Quick Notes: Dec. 12, 2010

The Winter Meetings are over, and I have to say they were more eventful than I expected them to be. I was fully prepared to write something about how I predicted that the Twins never do anything during the Winter Meetings, even when they're trying to trade Johan Santana. Boy, do I wish I could've written that.

The Twins traded JJ Hardy, Brendan Harris, and cash to the Baltimore Orioles for ... wait ... who were those guys again. I don't know, a couple minor league pitchers. Hang on a sec.... Oh yeah, James Hoey and Brett Jacobson. Word has it that Hoey could break into the bullpen in 2011, but Jacobson is strictly a prospect at this point. Both are known for throwing heat but struggle with control.

The Twins must be confident they'll sign Japanese player Tsuyoshi Nishioka or else they would've held on to Hardy at least a little longer. The organization claims they made the trade because they wanted more speed in the lineup; not very many fans buy that. Many fans believe it was a salary-dump -- Hardy was arbitration-eligible and will make as much at $5 mil in 2011.

Let me just say that I hate this trade, salary-dump or not. I'm not a fan of the current middle-infield picture -- Casilla, Tolbert, Plouffe, Hughes make for slim pickings and probably a lot of fan eye-rolling. And adding Nishioka doesn't ease my mind much; being good in Japanese ball doesn't always translate into being good in the MLB.

I'm also mad that, if they did have to trade JJ, that's really all they could get for him? He's a damn fine shortstop, I think if the Twins had held on a bit, they could've gotten a better deal. Plus, he's just one of those players I like -- he might not be a superstar, but he did his job, made some nice plays, and seemed like a good guy. I'll miss him. I wish both JJ and Brendan the best with the Orioles -- good luck facing the Yankees and Red Sox 157 times a year. The cash will do well no matter who it faces.

With all that being said however, I don't think this trade is a huge blow to the team. If the Twins can use that saved money to sign a decent starting pitcher or some reliable bullpen help, everything will be ok.

~~~

The Rule 5 Draft took place on the final day of the Winter Meetings. This is where teams can window shop the other teams and select players not on a 40-man roster. The catch is that if a team selects a player, it must put him on the big league active roster the entire next season or he must be returned to his original team (or the two teams could work out a trade).

The Twins selected LHP Scott Diamond from the Braves organization. We'll likely see him in the bullpen.

I swear, if he chooses "Sweet Caroline", or any other Neil Diamond song for that matter, as his walk-out music, I'll puke.

The Twins didn't lose anyone in the Rule 5 Draft.

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I know this is a baseball blog, but I can't let the popping of the Metrodome on Sunday go unmentioned. After all, it is the old neighborhood of the Twins.

I'm sure many of you saw what happened to the roof. It's very fortunate that no one was hurt; on Saturday there were workers on the roof shoveling it off, but they called it off due to dangerous wind and cold. It would've been tragic if those workers were still up there when the Teflon tore.

In case you didn't see it, or if you want to see it again, here:



I hope they can get it fixed soon. There's another Vikings game scheduled for a week from Monday; I'd hate to have them play in a neutral site two consecutive weeks.

~~~

I know you're dying to know how I've been spending my time now that there's no baseball. Crocheting. Lots and lots of crocheting. In addition to scarf-zilla, I've made another scarf (normal-sized), three hats, and 30 smallish things that I'll pair up and give as gifts. Thirty. I'd divulge more, but my mom reads this blog and she's going to get one of those gifts whether she wants one or not (hi mom!). So will just about everyone I've ever met.

I need baseball to come back soon.

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.

Hmm...

A few notes on a couple of things that kind of made me scratch my head.

The Twins signed all eight of their arbitration eligible players
This is good. I've heard that neither the teams nor the players want to go into the arbitration room. The team tells the player how awful he is so that they don't have to pay him as much money as he wants, and then when it's all done, they have to convince him how much the love him. Can't be good for anyone.

So it's great that everyone (JJ Hardy, Carl Pavano, Delmon Young, Pat Neshek, Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, Francisco Liriano all for one-year contracts and Brendan Harris for a two-year contract) signed so quickly -- all done on the very day when figures were exchanged. But it's curious that it was indeed that fast. The Twins and one other team (I forget which, Dodgers maybe?) were the only ones that had that many arbitration eligibles. So it would have been understandable if a few of them had taken a day or two.

Now, I haven't really followed Twins contract activities in the past, so I'm not sure about what to think of this. But I seem to remember when Cuddyer was arbitration-eligible, he and the Twins came to a "hand on the doorknob to the mediator's room" agreement.

