White Sox at Twins: Tracks and 'Staches

Recap:
Thursday -- White Sox 8 - Twins 7
Friday -- White Sox 4 - Twins 7
Saturday -- White Sox 2 - Twins 3
Sunday -- White Sox 6 - Twins 7 (! after a four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth)

Twins take series 3-1. Record: 49-43, 1.5 GB

What an encouraging series, huh? After gimping into the All-Star break, and then dropping the first one upon return, it was getting quite worrisome for Twins fans that we might be witnessing a derailment. I'm not quite sure it's safe to say they're back on the right track, but at least it seems as if they know where the right track is. It's a start.

But, just because this was an excellent series and the Twins gained some ground on the leaders, it doesn't mean there aren't concerns. It's going to be a bumpy roller-coaster ride if the Twins keep rolling with 2.5 good starting pitchers. Blackburn and Slowey have to, have to, pitch better than this. Blackie was a little better Sunday...well, until he wasn't. It's so frustrating, because we've seen them be very good not that long ago. They must be frustrated too, which probably isn't helping them pitch better. They're likely very aware they're on a runaway train...Phil Miller tweeted that Blackburn said that he doesn't know how long the team's going to put up with him making mistakes. The car is riding one rail...does it tip back on, or tip over?

Personally, I kind of think Blackie is more fixable than Slowey right now, but it's still a bummer because I really like both of them. I guess we fans just have to keep crossing our fingers and hoping for them to -- say it with me -- get back on track.

~~~

Remember how I said I wanted the Twins to develop a rallying cry? A motto, a scheme, a gimmick, anything to get fired up? Yeah, well I should have been more careful in what I wished for. It seems that Carl Pavano started something. And, his brainchild appears to be working -- for him anyway, but others have started trying it too. Unfortunately, it's so hideously ugly, it's almost disturbing.

Yep. He started the 'Staches for Success movement. At points during this past series, we saw Nick Punto, Drew Butera, Brian Duensing, and Nick Blackburn sport some pretty awful growths on their upper lips.

I'm not afraid to admit that I enjoy my fair share of ballplayer eyecandy. However, facial hair stylings that went out with platform shoes, silk disco shirts, and plaid bell-bottoms can certainly make the most handsome face make me shudder with dread (I'm looking at you, Blackie). But, I also grasp that if they believe the mustaches help, they really do help. And I really really enjoy Twins wins.

So, I'm torn. But, I guess if the ugly lip fur helps with some kind of good luck, I'll go with it. I may have to close my eyes on closeup camera shots of our boys, but I'll go with it.

Jesse Crain Day!

Wow. I almost forgot that Andrew appointed today as Jesse Crain day.

Good thing I have this picture of him that my son drew:

I added the quote, because 1) that song was in my head, and 2) I thought it fit.

Isn't that a nicer image of him than what a lot of Twins fans have in their minds? Something like this:

"The Crainwreck"

(Oh, and by the way, when I was googling images if trainwrecks, I learned that there's a kind of pot called "trainwreck." Yeah, I probably shouldn't have clicked the link for it -- I'm at work. I expect a visit from the IT guy very shortly.)

Breather

Aside from today's gem from Pavano (thanks Carl!), the last few weeks haven't been so much fun have they? Things have become a bit disorderly, and Twins fans have become quite antsy -- and rightly so.

Someone asked me the other day whether they're a good team that was playing up to their potential earlier and are now suffering some bad luck, or they're a bad team that was lucky earlier and now playing down to their potential. I honestly don't know -- a little of both, I suppose.

I can't figure out what's going on. Obviously, the starting pitching is a problem -- which is also hurting the relief pitching. But why? Is it because the offense is suddenly not scoring runs in the early innings and therefore the pitchers put too much pressure on themselves? Is it mechanics? Is it mental? Has the league figured them out? Are they failing to make adjustments? I suspect that smarter people than I don't really know either.

Coincidentally, the Twins were in about this spot a year ago. But this somehow feels different. Perhaps the expectations are higher this year. LaVelle E Neal tweeted that the front office and the coaching staff are on the hot seat to change things during the break. I guess we should expect a change in the rotation, or more. But, strangely, Blackburn has already heard that he'll start again after the break. However, I don't think Slowey is as safe. It's too bad...all the guys were pretty exciting to watch early in the season.

The All Star break comes at a good time. Fans and players alike can use a little time off. I suspect many casual fans have already started turning away -- and there's nothing wrong with that. Many of these games lately are painful to watch; summertime offers so many other great ways to spend time. It's a long season.

So, here we are, firmly in third place. And there's nothing we can do but accept it. Sure, fans can huff and puff and make demands, but it won't help and it doesn't matter. Look around. If you have friends who have lost their jobs or got in a car crash, baseball doesn't seem so important. And, to me, the Twins aren't even the most important baseball I watch. If you have kids who play, you know what I mean.

