Sunday Sundries

A few thoughts about the goings on over the last week.

Twins traded Go-Go to the Brewers for Hardy? Wow! Did. Not. See. That. Coming.
So the biggest news of the past week was also the biggest surprise. First of all, I'm not used to trades happening before the first week of Post-Baseball is up. And, I figured if any of the Twins' extra outfielders were to be traded, it would've been Delmon.

On paper, I think it's a fair trade -- not really a blockbuster, but ok. Talent for talent; they needed an outfielder, we needed an infielder. I do think Hardy will be a decent player for the Twins, despite the fact he had a crappy season in 2009. And I'm glad that Span is now guaranteed to be the everyday center fielder. I'm also hopeful that Young will improve, knowing that he's the everyday left fielder.

It's a bummer that this ensures that Orlando Cabrera won't be with the Twins any longer. He was great while he was here. And I'll always be grateful to him for his Game 163 heroics. MNTwinsZealot has a nice tribute to him.

But I'm the most sad about losing Go-Go's spark, personality, fun, and fire. He would drive me nuts with his crazy swinging at balls on the ground, but I'd always forgive him because he was so luvable. Erin and Tricia have nice tributes. Godspeed, Speedy Go-Go.

And welcome J.J. Hardy.

k-bro and her mom go shopping - the salesperson win edition
On Friday, Mom and I stopped in the Minnetonka Twins Pro Shop to spend a little of my birthday money (thanks Auntie!) and we had a really nice time. The gal working there was so happy to see us -- probably because it was dead and she likely hadn't had any customers for a while. I do feel bad that I was the one who broke the Gomez news to her, because she seemed really bummed about it. But, otherwise, we had such a nice time talking baseball with her. She was super helpful in locating the items we were interested in. So Mom and I bought matching shirts. I know that sounds lame, but they're really sweet shirts, so we're cute.

But, as we were talking about buying tickets for next season, our new friend gave the info I needed: single-game tickets will go on sale at 5 pm on the Friday of Twins Fest (I can't remember if it's the 22nd or 29th of January -- sorry a quick glance at my Target Field calendar tells me it's January 29th). They'll be available by phone, on line, at the Metrodome (Twins Fest will still be at the Dome), and at the Pro Shops. She did make sure to tell me that it's subject to change and that I should keep checking the Twins website for info. So, I'm thinking about hanging out at the Pro Shop on that day.

k-bro and her mom go shopping - the sale fail edition
Mom and I decided to head to the Twins moving sale Saturday morning. We figured if we showed up at about 10:30, all the people who camped out would be in and we wouldn't have to wait.

Yeah. Riiiiight.

The line was long when we first got there; we were happy that the weather was nice. After waiting for about 20 minutes, I decided to see just how long the line was. So I walked. And I walked. And I walked all the way around the Dome. Yeah, the end of the line was about 20 feet away from the start of the line. I walked so long, Mom got worried. I asked the folks at the start of the line how long they'd been there. An hour and a half.

Forget that. We figured by the time we got in, all the good stuff would be gone anyway. And the irony that the piped in announcement said "a short wait may be required" was not lost on us.

So we went to the mall.

Two more years of Cuddy
So, in the time-suck that was the moving sale line, I learned via Twitter that the Twins exercized their 2011 option on Michael Cuddyer. Everyone standing immediately around me learned it too, since I kind of shouted it.

Yay!

And that's all I have to say about that.

The Newest Twins Commercial
Clever as ever.

Click here.

It Wasn't Pretty...

...but any time the Twins take 2 of 3 from the Evil Ugly White Sox, I'll take it.

Recap:

Friday: Twins 6 - EUWS 4
Saturday: Twins 7 - EUWS 8
Sunday: Twins 13 - EUWS 7

So the Twins scored 26 runs in three games for an average of 8.6 runs per. Yay!

But they gave up 19 for an average of 6.3 per. Meh.

If the goal is to score 4 or more and give up 3 or fewer runs per game, our boys only met it halfway. Psst! Hey pitchers, here's a hint: give up fewer runs. 'K? Thanks.

But I can't say I'm disappointed by this series. In fact, I'm comfortably pleased. I did enjoy all the home run hitting. Hats off to Joe Crede for his two on Saturday, and to Denard, Go-Go, and Harris for theirs on Sunday. What fun! And I especially love it that Go-G0 owns Mark Buehrle (have I mentioned that I don't like Mark Buehrle?)!

~~~

On Saturday, I attended the First (hopefully Annual - or more frequently than that) Twins Fan/Blogger/Twitterers Get-Together. A big thanks to Jen (Baseball & Lipgloss) for hosting it at her home. (BTW - I absolutely fell in love with her dog Zeppelin. He is such a sweetie! And I don't even like dogs, but he stole my heart.)

It was very nice to finally meet Sarah (Oh, It's THOSE Girls). I've read her blog for awhile, and I've enjoyed every word, I feel like I've known her for a long time. It was also very nice to meet Amanda from ESPN's Play Ball podcast (she flew in from NY to come to the party). And it was fun meeting everyone else who came.

After the party we went to the game. I was thrilled to see Brad Radke's induction into the Twins Hall of Fame (he was my first real Baseball Boyfriend). I wasn't as thrilled that the Twins lost, but it was fun at the end with the almost-come-back.

Our seats were behind home plate, but way up there in the upper deck.



But I was happy that I got my Twins HOF Pins. Also, I don't think it was a coincidence that Joe Crede was on my scorecard and then he hits two home runs for me.



And here's Brad Radke giving his speech. He was very gracious and thankful. I liked that when he was done and the fans were giving him a standing ovation, he was applauding the fans right back.


(Yup, that's the good old camera lens shoved into the binoculars eye technique. Whatever works.)

