Tag: Bradley Baseball

Walking and a little baseball

Today: shoulder was a bit sorer than I was comfortable with so I skipped swimming; tomorrow I’ll do a mixed stroke and “kick with fins” short swim and a walk.

Today: I did full PT (ok, forgot “sit to stands”) and then walked another 2 miles.

Not fast and I did feel it at about 1.6 but the first part..first mile..felt pretty good.

Then, some baseball.

Last night: watched Bradley lose 7-6 to Missouri State in a game that saw some chippy behavior. BU was up 5-2 but the Bears clawed back in it and took a 7-6 lead with runs in the 8’th and 9’th inning. During one of the innings, the Mo. St. pitcher barked back at the Bradley bench then at the next at bat, umpires had to step between the Bradley coaches and their 3’rd base coach.

But BU got revenge today, winning the first game 15-10 and the second 18-5 (after 7).

The first game saw BU explode out of the gate with 4 runs in the first and second inning. But the Bears fought back..and a 6 run 8’th inning had the game at 11-10 going into the bottom of the 8’th . But BU went back to batting practice …total of 5 home runs.

And yes, someone on the Missouri State bench got ejected.

I missed the first 3.5 innings of the second game..but got back in time to see BU score 6 runs in the bottom of the 4’th and go on to win 18-5 (10 run rule) in 7.

Gorgeous baseball sky.

Progress?

I honestly feel better. I did catch a Bradley Baseball game last night (11-1 win) and got to talk to a mother of a Western Illinois outfielder at length.

Talk about sparse: there were perhaps 48 people at first pitch; maybe maxed at 70? 50 F, drizzle and this was a make up game.

The Sunday Chiefs game was better attended..and warmer..and it was great that the Chiefs won to stay over .500.

Oh, about my back: part of the improvement might be my not going up and down the damned steps all day..and part of it, I think, is my adjusting my weight exercises:

  1. Feet up on the bench press
  2. High incline rather than shoulder press
  3. No strain allowed on high incline
  4. Trap bar deadlift; only light weights with low handles; use less weight with 4 and 8 inch handles WITH a belt..getting the lumbar out of it.

And, in walking, doing one session and stopping before it gets too bad.

Workout notes

Swim: watch the shoulder..feeling pings from time to time.

500 of alternating 50 free, 50 side

1000 of alternating 50 drill with fins, 50 free

100 pull

100 breast

Weight: 202.5 best in a while

PT: a LOT of it; even used the bosu ball..did it indoors. Wore my mask, stuck to myself, etc.

Then a 1.28 mile walk; cut it short because I wanted to finish while I still felt good.

27-28 April

Back saga: see the surgeon on June 7. Basically: mild nerve root impingement at L5-S1; injections might work. Still..bummer. Hope more PT (on my own) and modification of my activities will do the trick, but we’ll see.

Baseball: I saw Bradley play Illinois. BU took a 3-1 lead but fell apart in the middle innings (lots of walks) and lost 9-6. It was fun being with Lynn though.

Workout notes:

Wednesday: swim, PT in the park, 1.28 walk.

Swim: 400 of 25 free, 25 back, 25 breast, 25 free

200 side

200 swim/kick drills

8 x 50 on the 1:10 51-53 each

100 back

100 dolphin kick with fins

Then the PT, then the walk. The walk was “oh so close” to being pain free. Not quite.

Then today: indoor PT, outdoor PT with pull ups and push ups:

pull ups: 4 sets of 10, 2 sets of 5 wide, 6 and 5 chins

push ups: 40 sissy, 30 feet elevated, 20 deficit, 10 deficit.

indoors; back friendly 10 x 136, 10 x 147, 8 x 152 bench press

curls: 3 sets of 10

high incline: didn’t quite like how the leg/butt felt with straining with 10 x 103, so retreated to 10 x 88 third set, which felt very good.

shown: mundane lumbar PT…this is a glute burner.

Baseball weekend

Thank heavens for the orthopedic cushion and the blanked I used as a lumbar cushion.

It was nice to forget about my back/piriformis for a while.

Ok, Saturday, Bradley lost to Dallas Baptist 6-1. But BU had one the first 2 in this series and sweeping no. 16 DBU was a tall order. They pulled out the stops with their pitching, getting strong performances from the entire staff.

Sunday: 40 F and breezy; the Chiefs went to 6-3 by way of a walk-off 7-6 win. But what a game. The starter threw fire and struck out 10 in 5 innings; the first reliever didn’t drop off much, striking out one and not allowing any runs.

So after 7 the Chiefs were up 2-0 and then came the top of the 8’th. OMG..the Loons teed off and got 5 runs..and were close to a 6’th when a runner was thrown out at 3’rd trying to leg out a triple..and from where I sat..the Loons had a right to complain. But the umpire was right there.

And so the Chiefs promptly..scored 4 in the bottom of the 8’th to retake the lead!

In the 9’th the Loons tied the game with a solo home run to left..but in the bottom of the 9’th..two outs..one on base due to an infield single and throwing error…what should have been the third out was botched allowing the runner from second to score and win the game 7-6.

Sadly, few were there to watch.

Ball and walking

I saw all three Bradley Baseball games; there was a 2-0 7 inning loss (errors..not a lot of hitting); a thrilling 5-4 win in 10 innings in the second game and a 20-5 loss in the Sunday game that saw Wright State blast 4 home runs including a grand slam.

It was 20-3 in the 6’th inning.

As far as the 5-4 game; BU seemed to be in control leading 4-3 with 2 out in the top of the 9’th, but then came a solo home run to tie the game.
BU walked it off in the 10’th.

The Saturday game: chilly; fans moved to where the sunlight was.

