Just Shy of Embarassing

Tuesday: Twins 2 - Mariners 3
Wednesday: Twins 6 - Mariners 5

Well, at least we didn't get swept. That's something. Of course, we all expected better, but I guess we'll have to take what we can get. Oh, and we're back to one game back, so that's something too (thanks Orioles).

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How much do we love D-Span and Red Dog today? If not for that strong, accurate throw, and the block, catch, and tag, things may have been very different. And did you see their faces after that play? They were both so happy, it was adorable. However, I'm a tad disappointed that Eddie got everyone in that situation to begin with. I'll just leave it at that.

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I was so into being crabby the last couple days, I totally forgot to say "so long" to Mike Lamb. He had been pushed so far down to the end of the bench, I kept kinda forgetting about him. In fact, I kinda figured it would've been Boof or Everett let go because Lamb never occurred to me. Well, I do hope he hooks on somewhere.

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Hey, what do you think of my new computer? Well, it's not really new; it's new to me. I gave up my 10 year old laptop for a 5 year old laptop. It is a lot faster, which makes me happy. Doesn't it make my blogging look better? Too bad it can't make me a better writer.

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So the A's are next. I'm not going to make any predictions or demands. The Twins already know what I want. So guys, get to it and battle your tails off.

I'm Baa-ack!

Twins 9 - Sox of the Red 8

Miss me? I guess I have some catching up to do. I'm also watching the game as I write this, so I'll be flip-flopping between my thoughts of the past week with my thoughts of the game. Forgive me if I'm confusing.

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First of all, Happy Mother's Day! If you're a mom, I hope you enjoyed your day. If you're not a mom, I hoped you hugged a mom.

To my mom: Love you. Sorry I didn't actually hug you today. I told the cat to hug you for me; I hope she did.

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Top first: Hey Eeyore, nice job striking out Youkilis and Lowell. *grin*

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Speaking of Mother's Day, mine was very nice. My kids gave me a really cool Twins shirt. I think they've got me pretty well figured out.

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Tuesday's game: Gavin Floyd nearly no-hit the Twins. That must've been ugly. Thank goodness for Joey to break that up for us.

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Bottom second: Nice jack, Craig. *woot* Hey, has anyone come up with a good nickname for him yet?
Seriously? Adam "Adam" Everett hit a homer? Cool.

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Wednesday's game: Go-Go hits for the cycle. I loved that. And I also loved reading his quotes. Fun stuff. I was also very impressed with Livan for taking a shutout to the ninth and completing the game.

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Bottom third: Who put the fear of God into Mike Lamb lately?

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The best way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until the ball stops rolling and then pick it up. ~Bob Uecker

Ok, so how many times did Morgan-n-Miller say the word "knuckleball" tonight?

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Thursday's game: I actually caught part of that game on a lunch break. But it was a big yawner.

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Bottom fourth: *snicker* Big Papi was goofing around when they were interviewing Francona. In fact, he was way more interesting than Francona.

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Notes to the Injured:

Dear Pat-Pat, I wish I could take it away from you so you can get better. Rehab well and come back next year better than ever.

Dear Nicky, Get better quick.

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Friday's game: Wow. A come-from-behind win and Lammers is the hero. Way to go!

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Bottom seventh: Hello again Mr. Monroe!

What's up with Mike Timlin's camouflage glove?

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Top ninth: Dear Nathanator, That was waaaaaay too interesting for my liking. But you managed to do the job, so thanks.

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And finally, one thing I learned about Vancouver that surprised me: I expected hockey to be very popular. They're still following the Stanley Cup playoffs closely even though their team is out of it. Between hockey games, they do follow baseball. I figured that since Vancouver is so close to Seattle, they'd follow the Mariners. Nope. They follow the Blue Jays, even though they're three time zones away. I guess all of Canada follows Canada's only team, eh?

Grand Slam for Nothing

Twins 5 - Rangers 6 (10)

I know everyone else in Twins Territory asked it, probably out loud, but I'm going to ask it too: Why, oh why did Gardy put Rincon in for the 10^th when Joe Nathan was warm? Why?

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A lot of stupid things happened in the game, like giving back a 5-run lead and throwing to the wrong base, but the stupidest had to be in the bottom of the 8^th when the ball went right through Mike Lamb's legs. Actually, the best part was his reaction - he must have felt like an 8 year old kid again. Fortunately, no harm was done because of it, so it's pretty funny.

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Glad to see Cuddy back.

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Are the Rangers seriously considering starting Sidney Ponson? According to the Twins website, they are. In fact, the picture of Sir Sid shows him still wearing a Twins hat.