~~~

So now it's the All Star break. I hope the boys have a good time relaxing, hanging out with their families and friends, fishing, golfing, bowling, deep-sea diving, whatever.

And good luck to Joey, Joe, and Justin at the All Star Game. Go get 'em. And best of luck to Joey in the Home Run Derby. Hit lots and lots of homers, but don't ruin that swing. ;-)

There's GOT To Be a Silver Lining Somewhere

Or at least a cheap, silver-colored electroplate lining that turns your finger green.

Recap:
Tuesday: Twins 2 - Yankees 10
Wednesday: Twins 3 - Yankees 4
Thursday: Twins 4 - Yankees

Twins dustbunny the series.

So, I'll try to find some good things about this series to think about...

Fact: Twins lost by 8 runs on Tuesday.
Cheap Silver Lining: Gomez made a nice catch to rob A-Rod of a grand slam (couldn't have happened to a nicer guy).

Fact: Twins lost by 1 run on Wednesday.
Awesome Silver Lining: Blog-friend Betsy's kick-ass sign made it on TV! See:


(I took this picture of my TV. I couldn't get that stupid DVR timeline off there because it was paused. I suppose I could've tried to take the picture while is was playing, but I didn't.)

Fact: Twins lost by 2 runs Thursday.
Cheap Silver Lining: Joe Mauer started the day officially leading the league in batting because he finally has enough plate appearances.

Fact: The Twins are 0 - 7 against the Yankees this year.
Cheap Silver Lining: The Twins don't have to face the Yankees any more this (regular) season.

Nope. Finding the silver lining doesn't really help much.

~~~

Ok, so I'll try a different approach.

Guys, gather around. Yes, you, Minnesota Twins players. Yes, over here. Yes, now! All of you. Hurry up.

Ok. Blackburn and Nathan, you are excused. You didn't play at all this series, so you may go. Oh, and Perkins, you need to go too -- you're probably still infectious or something. Ew. Slowey, what are you even doing here? Go rehab your arm or something. And Mauer, you're just awesome, so you can leave too. Nope, not you Morneau -- you just sit down.

Ok, listen up. That was embarrassing! EMBARRASSING! You played timid. You played silly. You played confused. You just plain played spooked.

Stop laughing back there. I'm serious! You were afraid of the strike zone. You were afraid of the basepaths. You were afraid to hit the ball. You were afraid of the Yankees. Yes, the Yankees are good, but that's all they are. They're not magical. Simply put, you were afraid to succeed!

Well, KNOCK IT OFF! The White Sox are in town, and they've been hot lately. They're ready to jump on any mistake, any flub, any weakness. You need to be smart. You need to be good. You need to be confident!

So shape up right now! If you don't, I might have to resort to swearing. I don't want to have to do that -- my mom reads this blog (Hi Mom!).

Ok. I'm done. You can go now.

~~~

Ok, back to reality here.

You've probably already saw on one of the many other awesome Twins blogs about Saturday's get-together, but if you haven't, I'll tell you here.

The lovely Jen from Lipgloss & Baseball and the lovely Sarah from Oh It's THOSE Girls have planned a most wonderful shindig before Saturday's game against the White Sox. Here's the info from Sarah's blog:

So...here's the Deal:

What: Twins Fan/Blogger/Twitter Party

When: July 11th, 2009 12:30-3:30pm

Where: Jen's House (please email parkavepirate@comcast.net for address and info)

Who: Anyone who wants to come! If you're reading this, you're invited.

This is pre-game before the 6:10pm White Sox game, which happens to also be the Twins Hall of Fame induction night for Brad Radke. It's pretty laid back. We're planning to hang out and meet some new folks who share a love of Twins Baseball. I'll be bringing some materials for sign-making and perhaps some Twins trivia. People are free (and encouraged!) to bring any outdoors-y, tailgate-y games they might have. We'll just be doing snack foods, so folks are welcome to bring a little tasty something to share if they're able. Some bloggers/tweeters have purchased (or are planning to purchase) cheap seat tickets to the game, and are going to be sitting together as a group. If you already have tickets elsewhere, or don't plan to go to the game (shame on you! Brad Radke!), you can still swing by pre-game for some fun and frolicking. It will be good times. I promise.

I'm planning on going. You should too. They mean it that everyone's invited! I'm really looking forward to it!

Well, It Was Split Road Trip

One of the old adages in sports states that you'll have a good season if you play well at home and close to .500 on the road.

Well, by taking the Cubs series, the Twins finally had a .500 road trip. I know that they have a lot of making up to do to actually get to .500 on the road. But hey...baby steps.

Recap:
Friday: Twins 7 - Cubs 4
Saturday: Twins 2 - Cubs 0
Sunday: Twins 2 - Cubs 3

Twins take series.

It was a busy weekend, so I missed a lot of Friday's and Saturday's games. Most of what I do know about those games, I heard about after the fact.

I did watch most of Sunday's game, but it was really weird -- in fact, it was annoying. The audio from WFTC kept cutting out, and when we could hear it, it was out of sync -- we could hear the bat hit the ball well before we could see it. The whole thing gave me a really bad feeling for the entire game.

Here are the few things I actually know about this series:

• Milton Bradley needs an abacus when he's playing out in right-field so he can count how many outs there are. He's lucky it was a harmless gaffe.
  
• Saying "Joe, no interesting" to Joe Nathan while looking at the radio isn't as effective as saying it while looking at the TV. He, indeed, made it "interesting" on Saturday while I was speaking to the radio in hubby's pickup. Fortunately, he's pretty good at his job and knows what to do.
  
