AMR's

My Kids Like the Ha Ha Tonka

2011-04-20T01:21:00.006-05:00

So, my kids seem to like my favorite band, Ha Ha Tonka. After I left for the show tonight, the made some Ha Ha Tonka art.

Cora looked at their picture in the liner notes of their new CD, Death of a Decade and drew them:

Henry imagined them as a trio of cowboys:

For good measure, here's Cora in one of my Ha Ha Tonka tees, which she used for pajamas until I took it back:

Behind the countertop

2010-12-23T00:05:00.002-06:00

When removing the old countertop at the old house, I found this awesome little slip of paper. I assume that my wife's Grandpa Joe (who we bought the house from) propped it behind the counter only to have it fall and stay there for 42 years.

AJR

2010-03-20T21:51:00.002-05:00

Baby Girl, Born at 9:41 am, Saturday 3/20/2010.
7 lbs, 2 oz; 20.5 in.

Scheduled C-section went well. For her first four hours, she had some problems breathing by herself. Not enough to be scary, just enough so that she couldn't be brought to her mother's room. Was probably amniotic fluid in the lungs, without labor, there isn't enough pushing to necessarily push it all out. So it was hectic, trying to balance my own needs with staying with my baby, with informing my wife of what was going on, with making sure that the sisters in law could hold off the inquisitive siblings. At four hours, if she wasn't good to go to her mom, she would be "admitted" in the special nursing center, whatever that meant. I understood that as my wife wouldn't be able to see the baby until much later. And we needed to name her! And I sure thought the #1 name didn't fit.

Thankfully, it seemed like she needed 3h30m to get the fluid out, and at 4 hours we went to see er mom. When I got the news, then I jumped for joy. Was a good thing, because the #1 name really didn't fit and we made a last-minute change in the name. Middle name is a family name, maternal great-grandfather shared a first name with everyone's favorite catcher. Also, yesterday was the feast day of that saint, husband of Mary. And I think I might like her first two initials, despite sharing them with everyone's least-favorite catcher.

Brought the kids home late, and then big sister CER lost a tooth! What isn't happening today? I now need to sleep.

Best music of the decade?

2009-12-19T15:11:00.012-06:00

Maybe. This is gonna be a sketch pad for me.
I'll post it and then move it around.
The decade was a long time. I graduated college and got married in 2000.
I got a job in 2001. I got a computer in 2002. I had kids in 2003 and 2005. I discovered pitchfork around 2005 or 2006. (As I've said before, I don't always agree with their tastes, but they're damned near as comprehensive as one can get.) I got an iPod in 2007.
These things are the guideposts that I will use to tell me what I can remember listening to.

This is obviously gonna be biased towards whatever I've listened to more of lately. Especially in the post-iPod era of my life (because I can keep better track).

Also, I'm not a critic... This is what I liked the most.

Top Albums (in the process of sorting, no more than one per artist):
1. Ha Ha Tonka "Novel Sounds of the Nouveau South"
How much do I love this album? Five songs on it should really be in my top 20 of the decade. Songs about collective guilt, and drinking with old friends.

2. Animal Collective "Strawberry Jam"

3. Neotropic "La Prochaine Fois"
This was my 9-11 album, I think I bought it on like 9/4/01. Wordless, longing and mourning for some long-forgotten innocence (now newly destroyed).

4. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy "Lie Down in the Light"
I discovered Will Oldham in the winter 0f '07-08. This was the first album of his that was a "New Album" to me. At first I hated it, but now it's my favorite of all of his. Celebrations of the decay of life... aging, forgetting, missing, friends and family dying, relationships souring. "I looked at the sky, and new someday I'd day, and then everything would be alright."

5. Black Dice "Beaches and Canyons"
6. Current 93 "Black Ships Ate the Sky"
7. Sonic Youth "The Eternal"
8. Fovea Hex "Neither Speak Nor Remain Silent"
9. Low "The Great Destroyer"
10. Coil "And the Ambulance Died In His Arms"
11. M.I.A. "Kala"
12. Burial "Untrue"
13. The Field "Here We Go Sublime"
14. James Blackshaw "The Glass Bead Game"
15. Marit Bergman?
16. Schneider TM "Zoomer"
17. Herbert "Bodily Functions"
18. Björk "Medulla"
19. Cloud Cult "They Live on the Sun"
20. cLOUDDEAD "cLOUDDEAD"
21. Boom Bip & Dose One "Circles"
22. Ryoji Ikeda "Matrix."
23. Fuck Buttons "Tarot Sport"
24. Andy Stott "Unknown Exception"
25. Hercules and Love Affair "Hercules & Love Affair"
26. Death Cab for Cutie "Transatlanticism"
27. Stars of the Lid "and Their Refinement of the Decline"
28. The Knife "Silent Shout"
29. Vampire Weekend "Vampire Weekend"

Top tracks (I specifically excluded tracks on favorite albums):
1. "Kiss" by Scout Niblett and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
2. "Must Be Someone" by Antony & the Johnsons
3. "Be Like the Sun" by Dave Aju and the Invisible Art Trio
4. "Motorcycle" by Black Dice
6. "Be Mine!" by Robyn
8. "Dream On" by Christian Falk f. Robyn and Ola Salo
9. "Waters of Nazareth" by Justice
10. "Poison Dart" by The Bug f. Warrior Queen
11. "Dead Man's Curse" by Techno Animal
12. "Strange Form of Life" by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
13. "Calabria 2007" by Enur ft. Natasha
14. "Hand Cart Boy" by Perfect
15. "Diwali Riddim" by Lenky / "No Letting Go" by Wayne Wonder / "Get Busy" by Sean Paul
16. "Hollaback Girl (Diplo Remix)" by Gwen Stefani
17. "Drug Queen" by Duoteque
18. "No Party" Marit Bergman
19. "Heartbeats" by the Knife / "Heartbeats" by Jose Gonzalez
20. "Always Something Better" by Trentemøller f. Richard Davis
21. "Milkshake" by Kelis
22. "Breaker" by Retribution Gospel Choir
23. "Stabbed in the Face" by Wolf Eyes
24. "Pink Steam" by Sonic Youth
25. "Is All for Updated" by BARR
26. "Ain't No Other Man" by Christina Aguilera
27. "Gantz_Graf" by Autechre
28. "My Love" by Justin Timberlake f. T.I.
29. "Say It Right" by Nelly Furtado
30. "Really Don't Mind" by Luomo
31. "Cadillac on 22s" by David Banner
32. "For Ever And for Always" by Shania Twain
33. "You Belong to Me" by Taylor Swift
34. "Mundian Te Bach Ke" by Panjabi MC
35. "Emerge" by Fisherspooner
36. "Lucky Star" by Basement Jaxx f. Dizee Rascal
37. "Heartbeats" by Annie
38. "URAQT" by M.I.A.
39. "Pneumonia" by Fog
40. "Baboo" by Riow Arai
41. "The Top of the World" by Patty Griffin / "The Top of the World" by the Dixie Chicks
42. "Raindrops" by Basement Jaxx
43. "Gimme Sympathy" by Metric
44. "The Sun's Gone Dim And the Sky's Turned Black" by Johann Johannsson
45. "21st Century Pop Song" by Hymie's Basement
46. "It's So Hard" by Big Pun
47. "Big Pimpin'" by Jay-Z f. The UGK
48. "Quitters' Raga" by Gold Panda
49. "The Sign's Alive (Fila Brazillia Vocal Mix)" by Lypid
50. "The Dull Flame of Desire" by Björk f. Antony
51. "My Radio" by Solvent, Schneider TM Mustanng remake.
52. "Roar" by Patrice Baumel
53. "Parkett" by Paul Brtschitsch
54. "Watamu Beach (Moritz von Oswald rework)" by Sebbo
55. "Plain" by Marcel Dettman
56. "She Said (Ryan Elliott Edit)" by Kate Simko
57. "Gorilla (Lee Mortimer Dub)" by Idiotproof

Aardsma

2006-06-19T21:33:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know I said I was taking time off, but this mugshot is too good to let go.

I thought Chris Heintz had the best ever possible mlb.com mugshot last year. I was wrong. David Aardsma, Cubs Relief Pitcher tops him. Any guess what was said to him right before the photo was taken?

Leave of Absense.

2006-06-17T11:18:00.000-05:00

I think I have a lot of minor things to say, but I'm going to be busy studying for some professional exams for the next few months, so i don't know if I can really keep up with things, so this will probably be my last post for a while. I'll keep commenting at SBG.com though.

1. I like the way the Twins have been playing lately. I'm excited to watch games and see how they turn out. I'm not thinking anything about the postseason, I just want this team to win games, and a lot of them. If they could win 85 or so games and come in third (or even fourth) I would be very happy. I don't want to think what might have been with different personnel, I just want the winsand exciting games.

2. Watching snips of the NCAA baseball tournament and Roger Clemens in AAA, I've seen and appreciated white caps. How come no MLB teams have these? They look great with white home unis. I was thinking about what teams could fit one into their unis seamlessly and came up with: the White Sox. White cap with Black "Sox" and Bill. Can't wear it with the black alt unis, though. Detroit and Cinci could obviously work, too.

3. Cat Osterman and the Texas Longhorns Softball lost their third game of the WCWS two weeks back and were eliminated. This was her senior season and so now she's done. There is a small pro league, but I don't know if she's interested. She'll probably play for the US team, but the US and Canada so overpower the rest of the world that it's hardly competitive.

4. I'm trying out soccer a bit. Not sure what I think. I've decided Ecuador is my team because their unis are great and they look to be good enough to win a few. Yellow shirts, blue shorts, red socks, and they look just like the country's flag.

5. I'm thinking of a new statistic for relief pitchers, but to put it together, I need inherited runners and IRs allowed, and I can only find that in the individual players' breakdown. Does anyone know where I can get full team of (preferrably) league stats with IRs in it. I've checked a few sites in addition to Yahoo, MLB.com, and ESPN. Sportsline has IRA, but not IRs.

WCWS, Day 2.

2006-06-03T12:04:00.000-05:00

[I've got a good picture to add here, gets to the "foot on the rubber" question. For some reason, it's not taking. Look at picture 10.]

First: if you're not watching that WCWS, you're missing a lot of good baseball-like action. Six games so far, one 7th inning comeback for a 1-run win, 2 extra inning games, and three 2-0 shutouts with late scoring. So, that's nine runs deciding 6 games.

What did I say yesterday about no pitch and bad defense? Well, unfortunately, it came true for Texas last night. Cat had a no-hitter (1 HBP) going in the 6th, when, with 1 out, she hit a batter's knee.

