Short Notes

And by "short," I mean: terse, tense, curt, crabby, rude. Which I am. And I'm unapologetic.

Jim Thome has been traded to the Indians for a player to be named later. And, I'm sorry, but I just can't get over being upset about this. I'm not mad at Big Jim at all; I'm mad that it came to this. I hate that the Twins are in a position to shed players, and I especially hate that the Twins put themselves in the position that a great player like Jim Thome simply deserves better.

I am very grateful to have been able to watch him play in a Twins uniform and lead this team for these last two season. It was a real treat to watch him step into the box late in the game and watch the pitcher shake in his boots. Many Twins fans agree that some of the best memories of Target Field's short history involve the great Jim Thome. And no one can take that away from us.

I sincerely wish the very best for Jim. This move might be a harbinger of a farewell tour for him. I hope the Indians' fans love him as much as they did years ago. And I really want him to hit a few more home runs -- I don't even care if they're off the Twins.

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The Twins lost a four-game series to the Orioles. Let me clarify that statement a bit...

The Twins, with sucky pitching and even suckier batting, lost four games in a row at home to a team that has the worst road record in the league (I think that statement is true; I'm in no mood to verify it).

I sincerely hope that after Thursday's game, Gardy flipped every buffet table over, tossed some baseball bats into the showers, and threw a loud, good old-fashioned, Hulk-smash snit...no, outright fury. And then, I hope he made each and every one of the players clean it all up until the clubhouse attendant was satisfied. And then, I hope he made each and every one of the players give the clubhouse a generous tip for his trouble. Because something, anything, has to be done to grab their attention.

These guys are clearly not trying and it's hard to imagine that they even care. I suppose that it's hard to go to work every day knowing that your beginning of the year goals simply won't be met. Baseball is supposed to be filled with failure, but, jeez, not this much failure.

Whatever happened to the Joe DiMaggio philosophy on playing hard? -- "There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time, I owe him my best."

More of that "my best" stuff, and less of whatever the hell they've been doing the last month.

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DL Report: Another repeat injury.

The Twins have placed Francisco Liriano on the DL with left posterior (back) shoulder strain. He was taken out of Thursday's game after two innings in which he was quite ineffective.

This is probably the same injury he suffered back in May.  However, because Anthony Swarzak, who was scheduled to start Friday's game, had to pitch 3.1 innings on Thursday, and there wasn't anybody else they could plug in for Friday's start, the Twins were probably quick to put Liriano on the DL so they could call someone up right away (run-on sentence much?). Scott Diamond has been recalled to take his place.

Other DL Updates:

Baker is throwing. Casilla is running.

Blackburn only has some swelling in his arm that happens to be pinching a nerve, so some rest should help that.

It's likely that Jason Repko will be activated to replace Thome's spot on the roster, but an official announcement hasn't been made yet.

Joe Mauer was out on Thursday with a stiff neck. He says that he has a hard time looking left and right

Tsuyoshi Nishioka was still out Thursday with a sore back.

On Wednesday, Michael Cuddyer got hit in the wrist by a pitch. It hit so hard, you could hear it on the TV broadcast, and it dropped him immediately. He said later that he was sure it was shattered, but x-rays and an MRI came back negative. He played on Thursday. However, I imagine that it is still sore and it might bother him for a few days.

Another Head Scratcher

Like I've mentioned before, I'm not anywhere close to thinking about considering myself an expert when it comes to managing a baseball game. I love the game; I have a basic understanding of the game; I know many rules of the game; but I am lacking in many of the nuances of the game. Much of the "strategery" that happens before each play ensues is lost on me, simply because I've never been out there.

With that being said, I am wondering why in the world Gardy would pull Crede for a pinch-runner (Casilla) after his lead-off triple (which was smokin' hot by the way) in the top of the ninth of Wednesday's game. I know that Casilla is a much faster runner than Crede, and I know we really needed the run, but there was nobody out, so a simple base-hit or a decent sac fly would've scored any runner easily (even Matthew LeCroy).

My real problem with the whole thing is: wouldn't you want your best defense on the field for the bottom of the ninth in a close game? It was a tie game right at that point, so a bottom of the ninth was guaranteed. I don't mean to be mean, but lately "best defense on the field" doesn't include Alexi Casilla. It does, however, include Joe Crede. And what if that were the only run the Twins scored? Then that double that Giambi hit would've loomed even larger.

I'm just glad that Delmon and Brendan made the whole thing a moot point.

Head Scratcher of the Day

Other than what was required in my childhood phy ed classes, I have never played baseball or softball. My coaching of baseball is limited to keeping the scorebook and hollering the batting order every inning. Everything I taught my son about throwing and catching and hitting a baseball, my husband had to un-teach and re-teach. Everything I've ever learned about baseball, I've learned by watching, and listening, and reading -- not at all by doing.