• Carlos Gomez really can hit a homerun. Now that that's over with, maybe he'll relax and stop swinging for the fences every time he bats.
  
• Joe Mauer is a really good hitter. Yeah, I know I didn't really learn that during this series, but he did a nice job of reminding me.

Up next: an off day, then the Pirates at home.

Also, I'm sending all the Get Well Mo-Jo I can muster and send it to Cuddy's hand; D-Span's head; Creeedeee's back, knee, leg, shoulder, wrist, forearm, or whatever else hurts; and any sore body parts to any Twins players who need it.

A Great Mother's Day!

I took my mom to a Twins game to celebrate Mother's Day (Hi Mom!). Even though the game didn't turn out exactly the way we hoped, it was still a great day.

Recap:
Friday: Twins 11 - Mariners 0
Saturday: Twins 9 - Mariners 6
Sunday: Twins 3 - Mariners 5
Twins take series 2 - 1

We were both so excited to be at the game together -- we were looking forward to it all week -- there was no way we were going to let anything spoil the day. Not even an awful 8th inning by the bullpen.

During the game, there were a pair of women sitting behind us (I guessed them to be mother and daughter, but if that was true, the "mother" was very young-looking). At first, they seemed to be having a nice time. I didn't really listen in on their conversations, but the bits I did hear made it seem that they were very knowledgeable Twins fans. Well during and after that Awful 8th Inning (I capitalize because that its name), they suddenly turned very bitter and wicked. They went on and on (I won't get into it here -- I can't imagine having that much negativity in my heart). And they weren't being sarcastic and exaggerate-y like a regular fan is when watching the bullpen cough up a lead; they were vile and poisonous and mean. They weren't loud, just intense. The kicker was when they both said, "this just ruined Mother's Day." And they meant it. Seriously? You're going to let one bad inning in a baseball game ruin your Mother's Day? Wow. That's some family dysfunction right there, I tell ya.

So, to shake off all that bad karma, and to prove that I really did have a great day (Hi Mom!), I'll list the Great things and the Bummer things to show what's better. 'k? 'k.

Great:

• Having breakfast with Mom (Thanks Mom!).
• Getting to the game nice and early to get a decent parking spot.
• Buying and eating warm cinnamon almonds.
  
• Getting to the game nice and early to get a sweet t-shirt.
• Getting to the game nice and early to visit with my mom (Hi Mom!).
• Getting to the game nice and early to use my binoculars to watch Joe Crede stretch out that hamstring before the game.
• Listening to that high-school choir perform the National Anthem (really -- they were good).
• Using my binoculars to watch Blackie.
• Watching Justin beat Ichiro to the bag in the 1st.
• Watching Go-Go go-go on that bunt single in the 2nd.
  
• Willing Blackie through trouble in the 4th and watching him successfully get out of it.
• Listening to that lady sing God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch (again really -- she was very good).
• Watching Go-Go go-go get that fly to center in the 9th.
• Cheering and clapping and shouting and crossing our fingers when our boys loaded the bases in the 9th (too bad it didn't turn out the way we were wishing, but it was still fun).
• Getting to the ladies restroom after the game but before the line got long (hey, sometimes it's the little things in life).
• Having a nice dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant with my husband and boys (Thanks Guys!).

Bummers:

• Watching the Awful 8th Inning.
• Listening to those chicks bitch about the Awful 8th Inning.
• Smacking my nose really hard with a laundry basket (don't ask).

That's about it. Yup, it looks like I had a resoundingly great Mother's Day. I hope my mom did too (Hi Mom!).

Catching Up on My E-mails

After spending Easter with my family, I decided to catch up on my e-mails. Since it was a busy holiday weekend, I'll have to back-date some of them.

~~~~

Date: Friday, April 10, 2009
To: RADickey@mntwins.com
From: kbro@kbrobaseball.com
Subj: Sox (and Socks)

R.A.,
Admirable work, especially in that wind. It was a little un-pretty at times, but you wiggled yourself out of some jams. I hope you can stay on the team when Scotty gets back.

Oh, I love the high socks.

~~~~

Date: Friday, April 10, 2009
To: JMorales@mntwins.com
From: kbro@kbrobaseball.com
Subj: Catching the Knuckleballer

Jose,
Nice work. You did way better than I thought you would. Next time I see you, remind me to give you a pat on the back.

~~~~

Date: Friday, April 10, 2009
To: JCrede@mntwins.com
From: kbro@kbrobaseball.com
Subj: Your Homerun

Joe,
Thanks for remembering which team you play for now.

~~~~

Date: Friday, April 10, 2009
To: PABooth@uscellularfield.com
From: kbro@kbrobaseball.com
Subj: Joe Crede's "Walk Up" Music

Air Supply and Patrick Swayze? That was pretty funny.

~~~~

Date: Friday, April 10, 2009
To: ACasilla@mntwins.com; MCuddyer@mntwins.com; CGomez@mntwins.com
From: kbro@kbrobaseball.com
Subj: Your Cute Turtle Neck Hoody UnderArmour Things

Adorable! I'm sorry you were so cold, but you did look pretty cute.

~~~~

Date: Friday, April 10, 2009
To: batters@mntwins.com
From: kbro@kbrobaseball.com
Subj: Lots of Runs

I love lots of runs. I think all baseball fans love lots of runs from their home boys. But I fear you may have used them all up for the weekend. I worry that you may need them for Saturday and Sunday. I wish there were such a thing as a "Run Bank."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Date: Saturday, April 11, 2009
To: FLiriano@mntwins.com
From: kbro@kbrobaseball.com
Subj: Strike Zone

Franchise,
Dude! Walking in two runs in an inning is not a good thing. Everyone would prefer it if you pitched for strikes instead of pitching for power. Please work on that.

~~~~

Date: Saturday, April 11, 2009
To: BColon@chiwhitesox.com
From: kbro@kbrobaseball.com
Subj: Your Pitching Performance

Bartolo,
You looked great. But I'm afraid that had little to do with you. It seems that the Twins batters simply made you look good. Don't get used to it; it won't happen again.

