in movies or commercials? When every other one of their contemporaries has staged those saccharine sweet trips down amnesia lane tours, Led Zeppelin remained on the sidelines. Plant joined the Honeydrippers and sang “Sea of Love.” He has also released 15 albums with various projects, which is nearly double the output of Led Zeppelin.
Page has been equally as prolific, while Jones has worked with more modern groups like R.E.M., the Foo Fighters and Ben Harper.
None of them, to their credit, have sold out. In interviews, when pressed about the band’s reluctance to cash in on a tour or licensing their songs to movies or commercials, Plant just scoffs. “What do we need more money for? Why should we destroy a piece of art” is the essence of his answer.
Now, after playing the show in London, the clamor is for more. Is Led Zeppelin going to tour again? What kind of box-office records would they set if that happens?
The answer to all of that is, “Who knows?” Personally, I like the idea of one-and-done. It makes the show mean that much more. Besides, I don’t want to have to go and see Led Zeppelin and have my image of the band ruined. I don’t want to see 60-year old men shimmying all over a ridiculously large stage with laser-light shows and smoke and fire that befits the Norse mythology of some of the songs. Other people can go, but after all this time I’d like to think that Zeppelin will stick to their ethics.
Besides, at 59 there’s no way Plant can climb to the roof of a hotel and announce, “I am a golden God.” He might slip off and break a hip.
Anyway, here’s the set list from the return:
Good Times Bad Times
Ramble On (live debut)
Black Dog
In My Time of Dying
For Your Life (live debut)
Trampled Under Foot
Nobody’s Fault but Mine
No Quarter
Since I’ve Been Loving You
Dazed and Confused
Stairway to Heaven
The Song Remains the Same
Misty Mountain Hop
Kashmir
Encore:
Whole Lotta Love
Rock and Roll
What? No “Immigrant Song?” How can that be? If it were me I’d come out firing with “Immigrant Song” right out of the gate. We’re at war, after all, and the folks need to know that the band is playing for keeps. Just come out swinging from the jump…
Phew! It was a rather eventful weekend what with the big fight in Las Vegas and putting up the Christmas decorations and all of that.
But aside from the Bonnie & Clyde kids or “Rittenhouse Swindlers[1]” as they could be called, and the Eagles loss to the Giants, not much happened in these parts. In fact, it seems as if the Philly folks were looking to get their names in the papers they had to leave town this weekend.
Yes, it seems that not only was Bernard Hopkins making the scene at Oscar de la Hoya’s party before Floyd Mayweather dropped Ricky Hatton in 10 in Las Vegas, but also Ryan Howard was on the prowl, too. According to the gossip columnist in Vegas, the Phillies’ slugger was at the Tryst nightclub [2]inside the Wynn resort with ex-Phillie Kenny Lofton. Charles Barkley was there, too, the paper reported.
Apparently, Sir Chuck was spotted at a lot of places in Vegas during the weekend before the fight. So too were Will Ferrell, Lennox Lewis and Sylvester Stallone.
Who knows, maybe Howard also hit Vegas to try and lure back local resident Aaron Rowand to the Phillies. That seems doubtful, though. Maybe Ryan was too busy in the hotel gym getting in shape for spring training?
Around these parts we got the ol’ tree up and all of that mess. Ever the traditionalists, a few years ago we bought a tree that appears to be made from the old turf they used to have at the Vet. I walked by it this morning and strained my anterior cruciate ligament.
If only it came in martini blue…
Aside from that I went in for a little A.R.T. on my tight-as-a-drum hip flexor. It’s a funny thing… I can run, walk and stand just like anyone else, but if I sit on a soft chair or the couch, the hip tightens up so much that I can’t get up and I’m left to sit there like a Buddha or Bill Conlin. It’s pretty damn frustrating.
What’s that about? I can run 90 miles per week but I can’t sit on a recliner?
Such a mess…
Finally, Ted Leo and his outfit, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, wrapped up a seemingly never-ending tour in with shows in New York City and Philly last week and a pair over the weekend in Washington, D.C. After playing and touring the United States and Europe quite continuously since 2005, Ted and the gang say they are going to take a bit of break to recover, rest and make another record.
The rest of us are left to ponder a world where the Pharmacists aren’t out there plotting and scheming their moves and walking that line for us. Yes, it’s a well-deserved and needed break, but we are weaker as a culture when Ted isn’t out there in the night on some stage playing as hard as he can. The Pharmacists go to work every time — it’s just so inspirational and so beautiful.
***
Michael Vick got 23 months! What’s that line from D.L. Hughley: Somewhere O.J. is watching and saying, “Man, I’m glad I didn’t mess with any dogs…”
***
Happy birthday to Meg White, Michael Clarke Duncan, Bobby Flay, Nia Peeples, J Mascis, Susan Dey, Emily Dickinson and Mark Aguirre.
[2]
Is it me or does a nightclub named Tryst sound like something out of George Carlin bit?
Guess what? Alex Rodriguez dabbles in real estate. He’s also… what’s that term… a slumlord? Elsewhere, all-time home run king* Barry Bonds was arraigned in federal court for perjury and obstruction of justice charges stemming from his allegedly untruthful grand jury testimony in BALCO investigation.
Bonds pleaded not guilty.
Meanwhile, two players (Jay Gibbons of the Orioles and Jose Guillen of the Royals) were suspended 15 days at the start of the 2008 season for being linked to the acquisition of human growth hormone.
In other words, it was just a normal day for Major League Baseball.
***
It’s good to see The Onion had something to offer on the Winter Meetings.
So the Phillies went to the Opryland Resort in Nashville for the Winter Meetings and came back empty handed (though I bet one of the guys in the travelling party swiped a towel or two and all of the sample bottles of shampoo and soap… they know who they are), which really isn’t much of a surprise. After all, just a few weeks ago general manager Pat Gillick told the local scribes to stay home to save them from the boredom.
Then he said he wanted to leave Nashville with a pitcher. In between all of that he called Randy Wolf a jerk for choosing his family and sunny California over dreary Philadelphia and its bandbox of a ballpark.
Nevertheless, the Phillies and… well, the nothing they left with was hardly the most interesting part of the Winter Meetings. Instead, the most interesting part of the Winter Meetings was Cardinals’ manager Tony La Russa’s verbal thrashing of ex-Phillie (and soon to be ex-Cardinal) Scott Rolen in which he ripped the gold glove third baseman a new one before adding, “But of course we’d like to have him back… I don’t understand why he wouldn’t want to come back.”
Then he looked to the side, flashed his lashes coquettishly with his hands jammed into his pockets as he shyly twisted his foot into the ground. Seconds later, a balloon cloud appeared adjacent to the halo above La Russa’s head with, “I’m a li’l stinker,” written in it.
Tony La Russa is, indeed, a little stinker. He’s also a hypocrite and a jackass, but we’ll get into that soon enough. Let’s backtrack to the stuff he said about Rolen for a second.
Here’s the Greatest Hits version from La Russa’s diatribe at Opryland on Wednesday:
“It was unanimous that everyone was for me except him. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t care. What I care about is that he re-establish his stature as a major league productive star.”
“Scott’s got a lot of goodness to him. … I think he has been a team man. He plays a team sport. I don’t think he’s going to want to be the one guy and the 24 guys on the other side of the room.”
“There’s absolutely no intention to accommodate Scott. I mean, that’s not how you run an organization. The idea is to accommodate the St. Louis Cardinals, our team, our responsibility to our players and to the competition. So, no, I don’t want to accommodate Scott. But somebody doesn’t want to be part of the situation, you investigate it.”
“Nobody has more often said that I don’t think Scott should be traded than me. I think he should be with our club. I think we need him. We need him to reassert himself as an impact player. I don’t care what anybody wants in a trade. We need him and we expect him to be productive.”
“It’s very clear that he’s unhappy. And I’m making it clear that I don’t know why he’s unhappy. I can make a list of 50 respect points that this man has been given by our organization. It’s time for him to give back.”
“He’s got a contract to play, and we need him to play. And he’s going to be treated very honestly.”
“If he plays hard and he plays as well as he can, he plays. And if he doesn’t, he can sit. If he doesn’t like it, he can quit.”
“I think he’s strong-minded enough that I don’t see his opinion changing on a personal basis. And it’s gotten to the point that I don’t care. What I care about is that he re-establish his stature as a Major League productive star. And that’s one of the points I’ve tried to make to him.
“We’ve had issues where guys are saying, ‘What’s going on with Scott?’ And he needs to understand that he’s slipped, not in his play, but just in the way he’s perceived as being the Scott we’ve known for a few years. And I think that means a lot to him. He can play mad every day if he wants to. It’s OK.”
“He asked to be traded, so under normal circumstances if a guy doesn’t want to be part of your situation, then you consider that. So inquiries have been made. There hasn’t been anything happening so far that would make the guys in charge pull the trigger . . . I’m just saying from a manager’s point of view, I consistently say don’t trade him. And I say that because one of our important needs is to have somebody who can hit behind Albert [ Pujols].
“I think he has put some things together in his mind and I think he needs to understand that the Cardinals have given him a lot since he’s gotten here. He’s been given a contract, a world championship, and he’s given back some. And so, we need him.”
So yeah, La Russa told Rolen he’s a bad teammate and that everyone else likes the manager but him so he should just shut up and play for a guy he does not like. I don’t know otherwise, but I’m also guessing there isn’t much respect for La Russa either. Sure, he’s a good manager and all of that and Rolen had problems with his last manager before the Phillies sent him to St. Louis.
But I don’t think Rolen ever had to go to court to plead guilty for being drunk and asleep behind the wheel of his car in the middle of an intersection. I also dug around and can’t find any YouTube videos of Rolen flunking a field sobriety test.
I found one of Tony La Russa, though. Here it is:
Two months after this event occurred in Florida, one of La Russa’s pitchers (Josh Hancock) was killed when he was driving drunk. Actually, it was reported that in the days prior to Hancock’s death La Russa had a meeting with the pitcher about drinking.
But really, that isn’t La Russa’s problem. Nor does he set the agenda that Major League Baseball is in business with companies that push the last legal drug. Instead, La Russa’s job is simply to win baseball games and if it takes tearing down Scott Rolen in order to do so, that’s part of it.
Yes, his job is to win baseball games and it’s something he does very well. Better yet, La Russa seems to have a laser focus on winning games to the point that nothing else matters. It’s all about La Russa and winning ballgames.
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 semantically. 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.
So yeah, maybe Rolen does have a problem with La Russa, though the manager just can’t seem to figure it out.
“I keep saying it, I don’t understand. I told him this. He’s never given me an explanation,” La Russa said. “I don’t understand why he can be down on the Cardinals, and I don’t understand why he can be down on me.”
Maybe people just don’t get along? Maybe there is no explanation? Or, perhaps, maybe some people don’t want to be judged by the company they keep. Either way, it doesn’t seem as if Rolen is going to change his position and it appears very certain that La Russa hasn’t done anything different than he had done in the past.
In doing some research last night I learned that the television program “Hee Haw” was taped at Opryland. Actually, it was just accidental research – I was really looking for pictures of the famous “Hee Haw girls.”
I didn’t find those pictures, but then again I didn’t look too hard. I guess I was struck by the idea that Roy Clark, Buck Owens and Minnie Pearl strutted their so-called “stuff” in the general vicinity where the Tigers traded for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, thus knocking the balance of power in the AL Central completely off kilter.
But Hee-Haw… come on. Back when we had only 12 channels, Hee-Haw was on one of them. That means someone must have liked it. Someone in Kornfield Kounty was doing something right.
On an unrelated note, I listened to an interview by Terry Gross with John C. Reilly this morning on the ol’ podcaster and it was revealed that Reilly viewed a lot of adult-themed movies in preparation for his role in Boogie Nights. Reilly then cleared up the facts and pointed out it wasn’t just for Boogie Nights that he watched a lot of adult-themed films. In fact, he joked (was it?), he watched a lot of those movies to prepare for every role he played.
These days though, Buck, Roy and Minnie don’t have the run of Opryland. At least until Thursday, the world of organized baseball is the talk of the complex. And in that regard, there is a lot of interest amongst the baseball establishment in what kind of stunt the Phillies and general manager Pat Gillick will pull off next. So far the Phillies have left a bit to be desired in the pursuit to bolster the club for another run at the NL East in 2008. They whiffed on Mike Lowell and Randy Wolf and then pulled the ol’ “blessing in disguise” guff afterwards.
That’s mostly because the “I know you are but what am I,” schtick didn’t apply. Hey, that’s about all they have to work with.
In regard to Wolf, though, the Phillies comments/behavior seems especially childish, which for our purposes is fantastic. When Wolf spurned both the Phillies and his ex-GM Ed Wade and the Astros in order to sign an incentive-laden deal to sign with the San Diego Padres, Gillick took a little backhanded swipe at the fan (and media)-friendly lefty.
Gillick said:
“Maybe it was a blessing in disguise. We went after him a couple times, and it didn’t work out last year and this year. So, it’s pretty evident that he doesn’t want to play for our team. If someone doesn’t want to be part of the team, it’s better if he plays somewhere else.”
Frankly, Gillick sounds like a spurned teen-aged boy who after a good-looking girl tells him gently that, “I’m sorry, it’s not going to work out. Your ballpark is much too small and I have my ERA and sanity to look out for,” in turn calls the girl, “ugly.”
So which is it, dude? I thought you liked her (or in this case, Wolfie).
It also seems that Gillick was more interest in his needs and desires and not what someone else might want or need. If a person is genuine and compassionate, they would understand that Wolfie needs to be in San Diego. After all, he is a Southern California kid whose mom can easily make the trip south from Los Angeles to see her son pitch in San Diego. Plus, the Padres have a starting rotation that has Greg Maddux, Jake Peavy and Chris Young. That’s five Cy Young Awards and definitely one Hall of Famer. Warming up for the ninth is Trevor Hoffman, who is known to blow a few from time to time, but he’s saved at least 37 games in every complete season he’s pitched since 1996. That adds up to 524 saves, which is more than everyone ever.
Should we continue on about San Diego? No, well we’re going to anyway. In San Diego it’s a sunny 70 degrees every stinkin’ day of the year. In fact today, as the snow and wind whipped around and made travel and outdoor activities miserable, it was sunny and nearly 70 degrees in San Diego.
San Diego…
Forget the fact that the Phillies’ ballpark is slightly larger than the one in Williamsport, San Diego’s park was the toughest in which to score a run in during 2007. It was also the most difficult to get a hit in and the second most difficult in which to club a homer.
So there’s that, too. But listening to the Phillies it sounds like they are tired of people telling them, “No way… not in that ballpark.”
Or are they?
Apparently the Phillies and Tadahito Iguchi met up at the ice cream parlor the other day. It also seems as if those kids had a few things to discuss, too. The Phillies, badly in need of a third baseman (as well as a pitcher or two and a center fielder), could be willing to make a deal with Iguchi for 2008 and beyond. Iguchi, for his part, hit the open market and learned that all the second base slots for the good teams were spoken for. But third base in Philadelphia looks wide open.
But it’s not as easy as it sounds. Because the Phillies released Iguchi after the season (as he wished) and did not offer him salary arbitration or sign him to an extension by Nov. 15, Iguchi would not be able to play for the team until May 15. Iguchi’s agent, Rocky Hall, believes the parties can find a loophole and some juggling and wrangling in order to get by the rule, but then there is that whole collective bargaining thing.
If Iguchi does it, then someone else will do it and then everyone will do it and all we’ll have is anarchy. Is the destruction of labor-management practices in the United States worth all of that just to allow Tadahito Iguchi to play third base?
Sure, the Phillies need a third baseman better than Wes Helms and Greg Dobbs, but I’m siding with the American way.
The first places most folks look for when they are on the road and far from home and need a little action are the bars and/or the hotel lobby. Everyone knows what goes on in a bar so there isn’t much need for explanation there, but the hotel lobby – specifically if it also has a bar – is like Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras, Times Square during rush hour, and Broad Street during a parade.
At least that’s the way it is during the baseball winter meetings.
Essentially, that’s what the winter meetings are… it’s like Spring Break only no one goes topless. Or, it’s like the South by Southwest Music conference in Austin, Tx. only not cool. Come on, think about it – how cool could it be? A convention in at a resort that bumped Tony Orlando (but not Dawn) so a cavalcade of baseball writers, general managers, those hep cats from ESPN, and a bunch of job-seeking wannabe baseball flaks all under one roof… do we have to get into why that’s the epitome of uncool?
OK.
First there are the baseball writers, who easily are the angriest and most frustrated group of people on the planet. They’re all burnt out from long hours spent at the ballpark and ridiculous travel itineraries for eight months. Better yet, the best way to really drive one of those guys crazy it to say: “Hey, at least it beats a real job, right?”
As far as the hipness factor goes, I can only speak reasonably knowledgably about the Philadelphia crew and let’s just say TMZ.com doesn’t have a group of photogs staking the gang out. For one thing, one of the guys used to be an actor in Renaissance Faires and, no, he wasn’t even something somewhat cool as the knight on horseback in the joust ring. Nope, he was a pawn in the chess game and it wasn’t like the chess game in Mel Brooks’ History of the World Part I.