With that being said, even I wonder about the logic behind a double-steal with two outs, late in the game, when you're up by four runs, your best hitter at the plate, and the game's best closer due up to pitch the next inning.

But, YAY for winning anyway.

Short Series Makes for a Long Day

Sorry, I'm kinda tired, so I'm gonna keep this short. Why do I bother? As much as I'd like to forget this series even happened, I should take the good with the bad -- I do want to keep track.

Recap:
Wednesday Game 1: Twins 1 - Red Sox 10 (7)
Wednesday Game 2: Twins 3 - Red Sox 7
Twins earn the dustbunny.

Huh. A whole series in one day...a really long day.

And one more thing...I'm into Earth Day and recycling as much as the next girl, but seriously, do the Red Sox really have to recycle their stupid green St. Patrick's Day Spring Training jerseys to celebrate it? I know they're St. Patty's day jerseys; the shamrocks are still on the left sleeves.

Shoes!

This has nothing whatsoever to do with baseball, but I was so amused that I wanted to share it.

Back in July, when fans all over Twins Territory were anxiously awaiting the return of Francisco Liriano, I wrote a post where I sarcastically mentioned that he might have the power to understand why there are always random shoes laying on the side of the road. Well, I wonder if he has the power to figure this out...

Thousands of Shoes Dumped on a Miami Interstate


Photo from kare11.com

Coincidentally, despite the number of shoes on this road, no one seems to know where these came from either.

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graphic from wondercliparts.com

Get well soon Joe Mauer! Apparently, he had a little procedure to take care of a kidney obstruction. I seem to remember that he's had kidney stone problems in the past. I hope this will make him good as new and ready to go for spring training.

Makes Me Wonder

First of all, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I did. And, I took vacation time for the rest of the year, so I'm looking forward to sleeping in, doing whatever I want, and being lazy. I can't think of a better way to spend the end of the year (unless of course, I was doing all that in a tropical location).

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Hey, there's finally a new Twin we can welcome (sound the horns -- or at least the kazoos)...

Welcome to the Twins, Mr. R.A. Dickey.

His name kind of reminds me of those attorneys who advertise on cable at three in the morning..."DWI? Bankruptcy? Theft? Bribery? Embezzlement? Ponzi schemes? Selling senate seats? Call the Law Offices of R.A. Dickey. Phones answered 24 hours a day."

But anywhoo, he's a knuckleballer, but not really the eighth inning guy fans are looking for. I don't really remember the Twins ever having a knuckleballer, and both LaVelle and Kelly Thesier mentioned that they've (the Twins, not the reporters) wanted one for awhile. So it kind of made me wonder who the last Twins knuckleballer was. (I looked around various blogs and articles for about five minutes, which is the true extent of my interest, but no one said anything.)

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So all that wondering made me decide to list a bunch of other things I've wondering about lately too:

1. I know there's going to be a new MLB Network starting on Jan. 1st. For something so cool, I haven't really heard much about it. I wonder what exactly they're going to talk about in January (let me guess...the Yankees).

2. I know they keep track of pitchers' walks and fielders' errors, and they can be kind of a big deal. But I wonder if anyone ever keeps track of costly walks or errors -- you know, the ones that actually result in runs. I mean, if the baserunner who reached because of a walk or error is stranded, then the walk or error shouldn't count as much than if someone scores because of it. I suppose they probably do keep track of that -- they keep track of everything. And I know that the costly errors get figured out in a way because it's an unearned run, and they need to know that for the pitchers' ERAs, but that's the pitchers' stats, not the fielders'. I also wonder why the heck I'm wondering this at all.

3. I know that baseball writers vote for post-season awards and for Hall of Fame inductees, but I wonder why baseball broadcasters don't. I imagine that John Gordon has as much access and knowledge about the Twins and baseball in general as Joe Christensen, but Joe's the one who gets to vote. I don't understand it.

4. I wonder how I could find a list of all active MLB players sorted by age. I ask because Jamie Moyer signing with the Pirates, and now Randy Johnson signing with the Giants, there are at least two players who are older than me. I'm hoping there are more, but I have my doubts.

5. And finally, I wonder if the Yankees will ever run out of money. And I wonder how delicious it would be if they were to miss the playoffs in 2009.

Get Away Day Blues

Saturday (1) Twins 12 - O's 2
Saturday (2) Twins 12 - O's 6
Sunday Twins 3 - O's 7

Twins take series 2-1

Another opportunity to sweep a team we should sweep, and another loss. As I was marching around the house and grumbling about the game, Dick-n-Bert were talking about the upcoming Cleveland series. Which got me thinking that it seems like they lose a lot of games where they have to head out to another city after they're done (known as "Get Away" days).