~~~~

Date: Saturday, April 11, 2009
To: batters@mntwins.com
From: kbro@kbrobaseball.com
Subj: Runs

Guys,
Remember what I said yesterday about banking runs? Today would have been a good time to use some of them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Side note: I was not allowed to watch the Twins game on Sunday. I was told "There are 150-something Twins games left this season; there's only one Masters." Fair enough.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2009
To: PMickelson@masters.com
From: kbro@kbrobaseball.com
Subj: Your Putting

Phil,
I really wish you were better at putting. I do enjoy watching golf from time to time, but I can't say that I'm really a fan of yours. However, none of that really matters. What matters is that I had an exhausting weekend, and I was taking a little snooze on the couch while the whole fam was watching the Masters. I don't get many chances to snooze, so when I do, it's precious. So, I was snoozing, and the family was watching, and you were golfing, and then you missed that stupid putt by this >-< much. Now, normally that wouldn't bother me. Except the entire family let out a collective OOHHH really loud, thereby waking me up and scaring the crap out of me. If you would've made that putt, everyone probaly would've nodded or muttered gently, which would've allowed me to sleep. Try to be more considerate next time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recap:
Friday: Twins 12 - Evil Ugly White Sox 5
Saturday: Twins 0 - EUWS 8
Sunday: Twins 1 - EUWS 6

Winter Blahs

A few random thoughts on a wintry day:

Winter Meetings: Baseball's Winter Meetings start this week in Vegas. That's cool for everyone who's going -- at least the weather's not crappy there. But as exciting as it sounds, I'll be surprised if it'll be exciting for Twins fans. Remember last year's winter meetings? The Twins did absolutely nothing, and that's when Johan Santana was on the trading block. I could be wrong, but I just have a feeling that Mr. Smith won't do anything notable.

Much Ado About Molehills: A whole bunch of virtual ink has been spilled about the fact that Gardy said his preferred outfield would consist of Span, Gomez, and Cuddyer, which leaves out Young. Speculations have ranged from "the Twins are thinking about trading Delmon," to "Gardy's trying to light a fire under Delmon," to "they're trying to increase Cuddyer's trade value." I say, "whatever." Gardy said what he thought, but good fans know that everything is likely to change come spring training. Someone has to be the fourth outfielder, why not Delmon?

Kevin Slowey Interview: I have a subscription to XM radio online and I listen to the MLB channel at work. I usually only listen during the mornings, because they're usually quieter than the afternoons. However, Friday afternoon was unusually quiet, so I put my headphones just in time to hear the guy (I think it was Rob Dibble) say "and now, calling in is Kevin Slowey." Wow, that was lucky. He gave a great interview. He's living with his brother in Atlanta. He mentioned how great it was to watch Greg Maddux and how much he always admired him when Maddux would pitch against the Pirates. He also talked about how much Mike Redmond helps him out by talking about batters and situations, and just brushing his experience off on to the young guys. There was more, but he finshed by saying that he was going to lie around all weekend and watch the Steelers game.

Dude, That's Gotta Hurt: Speaking of XM radio, I was listening earlier this past week. During an update, the guy was listing the NBA games that would be aired that evening. And he said -- I kid you not -- "Chauncey Billups and his Nuggets take on the Spurs." My inner 12-year-old came out, and I literally said out loud to nobody, "did he just say that?" I figure no guy wants his nuggets to have anything to do at all with spurs.

The Afterglow

Wow! I'm still pretty stunned about last night's game. I'm even having a hard time remembering what happened.

But it's sure great to be in first. There's still a bunch of work to do, and we still need a little help from the Indians, but I have faith.

Well, I have faith now. In about the sixth or seventh innings last night, I gave up. I must have looked absolutely forlorn when mini-bro asked me if I was ok. I said, "it's over. The season is over. This is it." He said, "aww. Don't give up. You know, like the Journey song -- Don't Stop Believing." Then he started to sing. Cute. I know he was just being silly to try to cheer me up, but he may be on to something.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So I get to work this morning and am greeted by none other than Mr. Negative P. Jerkass, who says, "why are you getting so excited? Do you actually believe the Twins will do anything if they make the playoffs?" Aw, shut up and let me have my fun, will'ya? Pthththth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just love how D-Span and Go-Go are largely responsible for the comeback and win. It's the least they could do after their little *ahem* misplay *ahem* in the outfield in the fourth. Nothing like going from goats to heroes, huh?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I was driving home last evening, I was listening to Dan Barreiro. He something about that if the White Sox lost the last game, Ozzie would spontaneously combust. I can totally see that happening, especially since that game was so dramatic. I didn't listen to Ozzie's post-game interview, so I can't be sure, but if he did spontaneously combust, I imagine it looks something like this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Dick Bremer:

I ordered you a case of Ricola to arrive to the booth before tonight's game. You most likely have a very sore throat; you yelled a lot during Thursday's game. You were very excited.

Love,

k-bro

Trying to Relax Enough to Smile

Twins 3 - Whities 2

Whew! That was close -- too close. And if I have to check myself into the hospital later this evening because I'm suffering panic attacks, it's the Twins' fault. But don't think for a minute I am unhappy with this game.

So, because my hands are still shaking, I'll keep this short.

