Discombobulated Blogging

I have a lot on my mind today. Much stuff to say and many goings-on. And the game is on. So, I'm going to write things as they come to me, possibly flitting all over the place. Call this post a result of my inner butterfly.

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Bert just circled three fans wearing baker's hats. Amusing. I instantly like those guys.

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So, it's the non-waiver trade deadline. I should welcome the new guys.

Taa Daa...Welcome.....Hey! Where did the new guys go? What? There are no new guys? We didn't make any trades? At all? Shocker.

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Crappola. Baker just gave up a two-run dinger to Thome. And he's not locating very well. Maybe those hats aren't so funny after all. Settle down Scotty.

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Dear Twins,
Remember before this series started, I asked nicely for a split or better? Please don't feel like you have to limit yourselves to the split -- go ahead and aim for the series win. K? NOW! Thanks.

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WAKE-UP, BATS! (seriously, mere seconds after I typed this, Justin kissed his 3-run tater.)

(trying it again for luck) WAKE-UP, BATS! (didn't work)

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That was a HORRIBLE call!!! HORRIBLE!!!

But, I am NOT proud of the fans who are throwing stuff on the field. C'mon. Not Cool. Waaaay Not Cool. Embarrassing. Even more so because D-Span wound up walking so it was all pointless.

Now I notice that the strike zone got really big for the Twins hitters. Hmm.

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Woot. Thanks to Joey, it's a whole new ball game. My-Oh-My, I loves me my Jason Kubel (well, right this second, anyways).

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Looks like Juan Uribe got his face into A.J.'s leftover Preference by L'Oreal Dream Blonde.

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*ahem* Matt, get a stinking out, will you? Before you blow the lead!

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Oh, and the final score: Twins 10 - White Sox 6. Sweet!

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k-bro's kwazy logic (this is long, and maybe a tad opinionated -- you've been warned):

Daymonster over at Alright Hamilton! posted an entry that has been making a buzz all over the blogosphere. Lines were drawn; pots were stirred; goats were got; ires were upped. All very interesting debate.

You'll see that I was the first commenter on the post. While I still stand by what I said at the time, I admit it was written a bit "in the heat of the moment". I would like to elaborate on my view.

First, let me outline my understanding of Day's point:

• Most Twins blogs (and their commenters) can be categorized into one of two groups (stats-centric and not stats-centric).
• He likes blogs from both groups.
• He believes that there is a underlying conflict between the two groups. Namely, he feels that the second group is accusing the first group of too much negativity and is questioning their Twins "fanness" because of said negativity.

I admit that I agree with him on all three of these points. I, too, have noticed a dichotomy between types blogs, but I've been oblivious to any true conflict between them until, well, his post. And I acknowledge that negativity isn't welcomed in many of the second group's blogs.

Just to be clear, I consider this blog part of the second group (admittedly, not as well done as the ones he mentions), but not with his definition. And that's what's got my ire up. While he says that he enjoys both groups of blogs, it's clear by the words, and the tone, he chose to describe them with, he doesn't respect the second group as much as the first.

When describing the first group, he uses intelligent, and even complimentary terms. He makes them out to be the Good Guys. However, notice the language he uses to describe the second group. Sounds like a shallow, bitchy, dumb bunch, doesn't it? And I don't think it's a coincedence that there is a clear gender line between his examples. The irony is that I personally would take the second group's assessment of the team based on instinct and observation over the first group's assessment based on stats and analysis. A balance of both techniques paints the most accurate picture.

Also, while a certain amount of negativity has its place when talking about sports (passion, good and bad, makes good fans), it's not necessarily appropriate in a blog meant to be fun. I myself have enough negativity in my everyday life; I don't need it in my hobby. And there are levels of negativity. Stating "Gomez has been struggling lately and might do better batting ninth," is a whole different attitude than stating over and over "Nick Punto sucks!" (whether or not he's actually struggling). One wonders if the folks who lean toward the extreme negativity are more fans of complaining than of baseball.

Funny, all this because he had a difference of opinion with one person's blog.

And finally, I'm going to subscribe to Lipgloss & Baseball's new slogan -- Have Boobs, Will Blog.

T.G.I.J.! (Thank Goodness It's Justin)

Tuesday: Twins 6 - White Sox 5

I like it when the Twins win. I like knowing that, if they should fall behind, there's a good chance they can rally and win. Which is a different feeling than last year. Last year, if they were behind by the fourth or fifth inning, I just watched something else. Last night I didn't do that, and I'm glad. They made it totally worth sticking around for.

I especially loved how just when Dick-n-Bert were mentioning that Ozzie said that Justin was the most dangerous batter in the American League, Justin goes and proves the point by smacking a bases-clearing double to take the lead. Yay Justin!

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We say "Goodbye", and we say "Hello":

So just when I was going to bid adieu to Adam "Adam" Everett by talking about how he pretty much got "Wally Pipp'ed" out of a job and how I felt kind of bad about that because he seems like a pretty likable guy, if not really a great hitter, and to wish him the best of luck with whatever he decided to do, I have to pull back because he's needed after all.

And for what? Another stinking hand injury. It seem Alexi Casilla tore his thumb ligament and might be out for a long time. **sigh** I feel really bad for Alexi, but come on! Enough is Enough!