But, scarily enough, it gets much worse than that. But in the interest in protecting the guilty… aw, forget it. The geeks love online poker, one dork is into long-distance running, another went by the stage name “Todd Cougar,” and still another is pining for a long-ago shorn mullet.
What sane person would agree to spend a summer surrounded by a group like that? But there they are — trolling the lobby in Opryland listening to the tall tales and truth stretching that goes on whenever baseball folks get together. Actually, it’s really not all that different than any other time spent during a summer afternoon only there isn’t a game to be played later in the evening and no one has to drive anywhere, which heightens the stakes a bit. Think about it – who goes to Spring Break and rents a car? Probably no one.
So if the plan is to get the scribes, GMs, job seekers and hangers on all under one roof it will lessen the load for the local law enforcement and make the scene into how it must have been to cover the Mint 400 motorcycle race in the desert around Vegas in the early 1970s.
If Raoul Duke and his Samoan attorney roll into the lobby at Opryland, everyone should leave – or keep tabs on the grapefruits.
Anyway, the GMs are the reason why everyone gets together for the week. Really, what other reason is there? In a baseball organization, the GM is where the proverbial buck stops. Actually, it’s better than that. The GM is where the information originates and information (not knowledge) is the commodity everyone has traveled to Nashville and camped out in Opryland for. Think about it – is there another resource more important than information. It’s better than gold and almost as good as oil and it’s the reason why ESPN and Yahoo! are snapping up all the top hunter/gatherers in the info set for a premium. It’s also why ESPN has set up something of its own little Green Zone inside of Opryland – information.
It’s the king.
That means the GM-types are the kingmakers. And like any good crowner of things that get crowned, the GM is coquettish as all get-out. You know how the scribes like to cite “sources” in all those rumor mill-type stories folks wolf down like hamsters and their pellets? Well, apparently those “sources” have access to the inner sanctum. They might actually know the GM well enough to collect crumbs of information here and there before running off to feed it to the gluttonous writer-types and their panting public.
Yet even though the general managers from all across baseball are making the scene at Opryland, it’s not as if their presence boosts the hipness factor. Actually, unless one thinks those Hawaiian/Tommy Bahama-type shirts are “cool,” then rollin’ with the GMs is the way to go. After all, this is a set of people who take their cues on coolness from Spuds McKenzie.
Imagine that… instead of covering South by Southwest where one could hang out at the hotel and talk shop with Deerhoof, the writers are left to chase down old men who look as if they just got in from the hunt. Instead of Elvis Costello they get a guy dressed like Elvis.
Incidentally, why is that Elvis impersonators are usually always the fat Elvis?
Apparently, though, there is one GM who is considered cool, but that’s because at 33, Theo Epstein is approximately 40 years younger than all of his counterparts. Epstein is also considered cool because he plays guitar in a cover band called Trouser or something ambiguous like that. Come to think about it, the band’s name could be the most undetailed thing happening with Epstein. After all, a name like Trouser (if that is, in fact, the name) doesn’t befit a devotee of Sabermetrics. Sabermetrics, of course, is the baseball philosophy that likes to take all the life and intrigue out of a sport and assign it cold, hard spots on a sheet of graph paper or an excel spreadsheet. Enough of the thinking, they say, give me data.
Nothing ambiguous like human nature… we need undeniable information!
Nevertheless, Trouser is a cover band that plays cover songs of cover songs, which, frankly, is about as low on the musical food chain as one can go. In fact, it’s the Renaissance Faire of the musical word – the pawn in the chess game instead of the knight in the phony joust.
But really, the baseball winter meetings are all just a phony joust. Oh sure, actual work gets done and trades/deals are made. In fact, Pat Gillick, the GM of the Phillies, says he hopes to leave Nashville and Opryland with a pitcher to add to the roster. Meanwhile, a few of the scribes hope to leave Opryland with one of those Hee-Haw girls.
Who didn’t love the 1980s? Because technology hadn’t become ubiquitous with culture (or something like that), people were allowed to have imaginations about the future. These days predicting the future is totally analog, for instance, it seems to me that in the future bodies of water will just burst into flames and the monetary system will be replaced by bartering with fossil fuels.
Regardless, it seemed so much simpler in the 1980s. Don’t believe me? Check out the high-tech production values from these Phillies commercials from 1986:
The Phanatic hasn’t aged a bit!
When you think about it, the current design of the uniforms the Phillies have been sporting since 1992 are getting a little old and stale. Actually, they are catching up in age to those hard maroon unis the team wore all through the 1970s that just seemed to scream, “DISCO!”
The shirts they wear now just whine, “We don’t have any other good ideas.”
Sometimes the best ideas are the ones that are already out there. Take for instance the one the Phillies came up with for their “new” alternate home uniform, which the team will wear for day games at the Bank. Yeah, well, it’s exactly like the shirts and pants the team wore in 1946 to 1949. Guess what? It works.
Really, they are blue and red (with a cream-colored base). How could that miss when blue and red go together like chocolate and peanut butter?
In fact, those uniforms look so good that perhaps the “alternate” uniforms should be the ones they have been wearing since 1992. Let’s not kid ourselves, the Phillies’ look is stale and needs to be freshened up a bit. Not only do they need a third baseman, a center fielder and a few pitchers, but a new wardrobe would surely get the local nine feeling a little better about themselves. Doesn’t a new snazzy shirt or a slick pair of pants make everyone feel better?
Pitcher turned runway model Cole Hamels told reporters that he liked the new/old look.
“It’s nice to have something different. All the teams have been coming up with new uniforms, and you want to be part of it,” he said. “I know it’s going to help out with the marketing campaign because it brings something new and fun to the stadium.”
Wait… this uniform thing is a marketing campaign? Would the Phillies do such a thing just to sell shirts at their team store for $189.99 and caps for (probably) $25? With a recession looming, ticket prices as high as they are and the Christmas season in full swing, wouldn’t the Phillies just want to give away that kind stuff to help drum up support for the hometown team? They didn’t unveil the new uniforms just 25 shopping days before Christmas on purpose did they?
***
Speaking of new looks for the Phillies, forget about a trade with the Orioles for Melvin Mora. According to general manager Pat Gillick, the Phillies believe Mora is a good player, but they are sure what the team would have to offer back to the O’s.
Speaking of the Orioles, I always liked that smiling bird cap they used to wear in the ‘70s and ‘80s. It made Eddie Murray and Earl Weaver look like a really friendly dudes, you know.
In the interest of full disclosure, I felt that my American Legion baseball team sponsored by the local Elks club should have had smiling elk caps as an homage to those juggernaut Orioles’ teams. I even tried to design one, but it came out like something Deitch suggested for a new uniform patch for the Phillies.
***
Von Hayes is still the manager of sandlot independent league Lancaster Barnstormers and I promise I will write something about it as soon as figure out a way to do it tactfully. In the interest of full disclosure, ol’ Von is a good hire for Lancaster and he beat out Gary Carter, Wally Backman and the team’s ex manager Tom Herr for the gig. But then again, people I talked to (yep, I talked to real live people about it) say anyone other than Herr would have been good. That guy, one person said, has the personality of a toilet seat…
Oh yeah, tact. I’ll work on it.
***
Rumors and crap
Just as quickly as rumors sprung up regarding a potential trade between the Orioles and the Phillies for third baseman Melvin Mora, they were squashed by general manager Pat Gillick. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies’ GM says the team is focused on acquiring pitching.
Nevertheless, Gillick indicated that the Phillies would have plenty of money to spend on the right player(s) though he noted that “This is not a good free-agent group.”
With center fielder Aaron Rowand expected to sign elsewhere for the 2008 season, the Phillies are rumored to be amongst the teams looking at Brewers’ slugger Geoff Jenkins as a player to bolster the outfield.
Let’s get this straight: The Eagles lost to the Patriots on Sunday night and Philly fans are pleased? Really? Is this true? The Eagles lost and folks are genuinely pleased?
Hold on for a second while I drop to one knee to catch my breath…
Look, it was a wildly entertaining game. In fact, I even napped at halftime so I could make it the whole through the second half. For a detached “fan” like me who watches Eagles games (not the NFL… that’s too much effort) when it’s convenient, Sunday night’s game was perfectly compelling. And frankly, that’s the appeal of football – the casual fan doesn’t have to invest much to be entertained. One doesn’t have to get too deep into it like with baseball where the minutia of the game seems to be the appeal. Nevertheless, the game was fun to watch and just as riveting as the Eagles-Giants game from a year or two ago that went to overtime. Now that game was one to describe in your best Keith Jackson voice…
A real donnybrook!
Still, from what I can tell from some of the reaction around town, folks are happy that the Eagles gave the Patriots all they could handle… even though they still lost.
What, has Philadelphia become a town of happy losers? Are moral victories just as good as the real thing? Lovable losers in Philly – what is this, Chicago? Moral victories – are they turning into St. Louis fans?
Hey, I know how good everyone says the Patriots are and it seems likely that they will win every game this season. I also know that the betting line was 22 points some absurdity like that. But from what I could tell the Eagles lost a game they could or should have won. You know, kind of like those games they lost to the Packers, Redskins and Bears.
So there you have it – there’s my football analysis for the rest of the season. Makes you feel smarter, huh?
Speaking of feeling smarter (I couldn’t come up with a better transition), the free-agent/hot stove comings and goings for the Phillies are beginning to come a little clearer. Or so it seems…
***
Anyway, the Phillies appear to be interested in Orioles’ third baseman Melvin Mora, according to the Baltimore Sun. Mora has a no-trade clause and signed a three-year extension with the Orioles in 2006, but reports indicate he is unhappy with the direction the team is taking. As such, Mora is said to be willing to waive the clause to play for an east-coast team.
Meanwhile, there are reports that the Astros and former Phillies’ GM Ed Wade is in the race to ink ex-Phillies Randy Wolf and Jon Lieber. Wolf, as has been well documented, has been made an offer by the Phillies after the Dodgers declined to pick up his option for 2008.
Finally, cross the White Sox off Aaron Rowand’s list of potential suitors. According to a report in The Chicago Sun-Times, Rowand and his former club are way off in contract terms. The Dodgers, Rangers and Phillies are still interested in signing the free agent center fielder.
***
Lots of folks (OK, three) have asked me what I thought about Tom McCarthy re-joining the Phillies’ broadcast team. My initial reaction was, “Cool.” Wherever he is,Tom is often the friendliest guy at the ballpark so the more often we get to see him, the better. Then I thought, “Hey, it seems like the Phillies have a lot of broadcasters now… is someone leaving?”
According to folks smarter than me, Tom is likely being groomed as Harry Kalas’ successor. That’s cool, too, I guess though I agree with Dan McQuade’s idea that a good Harry Kalas impersonator could handle those duties for decades to come.
***
Hey, Billy Wagner is mouthing off about the Mets…
Also, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
So we finally got back to town last night after travelling around a bit over the weekend, and immediately my wife started in on this site. The kids had finally gone off to bed and some ridiculousness like “Dancing with the Stars” was on the TV as my old lady and I both sat in our chairs with our laptops. I guess it’s kind of a modern-day Archie and Edith, minus the laugh track.
Anyway, Marie Osmond was being tossed and launched all over the screen though the absurdness of this was completely lost on me. Perhaps if Gary Coleman was a contestant… Instead, I had my headphones plugged into my ears and I was busy trying to sync together the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line with Radiohead’s Kid A. As odd as that sounds, it kind of works – the record (and by record I mean recording) starts with “Everything in its Right Place,” which was offset against Leaf Phoenix and Reece Witherspoon singing Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me, Babe.” From there, the actors went up to Johnny Cash’s hotel room as the opening track slipped into, “Kid A.”
But just as the opening bass chords of the rather chaotic “The National Anthem,” struck like knives flying through the air, all hell broke loose for Johnny Cash. The Feds were waiting for him at the airport to peel apart his luggage for his stash, his wife was on the way out with the kids and life seemed to sound just like the wildness playing on my earphones.
Finally, when Cash was camped out with Waylon Jennings in some Tennessee motel, “How to Disappear Completely,” burst on and that’s when the experiment ended. My wife, as it often is, had another question.
“Hey, I noticed you haven’t updated your little site in a while.”
Everything is little to her. Like my little site, or my little job, or my little “hobbies.” It’s so condescending.
“Yeah, well, I haven’t been home lately. I was on vacation with my family. Should I have told you guys to go away so I could throw some more verbal crap against the wall?”
She already knows that I do my best not to be a sports fan at home and I suppose this is a site about sports. I’m kind of like a chef that cooks all day at his restaurant only to go home to eat Dinty Moore beef stew from a can.
So yeah, I told her. Besides, I didn’t know what to write that would be remotely interesting to anyone. Not that I know much about that to begin with, but at least I’m not going to pull that old Bukowski stunt and write about writers’ block. That’s really digging deep for nothing.
Anyway, I decided to wait for someone to post the Kid A/Walk the Line sync on YouTube or something. Then again, there is that theory out there that Kid A actually describes the events in Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001 even though the album was released in October of 2000.Chuck Klosterman wrote about the theory extensively in his book Killing Yourself to Live. Check it out here.
I wonder if Thom Yorke and Johnny Cash ever met.
***
Check this out: I was selected to be a shoe tester for the shoe company, Brooks. Needless to say I’m pretty excited about it. What I do, I suppose, is wear the shoes I’m sent for my runs, write about it in a report and send the info along to the good folks at Brooks.
See, told you it sounded fun.
From what I have learned the shoe I’ll be testing is Brooks’ “Defyance,” which is slated to hit the U.S. market in April of 2008. It supposed to be a neutral trainer, which is perfect for me. I don’t like the featherweight racers or trainers, but the neutral and stripped down shoes for extremely efficient types with elegant biomechanics work best for me. Those clunky monsters that weigh more than 12 ounces are just way too much shoe for me.
Besides, my favorites are now long gone. The Nike Talaria, Nike Zoom LWP, Nike Air Mariah, Nike Zoom Air Hayward and the original Adidas Ozweego are about as perfect as running shoes can get, yet they are all very different. Oddly enough, I have been wearing some derivation of the Ozweego since July of 1996, though I’m down to my last pair and it looks as if it’s the end of the line for that one.
Truth be told, the Talaria was the most comfortable shoe ever. They were like slippers.
Anyway, I’m excited to try out the Brooks Defyance. The people at Brooks should know that I will absolutely beat the bleep out of their shoe as I work it into my rotation of a half-dozen trainers.
That’s how I roll.
When I was a kid I believed nearly everything adults told me. Well, I believed almost everything they told me until I was about 10. After then, I questioned everything because that’s about the time I learned about Richard Nixon. I figured if the President of the United States could be less than forthcoming, maybe other adults could, too.
That’s also about the same time I learned about Santa Claus, though truth be told the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy never made any sense. That’s especially the case with the Tooth Fairy because that just sounds a little too Uncle Eddie-ish to me. Really, what kind of a person or fairy wants little kids’ ripped out and bloodied teeth? Do they make necklaces out of them like those sharks’ tooth ones people wore in the ‘70s and stuff? Remember Turk Wendell, the Phillies’ former relief pitcher? Yeah, well he had a necklace made out of elk’s teeth and other wild animals he may or may not have shot. Actually, the necklace was kind of gaudy, but not in a P. Diddy kind of way.
Perhaps Turk Wendell was the tooth fairy for the Marlin Perkins set?
Anyway, the point is that I believed what adults told me, but then I stopped and then, for some reason, I believed them again. At least I believed what adult general managers of Major League Baseball teams told me. Seriously, why would they make up stuff? They weren’t after my teeth (as far as I knew) and they weren’t going to bring me or my family gifts every December under the cover of darkness. Better yet, I don’t think there is a single baseball GM who secretly bombed Cambodia or was less than forthcoming about the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters back in ‘72. Based on that criterion, baseball GMs are a reasonably trustworthy lot.
That doesn’t mean they tell the truth all of the time. For instance, I recall a time when Ed Wade revealed that a slumping Marlon Byrd was the team’s centerfielder and leadoff hitter for the foreseeable future – who would have guessed that Byrd was living in the future and was to be optioned to Triple-A after a game in which he served as the centerfielder and leadoff hitter? Hey, I’m not saying Wade didn’t make the correct move, I’m just saying that if the end of the game was as far into the future as he could see, then he needs to re-do that Lasik surgery.
So what’s this have to do with anything? Well, it doesn’t. I just like writing about it. Plus, it’s a nice little segue way into the whole Mike Lowell thing, who, as most readers of this site and other like it (could there be others like this one?) will tell you, is the newly re-signed third baseman and MVP of the World Series for the Boston Red Sox. Lowell is a pretty darned good third baseman who played for the Marlins when they won the World Series in 2003 and I remember sitting at Citizens Bank Park the time he hit three home runs in one game for the Marlins. The last of the three came off Billy Wagner and it made me laugh out loud… not one of those obnoxious laughs like DeNiro chomping on a cigar in the movie theater like in Cape Fear, which by itself is a ridiculous scene. But it was a laugh that slips out at an inappropriate time, like say the time your friend was an altar boy at mass at Sacred Heart in 1984 or something and he knocked over a candle that he had just lit. You don’t want to laugh out loud, but you do for that briefest of seconds before anyone realizes that you are the one who a.) Has a bad sense of humor and b.) Can’t control himself in solemn places.
