And He's Outta There...

Bochy makes a Giant decision. Who now for the Padres?

Sticky Situation...

Did you see the smudge in Game 2? What WAS that on Tigers pitcher Kenny Rogers' hand? Many said it looks like pine tar. Bill Plaschke of LATimes.com explores why none of the pine tar charges stuck. Of Rogers, he writes:

Since October, in three postseason starts, he has gone 3-0 with an 0.00 ERA in 23 innings.

You read that right. He has gone from possessing one of the worst records in postseason history to owning the third-longest scoreless innings streak in postseason history.

He has gone from a guy castigated for shoving a cameraman to a guy celebrating for punching the air in triumph.

Maturing? Not quite. At 41, he becomes the oldest starting pitcher to win a World Series game in history.

Cheating? Who knows? Even after the evidence was as blatant as dozens of wild Cardinals swings, it is a question that amazingly nobody wanted to broach.

The rest of his musing can be read here.

They're BAAAACK...

The splinter team from the work softball team is back. OK, they've been back for several weeks now. But the pix from the trip are available on Scott's Flickr account.

New Rules of the Club

OK, so when I go to work out, I expect a minimum of decorum. Granted, we're all running around in sweats and Spandex. And today's excursion to the club reminded me of some things. I saw an Asian verison of actor Alan Cumming, dressed up like his character in the "Threepenny Opera" and an old time-y weightlifter. You saw all his business coming and going--very unsettling.

But here are the basics:

• In classes, try to pick a stagger so there is mirror space for everyone
• Don't roll up close in another person's orbit
• If you hit, tap, scrape, graze or otherwise touch another person with weight equipment, it's probably well advised to politely apologize
• If you sweat, wipe it up--with a towel or other form of material (not just your hand)
• Wear deodorant
  

Not too demanding, right?

Some folks have a hard time with the basics though. That said, I had a nice workout (group weights) and a brief stint on the treadmill.

Sometimes Being a Rookie Is a Drag


Check out the photos of Padres rookies Cla Meredith, Josh Barfield, Rob Bowen, Jon Knott, Brian Sweeney...I think this photographer is a little hot for Cla and his "seriously nice legs."

Bye-Bye Bochy?


It looks as if Padres' skipper Bruce Bochy may be looking at a move from SD to SF. The SD Union Trib and SF Chronicle report that the Padres have given Bochy permission to talk to the team.

The Trib:

For the second consecutive autumn, an upper-level member of the Padres' management team will interview with a National League West rival less than six weeks after San Diego won the West.

The Chron:

Despite leading the Padres to two consecutive National League West titles, Bochy's future in San Diego has been cloudy since Sandy Alderson was hired as chief executive officer in 2004. Bochy, who has managed the Padres since 1995, has one year left on his contract and gotten no indication his deal will be extended or renewed.

On Padres player Dave Roberts' blog , he addresses the disappointment of their loss to the St. Louis Cardinals:

These are always the toughest days, when you watch it end and are filled with so much disappointment. It's an empty feeling after you've thrown yourself into something like this for so long.

We really believed we were a much better team than last year and destined for big things. We truly believed we were going to go deep into October. But it didn't happen, and now we go home and try to get over the disappointment.

This team played a lot of great baseball, inspired baseball. We never quit. It was a great group of guys to play with, in every way. I honestly don't think you could find 25 better guys on a ballclub. Everywhere you look in this clubhouse you see a good person, dedicated and selfless. And that's what makes it so difficult to see it all end.

You invest so much energy and passion, and just like that, it's over. Guys will go their separate ways, and you just don't know what next season will bring.

And whether he will spend next season with the Padres is also in question:

At this point, I'm not sure I'll be back. We'll just have to see how that plays out with my contract having expired.

