Empty the Bucket

If I think of my brain as a bucket, I sometimes imagine that it begins to overflow and I have to intentionally get some of my thoughts out of there before they just spill over and are gone forever.

Here are some baseball-related bucket thoughts:

Denard Falls Down
During Saturday's Spring Training game, Denard Span fell down twice while making fly-ball catches in the outfield. If this had been a year ago, everyone would be thinking "ha ha, at least he made the catch" and had gone on with the game.

This year, however, I have to admit, every time he falls down, crashes into a fence, or makes a diving catch, I worry. Why did he fall? Is he dizzy? Can he see alright? Did he bang his head? Did he whip his neck? Is he ok?

True, I'm especially prone to worrying, and that's fine. It's no big deal if I sit here and think all these things. But, unfortunately, I'm not the only one; the media asked him about it all the time. And that has to be annoying for him.

It's not the writers' fault for asking him questions that everyone wants answers to, but it must be difficult to have to make the same assurances all the time. Yes, having to address the media comes with the territory, but I bet he's looking forward to when he can simply talk about the game and not his head.

I'm hoping, for both his and the fans' sake, that very soon, he won't have to address these issues every time he has a tiny stumble or makes a difficult play. I'm sure he hopes so too.

Your New Voice of Summer
I had a chance to listen to the Twins new play-by-play announcer Cory Provus a couple of time, and he made a very nice first impression.

His voice is rich, smooth, and easy to listen to, and he calls the game well. If he's telling a story or anecdote while the play is going on, he'll interrupt himself to call the play -- like he should. He's well prepared for the games, and he doesn't give the impression of being the new guy at all (not bad for calling Spring Training games when it's likely there'll be guys coming to bat that even Gardy doesn't know). He already sounds comfortable, as if he's always been here.

I'm not sure that it's really possible, but I think he even makes Dan Gladden better. Well done, Cory, well done.

The Zumaya Decision
After thinking about his situation a few days, Joel Zumaya decided to go ahead and have Tommy John surgery and attempt a comeback. Right after his elbow blew, it sounded like he was leaning heavily toward retiring.

I imagine this decision came with much thought, prayers, and even tears. This will be his sixth surgery, and the rehab that will come with it will most likely be the most difficult. Plus, there's no guarantee on the other side that he'll even be able to pitch again in the Major Leagues (he'll be a free agent when he's ready to come back, and he'll need to convince a team to sign him). No one would have blamed him if he had just wanted to forget it all and walk away.

Instead, he'll take a huge leap of faith and go for it. And I'm kind of happy for him.

I certainly wish him all the best.

C'mon! Enough Already! (Injury and Illness Update)

Good grief! I don't know what the Twins did to piss off the injury and illness demons, but they had better figure it out and correct it really quickly before things get any more serious.

Let's take inventory, shall we:

We already know that Nick Blackburn's season is over.

Joe Mauer's season is over. He has been diagnosed with "mild" pneumonia, and he needs to rest for two weeks -- which will take up the rest of the season. Mild pneumonia, often called "walking" pneumonia, is the least serious of the pneumonia infections, and it usually doesn't require hospitalization. This is not to say that Joe's not miserable. Pneumonia of any strain is an infection of the lungs. He can probably walk around and do some light activity, but he's got a bad cough and probably has a hard time catching his breath when he runs.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka's season is over. He has a nagging oblique strain that just doesn't seem to be getting better, so the Twins shut him down. According to LaVelle E. Neal of the Star Tribune, the Twins have sent him on his way with instructions for an off-season workout program.

Justin Morneau's season is most likely over. He's still fighting concussion symptoms and now he's got the flu. The concussion symptoms are quite worrisome because they reappeared after he made a somewhat routine play attempt at first base. This article by Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports explains just how scary and frustrating Justin's situation is.

Jason Kubel's season is most likely over. The foot injury he suffered earlier in the season has flared up again, and he's in quite a bit of pain. He'll have it looked at more during the off-season.

Denard Span's season might be over. He also can't shake off the concussion symptoms and migraines.

Scott Baker is still on the DL with a forearm strain. He hopes to be able to pitch out of the bullpen soon.

Alexi Casilla is still on the DL with a hamstring strain. He hope to be able to play before the end of the season.

Danny Valencia has the flu.

Ben Revere just got over having the flu.

Brian Duensing just got over having the flu.

Fransico Liriano pitched two innings out of the bullpen on Saturday. So that's good news.

~~~

Since we're talking about injuries and whatnot, here's Michael Cuddyer's paper doll:


Michael Cuddyer missed several games in August due to a sore neck. Then when he came back from that, he was promptly hit in the wrist by a pitch.

He played the day after he was hit by the pitch after verifying with medical staff that playing wouldn't damage it further and all he needed to do would be manage the pain.

This, of course, riled up columnist Jim Souhan, who praised Cuddyer's toughness (kind of omitting the fact that he missed time from the neck the week before) and used him as an example to prove that Joe Mauer is soft. Cuddyer, of course, wasn't able to play particularly well with the sore wrist.

Of course, all that put some bloggers and fans into a small snit (Souhan puts people into snits pretty regularly). A lot of folks (not wrongly so) kind of used him as an example that playing hurt is not necessarily a good option.

Once rosters expanded, Cuddyer missed some time to get the wrist feeling better.

I don't think it mattered too much either way whether he played hurt or not. He played when the team despirately needed warm bodies, and it wasn't like his poor play blocked anyone else from getting a chance. Then, when there were warm bodies, he sat. No problem.

DL Report: Nick Blackburn

The Twins are just piling on names to the Disabled List. With this latest addition, they've now used the DL 23 times. I wondered if that was a record, so I asked the only people I knew would have an answer: Twitter. My Twitter buddy Dan Wade (@dwade), who contributes to Sports Illustrated's Under the Knife fantasy sports column, came back with an answer. Turns out that the Twins are close to the lead for DL transactions, but, in fact, the Dodgers have 24. So, at least there's that. For now.

The Twins have placed Nick Blackburn on the 15-day DL with a right lateral forearm strain. He was taken out of Sunday's game in the second inning after having absolutely no command.

I'm kind of having a hard time figuring out exactly what hurts. "Lateral forearm" is kind of nondescript. In his interviews with the media, he describes it as a sharp pain near the top of the forearm near the elbow. I'm no expert by any means, but I've had that sharp pain in that location...tennis elbow (or, more classily referred to as: Lateral epicondylitis). At any rate, Blackburn didn't seem to think it was terribly serious, but he is scheduled to have more tests and such on Tuesday.

Anthony Swarzak has been added to the rotation and will pitch Friday in Blackburn's place. Right-handed reliever Lester Oliveros, acquired as the "player to be named later" in the Delmon Young trade, has been recalled to take Blackburn's roster spot.