[I thought it should have been called a strike, the knee seemed to be in the strike zone, and her foot was on (over) the batter's box line, on the plate side. The batter was taking a running swing (which happens in softball). The announcers didn't mind, and I don't know the rulebook, so... I do think that with Cat's strike zone (hint: Jose Lima would be jealous) the pitch would have been a strike if the batter hadn't moved. I may be biased.]

Next batter strikes out. Then, the runner stole second and it looked like the batter was standing on the base after a swing-and-miss. That batter was then walked semi-intentionally (she's Arizona's slugger). The next batter hit a ground ball to short left that could have actually made the force at third, but at least should have held the runners to one base or got an easy out at home, had the outfielder not muffed it and let it roll under her glove. One run in with runners at first and third. Then, the runner at first fakes a steal of second, drawing the throw from the catcher, and the runner at third comes home. Good fake, and that probably works a lot better in softball than baseball, with the clumsier, slower ball and the shorter distance between bases. Next batter strikes out. Final score 0-2. Cat's line: 6 IP, 1 H, 2 HBP, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 ER, 13 K, 0 run support. Arrgh!

The second game looked like the first with Monica Abbot getting the same run support, but both of her runs were earned (1 HR). Now, Tennesse and Texas would have to win Three games over Two days (one today, two tomorrow against the same team).

Texas will play the winner of UCLA/Alabama. The winner of that game plays Northwestern on Sunday (twice if necessary). I think Cat can do it if she gets any run support. Maybe they should let her bat again (career line: 1.000/1.000/2.000 in one plate appearance - a double).

Tennessee will play the winner of ASU/OSU. The winner of that game will play Arizona on Sunday (twice if necessary).

Okay, now if you're inside a bit today, watch some of these games. The pitchers are constantly walking tightropes, knowing that any run is probably gonna decide the game. Imagine baseball if each ace were able to pitch each day. Santana-vs-Garcia-type-games for a whole tournament.

WCWS, Day 1.

2006-06-02T11:21:00.000-05:00

I tracked the score of the first game, Oregon State vs Arizona, mostly to know when the Texas game would start. The score stopped in the 5th, and then I found out there was a weather delay. "Crap" I think to myself.

Background: Texas got burned by weather last year when they had to play 3 games in about 20 hours to make up for some rain delays.

Digression: Now, Texas is a lot like last year's Twins: all pitching, little offense. Only, Johan Santana can pitch just about every game, and strikes out about 60-70% of batters. I think I read that Texas has a low defensive metric, probably as the fielders aren't used to seeing the ball in live game situations. /Digression.

I don't remember how the Longhorns got to the loser's bracket, but in their semifinal matchup, as Cat had already pitched like 19 innings since 7:00 pm on Saturday, the 3:00 Sunday game had the Longhorns start their other pitcher, Meagan Denny, who is not bad, but probably not in the top 25. Three runs and two outs later, Cat relieves with a perfect 5.1 innings and something like 13 K, but the Longhorns batters were shut out. /Background.

Therefore, I want every game to be played on the right day this time through. I don't think any of the other teams are as dependent on their one ace to win games as Texas is, and so any thing that would require bunching games together later in the weekend is bad. Luckily, the game is only delayed about 100 minutes. OSU comes back to tie it in the 6th, but Arizona wins 3-2 in the 9th. With the delay and the extra innings, Texas doesn't start its game against Arizona State until about 4:30 -- I'll be able to watch some of it!

Cat pitched a near-perfect game, 22 batters, 21 outs, 18 K, 1 H, 0 BB. In the 5th, already up 1-0, Texas Shortstop Desiree Williams hit the ball right off the foul pole, and had to be told it was a homerun. 2-0 was the final score. If Texas can score 2 runs in each game and stay at one game a day, they just might make it to the finals. Again, all pitch, no hit. They play Arizona at 6:00 tonight.

Between the Spelling Bee, I watched parts of the first night game, Alabama vs Northwestern. Good game. A Wildcat hit a 7th-inning-2-out solo homerun to tie the game at the last moment. They won in 10, but I missed it.

After that, Tennessee and UCLA started at 11:20. I caught a little of the beginning be vowed to not fall asleep on the couch and left when UCLA had a 2-0 lead in the 3rd or fourth. Apparently, Tennesse won with a 3-run 6th. I like Tennessee, too, their pitcher, Monica Abbott looks to be about 6'6 and her pitching motion starts with her bent over with her head at her knees like Mike Mussina. She's only a junior, so maybe she's my softballer to watch for next year.

Yay! UCLA lost!

It would be cool to see Tennesse and Texas go at it in a national championship. White and Orange "T" vs White and Burnt Orange "T". Loser should have to use different colors and blank caps for the next year.

Oh, and Cat Osterman was awarded her third semi-consecutive National Player of the Year award. No other player has 2. I say semi-consecutive, because she did not play in 2004, instead going to the Olympics. Texas has been to the WCWS Cat's last 3 years on the team and did not make the tournament in her year on the olympic team.

No loser's bracket games today, and no winners brackets games tomorrow (stay in the winners bracket 'Horns!). Four teams go home on Saturday, 2 on Sunday. Hope the weather stays nice.

Clemens and Baker

2006-06-01T15:47:00.000-05:00

1. Sending down Baker? For a third catcher? How does that make any sense?

2. I wonder (and I haven't looked) if Roger Clemens has a no-trade clause in his contract. If not, and the Astros fall further out of the pennant race and Roger pitches like he did last year, they could trade him for beaucoup prospects to the BoSox, the Yanquis, the Mets, or whoever...

Roger Clemens

2006-05-31T00:04:00.000-05:00

Sportscenter is talking about Clemens maybe having signed with the Astros for the remainder of 2006. Just got me thinking... I hope he goes into the hall of fame as a Blue Jay, with the Ugly 90's cap and everything. Something about that would really amuse me. Also, I want Clemens to sign with the Rangers to see what happens to him in the ballpark. If he can keep his ERA down there, he should sign with the Rockies for the second half of 2007.

I don't really like the guy but I realize he's the best of our generation and he would've got my NL CY vote last year. Too bad he was never in the same division as Bonds.

Defense

2006-05-30T22:46:00.000-05:00

I've been watching tonight's game lightly. It seems that the Twins Defense is worse than even SBG thinks it is. The Twins defense may actually be giving hope to the Angels when they're probably close to writing off the season.

Last night: the last two runs of the game should have been unearned on bad throws/catches/whatever.

Tonight: In the first, well Figgins was caught stealing, but maybe Castillo needs to sell the out to the ump better. (Is there flopping in baseball?) Then Luis Rodriguez misplayed a ball that led to Cabrera's scoring.

In the fifth, well, I can't remember how it all happened (I'm watching lightly) but I'm pretty sure that none of those runs should have scored. The Twins should have a 3-0 lead off Kubel's homer, instead, they're just close enough to get Fransisco Rodrguiez another save.

Women's College World Series

2006-05-30T22:23:00.000-05:00

If you gave the NCAA selection committee any grief for not getting a single #1 pick right for the Men's basketball tournament, you've got to give them props for seeing the NCAA softball tournament. It's 64 teams, but only the top 16 are seeded. Of the 16 teams to advance to the Super regionals, 13 were the seeded teams, with #16, 13, and 11 losing (2 4s and a 3 in Bball tourney lingo). And the 8 teams in the Women's College World Series are top 8 top-seeded teams in the tounament. That's right, there were no upsets in the second weekend.

So, Cat Osterman's Texas is in as the #3 in the WCWS. If seeding continues to form, they will beat #6 Arizona State on Thursday (2pm on ESPN), lose to #2 Arizona on Friday (6pm on ESPN2), beat #5 Alabama on Saturday (8pm on ESPN), and Lose to #1 UCLA on on Sunday (2 pm, ESPN), for a third-place finish (same as last year). Hopefully, a few more upsets will happen this weekend. Even if Texas doesn't win it all, I just hope it isn't the UCLA Lady Yankees. I guess I'd pull for Alabama, even with those silly helmets.

Counting Homers

2006-05-30T22:03:00.000-05:00

Not to Alarm anybody, but Babe Ruth is still #2 homerun hitter (USA, no disrespect to Oh-San).

See, Ruth didn't have 714 homeruns in his career, he had 729, or 730.
And Bonds doesn't have 715, he has 724 or 726. (without Torii, he'd have 727).
Aaron actually has a smaller lead than you think with 761 or 763.

Where are these uncounted homeruns? In the postseason and all-star game.
Babe had 15 postseason (I think that's WS only) and 1 all-star homerun.
Barry has 9 postseason HRs and 2 All-star homeruns (hence Torii taking one away).
Hank had only 6 in the postseason, but 2 in all-star games.

I can see an argument for not including All-Star game homeruns, I mean, it is (was?) an exhibition game. But why don't we include postseason Homers? Real, live Major-league pitching in an even more important setting for all parties than the "championship season." There might be an argument that with the expanded playoffs, players have more opportunities, but even the single-season records aren't pro-rated to 162 games. Career homers after the 154th game of the season are definitely not excluded. Sure, including postseason HRs benefits players on better teams but they already have the benefit of getting more ABs in a game if their teammates are better batters, and they won't get pitched around as much.

Maybe I've gone Meta, but why do we count what we count? Could we count spring training HRs? Only if the pitcher was on a 40-man? Rehab stint? Minor-league? Sure, the quality of the pitching is lower, but we don't exclude homeruns off Eric Milton or September call-ups. Could WBC homers count? Should we go back and find the homers in games that weren't official because they were later called due to rain?

You stare at black and white long enough and you start to see the fuzzy gray border.

Guilty Pleasure

2006-05-29T15:31:00.000-05:00

This probably makes me a bad person, but, this spring, one of my life's simple pleasures has been watching the Cubs lose. I haven't really been able to enjoy the Twins winning, and Mike Scioscia in last place really hasn't been televised, but the losing of the Cubs is there for you to watch, on WGN, nearly every day.

I feel a little remorse when I realize that this also means that Jacque Jones is losing, but you gotta crack some eggs to make an omelet.

I have no idea why I love seeing the Cubs lose so much, but I do and it's beautiful, and I'll cheer for any random MLB team to run roughshod over them, or let them come back despite giving up 8 homeruns, only to beat them in the 11th. Maybe soon we'll get a no-hitter into the 9th, only to give up 5 runs and the win right there. That would fit.

There are three teams that I can watch 80% of the games of on TV: Twins, Braves, and Cubs. I perenially want the Braves and Twins to meet in the World Series, and the Cubs to be really embarrased somehow. I wish on them what I wish on the Vikings: coming tantalizingly close only to have it taken away at the last, most painful time. (I am a Vikings fan, too, though.) I was so happy with the Marlins back in 2003 because of what they did.