So I decided I'd figure it out to see if I was right. I've got nothing else to do between loads of laundry on a rainy, crappy Sunday afternoon.

First of all, I define Get Aways as games when the team travels right after them. And, I've read/heard from the newspaper and radio/TV guys that they travel right after the game even if the following day is an off-day, so I counted those too.

Here's what I came up with:



Ouch. It's worse than I thought.

So what's up with that? Are they too busy thinking of their next series to concentrate on their current game? Are they worrying if they forgot to pack their iPods? Are they suffering a collective bout of agoraphobia? Who knows?

The good news is that there are only two Get Away days left in the regular season (well, three if you count the last day of the season, which we may have to do if they need to play a tie-breaker). The bad news is that if they should happen to make the playoffs, Get Away days happen like every other game. They really, really, really need to reverse this trend if they make the playoffs.

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And, adding to the feeling of someone sneezing in our face, it looks like the Bad Guys are going to win both their games today, putting the Good Guys 1 1/2 games back. Ick.

[Edit] I, currently, at this moment, ♥ Marcus Thames for tying the White Sox - Tigers game with a fat grand slam. It's a whole new ball game. Go Tigers!

[Edit 2] Scratch that. Dewayne Wise just hit a fat grand slam to go ahead again.

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High-Five Goes To... Carlos Zambrano for tossing a no-hitter against the Houston Astros. Oddly, he did it in Milwaukee (thanks to Ike), so it must have felt more like a home game even though the Cubs were the visiting team.

Missing

Twins 2 - Oakland 3


Name: Run Support
Description: Scoring enough runs so that your pitchers can relax and your team can win. Especially useful when your pitchers are performing well.
Last Seen: August 22, 2008 in Aneheim, CA

If you see, or know the whereabouts of, Run Support, please contact Nick Blackburn c/o The Minnesota Twins.

Alright. No More Ms. Nice-Gal

Saturday: Twins 2 – Yuck Sox 11
Sunday: Twins 2 – Puke Sox 12

Somebody. Please. Stop. The. Bleeding.

You guys...you lollygag the ball around the infield. You lollygag your way down to first. You lollygag in and out of the dugout. You know what that makes you? Lollygaggers! ~Skip. Bull Durham.

This is getting really bad. Really ugly, awfully, disgustingly bad. It’s been well documented that the White Sox have been playing very well since Ozzie Guillen’s profanity-laced hissy fit (by the way ESPN, you can stop talking about it now – we’ve heard it enough). Obviously, it’s time for Gardy to start yelling. LOUD! In case he needs help with what he should say, I offer some suggestions (edited to comply with a PG-13 rating). If nothing else, it gets some stuff off my chest.

To the starting pitchers: Can someone PLEASE stay in the game for longer than, I don’t know, 4 1/3 innings for crissakes? We beg you to go deep into the game. You know the relievers are tired and sore. And yet you insist on serving cookies and getting hit around. I swear, I’m gonna put in Monroe or Macri to pitch. It can’t get any more embarrassing - unless you start pitching without pants. And another thing, why the [bleep] are to pitching to Crede? Apparently the ball looks like a volleyball to him. Pitch around the [bleep]er.

To the batters: Either you swing and miss like [bleep]ing lunatics or you ground out to third. Where’s the power? Where’s the situational hitting? In fact, where’s any kind of hitting at all? You’re batting like you’re blindfolded up there. And you’re leaving men on base all over the place. Are your bats made out of Swiss cheese? Quit being afraid of the ball.

To the defense: Could you start actually reading the ball off the bats? You break in when you should be running out. You dive like [bleep]ing ballerinas. You’re out there running around like you’re herding cats. That is if you’re running after it at all. Start getting some outs, will’ya for crissakes?

To Bill Smith: Remind me again why losing Juan Rincon off waivers is a bad thing.

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Aaaah. I feel better now. Do you? Why don’t you give it a try?

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.

Moderating Moderate Moderation

For some reason, when I was driving into work yesterday, I was thinking about the movie Lost Horizon. Specifically, I was thinking about the scene where the John Geilgud's character (Guy from Shangri-La) and Peter Finch's character (American Guy) were walking and talking, and John Geilgud said something like, "Here, we do everything in moderation, including moderation."
How is that possible? If you moderate moderation, then that means you don't do it constantly, which means you sometimes do something in excess. And if you do anything in excess, you're breaking the rule of everything in moderation. I'm confused. And I'm especially confused that I was even thinking about this at all, and I'm concerned that I'm still thinking about it.