~~~

Also watching:

Justin Morneau has been out for two games so far after fouling a pitch off his right foot on Saturday. X-rays were negative, but if it's still sore tomorrow, he'll have an MRI.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka has missed three games due to back spasms.

Other Updates:

Michael Cuddyer returned to play on Monday after missing a handful of games with a sore neck.

Denard Span won't be with the team for awhile. He's been sent home to rest.

DL Report: Denard Span -- He Wasn't Really Better

Unfortunately, brain injuries are hard to treat, and even harder to predict. Throw in adjustments to medications, a predisposition to vertigo, and a lot of travel, and a regression is bound to happen.

The Twins have placed Denard Span on the 15-day DL, retroactive to August 14, with migraine and vertigo symptoms. He says that he feels like he did when he suffered vertigo back in 2009. He also reported that he and the trainers have been trying to adjust his medications. Because his concussion is located in the part of the brain that handles balance, he's just not feeling very steady at all. There's a chance he may need to visit the specialist in Pittsburgh he saw before. Unfortunately, this may end his season, especially with the Twins out of playoff contention. There's no reason to bring him back until they're 100% certain that he's 100% well.

Luke Hughes was called up from AAA Rochester to take Span's roster spot. Unfortunately, Hughes got a little lost in the airport, and he missed his flight. He did finally arrive mid-game Thursday.

I have no idea why the paper doll has that black squiggly thing around it. When I copied from the first time I made it, it didn't have that. It's late, and I don't feel like cleaning it up. I figure it kind of represents the fog that's following Denard.

~~~

Also watching:

Michael Cuddyer is still suffering a pain in the neck. He had an epidural shot and hopefully it'll feel better in a day or two.

Matt Tolbert has a sore wrist and can't swing a bat. He felt something during batting practice a couple of days ago.

~~~

Hence:

Three guys were unavailable plus Jason Kubel was away tending to a family matter. All this added up to only two guys able to play the outfield. Insert Joe Mauer in right field. And until Hughes arrived, there was no one on the bench. It would've been simultaneously awesome and awful if Drew Butera had gotten hurt. Joe comes in to catch, and one of the starting pitchers goes out in right? Too ridiculous to even hold in my brain.

Neither a Buyer Nor Seller Be

The non-waiver trade deadline has passed, and the Twins have nothing to show for it. Nothing. However, that's not to say that Bill Smith and his boys weren't busy. It just means that they were probably stubborn.

The loudest buzz of the weekend surrounded Denard Span going to the Nationals for right-handed reliever Drew Storen. From what I gathered through sorting through hundreds of tweets on the topic, Washington pushed hard for Span, but his value caused Smith to ask more than what they were willing to give up. It hard to tell exactly how close this deal actually was; all the news came from the Nationals' side, and the Twins, as usual, were very secretive.

Storen's a good pitcher, and he would have been a very nice addition to the Twins' struggling bullpen, but Span is just too valuable to let go unless the return package blows everyone away. Span is a great on-base guy (an important asset for a leadoff hitter), hits for average, has some power, and his defense gets better every year. Plus, he's under contract at a reasonable price until 2014 (with a team option in 2015). He's a good clubhouse guy with a great attitude; he tends to let adversity fire him up rather than bring him down. There were also indications that his teammates would have been upset if he was traded.

This whole thing must have weighed on his mind as he read his name all over Twitter. He sent out a few tweets indicating that he hoped to remain a Twin and how much he appreciated the fan support. On Sunday evening, he expressed his relief and gratitude again. I certainly hope he can move on from all this chaos cleanly with no regrets or hard feelings.

Jason Kubel, Michael Cuddyer, and Kevin Slowey's names were also thrown around as trade candidates, but I never got the feeling that anything was serious or eminent with them. It seems that the Twins still consider themselves contenders, and Kubel and Cuddyer will be important pieces in achieving that goal.

Turns out, it's probably also wise that they hung on to Kevin Slowey. The rotation is scuffling, and the Twins may need him to take over for someone. Also, there is still a chance that he could be traded through waivers in August.

Not giving away helpful pieces is well and good and all, but the Twins didn't gain any helpful pieces either. Which is disappointing. There are wide holes in the bullpen and middle-infield that could use some quality help. The starting pitching is also leaving a lot to be desired lately. I wonder if all this focus on Span cost the Twins some opportunities to target other players.

Fortunately, it's still possible to acquire some guys; they just have to clear waivers first (and there are ways to get around that, too). Remember, Carl Pavano was added in August of 2009, and that worked out pretty well.

~~~

DL Update:

Denard Span has been activated from the DL after being out since June 9 with a concussion. He will meet up with the team in Anaheim and is scheduled to start Tuesday (Monday is an off day for the team). Infielder Luke Hughes was sent down to AAA Rochester (again!) to make room.

Justin Morneau might start a rehab assignment this week.

~~~

Don't forget to enter for the 1991 World Series Collector's DVD Set drawing. The deadline is Sunday night, so this is your last chance. I'll execute the drawing, with one of my kids, sometime after dinner on Monday (it is supposed to be taco night, so, you know, priorities).

One entry per person, so enter now if you haven't already. Just let me know any way you know how.

Things Moving

It's the All-Star Break. The Twins aren't exactly in the position we all were hoping for when spring training broke. Good thing they're traditionally better in the second half of the season. I'm hopeful that if the Twins continue playing good baseball, we fans will be enjoying meaningful games come September. However, I'm also not delusional.


This doesn't bother me too much; the Twins have overcome this number before.

