Papi Update

God, I hope he will be ok.

BOSTON -- "Prior to Monday night's game in Oakland, David Ortiz experienced palpitations and was removed from the lineup. At that time, it was determined that he would return to Boston to undergo further examination and testing to determine the cause of these recurring symptoms. The examination and testing will be done over the next few days led by Red Sox Team Internist Dr. Larry Ronan , with the support of a group of specialists."
"David had experienced similar symptoms approximately ten days ago. He was admitted to the hospital on August 19 where he was fully examined by specialists and a series of tests were performed. Based on the results of these tests, and David's symptomatic improvement, he was cleared to play. David had not experienced any additional episodes of palpitations until Monday evening."

"With the recurrence of these symptoms, we would like David to be fully examined and tested before he is allowed to return to the field."

More information will be released as it becomes available

Training

Much of yesterday Nicki kept asking about running at the outdoor track, so we all went this morning and did 8 kilometers, which ends up being 4.97 miles, the girls did 5k(3.1 miles) then sat in the car while I ran circles in the parking lots for another twenty minutes!

Yesterday we spent a great deal of time at the bookstore, got more books and read them. Today they have been practicing writing the alphabet, both upper and lower case.

SO

So:

the girls had their first day of school, they were great. Nicki was so excited that she got up, got dressed and ate her breakfast really quickly. Both girls were so proud to ride on the bus. I was thinking in the morning watching them about when they wore born and it felt so odd that they are growing up so fast. Time really does fly.

I did a 6 and a half mile run last night, started wearing an extra pair of socks in an attempt to lessen the pain in my feet.

I am glad the girls like the library, we went there again and had a blast, we all picked books that we like, adn the girls always find dvds and videotapes to rent. Looks like we might be doing this again tomorrow as the forecast is for rain. Sunday is a special Polish Day at Marytown, a shrine to Saint Maimillian Kolbe, and site of a monastery. We might go check it out, everything will be in Polish and I thought the girls would like that.

Sox have won two close games, they remain 4 games back for the playoff spot.

We decided to get all of the back bushes removed, a Polish guy will do it very inexpensively for us, Aga asked around until she found someone willing to do it. Should be about $250 rather than $1000 so we are pleased. Aga bought replacements which to me look like minature spruce trees, I need to find out what they are named. Anyway, they grow to a maximum of 15 feet and they will look truly beautiful when snow falls on them.

Evidently lots of little girls have been coming over to the house when I am at work to see the new kitten, he is very popular at the moment. What I like a lot about this kitten is he is so friendly. last night while I was following the Red Sox game on my computer he was just sleeping in his little bed then he woke up and looked at me, then he jumped on my lap and let me pet him for a while, it is something else to feel and hear him purr. It is very relaxing.

His eye is improving as is his stomach, no way to tell if his ears are btter yet but he still gets medicine for them.

Just about done with The Time Traveller's Wife and I must say I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Obituary

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=obit/060822&lpos=tv1&lid=tab1pos3

run

Drove to Chicago after work yesterday and ran 15 miles, mainly along Lake Michigan, which was great. 5 of the miles was the Nike Run Hit Remix race, which was really something, there were live bands at each mile, one of which was a U2 cover band, another was Young MC, and another was De La Soul, I don't know the others. Nike really did an amazing job with this race- there were much more goodies and food than any other race I have ever done, even more than the Chicago Marathon, which frankly is impressive. Jamba Juice, Clif Bar, and Propel were all sponsors. The strawberry smoothie from Jamba Juice is divine. The interesting thing about running is that still my breathing is great but my body hurts a lot more than it used to, I must be getting old, plus I am a lot stiffer after runs than I used to be- yesterday to alleviate this I stretched a lot, which seemed to help. And the weather is cooperating, it hasn't been as hot lately.

Our new kitty is very friendly, I still can't believe how tiny he is. Looks like all the girls want to name him Binky. He slept with Julia in her bed last night.

The girls had their kindergarden orientation yesterday and it went well, their first day of school is next Wednesday August 23rd.

Kitty

We now have an 8 week old tiny grey kitten, no name as of yet. He weighs less than one pound and is so small that when I held him and pet him, I could feel his little heart beating. All of the girls are so happy with him, he definitely is very cute.

Initially he was running all over the house checking evything out but at night he was quiet and laid in bed next to me which was really nice and relaxing.

Sox blew another game which is not good as the NYY are coming to Fenway Friday for a five game set.

Still reading, almost done with two new books, and also watched lots of vintage Doctor Who. Tomorrow night at 9pm is the Nike 5 mile "run hit wonder" race, with 5 bands playing at each mile marker, with the hip hop group De La Soul playing at the finish line for over an hour supposedly. Long run for the week is 13 miles so likely will do most of that in the afternoon in Chicago prior to the race.