Comeon Cinci, 3 runs in the 9th to tie. Let's do it!

Matt Guerrier

2006-05-29T01:07:00.000-05:00

Matt Guerrier had a good chance at his first career win yesterday, coming in to a tie game late, but the Twins didn't bother scoring until someone else would get the decision. Matt is now 0-4 for his career in 68 appearances.

1. What did Matt do to tick off the baseball gods in such a trivial way? (One baseball god to another: "Okay then, he'll be able to pitch well enough for relief, but no wins!")

2. I don't even know where to find this, but what pitcher has the most appearances without a win? Who went the longest before their first win? And what active player has the most appearances without a win?

3. I want to do something big to commemorate Matt's first W when it comes, but I don't know what it should be. I would kindof like to buy a jersey, but I don't really have the money for that. Does anyone know where to write fan-mail? Maybe I could just have C make him a drawing and mail it to him.

LeCroy makes Frank Robinson cry

2006-05-26T12:23:00.000-05:00

1. I want to say something about Matthew LeCroy's day behind the plate (if you don't know, he was pulled in the middle of the 7th inning after his second throwing error, he had also allowed 7 stolen bases against him). I don't know what I want to say though. I'd get mad at Frank Robinson for using Matt LeCroy as starting catcher for the 8th time this year, but he did take the blame after the game (between tears). I mean, if LeCroy's a catcher, there were 4 catchers on the Twins 2005 opening-day roster (Redmond, Mauer, LeCroy, and Corky Miller).

2. Jose Lima's back in AAA, with some guy getting his first start for the Mets, and then the trade for Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez.

3. Rob Bowen's still on the DL.

4. Cat Osterman and the Longhorns are all over ESPN this weekend. Tonight, game one of their best-of-3 series against Washington is one, then tomorrow's 3pm game and 8pm game (if necessary, ESPN2). First to two wins goes to the College World Series. These are the only softball games on ESPN either day (I'd guess they'll find a replacement if the series is a sweep). Michigan vs Tennessee on Sunday.

Jose Lima Start #3

2006-05-19T11:10:00.000-05:00

1. Yesterday, Jose Lima started the Mets' Day game against the Cards. His Line: 4.2IP, 7H, 5R, 4ER, 1BB, 3K, L. With Scott Spezio instead of Albert "Seriously, I'm 26" Pujols. That puts Lima at 0-3 in 3 starts, with 14ER in 14.1 IP. Lima was his own enemy, with a catching error at first leading the the unearned run.

Quoting MLB.com:

Lima, covering first base on a ground ball Delgado handled in the second inning, lost Delgado's throw in the backdrop of a white Bank of America sign. Eckstein scored from second base on what could have been the third out. Lima might have escaped allowing one, rather than two, runs in an inning earlier as well. But Beltran made an ill-conceived and conspicuously late throw to the plate on a run-scoring single by Scott Rolen that allowed Rolen to reach second base. A single two batters later by Spiezio scored Rolen.

...And Randolph characterized Lima's performance as "a pretty good job."

Lima thought his command was improved over what it had been. He thought he got blooped twice. His teammates recalled one instance -- maybe.

"One pitch here, one pitch there," he said.

He lamented the three two-out runs he allowed.

"But no excuses," he said.

Those were reasons.

Hey, the blond braids were pretty well photographed!
Lima did have a great catch/throw to get the batter at first on a grounder, kindof the right-hand-side version of what Johan did on Wednesday.
I made this at fansonbonds.com. It makes me laugh, probably no one else.

2. Don't know why I haven't had much to say about the Twins. I'll be sure to watch Boof on Sunday. I wrote on SBG's site that I think we'll have to wait a couple of weeks after the stadium passes to start the vets-for-prospects swapping. I don't really want to send any of our players to New York, but both teams there have pitching needs (Mets are starting Lima, Yanquis probably wish they could). I think Kyle could be destroyed by starting for either team.

2a. I would hope that if we deal Shannon or Torii or someone else, they have a lot of success this year. I'm thinking of Roloson with the Oilers this year. Hey, the Wild weren't going anywhere and the Oilers were a decent team without a decent Goalie, and it's not like the Wild were going to keep Rollie after the year anyways. Now, if he own the Wild next year, I may not be so favorable. Back to baseball, I guess I would be a bit worried that Torii might burn some bridges on the way out.

3. Would Lima have to cut off the braids if he played for the Yanquis? I have a hard time picturing Lima with the shaven-and-clean-cut Yankees look.

4. Cat and the Longhorns start the NCAA tournament today. They play a 3-day round-robin with UT-San Antonio, Utah, and Indiana, UTSA today. I have no idea what the tiebreakers are.

Albert Pujols and the HR record

2006-05-13T20:19:00.000-05:00

Not to make too much out of it yet, but Albert Pujols just hit his 19th homer of the season, in his team's 37th game. That's a 83-HR pace, more than one every-other game. Is this a possibility? Could Bonds enter the season looking for one HR record and lose the other? Also, Pujols has 220 for his career and is allegedly 26 years old. (Is he older? Younger?)

Has anyone ever rumored a steroid link with this guy or is this guy Killebrew in a higher-offense time?

Favorites Updated

2006-05-13T15:25:00.000-05:00

1. Cat Osterman and the #2 Texas Softball Longhorns lost their first two games of the Big 12 tournament and were quickly eliminated. Cat pitched in relief in the first game to 8-seed OK State after Meagan Denny had the top-seeded 'Horns down 0-2 in the fourth. (They lost 2-1). Their second loss, to 4-Seed Texas A&M (#16) was definitely Cat's worst start of the year, 5 runs on 5 hits in 5.1 innings: Solo HR and Grand Slam. Cat did get named Big-12 Pitcher of the Year for the fourth time. The seedings for the Softball College World Series are announced tomorrow night.

2. Rob Bowen had a foul tip dislocate his thumb on Thursday. He's on the 15-day DL and expected to be back at the end of that. His number so far? .435/.533/.696 in 23 ABs. As for fielding, well give him more of an "I" than on hitting. Runners are 2 for 2 in stealing bases and he's had two passed balls in 66.2 innings caught.

3. Jose Lima got another start yesterday for the Mets, against the Brewers. He brokedown in the fifth inning with two outs. 5ER in 4.2 IP, 2K, 3BB. But the biggest development was the fact that he's got his blond hair pulled back in braids and then tied into a ponytail. Unfortunately, this is the best picture of it:

Softball Trivia

2006-05-09T16:21:00.000-05:00

Looking at the Big 12 Softball Tournament Bracket, it occurs to me, the Big 10 has more softball teams than the Big 12. File that away for bar conversations.

Colorado and Kansas State do not have conference softball teams, while all 11 Big 10 teams have softball teams.

#1 Texas plays tomorrow at 7:30 vs the winner of single-elimination game #9 Iowa State vs #8 Oklahoma State. The first two games among the bottom 4 teams are single-elimination. After that, it's double elimination. So, if you win you're play-in, you're guaranteed to play 3 total. They should have the losers of the play-ins have to play each other and have the loser demoted and K-State or Colorado promoted for next year, like European Football Clubs.

(Crazy) Lima Time

2006-05-08T11:33:00.000-05:00

He's Back! The Jose Lima we've all come to know and (maybe) love was in the MLB yesterday was back and did not disappoint. I've just got to quote parts of the MLB.com story:

[The Mets] also attributed an element of the most lopsided of their 10 defeats to home-plate umpire Angel Hernandez. . . .

The Mets believe the tenor and the positive tension of the game changed prior to and during the second inning . . . . Lima alleged before the inning began that Hernandez told the Mets' substitute starter he wouldn't be afforded the same strike-zone benefit of the doubt afforded Braves starter John Smoltz. [This plus] a balk called early in the inning "changed everything," Lima said. "It changed my day and the Mets' day ... in a bad way."

Lima filled out his bingo card, as they say in the dugouts, in his first big-league start this season. The 33-year-old veteran of 10 Major League seasons and 231 Major League starts, allowed five runs, seven hits, four walks and a home run, threw a wild pitch, hit a batter and balked -- all in five innings.

But his postmortems focused on the balk, Hernandez's strike zone and the tag.
"I could have come out of that inning, nothing-nothing," he said. "But you know what happened."

And what happened was this, according to Lima. As he walked to the mound to start the second, he engaged Hernandez in conversation about the strike zone. "He said to me, 'You're not going to get those three or four extra inches. You're not John Smoltz.'"

Lima, as outspoken as any player, said, "He treated me like a rookie. He knows me. He knows I've been here. He treated me like I was new."

See? Same old Jose. Man, I could have watched it if only I rearranged my whole weekend. Thank you, Jose Lima, for giving me a good reasons to watch the Mets in the future.

San Diego Water

2006-05-08T09:19:00.000-05:00

After I wrote that note, Rob Bowen went 2-3 with a 2B and BB to help the Padres beat the Cubs. Bowen is now hitting .429/.517/.714/1.231 (21 AB, 4BB, 1SF, 1HBP). What is in the water?

Bowen and Lima

2006-05-07T11:50:00.000-05:00

Two of my favorite things in baseball, former marginal Twins (since 2002) and Jose Lima made the mlb.com front page this morning.

1. Rob "Bruce" Bowen, former Twins AAA callup-backup type guy, got a 10th-inning walkoff HR for the Padres last night. Way to go, Rob! For the season, he is hitting .389/.478/.667 in 22 PAs over 15 games (typically a late-inning replacement for Piazza. He hit .108/.189/.190 over 43 PAs for the Twins 2003-04.

2. Jose Lima, yes, that Jose Lima, has been called up from AAA by the Mets for a spot start today because John "Who?" Maine and Brian "Slide Down the" Bannister are injured. With a mostly-shorn chin and naturally-colored hair, he looks downright sane in that mugshot. Let's hope it's just an illusion, I prefer Crazy Lima to any other Lima. He faces off against Smoltz and the Braves. If the Mets can win this, you've gotta start thinking they are a team of destiny. I would love it if he could stay up until the Mets play the Dodgers (June 5-7), because he hates them for not signing him for 2005. He sucked against nearly everyone last year except the Twins and Dodgers. Update: I can't really watch the game, but it's on TBS. Lima looks like he's got a blond afro shoved under the old-fashioned blue Mets cap. He's given up 3 runs in 3 innings. Looks like there was a fight because Paul Lo Duca and Bobby Cox have been ejected after Smoltz got an RBI Fielder's Choice. Hope there's an extensive recap on BBTN.