Naturally, I'd love to come back. This is my hometown team, and these last two years in San Diego have been wonderful in every respect.

baseball Padres

Running log

TIME OF DAY TIME DISTANCE 6:40 a.m. 30 min 2.8 miles NOTES: The mornings are getting darker and cooler. I have to remember, as I did today, to wear a sweatshirt. I'm still having problems breathing. My legs are fine, though. I think I need to take an expectorant to help along the chest congestion. 53 days until the Reggae Marathon

Two Words...

Game Over.

That pretty much covers it. Game over for both SoCal teams in the race to get to the World Series.

So, uh, go Oakland?





baseball Padres Dodgers

Oh, Friars, Who Art in St. Louis...

So the SoCal claim on the NL is down to the Padres. The Dodgers loss last night to the Mets eliminated them from competition. A collective groan could be heard from baseball fans throughout Los Angeles.

Yesterday's win for the Padres was due in large part to the stellar pitching by Chris Young. He pitched 6 1/2 innings, allowing not a single hit.
Dave Roberts on the game:

Chris Young really wanted the ball. He was excited to pitch in this game. He's the nicest guy in the world, but on days he pitches, he turns into a different person; he's as tenacious as anyone. I can't say enough about the year he had -- and the way he responded to this challenge. He's right at the top of the list in so many statistical categories, and he showed why in the way he went after the Cardinals.

That sixth inning, when they had runners on first and second and Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds were coming up, that was a turning point in the game. Striking out Pujols was huge. I loved how C.Y. went after him.

Trevor Hoffman came in in the 9th and did his job--struck out three in a row. Bam bam bam!

Today's starting pitcher is Woody Williams. I guess Bochy is saving Peavy in the event there's a Game 5. On the future, Roberts says:

I'd like to see Trevor closing out another one on Sunday and push this series back home.

We know we're capable of doing that. We just have to go out and play the game and make good things happen.

Fingers crossed....

baseball Padres

Yank'd from Competition!!!

Is it wrong that I'm so excited that the Yankees have been eliminated?

It was the utter fanaticism of the New Yorkers that turned me completely off the team the two years I lived in NY. I know more than I ever thought I cared to about Joe Torre and his players. Then they won the World Series...over and over and over. Ugh!!!

Thank God the Bo-Sox beat 'em.

Well, kudos to the Tigers for yanking them from competition.

A Baseball Legend Dies...

Buck O'Neil, an All-Star first baseman and manager with the Kansas City Monarchs, died Friday in Kansas City, Mo. His name isn't familiar?

O'Neil, in his 16-year career, twice led the Negro American League in batting and eventually became the first black coach in major league baseball.

From the latimes.com story by Lonnie White:

O'Neil helped create the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo. — he considered it the crowning achievement of his life — and always made time to talk about his life in baseball and the legacy of many of those who played in an era when baseball was racially segregated.

"I think we are the cause of the changes. Some of the changes that have been made were because of us," O'Neil said in Burns' documentary. "We did our duty. We did the groundwork for the Jackie Robinsons, the Willie Mayses, and the guys that are playing now. So why feel sorry for me? We did our part in our generation, and we turned it over to another generation, and it's still changing — which is the way it should be."

Don't weep for Buck By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports

Former Negro Leaguer O'Neil dies by Associated Press

Buck O’Neil dies By SAM MELLINGER, The Kansas City Star

photo from the Buck O'Neil collection, appears on latimes.com

Cali Is Still In It!!!

The Padres stick the 3-1 lead, with Hoffman racking up another save. We're around to play another day. Pitcher Chris Young is the player of the game, giving up no hits in the 6 1/2 innings he pitched.

All eyes on LA baseball now.

New Gameday Feature

MLB.com has made an upgrade of sorts to its Gameday flash interactive. This is the primary way I've watched the Padres during the 2006 season--since most stations ignore the 3rd SoCal baseball team.

The new "enhanced" version offers more of a focus on the pitches and the hitter's perspective. The "classic" version gives you a better view of the field, info on both the pitcher and the batter, a running commentary of the action, a view of who is on base and in the field. Yeah, the earlier version is a little lower-tech looking, but upgrades aren't always better. I'm trying to give it a chance since we often fear change.