Not that any of that ever happened, of course.
Anyway, Nixon bombed Cambodia, Marlon Byrd was sent to Scranton and Pat Gillick told us not to believe everything we read on ESPN.com. Which one thinks about it, is a rather ambiguous statement. Just look at it:
“Don’t believe everything you read on ESPN.com.”
OK. I guess that’s good advice. But it’s kind of like, don’t dance with a circus bear wearing a Shriner’s hat after it just pedaled a tricycle 50 yards. Or don’t rub the belly of an alligator that was just fed ostrich burgers for a mid-afternoon snack. Does it really mean something or is it just a broad, sweeping statement that is common amongst politicians and large retailers to homogenize us?
Perhaps what Gillick meant to say was, “Don’t believe everything you read on ESPN.com about badminton. But the stuff about the Phillies attempting to sign Mike Lowell to play third base for the team in 2008… yeah, well that stuff is as solid as your Uncle Tim’s brass spittoon.”
So how about that? Despite all the reports that indicated that the Phillies had just a limited amount of cash to spend this winter, and GM Gillick’s contention that the team was focusing on acquiring pitching and that third base was not a “priority,” it comes out that the Phillies are like Diamond Jim picking up the tab for everyone in the saloon. They’re lighting big, fat cigars with $20 bills while trying to figure out how they can spend more money and make offers to guys like Mike Lowell.
Good for them.
But here’s the question: why the subterfuge? Why all the, “Mike Lowell? Who is Mike Lowell? We wouldn’t know Mike Lowell if he walked right up and spit into our mammy’s hand purse…” Doing stuff like that is going to give a guy a reputation. It’s going to make the honest, chaste and diligent folks in the local sporting press to believe the worst in a person. They’re going to think that when Pat Gillick says, “No, no, no,” he really means, “Yes, no, yes!”
I don’t know much about poker or the game’s colorful jargon, but I do bad bluffing when I hear it. Based on this, the Phillies should swoop in and steal away A-Rod from the Yankees at any minute.
***
If the Phillies can’t get A-Rod (or Scott Rolen), maybe they can get Randy Wolf? The former Phillie lefty has received an offer from the team about returning for 2008. The team has made a bunch of other offers to other players, too, including right-hander Hiroki Kuroda, who has pitched for the past decade in the Japan.
***
Most of my friends don’t follow sports too closely so they sometimes ask inane questions about how I must be a big fan of the Phillies. I don’t think they get it when I tell them that, “I root for the story.” You see, like the stereotypical, self-centered athlete, I just look out for myself.
Anyway, though I don’t really care one way or another which team wins or loses, I do find myself rooting for the success of certain people in the game. In that regard, a hearty congratulations goes out to Jimmy Rollins for being voted the National League’s MVP in 2007 by the dangerous (and fascist) secret society called the Baseball Writers Association of America. If there is one player who respects, understands and reveres the history of the game, it’s Rollins and I’m certain he will represent the award and the new fame that goes with such an honor well.
Kudos to Jimmy.
I’ve been traveling around and busy all day, but I will be back tomorrow with stuff on Mike Lowell, Pat Gillick, Von Hayes and, of course, Jimmy Rollins…
Just one time I’d like to see a player try on a jersey that doesn’t fit during those ceremonial press conferences for newly signed players. Like say for instance the Phillies signed Barry Bonds and trotted him out with the whole jersey thing, but when he tries to slip his arms in it goes nowhere because it’s one of Jimmy Rollins’ shirts.
That would be funny to me.
The Phillies did their little dog-and-pony show with Brad Lidge yesterday where they made him fly to Philadelphia to answer a few questions and try on a shirt. Then maybe he had dinner, watched a little TV in the hotel before flying back home. Apparently everything fit and checked out fine for Lidge and the Phillies. The shirt looked good.
While all of that was going on in Philadelphia, the Yankees and Alex Rodriguez (sans agent Scott Boras) were working on a new deal that would give him a small percentage of a raise and bonuses for breaking records (more on that in a moment). Apparently, A-Rod and the Yanks are just crossing the Is and dotting the Ts on a 10-year contract. Rodriguez, of course, is the player that opted out the last three years of his current deal that was paying him more than $25 million for a shade more than 162 games. It’s just a shade more than 162 games because unlike ex-Yankee third basemen like Charlie Hayes, Scott Brosius or Graig Nettles, A-Rod has never made it to the World Series.
Better yet, any person who willingly opts out of a contract in excess of $25 million for 180 days of work is an [bleep]hole. I wish I could be a little more graceful, but I can’t. Seriously. Worse, there will be people going on and on about how A-Rod did the right thing because he got more money and more years by opting out… yeah, well, so. Does that much money matter anymore or is just about his ego? It’s kind of like the time we were all together talking about the shoddy work of a well-paid media type when someone butted in with a, “Yeah, but he’s making six-figures…” You know, as if that were impressive enough to change opinion. After a second or so, someone countered with, “Yeah, he might make six-figures but he’s still a bleeping hack.”
In other words, A-Rod might make all the money in the world but he still hasn’t played an inning of a World Series game.
But one of the more interesting elements of A-Rod’s new contract is that he will get a hefty bonus if he breaks the all-time home run record. Actually, according to Big Stein’s son, Li’l Hanky Steinbrenner, the Yankees are working on a “marketing plan” for A-Rod’s climb up the all-time charts.
“These are not incentive bonuses,” Steinbrenner said. “For lack of a better term, they really are historic-achievement bonuses. It’s a horse of a different color.”
But the color is still green. And here’s the thing – whose home run record does A-Rod have to break to get his horse? Will Major League Baseball still consider Barry Bonds the Sultan of Shots or will he get the big historical asterisk next to his name after yesterday’s indictment came down at around the time Lidge was trying on a shirt?
And we all know the Feds never get indictments for cases they could lose. They like to make it look like the Harlem Globetrotters vs. the Washington Generals…
Perhaps more interestingly, Bonds’ federal indictment for lying to a grand jury comes after commissioner Bud Selig announced that MLB’s revenues crossed over $6 billion. And, a day after The Washington Post offered readers a front-page story in which leaders in the anti-doping movement are convinced that getting indictments and launching investigations is a better tact than spending money to develop full-proof drug tests.
It looks like they got a really big fish.
More: The Bonds indictment (pdf)
Interestingly, third basemen Mike Lowell and Scott Rolen have the same agent. Even more interesting, the Phillies have not inquired about making a deal for either player. But then again, the team says all they are interested in is adding pitching.
Yeah, we’ve been all over this before.
But it’s free agency period and everyone is into the Hot Stove stuff which means memories are short or ears are clogged or both. People will pay attention to what they want and they will only hear enough to keep the rumor-mongers in business. That’s what it is now – rumors and innuendo. Forget about facts and news. That’s boring.
It’s boring like the news from the St. Louis papers regarding Rolen, who reportedly is seeking a trade away from the Cardinals because of a damaged relationship with manager Tony La Russa. This is old news. In fact, it was well known last summer that Rolen did not want to return to the Cardinals in 2008 if La Russa was going to remain the team’s manager. But with La Russa signed on for a couple more years, it has come to light that Rolen is seeking a trade.
Again, no surprise there.
Here’s the thing though – because Rolen apparently wants to be traded away from the Cardinals and because it’s assumed the Phillies are after a third baseman because it’s also assumed that they need one (even though the Phillies say obtaining a third baseman is “not a priority”), immediately the Rolen-to-Phillies stories creep up.
What are we missing here?
Oh yeah, how about the facts. Like the fact that Rolen has a no-trade clause with an unwritten line that states, “I’ll waive it for anywhere but Baghdad or Philadelphia.” Or the fact that Rolen still has three years remaining on his contract and is owed $36 million coupled with the report that the Cards will not help pay the freight. What about the fact that Rolen missed most of 2005 and 2007 seasons because of injuries that may or may not have taken away some of his offensive punch.
Do the facts matter or do they just get in the way of a good story?
Answers: No and yes.
Either way, let us reinterate the main point again – Rolen has a no-trade clause. It means he can’t be traded anywhere unless he waives it and this is often done for a hefty fee. Knowing what we know about Rolen’s first 6½ seasons in Philadelphia and the way he was received in all of his visits since 2002, what sane person would think he’d want to return to play for the Phillies, let alone fly over the city in the Enola Gay?
And don’t give me a silly answer like, “money” because Rolen already accepted a smaller paycheck to play for St. Louis.
Look, certainly Rolen is not the first player Tony La Russa rubbed the wrong way. Needless to say, La Russa isn’t the first manager Rolen has had trouble with. Actually, it seems as if the only manager Rolen did well with was Terry Francona. Let’s be hypocrites and play the rumor game, only we’ll be a little more original and make up one of our own…
Ready?
OK, Lowell signs with the Cardinals and Rolen gets traded to the Red Sox… how does that work?
Hey, it’s the best I could come up with on short notice.
But, you know, paying attention is hard. That’s especially true when the real story gets in the way of the more entertaining story.
Speaking of which, Mike Lowell ain’t coming to Philadelphia either… then again, what does his agent or Phils’ GM Pat Gillick know?
So long, sailor…
It’s worth noting that Dennis Deitch of the Delaware County Daily Times finally found a seat with a desk. That means regular hours, holidays off and no more travelling around following a baseball team all summer long. That frees him up to do… well, whatever it is he does. Dungeons & Dragons, I guess. Perhaps some Everquest with Curt Schilling, poker at the Borgata and more time spent honing his act as the new crocodile hunter.
To that end we wish Dennis well, note our envy and hope he learns how to duck and move a little more quickly. For us that remain the departure means no more ridiculously riotous comments made with pitch-perfect timing[1]. For us, that sucks.
But kudos, Dennis. Kudos.
If you’re scoring at home, the scribes now have subtracted Marcus Hayes and Deitch from the ranks… I say the beat guys get to vote the next guy off the island. Does it work that way?
So the free agent period is officially on. In fact, it’s “on” on. Yesterday was the first day and it seemed as if everyone was freaking out trying to learn new information about who was talking to whom and where everyone was going the next couple of days. Everyone was in everyone else’s business and had each other’s names in each other’s mouths.
Between hoping I could carve out my insides with a pie cutter and waiting for my head to explode with this damn sinus/migraine thing I got going on over here, I fielded an IM or two about all this free agent hubbub from guys closer to the situation (and more seasoned) than me.
Pure insanity.
They all wanted to know if the other shoe had dropped. Did I know anything? Had I heard anything? TELL US! TELL US NOW!
AAARRRGGGHHH!
But just like… well… me on payday, I got nuthin’. Nada. But then again, I’m not one of those guys who goes running all willy-nilly for no reason. I don’t go shopping the day after Thanksgiving (unless it’s online) and I don’t go doing a cannonball into the deep end without dipping my big, battered toe [1]in first. Folks, you have to settle in and build a nice rhythm if you expect to go the distance.
In other words: simmer down. Now. Who goes out on payday and breaks the bank seconds after walking out of the check-cashing place? Not anyone sane or sober and certainly not the Phillies.
But then again, perhaps the shooting-from-the-holster approach isn’t a bad one. Maybe if the Phillies jumped into the deep end they can get all of their wintertime shopping done before the crowds rush in. After all, trading for Brad Lidge kind of pushed the team onto a certain direction in completing the puzzle, which, truth be told, wasn’t too difficult to decipher to begin with. Apparently, the Phillies believe they score enough runs as it is and can go with Shane Victorino in centerfield, Jayson Werth in right and Wes Helms/Greg Dobbs at third. How many runs does a team need?
I guess that has to do with the pitching, which is what the team (and every other team, too) will be looking for. It’s also the reason why Kyle Lohse will likely sign a multi-year contract filthy with a bunch of numbers. Will it be $40 million? How about $50 million?
And yes, we’re talking about Kyle Lohse. And Carlos Silva. Write the big check for Livan Hernandez.
According to some reportage and sleuthing by the local beat scribes, it appears as if the Phillies will not have the cash to break the bank this winter, which seems odd. It seems odd because the Phillies had the best attendance in the history of the taxpayer subsidized Citizens Bank Park in 2007. What’s more, they made the playoffs for the first time in 14 years, too. That means more exposure, more games and (probably) more cash coming in. Plus, chances are they will raise ticket prices for 2008, too. Yeah, why not… if the fish is going to jump into the boat, all they have to do is beat it over the head with an oar.
Still, it seems likely that there won’t be enough petty cash stuck under the cushions of the couch to make a “competitive” offer to Aaron Rowand, the Gold Glove Award-winning centerfielder, who just so happens to be coming off a career year with the bat. It also appears that Messr. Rowand is heading for one of those contract deals that looks like science fiction, which is crazy. Could a team really be ready to offer Aaron Rowand $15 million per season?
Really? That’s Kyle Lohse money.
It also reminds me why running, cycling, golf and tennis are superior to the so-called “mainstream” sports in the U.S. Why? Because you have to win to get paid.
The Philadelphia Marathon is set for this Sunday, which means there are a few folks around these parts conserving energy, bouncing off the walls and trying as hard as they can to relax.
That’s the hard part, of course. Relaxing is always one of those things that is easier said than done in almost every situation. It’s almost like telling someone to “just say ‘no.’” Yeah, well if I could say no or relax we wouldn’t be in this situation. Who can relax after months of training and the idea of self-flagellation and masochism looming? Better yet, people actually pay money to run marathons. Good money, too. I’m told the Philadelphia Marathon costs more than $100 to enter, which, frankly, is a crime.
The folks charging good-natured runners that much cash should be forced to get out there and run the marathon, too. Get moving John Street…
Anyway, it’s taper time for some folks making the jaunt through the city this Sunday and that’s always a tricky time. Most people taper for two weeks, which, truth be told, is too long in my book. But, because most people aren’t exactly Bill Rodgers (who used to taper for three days… maybe) and get their training plans off the Internet from some silliness presented by Jeff Galloway or Oprah or whoever else is telling people they can hurl themselves 26.2 miles by running less, then by all means, do your two weeks.
Want to know what I do? Well, it’s my site and I’m going to tell you anyway.
Here it is:
Thirteen days before the race I do my last long run, which is anywhere between 22 to 24 miles. I continue to train normally the next two days, and then I start to bring it down a little bit. For instance, since I usually take it to 105-110 miles per week when getting ready for a marathon, I’ll just go 20 miles on the Thursday and Friday. I just go 20 miles in those two days because I’m going to do a race (either a 5k or 10k) eight days before the marathon as a gauge of my fitness.
After that fitness-gauging race I get into a taper which goes like this:
* 10-13 easy
* 10 easy
* 7 miles at race pace
* 1 miles warm-up/cool down + 5 miles faster than race pace (if I can do it in 27, I’m ready)
* 4-5 miles easy
* 3 miles easy
* 4 miles easy
* Go run a marathon
This was discovered through trial and error, though, I’ve done a few two-day tapers where I ran 16 miles a day until two days out before cutting back to 5 and then 5k. Interestingly, “The People’s Champ,” Brian Sell, does something a little similar.
At least that’s according to Sell’s log on the Athleticore.com site where the Hanson’s dudes post their workouts. In the week before the Olympic Trials where Sell finished third in 2:11:40, he did a 10-miler in 66 two days out and a 10-miler in 52 the day before.
That comes after doing 46 miles in four sessions the three previous days to the pair of 10s.
You’re darn right that’s pretty impressive. Then again, after piling on routine 150-mile weeks, a 10-miler at 5:12 pace is probably a day off.
Here’s something else people won’t tell you about running marathons… when you’re out there, put some time in the bank. That’s right bank it because you’re going to slow down late in the race no matter what.
Week of November 5-11
(22 weeks to the National Marathon – March 29, 2008)
Monday
15 miles in 1:39:08
Felt pretty strong the entire time and easily could have gone another 20 minutes without batting an eye. My form was good and all of that, however, I noticed that the pace dipped a bit on uphills. The effort didn’t change, but the pace was bad. On flat ground I’m really decent.
Tuesday
15 miles in 1:41:53
I did the same exact run as yesterday, though it was much slower. I felt strong, though, and a little better on the hills. But I definitely was tired during most of the run. The good part is that it was a strength run and I felt strong.
Wednesday
10 miles in 65:04
I ran steady 6:30 pace and it felt easy. Actually, I was a little bummed I had to stop. I felt pretty good. Still, it’s a little too early to push it too much. I’m still trying to figure out whether or not I should run on Sunday.
splits:
1st 5: 32:25
2nd 5: 32:39
Thursday
1st run: 11 miles in 1:14:22
2nd run: 3.8 in 26:59
This was kind of tough. My legs were tight and tired from — I guess — not sleeping well last night and waking up early. Plus, I’m putting on the miles again and maybe I’m not adjusted yet.
splits:
1st 5: 33:24.11
2nd 5: 33:44.86
Added an easy run at night. I went out later than I wanted because Brad Lidge was traded to the Phillies, so what are you going to do? Anyway, I went 3.8 miles in 26:59. I fought the slightest urge to run hard — the point of adding the short and sweet second run is not to run too hard. I’m going to have to teach myself to go light.