So it seems odd to me that they'd knock off all eight in one swell foop. What does it mean? Are they opening the wallet freely? Are they just trying to get it over with and just saying "whatever" to whatever the players wanted? Were all the players extraordinarily reasonable with their demands? Huh?

The Twins are seriously interested in signing Jim Thome
Um, ok. The White Sox announced earlier this evening that they're not interested in him, so speculation is that he's deciding between the Twins and the Rays.

Now Thome's great. He's the kind of player you hate, only because he always beats you. I always like him a lot better when he's in the National League.

He's been described as the nicest guy in baseball. And that came from Mike Redmond -- after Thome cracked his skull when he forgot to hold on to his bat.

But, despite all that, the curious part is: why? We already have a left-handed, and much younger, DH in Jason Kubel. And it's not like we could put Thome out in the field to rest some guys.
I know the bench is a bit thin, but I seriously think they have other needs to address first. I don't know; bringing him in is like bringing beer to a wine tasting -- really good beer, but it still doesn't quite fit.


Ok, this is a no-brainer
The estimable Seth Stohs is planning a super-duper, action-packed, star-studded, pre-TwinsFest extravaganza podcast tomorrow (Tuesday) evening. Ok, I exaggerate, but it's still going to be great.

Follow this link to listen live: www.BlogTalkRadio.com/SethSpeaks

Here's his tentative schedule (Central Time):

8:00-8:05 – Introduction

8:05-8:20 – John Sickels

8:20-8:35 – Pat Neshek

8:35-8:50 – Joe Benson

8:50-9:05 – Carlos Gutierrez

9:05-9:10 – Catch Up

9:10-9:25 – Kyle Gibson

9:25-9:35 – Open

9:35-9:45 – Denard Span

9:45-9:55 – Jeff Manship

9:55-10:00 – Wrap-Up

Be sure to tune in; it sounds like an awesome show.

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).

A's is for ...

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

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

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

Yeah, pretty much all that.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Good, The Good Byes, The Hellos, The Floss

Twins 4 - Indians 1

Good job, Nick Blackburn. That was a hellava pitching performance. However, I was worrying at the beginning because that Sowers guy was turning in a hellava-er pitching performance for the first five innings. Thank goodness Brendan Harris was tired of it and hit that double to end the madness.

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I must admit that I'm a bit bummed to see Livan and Monroe go. I don't disagree with the decision, but I feel bad anyways. They both seemed like classy guys who really wanted to do well. It's just too bad it didn't work out. I sincerely hope they can hook on with other teams and have success.

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My very first impression of Randy Ruiz: "That's a biiig boy." But I loved watching him chug around the bases and scoring from first on Brendan's other double. He's pretty fast for a big fella. So far, watching him play made me smile, so that's good. I hope the pop in his bat matches his size.

I would love to see him plow into a catcher on a play at the plate. The catcher would have no chance -- no chance at all.

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I know everyone is tickled pink that Franchise finally made it here. Everyone except me -- paint me more a shade of cautiously optimistic. I don't dispute that it's time to give him a chance, I just don't think he's going to be the phenom he was in 2006. I'm hoping for solid performances out of him.

Dear Fransico, please feel free to go ahead and prove me wrong. Be the Phenom.

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So, I've made a spur of the moment decision to go to tonight's game. I wish I could go tomorrow to see Franchise, but I'm too busy. So I'll get to see Slowey tonight, and get myself a Dairy Queen Twins Cap. Not that I need another Twins cap, but it never hurts to have more than you need.

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I love Mike Redmond even more than I did before after reading JoeC's blog.

I asked Harris if anybody says anything like that on the bench.
“Red does,” Harris said. “He says, ‘Fifth inning’s a mother.’ ”

Ok, you just know that's not exactly what he says -- I'm guessing he adds another word to the end. Which makes that statement more hilarious, and accurate.

So what happened in the sixth?
“Rally floss,” Redmond said.
Yes, in a practice that dates to 2006, Redmond started flossing on the bench when it was time for the boys to rally against Sowers.

So, clearly, everyone needs to get himself/herself some rally floss. I think it should be the next stadium giveaway. It could be sponsored by the American Dental Association.

It's a Sweep Hat Trick!

Tuesday: Twins 3 - Padres 1
Wednesday: Twins 9 - Padres 3
Thursday: Twins 4 - Padres 3

Twins sweep another series in 3
(I'm curious, have they ever swept three series in a row before? I'm too lazy to look it up.)