Aaron, what do you think?

Dave Says...

From Dave Roberts' blog about today's game:

There’s no holding back now. You play this game, Game 3 of the NLDS, with everything you’ve got. You hold nothing back. You play with abandon, but you’re smart about it, too. Play hard, play smart, leave it all on the field. It’s the only way to approach a challenge like this.

Look Alive...

The Padres are showing signs of life!!! It's 3-0 SD moving into the bottom of the 6th. The Pads have put Khalil Greene at short.

SoCal baseball may actually still have a future! We'll stay tuned in to the Dodgers' first home game in post-season play.



p.s. The ESPN2 announcers sound as if they normally do golf. Yes, it's all on grass, like golf, but that style not really translating to baseball.

A Kid With His Own Theme Music

Duhn-nah-nah, Duhn-nah-nah. OK, that's SportsCenter, but check this out:

BILOXI, Miss. - Leann Real promised her husband, an avid sports fan, that if they ever had a son he'd get to pick the name. ESPN Montana Real was born this week at Biloxi Regional Medical Center.

Rusty Real, of D'Iberville, chose ESPN (pronounced Espen) after the sports network and Montana after football legend Joe Montana.


The scary thing? He's not the only one.

Nooooomar!!

Nomar's quads have pulled him out of the lineup for Saturday's game.

Garciaparra Has Torn Quadriceps

Baseball Outlook

From Hardball Times...

On the Padres:
The whole picture is not nearly so rosy for San Diego. Chris Young may stack up nicely against Suppan, but as long as the Padres offense tries to redefine "pitcher's park" and Pujols is playing for the other guys, it'll be a hard road just to get back to Petco and Game 5.



On the Dodgers:
The Dodgers still haven't won a playoff game on the road since 1988, and they might not get another chance this year. After the New York Mets dumped the Dodgers for the second consecutive day, this time by a 4-1 score, the Dodgers are one loss away from winter hibernation.

Feeling Blue...

As we all have seen and experienced, just as our first junior high school crush filled us with joy and elation, only to ultimately abandon us, leaving us sitting in a shallow pool of our own sorrows...

Rocky Mountain High...

My work softball team made it to Colorado Springs. Our sun-kissed gang is getting a bit of the cold shoulder though. Shoulder, arms, legs, necks and noses, actually. It's a tad chillier than expected I hear. The buffet dinner served outside was unintentionally on ice with the cool air sort of defeating the purpose of cooking it, I suppose.

Thursday begins the game play--and the evening's theme is a mystery, as is the outcome of the day's activity.

Wishing them the best in Colorado.

Thursday Comebacks?

OK, it's time for California teams to make a better showing. Both the Padres (Tuesday) and the Dodgers (Wednesday) fell behind in the first game of the playoff series. The Padres' Dave Roberts has this to say about Game 2:

How do I feel about Game 2? Confident. I like our starting pitching every time out there, and this is no exception with David Wells. I look for a big game from Boomer -- and the rest of us.


Roberts is blogging during the playoffs. You can also check out Tommy Lasorda's blog.

Footprint on the Web

Have you seen this? Supposedly, the football players blog here at NFLPlayers.com.

Team Goes on the Road

A branch-off team of the Piraats (pronounced Pirates) is heading for the World Series. Really. OK, so it's a softball tournament in Colorado.

It's the Sports Illustrated Advertising Softball World Series. The group is called the Coconuts, and they each have jerseys that say "I Got Lei'd by..." and their occasionally riske nicknames.

They're there from Wednesday through Sunday, spending most of the time on the field. Of course, Scott says they party fairly well too. Both he and Mike have been before.