Friday
10 miles in 64:58
My stomach bothered me for the first six miles, but my legs felt great. Maybe there’s a difference between drinking coffee in the morning instead of Red Bull? You can’t mix coffee with vodka, though.
Either way, I felt great and the running felt easy. I think I’m into it now… we’ll see what happens.
splits:
1st 5: 32:34
2nd 5: 32:24
Saturday
10 miles in 67:31
My stomach bothered me again — I think it might be the ibuprofen. Other than that, it was a slight drag to get out of the house. Still, I ran rather well and my legs felt decent. I didn’t push the pace really at all… I just kind of settled in.
I think I’m going to try to get up tomorrow morning and go to Harrisburg… we’ll see.
Sunday
10 miles in 58:23
I ended up staying awake all last night with a stomach ache where I worried about whether or not I OD’d on ibuprofen. Either way I’ve officially decided that I’m finished with ALL drugs. And I mean ALL drugs.
Anyway, I pushed myself out the door and ran to Mountville. I started out solid but not spectacular though I really ran hard from about 2 miles away and broke my course record. Interestingly, I paid attention to the terrain and noticed that there were a lot more hills than I thought on the route.
It was a pretty good run.
Better yet, my stomach isn’t bothering me as much as it did yesterday, though I’m starting to get a headache… it’s always something.
Sinuses. Hurts to open eyes — head ready to explode any second.
Suddenly – just like that – it appears as if the Phillies have a pretty good-looking bullpen.
Now, if only they could get a No. 2 starter and slide Brett Myers back into an eighth inning role for new closer Brad Lidge…
Digressing, the Phillies finally ironed out the long-awaited deal with left-handed relief pitcher J.C. Romero, and could be nearly finished with their wintertime shopping before Thanksgiving.
After trading for closer Brad Lidge earlier this week, the Phillies kept Romero in the fold to strengthen a bullpen that now features Tom Gordon and Ryan Madson to work with the aforementioned relievers.
Re-signing Romero was a “priority” for the Phillies this off-season.
“J.C. had an outstanding three months for us this year, particularly down the stretch,” assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said in a statement. “He was an integral part of our winning the NL East and we’re very happy we could get him signed before he hit the open market.”
To keep Romero from hitting the open market, the Phillies and Romero agreed to a three-year deal worth $12 million. The Phillies hold a club option for a fourth year that could bring the total value of the contract to $16.75 million. That’s not too bad considering that in 51 games with the Phillies, Romero posted a 1.24 ERA and held opponents to a .130 batting average. During that stretch, lefties went 5-for-40 (.125) against Romero.
Better yet, Romero was quite durable down the stretch for the NL East champion Phillies by appearing in 20 of the Phillies’ 28 games in September as well as all three playoff games. In 15 2/3 innings during September, Romero did not allow a run. During one stretch, Romero appeared in nine of 10 games and five straight during the next-to-last week of the season.
“I’m glad I didn’t have to go out and test the free agent market,” Romero said. “I had a great time with the Phillies and really wanted to come back. I’m excited and looking forward to next season and hopefully we come out and defend our NL East title the way I know we can. The nucleus has remained the same and we added the right pieces. We need to go out and do what everyone expects us to do, which is win a World Series.”
Romero has done quite well for himself considering the Phillies only picked him up after he was waived by the Boston Red Sox on June 18. He spent the first seven seasons in the big leagues with the Twins, before pitching for the Angels in 2006.
So Eric Lindros finally retired from the NHL this week. Certainly there were very few hockey players to come around with the promise and hype that Lindros received when he was drafted by Quebec and then joined the Flyers. Some of that was unfair because no one can be as good as the hype, but that’s the way it is sometimes.
Anyway, upon hearing the news that Eric Lindros was hanging ‘em up, I asked one question:
Eric Lindros was still playing? Really?
Apparently Lindros continued to play in the NHL even after that first season he spent with the Rangers in 2001-02. He played with two other teams, too. After three seasons in New York where Lindros did not participate in the playoffs, he moved to his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs for the year after everyone stopped paying attention to hockey[1]. Last year Lindros played for Dallas and made his first appearance in the playoffs since Scott Stevens of the Devils knocked him out in that Game 7 in Philadelphia in 2000.
OK, kidding aside, it’s hard not to look at Lindros’ career and think about what might have been. Back when he was “The Next One,” watching Lindros play was a treat. He was big, fast and had all the tools. When he won the Hart Trophy in 1995, the thought was Lindros should build an addition to his house to stash the rest of the trophies he was going to win for the Flyers – including the elusive Stanley Cup.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be for Lindros and now the debate begins over whether he is a Hall of Famer or not. Tough call. Nevertheless, had there not been all those injuries and concussions and whatever else, there would be no debate. Instead, the debate over whether Lindros’ career was disappointing is clear.
Pictures of him at the end of his career with the Stars are hardly recognizable. Lindros looks heavy, slow and older than his age. Not yet 35, it seems as if the hard living and all those injuries have piled up. So yeah, even though some of the hype and bluster about how good he was supposed to be is not entirely Lindros’ fault (some of it is, I guess), it’s completely fair to look at the end of his career and wonder about what could have been.
Because it could have been great.
Given a choice, the Phillies and Brett Myers would have preferred to keep the team’s 2007 Opening Day starter at the back end of the bullpen. It was there, all parties reasoned, that the big right-hander showed the most promise, and, more importantly, the most consistency.
That’s not to say Myers isn’t a good starting pitcher. Au contraire. One does not become the 12th player taken in the draft, get a call to the big leagues at age 21 and earn an Opening Day starting nod a few years before hitting free agency (had one not decided to sign a multi-year deal) by being bad. That’s not how it works in the Major Leagues.
Needless to say, Myers is quickly learning just how things work in the Major Leagues. Even though he believes he is better suited to be a closer, and the Phillies are on the same page, Myers is headed back to the rotation in 2008.
After all, the Phillies didn’t trade three players to the Houston Astros to get Brad Lidge to be a set-up man for Myers.
“I’m upset,” Myers revealed. “[I am] not [upset] with the Phillies because I understand the situation. I’m upset because I think I found myself and my role this year as a closer. I know because I’ve been told by people in the organization that I’m best suited to be a closer. I know because I’ve done both and I felt that I was better as a closer.”
Myers pitched as a starter for four full seasons where he made no fewer than 31 starts in every season. However, during those four seasons he only reached the 200-innings plateau once and began to struggle with his fitness. Statistically, it didn’t seem to affect his work on the mound. In 2005 Myers had a 3.72 ERA and 208 strikeouts in 215 innings and followed that up 3.91 ERA and 189 whiffs in 198 innings despite missing several starts following his arrest in Boston in June.
Still, something seemed to be missing. When Myers was on as a starter, he was as good as pitcher in baseball. The thing about that is there were some really poor outings mixed in there, too. Take, for instance, his two starts following his Opening Day gem in 2007. After holding the Braves to four hits and notching nine strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings, Myers gave up 13 runs in the next 7 2/3 innings covering two consecutive starts. The last of those two clunkers, one in which he gave up seven runs on three hits and five walks in 3 1/3 innings on April 13 against the Astros proved to be the dawn of a new career as a reliever.
Twenty-one saves and a 10.8 strikeouts-per-nine-innings ratio later, Myers finally was the steady performer the Phillies always knew he would be.
“I definitely like closing more,” Myers said. “I like having the ball in my hands four of five days. The only thing I don’t like in starting is I may go nuts those four days in between getting the ball.”
But now they want him to step aside and be a team player.
“It definitely helps our rotation greatly,” pitching coach Rich Dubee said. “Brett Myers is an extremely talented pitcher. We put him in a tough situation last year and he came through for us. I think he’ll be able to do it again. With the market the way it is out there, it seems like it was the best thing to do. With Brett in there behind Cole (Hamels) it gives us a stronger rotation.”
Myers agrees.
“I was bred, from the time I was born to win for the team,” he said. “I understand what’s going on and I understand that for this team, me going back to being a starter is the move to make. I know my role.”
Myers is looking at the move as a win-win for the Phillies.
“There are positives in this. I think I’ve proven myself as a closer and as a starter,” Myers said. “I can be ‘Slash,’ the next Kordell Stewart. If the time comes and I’m on the market as a free agent, instead of two teams needing a starter and two needing a closer I can make myself available as both to 30 teams. This doesn’t mean I’m unhappy in Philly. I love the team and I love the fans but from a personal standpoint this certainly can help me in the long run.”
Time for a change
Brad Lidge knows his role, too, and he’s very pleased about joining the Phillies to perform it. Lidge, it appears, is excited about getting the ever-popular “change of scenery” after spending the first six years of his career in Houston.
“I do sense it’s true. I don’t know if I can put a finger on exactly why,” Lidge said when asked if a change is what he needed. “I’m extremely excited to get to a team that’s going to be in a competitive atmosphere. It gets that extra adrenaline going. It fires me up to be out there in that atmosphere, and when I perform my best, that’s what’s happening. It’s going to be great for me to help bring out my best.”
Certainly Lidge’s departure from the Astros marks the end of an era for that franchise. In fact it was Lidge’s (a hard-throwing right-hander from Notre Dame) emergence during the 2003 season that forced the Astros to trade Billy Wagner to the Phillies before the 2004 season. Wagner’s ouster from Houston allowed the team to add Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte to the rotation and sparked a run that ended with the seventh game of the NLCS in 2004, the World Series in 2005.
But after the 2005 season, things took a bit of a turn for Lidge. In ‘06 his ERA ballooned to 5.28 and his control was off a bit. In ‘07 the Astros moved Lidge out of the closer’s role early in the season, but he reclaimed it during the second half and went on to save a career-low 19 games. By the end of the year, Lidge says he had regained his old form despite the fact that he was headed to knee surgery on Oct. 1 to repair torn cartilage.
Needless to say, there still is some speculation as to why Lidge did fall out of sorts. One theory is that he was so rattled after giving up a two-out home run to Albert Pujols to blow a save in Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS that he became a bit gun shy about walking that teetering edge of closing out games.
Lidge dismissed that idea.
“Initially, it was challenging because that’s why most people felt I wasn’t having success, even though I had to battle through a few other things,” Lidge explained. “Whether that was the case or not, I still believe a change of scenery is probably good for. I think Houston, in some ways, became a little stale.”
By Lidge’s explanation, his problems in 2006 and 2007 were multi-faceted. In 2005, he admits, he was a little spent from participating in the World Baseball Classic. Because he was pitching in those games, he says, his mechanics fell apart a bit because he had to be “100 percent sooner than [he] normally would.”
A reason for his troubles in 2007 was because he says he tried to add a cut-fastball to his repertoire of pitches. For some reason he was never able to master the pitch and wasn’t able to throw it for strikes when he needed to. But after a conversation with his ex-catcher Brad Ausmus, Lidge decided to junk the cutter and go back to just throwing his fastball and slider.
Lidge’s slider, Pujols once claimed, is one of the best pitches in the game.
Plus, Lidge says the torn cartilage in his right knee bothered him, too. Sometimes he could pitch without pain, but other times it got a little tricky, he says.
“It was a little different day-to-day. There were times where it was painful,” Lidge said. “It’s one of those deals where unfortunately it can be in the back of your head sometimes. I was really glad to have the surgery and put it behind me and move forward.”
Meanwhile, Lidge says his recovery from knee surgery is going well and like that cut-fastball, he should be able to get rid of his crutches at the end of this week.
“Right now, after having the surgery Oct. 1, I’m in the sixth and final week of using crutches. I am doing rehab right now,” he said. “As soon as I can walk, I’ll be able to do more extensive rehab and get my leg ready. Normally, I begin throwing the beginning of January, and I don’t expect it will affect anything at all.”
In the meantime, Lidge says he’s looking forward to getting ready to pitch in Philadelphia – a place where he was able to get familiar with the hometown fans when warming up in the double-decker bullpen close to Ashburn Alley.
“I knew as a visiting pitcher warming up out there in the bullpen, you’d better turn your ears off,” Lidge laughed. “Actually, I kind of like it that way.”
Good. It sounds like the transition from Houston to Philly will be rather smooth for Lidge.
The Phillies picked up closer Brad Lidge along with infielder Eric Bruntlett late Wednesday night from the Houston Astros. All the Phillies had to give up was outfielder Michael Bourn, who hails from Houston; reliever Geoff Geary, who struggled during 2007; and minor leaguer Mike Costanzo, who whiffed 290 times in his first two full seasons as a pro.
It seems as if GM Pat Gillick shored up the bullpen and the rotation in making the trade. Certainly Lidge isn’t coming to the Phillies to set up for Brett Myers. In that case, Lidge would take over the ninth-inning duties, while Myers would slide back into the rotation as a No. 2 guy.
Lidge, from Sacramento, Calif., turns 31 on Dec. 23 and is a graduate of Notre Dame. Last year he went 5-3 with 19 saves and held opponents to a .219 batting average in 66 games. He also averaged 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings and has more strikeouts than any other reliever in the Majors during the past four seasons.
Meanwhile, it seems as if ex-Phillies GM/current Astros’ GM, Ed Wade, is trying to get all of his old guys back. Wade, after all, was running the Phillies when they drafted Bourn, Geary and Costanzo. Better yet, Costanzo was the Phillies top pick in the 2005 draft — Wade’s last with the Phillies.
So if Wade is trying to put his team back together, perhaps Gillick can offer Pat Burrell for, oh I don’t know… Roy Oswalt? Why not? They’re both making about the same amount of money, right?
Come on… did anyone really think the Phillies were going to sign Curt Schilling? For that matter, did anyone really believe that Schilling wanted to sign with the Phillies?
Or the Brewers?
Or the Diamondbacks?
Or the Tigers?
Or the Astros?
Or the Mets?
Or any other team he listed on his 38pitches.com site?
Nope, me either.
For the Phillies, Schilling was that girl that was way out of everyone’s league, but taunted everyone by thinking she was cool and down to earth. Ha! No one ever had a chance.
So what do the Phillies do now that their top choice to fill out the rotation has decided to remain in Boston? Who else is out there on the free-agent market? What about Tom Glavine? He really helped the Phillies’ playoff chances with his pitching down the stretch – could he do it in 2008, too?
Doubtful. Besides, the Phillies already have an over-40, soft-tossing lefty. Kyle Lohse and Carlos Silva are two pitchers on the free-agent market that could fill the starting-pitching void, though the Phillies would likely have to commit a lot of money and years to either man. Meanwhile, the White Sox Jon Garland and the Marlins’ Dontrelle Willis could be available in a trade, but then that opens up more issues if the Phillies want to keep those guys beyond 2008.
Where does that leave the Phillies? If they can’t make a trade or add a dependable pitcher via the free-agent market, where do they look?
Japan?
Yeah, why not.
When it comes to spotting trends and entering the modern age, the Phillies have always been slow. They were the last National League team to integrate its roster; they were slow to enter the market to sign Latino ballplayers (though the Venezuelan baseball academy got good reviews); and until Tadahito Iguchi joined the team last August, the Phillies had never had a Japanese player. Maybe that’s where they should look now.
Needless to say, I haven’t been keeping with the action in the Pacific or Central League in Japan, but every season there are plenty of players from those leagues ready to make the jump to the Majors. This season the top starting pitcher appears to be a fellow named Hiroki Kuroda, who is a right-handed veteran with 11 seasons under his belt with the Hiroshima Carp[1]. Though Kuroda will be 33 in February, he is coming off his best three seasons for the Carp and, better yet, won’t require a posting fee in order for a Major League team to negotiate with him.
According to reports, the Phillies, Royals, Dodgers and the Mariners are a few of the teams interested in Kuroda. However, Seattle might have the upper hand since the pitcher’s agent lives there.
Perhaps the Phillies will take a shot. If not, there’s always David Wells.
It’s always something, isn’t it?
A week or two ago I came up with a plan where I would run an hour a day for a week, with the hope of running 70 miles the next week followed by routine 13-milers the week of the Harrisburg Marathon. Sounded like a good plan, right?
Actually, so far it has worked out better than expected. Last week I cranked out an easy 72-plus miles and so far this week I did back-to-back 15-milers followed by 10 miles at 6:30 pace in which I barely even broke a sweat. Better yet, I was a little ticked off at myself for not getting out sooner in the day because I didn’t want to stop at 10. It was way too easy.
So what’s the dilemma? It sounds as if running the Harrisburg Marathon would be relatively easy based on how everything is going… right?
Well, yeah. I’m pretty sure that I could run between 2:50 and 2:55 with a decent effort on Sunday. I could push it and turn out a 2:45 if it came down to it, but of course everything would have to go right. And by everything going right I mean a proper amount of sleep, no illness and good weather. You know, the thing no one can control.
But do I really want to put myself out? If I roll through it and just do the 26.2 miles to “add it to my collection,” is it worth it? After all, I’m finally back into uninterrupted training and don’t know if it would be in my best interests to limp through a week or two recovering from a day of goofing off. The plan is to go to Washington at the end of March (or Boston in mid April) and crank out something in the 2:30s. Then I can come back in the Fall and go after a PR.