LOR

2006-05-06T21:18:00.000-05:00

1. I think Luis O. Rodriguez should play damned near every day. Now that Cuddy seems to be getting more playing time (only an apparition?), this should be the Twins Bloggers' next big cause. I saw that he was pinch hitting for Castro, and I must say I called that walk. Unfortunately, only H can vouch for that and he didn't understand. Instead he grabbed my chin.

2. Also, I have to say that I called Matt Stairs' HR off Radke the other night. I thought to myself, "Hmm, no runs yet? Don't they have any Left-Handed slugger-type guys to hit homeruns off Radke?" Then, Stairs came up, "Hey! Stairs is a lefty! and a slugger-type. I don't see how he can't get any homeruns off Radke tonight. Seeing as this is probably his last AB against Radke for the game, he must get a HR this AB." If only I had a brain recorder, I could totally prove all this.

3. So I'm all twisted up, hoping the Lakers win the hole damn thing (mostly because I realized Kobe's a dork because of the tights), and they go up 3-1 and I'm picturing them playing the Clippers and that's funny because they won't have to travel but the NBA will still give them 2 travel days between the Clippers' home games and the Lakers' home games. And now (beginning of 4th quarter), it looks like they've squandered the whole damned thing.

3a. You know, if Kobe is this good with a bunch of replacement-level players, imagine what he could do with another all-star or two and a bunch of positive-VORP players. What? Oh, right...

3ai. They do have VORP for basketball, right?

3b. Deavan George graduated from Augsburg a year ahead of me. I've always held it against him that he got drafted by the Lakers (like he could help it). Somehow, it was like getting drafted by the Sith, and then heling them take over the republic. So, Deavan, I'm sorry for all the bad vibes I've been sending you these past 7 years. It was me who was immature.

3c. So, I've watched probably all of 48 minuts of NBA basketball this year total. But I've turned on the playoffs hoping that jerk superstars like Artest and Kobe can carry their teams. Now I think I may be bored with it again, unless LeBron can compete against the pistons, but I'd wait until late in the series.

3d. David Stern: you've got about 10 minutes left to fix this game for the Lakers or I'm done watching basketball for the year.

4. The Oilers are my team for this year's Stanley Cup playoffs, mainly because their Goalie, Roloson, used to be the Wild Goalie, but also because no version of their sweater offends me. (Sharks? Ducks? Avs?) I was so psyched to see them beat the Red Wings. I guess I'd like the Devils in the East, but I have a very clear bias in cheering for Western NHL teams.

Silva's Sinker

2006-05-05T08:04:00.000-05:00

Sure, the Twins lost last night by the Royals, but hey, Carlos Silva seemed to be returning to form. Still too many fly outs for me to be really comfortable, but no home runs, and I think most of the hits against him were grounders that found holes, so there's that.

Silva has been my favorite Twin these last two years, with his awesome ability to get batters to ground out (or into a double play) even though the batters know exactly that's what he's going to be doing. His early-season shellings have had me worried that he has lost it or that the league has figured him out or that his knee-repairing surgery changed his mechanics or something. I'm not particularly hopeful that the Twins can contend this year, but I am once again hopeful for a 18-hit 9-DP complete game shutout, or something along those lines.

PS. Cuddy and Castro are on my "good list" for wearing appropriately smooth helmets. Torii is on my bad list. I think the helmets make the players' heads look pointy from straight on. Like This: ^.

It's like he never left.

2006-05-03T08:50:00.000-05:00

Noticed on the ESPN crawl yesterday:
"Royals DH Mike Sweeney (back) on 15-day DL."

Hell-met

2006-05-02T21:01:00.000-05:00

Sonofab---h. Damnit. Those protective abominations called "Cool-Flo." I don't believe the Twins had them before tonight. I haven't taken a complete inventory, but the following position players/DHs are on my "bad list":
Rondell White, Nick Punto, Tony Batista, Shannon Stewart, Luis Castillo.

On my "good list": Joe Mauer (might this have something to do with a sponsorship contract from someone not Rawlings?)

To add to it, they've scored as many runs tonight as in the last four games, so I'm sure they're likely to stick around as "good mojo".

I'd rather have discreet logos than the microdot bloody elbows and reptile venting that Nike and Rawlings are pushing on us baseball-watchers.

With the new Vikings uniforms (not as bad as I feared, I must admit, but don't mess with success), pixie vest and reptile helmets on my Twins, MSU Mankato's black and purple (which you'll have to look at eventually to watch the WCHA), and black uniforms for the Wolves, it's a tough time to be a Twin Cities sport fan. I got nothing against the Wild though, all their sweaters are pretty sweet.

PS. Joe Mauer is now 1-11 when drawing a full count. That seems odd.

Blown Opposition Save Opportunity

2006-05-01T23:03:00.000-05:00

I'm still working on the best name for the phenonenon, but I've got my own statistic that I like to follow. If the opposite of the win is the loss, the opposite of the save is the ___. Unsave? Blown Opposition Save opportunity (BOSO)? Any help?

Anyways, tonight, Jesse Crain had one. I think it's only the second of the Twins this season.

My definition of it is: Reliever comes in and if he gets all the remaining outs in the inning without any further scoring (including inherited runners), the opposition would have a save opportunity (which will usually become a Hold unless it's the 9th), 3 run or less lead, in the 5th or later, I think. However, the batting team scores enough runs after you enter that a save is no longer available to them.

So, even though Crain did not give up Baker's 5th run, he inherited it and allowed it to score.

I do not believe that this really captures anything, but then again, Wins and Losses really don't either. Still, it can be a nice summary statistic for me to write in the Twins Calendar that I fill in each day.

Never on Sunday.

2006-05-01T16:34:00.000-05:00

In the Month of April, the Twins were 0-5 on Sundays:
April 2, (Someone) lost to the Red Wings 3-15
April 9, Santana lost to Cleveland 2-3
April 16, Radke lost to Yankees 3-9
April 23, Silva lost to ChiSox 3-7
April 30, Lohse lost to Detroit 0-6

They had at least one win every other day of the week except Monday, a day on which they did not play.

God gives Loaiza a Mulligan. Why not the Twins?

2006-04-29T21:24:00.000-05:00

1. So, Esteban Loaiza really was awful tonight in KC: 5 R (all ER) off 4 H (Including a Reggie Sanders Grand Slam) and 6 BB. He must've had no control. Sander's HR was only the 6th strike of his night, (his 14th pitch). He walked the first two of the second inning before being pulled. Yet, rain fell from the sky enough to stop the game in the third and delete any of these events from offically having happened. Mientkiewicz's 2 bb. Reggie's GS. Kerry Robinson got his first major-leauge action in two years, going 2-3 with a run and an RBI (2-3 in 2 2/3 innings!). Heck, the Royals getting three innings of 1-run pitching against someone who isn't the Twins is not something to Sneeze at either. And it all never happened.

(I couldn't find any more details on the weather).

2. I would love to see Vince Young be the best player to come out of this NFL draft. I watched this year's RoseBowl replayed on ESPN classic last night after the Twin's loss. I started asking myself if Texas really did win.

3. Re: Twins. Wow. 27-1 over 2 games? I thought today's game was a night game, so I missed it. Maybe that's a good thing. I'm afaid to even look at the box. I'll assume Silva's sinker isn't sinking. I think that KC rain could've helped. Maybe the KC batters will help next Thurday.

3a. I think it's time to draw up my list of other teams to root for, in case I should need it.

1. Twins (No matter if they'll soon be putrid, the "TC" gets me every time.)
2. Royals (Just for fun, started following them as my second last year, and this year they have better unis. Also, they host the Negro Leagues Museum, and someday I'm driving to a game.)
3. Devil Rays (If I don't who will? Plus, they have Cantu!)
4. Brewers (I guess they're my NL team. Young and exciting.)
5. Reds (Bronson's my man. Next year's uni upgrade--less black--could make them my NL team.)
6. Braves (I can watch most of their Games.)
7. ChiSox (Won me over in last year's playoffs. Plus, they're the Devil you know.)
8. Hafners (If NoDak is MN's backyard, Hafner is basically a homeboy.)
9. Mariners (Eddie gets to give them Heart attacks now.)
10. Gigantes (Everyone else's Bonds-hate has made me a fan, like a reverse Jeter or Favre.)
11. Pirates (I don't even know enough about them to know how they suck. That's intriguing.)
12. Tigers (Did these guys really lose 119 three years ago?)
13-15. DiamondBacks, Rockies, Cards (The NL clubs I am fully neutral on.)
16. Nats (Pros: LeCroy, Robinson, Johnson. Cons: Screech, plus I just get a bad vibe this year.)
17. Marlins (I do enjoy the feast/famine cycle. I guess it's easier when you have no fans.)
18-20. Athletics, Orioles, Rangers (the AL clubs I am neutral on. I hope they're bad so they're easier for the Twins and Royals to beat.)
21. Astros (Nothing interests me about them, except maybe the outfield hill.)
22. Cubs (Would be lower, but I still like Jacque and Maddux has my complete respect. Would be higher but they really ruined LaTroy's rep. It's Dusty's fault for using him as a closer--he's awful with a lead in the 9th. It's a mental thing for him, but it's not going away. Work with it!)
23. Blue Jays (Could be up with neutral AL teams if they incorporated the old font a little bit. If you have a color in your teams' name, you should use it a lot. Unless you're the Browns.)
24. Angels (If only they didn't beat the Twins so much and Scioscia weren't such an ass.)
25. Padres (The Astros without an outfield hill.)
26. Dodgers (I think I may be bitter about the WS loss before I was born.)
27. Phillies (Will you look at the number font on the Jerseys? Do they think this is the NBA? Plus, I still rank them higher than most people in Philly.)
28. Yanquis (I keep waiting for Torre to quit and/or the team to fall completely apart like the recent Knicks of Philly Eagles. No such luck yet.)
29. Red Sox (Equal to the Yanquis except eveyone else's loving them (in 2004 made me hate them more).
30. Mets (Like the Yanquis, only Ugly and without the success.)

4. The Twins official site on MLB.com asks for All-Star game votes. I can't think of a single position player on the Team who would deserve a nod right now. Maybe Castillo? I'm guessing Santana will be the Twins' only rep unless things get turned around quickly. If not Santana, it will be Nathan.

5. LOR (formerly Luis R (v 2.0)) should be our starting SS, I think. If nothing else, he should be the focus of Gardy's Srubbini Fixation, not Punto or Castro.