I have some random, and ironically not really game-related, thoughts.

• First of all, as I've said before, I despise Mark Buehrle. He's ugly and he always says snotty things. I just thought I'd throw that out there.
• I miss Corey Koskie. It's nice to hear from him.
• Ok, so am I the only one who thinks that LNP got his teeth fixed -- like caps or something? It seems to me that he used to have kinda crooked teeth, but in that "thanks fans" commercial, they're perfect. Maybe I'm crazy; who knows?
• I think Randy Ruiz and Jose Mijares are one and the same. One person playing two parts, like Hayley Mills in The Parent Trap. (Did I just show my age there? Ok, if you're under 30, change that to Lindsay Lohan.)
• That catch that Go-Go made in the ninth was straight out of Angels in the Outfield.
• I totally love the regular Joe Nathan much more than blow-the-save Joe Nathan. I think all 38 bigillion fans in the Dome agree.

Ok, I gotta go to bed now. All this stressing and worrying and fretting and agonizing and anguishing is tiring. I'll go and do some Joe Nathan breathing exercises.

Tweet Victory

Twins 9 - White Sox 3

Today on my Twitter page, I started following Joe Cowley from the Chicago Sun Times, just to get an opposing viewpoint. Kind of interesting.

If you don't know Twitter, it's kind of like micro-blogging. You get 140 characters (that's it) to answer the question "what are you doing?" The updates are called "Tweets," and you follow other people's Tweets. It's kind of a neat way to stay connected with folks, or to just follow a popular columnist, blogger, or candidate. I Tweet pretty much everyday. So, in that spirit, I thought I'd express my thoughts about today's game in Tweets.

My tummy is all in knots. Nervous much? And it's so loud in the Dome. I love it!

Hey! How come Vazquez gets that strike call and Baker doesn't. Seems a tad unfair.

Just realized I'm missing a teleconference for work. Yeah, right. Just watch them try to keep me from watching this game.

Woooooooooo! I'm alone in the house and screaming my head off. Nice homer, Kubes!

And Delmon gets a nice hit. BTW: I hate the phrase “good piece of hitting.” Bert just said it like four times in the last 30 seconds.

Good hit, Nicky. Crap Go-Go. Oh, well, nice base running Delmon.

Ok, AJ, how many freaking pitches are you going to foul off? Just miss one! Finally!

Hey! Bernard Berrian is a Twins fan! And I didn't realize he was so good-looking. Well, hello Bernard. :-)

Nice catch Alexi! But I don't think it's really a diving catch like Dick said. More like a bend over and fall down catch.

Kubes gets an “old man triple,” which happens when the outfielder who dives for the ball is too old to make the catch.

And a double by Delmon. I like his little toe dance to keep his foot on the bag and keep from getting tagged out.

Squeeeeeeze! With a head-first slide even. But Bert honey, it's “element of surprise,” not “ultimate of surprise.”

My oh my! The third run of the inning, and there's still only one out. How crazy is the Dome now? Oh yeah, the second steal of the inning.

With two on and no out, that knotty tummy thing is back. Whew, one out, now two. Crap, now bases loaded for AJ. Yes yes! Whew!

Oh hey, new White Sox pitcher. He totally looks like a high-school jock. And Joey welcomes him to the Dome with a double.

Awww! They're replaying Gardy chewing out Alexi for not covering second in the previous half inning. I hope he isn't too tough on him.

Cool! Justin now holds the Twins record for doubles.

Tidy one-two-three innings from Scott Baker are much more calming on my tummy.

What a cute little juggle catch by Scotty. I'm glad he saw the humor in it.

So when the crowd chants “MVP,” does Justin say to himself, “yeah, that's right, they're talking about me”? Nah, he's too humble.

Oh yeah! Back to back homers, baby!

Beauty of a double-play there, Nicky. And, what? Delmon hustled to make a running catch? Wow, this game must really be inspired.

Ahem, j-bro just switched the TV to Playstation “just for a second” like 10 minutes ago. Hurry up and finish, will ya'?

Hah! A fan on the field. So so so stooopid. And so so boooring for those of us watching TV. How long do we have to look at Thome's face?

Well, if I have to watch a Griffey home run, it's not so bad when we're still leading by six after it.

Wow, that was tons of fun. This made the knotty tummy thing totally worth it.

This means it's mathematically impossible for the Sox to clinch at the Dome. Not like they're going to clinch at all.

Oh, on a non-baseball note, Wednesday is “National Punctuation Day.” Celebrate responsibly.

Well, What Do Ya Know...

Twins 7 - Royals 2

Nick Blackburn starts AND the batters score more than two runs? In the same game? Really? And the White Sox lose two games in one day? There must be some stars/planets aligned into a TC tonight. And I like it. I hope they stay that way for the next six weeks or so.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm totally diggin' Blackie's slightly scruffy look. Just don't let it get too out of hand, honey.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, and Go-Go, you're totally off my "bad list" for tonight. I really liked that catch. And that RBI. And that triple.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wild mad props to the Blue Jays for beating the White Sox twice today. It's the least they could do to make up for sweeping us last week. Here's hoping they complete one more sweep.

A's is for ...

Monday: Twins 2 - Oakland 3
Tuesday: in progress (final: Twins 13 - Oakland 2)

Yesterday, I really wanted to give Nick Blackburn a hug (ok, I can't really think of a time when I don't want to give Nick Blackburn a hug, but even more so yesterday). It kind of sucked that his first pitch was smacked for a homerun. I can imagine that put him in a bad mood from the get go. I know it put me in a bad mood from the get go. But he wound up pitching pretty well, and went eight innings. A little more run support would've been nice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have to keep reminding myself that yesterday's loss wasn't the end of the world. For some reason, some losses are harder to take than others; I don't know why that one was. Was it because the A's are so awful that we really should win? Was it because I disagreed with the umpire for about three-quarters of the game? Was it because the Twins looked so blah? Was it because the White Sox were playing, and beating, the Mariners to take the lead in the division? Was it because I think I can play left-field better than Delmon Young? Was it because Brendan Harris really needed to take the stinking bat off his shoulder?