Will one week really hurt me that badly or am I just worrying over nothing. After all, when building up for Boston in ‘98 I ran through two marathons during my buildup and went on to PR… it worked 10 years ago.
Why can’t it work again?
Decisions, decisions…
Week of October 29- November 4
(22 weeks to the National Marathon – March 29, 2008)
Monday
11 miles in 1:15:41
The plan was to go 13 to 15 miles, but I stopped at 11 rather than slog on for a couple more miles. I felt tired toward the end, but nothing that would have stopped me from running longer. I’m just weak and not in the best of shape, but I’ll get there eventually.
One thing is certain and it’s that I have to add more lactate threshold and intervals into the regimen. Maybe some 800 or mile repeats would do the trick…
splits:
1st 5: 34:04
2nd 5: 34:19
Tuesday
10 miles in 67:22
Felt pretty good during the run – especially at the end where I have struggled lately. Plus, I finally went under 34 for the five-mile splits.
Hopefully, I can add a few more miles to these runs soon.
splits:
1st 5: 33:41
Wednesday
10 miles in 66:55
When I started out I felt like I needed an easy day, but figured I could eek out 10. Through the first 5 it was kind of tough and my left quad was a bit sore, which is a new one.
But after getting through 5 I felt good and ran some solid 6:30s without really trying too hard. If I didn’t have to get home and do stuff I think I could have piled on a few more miles…
Soon enough.
splits:
1st 5: 34:06
2nd 5: 32:49
Thursday
12.7 miles in 1:26:22
I felt pretty good and strong throughout. I kept a decent pace, though I felt like I got a little tired at the end. Otherwise, this has been a pretty decent week for a comeback. Still, I feel I might need an easy day sometime soon.
Friday
10 miles in 67:13
I felt like I kept decent form and a strong pace the entire time. For a lot of it I held 6:30s pace pretty easily and it seemed as if I got a little stronger the closer I got to the 60-minute mark… that’s the way it was in the old days — it took an hour for me to wake up and then I hammered.
splits:
1st 5: 33:38
For the rest of the week I’d like one more good mileage day and then an easy, easy day.
Saturday
10 miles in 66:15
This is the best I felt running in a while. My form was good and my legs didn’t feel weak. I don’t think I have much turnover, nor are my legs there, but I’m pretty sure I can hold the pace for a long time.
Interestingly, I felt good despite the fact that I got up at 6:30 a.m. to watch the Olympic Trials.
splits:
1st 5: 33:00
2nd 5: 33:15
Sunday
9 miles in 59:59
This was a really good one. I tried the keep the pace steady for the first half before picking it up at the end and I did it. The plan was to finish a fairly difficult (tricky) course in under an hour, and I did that too. With about 30 minutes to go, the run got tough because I was out in the open and the wind was quite strong, but I ran the last 5k at 5:40 pace, which is pretty good for me right now. I did the last half even faster and had a pretty good coughing fit at the end… pretty cool.
Either way, it’s starting to creep back. There are 21 weeks to the National Marathon… it seems to me that I can get ready.
As far as marathoning in America goes, last Saturday’s Olympic Trials was our Super Bowl. There was tons of hype (relatively speaking), all of the best runners were there, the drama was palpable and everyone who follows the sport was talking about it.
The difference between our Super Bowl and the other Super Bowl[1] is that the Olympic Trials occurs once every four years and is only open to folks who have been able to meet either the “A” or “B” standard. The A Standard is completion of a marathon in 2:20 or faster, which is an average of 5:20 per mile. Runners who meet this requirement are entered in the race and have all of their expenses paid to and from the site.
The B Standard is completion of a marathon in 2:22 or better (5:25 pace) OR a 5k on the track in 13:40 or faster or a 10k on the track in 28:45.
Aside from that, the only other way to get into the Olympic Trials Marathon is to win a medal in the Olympics, and this year (for a change), one guy in the field had done that (Meb Keflezighi).
Another difference between the football Super Bowl and the Olympic Trials is that the trials are always interesting and exciting even in bad years. Even in the 2000 Trials (which, for some reason, they held in Pittsburgh in May when it was oppressively hot and humid) were unique because only one runner came out of it eligible to run in the Olympics. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh doesn’t even have a marathon anymore.
What self-respecting city doesn’t have a marathon?
Anyway, the one thing that had always been odd about the Trials Marathons is that the USATF held them in weird spots. In 2004 it was Birmingham, Ala.; 2000 was Pittsburgh; 1996 was Charlotte; Columbus, Oh. had them for ‘92 and Jersey City, N.J. was the host in ‘88 after Buffalo, N.Y. hosted for 1980 and 1984.
The thinking on such sites (I guess) was to emulate the course and the conditions the runners would tackle in the Olympics, which makes it strange then that the ‘96 Trials weren’t in Atlanta. But this time, they turned it into an event and held the big race in New York City a day before the New York City Marathon. More interestingly, the course snaked through midtown Manhattan for two miles before the runners looped through Central Park for the final 24 miles. Not only did this criterium setup give fans a chance to watch the race, but also it gave the runners great knowledge of the course – they always knew what was coming.
Plus, the New York Road Runners, led by Mary Wittenberg, smacked it out of the park. The event was about as perfect as imagined.
Except for that one part…
Be that as it may, here are the final observations on the big weekend before we put it away for a little while… the Olympics are nine months away.
Watching people run
Let’s start with the coverage of the race, which for those outside of the New York City metropolitan area meant waking up earlier than usual on a Saturday morning and tuning into the Today show for the start before switching over to NBC’s streamed Internet coverage.
Here are two points of view on that which probably don’t have anything to do with each other:
Firstly, I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen the Today show since Jane Pauley left and now I’m very certain why that is… seriously, people voluntarily wake up early to watch that. Look, I know most TV is very poor and it part of the reason why the rest of the world hates the U.S., but geez… can’t they just pretend to a.) care and b.) be knowledgeable? When did it go bad for TV news?
Secondly, the web cast of the race was outstanding for many reasons. One was there were no commercials. Another was that Al Trautwig, Toni Reavis and Lynn Jennings with Ed Eyestone out on the course were excellent. Eyestone finished second in the event in 1988 and 1992, while Jennings dominated American women’s distance-running track and field during the 1980s and ‘90s and won the bronze medal in the 10,000 meters in 1992. As far as Reavis goes, it’s quite obvious that he loves the sport and it would be difficult to find a TV pro more knowledgeable about running. There’s nothing worse than watching a running event on TV when it’s clear the announcer was assigned the gig… it’s just brutal. That clearly seemed to be the case with the two mushmouths who covered the web cast of Sunday’s New York City Marathon.
Anyway, more on the media…
Interestingly, when news was breaking or needed a source/confirmation, there were two places I went to first and neither were Runner’s World. Weldon and Robert Johnson’s Let’s Run site was on top of everything, including the rumors which can be quite dangerous. Nevertheless, the first “media” outlet that had the confirmation on Ryan Shay’s death was the Johnson Bros. site. In fact, the Shay family has been communicating with the running community through the site, which has a very tasteful, moving and well-documented tribute to fallen hero, Ryan Shay.
I could live to be 200 years old and I’ll never be able to wrap my head around that…
Another spot I kept returning to was Mark Floreani’s site, FloTrack. Armed with just a camera, access, the obvious questions and little journalistic savvy, FloTrack featured some excellent pre- and post-race interviews with the “People’s Champ,” Brian Sell and his Hansons’ teammates.
All it takes is work
Speaking of Sell… wow. He ran a spectacularly intelligent race to take the third and final spot on the Olympic team on Saturday. Interestingly, he seemed to fool a lot of the so-called pundits who said he was a “strength” runner who needed to take the pace out hard and surge in the middle of the race in order to make the team.
Do these people pay attention or are they up early watching the Today show?
Yes, Sell is a strength runner because his strength is his strength. Pointedly, the dude is a bleeping horse and compensates for a lack of talent (read: speed and it’s a relative term) with ridiculous amounts of effort and work. Plus, as has been well documented, he went to two small Pennsylvania colleges, grew up on a farm in Bedford County and works at Home Depot even during his preparation for big races. In fact, Sell told FloTrack that because he spent the weekend in New York City making the Olympic team, he would have to make up for it by working extra hours this week.
Remember when all of those people were complaining that Ryan Howard was only getting paid $1 million by the Phillies last year? Yeah, well did he get a part-time job so he could build a nest egg and help out with the mortgage payments?
Simply, Brian Sell is validation to the idea that good things happen to people who work hard.
Anyway, where were we…
Oh yeah, Sell is strong as hell, but in his best races (Boston and Chicago in 2006) he ran fantastic times to finish just off the lead because he ran an even pace and stuck to his plan. It was none of that silliness about him wanting to “turn this into a marathon of attrition… .” It’s a marathon. Isn’t that attrition enough? His plan was simple and solid – run as many steady five-minute miles as possible and then bring out the hammer for the last loop.
Just like when Sell ran a 2:10 in Boston and Chicago, the plan worked.
2:09:02!
Quite simply, Ryan Hall’s effort in the trials was chilling. In terms of excitement in a marathon, it could be better than watching Salazar in his debut in New York City; Rod Dixon catching Geoff Smith at the 26th mile in the 1983 New York City Marathon; or Khalid Khannouchi battling Moses Tanui in Chicago in ‘99.
“If Ryan Hall is shooting for anything less than gold (in the Olympics) he’s crazy,” Sell told FloTrack. “He’s phenomenal. I think he’s one of the top three (marathoners) in the world right now. Easily.”
Watching Hall surge away from the best runners in America with 4:30s through the hilly course in Central Park was ridiculous. It was as if he were out for an easy Sunday morning jog. Better yet, it was like watching Jordan dropping 63 on the Celtics during the early days of his career when he hadn’t quite figured it all out, but was clearly the best in the game. Hall is a lot like that because he has run just two marathons (the third will be in the Olympics) and he should have been under 2:09 in both of them… do you know how many people born in America have broken 2:09 in the marathon? Try three guys – that’s it. Hall should have done it twice.
Nevertheless, Hall running the marathon is like watching Picasso paint. Better yet, he could be better at his sport than anyone else in the United States right now… and his coach (Terrence Mahon) is from Philly. Who would have known[2]?
Just think if Hall ran for Nike instead of Asics…
Other randomness…
You can’t fake a marathon. In order to do one well, one has to put in the work. Despite this, Khalid Khannouchi nearly made the Olympic team and he still might as the first alternate by virtue of his fourth-place finish. If Hall, Sell or Dathan Ritzenhein drop out, Khannouchi is on the team and he says he’s ready to jump in if given the chance.
Wait… wasn’t Khannouchi supposed to be the mercenary who put paychecks ahead of running for the U.S.? Could he get there and win a medal? Wait and see…
It was pretty evident what Ritzenhein’s strategy was in the race: follow Hall. Until Hall threw down his big surge at 17, Ritz did just that. In fact, when Hall took off his cap and cast it aside it took Ritzenhein a half a second to do the same thing. Just like that there were two perfectly good hats laying in the grass (with sponsors’ emblems!) in Central Park.
Obviously, based on his second-place finish and his PR, Ritz’s tactic was a pretty good one.
Dan Browne was the visual definition of the word “gritty” through the first 20-plus miles of the race before Sell passed him to take over the third spot. Battling injuries and stagnant training since the last Olympics, Browne threw it all out there to close the gap and remain amongst the leaders until his calf weakened. Still, Browne took it home for a sixth-place finish.
Olympic silver medalist Keflezighi also turned in a gritty performance though it would have been easier for him to drop out over the last 10k when it was clear it wasn’t his day. But Keflezighi rarely takes a DNF. Last year he limped home in 2:20 at the New York City Marathon despite stopping off in the bathroom en route because of a bout of food poisoning he picked up as a souvenir in a Manhattan restaurant in the days before the race. I’d give my left one (or right) for a 2:20 and Meb went out and did it after a few pit stops and food poisoning.
Locally, a few runners performed admirably in Saturday’s big race. Millersville University’s James Carney, a 10,000-meter specialist, finished in 14th with a 2:16:54 in his marathon debut. Macharia Yuot, a “Lost Boy” living in Chester, Pa. following his great running career at Widener, finished 33rd in 2:18:56.
Michael McKeeman of Ardmore, coached by Mahon and a training partner for top women’s runner, Deena Kastor, was 73rd in 2:26:15, while Matthew Byrne of the Philadelphia Track Club was 84th with a 2:28:40. Byrne’s teammate Edward Callinan took a DNF to round out the local heroes’ efforts.
CSN Olympic Trials coverage
* ‘It cuts me straight to the heart’
* Two-time Olympian Culpepper looking for ‘threepeat’
* Khannouchi still chasing the Olympic dream
* Breaking Down the Trials… Sort Of
Phillies fans had dreamed of a rotation for 2008 with Curt Schilling penciled in behind ace Cole Hamels. According to the latest news coming from Boston, the Philly fans can keep on dreaming.
According to the Boston Globe and Boston Herald, Schilling and the Red Sox are close to striking a deal to keep the right-hander in Boston for another year. The deal, reportedly, is a one-year incentive-laden one which could be contingent upon Schilling passing a physical.
Though the Phillies coveted Schilling – and the pitcher had expressed interest in returning to Philadelphia – it was no secret that the righty’s first choice was to return to the Red Sox.
Schilling, who turns 41 on Nov. 14, went 9-8 with a 3.87 ERA in 24 starts for the Red Sox in 2007.
Keeping priorities straight
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, the Phillies have not placed a premium on bolstering the third base position this winter. Instead, general manager told reporters from the General Manager meetings in Orlando that he has a bigger fish to fry:
“Because we’re going to concentrate on improving our pitching,” Gillick told the Inquirer.
According to reports, this winter’s free-agent crop of third basemen includes Alex Rodriguez and Mike Lowell. Potential trade candidates include Miguel Cabrera, Garrett Atkins, Hank Blalock, Adrian Beltre, Miguel Tejada and Joe Crede. But Gillick said he believes the Phillies can make it through the season with Wes Helms and Greg Dobbs at third with the thought of adding a defensive specialist to come into games during the late innings.
As far as the pitching goes, the Phillies’ reported priority remains to re-sign reliever J.C. Romero.
More baseball notes…
Longtime Phillies catcher Mike Lieberthal has sparked the interest of the Toronto Blue Jays. … Meanwhile, Lieberthal’s former Phillies teammate, Scott Rolen, has reportedly been listed as a darkhorse candidate to replace Alex Rodriguez at third base for the New York Yankees. The report fails to mention that Rolen has an iron-clad no-trade clause in his contract. Nevertheless, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Rolen could waive the no-trade clause (or have the Cardinals buy it out) so that a deal could be struck to take him far away from manager Tony La Russa.
NEW YORK – It was supposed to be American marathon running’s greatest day. It was the day where American marathoners were going to send a message to the rest of the world that they were – once again – a force to be reckoned with during the Olympics in Beijing next August.
In one regard that was very much the case. As evidenced by Ryan Hall’s inspirational victory in a blistering 2:09:02 over the unforgiving rolling terrain in Manhattan’s Central Park in Saturday morning’s Olympic Trials marathon, American marathoning is, indeed, back.
Big and brassy.
So how can a day that began with so much promise and with so many dreams end so tragically? How can one bear so many contrasting emotions?
How can so many great performances by some of the best in the sport be rendered so meaningless? And how can life be so cruel sometimes?
A run for the ages
Oh, but let’s begin with the heroes so we don’t go crazy…
“I didn’t expect to run this fast on this course, especially after previewing it,” said Hall, America’s great new hope in the marathon. “I didn’t care how fast we ran the first half, I wanted to close fast. It was a good run for me. I was trying not to get too excited too early, but I saw myself achieving my goal in the last lap. The last mile, I knew I was going to be OK.”
During his inspired run to shatter the previous American Olympic Trials marathon record by more than 70 seconds on a criterium-styled course that some experts and runners predicted would gobble up the runners and send them limping in no better than 2:13, Hall announced his presence on the world marathoning stage. In just his second marathon, the 25-year old Stanford grad training in Mammoth Lake, Calif. under the tutledge of ex-Villanova runner and Delaware Valley stalwart, Terrence Mahon, showed that he just might be the next American runner to win gold in the Olympic marathon.
Hall threw down the gauntlet around the 17-mile mark and surged away from four other runners in the lead pack with a pace no one could match. Better yet, Hall went through the first half the race in a modest 1:06:17, before turning it up with a 1:02:47 during the second half… talk about negative splits.
Hall’s surge was a 4:32 mile, followed by a 4:41, and a 4:34. For the 20th mile, Hall ran a 4:40, followed with a 4:51 at 21, a 4:42 at 22. He ran miles 23 to 25 in 14:28 just in case anyone might have doubted his intent. During the last loop of the course when it was clear that no one was going to be able to catch him, Hall pumped his fist, directed spectators who dashed onto the course, pointed to the sky and waved to the crowd.
It was domination with flair.
