When The Cat is away

Mrs. Running Commentary is away on one of her semi-annual teacher trips out of town, so I'm going through my own attendant semi-annual bout of insomnia. (Not that anyone should envy her--she's in Miami, Oklahoma with a squad of cheerleaders attending a big-time high school basketball tournament which Central High School's boys and girls basketball teams are a part of. She--aptly, I suspect--describes Miami and her hotel as the "Final Pit of Hell".) I just can't seem to sleep when she's away. Bed's too damn cold.

So I'll use my late-night wakefulness to catch you all up on my feelings about this blog's two main themes:

Running
No, I haven't given up on the whole "I'm a marathoner" bit. No, I haven't done any significant training since the October 20 marathon in Kansas City. A more-than-busy work schedule, MBA classes and cold weather have seen to that. But I'm not giving up, nosirree. My hopes of running the Go! St. Louis Marathon are probably out the window, but I'm looking at a race in June, as well as a November gallop in my buddy N8's hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina. Plenty of time, right? Right. I've got $130 in gift certificates to Ridge Runner Sports burning a hole in my pocket, and I can't wait to go buy some gear. The comments are wide open if anyone wants to give me some encouragement. *Crickets chirping*

Thanks.

Baseball
It's been a strange off-season for the Cardinals. I must admit it's going to be odd to watch games this season knowing Scott Rolen is gimping around in Toronto, while Jim Edmonds is sharing time in San Diego's crowded outfield. I liked the Rolen trade; indeed I was glad to see it. They Birds picked up a 30-homer--if equally gimpy--guy in Troy Glaus, and got rid of a player that, frankly, I was a bit tired of. My feelings on Edmonds are documented here. The rest of the moves I am lukewarm about. Matt Clement seemed like a decent low-risk signing, Cesar Izturis is a stopgap. I rather liked the signing of Josh Phelps. The guy was the Yankees' starting 1B on Opening Day last year, I think, and came into the league with Toronto as a highly-touted prospect. Seems like a potentially good utility player, and some 1B insurance in case Pujols's elbow really does require surgery at some point.

I notice I typed that sentence with no hisrionics. That's because I'm, for all intents and purposes, writing this season off. The Brewers, Cubs and Reds are improved. St. Louis is not. A year of system-building seems like the prudent move, and I'd rather celebrate for five years between 2010-2014 than for one year now. It'll give me a chance to watch the game for the game, instead of riding like a madman on every pitch. I'll get just as many thrills watching the Springfield Cardinals from my grandpa's sweet-ass box seats as I will shaking my head at the Big Birds from my couch.

Aw, who am I kidding? I'll still watch Fox Midwest like a madman, but I've always said the upside of being a pessimist is that you're constantly either being proven right or pleasantly surprised.

Lookit that. Just five minutes of typing about the Cardinals and I'm sleepy. Ambien is missing a great marketing opportunity with this year's team, if you ask me.

Peace,

ML