Well, aren't we just having fun! The pitchers are pitching super. Batters are hitting great. Our defense is solid. Guys are picking each other up. We're beating good pitchers. I can't stop beaming. Yay!

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The big talking point about this series before it started was how Petco Park is hard to hit homers in (I know that was a poorly formed sentence, but I don't care because I'm still beaming). So it was a blast (no pun intended, or maybe it is) to see Harris, Buscher, Monroe, and Morneau hitting some. Especially Brendan -- where did he get all that power all of a sudden?

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Who knew?: The Twins are leading the American League in batting with runners in scoring position and in batting with runners in scoring position with two outs. Seriously. And here I thought they were still leaving men on base all over the place. But it's true -- you can look it up here and here.

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Did you see the "Go Sit In The Corner" corner? Usually, I'm a pretty optimistic person, and I rarely criticize. However, once in a while, I feel a little snarky and want to give someone a time-out for bad behavior. I got the idea in my last post when I scolded Delmon Young. Sometimes you just have to tell it like it is.

Catching Up

Twins sweep Nationals in 3



Hi. How's it going? I've been super busy, so my blogging has been kind of lame lately. The only reason I'm blogging now is that the internal network at my work is down, and all my documents live there, so I'm stuck waiting for it to come back.


I hardly caught any of the Nationals series. I'm glad it turned out the right way. Sounds like our pitching is back on track, but then again (not to be a Debbie Downer or anything), it was the Nationals. But wins are wins. And, from what I read, Harris (finally) and Cuddy had a nice series.
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I'm looking forward to the Arizona series. I wish I was going to the games. I have a "thing" for pitchers, and I like to go see good pitchers whenever they come to town. I've seen Randy Johnson before, but it was only a Spring Training game back when he was a Yankee. I'd like to see him and Brandon Webb pitch (but not too well). I know Johnson's not like he used to be, but I'd still like to see him in a real game before he retires. I would like to see Micah Owings as well, but not necessarily here. I'd rather watch him where he can bat. I love him for that.
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I saw that the Yankees signed Sidney Ponson to a minor league contract. How does this guy keep getting jobs? The Yankees must be desperate. Oh well. We'll have to see how that turns out.
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Well, that's all I've got. No network yet. I guess I'll clean my desk. No one else will.

Weekend in Milwaukee

Saturday: Twins 9 - Brewers 4 (12)
Sunday: Twins 2 - Brewers 4

Well, to be honest, I didn't really watch a whole lot of either of these games. I was at the lake again, so I was hanging with the family and sending the kids on snipe hunts. Good times.

Since I caught the games in bits and pieces, it seems fitting to break out the bullet points.

• Thumbs up to Cuddy for the triple-with-an-error that looked a whole lot like an inside-the-park-homerun. That was a ton of fun.
• Another thumbs up for Brian Buscher for the timely hit that won the game on Saturday.
• A consoling pat on the back for Joe Nathan for blowing the save on Saturday. It's ok honey, you'll get 'em next time.
• A high-five for Scotty Baker for striking out FOUR in the third inning on Sunday. According to John and Dazzle, he's the first Twin to do that and only the 20th in the American League. (In case you didn't catch it, the second batter he faced, Prince Fielder, struck out but reached first because the pitch was wild).
• Speaking of Prince Fielder, watching him run makes me laugh. Like a bowl full of jelly.
• A little scolding for Brendan Harris to remind him that just because you ask for time while you're in the batter's box, doesn't mean you actually get time so you can step out of the batter's box. Although, it seemed a little like the umpire may have been kinda bratty about the whole thing.

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And finally, this is pretty cool: ESPN is sponsoring a "Battle of the Bands" performing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" to celebrate the song's 100th anniversary. They have a nice mix of musical styles scheduled to perform, and viewers will vote for the best. Info here.

Well, That's Interesting...I Guess

Twins 6 - Bleh Sox 10

I guess I don't have too much to say about the game last night. At least I don't have anything original to say about it. I watched until Juanie gave up that homer, then decided that I wasn't in the mood to watch any more. And that rarely happens. So blah. I am a bit bummed that I missed Cuddy's and Alexi's homers, though. Good job guys. You'd think that scoring six runs would win a game....

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Last night when I was watching ESPN, I saw this on the bottom scroll: "Ranger P Sidney Ponson designated for assignment because he 'disrespected teammates and coaching staff'...." Seriously? I thought he was doing pretty good for them. He must've been really naughty. The Rangers official site doesn't go into too much detail but it sounds like he's generally being pugnacious. I guess the whole "Sir" thing went to his already very large head.