This, however...this might be asking a lot. This would require a serious alignment of the planets and still need extra luck.

Playing well and winning is one thing. It's not impossible to move up six and half games on one team in just a few weeks. Depending on three teams to stumble is pretty tough.

It should be exciting.

~~~

I enjoyed watching Joe Mauer play first base on Thursday night. It kind of looked like he enjoyed it too. It was nice to see him smiling after he made some good plays. I guess I've never noticed him having fun playing; it's pretty hard to tell if he is with his face behind a mask all the time.

It's important to remember, however, that he's not moving to first base. He's a catcher. He will spend most of his playing days catching. For several years. But it's nice that he has the option to play there once in a while to help save his legs and still keep his bat in the lineup.

Of course, the experiment proved what I've suspected all along: he's one of those guys who just does everything extremely well without even really trying hard or knowing what he's doing -- even things he's never done before. I hate those kind of people. I'm sure if someone challenged him to cook fine French cuisine or hang glide, he'd do it perfectly. Like the Most Interesting Man in the World guy, only with less interestingness.

~~~

With the All-Star break comes some roster moves for the Twins. Delmon Young has been activated from the DL. He played a few games in Rochester and both DHed and played in the outfield and he's ready to go. Rene Tosoni has been reassigned to Rochester to make room.

Trevor Plouffe has been tearing the cover off the ball in Rochester. So Gardy told him to get some time playing at first base, which he did. And now he's coming back. He'll be a nice addition to the platoon of Hughes, Cuddyer, and Mauer who are currently staffing the position. He can also play some in the outfield. Catcher Rene Rivera has been reassigned to Rochester to make room. We all knew the Twins couldn't keep three catchers around for very long.