Yeah, pretty much all that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, crappola. Here we go again with giving up a lead-off homerun again. STOP IT!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speaking of disagreeing with umpires, I have some things to say...

Last night: How do you call Joe Mauer out on strikes? Don't you know who he is? He's Joe Freaking Mauer! He doesn't take strike three. He knows the strike zone better than you do, moron.

Tonight: Wow! I respectfully request that you give my pitcher that call. I mean, if Justin Morneau can't reach it, and you're calling it a strike, I bet Kevin Slowey would appreciate that same advantage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So the Twins' preferred hand specialist must be enjoying the job security afforded him by the boys. Poor Adam "Adam" Everett got plunked in the hand by a foul ball while he was sitting innocently in the dugout. I'm telling you... Oven Mitts for everyone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Botton 2nd: Nice jack, BuschMan! And nice RBI triple, D-Span!
Top 3rd: And sweeeet play, Li'l Nicky!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Will someone please cast a hex/jinx/spell/curse on the White Sox? I mean seriously, they aren't really this good, are they?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bottom 3rd: Run Randy, run! Good job, Randy. Now go get some oxygen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bottom 5th: Ha! Go-Go hit a Ho-Ho!

(I hope that didn't come across too creepy. I meant it in the most innocent way possible. Really.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mid 7th: So with all the hitting, and the running, and the scoring and everything, the superhero of the game is K-Slo. Twelve Ks in seven innings. Nice job, honey. And nice game, guys.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blog Update: I'm going on a business trip for the rest of the week. I'll be back Sunday. Dear Twins, please please please, take care of the California teams, 'k?

It's Nice to Know...

Friday: Twins 4 - Indians 5
Saturday: Twins 11 - Indians 4
Sunday: Twins 4 - Indians 2

Twins take series 2 - 1

After a potentially demoralizing series against the Yankees, it's nice to know that the Twins can get back on track against Cleveland. Of course, there's a ginormous difference between the Yankees and the Indians, but I prefer to remain optimistic (I just hope I'm not being delusional).

It's Nice to Know...

• That both Go-Go and D-Span will be ok after attempting molecular fusion with the outfield wall. (Turns out that spines don't really respond positively to collision energy).


• That Justin still has his swell homerun swing.


• That we don't have to face Casey Blake any more. (If we can't have him back, I'm glad he's in the National League.)


• That patience at the plate in the first inning pays off.


• That Brian Buscher likes to collect RBI.


• That Nick Blackburn didn't let a horrible outing in New York get him down and was able to tap-dance through an ultimately solid start. (He even earned some love from ESPN's BBTN.)


• That D-Span must be feeling ok because he made two ridiculous catches in centerfield. (He earned a ton of love from ESPN's BBTN.)


• That the Twins still play well in the ninth inning.


• That Justin likes to make pitchers pay for hanging a breaking ball.


• That Joe Nathan likes being The Nathanator.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Franchise the Franchise Savior Watch:

Here's his line from Sunday evening's game in Rochester:

6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO, 1 HR, 102 pitches - 64 strikes, W (Red Wings win 10 - 5)

Hmm. Not as amazing as his last couple starts, but still pretty solid. The Big Team had better hurry and call him up so he can start performing miracles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's Also Nice to Know:

That Manny Ramirez is totally willing to allow the Red Sox to trade him.

Ok, I'm being sarcastic. I've been watching the Yankees - Red Sox game for about an hour now, and I've heard that Manny won't block a potential trade or, if that doesn't work out, requests that the Red Sox inform him that they won't pick up his option yada yada yada about 359 times.

This happened earlier today, and I'm already extremely weary of hearing about it. But, Manny-Being-Manny is such a princess that I just know I'll hear about it for the next several days. Lord, he makes me want to puke!

On another note, however, I am slightly enjoying watching Sir Sid get spanked by the Sox. Just cuz.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So the White Sox are coming to town, and I'm totally stressed out by it. Fortunately, I don't have a whole lot going this week so I'll have time to watch the games. I'm just afraid that I'll re-aggravate my ulcer watching them.

I'm just hoping for a split or better. Please. Pretty Please...

Feast and Famine

Saturday: Twins 14 - Rangers 2
Sunday: Twins 0 - Rangers 1

Twins win series 2 - 1

I knew the Twins used up all their runs on Saturday night. I wish they would have saved some of that for me on Sunday. Let's just hope that they fill up their "run tanks" so they have plenty of runs to slap on the Yankees.

I must say though, the pitching this series was very impressive. I hope the rest of the rotation follows in stride.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had a great time at the game Sunday. In fact, only two little things would've made it better -- Twins runs. Scotty pitched so well; he really deserved the win. I blame myself for Scotty getting the loss. Actually, I'm going to share the blame with the man sitting in front of me.

With two outs in the sixth, the gentleman turned around and said, "Hey, he's got a no-hitter going."

Knowing that I should have simply smiled, nodded, and kept my mouth shut, I lost my head and said, "Actually, he's got a perfect game going. No one has reached first base." I then followed-up with, "Watch, now I've jinxed it." And sure enough, Teagarden goes boom. *Sigh* In my defense though, other people something like that too.

Oh well, it was his first Major League homer. In fact, it was his first Major League hit. He's the hero. He can feel good about himself for a couple days.