“I felt like today what I did was more impressive than London,” said Hall, whose 2:08:24 effort in London last April was the fastest marathon ever by an American-born runner.
Judging from the response of his competitors, Hall might be right on the money in his assessment.
I looked at some of the mile splits and honestly, I was blown away,” said defending trials champion Alan Culpepper, who was forced to drop out of the race at the 16th mile with hamstring trouble. “I think he could run three minutes faster on a standard marathon course.”
Said fellow Olympian Brian Sell: “I think he’s one of the top three marathoners in the world right now.”
Hall predicts the best is yet to come.
“I know I can run considerably faster,” he said. “There’s definitely more gears in there. I’ll get to test those in Beijing.”
Meanwhile, 24-year old Dathan Ritzenhein from the University of Colorado finished in second place in 2:11:07, and Pennsylvanian Brian Sell rounded out the Beijing-bound trio by finishing in third place in 2:11:40.
Two-time marathon world record holder and top American qualifier, Khalid Khannouchi, turned in a gritty performance to finish as the first alternate in fourth place with a 2:12:34 after two years worth of injuries limited his training before the trials.
Working-class hero
More than a simple reemergence of the American marathoner, Saturday’s trials showcased a dichotomy in racing style, and pedigree. Both Hall and Ritzenhein were high school all-Americans who were highly recruited by all of the big-name running schools as well as the top shoe companies following their highly decorated college careers. Hall ran a 4-minute mile in high school, but struggled with that event at Stanford before moving up to the 5,000-meters.
Less than a year after finishing up at Stanford, Hall won the U.S. Cross Country championship, set the American record in the half marathon with a 59:43 before his epic marathon debut last April in London.
Ritzenhein, the youngest runner in the field, was a collegiate 5,000-meter and cross-country specialist, who won the U.S. Cross Country championships in 2005 – not even a year after he ran the 10,000 meters in the Olympics in Athens.
But Sell was a product of little St. Francis College in Loretto, Pa. after starting out at even smaller Messiah College near Harrisburg. His high school two-mile times were, he says, more than a minute slower than his new Olympic teammates’. A self-proclaimed late bloomer, Sell joined up with the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project based in Rochester Hills, Minn. where he developed as a marathoner. A strong performance in the 2004 Olympic Marathon Trials, coupled with even more impressive runs in the Boston (2:10:55 for fourth place) and Chicago (2:10:47 for sixth) marathons in 2006 solidified his standing in running circles.
More than that, Sell became the de facto “People’s Champion” of marathoning because of his penchant for piling on the miles – running upward to 160 per week with most of them faster than 6-minute pace – and his so-called “blue-collar” ethic. Despite running all of those miles per week during his marathon buildups, Sell still found the time to put in his 30 hours working in the garden department at Home Depot.
“I hope every kid out there who’s not a state champ or district champ looks at what I achieved today and says, ‘Hey if I put in the work, I can do this,’” Sell said. “This is the happiest ending I can think of.”
Even his effort on Saturday morning in Central Park personified his ethic. Not blessed with the turnover of the former miler Hall and the all-American Ritzenhein, Sell stuck to a simple plan of running as many 5-minute miles as he could. While running most of the race with the chase pack – sometimes a minute off the pace set by the lead five of Hall, Ritzenhein, Meb Keflezghi, Abdi Abdirahman and Dan Browne (all past Olympians) – Sell says he had no other choice but to stick to his steady-as-he-goes strategy. Had he dipped down ever so slightly to a 4:50 pace, or attempted to chase down the leaders, Sell says he likely would not have finished the race.
“When we were out in 11 flat for two miles, I knew I had to keep it honest to have a chance at all,” Sell explained of his off-the-pace strategy, one he used to run good races in Boston and Chicago in ‘06. “Honestly, I was trying to run around five-flat. I didn’t have too many miles above five-flat. That tells you how fast these guys were up front. I was just fortunate to pick up the carnage from these two. I was just trying to keep relaxed until the last lap, then attack. When I saw them with a lap to go, I just didn’t want to go too hard. I’m just happy I timed it right.”
Had he not qualified for Beijing, Sell told The New York Times he was ready to hang up his Brooks trainers and head off to dental school.
Instead he has at least one more race to train for.
“It’s been 13 years in the making for me, so this is one of the greatest days of my life aside of the birth of my daughter,” Sell said.
But Sell related that elation in a subdued manner. The same went for the guys sharing the podium with him, too.
“Today was a dream come true for me. I’ve been dreaming about this moment for 10 years,” Hall said. “But as great as the moment is, my heart and my thoughts are with Ryan Shay and his family.”
Death in the family
Distance running, and marathon running in particular, is as beautiful as a sport can be. Bathed in simplicity, running is as pure as athletics can be. But it’s also a cruel sport. Often, every weakness is exposed during a competition no matter how strong or well prepared a runner is.
But then again, that’s part of why we love the sport so much.
Running, too, is a small, tight-knit community. If there are six-degrees of separation in regular society, cut that in half in running. After all, even a beginning runner can catch up with Brian Sell at the Home Depot.
Amongst the sports’ best, the dividing line is even narrower. At one point or another, the top American runners cross paths for regular training runs, let alone races on any weekend in any back road hamlet across the country. Between all of the training and racing it’s more than a common language or a shared lifestyle that runners share, it goes much more deeper.
That’s why Ryan Shay’s death in Saturday morning’s race – just 5½ miles into the run – sends tremors through the community.
Ryan Shay, a 28-year-old veteran marathoner, collapsed during the race in Central Park and was pronounced dead at Lenox Hill Hospital. No cause of death was given. The Michigan native was a graduate of Notre Dame and was competing in his second Olympic Marathon Trials. In 2003, Shay was the national champion in the marathon and won five total national titles in distances ranging from the 5,000-meters to the marathon.
Shay was considered a darkhorse contender for the Trials race, though was well off the pace through the first five-kilometers.
It is, after all, a small group. Shay was recently married to Alicia Craig, who was a Stanford classmate of Hall and Hall’s wife, Sara. In fact, Sara Hall was a bridesmaid in the Shay’s wedding last July. Hall and Shay lined up next to each other at the starting line of Saturday’s race.
Tragically, Shay’s body was transported in an ambulance past Hall and the frontrunners near the nine-mile mark of the race.
“It cuts me straight to the heart,” Hall said, clearly having a more difficult time grasping the reality of his friends’ death in the race than the realization that he had accomplished his goal of making it to the Olympics.
Shay trained at altitude in Flagstaff, Ariz. with Abdirahman, who told reporters that he warmed up before the race with his friend and kept looking for him on the course as the race progressed.
“I warmed up next to him this morning,” Abdirahman told The New York Times. “I was the one complaining instead of him. He was looking good. In the race, I was looking around at 10-13 miles to see where he was. I expected him to come up because I knew he was in good shape.”
In trying to make some sense of what had happened to their friend, runners were quick to point out Shay’s ability to pile on a heavy workload. In fact, Shay revealed in a Runner’s World interview before the race that he had been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and had finally recovered enough to train hard(er) for the Trials. After the race, Shay’s father Joe told The Associated Press that his son was told he had an enlarged heart as a teenager, but had been cleared to run by doctors. Those doctors, the elder Shay said, claimed the larger heart might have helped him become a champion runner.
“The thing that made him such a great runner may have killed him,” Shay said. “But he never complained about it.”
Shay was born May 4, 1979, in Ann Arbor, Mich.. He is survived by his wife of nearly four months, his father, Joe and mother, Susan, both high school cross country coaches. He is also survived by four older brothers and sisters and three younger ones, as well as his large family of runners.
“He achieved through hard work and effort goals and dreams that most people will never realize,” Joe Shay told the AP. “He was a champion, a winner and a good person.
“He used to say, ‘Dad, there’s a lot of guys out there with a lot more talent than me, but they will never outwork me.’”
As far as updating his Web site goes, Barry Bonds is no Curt Schilling. Like a teenage girl with a Facebook profile, Schilling is always quick to update everyone on the latest news. Whether it’s revealing which teams called him during the preliminary stages of the free-agency period or what it feels like to win the World Series for the third time, Schilling has it covered.
In fact, Schilling updates his site so regularly that he supercedes the writers looking for fodder for those ubiquitous “sources” and “rumor rundowns” that have turned the sports pages into a glorified version of People magazine.
Sometimes the stuff doesn’t even have to be true.
But with Schilling, it goes directly to the horse’s blog… and when a horse says, “Nay,” it means nay. Schilling has always been known to say or write whatever is on his mind, unless, of course, he’s in front of a Congressional committee.
Bonds, on the other hand, used to do this, too. Because he chose only to speak to the press when he absolutely had to, Bonds posted all of his updates and news on his Web site, too. Unlike Schilling, Bonds updates his site like a teenage boy with poor grammar skills and trouble paying attention. But like Schilling, the so-called home run king (with his train wreck of a reality show) often provided his own scoops by going direct to his site instead of to the sporting press.
Frankly, I’m surprised more jocks haven’t copied this model… but then again, maybe they think writing is hard or something.
Anyway, Bonds appears to have given up on his site (unless he’s selling silliness like autographs or something) because he went directly to Jim Gray and MSNBC for an interview last night. Instead of saving it for a blog entry, Bonds told Gray that he “has nothing to hide,” and that the doping allegations are “unfair to me.”
He didn’t say whether the possibility for indictment by a grand jury for perjury in the BALCO case was “unfair” though.
The most interesting part of the interview – the part that the Associated Press grabbed onto – was where Bonds said he would boycott his potential induction into the Hall of Fame if the museum chose to display the ball his hit for his 756th home run. The reason is because the purchaser of the ball decided to affix an asterisk to it before donating it to the Hall of Fame museum.
Apparently, more than the possibility for indictment, the asterisk is offensive to Bonds.
“I don’t think you can put an asterisk in the game of baseball, and I don’t think that the Hall of Fame can accept an asterisk,” Bonds said. “You cannot give people the freedom, the right to alter history. You can’t do it. There’s no such thing as an asterisk in baseball.”
This is a cop out, of course. It’s just Bonds taking a pre-emptive strike against the Hall and the Baseball Writers Association of America, who (for some reason) are the electors for enshrinement. Perhaps Bonds is just saying, “Go ahead and don’t vote me in because I’m not coming…”
Then again, maybe it’s just Barry being Manny?
Anyway, Bonds is a free agent and is unsure where or of he will play next season. If he doesn’t play anymore, that means he would be eligible for election to the Hall-of-Fame in five years. Surely Bonds has the statistics needed to get into the Hall no matter how he achieved them. However, we all know that politics are just as important as mere numbers. Whether or not Bonds played that game well enough remains to be seen.
***
We’re quickly approaching the most-anticipated Olympic Trials marathon ever and the papers are loaded with stories and predictions It also brings up another point… with distance running as popular as ever and more people running marathons than ever before, why isn’t there more coverage of the sport? Oh sure, The New York Times and other big-city papers (excluding Philadelphia) cover the sport regularly, and so do the running hot beds, but what gives?
Anyone…
Then again, it seems as if there is a media overload of stories ahead of tomorrow’s big race. When the diehards are so used to getting next to nothing from the mainstream press, the recent coverage feels like standing next to a fire hose turned on at full blast.
Be that as it is, I enjoyed the one in the Times on current people’s favorite, Brian Sell. Read it for yourself here.
The quote I liked from Sell (a Pennsylvanian) is: “If you lose a race, that just means some guy worked harder than you.”
That sounds a lot like the famous quote from another Pennsylvanian athlete known for his heavy-volume workouts:
There’s only one rule: The guy who trains the hardest, the most, wins. Period. Because you won’t die. Even though you feel like you’ll die, you don’t actually die. Like when you’re training, you can always do one more. Always. As tired as you might think you are, you can always, always do one more.
Yeah.
NEW YORK – It seems as if it would be difficult to overlook someone like Alan Culpepper in any type of running race, let alone one to determine the U.S. Olympic team for the Beijing Games in 2008. Culpepper, after all, has made the past two Olympic teams in two different events. In 2000 he went to Sydney as a 10,000-meter runner and went again in 2004 to Athens as a marathoner.
On Saturday in New York City, Culpepper is looking to make it two Olympic marathon teams in a row. Only Frank Shorter has won two consecutive trials marathons.
But the funny thing about that is there aren’t too many pundits or fans giving him a chance. Oh sure, everyone knows Culpepper is talented and as savvy a pro as one can be in distance running. At age 35 he’s been through the wars enough to have forgotten more about running than most people will ever know. Yet despite a garage full of trophies from an NCAA Championship in the 5,000 meters (1996); victories in the Olympic Trials in the 10,000 meters (2000) and marathon (2004), as well as a “surprise” victory” in last February’s National Cross-Country Championship, it’s hard to believe that Culpepper isn’t the pundits pick in this weekend’s big race.
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Why is that?
Good question.
As far as distance runners go, Culpepper isn’t flashy. Sure, the press loves him as evidenced by the lengthy New York Times profile this week featuring Culpepper and his two-time Olympian wife, Shayne. And, yeah, he has some big-time victories and times under his belt (a 2:09:41 in his marathon debut at Chicago in 2002 and back-to-back Top 5 finishes at Boston in 2005 and 2006), but he performs his best when he gets into a rhythm and sets a solid pace for the entire race. To some it might not be the most inspiring style of racing, but it’s smart, solid and professional…
Just like Culpepper.
Nevertheless, when talking to the media less than 48 hours prior to this Saturday’s Olympic Trials Marathon – a race in which the hilly, criterium dash through Manhattan’s Central Park could be beneficial to his rock steady style – Culpepper seems to enjoy the fact that he isn’t the focus of all the attention in the deepest all-American field ever.
Whoever finishes in the top three to make the U.S. Olympic team will be a threat to win a medal in Beijing, says Culpepper.
“I do think now that due to the professionalism of the sport the level, of competition now is raised to a whole new level worldwide, just with the progression of the sport as a whole and I think that’s clearly the case now,” he said. “The three that make the team will, in my mind, clearly be ones to look out for in terms of sneaking in there to get a medal at the Olympics, and (silver medalist) Meb (Keflezighi) proved that in the last Olympics. He didn’t win our trials, but he went on to win a medal. I would say we’re definitely at a new level.”
But just because the media isn’t focusing in on Culpepper – 23-year old Californian Ryan Hall is the favorite, by virtue of his 2:08:24 run at London in April – doesn’t mean that his competition isn’t paying attention. Dark horse contender Peter Gilmore told reporters that Culpepper is, “definitely not a guy who’s going to show up on race day and give you half an effort.” Meanwhile, 10,000-meter specialist (and Millersville University alum) James Carney reportedly says his strategy in his first-ever marathon is quite simple:
Find Culpepper and stay as close as you can.
Finding Culpepper won’t be too difficult. At 6-foot-1 he’s one of the taller runners out there. Besides, chances are Culpepper will be running at the front of the pack with a bunch of others clinging to him like barnacles to a ship. Still, knowing this isn’t going to change the savvy Coloradans’ plans for Saturday.
“We all have run a lot of races for a lot of years and you kind of just know on the day what you need to do. You trust your instincts and you trust your intuition,” Culpepper said during a conference call from New York’s Tavern on the Green restaurant with Hall and co-favorite Abdi Abdirahman. “That’s what I’ll be focusing on for myself, but also not ruling out the fact that there are some things that I thought about ahead of time that could possibly happen.”
That’s the thing about marathoning – anything can happen. A runner could have had months of perfect training and run personal records in his training races leading up to the event, but none of that matters over 26.2 miles. That’s what draws people to the sport – the marathon distance searches for even the tiniest of weaknesses and exploits it. Perfection is impossible.
Knowing all of that and having had the chance to fly in to New York from his home base near Boulder, Colo. for reconnaissance over the course, Culpepper doesn’t believe the rugged terrain in Central Park will dictate the terms of the race.
“I don’t think any of us want to lollygag around because that allows guys that maybe shouldn’t be up in there to be in there, but we also don’t want to sacrifice,” Culpepper explained. “To be honest I don’t think it’s going to be as slow as we all initially thought. Or like when I first saw the course I thought, ‘Man, I’d be lucky to run 2:15.’ I don’t think that’s necessarily going to be the case. For me personally, I made that mistake in the (Athens) Olympics in limiting what I felt I could run on the course. You don’t want to over think it too much.”
That’s especially the case when so many other runners will be thinking about you.
More: Two-time Olympian Culpepper looking for ‘threepeat’
Khannouchi still chasing the Olympic dream
The overwhelming reaction to the story in The New York Times yesterday that Major League Baseball clubs are tipped off when the “random” and “unannounced” drugs tests are supposed to occur was laughter. Maybe there were a few rolled eyes and feigned indifference, but for the most part, the news was good for a few yucks.
It wasn’t that deeply thought out laughter either. You know, the kind saved for Woody Allen movies, puns or when your boss makes another bad joke. This was derisive laughter saved for politicians who are caught breaking the law in such a manner that they should have just gone to the National Archives, removed the Constitution from behind the glass, and then slipped it into a paper shredder.
We save that type of laughter for arrogant types who we all know will never serve a second of time in the Richard M. Nixon wing of the Lompoc Federal Prison.