The Minnesota Twins: now with 100% less Rene-ness.

~~~

DL Watch:

Like I said, Delmon Young has been activated.

Denard Span could be ready to play very soon. He still needs to pass the ImPACT test before he is cleared. When he does, he'll likely spend some time in Rochester in a rehab assignment.

Jason Kubel had a little set back on his sprained foot, but an MRI showed no additional damage. He'll likely resume his rehab play soon.

Kevin Slowey has been pitching in rehab games for Rochester and is likely to come off the DL soon. However, he's likely to remain in Rochester as a starting pitcher.

Justin Morneau's neck surgery went well, and he's already feeling stronger. He fully expects to return sometime in August as originally expected.

We're watching Scott Baker, who missed Sunday's start due to some tenderness in his elbow, and Jim Thome, who sat Sunday with a strained big toe. Hopefully the All-Star break will give them time to heal, and they'll be fine on the other side.

DL Report: Justin Morneau

There are now nine men currently on the DL (two will come off in the next 24 hours), 13 men to be on it sometime this year, and two men twice, for a total of 15 transactions. Oy. Plus, with all the minor leaugers filling in, only 10 guys on the current 25-man roster have had no transactions at all. I've had to rearrange my spreadsheet quite a bit.

The Twins have placed Justin Morneau on the 15-day DL, retroactive to June 10, with a left wrist strain. He had a cortisone shot a few days ago, but unfortunately, it didn't give him any relief. He had it re-examined, and the doctor told him to immobilize it for 10 days. He'll get a cast on it sometime Thursday.

How he hurt it is unclear. I haven't seen any definitive reports in the media. It could be caused by some kind over-compensation of his sore neck and shoulder (experts call this a "cascade injury"). However, I've also read some speculation that he may have hurt in in a fit of frustration.

Either way, it's hurt, and he has to sit. With a cast.

No announcement yet as to who will take his spot on the roster, but both Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Glen Perkins are due to come off the DL on Wednesday or Thursday.

Updates:
Tsuyoshi Nishioka has been playing some games at AAA Rochester and is ready to come back to Minnesota. He'll be evaluated again once he arrives to Target Field, and he may be ready to play Wednesday night. Because he's currently on the 60-day DL, someone will have to come off both the active roster and the 40-man roster to make room. Pitcher Dusty Hughes has been outrighted from the 40-man roster.

Glen Perkins should be in the line up Thursday, or maybe even Wednesday night.

Joe Mauer is very close to returning, too. I'm hoping he'll be in the line up Friday. He faced Joe Nathan in some batting practice in Fort Myers on Wednesday. I wonder if Nathan "got him with the slider" and then Mrs. Mauer came by and told them to go play outside. Ha. And, like Nishioka, he's on the 60-DL, which means a 25-man and 40-man roster spot will need to be cleared for him.

Joe Nathan will be returning to Minnesota soon. He's not quite ready to return to the line up, but he's very close.

Jim Thome and Kevin Slowey are in Fort Myers doing rehab.

Jason Kubel is taking swings in the batting cage, but still has pain in his foot when he runs.

Denard Span is feeling better every day, but is still suffering concussion symptoms.

DL Report: Denard Span

Oh, no. I was afraid of this...

The Twins have placed OF Denard Span on the 7-day DL with a mild concussion and whiplash symptoms. He suffered the injury during a collision with the Royals catcher at the plate on Friday, June 3. He rested a couple of days, and tried to DH on the following Monday; however, he later told reporters that he never felt "right" and everything was hazy.

On Thursday, he tweeted that he had spent over three hours at the doctors, who found the concussion. Before Thursday's game, the Twins trainer told reporters that his symptoms reminded him of the whiplash he suffered in 2009. Friday morning, Span tweeted that the concussion made him feel "lazy." Of course, with every brain injury, there is no telling how long he'll be out. Twin fans are particularly worried as they know that the concussion that Justin Morneau suffered kept him out of baseball for months.

OF Rene Tosoni has been recalled from AAA Rochester to fill his roster spot.

The 7-day DL is new to MLB this year, specifically for concussion-related injuries. The intention is to avoid rushing players with head injuries back into action without hurting the team.

Updates:

Joe Mauer caught in back-to-back games, which is significant.

Jim Thome's quad injury is related to his previous back injury. He's due to receive an epidural soon. To be clear, "epidural" refers to the epidural space, which is the outermost part of the spinal canal. Many women have epidurals to manage pain during childbirth or c-sections. Those are epidural anesthesia procedures. I doubt he's getting that; because that would make the entire lower half of his body numb for a few hours. What I suspect he's getting is an epidural steroid shot, which hurts like a son-of-a-b*tch when you get it, but works pretty well after that. That is, if they get the needle in the right spot the first time. If not, they do it again...ow!

Matt Capps is sore (right wrist). Phil Dumatrait is sore (shoulder). Justin Morneau is sore (neck, shoulder, wrist, etc.). All are day-to-day.

Yesterday afternoon, I sent a tweet out regarding Kevin Slowey. I hadn't heard an update about his injury rehab in quite awhile, and I figured all the "he needs to be traded or sent down so he can be a starter" talk that surrounded the injury made all the beat reporters figure he was no longer with the team. Jordan Schelling from MLB.com replied that Slowey threw long toss with no complaints.

As far as all the other guys, I think you should just read RandBall's Stu's update. He's got everyone covered, and in a much funnier way than I could ever dream of. I'm done here, so go read it now.

Range of Emotions

I've long since given up hope that the Twins will make the playoffs. And I'm totally ok with that. I've been spoiled with contending teams for awhile, and I have forgotten what it's like to just root for a team and enjoy the baseball without the constraints of expectations. Of course, winning is still more fun than losing, but if there's no entitlement to the winning, the losing isn't as bad.

I've reached a point where I can simply take in the games one at a time, and experience my emotions within the context of each individual game as they come. With that, taking the series from the division leader was more good than bad.

Happiness: I'm going to say it again -- I'm having a lot of fun watching Ben Revere play. There are guys I love because they're really good at baseball, and then there are guys I love because they're lovable. Revere falls into the "lovable" category. It's true that he's not the most talented player to ever grace a baseball diamond -- he won't hit any home runs and his throwing arm is pretty weak -- but those faults can be worked around. He's fast, small, energetic, and very exciting to watch. And look at him as he's playing; he's always smiling. He loves this game, and he shows it. It's good to see someone who is actually having fun playing. He makes me want to keep watching, and I haven't been able to say that about a single player in a long time. I really hope that I can keep watching him play when Jason Kubel and Jim Thome come back.

Also under the "happiness" emotion, I'm thrilled the boys in the bullpen are having a little fun. If you've been watching the Twins television broadcasts, you've seen that they've been playacting on their way out to the bullpen area before the games (here's a video). First they pretended to be bobsled team, then a boat. It's about time this team showed a little personality. The season is a grind, they have to have fun in order to keep their sanity. Besides, keeping loose and playful probably helps them perform a little better.

Frustration: Delmon Young has become the complete opposite of Ben Revere and is pretty much batting .800 in frustrating me every time I see him. He looks so uncomfortable and jumpy at the plate -- much like what a 4-year-old looks like when he has to pee. He's slow and plodding when he runs. He's become totally unreliable in the outfield. And, yes, his arm is stronger that Revere's, but it's not really all that accurate. I get worried every time a routine fly ball goes out to left because I'm not confident at all that he'll be able to catch it. I really don't like hating on players -- baseball is hard. Plus, he's such important part of this team, the team pretty much goes how he goes. However, he simply doesn't look like he likes his job. He's never really been much of a smiley guy, but his facial expressions and body language really make it seem like he'd really rather be anyplace else in the world.

I'm also becoming increasingly frustrated with Matt Capps. He's logged only 8 saves in 13 save opportunities. That means he's blown 5. This does not inspire confidence. He's still a good pitcher; he has a WHIP under 1, which means he isn't giving up a ton of singles and walks. But he is giving up home runs. This is not good for the guy who's coming in the game with a less-than-three-run lead. Unfortunately, I don't have an answer within the organization to fix this problem. Now that the Twins are batting a little better and getting leads, they really need a real closer.

Worry: I have to say that I'm quite worried about Denard Span. He suffered ... well, something ... on Friday during a collision with the Royal's catcher on Friday. He tried to play through on Monday as the DH, but he said that every at bat was very fuzzy. He later told reporters that the Vestibular Neuritis (vertigo) he suffered in 2009 never really went away. And now, he's not himself, and he knows that something's really wrong. As unfortunate as it is to take his production out of the line up, it's really worrisome because this is more than just a baseball injury. This is a quality-of-life injury. It's one thing to heal from a quad strain or even surgery; it's quite another thing to figure out and heal from a neuro issue.

I'm also beginning to worry about Justin Morneau. His aches and pains are really mounting, and I have to wonder how much more of those he can take before landing on the DL. His neck and shoulder hurt. His wrist is swollen and sore. Eventually, dealing with these pains is going to cause something else to strain or sprain or break, and it'll be bad.

~~~

DL Update:

For the second consecutive series, there are no new paper dolls to make. Good.

As I mentioned above, I'm worried about Denard; I sincerely hope I don't have to make a paper doll for him.

As for all the other guys, it sounds like they're all progressing along. Joe Mauer and Tsuyoshi Nishioka have been playing for the Miracle. They may need time at higher levels in order to face better pitching, but I'm willing to guess that they'll both be back with the Twins within 10 days. Perkins and Nathan are throwing. Thome and Kubel are said to be improving.

We're still watching Nick Blackburn and hoping his back stiffness is gone. He's scheduled to pitch Thursday night.

Sometimes It's Not Who You Play, But When You Play Them...

... and then sometimes it is who you play.

This nice little sweep of the Royals was the first more-than-two-game-series win of the season and the first four-game winning streak of the season. In the previous series against Detroit, our Twins looked overmatched, scared, and frustrated. It's not like the Tigers blew them away, but the Twins just didn't look good.

Since the Royals always play the Twins tough, I was hoping the Twins could at least earn a split. But they, ...

"for whatever perverse reason, began playing baseball with joy and verve and poetry"

...and it was good. In fact, it was beautiful.

