See, It's Not So Bad

For the first time in a really long time, the Twins are two whole games above .500. And for the first time in a really long time, the Twins have completed a winning road trip. The Royals series wasn't easy, but it turned out all right.

Recap:
Monday: Twins 2 - Royals 4
Tuesday: Twins 2 - Royals 1
Wednesday: Twins 5 - Royals 1

Some observations, in no particular order:

• For some reason, I don't get to see Nick Blackburn pitch very often; I don't think I've seen a first-pitch of his yet this season. Why is that?
  
• For some reason, when I'm listening to a day game, some stupid situation that puts my boss into a panic happens...never happens any other day.
• I thought it was funny that MLB's Gameday pitch-by-pitch site kept telling me that R.A. Dickey was throwing changeups. Um...no; those were knuckleballs.
• Nicky Punto needs some bubble wrap and Advil. After coming back from a bruised rib injury, he now has back spasms after someone (I don't remember who) slid hard into him trying to break up a double-play. The radio guys made it sound like it was a dirty slide; they said he wasn't even close to the bag.
  
• Mike Redmond will dent, but won't break -- he took a foul tip off Mitch Maier's bat to the forearm. But his bruised arm will probably be ouchie for a few days.

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Dan Gladden answered a question during today's broadcast. The listener wanted to know what typical ball players do while on the road, whether they have routines such as going to bed at a certain time, and if their routines are different than they are at home. To this, Gladden replied, "it's none of your business what time I went to bed, and it's none of you business what I did out on the town!" He was joking, of course, but it got the guys talking about partying and curfews and carousing and watching TV in the hotel and such. They wouldn't really give any details to what our boys did though. So I imagine they do the following:

• They might go back to their own hotel rooms to watch ESPN or re-runs on TV Land.
• They might go out and have a meal at a cozy little diner.
  
• They might stay at the ball park to practice fielding drills.
• They might get together and play cribbage or gin.
• They might go shopping for a nice piece for their wives' snowglobe collection.
• They might go to the zoo or botanical gardens.
• They might go see a movie, but nothing racier than PG-13.
• They might log on to their laptops and check in with fans on Twitter...oh wait, never mind.
• They might head to the hotel bar and order a club soda with lime or a Shirley Temple.

Ok, I not really delusional. I'm fully aware that they're grown ups and will party as much as they want...well as much as they're allowed to. But I do imagine that painting the town red all the time might get old after a while. Actually, I don't really care what the do with their free time, as long as they play well the next day. Whatever it takes.

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Up next: an off day, and then some tough series: Tigers, Yankees, then White Sox before the All-Star Game. At least the Twins are at home, so they can sleep in their own beds and stick to their favorite lucky routines.