Here are the crucial stats, according to the website:
On the Field
* 10-12 games guaranteed (you determine the number of games)
* Round-robin format, no team eliminated
* All teams compete for 3-6 titles
* All teams seeded into equally balanced divisions
* Competitive and recreational teams
* 6 Coed, 3 men's, 1 women's division

Off the Field
* 4 nights lodging at a fabulous 4-star resort with magnificent views (Cheyenne Mountain Resort)
* Mystery Dinner Party
* 3 Afternoon Beer Gardens
* 4 Evening Beer Gardens
* Jersey Trading and Contests
* 3 Dinner Buffets with entertainment
* 2 Late Night Beer Gardens and Parties
* Tournament Program and Awards Banquet Video
* Newsletters and Prize Drawings
* Survival Kit Bag & Merchandise
_______________________________

Event Schedule:

Wednesday, October 4
• Opening registration at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort
• Team Captain's Meeting
• Afternoon Beer Garden
• Opening Ceremonies DINNER/DANCE PARTY

Thursday, October 5
• Games Begin. EACH TEAM PLAYS APPROX. 4 GAMES
• Afternoon Beer Garden
• A MYSTERY THEME DINNER/DANCE PARTY. Busing included.

Friday, October 6
• EACH TEAM PLAYS APPROX. 4 GAMES
• Evening Beer Garden
• After Hour Parties/Beer Garden

Saturday, October 7
• EACH TEAM PLAYS APPROX. 4 GAMES
• Jersey Trading Market & Afternoon Beer Garden
• AWARDS BANQUET at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort
• After Hour Parties/Beer Garden

Sunday, October 8
• Departure or stay extra days. Guests can extend extra days at the resort, stay in the same room, and qualify for discounted group rates.

Sounds like fun. I'm staying back at the homestead. Besides, I have running to catch up on.

Sweat Equity

My workout today was a bit of a struggle. I'm not sure why, but I'm having some trouble with my breathing. The weight workout went fine. (I could have gone a little heavier, but I'm not trying to look like Lou Ferigno in a bikini, sans green paint.)

It was when I got to what was to be an easy 30-minute run on the treadmill turned out to be a 20-minute struggle. My legs were looking up at me--YES, they can look--as if to say--and YES, they can talk (after a hard run, they scream)--c'mon, let's go! My lungs couldn't even cough up a retort to the eager limbs.

I'm going to give it a try in the outdoors early tomorrow morning. We'll see how that goes.

It's go time now. My running partner and I need to kick it into gear. Both of us have sort of slacked off. The half marathon is in two months!

Oy...
__________

Here's a little something I'm going to try, as suggested on Active.com:

A target pace is an average running pace associated with an event time goal. If your event goal is to run a 3:45 marathon, your target pace is 8:35 per mile. If your goal is to run a 39:59 10K, your target pace is 6:26 per mile. And so forth.

Whenever you have an event time goal, your entire training program should be focused toward achieving the ability to sustain your target pace in that event. This doesn't mean you should always run at your target pace, of course. But it does mean you should include some target-pace running in your weekly training throughout your training program and do a fairly large amount of training at or near your target pace in the final weeks before your event.

More on that here.

Chew on This...

Can you say nail-biter???


Yikes, the run for the NL West couldn't be tighter. LA is now running even with San Diego, making tomorrow's game still relevant in determining who wins the NL West.


Dodgers now are 87 wins and 74 losses after the 4-2 win today against the SF Giants.



And the Padres are 87 wins and 74 losses after today's 3-1 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

But here's the best part. Although the NL West winner is still up in the air, one thing is for sure: The Friars--and the Dodgers--will be in the playoffs this year.


I'm not sure I can watch tomorrow...Well, I know that I can't since the Padres' game isn't televised where I am. Hmpf!

Thank God for football.

Jamaicans in da howz

Dude, it took me a while when I was on our pick'ems home page to remember that "Kevan a cheat" or something of that matter of a post was from a Jamaican. When I imagined the Jamaican accent once I read the post for like the fifth time, it settled in. I loved it! Man, I cannot tell you how lucky I feel to be part of our football pool! What a great experience this is becoming.