Is it too soon to think that they've turned the corner into being a good team again?

~~~

One thing I have been enjoying, regardless of the outcomes of the games, is rooting for the kids. With all the injuries, we've seen a lot of them. And they're all playing like they don't want to be sent down again...not that anyone ever wants to be sent down again...and that's what makes this fun.

Ben Revere is just fun to watch. He's fast, small, and, well, adorable. I just love how he smiles all the time. He covers a lot of ground in the outfield, and he absolutely flies around the bases. About the only knock on him is his throwing arm, but the team can work with that. I see a pretty good future for him.

Anthony Swarzak has really stepped up in times of need. He did serviceable work from the bullpen, but as a starter, he's sparkled. And he has a great attitude -- he just wants the ball whenever Gardy needs to give it to him. It's great having him around to fill in for starters as needed and not feeling scared about it.

And, how about Brian Dinkelman? After only one major league game, he's earned himself quite a fan club. During Saturday's game, and reportedly at the bars after the game, loud chants of "DINK-EL-MAN" could be heard. How much fun is that? I hope he appreciated every moment of it. I don't think there are very many guys who received both a HBP and IBB in their major-league debuts.

I'm even rooting for Trevor Plouffe, although his defensive miscues drive me nuts. I know he's back in Rochester working those out right now, but it's better that he's there playing everyday rather that with the big club sitting on the bench. He'll be back soon enough, and he'll be just fine.

~~~

DL Updates:

This is the time of the season when if starts becoming a grind for the players. The freshness of the new season has worn off, and it's still to early for the excitement of a playoff push. Players are worn down and sore. Everyone's playing hurt. And everyone's hoping that "hurt" doesn't turn in to "injured."


Thankfully, there were no new additions to the DL during this series ... yet. We're watching Denard Span, who missed Saturday and Sunday with a sore neck, though he was available to pinch hit on Sunday if needed. Justin Morneau also missed Saturday and Sunday with a swollen wrist. Nick Blackburn's start on Saturday was cut short due to back spasms, although he said after the game that he was hopeful it wasn't serious.

Joe Mauer has been catching in real games for the Single-A Fort Myers Miracle (where, by the way, his brother Jake is the manager -- I wonder if they call each other "Butthead" like my boys do). He'll likely have to move up to AA or AAA for a few games in order to face better pitching before he heads back to Minnesota.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka will also start playing for Fort Myers soon. Gardy has indicated that when Nishi does return, he'll likely be at shortstop rather than at second base.

Twins at Blue Jays: Working out the Rust

Recap:
Friday: Twins a little - Blue Jays a lot (3-13)
Saturday: Twins 1 - Blue Jays 6
Sunday: Twins 4 - Blue Jays 3

Record: 1-2

 

There was a lot of rust for the Twins this series, but Sunday's win kept it from being a complete clunker.

Forgive me, I'm experiencing some rustiness. I haven't done a series recap in so long, I had to look up posts from a year ago to remember how.

Obviously, I'm not the only one who has some rust to work out. Pavano, Manship, D. Hughes looked very rusty. Liriano didn't look so sharp either.

It's hard to tell if Nishioka is suffering from rust or jitters. He's made some mistakes at second; some of them costly. I'm willing to give him a whole bunch of slack because he's got a lot to learn very quickly, but, man, some of those mental mistakes are hard to watch. I hope he's the type who learns from his mistakes and works hard to avoid them in the future. Anyway, I don't mean to be terribly critical; it's only been three games. I'm sure he'll settle in soon and be just fine.

Of course, the owner of the most rust was Joe Nathan. And understandably so. That save, which is his first since Oct. 3, 2009, was probably the most difficult, nerve-racking, excruciating, stressful, heart-thumping, nail-biting, prayer-inducing, hair-pulling, oh-my-god-Joe-just-get-him-out pleading performance I've ever witnessed. It very well could be a good thing it was that way. He had to have been extremely nervous, excited, and scared. And, though it wasn't a pretty save, he certainly earned it. It must have been a great boost to his confidence to face that challenge, stumble but not fall, and finally complete it mostly intact. All with Gardy believing in him enough to let him get that far (although you know he was done after that last batter). I'm sure Joe will be better next time. The only concern now is how his elbow feels after throwing that many pitches. Let's hope for the best, of course.

Another guy with more rust that the others is Justin Morneau. This series takes him back to the place where he suffered his season-ending concussion last year. He played in all three games, but DHed on Sunday. That's great progress. Unfortunately, he didn't his first hit until Sunday -- a broken-bat infield single. That's kind of amusing.

~~~

High Fives:

I've never really done this kind of thing before, but I may as well give some credit where credit is due. As long as the Twins aren't swept in a series, I'll try to figure out three players (or more, if I'm so inclined) who deserve a high-five.

1. Nick Blackburn. He was outstanding on Sunday. He pitched in and out with movement, and when the Jays made contact, it was weak. Well, except for Jose Bautista, but Nick's not going to be the last guy to give up a homerun to that guy.

2. Denard Span. He had a game-saving catch and a moonshot on Sunday. Plus, he's currently leading the team in batting.

3. Joe Nathan. Well, he earned a save. And by that, I mean, he really earned a save. Oh, if you watched the game on TV, did you notice how sweaty he was during the post-game interview? I guess he was a bit anxious.

What's With All the Singing?

So, it seems that the Twins players are having some fun doing some commercials. We can tell they're having fun because they're signing. Singing is fun.

If you're here in Minnesota, you've probably already seen the "snipe hunt" commercial featuring the vocal stylings of Denard Span, Jason Kubel, and Jerry White.

If you want to see it, here's a link.

I gotta say, Jerry White sings pretty well. No comment on the other two.

And now, our great state wants you to spend your money traveling throughout it. And Joe Mauer sings about it. He's exactly as awkward as you'd imagine.



It's a good thing they're good at baseball.

~~~

Be sure to check out the Rumor Report over on From The Third Baseline. I write about the trade rumors around Kevin Slowey.

Quick Notes: Jan. 30, 2011

If there was an award for the Most Boring Blog of the Week, I'd win this week. There isn't really a lot of news from Twins world. Add to that the fact that I wasn't able to make it to Twins Fest this weekend, there's not really a whole lot of stuff to talk about.

But, since you were kind enough to stop by, I'll come up with a couple of things.

~~~

News Item 1: Kevin Slowey and the Twins avoided arbitration by agreeing to a 1-year, $2 something million contract.