But it was still a ton of fun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some pictures from the day:

mini-bro looking good in his new jersey


our favorite bear


Go-Go looking good with the tall socks


Joey always looks good


Justin always looks good too

Welcome to the Second Half, Boys

Friday: Twins 6 - Rangers 0

Wow. That was impressive. The Twins faced a great hitting team and shut them out. Nice work. And the Twins' hitters just keep chipping away -- none of the hits were particularly impressive, but they got the job done. All in all a fun game and a nice way to get back to baseball.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dearest Go-Go,

Honey, what are we going to do about this little batting slump you're in? You had another disappointing 0 - 5 night. You seem like a guy who really wants to succeed and who has more fun when he does well, so I know you're unhappy.

Everyone says that the other guys are hitting well because they're "hitting within themselves". I'm no expert, but looking at your swing, I can tell there's no way you're hitting within yourself. In fact, it's pretty clear that you swing right out of yourself pretty often. Sometimes, you swing so far out of yourself, you wind up in the on-deck circle while yourself winds up in the left-handed batters' box. This is not good.

So my advice is: climb back into yourself, take a deep breath, don't think about it so much, relax, and STAY within yourself. You'll see better results in no time.

I know you can do it.
Love,
k-bro

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I looking forward to Sunday's game because the family and I will be attending. We'll try to score one of those Justin Morneau jerseys for mini-bro.

I'm the tinest bit bummed, though, because Scotty is scheduled to pitch. Now, I love Scotty, I really do, but this will be only my second game this year, and I've already seen him. But that's usually how it goes for me. Last year I went to four games -- Silva pitched in all four of them.

Oh well, I'm still happy to go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And Finally, the "Reading Is Fun When You Read About Your Favorite Subjects" moment of the day: I thought this was cute. My co-worker's little daughter won this poster for reading a certain number of books this summer. Not only is the poster itself cute, but I think it's cute that she chose a Twins poster. She's a very smart little girl.

Click to enlarge to see the subject of the book he's reading.

Thrown Away

Twins 4 - Tigers 5

Well, crappola.

It's waaaay more fun to come from behind and win than to go from ahead and lose. And I was planning on writing some cute and clever stuff, but now I just don't feel like it. I was going to say something about how adorable it was that after Go-Go stole third, he had to shake the dirt out of his hair. I was going to mention something about how bad Galarranga's control must be if he tries to hit Joe Mauer and misses -- twice (it's not like Joey's little or anything). I wanted to rip on the Tiger defense because they kinda looked like monkeys chucking the ball around. I planned on giving Denard a "welcome back" pat on the back for that nice defensive play and for hitting that double. Heck, I was even going to defend Gardy for arguing being warned because Glen didn't do anything wrong.

But alas, all my creativity and good will is gone. Jesse, Dennys, and Matty combined to throw it all away. I'm simply much too grumpy now. Is it possible for the bullpen to be too rested?

**Sigh**

Let's get 'em tomorrow, shall we? Please? I'd appreciate it.

Doesn't That Feel Better?

Twins 8 - Cleveland 5

See guys, isn't winning much more fun than losing? When you do things well, good things happen. Let's review:

Starting Pitching: Solid. Way to go Nick. You kept the batters from getting too comfortable at the plate (whatever that means). You got strikeouts and ground balls when you needed them.

Relief Pitching: Very nice, with one little exception. Jesse. you were brilliant getting those strikeouts. However, Dennys, you need to work on not giving up three-run homers (I'll cut you some slack, since it's the first homer you've given up this season).

Offense: Now THAT'S what I've been talking about. When there were men in scoring postion, you actually drove them in. Justin and Cuddy did a very nice job at the plate. Jason's homer was yummy. And Go-Go and Alexi are hot with their cute little hitting streaks -- keep it up.

Baserunning: Again, nicely done. Getting on, getting over, etc. Go-Go and Alexi stealing bases was also adorable.

Defense: Wow. Double-plays are hot. Cuddy making that catch was smokin' hot.

See how easy it is? Now keep it up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And finally the "I Almost Have That Sinking Feeling Again" moment of the game: So do you think that when Dennys gave up that homer and Cleveland got within one, Nick put his head in his hands and wept softly, thinking that his bad luck was going surface again and he wouldn't get the win?

I Know They Can Hear Me

I’m alone in the house, so it’s a perfect time to talk to the TV as the game goes. I’ll keep track – that is until someone comes home and I have to stop talking (the other members of the household just don’t get it).

Top 1: (First pitch, ball) That doesn’t bode well.
I see Livan really likes the pixie vests.
(A-Rod homers) Crappola!
(Matsui gets a base hit) Stop with the giving up of the hits already!

Top 2: (Moeller strikes out on the slow curve) Ni-iiice! I love that pitch!
What’s going on with the pitchers growing beards? I noticed that Blackburn was scruffy (we saw enough close-ups of his face), and now Livan is scruffy. Are they growing homer-less beards too?
(Wild pitch) Who the hell are you throwing that to? The guy on deck?
I wonder if that new Get Smart movie will be good? It kinda sounds like fun.

Bottom 2: (Cuddy gets a base hit) Yay Cuddy! So maybe the beard is lucky after all.
Hmmm. Delmon’s hitting pretty good lately.

Top 3: (Harris makes a nice play to get Giambi out) Ooh. Nice play.
Doesn’t it seem like Morneau’s getting to be better defensively all the time? He’s really a very good first baseman.