So, for now, everyone gets to take a break, take a breath, clear the mechanism, and hope for the best. Enjoy the All Star Game...or don't. And from here on out, take it one game at a time.

One Day in Twitter History

Here is my representation of what happened on baseball fans' Twitter feeds on Friday:

Rallying Cry

Lately, our beloved Twins just look flat -- absolutely perfunctory. I'm not sure if they feel flat, but they sure don't look like they're having much fun. We haven't read any entertaining, silly personality stories coming out of the clubhouse since Mike Redmond left. For all we know, they're all pissed off and haven't spoken to each other for several days.

They need to start caring again. They need to start playing as a team. They need a rallying cry!

Remember "Smell 'Em"? Remember "Piranhas"? They need a slogan. They need something, anything, to motivate them

The trouble with a good rallying cry, though, is that it has to originate organically -- it can't be forced. It has to come from the purity of desire, from the depths of passion, from the guts of motivation. And it has to come from the trenches -- coming from superiors just takes away any credibility.

Obviously, Mike Redmond was the best at that. And I believe the team is worse-off with his absence. But there's nothing that can be done about that now (unless, as @calltothepen suggested, we trade to get him back). Someone just needs to show some leadership and inspire this bunch.

Certainly, it can't be the current back-up catcher, Butera, as he's busy practicing the "sit down, shut up, and don't cause trouble" method of newbie personality training. Same goes for Valencia and Repko. The pitchers can't do it; they've got their own problems (which is another blog post entirely - oy). Since charisma is required, Mauer and Morneau are excused. Kubel too. Cuddyer is too busy breaking in new gloves for all the different positions he has to play lately. JJ, Jim, and Orlando are probably too new to contribute something, although I'm willing to bet that if you let O-Dawg talk for an hour or so (don't think for a minute that he can't), something truly genius might slip out -- it's just that no one will be listening any more. Delmon is too distraught from Swisher winning the final ASG ballot (ick) to even think clearly.

That leaves Denard and Punto. And since Denard is a regular starter, Punto is the perfect candidate. After all, it takes a certain amount of cheerleading from the bench to pull this off well.

So, Twins, during the Detroit series, you'll have to fake it until you make it.

And Nick, you have homework over the All-Star break. Your job is to come up with a plan to actuate this team to being loose, having fun, playing well, and winning. Remember, you can't force it. You can do it, man. No pressure.

Rays at Twins: Long Weekend; Loooooong Series

Recap:
Thursday -- Rays 5 - Twins 4 (10)
Friday -- Rays 1 - Twins 2
Saturday -- Rays 8 - Twins 6
Sunday -- Rays 7 - Twins 4

Record: 44-38, 1/2 game behind Detriot

I hope everyone had a swell long holiday weekend. As a lake lover, I had a wonderful weekend. As a Twins lover, not so much.

I went to Thursday's game, and after demolishing my ankle before the game started (safety tip: if you're old and clumsy like me, don't attempt to climb down to the lower row by stepping on the seat below -- it's likely to fold up with your ankle still in it and entangle you like a bear trap, and then your son will refuse to help you but instead take a picture of you while you're hollering in agony), I had a blast! For 8 and 2/3 innings. Then when Rauch walked Crawford to get to Longoria, I literally felt something in my gut. I knew what was about to happen. And I didn't like it. Alas, my gut was right. And Longoria hit that double that blew the save.

Friday's game was a lot of fun. I always love a good pitchers' duel, and Price and Baker didn't disappoint. And the offense squeaked out just enough hits to win it. Which makes me wonder...it seems like the Twins can always beat good aces -- Price, Santana, Halladay -- so why don't they just pretend all pitchers are aces and go ahead and beat everybody?

So this series was kind of a dud. I don't really like 4-game series to begin with. Add to it that it was on a holiday weekend when I was also doing a lot of other fun things, it really kind of made it hard to watch.

The offense was satisfactory -- any time your teams scores 4 or more runs, they should win the game. They always kept fighting, too; they consistently managed to get the tying run to the plate in the late innings. And, for the most part, the starters did their jobs (*ahem* Blackie, you can do better -- keep working on it, pal). So, it was the bullpen that had a hard time. They've been so good; I hope this is just a hiccup.

I have to say that I'm quite proud of Jim Thome for taking his spot at tenth on the home run list. I would've been happy for him regardless of what uniform he wore; it's extra fun that he had "Twins" across his chest. I admit that watching that Killebrew "atta boy" message did bring a tear to my eye.

I'm also proud of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau for their All Star Game selections. I think it's pretty cool that a non-coast team has two starters -- and deservedly so. I'm also proud of Delmon for his extra-ballot selection. Make sure you vote for him, because, admit it, you hate Youkilis and Swisher as much as I do.

From the Rays to the Blue Jays. I don't know if it means anything, but I've noticed a inordinate number of actual blue jays in my neighborhood lately. So, you know, Go Twins!

Tigers at Twins: Well That's a Little Better

Recap:

Monday -- Tigers 7 - Twins 5
Tuesday -- Tigers 3 - Twins 11
Wednesday -- Tigers 1 - Twins 5

Record: 43-35