~~~

News Item 2: The Twins picked up LHP Dusty Hughes off waivers from the Royals. In order to make room, they designated RHP Rob Delaney for assignment -- which means he had to pass through waivers in order to remain on the minor league roster -- who was promptly claimed by the Rays.

Ok. First of all, what is it with the Twins and guys named Hughes? Isn't he like the 17th one they've had in the last six years or so?

Secondly, I don't get this move at all. I can't figure out what the front office thinks their gaining by picking up a reject from the Royals. But, I don't really know much about this Hughes fellow, so I'll give him a chance. I just think it's dumb that they had to lose Delaney to get him.

~~~

News Item 3: Bert's number 28 will be retired by the Twins, now that Jesse Crain is gone and done using it. Huzzah!

~~~

News Item 4: The Twins are removing the pine trees that decorate the centerfield area of the stadium. Some of the batters were complaining that they couldn't see the ball due to the crazy shadows the trees cast during late afternoon and early evening games. Too bad; I thought the trees were pretty.

I hope they can transplant them to a suitable home, maybe around the plaza or someplace close by.

~~~

Ok, so Twins Fest. Due to other commitments -- well that, and the fact I failed to get some of those limited tickets in a timely manner, -- I was unable to attend. But I was absolutely captivated by following my Twitter feed. Many of my Twitter friends went and posted pictures. That was really fun; I'm glad they did. Several friends also posted pictures on Facebook; I loved them.

I also really appreciate how the Twins public relations folks really used Twitter to reach out to fans. It's so easy to conduct a quick interview with a player by recording it on an iPhone and then pop it on to Twitter. They did a number of those, and they were a ton of fun.

So between reading my friends tweets, seeing the Twitvids from the Twins, seeing a bunch of pictures on Facebook, and listening to the interviews on 1500ESPN on the radio, I didn't feel too sorry for myself for missing it.

~~~

Speaking of Twitter, it seems as if some of the players are embracing the social media craze and signing up. Denard (@thisisdspan) and Cuddy (@mcuddy5) have been on for a while, but recently have been reaching out more. Addtionally, Danny Valencia's (@dannyvalencia19) in -- probably the best thing to happen to Twitter, since, well, tweeting (don't believe me? just ask him). So if you're a Twitterer, be sure you're following these guys; it's a lot of fun.

If I had some words of advice for players on Twitter, they would be:

• Keep it real. We follow you because we really want to get to know you a little better. Go ahead and talk about whatever's on your mind -- music, television, movies, food, and of course, baseball.
• Keep it classy. Don't call out your teammates or coaches and don't disrespect your opponents. That kind of stuff might make for some entertaining Twitterbattles, it can also get blown out of proportion in a hurry. We'd hate for you to have to shut down because you pissed someone off. Best to take the approach of pretending that Gardy and your mom are looking over your shoulder with every tweet -- if you can't say it in front of them, don't say it at all. Keep things positive and fun, and you'll be all right.
• Keep a thick skin. There will be some jerks who forget that you are a real human being and will take out their (usually hypersensitive) frustrations out on you because you're there and say some mean things. Don't ever ever ever take this crap personally. These people are morons; don't forget that. Just shrug off their BS. (Oh, and a note to the knuckleheads who do that -- knock it off! You're not that smart and no one likes you.) 

~~~

Now that Twins Fest is done, there's not much to do until Spring Training starts. I'll really surprised if the Twins' front office does anything between now and then, other than avoiding arbitration with Delmon and Francisco. I expect those to be one-year deals, but then they may work on contract extentions for both of them during Spring Training.

Indians at Twins: Well, Isn't This Fun?

Recap:
Monday -- Indians 3 - Twins 9
Tuesday -- Indians 4 - Twins 6
Wednesday -- Indians 1 - Twins 5

Record: 92-60, your 2010 American League Central Division Champions! 

What can I say that hasn't already been said? Not only is this team fun to watch, but they're also playing very good baseball right now. Obviously, it helps that the White Sox fell into a nasty swoon, but I believe that even if the Sox had played normally, the Twins would still have taken the Division -- they're that good. It is nice to give a few of the everyday-guys a day off now and then so they're fresh for the playoffs. They still have work to do; they want home-field advantage for the first round -- they have to have a better record than the Rangers to do that -- if not for both the ALDS and ALCS -- they have to have a better record than everybody for that. They also don't want to lose momentum. Fresh and sharp should be the goal now. I'm not worried; I think they'll be ok.

I'm still pretty giddy, and tired, from last night, so here are some random thoughts, in no particular order:

• I watched the end of the A's-White Sox game after the Twins game. If you're not familiar with White Sox announcer Hawk Harrelson, suffice it to say I'm not a fan. Anyway, right when I tuned in, he was doing his best to convince his listeners that the Twins are very good and they deserved the playoffs, blah blah blah. He sounded pretty despondent, but at least he was trying. Anyway, as he was talking about the Twins' season, he went on to talk about the man who was instrumental to the great record: Jon Rauch. Um, really? He even threw out the "the straw that stirred the drink" cliche. What, is he forbidden to talk about Jim Thome? I mean, nothing against Rauch, but I don't really think he did that much heavy lifting for the whole season. Whatever.
• During the celebration, Denard Span was joking about Danny Valencia's swagger. It was hilarious; Danny was enjoying the attention. Denard even said that everyone should "hide your daughters" from Danny. But he never said anything about hiding Danny from us cougars. Rawr.
• Speaking of the celebration, I liked how it was fun, yet not too wild. I think that if they're going to have an over-the-top-bachelor-party-type party, they should save it for a bigger championship. Also, you should go check out my buddy Betsy's pictures on her blog. She was one of the lucky fans who stayed at Target Field to celebrate with the boys.
• On Wednesday, most of the back-up guys got to play. There was a lot of joking on Twitter about the degree of hungoverness the boys would be. I'm sure they weren't really in that bad of shape. That's what Red Bull is for. But I bet their eyes were still stinging from the champagne. However, they all did a nice job, so it's all good.

Twins at Tigers -- Expecting Excellence (and Not Always Getting It)

Recap:
Tuesday -- Twins 2 - Tigers 0
Wednesday -- Twins 6 - Tigers 11 (!)
Thursday -- Twins 0 - Tigers 3

Twins drop series 1-2 (first dropped series and first two-game losing streak all season)

Record: 14 - 8

~~~

Generally speaking, sports fans expect excellence from their teams. If not, then what's the point? Passion is part of the bargain. The word "fan" itself proves it; it's short for "fanatic." Therefore, dispassionate people can't really be called "fans"; if they like sports at all, they're merely admirers or connoisseurs, right?