Bottom 3: (Macri at the plate) Oh, it’s pronounced ma-CREE? All the times I’ve read his name, I didn’t pronounce it that way in my head.
(Pettitte throws wildly to first allowing Go-Go to go-go to third) Go-Go runs so fast, his helmet can’t even keep up.
(Alexi bunts Go-Go home and is safe at first) Yes! When did Alexi get good at baseball?

Top 6: (Delmon misses two fly balls this gal thinks he should have caught and Yankees take the lead) Oh, for crying out loud Delmon!

Top 7: (Umpire blows yet another call in the Yankees’ favor allowing them to go ahead again) How much are the Yankee’s paying you Mr. Umpire? (among other profanity-laced rants I shouldn’t post because my mother reads this

Bottom 7: Hey, Joey is clean-shaven. Whoa! JOEY HIT A HOMERUN!!! And he had a look of “whew” on his face as he went back to the dugout. Cute.

Now everyone is home again, so I have to act like a real human being again. But I can still converse in my head.

Top 8: (Cuddy throws out Jeter at second) I **heart** Cuddy’s arm! What were you thinking running on Cuddy’s arm you fool?

Bottom 8: (Cuddy hits a nice double) Cuddy! I swoon for you.
(Delmon doubles driving in Cuddy and going ahead) Delmon, I love you again.
(Delmon gets caught stealing third) Ok Delmon, I take it back.
(Go-Go strikes out swinging, again) Go-Go honey, you need to learn some patience.

Top 9: (Nathan takes the mound) Joe, no interesting! (said out loud, because I always say that out loud when Joe takes the mound)
(Nathan gives up a hit) Joe, No. More. Interesting.
(Casilla to Harris to Morneau) YES!
**clapping wildly** Joe. No. Interesting!
YES!!!!!


Twins 6 – Yankees 5
Series split 2 games each

Mother Always Said ...

Twins 7 - Rangers 8
Series split 2 - 2

In the spirit of "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all", I am only going to talk about the positives of yesterday's game. As tempting as it would be to complain about starting pitchers giving up four runs in the first, relief pitchers committing throwing errors that should have been easy outs, and batters leaving about 146 runners on base, I won't. I also won't go into how, even though Go-Go would love to carry the entire team on his back, he's pretty little to actually expect him to, because who really needs all that negativity?

---

So, keeping with the strictly positive theme:

• YAY! for Go-Go for going 4 for 5 with a homer and an awesome catch.


• YAY! for Justin for driving in two to tie the game.


• YAY! for Brendan and Cuddy for being patient at the plate and allowing the pitcher to walk in runs.

---

It was interesting listening to Dazzle while the Ranger pitchers were, as he put it, "walking the world." He was absolutely aghast, as if they committing crimes against baseball -- which they pretty much were. He was also in a snit (my absolute favorite word) about the pitching matchups - they left the right-hander in to face Morneau. John said something like, "but this guy's pretty good at getting lefties out," to which Dan replied, "but why do they have Eddie Guardado? Why do they have [the other left-handed pitcher, whatever his name is]?" I could practically see him marching around the booth, just itching to go down to the field and put a stop to the madness.

---

I'm off to the lake this weekend. I hope the weather behaves as predicted. Maybe I'll pay attention to the Detroit series, maybe I won't. And if I do, maybe I'll blog about it, maybe I won't.

Have a great weekend!

Flat in the Mountains

Friday: Twins 4 - Rockies 2
Saturday: Twins 2 - Rockies 3
Sunday: Twins 2 - Rockies 6

Well, at least this time we don't have to get the dustbunnies out. But seriously, I think we could have done better. Maybe the boys were tired. Maybe it was the thin air. Maybe it was the humidor balls. Who knows, but it just seemed like they were kind of flat.

---

Friday's game was kind of fun, and it was nice to break up that little losing streak. But Nathonator once again made it waaaay too interesting. Luckily, Go-Go made that nice catch to end the game. Too bad it cost him starting the next two games. And doesn't it seem that if Go-Go isn't in the game, the Twins just aren't the same team? Has anyone figured out what our record is with him in versus without him in? (I know I could probably figure it out myself, but I don't wanna. Besides, chances are that someone else already has, and why double the effort?)

---

Saturday's game was pretty good until I started paying attention. Sorry. I guess Livan had a perfect game going through the fifth. Of course, right when I got home and turned on the TV, I saw Justin Morneau try to catch Matt Holliday's foul ball that could have been called fan interference but wasn't. Then he doubled, and that was pretty much the end of the perfect game, eventually the shutout, and then the lead.

---

And another thing, while being taking a perfect game through five innings is terrific, especially for a contact-type pitcher like Livan, I think that the KARE11 sports team needs to settle down. They teased the coverage by saying something like "Hernandez flirts with perfection." Um, five innings isn't "flirting" with perfection. Eight, or maybe even seven, innings is flirting. Five innings is looking up from the end of the bar and noticing that perfection keeps looking over at you. You're not even thinking about buying it a drink yet after five.

---

I missed today's game because I was at a youth baseball tournament. (Yes, I was freezing. Thanks for asking.) I listened to the post-game coverage on the radio after we were done, and from the sound of Gardy's reaction to the game, I think the 11 and 12-year-olds I watched play had a more polished game than our Twins.

---

Excuse me, yes, I'd like to order a round of bubble wrap for the remaining healthy players please.



Let's assess the most recent damage:

• Matt "Tigger" Tolbert is on the DL for shredding his thumb sliding head-first into first. Poor guy; he was beginning to make a good impression, and now this. And the extent of the injury (ligament damage) sounds like it's going to take quite a bit more than a 15-day recovery.


• Then there's Go-Go's catch into the wall that tweaked his wrist. According to the Twins website, there's a real possibility that he'll land on the DL as well.


• Plus, Joey's got a crick in his neck.