Florence

1) I've been bracing myself for the last week. Reporters and meteorologists have been projecting Hurricane Florence to possibly be the most severe and the most damaging to impact the East Coast in many decades. But it's Friday night, and so far, the effects haven't been felt where I live. Rain is expected for about 36 hours straight, but we're down to a tropical storm level. While there may be some flooding, there's a good chance that I won't have to evacuate the area. The one thing I'm wondering about is if there will be much action at Tucano's on Saturday night.

2) I've completed nearly two weeks of my 8 week training program. Today, I ran five miles in 41 minutes. That's nearly the pace I'm hoping to maintain at the end of October. The goal is to run the 6.25 miles in under 50 minutes. Right now, I'm not sure I would be able to do that, but I'd be able to make a good attempt. With six more weeks to go, I should be able to do this. I need to find a pace that I can maintain for that long length of time.

3) While I certainly have a lot of respect and appreciation for David Wright, I'm not feeling very emotional over him coming back to play one last game. I was always more of a Jose Reyes fan, probably because I have a knack for players who provide speed, energy, and get on base consistently. I guess I felt that guys like Wright were more replaceable, a dime a dozen. And there's no denying that because of injuries, we as Mets fans did not get to see what he was truly capable of accomplishing. He had five or so really impressive seasons. But by the 2010s, he just wasn't an elite player. He's sort of become symbolic of the Mets. A lot of hope, some good flashes and signs of brilliance, but the results never quite lived up to the possibilities. That said, he did become one of the best position players in franchise history in terms of numbers and more than that, he always seemed to treat people with dignity and respect. It'll be nice to watch Wright and Reyes patrol the left side of the infield one last time.

4) I'm very excited to see the sequel to Unbroken. And I'm getting to see it for free at the Cinemark theater in Norfolk. That said, how does a major movie theater not serve hot pretzels?