So, what's my point? Well, part of the passion-pact is that we fans expect excellence from our team. Yeah, pretty much all the time. It's the deal -- you play well, I'll be happy; you suck, I'll be unhappy. Simple. All I ask is that everyone does his job -- excellently.

~~~

Fransisco Liriano
So, how excellent was he on Tuesday? Wow. And the best part? It's still kind of unexpected -- we're still waiting for last year's version of Frankie to show himself. But, for the third start in a row, he sparkled. It was a work of art.

Seth Stohs asked on his Facebook page something like (I'm paraphrasing because I'm too lazy to go back and look it up) "can we finally say the 2006 version of Liriano is back?" To which I replied something like (paraphrasing again; lazy again, er, still) "Who's to say we even want the 2006 version of Liriano? That guy wasn't a smart pitcher and because he always wanted to overpower batters, he hurt himself. The 2010 version is a much better, and much smarter pitcher. It looks like he trusts his stuff, and his catcher, much more. He seems calmer and more confident. Leave the 2006 version in the past. I like the 2010 version better. I hope he can keep it up."

In fact, Eric Karabell on ESPN's Baseball Today podcast predicted Liriano will be the AL Cy Young Award winner. Now, I'm not quite ready to go that far, but I'm sure having fun watching him.

~~~

Denard Span
Sometimes a man displays excellence off the field. And sometimes a man displays his excellence in how he responds to a less-than-excellent moment. On Tuesday, Denard lost his cool because the umpire, Paul Emmel, was not doing his job excellently. Denard argued balls and strikes and then threw his bat in frustration. And because of it, he was ejected from the game, which lead to some interesting defensive replacements.

Now, many passionate Twins fans were quick to forgive Span; Emmel's strike zone was ridiculous. But it was still a bad moment for Denard, and he wasn't proud of it. But the excellent part came after the game: he apologized to the umpiring crew, issued an apology to the press, and apologized on Twitter. He was perfectly contrite and he promised to try to avoid doing that again.

~~~

Luke Hughes
It didn't take long for him to display a nice little outburst of excellence. In his first Major League at bat, he deposited a fastball into the right-field seats. The last time a Twin homered in his first Major League at bat was Andre David in 1984. Excellent!

~~~

Jesse Crain
So, there's a reason a lot of people call Jesse "Crain-wreck." I know he can be excellent. I've seen him be excellent. But when he's not excellent, he's a looooong way away from excellent. And Wednesday, he and excellent were miles apart.

I know he was trotted out in a difficult situation. I know that Scott Baker and Pat Neshek weren't exactly excellent themselves. But, damn, watching Crain was just plain painful.

~~~

Carl Pavano
He was excellent on Thursday. Too bad he wasn't excellent enough, and Dontrelle Willis (of all people) was excellenter. And too bad the Twins bats weren't excellent at all.

~~~

Umpires
For the second series in a row, and third time in a week, the umpires kind of took the concept of excellence and sent it to the showers.

• On Saturday (at Kansas City), umpire Greg Gibson called Scott Podsednik out at 2nd to end the game when JJ Hardy bobbled the ball and threw to Orlando Hudson clearly after Podsednik reached. A game should never be decided on such a horrible call.
• On Tuesday, umpire Paul Emmel, who early in the game enforced a reasonable strike zone, suddenly started calling very obvious outside balls as strikes. He was awfully quick to eject Span for arguing. Now there will always be bad balls/strikes calls, but actually changing the entire strike zone in the middle of the game is not cool.
• On Wednesday, umpire Paul Emmel (again!) called an awesome running catch and subsequent drop by Denard Span a no-catch. Span clearly took about three steps with the ball in his glove before he dropped it as he exchanged it to his throwing hand. Emmel defended his call by quoting the part of the rule that says the player should "hold the ball long enough to prove that he has complete control." Umm. Three steps is a pretty long time. But ultimately, the umpires admitted that they lost sight of the play. Again, not cool. And I'm absolutely convinced that it changed the game against the Twins.

I know umpiring is a human job, and humans make mistakes. But this recent lack of excellence from umpires it getting almost strange. It's also generating a lot of buzz regarding expanding instant replay in baseball. I tweeted my response to that idea:

Unfortunately, the umpires may leave us no choice. It may come to be that instant replay is the lesser of two evils. Sad, really. It's time that Major League Baseball demands more excellence from all umpires.

The k-bro Twins Fest Report: 2010 Edition

I wasn't really planning on going to Twins Fest this year. I usually go every few years, and I went just last year. But it just so happened that I had nothing else going on, and I knew some of my Twitter friends would be there, so I figured "why not?" So Mom and I headed to the Dome and ultimately had a great time.

It was crowded. That shouldn't have surprised me, but I think it was more crowded than previous years. At least it felt like it.

First up was the Cuddyer photo line. We had a great time chatting with the gals in line near us. After a while of waiting, we got worried because the staff guy cut off the line right before us. But we stayed in line, and we were lucky enough to make it in just before Cuddy had to leave. Whew! And, boy, are we glad we made it! He couldn't have been a nicer, more polite guy -- super sweet. And, I have to tell you, he's better looking in person than any picture can do justice. But here's one anyway.

Next, it was time to buy grab bags. I love the grab bags because you can always get stadium-give-away items that they only give to kids. The kids' give-aways are always the best. The grab bags are great also because sometimes you can get an autographed item. I've never gotten a signed item before; I've got one now! Score! It was certainly worth the $15. 

Yeah, I don't recommend ever putting your stuff on the Field Turf -- all this was covered in little black pellets after I took this picture. And that stuff is static-y too, so it ain't coming off.