6. Bad for the Twins being so dominated by Runny Hernandez on Wednesday. Good for Runny coming back from being DLed for being overweight on reporting to camp. Hopefully, his start against the Twins wasn't a fluke, and he can have success against. . . better hitting teams. His next test: Monday at Detroit against Bonderman.

Pessimism

2006-04-24T15:33:00.000-05:00

1. Well, Week 1, a 1-5 start, and I feel like the Twins are toast.
Then: Week 2, going 5-1 and the Twins are just shaking off the rust and going to contend.
Now: Week 3, 1-5, and what the hell happened to my pitching? We've still only got 2 bullpen decisions (Nathan 1-0, Crain 0-1), but Rincon picked up the team's first "Reverse Save*" on Saturday. Are we looking at a 4th place finish?

2. I think I'll predict a 5-1 week and a .500 April.

3. Two Saturdays ago, the televised game, Cat Osterman pitched a complete game shutout, with the only baserunner due to a HBP. Unfortunately, there was a lightning delay (no rain) after the second inning, and as I was fighting an awful cold, I fell asleep during the bonus coverage, only to wake up after the game was over. It didn't hurt that the bonus coverage was the previous week's televised big 12 softball game, which I had watched a lot of. (Yes, and here's where A&M

4. I've been fighting the cold all week and went away for the weekend (didn't watch any of the ComiskeyII games). That's why i haven't written anything. I did spend a lot of time staring at my Twins caps, and might try to do something with that in the next few weeks.

Cat on TV?

2006-04-15T10:37:00.000-05:00

Texas softball takes on Oklahoma on ESPN today at noon (Centrat Time zone). Both Cat and Texas's #2 pitcher, Meagan Denny, pitched in yesterday's win over the Sooners. Cat went 5.1 to get her 1000th IP in her collegiate career. She gave up 1 R. Hopefully, she was pulled early so she can start or relieve in today's nationally broadcast game.

I don't want to have to wait for the CWS to see her pitch. Go Longhorns!

Optimism

2006-04-14T22:24:00.000-05:00

1. The Twins have won four in a row and all a sudden I'm thinking great things. Maybe Tony Batista is a good idea at third, and maybe Castro is good for covering Batista's lapses and giving us decent production out of the 9-spot in the lineup and maybe Ford is a good idea in right and maybe Punto should be the guy to spell Castro at short. Yet, maybe Rondell White is done for his career and maybe Johan Santana will end the year 0-33 with an over-4 ERA.

2. Ten games, ten decisions for the starting pitchers. Does any other team still have no bullpen decisions? 2004's vulture was Rincon. 2005's vulture was Crain. Could 2006's vulture be the starting rotation?

3. By the way, whoever had "Lohse and Baker" in the "who gets the Twins first two Quality Starts?" pool, please step forward to claim your award. No, not you, liar.

4. I said it last year: I wish Castro were about 25 years old. He looks great at times and not-so-great at others and if we could just point at his age and say "maturing," we'd feel a lot better about the weak hitting. Tonight's at-bat was pretty awsome and I can't wait to see Will Young's win probability chart to see if he orLew or Baker got the most of that win.

5. I assume that like me, a lot of people had the day off for Good Friday. I think a daytime baseball game would have been great on TV, at least one in Wrigley, where daytime Friday games are not uncommon.

On appearances

2006-04-12T20:03:00.000-05:00

(This post would be better with pictures, but I can't add them for some reason).

Justin Morneau just hit a homerun to put the Twins ahead. C just went to bed. H wakes up in 30 minutes, and I need to vent.

What team is this? These Pixie vests look like crap. I almost hope the Twins get stung with an awful loss tonight and that the Pixie vests get branded "bad mojo." If, like Jerry Seinfeld said, sports fandom is basically cheering for laundry, I will not cheer for this laundry.

It looks like someone took tore the sleeves off the unis, but was kind enough to give back the Kirby "34" patch. "This looks like it means something to you, why don't you keep it?"

And, it gives us a better look at the awful Nike undershirts. Blood-stain elbows and all.

The Twins should be weaing all-white like the heroes they are. I was actually hoping to see Shannon not get to Swisher's HR, because I thought he was a defender for a different team. And then I realized, that was my Twin running that ball down.

I hate them. I hate them. I hate them. I just keep looking at them trying to give them another chance and I can't get over it.

Okay, that being said, it looks like the rumours of corrugated helmets for the Twixies turns out to be mere truthiness. Thank heavens. I've seen a couple of teams wear them, with different results. They look okay on the A's because they're matte-er. They look awful on the Dodgers, a great classic uni marred with high-tech goo-gaws. They should go ahead and put names on the backs of the unis now if they're gonna give them cool flow reptile helmets. Do the Dodgers have a slightly lighter-hued from on them? I keep imagining it and that's even worse.

And then there's the Mets. I think they might have the worst uni in all MLB, but I'm trying to not think too hard. It's an all-out mess. So, a Black Helmet with vents and Blue star-ish thing as the "front panel" with a black "NY" with white trim? I guess "uglier" was possible. And now they're there.

Okay, the Mets have nice hats have got two good hats, especially the old blue with orange NY, but even their good black hat is streched over two hats. One hat has blue NY with orange trim and the logo pops and vibes with electricity as the wearer turns and the orange appears and disappears. Unfortunately, it's paired with a blue bill and a blue bead. (This is the road cap.) Their home alt is all-black composition (even the bead), but it has a Blue NY with white trim and an orange drop-shadow. Huh? Put the orange-trimmed Blue NY on the all-black hat and you've got a winner of a black hat, which is pretty rare.

Finally, I'm dreading the Purple-pantsed Vikings. I wish the Vikings would go all-white at home like the Dolphins used to (do they still?) and the Redskins still do. The Cowboys wear white kits at home but teal-grey pants.

There, I'm done.

Weekend Thoughts

2006-04-09T22:24:00.000-05:00

1. Seriously, I could do without all the losing. At least it wasn't to the Royals (I'm looking at you White Sox...)

2. As bad as Joe Mays had it Wednesday, Lohse had it Friday and so did Jon Garland. And Garland's was against the Royals.

3. I think my five favorite teams in MLB are the AL Central. My Twins. The sad-sack Royals. The WS champion ChiSox (who I rooted against all last year until I saw my first postseason game... hey, they're our villians, plus: Ozzie's made them a lot less hateable than during the cocky Thomas years). The NoDakker-diring Cleveland Hafners. The resurgent Detroit Paper Tigers (Uhm, those wins were against KC and Texas).

4. C, who has no knowledge of racial sterotypes, was pretty sure that the Cleveland team was "the Sharks." I think Chief Wahoo's feather looked like a dorsal fin to her.

4a. If I were an artsy guy, I would do a mock-up of Wahoo as a Shark and also as a Hafner (my preferred name for the team). I've really got nothing against "Indians" but I still can't believe that Wahoo is still around. I do like the Script "I" alternate logo as it keeps the silhouette of Wahoo, like a way of fading him out without erasing him.

5. Sidney Ponson has hair! Wow!

Glasses Battery

2006-04-07T07:45:00.000-05:00

1. I was surprised to see the game last night was not televised. Radio listening does not work with the kids, so we watched Nats/Mets instead until they went to bed.

2. Would have loved to see the Jays last night: Jason Phillips catching Gustavo Chacin. Is that the first time that a battery has both guys as regular glasses-wearers, so regular that they wear glasses in their mugshots?
and

3. I miss Matt LeCroy. And I've got another reason to miss him: Mike Redmond. Picking up where he left off last year, Redmond is proving he's too good a hitter to be a backup. But, as we only have two catchers of any talent on the roster (Morneau is the emergency catcher), we'll never be able to use Redmond as a pinch-hitter for anyone other than Mauer. LeCroy wasn't a great catcher, but it was nice to have him as a slightly-better-than-emergency catcher who had another role. If the Twins do find themselves out of contention this year, I hope we can trade Redmond to a contender (and bring up Heintz again). Side note: do we still have Corky or Bowen in our minors? I see they're not on the 40-man.

Dearest Joe Mays, I'm So Very Sorry about Bringing You Here, Love amr

2006-04-05T22:47:00.000-05:00

1. Not a Twin anymore, but I watched the Gamecast of Joe Mays' debut for the Royals. Ouch ouch ouch. For a guy that fell apart down the stretch last year, it was not a good start. He started like he was Bradke: Double Single Double SacFly Walk/ScoreOnWP. 3 runs in the first, with the only out an RBI. But then: GIDP GroundOut K K FlyOut FlyOut Single GroundOut Groundout Double GroundOut FlyOut. Maybe he's getting it. But then in the 5th: Homer Single Groundout Homer. Afternoon over, 6 runs in 4.1 IP. Damn, I was rooting for the guy.

2. Everyone's favorite res-hall drug dealer, Bronson Arroyo, got the Win in Cincinnati today, hitting a Homer in his first AB as a Commie. I think I'm rooting for him a lot this year, just a decent pitcher for the Reds, a castoff from the Red Sox.

3. I haven't been able to watch enough of the Twins yet to have any thoughts really worth expressing that haven't already been elsewhere. Haven't seen if they actually are wearing the Lizard-Head Helmets. I saw some tonight on the Dodgers on TBS, and they look awful. Reserving judgement went to revulsion. Are the Twins wearing these?

The man who sang "Liberty Valance"

2006-04-05T11:53:00.000-05:00

Gene Pitney, pop singer whose hits were mostly in the 60's, died last night. "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" is one of my all-time favorite songs. My earliest memory of non-children's music was my dad singing along to that song as it played on the cabinet phonograph in the basement. Had I had any musical talent, it was one of the songs I would regularly cover (along with Ice-T's "Midnight" and Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments"). Thanks for the records, Gene.

SBG, if you're reading this, Gene releases a Stones-penned song "That Girl Belongs to Yesterday" in 1964, which is right when they started getting popular, I believe.

Brenda!

2006-04-04T23:40:00.000-05:00

Way to go, Coach Frese! Score was 28-38 at the half, and the Terps turned it around.

Okay, I've been filling out Women's brackets for three years now...
2004 Connecticut
2005 Baylor
2006 Maryland

I'm worried there will be too much pressure on me next year. I know it's not as hard as picking the men's but only one of ESPN's commentators had Maryland out of their region.

My tip? Look for teams with Diana Taurasi or good centers who have beaten lots of other good teams.

Happy New Year!

2006-04-04T21:30:00.000-05:00

C, H, and I watched as much of the start of tonight's game as we could. Here's a picture.

That's my hat from the year they changed to the dynamic M (1987?). I was 9 but we can tighten it so it fits her.