But here’s the really funny part about the revelation that Major Leaguers were tipped off about the drugs tests up to two days in advance: No one is surprised.
Seriously, did anyone really believe that baseball was conducting tests with teeth? Does anyone believe that MLB wants to find out if anyone is still using the caveman-type steroids that Rafael Palmeiro reportedly tested positive for? Does anyone think they are excited to hear another name tied to that Florida outfit that reportedly has supplied members of the MLBPA with growth hormone?
I think we all know the answer to that one.
You know what would really be funny? If MLB hired the French Lab (Laboratoire National de Dépistage du Dopage) the Tour de France uses to make sure that all samples come back dirty.
Oh, but it’s not that the story didn’t have its humorous points. For instance, how funny is it that the screeners for the unannounced and random drug tests call the teams a couple of days ahead of time to request free parking passes? That’s a knee-slapper if there ever was one. Way not to be conspicuous, Sherlock!
Better yet, if the rest of the teams in baseball are like the Phillies, two things will happen. First, they will get the runaround and condescension for even suggesting they receive a parking pass in the first place. Then, after finally figuring out where they can park and how/when/where they will get the physical pass (because you need that), the testers will be forced to park a metric mile away from the actual stadium.
In other words, not only will everyone know the testers are coming, but they also will see them coming, too.
Forget the fact that the supposed performance-enhancing drug of choice these days is completely undetectable…
There is probably a serious point somewhere in all of the laughter about Major League Baseball’s “drug-testing program.” Amidst all of the Congressional committee hearings, investigations headed by former senators, and bluster from the commissioner, the real point is that most people – those associated with MLB, too – like things the way they are.
Or…
And it’s funny because it’s true…
With the NBA season ready to kick off tonight, it means one thing in Philadelphia…
It’s hot-stove baseball time!
Yes, the rumors, innuendo and conjecture is in a full-court press as suggestions for ways the Phillies can re-build their NL East-champion club before the 2008 season. And just where do the Phillies start?
Pitching?
Center field?
Third base?
Another power hitter?
Pitching?
How about some pitching?
Did anyone mention pitching?
So far the Phillies have started by holding an organizational meeting in Florida in order to outline the plan of attack this winter. No doubt it all started with a Power Point presentation featuring the themes listed above. Or maybe someone just broke out some poster board and a Sharpie and scotch taped it to the wall. Undoubtedly they wrote:
Pitching?
Center field?
Third base?
Another power hitter?
Pitching?
How about some pitching?
Did anyone mention pitching?
Anyway, what has happened now that the official Major League season has been over for three days? Well… nothing. What was supposed to happen? Sure, Aaron Rowand and a bunch of other guys have officially filed for free agency, but that’s just a formality. It’s like signing up to bring a bag of Pirate’s Booty or a spinach dip tucked into a bread bowl to the next weekend party or something. You do it, but is your heart really into it?
Nevertheless, the Phillies have exclusive negotiating rights with Rowand and guys like Antonio Alfonseca, Jon Lieber (the fat man walks alone!), Rod Barajas, Jose Mesa and J.C. Romero for two weeks. After that… it’s on! Any team can talk to any free agent and put some scratch behind all the blather, too.
Plus, during the next two weeks of exclusivity, the Phillies can talk to other free agents though they are not allowed to discuss money or contract terms[1]. So, say for instance the Phillies want to call up… let’s just pull a name out of the air here… Curt Schilling and broach the subject about whether or not he’d like to pitch for the Phillies in 2008, they can.
As long as they don’t talk about money. Which is weird, because what else would they talk to him about?
“Hi… Curt?”
“Yeah, who’s calling? My caller ID didn’t register properly.”
“It’s the Phillies!”
“Oh hi… what’s up?”
“Oh nothing, just calling to see how everything is going… what’s new?”
“Oh, you know, nothing much. I was just in that World Series thing with the Red Sox and we won in four straight games. Other than that I have EverQuest convention coming up…”
“A what coming up?”
“EverQuest. It’s a game. You play it on the computer. It’s kind of like Dungeons & Dragons, only geekier…”
“Dungeons and what?
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t think you called to talk about that.”
“No, you’re right, we didn’t.”
“So what’s up?”
“Nothing, we’re just calling to see what’s up with you.”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Well, nothing really.”
“Nothing really?”
“Yeah, nothing really… what are you getting at?”
“Well, we don’t know how to say this so we’ll just come out and say it… we like you. We really like you.”
“Thanks…”
“… And if you like us as much as we like you, maybe we can work together next year?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. We’ll see.”
“Well, we can’t tell you how much we like you yet, but we will.”
“Maybe we can talk again then, right now I have Lord Doljonijiarnimorinar breathing down my neck and things are getting pretty tight. Why don’t you call me in a couple of weeks and we can pick this up then.”
“OK. How about in two weeks.”
“OK.”
“OK… we’ll talk to you in two weeks.”
“OK.”
“Talk to you then.”
“OK, bye.”
“Bye… Curt, we really li…”
click
NEW YORK – It wasn’t too long ago that top American runner Khalid Khannouchi was blazing through the streets of Philadelphia in the prestigious Distance Run where it seemed like he was a threat to the World Record in the half marathon every time he toed the starting line.
It wasn’t just in Philadelphia or the half marathon, either. The citizens in London and Chicago also have seen Khannouchi torch the field in the full 26.2-mile marathon distance featuring some the best distance runners ever. Between October of 1999 and April of 2002, Khannouchi set both the World and American records in the marathon twice – once apiece in each city.
By the end of 2002, when he was just 31 years old and coming into his prime years as an endurance athlete, Khannouchi had the world in the palm of his hand. Newly naturalized as an American citizen in May of 2000, Khannouchi not only owned the most-coveted records in his event, but also had established himself as the greatest marathoner of all time by virtue of his five best times. He had run the fastest debut marathon ever; he was the first human to break 2:06 in the distance and added the 20K world best to his impressive resume, too.
Better yet, he had set up his home base in New York’s Hudson Valley where he and his wife Sandra were knee deep in the American Dream. The only thing missing amidst the record times and the victories in major marathons was a chance to stand atop the podium in the Olympics as the “Star Spangled Banner” played.
As 2002 turned into 2003, the thought that Khannouchi would represent the U.S. in the Athens Games and win a medal was as solid a bet as one could make. In fact, the very notion seemed inevitable. Khannouchi had missed his shot at the Olympics in 2000 when his naturalization could not be expedited in time for him to compete in the Trials. Instead of travelling to Sydney to race in the Olympic Marathon, Khannouchi went to Chicago where he won that marathon for the third time in four years and shattered the American record with a 2:07:01.
Yes, by the time 2003 rolled around and Khannouchi had lowered that 2000 American record to a world best 2:05:38, it seemed as if there was nothing the man could not do.
But it never happened. Khannouchi did not get to the podium at the Olympics as most expected in 2004. Actually, he didn’t even make it to the starting line at the Trials. Since then, he’s been doing all he can to find an ounce of consistency to a career that was once as sure as the tides.
When the dreaded injury bug rears its head and bites it makes many athletes wonder about what could have been. Most athletes, that is, except for Khannouchi.
“I don’t regret anything. Injuries are a part of our game,” he said. “You have to be a man and accept what you get. I was happy I was able to get great times and win major marathons when I was in shape, but injuries are part of the game and you have to do the best you can to treat them and get back to running. That’s what I’ve tried to do though I might not be in the best of shape for the U.S. Olympic Trials.”
But these days, with the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials set for this Saturday, Khannouchi has to wonder if this is his last shot. Now quickly approaching his 36th birthday with his fastest times seemingly behind him, Khannouchi might have just one more chance to get to the Olympic podium.
That is if he even makes the Olympic team for the Beijing Games in 2008.
This Saturday’s Olympic Trials that will take place over a challenging (read: undulating terrain) criterium-style course in New York City’s Central Park, is said by more than a few seasoned experts to be the deepest field for the race ever. First held in 1968, the Olympic team is determined by the top three finishers in the trials race. If an injury (or something else) knocks one of the top three out of the Olympics, the spot is filled by the fourth-place finisher (and so on) from the Trials. It’s quite an egalitarian – better yet – American way to select an Olympic team. With all three members of the last Olympic team slated to race (Alan Culpepper, Meb Keflezighi and Dan Browne), along with a handful of the up-and-coming U.S. marathoners – including Ryan Hall, the 23-year old Californian who ran a 2:08 in London last April for the fastest debut ever by an American – Saturday’s field is stacked deep. As many as 10 runners have a legitimate shot to crack the top three to earn a spot to go to Beijing.
The race will be just as tough on the runners mentally as it will physically.
“There’s definitely a lot more depth and it will be a lot more challenging, and the course itself is challenging, so it’s tough,” said Keflezighi, who won the silver medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Needless to say, Khannouchi, of course, is one of those contenders. He enters the race with the fastest qualifying time – a 2:07:04 in London in 2006 – but one would be hard pressed to find too many pundits penciling the Morocco native into their top three.
Why? Isn’t it a bit curious that the current American record holder and two-time world record holder is being written off in favor of guys like Hall, Keflezighi and young guns Abdi Abdirahman and Dathan Ritzenhein? How can the only guy in the field who has run slower than 2:07:19 just twice in his nine career races be considered a dark horse?
Does that make sense?
Well, kind of.
For one thing, Khannouchi has completed just two marathons since winning Chicago in 2:05:56 in 2002. For another, all of his marathons were run in Chicago and London, two courses (to be generous) known to be runner-friendly and where a sidewalk curb could be considered a gain in altitude.
And of course the biggest reason why Khannouchi isn’t as feared as he once was is those nagging injuries. It was the injuries that kept him from completing a single marathon during 2003, 2005 and, yes, even 2007. During Tuesday’s pre-race conference call, Khannouchi revealed that his training had been hampered by a neuroma between the second and third metatarsals on his right foot. He says even easy running causes him pain, though his sponsor, New Balance, has designed a special shoe to fit in a specially designed orthotic that has been wearing throughout his training during the past two months.
Add in the fact that a bulk of Khannouchi’s training occurred during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, where it is customary for followers to fast during daylight hours, and no one is really sure what to expect this Saturday.
“I really don’t know what kind of shape I’m in right now because I didn’t perform well in my races,” Khannouchi said, noting that he ran a less-than stellar 1:05:04 in the San Jose’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon.
Meanwhile, Khannouchi notes that he wasn’t able to run his typical 130-miles per week, settling instead for a more modest 105. To accommodate his training, Khannouchi traveled from Ossining, N.Y. to Manhattan to do midnight runs over the Trials course in Central Park. That was followed by rising a few hours later to start the process all over again.
“I had to make some adjustments. I didn’t do as many miles as I usually do before a marathon,” Khannouchi explained. “This is the first time I had to train through Ramadan, in the past I would do easy runs and easy workouts. I think I did a pretty good job. If the race is a tactical race and I don’t have to run 2:07 to be on the podium [it will help].
“I would do my first run at 5 p.m., two hours after breaking the fast, and I would have to wait until midnight to do my second workout. My wife was with me all the time, every day. That’s the motivation and sacrifice you have to do if you want to achieve your dream.”
Could Khannouchi be playing possum? Is he using a little reverse psychology to make his competitors believe he isn’t quite as good as he once was?
Maybe. But then again, maybe not.
But the American dream still burns for Khannouchi, though maybe not as brightly as it once did. Finishing in the top three on Saturday would prove to be the topper to an epic career.
“Not as much as I did before,” Khannouchi said in response to a question about whether the Olympic dream still burns as hot as it once did. “But to be honest, I still have the drive and this is a very important dream for me.
“For me it’s a dream to represent my country in the Olympics and do the same [as Meb]. I’ve worked as hard as I can. I did the best I can and I feel I can do as well as everybody else.”
So how will it shake out on Saturday? Can Khannouchi battle the course and the competitors to finally get there? Does he have what it takes for one last hurrah?
“It’s tough to say because the marathon is always so unpredictable,” Khannouchi said. “To be honest, I don’t have a tactic that I’m going to use in the race. But we all assume that it will be a slow first half and then everything will be played in the last lap or two.
“This is not a race like a big city marathon that you have to win. But I think everyone wants to make the team. If you ask me if I want to work really hard and try to go for first place, or do you want to make the top three, I will say that I want to make it easy for myself and try to make the top three.”
From there, it’s off to chase the dream one more time.
More: Khannouchi still chasing the Olympic dream
Here’s a question:
Did it matter that the Rockies had eight days off before facing the Red Sox in the World Series? Did it matter a little, a lot or not at all? Oh sure, the Rockies players will say that the vacation in between the NLCS and the World Series didn’t matter because they got beat by a better team, but that doesn’t really answer the question, does it?
Did it make a bit of difference?
Rockies’ manager Clint Hurdle told the Fox sideline boy after his team was broomed out of the World Series that there was no way to quantify how an eight-day layoff affected his team and kind of threw aside the question in order to give the Red Sox credit for winning the series.
But Hurdle did not say that the layoff didn’t have an effect on his team. Why not? Because it did.
Since Cactus League games began during the end of February, the Rockies played nearly every day. In fact, the Rockies, like every other Major League team played 162 regular-season games in 180 days, plus a wild-card playoff the day after the season, plus three games of the NLDS against the Phillies with just two days off, plus four games of the NLCS with just one day off.
That’s 170 games and the longest break some of the players on the team got was the three days for the All-Star Break. Though three days doesn’t seem like much to some, that break is like an oasis in the middle of a desert to guys who are used to going to work every single day of the week. And it’s not just baseball either. Research shows that runners and endurance athletes start to lose some fitness in as little as 48 hours of inactivity.
Some rest is good to help the body recover, but imagine taking eight days off after playing every game for a month as if it were do-or-die only to be given eight days off before being told to go out there to play in the biggest set of games in your life.
Good luck.
Worse it’s kind of rude… the Rockies got all worked up and became the biggest story in baseball by winning 21 of 22 games. But then, because the Indians nor Red Sox could figure things out, Hurdle and the guys were left to wait. It was like… vasocongestion. Yeah, that’s what it was. After a heroic and historic run, the Rockies could never shake the lingering sensation of heaviness, aching, or discomfort when the Series finally came around like an old man trying to figure out what to order in a deli.
It just wasn’t fair.
With the aid of hindsight, there’s no question that the Rockies this season and the Tigers in 2006 were penalized for doing their jobs too efficiently. I’m not saying the Tigers or the Rockies would have beaten the Cardinals or the Red Sox to win the World Series, but the fact that both clubs breezed through their respective league playoffs so easily proved to be a determent while the winners of the last two World Series were aided by playing seven-game series in the league championships.
The Tigers in ‘06 and the Rockies in ‘07 were penalized for being too successful.
How can this be fixed? Is there anything Bud Selig and his gang can do to make it so teams that win with ease can have a fair shot in the World Series? I don’t know. It seems as if the baseball playoffs are full of imperfections and everyone seems to appreciate the quirkiness for it. In other words, the Rockies and Tigers just have to take their beatings and enjoy them.
But how about this:
In the instance where a team like the Rockies and Tigers rip through the league championship only to wait a week or more for their future opponent to take care of business, allow the team that’s waiting for it all to be sorted out to get home-field advantage in the World Series. I don’t know if it will solve anything, but it’s better than giving the home-field advantage to the league that wins a meaningless, midseason exhibition that features players that will be at a Sandals resort when the playoffs roll around.
No, having the last at-bat in the first two games of the Series won’t be significant – after all, it didn’t help the Tigers too much last year – but at least it’s a gesture or a reward. It might not be much, but if a team has to sit around like the rest of us and listen to those dudes from Fox, they ought to get something out of it.
***
The latest issue of The New Yorker features a very riveting story on Scott Boras and Alex Rodriguez. It’s written by Ben McGrath and is another sprawling, erudite pieces that the magazine always seems to run, but it’s definitely worth the time and effort.
The Extortionist: Scott Boras, the Yankees’ bête noire, has changed baseball forever.
Meanwhile, ESPN’s Peter Gammons calls out Boras and A-Rod for the timing of the announcement that they had chosen to opt out of the deal with the Yankees:
So we live in a world where the Red Sox have won two of the last four World Series. Meanwhile, the White Sox, a club that had not won the Series since 1917, took the one of those titles during the Red Sox current “dynasty.”
What’s next? Will the Cubs finally win a World Series?
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves…
Anyway, two out of the last four counts for a pretty good dynasty these days. Though Major League Baseball does not have parity like the anti-American NFL, generally any team can win the World Series if they follow the Sox and Yankees’ formula. Since the institution of the Division Series in 1995, three teams have won the World Series more than once (the Yankees; the Marlins; and the Red Sox). That means any team can do it at least once… or at least get there. Only four teams (all of them expansion) haven’t won a pennant: the Mariners, Devil Rays, Rangers and the Nationals.
Of that four, one team clearly is not interested in winning.
The Red Sox second World Series title since 2004 makes one wonder what the hell they were doing for the 86 seasons between 1918 and 2004. No, there was no curse and people who believe in curses and jinxes in sports should put on their pink hat, untuck their jersey, sit down quietly in the club box seat, ask the waitress for another “Lite” beer and wait for the wave to come around again.
