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It's been just over a month since I installed the Supernatural expansion pack, and I am still finding new and interesting stuff to explore. I recently added my first fairy to the family, and it has been a real kick playing with her and figuring out all the cool stuff about fairies.

From a lusciously lazy summer, to a busy and brisk fall, my commitments, and my stress level, had been rising with the colors of the changing leaves. As a part-owner in a  small, start up gym, I’d been facing some difficult and unpleasant personnel issues. I needed a break, yet breaks are not so easy to take when running small businesses. 

I did however, have several days of yoga instructors training to look forward too. I decided to stop thinking about business issues, and get the most I could out of the training. And what a delicious break it proved to be. 

First, I’ve always felt that “yoga people” are very nice, and all the people I met this past weekend fit that stereotype. The support staff, the class instructor, and the other students, many who are currently yoga teachers, were all warm and welcoming. The experienced trainers were generous with sharing their experiences and tips. 

Secondly, the practices were calming. Even though there was a lot of material to learn, and we had long hours of training, followed by evenings of homework, the yoga sessions our trainer led us through helped alleviate any stress I felt. This was exactly what I needed. 

Thirdly, the gym membership is looking forward to the addition of yoga to our offerings. Many have practiced yoga in the past, and are supportive of me being a new trainer. The business issues are still there, yet by taking a break, and embracing a calming practice, I feel much more confident in my ability to handle whatever challenges come my way. 

If any of you have developed a yoga practice, please share your experiences. If you aren’t practicing yoga, are you interested in beginning?

This past weekend was huge in the world of distance running. Here is a short recap from some of the larger races run around the world.

Bank of America Chicago Marathon: This was hyped as a possible World Record, or at least Course Record, attempt by a few leading East African Runners. Along with this, it was supposed to act as a litmus test for the future of Dathan Ritzenhein (Ritz) in the marathon. Both of these objectives lived up to their hype, as the course record was broken by Tsegaye Kebede of Ethipian. He ran 2:04:38, crushing Moses Mosop’s record of 2:05:37 set last year. Ritz had a career day, and lowered his PR by over two minutes to 2:07:50. He was 9^th overall and the first American to finish. On the women’s side Atsede Baysa of Ethiopia bested Kenyan Rita Jeptoo to take the win in 2:22:03. Renee Metivier Baillie was the first American to finish, placing 8^th in a time of 2:27:17

World Half Marathon: This race was all about Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea. He crushed the field to win in a time of 1:00:19. Ethiopian Derissa Chimsa came in second in 1:00:51. Agustus Maiyo was the first American to finish in a time of 1:02:33, placing 15^th. On the women’s side, Meseret Hailu of Ethiopia won easily in a time of 1:08:55, beating countrywoman Fese Tadese by a second. Maegan Krifchin was the first finisher for the US, in 13^th in a time of  1:12:29. Olympian Shalane Flanagan, who was hyped to compete for the win, bonked and placed 25^th in a time of 1:14:41

U.S. 10 Mile Championships: Though one of the smaller championships in the U.S., a plethora of stars descended Minnesota to compete in the 10-miler. One of the biggest stars, Kara Goucher, coming off a decent performance in the Olympic Marathon, headlined the women’s field. When all was said and done, though, Janet Cherobon-Bawcom ended up besting Goucher by 13 seconds to defend her title from the year prior. Her time was 53:43. On the men’s side, last year’s champion Mo Trafeh also defended his title as well. He duked it out at the beginning with Ben True of Portland, but broke from the pack to win in a time of 46:56 to True’s 47:19. Mercurial star Alan Webb placed 29^th in a time of 49:23, while Chris Solinksy, who is recovering from a huge hamstring injury, placed 36^th in 51:05.

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Q.  What do you think of the M's decision to fire Chambliss?

A.  There are SSI posts that know what they're talking about.  Below that, you have SSI posts that are mostly guessing.  Below that, you have complete and utter baloney.  50 yards below that, you have this post.

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Chris Chambliss?  For our purposes, suffice it to say that there are a whale of a lot of guys who are in ML clubhouses because they add street cred.  The "presence" of a Chris Chambliss type of person, looking eye to eye, is immense.  

You've heard about Tim Johnson, who became a MLB(TM) manager because of, literally because of, stories he could tell about Viet Nam.  Both to his players, and to his superiors, making hiring decisions.  Well, Chris Chambliss can tell stories:  stories about Catfish and Ron Guidry and Sparky Lyle, about Billy Martin, about how the Yankees recovered from Thurman's death, about how he won the Yankees that one Series, or was it that other one?, and in Chambliss' case those stories UNDERstate his experiences.

The Mariners have always been particularly susceptible to having people around because of their auras, such as with their Silva-Washburn-Batista-etc rotation. Five MLB(TM) starters, man, and that March, the people in the M's org who had NOT played baseball were practically giggling.  About the auras.   (Contrast Billy Beane's level of concern about having MLB(TM) street cred in camp.)

I'm not saying there's no place for street cred in the game.  You've read SSI; you know that we respect accomplishment, respect intuition, respect a place in the game fairly earned.  But it's also good to be aware of the fact that Hisashi Iwakuma was frozen out in 2012 because MLB(TM) union vets presumed that he was a wussy.

So when the Mariners bring in a hitting coach with six rings, my default assumption is that he's there for his aura.  That's just an assumption, of course.  It seems to take a lot to get a 26-year-old MLB(TM) ballplayer to listen to anybody who doesn't play any more.  Six rings constitutes --- > "a lot."  

But if you can bring in a coach who is actually very expert at what he does, who lacks Tim Johnson's street cred, but who can actually fix a hitter with rubber bands and stuff... well,t he question is whether the MLB(TM) players will deign to listen to him despite the fact that he doesn't himself play the game.  If so, great.

I don't know how good Chambliss was or wasn't technically.  I have my assumption.  The Mariners just made a public statement -- the dismissal -- that would seem to corroborate my assumption.  If the players would deign to listen to the new guy, I'm sure he could help.  Probably Zduriencik figures, the guy has had a pretty good working relationship with them now as a hanger-on, so we'll see how it goes for him when they hit their slumps next May.

Bill James has said, players get far too much coaching as it is.  They need to be left alone to hit.  In principle, bringing in a guy with a soft voice is probably a good idea.

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