1. Joe Mauer and Mike Redmond "autographed" chest-protector-shaped backpack
2. Mother's Day give-away t-shirt 
3. Dan Gladden bobblehead
4. 2009 Team "autographed" bat
5. 2009 Stats and Information Guide
6. and the coup -- 2010 Target Field calendar with Pat Neshek's autograph. 

Oh, and when I was standing around near the Hall of Fame exhibit, Denard Span scurried by. When I told Mom, I nearly got flattened by a friend of my son's who was chasing him. I'm glad he did, because he led us to where Denard stopped and chatted with fans for a bit.

Then, we moved to the KSTP 1500 area to listen to Joe Mauer's interview. We weren't the only ones there. And no, he didn't say anything about a contract; nor did they ask him about it. Just the typical "feeling good...working out...ready for the season...like that JJ Hardy and Jim Thome are here...blah, blah, blah."

Joe's the one in the tan sweater.

After that, we headed down to the StarTribune booth because I wanted to meet Howard Sinker (A Fan's View). It was great to shake his hand; I was glad to meet him and thank him for linking to my food donation post back in September. I also got to meet Seth Stohs (SethSpeaks), John Bonnes (Twins Geek), and Topper Anton (Curve For a Strike) at the same time. It was a great few minutes -- I was pleased that I got to meet these guys because I admire their blogs so much. I wished I could just take our group and go have a beer or DQ or something and talk baseball. I think next year the Twins should set up a booth of all the cool bloggers. I'd visit.

We had a lunch break and ran into Betsy (For The Love of The Game) and Katie (KC's Baseball Blog) -- it was fun to see them again.

Then we headed to the photo line again to see who was there. Brendan Harris. Ok. Turns out that he was super nice and friendly too. And he's better looking in person than I thought he was. So I was happy with this photo too.

And after visiting a few more booths, that was about all we could handle. I don't know how people play sports on that stupid, pellety Field Turf. My legs were killing me. But I had a great time.

That Was Deflating

After a nice sweep of the Evil Uglies earlier in the week, the Twins and their momentum deflated pretty quickly, and they became the dustbunnies. Oh, and they're below .500 again.

Recap:
Friday: Twins 5 - Angels 11
Saturday: Twins 6 - Angels 11
Sunday: Twins 4 - Angels 13

(52 - 53, 3rd place, 3 games back)

Ga! It's awful having to type all those double-digit numbers for the opponent. You'd think that scoring four or more runs in a game would at least keep the Twins close. Nope.

So, not only was the entire series a big pthpthpthtphptht, but every little thing was a slow leak. Every time a positive thing happened for the Twins, the good feeling immediately floated away because of a much larger negative thing.

On Friday:

• Joey hits a 3-run homer, Nicky hits an RBI triple, and D-Span hits an RBI double; Blackie and Matty combine to let them tie it up.
• Matty and Nathanator do a nice job keeping it a tie game through the 9th and 10th; Keppel, Crain, and Dickey combine to allow six (!) runs in the top of the 11th, with help from Brendan's tangled feet at the worst possible time.
  

On Saturday:

• Red-Dog and Go-Go hit RBI extra base hits to tie the game; Swarzy allows four singles and three runs in the next half-inning.
• R.A. pitches two nice innings to keep the Twins within two; then starts his third inning of work with a single, a throwing error, a walk, and a homer -- and then Keppel relieves him and quickly gives up two homers.
  

On Sunday:

• D-Span makes an awesome grab for the first out in the 4th; Perkins allows a base-hit to the next batter who eventually scores.
• O-Cab hits his first homer as a Twin; Perkins coughs up 5 runs in the next half-inning.
  

The whole thing felt like trying to blow up a balloon with a hole in it. It gave me a headache.
~~~

Up next:
An off day, then a road trip through Cleveland.

I don't recommend taking the Indians too lightly. Their team has been devastated by a bunch of trades, so the young guys starting are hungry and fearless -- they have nothing to lose. And, they just took 2 of 3 from the Tigers (and the one they lost was in extra innings).

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. ;-)

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.

It's Oh So Close...

As I write this, I am watching House (it just started...it looks like a good episode). At this time next week, I'll be DVRing House and watching Twins Baseball!...REAL, LIVE, IT-COUNTS, TWINS BASEBALL. I can't wait.

I'm very excited -- so excited that my expectations are all jumbled and disjointed and random. As usual, when I get this way, I do bullet points.

• I'm nervous that we're not really considered the underdogs this year. It always seems our boys are at their best when no one expects anything. So everyone needs to do me a favor -- please expect the Twins to come in, oh I don't know, third place this year. Thanks.
  
• I'm not really worried about Joey's sore bum. He'll be ship-shape pretty soon.
  
• I am a little worried that while Red's filling in for Joey, he'll get the crap beat out of him, because he always gets the crap beat out of him when he's behind the plate.
• Every time Kevin Slowey pitched this spring, he made me like him a little more because he's so awesome. And then today, he was a guest on the Twins radio broadcast, and he was so talkative and interesting and gracious and knowledgeable, it just made my day listening to him. I don't know, but I think he elevated his status to my second-favorite starting pitcher. A very close second-favorite at that.
  
• I am curious to see how the White Sox fans will greet Joe Crede on that first road trip to Chicago. I hope they don't boo him -- I never understood that.
• I am really looking forward to watching the Twins games in HD. My family got a nice HD TV last December. I've watched football and golf in HD, and I think it's awesome. But I haven't watched baseball in HD yet. I bet that'll be even awesome-er.
• I'm still pulling for R.A. Dickey to break camp with the team because I'm still intrigued by the idea of having a knuckleballer on the team -- especially in the Dome.
• Speaking of the Dome, I have procured tickets for the last regular-season game in the Dome. I expect tears.
• I'm equal parts amused and irritated by the news that there is someone in the MLB headquarters who has decided that D-Span wears his pants too sloppy. Riiiight...talk to me when you start warning Manny about his sloppy pants.
  

So, I just need a bit more patience...I've been waiting since October, I can wait one more week.

Oh, and House was good. The preview for next week's episode looks good too. Thank goodness for my DVR.