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Another one of our boys is featured in Sports Illustrated Pop-Culture Grid -- this time Brendan Harris. His isn't quite as adorable as Joe Nathan's, but it's still cute.

Q: Please make __________ stop talking.
A: Hillary Clinton

Q: Weirdest thing a fan ever said to you.
A: Can you write a letter of recommendation for me?

Q: Favorite shoes.
A: G Unit sneakers.

Q: Concert you're dying to see this summer?
A: Bon Jovi {k-bro says: Um, Brendan honey, Bon Jovi is cool -- I like them too. In fact, "It's My Life" is my ringtone. So why do you have Warrant's Cherry Pie as your walk up music?}

Q: I never leave home without my. . .
A: Flask [laughs]

I Know They Can Hear Me

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Twins 6 – Yankees 5
Series split 2 games each

Mother Always Said ...

Twins 7 - Rangers 8
Series split 2 - 2

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

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So, keeping with the strictly positive theme:

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


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


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

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

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

Have a great weekend!

Weekend with Cleveland

Friday: Twins 0 - Cleveland 4
Saturday: Twins 3 - Cleveland 0
Sunday: Twins 2 - Cleveland 1

My thoughts on Friday's game: Pew. I don't even want to remember it.

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My thoughts on Saturday's game: Well, I didn't see it. It sounded like it was a lot of fun. It actually sounded like my kind of game - great pitching and great defense. Turning four double plays is hot. I was busy enjoying a high school production of "Beauty and the Beast".

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My thoughts on today's game: Groovy. In fact, I'm so happy, I'm breaking out my bullet-points.

• Scotty pitched very nicely. I think he's going to be the strikeout leader of the team.


• Hey! A Twin not named Justin Morneau or Jason Kubel finally hit a homerun! Congrats on your first Twins homer Brendan Harris. An opposite field one, too.


• Go-Go's catch was muy caliente.
  
  


• They showed the new commercial with the pitchers singing. It was flippin' hilarious. Those commercials get better every time. It's funny that Joe Nathan, who said that the pitchers were the worst singing act ever, happened to be the very worst of them all. All the guys looked like they had a great time; Boof was especially goofy (ha ha, get it, Goofy Boof). I just checked the Twins website to see if was there, but it wasn't yet. I imagine it'll be there in the next day or two.


• They have "All you can eat night"?!? Sweet! I could bring my sons and make those dome vendors rue that idea. Trust me, my boys can really put it away when dared to. I'll have to check our schedule.


• Do you think that Justin Morneau walked up to the plate in the bottom of the 10^th signing "Here I come to save the day" ala Dudley Do-right like they say in the radio commercial? Nice work, Justin.
  
  

And finally, the "Gotta Love Dick-n-Bert" moment of the game (double):
1) In the bottom of the 10^th, with Jason Kubel at the plate:
Dick: [something like] "They don't want to walk Kubel here."
Bert: "Sure they do. Then they know where he's at."
2) Again in the bottom of the 10^th, with Justin Morneau at the plate, Dick was going on and on, carrying on both sides of a conversation over whether Jason Kubel should take second "his run doesn't matter, but it might take the bat out of Morneau's hand, but if they get to two strikes, they might have to think about it...." Turned out it didn't matter.

Two Left Feet

Twins 1 -- LAA 9

That pretty much bit. We all know it bit. The Twins all know it bit. Everyone knows why it bit. Let's move on.

Except Delmon Young. Delmon honey, you're doing just fine; keep it up.

A couple of (very dim) bright spots:

• It was good to see Jesse Crain again


• It was good to see Brendan Harris make a nice defensive play (too bad he errored later)


• It was good to see Adam Everett get an RBI (too bad it was the only one)

Finally: The "Gotta Love Bert" moment of the game:

"We're not here to kiss each other."

Right Foot

Well, how much fun was that?

Torii was warmly welcomed, but o-fered.

Livan had a nice strong outing.

Go-Go got some hits and caused chaos on the basepaths.

Joey and Cuddy-honey drove in some runs.

Neshek sat them down.

Nathanator slammed the door.

I'd like to order 161 more of those games, please.

Babyface Moment of the Game:

When Brendan Harris stepped up to the plate, I said, "Why is Scott Baker batting?" I guess I still have to learn everyone's faces.

My First One!