I need to ask, do you know what is going on with T. Owens ? I'm seriously confused. Did he overdose or was he suicidal? Is the Dallas coach truly that cold into not caring what happened?

We were talking earlier today about how I came to be a Dallas fan. I've been a fan since 1995. I've seen lots of stuff happen to the players on that team, but this is truly confusing.

Get Out Your Crystal Ball...

There's no clear indication of who will walk with the NL West title--or with the Wild Card spot either. It's a very tight race right now, with EVERY game counting.

Check out this breakdown from MLB.com

Picks-y Stick?

OK, I've gone and committed my picks--that is until the check right before the games begin. We'll see how well these picks(ies) stick. Here's where I stand so far with mine:

* ARIZONA over Atlanta
* CAROLINA over NO
* MINNESOTA over Buffalo
* SAN DIEGO over Baltimore
* MIAMI over Houston
* DALLAS over Tennessee
* SAN FRANCISCO over Kansas City
* INDIANAPOLIS over New York (Jets)
* ST. LOUIS over Detroit
* WASHINGTON over Jacksonville
* CINCINNATI over New England
* CLEVELAND over Oakland
* SEATTLE over Chicago
* PHILADELPHIA over Green Bay

I Have A Dream...

...We went to Dodger Stadium yesterday for Game 2 of the series, and it was a dream come true. Well, for Padres fans.
For Dodgers fans, it was a living nightmare. It was a fast-scoring game, with 3 for the Padres and 1 for the Dodgers in the first.

But that third inning was unbelievable. I'm not sure I've seen a higher-scoring inning ever. The Padres snagged 8 runs. And those runs went completely unanswered for the rest of the game. Well, unless you count the Dodgers' 1-run whimper in the eighth.

The silence of the usually cocky and rowdy Dodgers fans was deafening. The one thing you could hear were the cars lining up to leave the park early. That made for our easy exit after the game.

Feats of Foots

It's football season! That means it's time for my friend Khari's fantasy football challenge on Yahoo! Pro Football Pick'em.

So far, I'm doing fairly well this week. I've got 7 of 9--I lost it on Buffalo-Miami (Buf 16, Mia 6) and Carolina-Minnesota (Min 16, Car 13). Just 7 games to go!

This year, Khari also looped many of us in to a suicide pack (intentional)--we're playing survival football.

What's that? Here's what the Yahoo! site says:

The object of Yahoo! Sports Survival Football is to be the last Active member of your individual group.

In order to accomplish this goal, a user must correctly pick the winner of one professional football game each week.

But, to make this somewhat simple task more difficult, each user can only pick each professional football team once during the season (this does not carry across multiple groups).

If a correct selection is made, the user will remain Active for the following week. If an incorrect selection is made, that user will be Eliminated.

I picked Chicago. Da Bears did me proud. Any thoughts on whom to pick next week?

Oh Father(s), Who Art in Dodgers Stadium...

I'm treating last night's game as a bad dream. The "dream" went like this:

The Dodgers scored 3 and the Padres none, giving the Dodgers a 1 1/2 game lead in the NL West. It still sends shudders down my spine.

Well, I have a feeling that tonight will be different. It'll be different in at least one regard: We'll be watching the game from the stadium and not the living room.

That's Why They Call It Work

Today was a really difficult workout for me. I'm not exactly sure why. I guess I've been doing subtle battle with a cold in my chest, and the war waged on in the 24S.E.T. class today.

I don't usually go to the smaller of the two 24 Hour Fitness clubs in my 'hood, but the class I wanted to do at the larger club was canceled. (The two clubs are literally a block away from each other.) The smaller club's aerobics room feels to me as if the air isn't circulating.

Well, I was fine and energetic with the warmup, which included football runs using a step. But after that, I was struggling to keep up. I had to put the weights down, stop and sit down at points.

I'm still battling a headache from it. I think I'll just take it easy today...