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And finally, the "Are the Guys in the Truck Watching the Same Game?" moment of the game: In the 1^st, when Joey was up to bat with Go-Go on second, all of a sudden the scroll thing under the score banner that announces homeruns said "2-run Homerun - Mauer (1)". However, he was still at the plate at the time. In fact, he wound up walking.



Sorry about the crappy picture. I don't have HD TV, and I'm just using a digital camera because I don't have the equipment and/or knowhow to get pictures off my DVR. And yes, I'm dorky enough to record every game.

I'm Bored Today...

I'm bored today. And I don't really feel very good (only partly self-inflicted). Maybe some bullet points will help. Everyone loves bullet points.

• I'm not too worried about the Twins slow start in spring training. It seems to me that when they have a great spring, they have an average season; when they have a lousy spring, they have a great season. At least that's what I'm telling myself. Of course, I reserve the right to change this opinion if our boys start winning tons. They're off to a good start today.


• Am I the only person who doesn't like the "stuf" inside Oreos? Their marketing department has come up with a gimmick where they're hosting stuf licking races. Bleh. Me? If I do eat it, I never separate it from the delicious chocolate cookie goodness. Usually I just scrape it off, throw it away and eat the cookies plain.


• I finally got around to dusting my memorabilia cabinet (housekeeping is not one of my stronger abilities - I want a sparkling clean house; I just don't want to be the one making it that way). I don't have many items - just stuff I've collected over the years. But I came to some sad realizations as I was dusting: (look - sub-bullets)
  


• I have nine Twins bobbleheads. Only two were former Twins when I got them (Kirby and TK). Now, only two are current Twins (Gardy and Joe Mauer). The rest have moved from the current Twin side of the shelf to the former Twin side of the shelf.


• Remember in 2005, the Twins had that coin collection promotion? Every day, you would cut out the coupon from the paper, go to Super America and buy a coin with a Twins player's picture on it. It turned out to be a big hairy deal at the end of the promotion because everyone was buying up the last of the coins then selling them on eBay for 89 times the purchase price. Well, I was lucky enough to complete the set without resorting to eBay. Anyhoo, there are 20 coins with pictures, and only five are current Twins (Gardy, Mauer, Morneau, Nathan, and Cuddy).


• Mike Lamb is better looking than I first thought. Except he has a really small mouth - too small for his face. Just an observation.


• I'm currently reading Kent Hrbek's book "Tales From the Minnesota Twins Dugout". I'll let you know what I think when I'm done.
  

That's all I have for today.

Jason, Adam, Mark, and Answer

Goodbye Jason

With the release of Jason Tyner, the days of the Twins' glut of players named Jason are over. Two-thirds of the Jason trinity is now gone (thank you for the concept, BatGirl). Never again will the bases be loaded with Jasons (I remember that it happened once in 2006 - it may have happened more often).

I will miss Jason Tyner - I'm glad he finally got his homerun as a Twin. I hope he hooks on somewhere. Becca over at Twins Sisters has a nice tribute for him.

Hello Adam and Mike

We've all heard about Adam Everett by now. And now the Twins have added Mike Lamb. Solid acquisitions, both. I'm looking forward to seeing them play. And I'm thrilled to see stuff happening this off-season.

But the real question is: how does this affect the HGI (Hot Guy Index)?

Pictures from the Star-Tribune website

Hmm. I'm not sure I like where the index is headed. Maybe they'll look better once they put their Twins hats on. And I'm sure they have great personalities.

Trivia Answer

Here's the answer to the Sit & Solve Baseball Trivia question I posted last time:

Distracting the Batter

No, but it used to be before Eddie Stanky of the New York Giants brought undue attention to the play in the early 1950s. Today, the umpire would stop play and warn the violator that if he continued to try to distract the batter, he would be ejected from the game.

The Twins tried a similar tactic on Boggs, when he on a hitting streak in the mid-1980s. Second baseman Phil [sic] Lombardozzi and shortstop Phil [sic] Gagne changed positions just as the pitcher delivered the ball to the plate. Umpire Ed Brinkman stopped play and applied Rule 4.06 [b]. illegal distraction. On the next pitch, Boggs hit a line-drive double.

*Sigh* Yes, yes I know that it's Steve Lombardozzi and Greg Gagne. Apparently in this book, "Phil" is code for "I don't know what this guy's name is and I'm too lazy to look it up so I'll just make it up". How embarrassing - I pick a question at random, and it has the details wrong. Just my luck. I probably won't be doing that again.