I wonder if MLB will allow the Twins trainers to purchase a couple dozen bionic hands.

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Pitcherstress:

A co-worked asked me if I was nervous about tonight's game. I said, "Yes. Livan's pitching." And another co-worker chimed in with, "Are you having pitcher-stress?" YES! That's it exactly.

Dear Livan,

Honey, please, oh please, don't stress me out tonight. Please keep your Earned Run total for the evening as minuscule as possible. Zero would be ideal.

Love,

k-bro

Killing Them Slowey

Twins 7 - White Sox 0 (zero, zip, nada, nothing, goose egg, nil)

Wow! How much fun was that?!?! Kevin Slowey get another nifty complete game shut out. D-Span gets his first major league homer. Justin still has his swell homerun swing (didn't I say that yesterday too?). Thanks boys; I loved this game. I want another one tomorrow.

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Ok, who gave A.J. a swirly in Clorox? Do these guys try to be ugly? Are they having some kind of contest? **shakes head**

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I want to heap more praise on Kevin Slowey. I was really impressed with tonight's performance for a number of reasons. For one thing, the White Sox are a pretty good hitting team, so keeping them off-balance was pretty cool. Also, he was pretty much always pitching from the stretch, which didn't seem to bother him, so that was good.

Go treat yourself to Dairy Queen honey. You've earned it.

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And finally, the "Huh, Really? Are You Sure?" moment of the game:

Bert was talking about Casilla taking a lead off first, and he mentioned that he had one foot on "the turf, the green stuff on your screen." Really? I had no idea what all that green stuff in the dome was. (He didn't sound like he was trying to be clever or anything.)

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.

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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.

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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.

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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...

Franchise Saving the Franchise

JoeC is reporting that he expects the Twins to bring up Francisco Lirano within the next few days. Well praise to the Baseball Gods for that. And not a moment too soon, either. After all, he's the only who save Twins Territory now.

• He'll be a dominating left-handed addition to the rotation, striking out batters at will.
• He'll improve the ERAs of the rest of the pitching staff.
• He'll single-handedly rid the dug-out of ass-bats and bless the remaining bats increasing each batter's BA by at least 20 points allowing every one to win the MVP.
• He'll exercise demons from the fielders' gloves, causing every one of the Twins position players to win a Gold Glove.
• He'll lay hands on Pat-Pat's arm, immediately healing his injury.
• He'll apply healing powers to Cuddy's, Nicky's, Alexi's, and Tigger's hands.
• Not only will he himself win the Cy Young, he'll cause everyone else on the pitching staff to win one too.
• He'll cause a colossal collapse to the White Sox', Tigers', and Yankees' seasons.
• He'll finish the new stadium so it'll be ready a year early.
• Heck, he might also solve the mystery as to why you always see random shoes along the side of the road.

Thank you Franciso. Thank you Twins.

It's about time.

Problem with Poonkees (a story)

(Twins 4 - Yankees 12)

Bright and early Monday morning, the Twins players started arriving in the visitor's clubhouse at Yankee Stadium. When they got there, there was a shoe box sitting nicely on the bench. The tag on it read, "To the Twins, All My Love, Sid."

"Hmm. Wonder what it could be," said Alexi Casilla.

"I don't know. Do you think it's a trick? Joe, what do you think?" asked Delmon Young.

Joe Mauer glanced at the box as he wiped off his milk moustache and said, "I don't know. I don't really remember what kind of guy Sid was. It's probably ok. Open it and see. I have to go make a phone call." And he held up his Qwest phone and walked away.

So Nick Blackburn opened the box and smiled. Inside were a bunch of adorable fuzzy colorful creatures. "Awww. These are cute," he said as he picked one up.

Craig Breslow walked over, picked two out the box, and said, "hey, these are pretty cute."

Soon, several of the guys were picking them up, snuggling and playing with them and smiling. Mike Redmond walked through and said, "hey, those look like Tribbles."

Everyone looked at him with a confused expression. "You know," he explained, "Tribbles? From Star Trek? Oh, never mind." And he walked off to go put on some clothes.

Boof asked, "what is he talking about."

"I don't know," replied Matt Guerrier, "I think it's a old-guy thing."

Soon, Denard Span stopped in the doorway. "Hey Denard, look at these," exclaimed Brian Buscher. "Aren't these great?"

Denard replied, "Nah. I think they're kind of creepy. I ain't touching 'em." So he left.

A moment later, Joe Nathan walked in and stopped dead in his tracks. "What are you doing? Put those down right now! Don't you know what those are?" he cried.

The guys stared at Joe and mumbled, "What? What are they?" as they set the critters down on the bench.

"Those are the Yankee Stadium Poonkees. They're evil. The legend goes that they're the mutant spawn of all the left over concessions that have been stored all these years. I heard they're even worse this year because they're feeding off all the reminiscing about the stadium. You didn't let them get their dust on you, did you?"

The guys looked at themselves and brushed off their shirts and mumbled, "yeah, a little."

Joe continued, "No. This isn't good. These things have curses. If you get their dust on you, you're doomed."

"What kind of curses?" the guys asked.

"In order to reveal their curses, you have to act like a Yankees Fan and shout the super-secret string of obsenities." And he proceeded to swear and cuss with a rhythmic tempo.

Soon, the Poonkees revealed their curses:

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.

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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.

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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