Before the game, there was a montage of Kirby moments. I had told C about him (a bit) back right after he died. Tonight I told her about his "owie" (the patched eye) that was so bad he couldn't play baseball anymore. C drew a connection to my "owie" on my forehead (lipoma removal). C said "I hope he got better." I really didn't know what to say.

Too bad about the game. I couldn't watch enough of it to get a feel. I do think that Halladay is one of the two best pitchers in the AL (him and Johan). I like that Shannon got so many hits (he was one of last year's worst producers relative to what I would expect). Is Crain now the set-up with Juan Rincon the 7th inning guy? Can Batista hit 162 Solo HRs? Can Castillo make us long for Rivas's defense? Hey, we're only one game back (behind the Tigs).

Overtime in the NCAA Women's Championship game... you go Brenda! The reason we're pissed is because we know you're awesome and we wanted you to stay. I'm posting this now.

Anyways, happy new year (of baseball)!

Cat Osterman Update

2006-04-04T11:36:00.000-05:00

Just so you know...

Cat actually lost a game this year. March 17 vs Michigan. She gave up a 2-run homer in the 7th, and her team scored 0 runs to back her up. Homerun to Tiffany Worthy. Win to Jennie Ritter. The dropped Cat's record to 16-1.

As of today (April 4), Cat's record is now 23-1, in 27 apperances with 21 starts. 20 of her starts were complete games (19-1). 2 of her relief appearances were saves, while the other 4 were relief wins.

She has given 38 hits and 5 runs (all earned) in 157 2/3 innings. 23 Walks and 360 Ks.

So her stats are: 0.22 ERA, 0.38 WHIP, 15.98 K/7, 15.65 K/BB. That's pretty good, eh?

Mugshots!

2006-04-03T12:00:00.000-05:00

The 2006 baseball season is upon us, and that means . . . new mugshots!

A few early thoughts:
Johan doesn't look like a Johan robot, he's actually breaking a smile
vs.

Shannon's hat is really crooked and he gets his chin-shaving tips from Kyle.
vs.

Bartlett must be the kid that got Mauer's sideburns in that commercial. (Yeah, I know Jason is older, it just doesn't look that way.)
and

Matt and Brad have (had) quite the chin-brushes. I prefer full beards, but these show some dedication.
and

Let's! Go! Base! Ball!

2006-04-02T23:31:00.000-05:00

1. Man, there must be some pressure on MLB to make opening game this official. I think the rain delay was five hours* and they started play back up even though it is still really pouring. Thome just hit a home run and it's 6-3 in the fourth Sox. I'm going to bed, having watched just a few at bats of an official game. I wonder if it'll be called after the fifth.

*Might have only been two, but the women's basketball game was a blowout, so I wanted baseball.

Eww, Cleveland's grass-stain undershirt elbows look like blood.
Note: 4.5 played. The game counts.

Cleveland looks like crap, like they're not even trying fielding, holding off steals, it's now 7-3. Too bad they just can't get together, shake hands, and call it like if it were Curling. Save everybody's stats and keep anyone from getting injured from the water.

2. Preseason picks.
AL Central: WhiteSox (not just because I saw Thome's HR).
AL East: DevilRays
AL West: A's
AL Wild Card: Twins

NL Central: Brewers
NL East: Braves
NL West: Gigantes
NL Wild Card: Cardinals

AL MVP: Jorge Cantu
NL MVP: Barry Bonds
AL CY: Halladay (or maybe Clemens)
NL CY: Sheets (or maybe Clemens)
AL/NL ROY: Man, the only guys I can think of are Twins.
AL Coach: Devil Rays Coach (Don't know name)
NL Coach: Brewers Coach (Don't know name - Yost?)

3. Oh, and my NCAA women's national champ pick, Maryland, beat UNC tonight, just as I predicted. I'm a little spooked about it, too.

Big Game Tonight!

2006-03-27T15:14:00.000-06:00

1. Huge women's basketball game tonight. UNC vs Tennessee. To decide once and for all who's going to come up short against Maryland on Sunday. The most consistent women's team of the last 2 decades against this year's best team and best player.

2. I went to Friday night's Men's NCAA tournament games with some folks from work. I decided that I wanted Villanova to win because their pep band played the Minnesota Rouser. The Gators had the best mascot, so good for them, too.

3. I'm working on a post about WBC unis, like frightwig asked. Not sure why, but I want to be comprehensive. Plus, H. has decided to wake up every hour during the night, so I've had less mental attention.

Me Kids, dey love dem some dancehall. Plus, go Cuba!

2006-03-20T16:31:00.000-06:00

1. Yesterday, E went to run some errands, and called my cell while I took care of the kids. My ringtone for her is Damian Marley's "All Night" (for reasons that aren't obvious). C started dancing with the ring. When I answered the phone, she was disappointed. After the call, I replayed the ringtone a few times, for her to dance to. Then, rather than listen to the same 20-second clip over and over, I got out the CD* and played it. C loved it, dancing around in her princess dress (the pink one). H seemed to dig either the music or C's dancing, because he smiled and bounced in his bouncy-chair and did the closest thing he can to clapping. We listened to most of the album (track 5 on) and they only tired of it towards the end (I do too though).

*"Welcome to Jamrock": much better than I thought it would be.

1a. So tonight, I'm bringing home my Greensleeves "Diwali Riddim" compilation. We'll see what they think of T.O.K. and Bounty Killer. Maybe I need to burn me a "Best of Sean Paul" to share with them.

1b. If anyone (frightwig) remembers, my hope is that my kids at least appreciate some Jamaican music. I might be able to understand more than 25% had I not waited to college to listen to anyone other than the Wailers.

1c. Yes, I realize that "Welcome to Jamrock" isn't pure dancehall, but it's more dancehall than it is Wailers-style Reggae.

2. I'm heavily cheering for the Cubans tonight. Watching them take on the Dominicans, I thought, "Most of these guys should be millionaires with huge mansions in Florida." Now, I don't know how well paid they are in Cuba, tonight they can get their one night of the glory they deserve. Papi has his ring, Choi has his 6 hr weekend against the Twins, Ichiro topped Sisler and has his ROY, but unless the Cubans really risk themselves, they've only got tonight.

2a. Would be cool though if after they won, half ran for the outfield fence or did whatever they have to do to defect/apply for asylum.

2b. Plus, they're also the chance of sports protests to destabilize a regime. I remember Iran had its Soccer team blow some games so they could stay out of the World Cup. Still, I don't think Cubans will overthrow former player Fidel if they win or lose. Now, I don't think Cuba is the worst place in the world to live, but I think it could be a lot better. If Cuba was free, maybe the Marlins could talk about relocating there.

2c. The Japanese only have to wait 7 years before they can move to the real majors from AAAA(+). Are American clubs be able to sign/draft them before a Japanese club does?
2d. Does the Cuban team have a nickname? If not, I propose the "Pajamas" after those awful red pants. Yet still I cheer for them.

2e. C cheered for the Dominicans on Saturday. I don't hold it against her, though. She declared "Baseball is my favorite!"

2f. I undid the Koreans. I woke up Saturday with a very sore throat and ate some KimChi. I was gonna save it for after they win the first WBC title, but my throat really hurt. Did the job though, but it jinxed the SoKors.

Beautiful KC Jersey

2006-03-17T11:31:00.000-06:00

I should write something about the WBC, but I don't have time. However... check out the Royals' new road jersey. It is probably the best looking jersey I've seen introduced since I've been paying attention:

Beware AL Central of the sartorially improved Royals!
Remember, it was this:

NCAA Pool Picks

2006-03-15T15:47:00.000-06:00

1. Last year, in my company NCAA pool, I did alright. Top 30% or so. I was leading out the gate with 14 of the sweet 16. However, I had the eventual champion losing its first game, my annual 16 over 1 pick.

2. My bracket says Texas over UNC, only because these schools have the two best athletes in NCAA sports. Unfortunately, they are Cat Osterman and Ivory Latta. Still, I know of no other reason to pick any teams, and Osterman has made Texas my favorite school until she graduates, so why not?

3. I've filled out women's brackets for my own amusment for 4 years now. Last year, I got 3 of the Final Four right and the Champion, Baylor. This year I have absolutely no clue. I picked Maryland, just because I'm still ticked at Brenda Frese for leaving the Gophers, and I'm sure she'll like to stick it right back at me.

WBC Update

2006-03-14T21:12:00.000-06:00

1. Okay, The DR beat Venezuela to be the first team guaranteed to the Semis. If Puerto Rico beats Cuba tomorrow, they win the pool, while Cuba would be runner-up to the DR. The Pool's winner is the home team.

1a. Saw Santana sitting next to Henry Blanco in the dugout. Blanco so would have stopped that ball.

2. Japan beat Mexico 6-1. Running Through Scenarios, If Korea beats Japan Tomorrow, Korea wins the pool. If Japan beats Korea and Mexico beats the US, Japan wins the pool and Korea is runner-up. If Japan beats Korea and the US beats Mexico, it's a three-way tie. US has given up 10 among the three, Japan 4 and Korea 3. If Japan wins with 6 or fewer runs, the US is out and If the margin of the game is more than 1, Japan wins the pool. (If Japan wins with 7 runs, it goes the the second tie (earned runs) or the third tie (batting average). If Korea wins and Mexico wins, It's a Three-way tie for second. Mexico has already given up 6 and the US has given up 4, while Japan has given up 4 in both games, so, Japan advances (as the US must give up one to lose). So, unless I screwed something up, Mexico can only play spoiler to the US team, and only if Japan loses or Wins a high-scoring game. Korea can only be out if they give up 7 runs and lose.

2a. No word yet if the Western Hemisphere saw its first competitive gyroball.

2b. Check the video on the link (you'll have to download the file and play it). I don't know if this is a spoof or not, but that ball is creepy, aided of course by the slo-mo audioless presentation that says "proof aliens exist."

Passed Ball

2006-03-14T20:54:00.000-06:00

Watching the WBC right now. 7th inning VEN vs DOM. All I want to say is Henry Blanco would have stopped that ball.

I've seen an early score for the Japan-Mexico game. If Mexico wins (not that they're winning), Japan is eliminated, South Korea advances, and the Mexico/USA match is to advance.

If Japan wins, everyone is still alive, unless they beat Mexico by more than 4, in which case Mexico is eliminated.

Reusse's Magic

2006-03-13T12:05:00.000-06:00

I think Patrick Reusse may be using black magic or something. There's a lot of Latin-ish stuff at the end of his article on Puckett's rememberance. Link. Please use the comments and tell me (seriously or jokingly) what the heck this is.