Sixth Inning

This game has been moving rather quickly, but not yet in the preferred direction. Now, when the Padres and Dodgers aren't playing, I'm not exactly anti-Dodger. At this point in the season, though, with the standings so close, I'm having a hard time wishing the team a good season.

Game On...

Just a reminder that the Padres have won 11 of 14 games against the Dodgers,
and of that a punishing 6 in a row this season.

A few LAT stories on the series starting today:

Dodgers' Lead Nearly Gone

Bill Plaschke: Dodgers-Padres Rivalry Changes

Today's Workout

Treadmill run for 30 minutes
Moderate pace

78 days until the Reggae Half Marathon

Dodge This...

Get on your knees, Dodgers. The Padres are coming to town.

This weekend's four-game series at Chavez Ravine will prove crucial to SD's standing. Right now, the team is trailing LA (the real one, not the orange one) by half a game in the NL West. And the Pads lead the NL Wild Card race.

Here's hoping the momentum the Padres gained in Cincinnati will carry them through Los Angeles to Arizona next week.

____________________

Hoffman inches closer to Lee Harper's record, at 474 saves just four away.

More game details here from MLB.com

It's Gotta Be the Shoes

Last week's game was a relative disaster, for the team and for me. But this week was a whole different ball game.

We brought in our third baseman to pitch this week. Mike took his first try on the mound. With a few warmups, he found his pace.

Now this is slow-pitch co-ed softball. It allows for unlimited arc, but you have to pitch underhand at least over the batters head. No simple task. I recall one team's pitcher, a large football lineman-looking guy with a short ponytail, could get a wicked bit of spin on his throws.

As usual, we had to borrow a couple of girls from another team--we never seem to have enough. (We have to have at least four men and four women to play.) So Tracy and Sharon joined us.

The starting lineup:
* Pitcher: Mikey
* Catcher: Me
* 1st: Tracy
* 2nd: Katie
* 3rd: Chris/Mike
* SS: Scott
* LF: Bill
* LCF: Royce
* RCF: Sharon
* RFL: Barb


We were the home team this time, so we were in the field first. Mike's first pitches set a nice rhythm for the game.

The Diamond Diablos were ahead for awhile. The turnaround came in the top of the 6th inning. With 2 outs, a strong left-handed male hitter came up to the plate. Now, generally speaking, any of us girls in the outfield has meant that the hitters that can smack the ball out there get at least 2 bases as we chase the balls.

But this time, that script was rewritten. I watched this from behind the plate in slow motion. The ball soared out to right field, practically down the line. It was heading for Barb. She instinctively reached out her glove. And wouldn't you know it. That obedient ball nuzzled right into her hand, and she snagged that probable home run from Mr. Lefty.

I think we were so high from that moment, we weren't ready to land. The Diablos were leading 9-5. But our offense just went into overdrive. Batter after batter made it on base.

Now, last season, I hadn't been hitting very strongly. Yeah, I made it on base, but my hits were lingering in the infield, dropped just in front of third or the short stop. On Tuesday, when my bat connected with the ball, there was an audible solid smack that sent it just beyond the baseline. (I did have a great weight workout an hour or so before.)

If I remember correctly, I got 2 RBIs. This time, no face plants at home plate--the shoes worked!

Then Royce slammed that bad boy way out there, and we both booked it. I got to third base. And when the next batter connected, I took off. That run brought the score to 10-9.

That streak continued until we were ahead 13-9. Our dugout went nuts! There were people climbing the fence, hooping, hollering, cats and dogs living in harmony--utter pandamonium.

We were totally ready for the game to be over. Unfortunately, the clock wasn't on our side. The game went on, and those little devils did catch us.

Truly, though, the ultimate score didn't really matter. We had a victory over our morale. We now know we are a decent group of players.


Next week, we have a 7:30 p.m. game, thank goodness.

Toe Jam

I thought I should separate my thought from my actions, so to speak. This blog will cover my active life, including my running and softball efforts. The Spiral will still be home to my cerebral life.