It felt so good running early in the morning the other day, need to do that at least twice a week if I can get to bed early enough.

Trot

Cool article by Seth Mnokin:

In 1993, Lou Gorman chose Christopher Trotman Nixon, an 18-year-old left handed hitter, with the Red Sox’s first round pick (and seventh overall). Nixon signed with the team that same summer; this August marks his 13th year with the organization. For the last eight years, he’s been the team’s regular right fielder. When Trot went down with a strained right bicep on July 30, most of Red Sox Nation groaned: the last thing the team needed was an injury to one of its catalysts. Instead of Wily Mo Pena backing up Nixon, now the team would have Gabe Kapler backing up Wily Mo…and how could that be a good thing?

It’s true that, in an abstract world, having Gabe Kapler third on the depth chart instead of second would be nice. The problem is that we don’t live in an abstract world. And as Wily Mo has shown over the past week, there are a lot of good reasons he should be the regular right fielder even when Nixon comes back. This month, Pena has 5 home runs and 10 RBIs. (Manny has 3 homers and 9 RBIS, Papi has 4 and 5.) Even after a horrendous start to August — before Saturday’s game, Pena’s batting average for the month was .205 — his August OPS (.894) was higher than Trot’s for the season (.822). Look at the season as a whole and it’s not even close: WMP’s slugging percentage is more than 100 points higher than Nixon’s (.549 to .426), his OPS not much less than that (.917 to .822).

As I wrote in Feeding the Monster, last year Kevin Millar demonstrated the extent to which players can hold a team hostage. Even while vying for the position as the worst everyday player in the American League, Millar made it clear that he’d piss and moan if Francona sat him. Towards the end of the year, when he was finally platooning at first, Millar anonymously badmouthed Curt Schilling in the press. Later, he made up inane t-shirts that read “Fuck Everyone”; somehow, that slogan didn’t catch on the way “Cowboy Up” did. (The back of the shirts read, “2005 Sox: All We Have Is Each Other,” which only made sense if by “have” Millar meant “have knives in each other’s backs.”)

Nixon is much too classy (and talented) a guy to pull that kind of crap. And he deserves a lot of respect. He’s a loyal player, he works hard, and he’s put up some impressive numbers in his career. From 2001 to 2003, he averaged 26 home runs a year; in 2003, he pushed his average above .300 and had an OPS of .975, good for fourth in the league. (He trailed only Manny, A-Rod, and Carlos Delgado.) As good as that is, there’s a decent chance Wily Mo could top it. He’s only 24-years old. His power is awe-inspiring; as Alex Speier pointed out in last week’s Union Leader, Pena can launch balls even when he gets his bat sawed off. In the past two weeks, he’s hit four home runs of more than 430 feet, and one more that nearly decapitated a fan sitting on the Green Monster. (Thanks to gator92 for the hit-chart link.) Unlike Manny, who gets his incredible power from his nearly perfect balance, Wily Mo’s power is oftentimes in spite of his balance. If he ever developed a stroke like Manny’s, he’d be able to hit balls into the Citgo sign.

Still, the most likely scenario upon Trot’s return is that he’ll be back as the Sox’s regular right fielder, with Wily Mo getting the lion’s share of starts when there’s a lefty on the mound. Trot’s a veteran and he’s in the walk year of his contract. He’s also the original Dirt Dog: the pine tar on the helmet, getting thrown out of games while on the disabled list, etc.

Sox win again

What happened Saturday was typical Red Sox ball. They won on the last at-bat. That has only happened in Boston 8,001 times this season. Those kinds of victories are inspirational if not almost spiritual.

Disheartening

No comment:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060814/wl_mideast_afp/iranmediaholocaust

Busy

Zoo during the day, beatles cover band at night, outdoor bbq, amusement rides for the twins, then back home to see the highlights of another late inning dramatic red sox win.

This beatles cover band were excellent, they sounded and dressed just like them.

We saw the polar bears, camels, giraffes, seals, sea lions, gorillas, and hyaenas at the zoo. It was a busy yet fun day for all.

Lobsters for Big Papi

David Ortiz got a special delivery in the clubhouse. After hearing that the Sox slugger was a fan of lobster, Maine Gov. John Baldacci sent Big Papi 41 of the tasty crustaceans –- matching the Boston DH’s home run total this season -- along with a proclamation inviting Ortiz to Maine. A cooler full of lobsters was set down in front of Ortiz’s locker drawing the curiosity of a few of his teammates, including closer Jonathan Papelbon.

Indiana Jones

Going to see the midnight movie of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade tonight with Brian, in Chicago.