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Rooting Interests.

2006-03-11T09:47:00.000-06:00

1. Okay, now the second round WBC teams have all been determined. Probably the teams that most would have guessed, although many may have guessed Canada over Mexico.

2. So, Pool 1 is the US, Japan, South Korea, and Mexico. Clearly I'm rooting for Korea and Mexico. My only pick is Mexico over the US, as they'll want to avenge their 0-2 loss.

3. Pool 2 is Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Venezuela. I'm rooting for Cuba (more time for Gourriel to defect to the Twins... I mean, uhm, freedom and the US) and Venezuela.

4. I was thinking, the format of the WBC is nicely expandable. If in 2009, there are 20 countries with potential teams, each of the 4 original pools could have 5 teams. Or with 24 countries, there could be 4 pools of 6. I can't think of 4 more teams I would add, though. My first picks would be Greece, India, Cuban exiles, and a USA B team. Maybe North Korea, Russia, Brazil, and Costa Rica have players, too. Or maybe they could allow a team of guys that don't qualify for any of the other countries. Like if there's a random Argentinian, or if the Cuban exiles don't get their own team.

4a. The USA B team could be a lot of guys who aren't all-stars, but aren't bad players: Lohse, Jacque Jones, Pierzynski, Crede, Rowand, Aaron Fultz, Mientkiewicz, etc. That's a USA team I could get behind.

Mexico!

2006-03-10T04:33:00.000-06:00

1. Mexico whupped Canada to guarantee winning Pool B.

2. I guess I totally didn't understand how the tiebreakers work. Here's the official article from worldbaseballclassic.com

If the Americans win on Friday, they'll be 2-1, as will the Mexicans and Canadians, but Canada will lose out because of the initial three-way tiebreaker: runs allowed divided by innings played in the games only involving the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

Mexico allowed three runs against the U.S. and Canada, the U.S. allowed eight runs against Canada and Mexico, and Canada was pelted for a whopping 15 runs by Mexico and the U.S.

3. From the same article:

Losing to the Mexicans, 9-1, with a chance to wrap up a berth in the second round a day after beating the Americans is akin to the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" U.S. hockey team having lost the gold medal to Finland after it defeated the vaunted Soviet Union. It didn't happen then, but it happened to the Canadiens on Thursday. [emphasis mine]

No wonder Mexico won, they were playing the Habs!

4. ESPN's announcers, who included Rick Sutcliff said that Canada was eliminated. Uhm, well, America could lose today.

5. Man, did the rebroadcast of the Canada/Mexico game cut coverage. They shoehorned a 3 hour game into 2 hours. I missed Morneau swinging and striking at ball four in the 4 walk/3 K 6th. Italy/DR was fit into a 2.5 hour window.

6. Two more Cantu pictures:

Pictures of my bump.

2006-03-09T20:01:00.001-06:00

1. I am pretty sure that slightly less than zero people care, but here are the pictures of my lipoma, and the place where it used to be.

Before:

After:
2. I'm trying to avoid getting score updates from the Canada/Mexico game as I plan on watching the game early this morning. I'm not sure what inning it is, but I saw that the score is 6-0 Mexico. If that would hold, the U.S. would be out, even if they can beat the Suidafrikanners*. Mexico would win the first tiebreaker and the pool on Runs per 9 innings. Then Canada would win the runner-up do to their win over the US. That would make me happy. More Jorge Cantu. Less A-Rod and Jeter.

* May not be real word for people from South Africa. Should be though.

2a. Until I saw the score, I forgot that Loaiza was pitching tonight. I like him. He's a beard Samson. Good pitcher with his beard, bad pitcher clean shaven (as with the Yankees).

2b. Correction: Thinking about it, if Mexico keeps Canada scoreless, USA could still have a better runs/9 than Mexico, _if_ the USA and South Africa stay tied at 0 for more than 9 innings (of course, if the game is tied at 0 through 14, the game is a tie). I don't think that's gonna happen. Also, if Mexico gets the mercy rule against Canada, the US could go fewer scoreless innings. Wouldn't it be cool if the only way the US could advance was by taking a scoreless game into extra innings? Wouldn't it then be cool if Damon hit a leadoff homer?

My bump. My lovely forehead bump.

2006-03-09T05:42:00.000-06:00

1. I've had an unusual but subtle growth on my forehead for over a year. Until yesterday, when I had it removed. Benign fatty tumor. Somehow, I figured the procedure would be like gtting fillings, but man, my head still hurts.

2. Bonus is that I got to stay home watch the best day of WBC live baseball yet. Cuba/Panama followed by Canada/USA. The first game was just awesome. Back-and forth leads. 7 hit batters but no ejections (kindof hard to rule a hbp intentional when it pushes in the tying run in the bottom of the 9th). Panama stayed with Cuba, but the Cubans were just too good and got 2 runs in the 11th to win it. Bruce Chen (Panamanian? didn't know) did a great job with his start, but the bullpen let him down. Carlos Lee would have won the game twice and didn't. I really hope a couple of these Cubans defect after this whole thing is over:
Yunieski Maya blew the save but reached down when he needed it to prevent the loss.
Yadier Pedroso is 19 and gave up those tying runs but would show a lot of promise.
And Yulieski Gourriel is the 22-year old 2B who could have saved the Twins' season last year (as Bret Boone did not).

3. Great to see Canada upset the US. I stopped watching when the score was 8-2. Watch out for the RSA, America! They're spunky! If Canada beats Mexico and USA beats RSA, the US is in Round 2. If Mexico beats Canada (tonight, 2am, ESPN, I'm so there) and the US beats RSA, Then all 3 NAFTA countries are in a tiebreaker in which the winner is the one that gave up fewest runs (so far, Mexico) and the loser is the one of the other two that lost to the other (USA to Canada). If Mexico and the US lose, then South Africa, America, and Mexico have the 3-way tiebreaker. Mexico still has given up the fewest runs.

3a. Why does ESPN abbreviate South Africa "SAF"? I have to think for a minute each time I see that. San Fransisco? Slovak Air Force? "RSA" is the standard abbreviation.

3b. Jorge Cantu has the best look in all of baseball:

Love those Mexican Unis, too. I do hate the undershirts with accent-color elbow shading though, and every team has those.

Like a kid.

2006-03-06T22:08:00.000-06:00

After posting that, I went to do the dishes. Thinking things over some more.

1. After looking it up, I was 14 for game 6. I was becoming a cynical teen. I would buy a Nirvana album 2 months later. Three years later, I would leave baseball over the strike and not come back for 7 years.

Yet my memory tells me I was a Kid. Like 9 or 10. Maybe that night kindof a night strikes such a childlike awe in you that if you were even close to being a kid, you're temporarily turned back into one for the night. Thanks, Kirby for the last night I was a Kid.

2. Before I left work, I checked the web for updates and saw nothing. When Kirby passed away, I was playing princess with C. It was a great night with her. Decided not to do dishes or make bottles until, well, right now. Just let her entertain me with songs from Cinderella, and dancing and "ice skating" on the rug. Seems somehow appropriate.

34

2006-03-06T21:15:00.000-06:00

1. I have a cousin named Kirby. He's about 5 years old. I wonder how my uncle Corey, his Dad is.

2. B just noted "Grandpa Joe's lovin this." He passed away on Christmas 2 years back... it was pretty to me that Joe wouldn't pass away during the season. Joe played minor league ball in Duluth between the wars.

3. Memory #1: Neighbor kid back in New Ulm, Nate Hilbert, and I had some games close to baseball that we'd imitate. He must've listened to the games on the radio. Tim Teufel and Kirby Puckett were the names that stood out, I think Nate mentioned that they were the new players. Nate knew how Casey announced Kirby, did Casey do that from the start? These players we would act out as. Oh, and Hrbek, too, but he was a name then. This must have been May '84, given Teufel and that I know school was still in session. I would have been 6 and I was just ending first grade.

4. Memory #2: Everyone will remember this, but I don't mind repeating. Game 6, 1991. I was fourteen and stayed up for the whole thing. The Catch at the plexiglas. The homerun.

5. If you were my age in Minnesota, and Kirby wasn't your favorite, something wasn't quote right with you. The discussions were over who was your second favorite player.

6. Godspeed, Kirby.

Go SoKors!

2006-03-06T11:41:00.000-06:00

Congrats to South Korea on the first upset of the WBC. I watched almost all of that game, and it was pretty good, even if I couldn't tell any of the Koreans apart. (I think Three last names covers 75% of the team). One of the Lees, Seung Yop, hit an 8th inning 2-r HR to reverse the score. Unfortunately, I had fallen asleep during the commercial between the 7th and 8th and didn't wake up until the bottom of the 9th, so I missed some of the excitement. Notes:

1. I liked the Koreans' simple hats/helmets. Baby Blue with a plain sans-serif "K." I could imagine a "C" and a new direction for the Royals' unis.

2. Learned during the broadcast that the Koreans are playing for something extra. Military service is mandatory in the country (having a militarized border will do that). However, there are some exceptions. Win a Asian games gold medal or any olympic medal, and your service is waived. Apparently, there's a motion in the legislature that getting to the WBC semis will get the team an exemption. That's pretty cool. They're now my darkhorse team to get far, and I'll be rooting for them.

3. Korea's upset wasn't as big as some others could be. It wasn't RSA over USA or China not having to worry about the mercy rule, but Japan is one of the top 6 or so teams.

4. I've got no real love for the US team. I'm hoping Castro and Reyes's Mexico, as well as Morneau and Crain's Canada make it out of Pool B. If South Africa played America close, I wouldn't mind, so long as Joe Nathan doesn't give up any runs.

5. I watched a bunch of ESPN yesterday, and didn't see a single mention of Taiwan's big win over China. Sure, it wasn't USA/USSR hockey or Pakistan/India cricket, but it was a US sport and involves a US rival's humiliation at the hands of it's little breakaway republic. Maybe next WBC...

Bonus: Cat Osterman update. 2 more games, 2 more wins, one in relief.
14-0, .16 ERA, 88.2 IP, 209K.

ESPN's Priorities

2006-03-05T03:07:00.000-06:00

ESPN to America:

This is important:
Providing 50% different angles to a pretty good college basketball game (not that I watched).

This is not important:
Letting any casual fans watch a great whooping of one giant repressive country's baseball team by the baseball team from the little free country that it basically reers to as a breakaway republic.

Priorities, man...

Anyways, time to watch Watanabe confuse the Koreans. Wacky sidewinders pitching with the hand inches off the mound. So far, all 5 games in Group A have gone as anyone could have predicted. Let's hope things are more interseting in the Americas.