The real reason it took the Red Sox 86 seasons to win the World Series? They were stupid.
What’s the Phillies’ excuse? It approaching three decades since the Phillies’ last (and only) title, which would be worrisome if the Pirates had won since 1979, the Giants since 1954, the Indians since 1948, and, of course, the Cubs since ‘08.
Ty Cobb was in his second full big-league season when the Cubs last won the World Series.
So how can the Phillies do what the Red Sox have done? Do they have to clean house of all the old-time thinking and get some new, fresh ideas like the Red Sox did? Do have to continue to build the team around their offense and the uber-cozy confines of their home ballpark? Hey, if the Rockies can win with good pitching at Coors Field, why can’t the Phillies do the same thing at Coors East?
Or do they need a manager like that Terry Francona who seems to always push the right buttons for the Red Sox over the last four seasons? Why can’t the Phillies ever get a guy like that?
***
As the World Series entered the late innings last night, whipper-snapper sideline dude, Ken Rosenthal, announced that Alex Rodriguez had opted out of his contract with the Yankees and will become a free agent.
No surprise there.
Some say the Phillies could take a big step at building a World Series contender by signing Alex Rodriguez as the team’s new third baseman. In theory, this is a nice idea, but for one season of A-Rod, the Phillies would likely have to pay him 30 times what they paid Ryan Howard in 2007. Besides, if I had to bet, A-Rod will not be playing third base in 2008… he’ll be playing shortstop for the Red Sox.
The Red Sox third baseman will likely remain Mike Lowell, who priced himself out of the Phillies’ budget last night by being named MVP of the World Series. If I had to guess, the Red Sox other free agent on the Phillies’ radar, Curt Schilling, will likely return to Boston for one more run, too.
Schilling and Lowell would (could?) fit in nicely with the Phillies, but maybe Joe Crede could fit in nicely at third base as well? As far as starting pitchers go, free agents Livan Hernandez, Bartolo Colon and Carlos Silva will cost more than $10 million per season. Is that out of the Phillies’ budget? If it is, perhaps Randy Wolf would be a bargain at $8 million or so?
Better yet, maybe the Phillies can work on a trade.
Next: The Trials are four days away, which means we will have all sorts of running stuff coming this week.
This past weekend I watched the Centennial Conference cross-country championships, which (damn-near literally) took place in my back yard. If there were such a thing as a cross country video game, the designers should have pixelized Baker Field. That’s because the rain on Friday and Saturday morning turned the course into the quintessential mess, featuring standing water, slippery mounds and mud so deep in spots that when I ran the course on Saturday afternoon, my foot was buried up to my calf.
Though the World Series is over and the baseball season has come to an end until the middle of February, we will continue to write about baseball here. I’d write about sports outside of my realm (baseball, running, cycling, etc.), but I’m not so interested and I’m not good at faking it.
Week of October 22-28
(23 weeks to the National Marathon – March 29, 2008)
Monday
10 miles in 69:05
OK. It’s time to start it up again. In a sense I’m starting from scratch, which is fine. The idea is to build a big base until there are 14 weeks to go and then I’m going to crank it up. I don’t think I can push super hard for 23 weeks or so anymore… oh sure, I could have, but sometimes life gets in the way.
Anyway, I started with a 10-miler that was a bit difficult. For one thing it was more than 80 degrees outside. Plus, I have a cold that made it tough to breathe. On top of that, my legs and lungs were weak, which made the running a big test.
Either way, I ran a solid pace the entire time.
splits:
1st 5 – 34:36
2nd 5 – 34:29
Tuesday
Goose egg
Took a zero because I couldn’t feel my legs or breathe. It seems as if the cold I have is kicking my ass… not fun.
Wednesday
10 miles in 68:25
Felt good after taking a beating from the cold I had/have. My legs are still kind of weak and my lungs aren’t there (yet) but the 10 miles a day seems reasonable at this point.
splits:
1st 5 – 34:21
2nd 5 – 34:04
Thursday
7.2 miles in 48:05
Ran a loop with Jeff Kirchner, who was doing a LT, and it kicked my ass. I went 1.8 miles in 10:37, which is the fastest I’ve run since the baby was born, and… wow! I felt it in my lungs and legs from the first couple of strides. I’m definitely not in shape, but it was good to do it even though it hurt a little bit.
But it felt good…
I also ran back in the Brick Yards and came face-to-face with a wild, red fox. This is the fourth or fifth time in the past year I’ve come across a fox, and when I use the word “fox” I’m not using slang. Anyway, as I was leaving the normal loop around F&M’s Baker Field for the trails along the Little Conestoga Creek near the abandoned brick yards, I came within 10 yards of the fox after rounding a bend of trees in a wooded covey. There, after I came to a sudden stop midstride, casually sat the fox in the middle of the trail — and he wasn’t budging.
Now I’ve encountered a fox or two in the past, and like deer, ducks, monkeys, bighorn sheep, snakes and elk, they always skedaddle into the brush or far into the trees. Like deer, a fox can jump like a sonofabitch… it’s almost like they have springs on their legs. But this sly fella eyed me up and down and wasn’t moving.
Scanning the files in my head of what to do in case of a fox attack while slowly backing away, I figured I’d get out of view behind the trees and then make a run for it. At the same time, I thought that I should make myself appear large and make a lot of noise, but then realized that’s what you do when being stalked by a mountain lion. Then I thought I should climb up on something elevated and try to be cool, but that’s what you do in the event of a bear attack, I think.
Finally I decided to pick up a bunch of rocks to throw if the bleeper made a move on me.
Needless to say, everything turned out OK. I slinked away without incident and finished the run, while the fox continued to do whatever it is foxes do.
Next week: the story about how I beat the bleep out of a guy with my bike helmet after he flipped me off, jumped out of his car and then took a few swings at me.
Friday
9.3 miles in 65:11
Got out at 6 p.m. after procrastinating all day. Basically, I didn’t want to run in the rain, but I ended up going out when it was coming down in sheets.
Nonetheless, because it was raining so hard all day, I ran a few loops on the F&M cross-country course where they will be holding the Centennial Conference championships tomorrow. The course is in decent shape despite the fact that it will be as soggy as a bog for the race.
Saturday
11 miles in 1:16:07
Started out by running over the cross-country course, which was a muddy, soggy mess. There was water everywhere and the mud was deep. While running up a hill back in the Brick Yards, I stepped down and my foot sank into the earth up to my ankle.
It was kind of cool.
But it wasn’t something I wanted to do for too long. I did one loop through the course and hit the roads. It feels as if I’m beginning to get my legs back, but my lungs and speed aren’t even close.
Sunday
7 miles in 48:12
I felt good on this one. When I started running I didn’t feel tight or tired and I felt as if I had some lungs, too. In fact, I ran the last 10 minutes at 6-minute pace and it didn’t feel difficult at all.
Perhaps I’m getting it back?
From time to time I like to snap photos, though I am hardly a good photographer. Nevertheless, since I like to post pictures on this site, I thought it would be fun to share a few I took one Saturday afternoon in June of 2004 after the Phillies had beaten the Red Sox at Fenway. After the park had cleared out and I was finally finished with my work, I meandered around the place and snapped up these:
Retired numbers
The left-field foul pole
Pesky’s pole
The view from the left-field corner
The Monster from center field
From home
Looking at the Monster from home
First base
The Triangle from center field
The view from the Red Sox dugout
The view from the Red Sox bullpen
310
I have more snapshots from different ballparks, like The Vet, that I will post someday soon. In the meantime, if anyone would like to use these photos for a web site or a blog or any other non-commercial enterprise, please, be my guest. If you feel up to it, throw me a note or a link to let me know where they are because I’m interested in that sort of thing.
Anyway, there’s Fenway.
Sometimes I feel like an old man. When I wake up in the morning my legs are tight, which causes me to limp around until the first jolt of caffeine from my breakfast of coffee and a Clif Bar, as well as the sting from hot water from the shower limbers me up. My friend Mike says he was the same way until he started his strict daily yoga regiment, but I think there are other factors involved.
Mike is actually Batman. He sleeps upside down swinging from a pair of parallel bars. I hope I didn’t reveal too much.
Plus, my ankle has been really cranky lately. I don’t think yoga can fix a twisted ankle all banged up from running too much.
Anyway, here’s another reason why I feel like an old man: my big plans for Friday night are to load up the kids and my old lady (I was just listening to Muddy Waters… I think he’s having problems with his old lady) and head to a local high school football game. Weather permitting of course. It’s pretty rainy and damp right now – baking weather, my old lady calls it.
Back to the game…
Playing in the game are two schools that are both 7-1 and neither of which I am an alum. Oh, I have ties to each of the schools and even attended one for the ninth grade before quickly transferring to the far superior J.P. McCaskey High School where I received a real education.
I didn’t get much of an education at the school I briefly attended and will be rooting against this evening[1]. Actually, that’s not true. I learned a lot at that school, such as I was better off not going there any longer than I had to. As such, I’m rooting against them because of the way things went for me at that school, which is to say it was a rough year and I think I’m still holding a grudge for how things went more than two decades ago with people, places and things that really have no significance in my life at all. I suppose I’m funny that way. But now that I think about it, perhaps those perceived slights motivated me? Well, motivated might be the wrong word. Maybe I was just prompted to a certain action.
Whatever it was, the thing I remember so crystal clearly is my ninth grade English teacher scoffing at the notion that I would ever consider a future as someone who wrote sentences as part of a job. Seriously, she scoffed. I was scoffed at in such a manner that even as a ninth grader I thought to myself, “Wait… is she scoffing at me? Does she think it’s funny – as in a rude joke about midgets and donkeys told at the dinner table with grandmothers and long-lost chaste aunts present? Man, I guess I suck as a writer even though I’m just 14.”
Hey, I know I’m not the best writer in the world (maybe not even the best writer in my house), but what the hell? And where does a ninth-grade English teacher at a private school get off telling a student that he would probably be better off considering a career where he could dress shabbily and walk around someone’s house, scratch his ass and then proclaim, “Yeah, I think youse need a router…”?
I thought I wanted (want) to write. Was that so wrong? Fortunately I transferred to McCaskey where Dennis Schmid cultivated the skills I came with and taught me how to compose a sentence or two. There were other teachers at McCaskey, too, who were/are ridiculously good at their jobs. Folks like John Valori, Ken Barrett, Pete Horn, Ann Pinsker, Donna Couy to name just a few off the top of my head, should have received paychecks like the one “sources” are saying Aaron Rowand is after.
Then again, after digging deeper into the pages archived on this site I might be doing those folks an injustice. The fact is I came with my own ideas and they tried to set me straight. For that I am grateful.
And I hope Columbia High wins tonight.
For some reason ESPN the Magazine is delivered to my house every two weeks. I don’t know why this is because I never ordered it and I don’t really think I particularly want it, either. In fact, I even called a number I found inside of the magazine to ask them to stop sending it to me and they politely yet forcefully told me, “No.”
So I continue to get the ESPN the Magazine.
Occasionally I even look at it because I have a few friends who work there and I like to keep up with them.
That’s just the way I am… I am a supporter.
Supporter or not, I think I am pleased that the magazine comes to my house because there was a quarter-page capsule/preview for the Olympic Trials Marathon, which is quickly approaching on Nov. 3 in Manhattan. Written by Alyssa Roenigk (she has a cool web site), the preview outlines the chances five of the top runners have to make the Olympic team for the 2008 games in Beijing.
It was nice marathoning in an ESPN sponsored publication.
However, there were a few glaring omissions within the five top runners previewed. Included are Abdi Abdirahman, Ryan Hall, Meb Keflezighi, Khalid Khannouchi and Brian Sell, which is good and correct. Any top three could (should?) include at least two of that bunch.
But how did Dathan Ritzenhein get on the pay-no-mind list? Or what did defending Trials champion and current national cross-country champ Alan Culpepper do to be excluded? Excluding Ritz and Culpepper is kind of like having a baseball season without the Yankees or Red Sox. Sure, they can be beaten, but chances are they will be with near the top of the standings at the very end.
Meanwhile, some of the capsules on the runners explain how some might miss the top three because of the hilly nature of the course. Two of these runners who don’t like such terrain are 2:08 marathoners. Now I don’t know much about anything, but I know that 2:08 marathoners are rare in America. In fact, in the history of running, only six American men have run 2:08. That’s six, as in one more than five. Of those six, only three – Hall, Dick Beardsley and Bob Kempainen – were born in the United States. The other three – Abdirahman, Khannouchi and Alberto Salazar – were born elsewhere. That doesn’t make them any less American, but the point is, 2:08 American marathoners are not common and they won’t be bothered by the rolling course.
Anyway, with a little more than a week to go before the big race, here’s my top 3, which I am liable to change in the days leading up to the race.
The Top 3:
1.) Ryan Hall
2.) Dathan Ritzenhein
3.) Abdi Abdirahman
Watch out for Sell. ESPN says “he loves hills and will push the pace, keeping opponents honest from Mile 1.” But in Boston in ‘06 where he ran his 2:10:47 PR, Sell ran an even pace and surged during the final 10k where he picked off faltering runners (including Culpepper) to finish fourth. Sell is a brute and a tank and he runs smart.
There’s just something about Curt Schilling that just doesn’t fit. Maybe it’s the baseball uniform that makes him look unusually pale, dowdy and frumpy as if he were househusband from the Indianapolis suburbs. Surely Major League Baseball teams not only have the best and most artistic tailors on their staffs, but also hire stylists and Naomi Wolf to turn them all into the ultimate alpha-males covered in the latest fashions.
You know, like that guy Tom Cruise.
But since it’s baseball and it attracts C-list celebrities on crappy Fox shows, Tom Cruise is nowhere to be found. It’s more like that dude in the show “House,” who, truth be told, always looks like he’s a bit peeved about having to be on a show on Fox.
What are you going to do?
If you’re Curt Schilling you just pull on that uniform and deal with it. Oddly enough, though, Schilling’s Red Sox uniform is easily the most flattering. When he played for the Phillies, whose current unis debuted in 1992 and are becoming more and more tired looking that those ‘70s-styled maroon jobs that made Luzinski look like Philip Seymour Hoffman in a velvet shirt in Boogie Nights, Schilling looked as if he should be playing softball on a diamond behind the Holiday Inn on Packer Ave.
But doughy, stick-legged Curt with his body that he described as a “family curse,” really fooled with horizontal hold on TV sets across the country when he forced his trade to Arizona. With the Diamondbacks (the worst nickname in the game… just switch it to Snakes already) and their vest jerseys and purple pinstripes, Schilling looked as if he was set to audition as a reptile for a children’s television show. Or worse, those Arizona uniforms made Schilling look as if he was a purple bowtie and cummerbund away from a gig as an overfed male exotic dancer working in strip malls across the Rust Belt. I don’t know what his full stage name would be, though I’m pretty sure he might use the nom de guerre “Dash” in there somewhere. Like “Dash Fastball,” or maybe “Curty Dash,” or something like that. I don’t know how they come up with that stuff.
But yes, it’s a good thing he can throw a baseball.
It’s good that Schilling can throw a baseball because when he really puts on a bowtie and a cummerbund to go be seen at some ridiculousness like the ESPYs, a Dungeon & Dragons convention or a Bush rally; he can entertain us all by looking like the party crasher. You know, the guy with the look that says it’s just a matter of time before someone taps him on the shoulder and says, “Dude, you’re in over your head. Let’s go get you a trailer, a pair of cut-offs, a pack of Marlboros and a Kenny Chesney CD. Do you like the Olive Garden?”
Instead, he shows up, does his thing then shrugs his shoulders as if to say, “can you believe my life?” before stopping off on the way home to get the best Asian massage ever.
God bless that Curt Schilling. God bless him because he walked off the mound at Fenway in potentially his last game ever with the Red Sox having put them just 11 outs away from taking a 2-0 lead in the World Series over the Colorado Rockies. It would put the Red Sox two chilly night wins in Denver away from wrapping up their second World Series title in the last four seasons.
And certainly dowdy, gabby Curt would be more than an integral part of that. Imagine that – two World Series victories with the Boston Red Sox… the last pitcher to do that was Babe Ruth.
Babe Ruth and Curt Schilling… talk about style.
Speaking of the Red Sox, get this. My oldest son is 42 months old and could live in a world where the Red Sox have won two of the four World Series played in his lifetime. One of the other two was won by the White Sox, whose previous title was in 1917. My grandmother is going on 90 and she has been on this earth for the same number of White and Red Sox Series titles as my 3½-year old.
That’s weird, wild stuff.
***
Here’s one that I found in the Rocky Mountain Sports magazine newsletter the other day:
Comcast Colorado in Denver CEO, Scott Binder, won the title for 2007 Fittest CEO in the World in the CEO Ironman Challenge World Championship in Kona. Binder beat out 12 other CEOs who earned their spot to Kona at one of six CEO Ironman Challenge qualifying events held around the world.
I have to admit I’m a little jealous because I’d love to properly train for an Ironman. That would be so much fun. However, I have no interest in being a CEO or the boss of anything. My ego would be satisfied with just an Ironman… that’s enough.