Yesterday was good, after dinner I took the twins to the library, we all found books and dvds to rent, and they both played on the computers for a while. In the evening I ran a bit over 11 miles, and surprisingly am not too sore today!

The garden continues to improve with Aga back home, and the girls are starting to get very excited about kindergarden- picked up their school supplies yesterday.

New Who 2

Well thank the All Mighty for this:

SCI FI Gets Who Season Two

SCI FI Channel and BBC Worldwide Americas announced a major licensing agreement for SCI FI to air the second season of the hit British SF series Doctor Who in the United States. The series will return to SCI FI on Sept. 29, kicking off with a two-hour premiere that will include the "Christmas Invasion" special in which David Tennant is introduced as the 10th Time Lord.

Billie Piper returns as the Doctor's feisty young companion, Rose Tyler, and together they will travel through time and space battling new and returning aliens and monsters.

Chris Regina, vice president of programming, SCI FI Channel, said in a statement: "Our audience has clearly embraced Doctor Who, and it has delivered a significant increase in viewers in the time period. We are looking forward to keeping the momentum going with David Tennant as the new Doctor."

Executive producer and lead writer Russell T Davies said in a separate statement: "We were delighted by the first season's success in the U.S. and can promise new thrills, new laughs, new heartbreak and some terrifying new aliens in season two."

Executive-produced by Davies and Julie Gardner, the second season of Doctor Who was the most popular program on Saturday nights when it aired on BBC One in the United Kingdom to critical acclaim.

Tag

Yesterday afternoon was fun, after tomato soup for dinner took the girls to the park where we played lots of tag, they kept running up to the top of a slide and laughing as I could not reach them, then we got a car wash then read one of Nicki's new horse stories and Julia requested Dr. Seuss's "Go Dog, Go", always a classic.

Registed for an introductory computer science/programming calss that starts August 21st.

NExt Thursday the 17th is that Nike Run Hit Wonder 5 mile race, with De La Soul playing at the 5th mile, there are other rap/hip-hop groups at each other mile checkpoint, one of whom is Young M.C., I am not sure who the others are. Hopefully not Vanilla Ice!

Got an email about a class action lawsuit against BMG Music Club and stated since I am a past member I can get three cds for 80 percent off, if I filled in some paperowrk- did so and got a voucher in the mail from BMG, ordered three cds- the Doors "Waiting for the Sun", John Coltrane, and My Morning Jacket.

Trying to finish Time Traveller's Wife this week.

So I did 6 and a half miles Sunday night and also Tuesday night, feels good. Sunday there were quite a few other runners out but last night I only encountered one other runner. Have been taking different routes lately just to not get bored and also to stay sharp- last night I ran down near church and then turned back and ran to the grocery store, then ran back near church and around some side streets, ended up at the girls new school! Then ran home. I have the iPod on shuffle/random songs and for some reason each time U2 is always the first song.

I liked hearing the Frames this weekend but cannot find any of their cds at home, which I know I have.

It is amazing how much better the garden looks now that Aga is home, she trimmed a lot of the plants and flowers and said I overwatered almost everything, as opposed to last summer when I underwatered everything. Obviously I need to find the right balance.

Oh and the Red Sox lost yet again, but luckily the NYY did as well, so Boston remains 2 games behind with about 50 or so games remaining. It is not looking good for Boston, hopefully they can straighten themselves out and go on a winning streak.

Anyway, TAG you're it.....

Hello....

Shucks I need to get back in the habit of posting.

Everything is great, the family is back from Poland, the house is all clean, the garden looks better with Aga back. All of the girls remain on the wrong time schedule but I am hoping that this week it all gets back to normal. They are cheerful but obviously tired, they are exhausted whenever it gets to be 7pm.

I have been running a good bit, last week was my last "minor running" week. It is lots of very long runs from now on. I did 3.1 mile sThursday, 5 miles Friday and 6 and a half miles last night, Sunday.

Sunday after Mass we bought some used books- Nicki picked out two books about horses of course and Julia picked out a book about a duck and some kind of mystery book I think. I got the complete Green Mile by Stephen King, the Vampire Armand by Anne Rice and another book which is Irish literature called I believe The Informatns. I need to check, it is not Flannery O'Connor, I honestly do not remember but I know my high school Irish lit teacher mentioned this book so it should be good.

After Mass and after book buying the girls sat in their new Disney cahirs in the garage while I quickly mowed the lawn as it looked like rain, then we drove to Chicago for Lollapalooza, we saw quite a few groups:

the Redwalls
the Frames
Hot Chip
Andrew Bird
Pepper
the Shins

Because the girls are on the wrong schedule we had to leave so I missed a few others, would have liked to hear Poi Dog Pondering, Wilco, and Red Hot Chili Peppers too.