Today, I am thankful for the technology that allowed me to "work remotely". I was too much of a wimp to head out into the snow and spend 4 ½ hours driving to work, so I emailed my boss and told him I was working from home. What I didn't tell him was that the Twins game was on TV. I'm so sly.

This is my first televised game since I started this blog, so I'm not quite sure what to do. But I am going to have fun.

I have a habit of talking directly to the television during games because I know they can hear me. They don't always listen to me, but they can hear me. Here's a recap of the conversations I had during the game:

1^st inning:
(To Rick Suttcliff when he's talking about Morneau) Morn-yo? Dude, it's not Morn-yo.

(To Derek Jeter when he's taking his sweet time getting a new bat and doing his usual "human-rain-delay" routine) Yes, Jeter. The camera's on you. Take your time and get your pretty face on air as long as possible.

(To Kevin Slowey) Striking out Giambi is a beautiful thing.

2^nd inning:
(To Brendan Harris when he missed that ground ball) Nicky would have got that. We should combine the two of you - Nickdan Puntis.

(To both ESPN guys when they're going on and on about A-Rod's previous at-bat) Oh, for crying out loud, he walked last inning. That doesn't make him God.

3^rd inning:
(To ESPN as a whole) Stop showing film of Johan. It's old now.

(To Gardy as he's being interviewed) You can sure tell it's spring training. You're usually much more uptight during the season.

(To ESPN as a whole) Heaven forbid you guys show a graphic or tell us who's up to bat. Who is that, Mike Lamb? Wait, no, it's ... hmm, got me.

5^th inning:
(To Garrett Jones)BOOM!

(To Joba Chamberlain when he beans Matt Tolbert in the ankle)Hey! Hey! Hey! A pox on your ankle.

6^th inning:
(To Justin during his interview) Hi honey. Nice to see you smiling so much in an interview. And you've been practicing avoiding all the "ums" and "likes". Nice job. Way to come out of your Canadian shell.

7^th inning:
(To the ESPN guy) It's "Pridie", NOT "Perdie"

8^th inning:
(To Alejandro Machado when he doubled and drove in two) ALE-JANDRO!

9^th inning:
(To Everyone) YAY! Twins win!

So that's that. Good Guys 7, Evil Empire 5


Cheers to: ALE-JANDRO!

Because you drove in the go-ahead runs, and your name is fun to say.

Boo-hiss to: Joba.

Dude, calm down. It's spring training for crissakes. No need to be plunking people just cuz someone hit a homer off you.

The Decline of the HGI

So, it's been a couple days since the Twins traded Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and that other minor-league pitcher guy to the Rays (minus the "Devil") for Delmon Young, Brendan Harris, and that other minor-league outfielder guy.

The Twins blogosphere is generally in favor of this trade, with some concerns regarding Young's professionalism. I agree, although losing Bartlett was kind of a surprise.

It is interesting to note that both Garza and Bartlett were held back in the minors much longer than many fans would have liked. Perhaps the organization simply didn't like them.

I never was especially impressed by Garza's pitching. It just drove me nuts that he was in love with his fast ball so much. And it always sounded like he was "difficult".

I liked Bartlett fine, but his number of errors drove me nuts, and his bat tended to be too streaky for my liking. But he was fast, and he had a nice stolen-base streak going for awhile last year.

I am looking forward to seeing what Young has. Let's hope his hot-headed days are behind him. Can you imagine Young and Gardy engaged in a temper-tantrum?

I'm undecided on Harris. Some seem to think he's an upgrade from Bartlett. Others don't think so. We'll have to see.

There are plenty of analyses all over the blogging world comparing all their skills, but no one has mentioned one very important reality: the Twins have just taken a giant downgrade in the Hot Guy Index (HGI).

Garza is gorgeous, with his pearly-white smile, his curly dark hair, and his adorably too-big nose.



And Barty is just plain cute, with his little goatee and shy smile.



Add that to the loss of Torii, with his million-dollar smile and flirty laugh.



And Johan -- the hottest guy in all of baseball, with his Latin-lover eyes and sexy behind -- is likely to be gone soon too.

Now, there's nothing really wrong with Delmon Young, in fact he's got a pretty cute smile, but he's not Torii.

But Brendan Harris is, well, kind of "meh". Nothing special.



So, what's a girl to do? I am still grateful for the hotties I still have, but I will sure miss those guys.

To the ladies of Tampa Bay, Anaheim, and New York (or wherever Johan goes): enjoy them, admire them, drool over them, love them. And count yourselves lucky you have them.