Note: I walked a lap between the double header games and stretched at the top of the bern..eccentric professors…

Mixed

Highlight: Bradley’s Baseball home season opened. I went to the game and stayed for 4:28 of it, before I gave up at the end of 10. Iowa won in the 11’th; the game drug on due to the pitchers throwing a LOT of pitches for each batter, the Iowa manager switching pitchers frequently, and a couple of reviews.

Yes, it was cold. Oh; Iowa ended up winning 9-8.

It was 49 F and there was a wind, so much of the crowd left in the 7’th or so.

Ironically, Bradley probably blew the game in the 2’nd where they scored 5 runs, 4 on this grand slam:

It that sounds strange, the Braves actually loaded the bases AFTER the grand slam, but stranded all 3. Still the 6-3 lead..then 6-4 held for a long time; but then Iowa took the lead in the top of the 9’th. The Braves tied it in the 9’th (great small ball from both teams) and again in the 10’th.

And that was a bit of a shame; the excessive time took away from a game filled with action, steals, bunts, and a home run. The actual action: there was a LOT of it ..very entertaining.

Iowa even scored a run on a squeeze bunt.

Workout notes the butt has been in a bit of a funk; sometimes good, sometimes painful. At the game I did some stand up stretching (at the back of the stands)

Yesterday: the side was ok; I got all of my pull ups: 8 sets of 5, one of 10, then two more sets of 5, including ..total, 4 sets of 5 wide, 1 set of chins.

Full PT; push ups: 35, 30 sissy, 25 feet elevated, then 10 deficit. Down stairs: I added some hip thrusts in addition to two light sets of deadlifts: 10 x 134, 10 x 184.

I suppose my glute was ok..sort of.

Today: slept in until 6; did some light bike (5 minutes); PT before work, then over lunch: full PT (lots of it, really) then 30 more bike minutes.

Weird: forward bends and the “stenosis” exercises seem to help, even though I don’t really have it; McKenzie press ups and open books really help too.

I’ve said this before: it seems when I skimp on yoga I feel it. I suppose that is an every day necessity..post workout.

More ball…

And Bradley beats Illinois State again: 3-1, on the strength of 3 home runs, including one that cleared the second fence and went out of the park.

Yes, no masks at the seats, and the Chiefs are not requiring vaccinated patrons to wear masks. I might bring one with me anyway.

Workout notes shoulder: made a doctor’s appointment…might move back as it is when my jury duty starts. AND doing shrugs from a bench and stretching my chest appears to be helping.

Today: pull ups (went ok); 10 singles, set of 10, several sets of 5 with different positions, push ups (40, 35, 30) , bench shrugs, rows (3 sets of 10 x 134), curls (3 sets of 10 x 50), shoulder: 3 sets of 10: 70, 70, 80.

I’ve got some…saddle soreness from the bike …seriously.

Catching up on baseball

The Chiefs having a series with the Bandits (double header on Wednesday night) and Bradley having a series with Illinois State (daytime) has lead me to making a lot of ball games..making up for lost time.

Today’s game was a crisp (2:30 time), exciting 4-3 Bradley win. Bradley’s home run hitting ways continued (to get to a 2-0 lead..) and BU took advantage of bases loaded to get 2 more runs.

Good fielding robbed ISU of an extra base hit too:

Yes, you can see me in the stands, just above and to the right of the pitcher. In fact, the BU athletic director went down to say “hi” to me.

And so BU took a 4-2 lead into the top of the 9’th; but a couple of doubles (including one into the opposite field) cut the lead to 4-3 with 1 out. But the coach settled the pitcher down, who then got a strike out and a fly out to win the game.

But, to be fair, ISU did give up a run on a wild pitch..so they might say they gave this one way, just as BU did yesterday.

Workout yes, sore shoulder and all (this time..not that much pain on moving, but a tightness..sympathetic pain?) I swam, but put a lot more emphasis on kicking with fins (drills), different strokes, etc. 1650 yards in 50 minutes or so.

Afterward, 20:33 for 10k on the indoor bike.

Note: the Riverplex now allows vaccinated people to go without masks.

I think the pandemic is on its way out, though we still have deaths left over from the surge, and my guess is that we’ll need booster shots before too long.

Lost week

Colonoscopy on Monday, ball games Wednesday and Thursday (Chiefs double header, Bradley), some math writing (recreational) and not much else.

Yeah, I am ok with an easy week where I am not under the gun, but…I do have to get back to work and adult chores, sometime.

Ball games: Chiefs got swept in a double header (close losses) and Bradley lost in 10 innings..after failing to bring runners on 2’nd and 3’rd with 1 out in the 9’th, and the game tied.

Yes, I was entertained though my teams lost every time.

Workout notes: I didn’t sleep that well, so I stuck with swimming (1100 yards) and stationary cycling (10K in 21:33) Swimming: mix of drill/swim and my shoulder is still too tender to push things.

I am sort of “out of sorts”; not quite out of the pandemic; we are still having deaths due to the surge a few weeks back, but cases are about 1/4 of what they were during the surge peak.

I am not quite healthy (else I would have walked to the game and pushed the swimming) but not really unhealthy either.

I am not doing intellectual stuff at a high level, but I am thinking about things. I am kind of in a neither land in many aspects of my life.

Baseball: back for me!

Bradley baseball: I saw the first part of a double header on Friday, and then the first game plus 6 more innings of the second.

Bradley won the first 9-5 ..and in the second game that I saw, won 3-2 on a bizarre ending:

The second game: well, it was 6-3 with Valpo dominating when I left; it was to get to 10-3 (rain)

But if felt soooo good to get to the park.

Note the orange tape and the black plastic ties that takes certain seats out of circulation.