~~~

Ok, it was a lot better. Well, except for Monday. But even Monday wasn't that bad. Just the pitching.

Speaking of pitching, it was really nice to see Blackie and Slowey have solid outings. They both have been known to do this streaky, reaaaally-good-then-reaaaaally-bad stuff before. So let's hope they're both back to reaaaally good and stay that way.

While Nick's outing wasn't spectacular -- an improvement to be sure, but he still has some work to do -- I'm most impressed with Kevin's. I didn't see the game (damn you, full-time job), but I was pleased with the way he got his outs. I just hope that Kevin's ankle (he took a line drive hit to it) will be ok and that he's not in any pain.

~~~

Speaking of pain, did you see poor Joel Zumaya's injury? It still makes me sick to my stomach thinking about it. It's a good thing it's just a bone fracture, and not a ligament or tendon tear. Sure, he'll be out for the rest of the season, but a soft-tissue injury could have ended his career.

I have to wonder, though, if he throws with such force so that he breaks his elbow, he can't be doing it right, right? I mean, throwing a 100 mph fastball is awesome, but only if you can do it without hurting yourself. So there has to be something wrong with his form. Or his conditioning. Or his bones.

Anyway, I do wish him the best. Even though he's on a rival team, you never like to see a devastating injury like that. I want to beat him fair and square; not hurt him.

~~~

"I never thought home runs were all that exciting. I still think the triple is the most exciting thing in baseball. To me, a triple is like a guy taking the ball on his 1-yard line and running 99 yards for a touchdown."

Hank Aaron

So, how about those triples, huh? They've suddenly become oh so fashionable. I'd love it if the trend held on for a long, long time.

On Monday, good old Jim Thome tried to do everything he could to carry the team on his strong back and pull out a win (too bad there wasn't room for Francisco Liriano), and in all that leadership and effort and stuff, he managed to hit a triple.

Yes. Jim Thome hit a triple. Really.

Oh, how I wish I could've seen that (someone in my family just had to have Dairy Queen), but it sure sounded funny on the radio. I nearly peed my pants laughing.

Apparently Denard Span didn't want to be out-done. We all knew that he's capable of hitting triples on occasion, so he felt that he needed to make his really special so that we'd want to talk about him too. So he just went ahead and tied the team record of three in one game. It's too bad the Tigers walked him in his last plate appearance; if he had hit four, it would've been a modern-day major league record.

I was hoping someone would hit a triple today, just so it would make a nice little package to write about. But, alas, it didn't happen. Yes I know Miguel Cabrera looked like he hit a triple, but even though he wound up on third in the 4th inning, he was credited with a double and an advance on the throw home (I'm in full youth-baseball-official-scorekeeper mode, can you tell?).

To be fair, though, whenever a guy hits a homerun that literally leaves the park, it's pretty special too. Way to go Justin. I wonder if they'll put a little plaque on the plaza like they do in Baltimore. Justin has one there, too.

~~~

I'm going to Thursday night's game. I'm all set to see the Pavano-stache in person. Let's hope he goes all Snidely Whiplash on those Rays.

Who else is going?