1. Very much out of the ordinary, Charly started whining and was restless at about 3:30 this morning (Monday morning). I figured (somehow) that she wanted to go outside and out there she not only took care of her business, she stayed outside, quietly, for at least 10-15 minutes, wandering around a little, sitting, just being her Charly self before she signaled me to carry her back inside. We went back to bed and, within ninety minutes, she wanted to get up again and have her breakfast. I complied with her wishes and I stayed up. As a result of this early morning rising, I was out of sorts all day as far as my energy. I finished my morning writing, fixed a bowl of oatmeal, peanut butter, strawberries, and milk and fell asleep in a living room chair upon finishing it. I didn't get the oil changed in the Sube. I didn't go to Ace Hardware. I didn't go hiking. I worked crosswords. I nodded off a few more times. I drank hot chocolate in the afternoon. I ate leftover ham and bean soup. I drank another hot chocolate, this one spiked, in the evening.
2. I also watched large chunks of three baseball games. I don't subscribe to the MLB Network, so I couldn't watch the Astros/Rays' game, but I tuned into the Cardinals/Braves and this game, along with the Nationals/Dodgers game, thrilled me because of three 35+ year old players' heroic performances. For the Cardinals, 37 year old Yadier Molina not only rapped a sneaky single that drove in the tying run in the bottom of the 8th, he hit a towering sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th that drove in the Cards' winning run. I'm not particularly partisan about this series, but I loved seeing Molina lift the Cards to their win.
Out in Washington, D. C., I loved seeing the Nationals' manager, Dave Martinez, keep 35 year old pitcher (and bona fide baseball stud) Max Scherzer on the mound through seven innings. This move went against the grain of current baseball strategy and wisdom. Despite nearing and exceeding chucking 100 pitches, despite facing the Dodger lineup for a third time in this game -- and facing LA's Joc Pederson a fourth time --, despite the fact that Scherzer walked two straight batters after surrendering a single to Matt Beaty, and despite the fact that Scherzer's energy was all but depleted, Martinez didn't pull Max Scherzer. Again, with the bases loaded and only one out, Scherzer battled Chris Taylor through an eight pitch at bat and struck him out and then survived a Joc Pederson smash down the right field line that was barely foul and, with a crafty change up, got Pederson to ground out to second and end the inning.
It's rare in 2019 to see a baseball manager stick with a pitcher for 109 pitches; rare to see a manager allow a nearly spent right handed pitcher stay in a game to pitch to a dangerous left-handed hitter (Joc Pederson), and rare to see a pitcher face the same hitters for a third time in a game, let alone, as with Pederson, a fourth. But Dave Martinez evidently put the analytics, metrics, flow charts, spread sheets, and statistics aside and went with his belief that the tested and tough veteran Max Scherzer could get through the 7th inning, keep the Dodgers from closing the Nats' 6-1 lead, and save some wear and tear on the Nats' bullpen.
It worked.
And how did the Nats build a 6-1 lead? Well, in the bottom of the 5th inning, Ryan Zimmerman, 35 years old, a player who has played with the Nationals every year since they came to D. C. in 2005, blasted a high arching three run homer to center field, extending the Nats' lead to 5-1 and, as it turns out, put this game out of reach.
Molina. Scherzer. Zimmerman. These three older players gave me a special thrill today. I love watching exciting young baseball players, but I really love it when the old guys lead teams to victory. (You know, like Steve Pearce in last year's World Series -- remember?)
3. Until about the 8th inning, I watched the Yankees defeat the Twins, sweep this series, and advance to the ALCS.
But, the hot chocolate I enjoyed during the game, spiked with some rum and brandy, combined with my very early start to the day rendered me unable to see this game to its end.
I took Charly to bed with me and made a loosely binding promise to myself that, on Tuesday, I'd get those things done that I didn't do today and, weather permitting, get out and walk/hike and get my old bones back in motion again -- I mean if Max Scherzer could pitch seven complete innings and throw 109 pitches against the Dodgers today, surely, tomorrow, I can get some stuff done and take some kind of walk or hike. Right?
No comments:
Post a Comment