Osterman Update

2006-03-04T11:58:00.000-06:00

If you forgot, a reminder: my favorite athlete in the whole wide world right now is Cat Osterman, a pitcher for Texas Longhorns Softball. As the baseball season hadn't started, I didn't think to check up on how she was doing in her senior year. In a word: awesome. Now I'm not exactly sue how good the competition has been so far this year, but check out her stats:

12-0 record in 13 games (11-0 in 12 starts and one relief win).
2 R (both earned) in 79.1 innings (0.176 ERA).
21 Hits and 11 BB for a 0.44 WHIP.
190 K's (16.8 K/7, 17.3 K/BB).
The picture is for national player of the week.
At 1825 K, she holds the NCAA K record.

Her first college at-bat in a blowout against Oklahoma Christian was a success, too. A double.

The team's doing pretty well, too: 21-1, ranked #2 in the country. Only loss was a 1-0 loss to #1 Arizona, in a game that Cat didn't start. Cat did get that back with a 1-0 win over Arizona 2 weeks later.

However, big 12 play hasn't yet begun. First conference game is 3/25 against Nebraska. On 4/15, a game against Oklahoma is on ESPN. Hopefully, Cat starts that one. If so I'll be watching...

Baseball. Tonight.

2006-03-02T07:49:00.000-06:00

1. I'm excited. Three televised games that I know of tonight. Twins vs. BoSox (Spring Training). Korea vs Taiwan (I will not call them Chinese Taipei, that sounds like a colony!) and Japan vs China (WBC). The Japan game is on ESPN2 at 3:30 am, but I have the baby-feeding night shift (4:30 am?), so I'll probably go to bed early and just stay up and watch the second half of the game.

2. Saw this news of former Twins current Nats in exhibition:

Matt LeCroy drove in three runs with a bases-clearing single, while Cristian Guzman went 2-for-2 with an RBI.

A bases-clearing single? Seems Matty is right where he left off, stretching extra-base hits into singles. I picture him like Happy Gilmore, who gets a hole-in-one and says "That's so much easier."* LeCroy hits the homer and does the same thing.

*Note: may not be actual quote from the movie.

Twins Fest

2006-01-27T09:17:00.000-06:00

1. I've never gone to Twins Fest, but I'll be there Saturday morning. I don't think I'll be wearing anything remarkable, and the only people I'd recognize are Skorch, SBG, Seth, and Frightwig. I've never stood in line for signatures. I guess it'll depend on how long the lines are.
C is not coming with me, as I've never been there, I don't know if she'd like it. I'll scope it out this year and maybe take her next year.

2. C's changed her favorite player. It's now Matt Guerrier. (I didn't tell her that Jacque was traded, maybe her friends told her?) I'm thinking I'll try to wait in his line and tell him that he's the favorite player of a 2-year-old girl, just because he signed her ticket last fall.

3. H is doing well. He's got a bit of a schedule down, but he's way more sensitive to everything than C was. He can get overstimulated by merely looking at his ceiling while alone in his crib, so we've had to cover his window with blankets to block out all light.

4. How about the Wild? 5 Straight! Still 6 points out of playoff contention, but the teams ahead of them each have played one more game, so it's more like 5 points (2 1/2 games in any other sport's standings). Too bad the two best players are the goalies, so only one can play at a time.

4a. I'm not a huge hockey fan, I love the playoffs though, usually makes me wish I had paid attention to the regular season. I just looked up whether the Shootout or traditional extra-period sudden death overtimes will be used for the playoffs. I'm happy to report that it's the traditional 20-minutes overtimes. I may be a weirdo, but I love the 6-hour triple-overtime double-shutouts. Being up at 2am waiting for just one goalie to screw up, after he's been on the ice since 8 pm the previous day, knowing that both have done super jobs, being like 88-88 on shots yet still gonna be the goat if it slips through . . . God, that's tense and exciting. Plus, playoff beards are pretty much standard, which is something I advocate in other sports.
4b. In 2004, when there was both a NBA playoffs and NHL playoffs, I noticed that hockey takes abouth a month to do its playoffs, while basketball takes two, even though there are (potentially) the same number of games in each and both sports play roughly the same regular-season schedule.

5. I am not a big basketball fan. That said, I want Kevin Garnett to succeed more than I want the Timberwolves to succeed. Please trade him to a better team.

Initials

2005-12-15T12:13:00.000-06:00

I just realized that H's initials are "HR." Maybe he'll challenge Blyleven for the season record (HR's allowed, like I said, the guy seems to be a pitcher).

Just looked at the leaders list, what a crazy bunch of pitchers:
1. Blyleven, 50 (1986)
2. Lima, 48 (2000)
3. Blyleven, 46 (1987)
5. Moyer, 44 (2004)
6. Milton, 43 (2004)
9. P. Niekro, 41 (1979)

One stat people might want to avoid when campaigning that "Bert Belongs": He's the only guy to give up 96 homers over an 18-month span.

Why Baseball?

2005-12-14T23:14:00.000-06:00

I can't imagine anyone reads this site without reading Seth Stroh's site, but in case that is the case for you, I got my "Why Baseball" article published at his site today.

Here's the link:
http://www.sethspeaks.net/121405.htm

In other news, the whole family is doing well and I'm anticipating the pro baseball World's Cup (the World Baseball Classic, not the be confused with the Baseball World Cup, which I believe is amateurs, minor-leaguers, and the Cubans who could be pros but haven't defected). All I've been reading is about how stacked the Dominican team will be and how the US will have a lot of talent but little motivation. I wonder why no one mentions how good the Venezuelans will be. Silva, Santana, Garcia, Zambrano, with Henry Blanco catching. They'll probably have to win each game 1-0, though they do have Abreu and Mora.

Also, the US gov't says the Cubans can't play. [Ignoring politics,] I don't know exactly what I think about that. I guess that no defectors would play for that team, so maybe a "free Cuba" team would be better. But it would be nice for rival nations like Cuba and the US to play on a stage where they are equals. Hell, China and Taiwan are in the same pool. I did notice that MLB now refers to Taiwan with the Olympic title "Chinese Taipei." That's too bad, because I wanted to see a Taiwanese team play for its own flag, especially against China.

H is born!

2005-12-08T17:31:00.000-06:00

My long-gestating son, the "Person To Be Named Later" from last spring's trade in which C went from "Baby" to "Big Sister." Was born and named today. Here is "H":

That kid's got the "staring down the batter" thing down. Let's hope he's got the heat to back it up.

For more pics, full names, and other details, check my wife's family blog: R Family Blog.

Yuniesky and Yorvit: Broken up

2005-11-22T09:08:00.000-06:00

The best two names on any one team will be no more. The M's signed Japanese catcher Kenji Johjima, and will be looking to move Yorvit Torrealba (who they got for Randy Winn). That means that the only Yorvit and the only Yuniesky Betancourt will no longer be on the same team. Bummer. Here's to hoping that Yorvit is traded to the Dodgers... to catch for Yhency Brazoban.

Yorvit:
Yuniesky:Kenji ("Yoko"):Yhency:

Steroids.

2005-11-16T11:28:00.000-06:00

1. Well, it looks like McCain has succeeded in breaking the union. I am pissed, because I thought the current regime (in place for all of one year) was good enough, with Shame being a primary factor, that it should have been continued for several years.

At least players start with a clean slate. Everyone is at "Strike 0" right now. Even Matt Lawton. But that probably means that players who claim that new positive tests are results of previous detected (and punished) usage will be punished again. (If I really wanted to, I could find the name of the Mariners' pitcher who was punished in the Minor and Majors for one usage.

2. I do think 50 games is too much for a first offense. Maybe 15/75 would have been more reasonable (when you get your first positive, you'll really need to think about what you do from then on out, but if you've never tested positive, why be so paranoid about everything?)

3. But at least the issue appears to now be done with and columnists will have to find some other crap to get into fits about. (Pitch correcting for pop singers, when everybody assumes that they're making those sounds with their God-given talents would be a good start.)

4. Dear Democrats, please nominate someone I can vote for (not Kerry) in 2008. If McCain is the GOP nominee, I can not and will not vote for him. My vote is here for the taking. Come get it.

Football.

2005-11-14T11:29:00.000-06:00

It's about this time each year that I start paying attention to the football season: days are shorter and colder. Baseball is really over. The Deer hunt is over. Now, I am not as big a football fan as I am a baseball fan (I'd prefer more punting and kicking), but I still have random thoughts about the sport:

1. I love Jake Plummer's beard. He reminds me of Matt Guerrier, with the Hockey/Voyageur beard. Neither look that good with bare chins. I can't think of any other pitchers or quarterbacks with that look, so I think it's a great combo of distinctive and best option.

2. Paul Edinger, Vikings Kicker, is like a baseball player. He can ground softly into a double play with a runner at third (miss a chip shot or extra point) or hit a walk off (long game-ending FGs). I love the fact that games played by big crushing men are decided by erratic feet of small men like Edinger.

3. I'm not a Vikings fan like I am a Twins fan. I want the Twins to win. I want the Vikes to entertain me. These last years have been dang entertaining for someone who doesn't necessarily hope for success. My favorite ever Vikings game is the last-game loss to Arizona that kept the vikings out of the playoffs in 2003. No way they don't win that game, until they lose it. If I knew German I'd give that game and season a name like Einsturzende Neubauten, but meaning "fantastic collapse." Second-favorite, giving up 4 touchdowns in 2 minutes to Seattle in 2003. 2004's backing into the playoffs at 8-8, and then winning the first game, in Lambeau was equally entertaining. Yesterday's no-offense win was great in the same vein. Thank you vikings for a lot of fun. I think, If the Gary Anderson missed FG against Atlanta, or the giving up the ghost to the Giants would happen now, I could get through it and smile.

Here are my non-football thoughts of the week:
4. My son, "PTBNL" better be named by Dec 8, because that's the day he's going to be born. C-section birth.

5. BatGirl has cancelled her Star-Tribune subscription due to the dumb writing of a columnist. And that columnist is not even Jim Souhan. Apparently, under her "Anne Ursu" daytime disguise, she reads Katherine Kersten's columns (although I may be slightly more favorable of Kersten's politics than Ursu*'s, I think she's a talk-radio writer, trying to get a reaction out of people more than to advance any opinion). The reader representative, Kate Parry, has the Story:

"I've decided I am going to cancel my subscription today. ... Essentially the newspaper has condoned discrimination and bigotry. While I recognize that a columnist's position is not the paper's, by publishing these views the newspaper is at least saying they are worthy of dissemination; I doubt the newspaper would publish a column suggesting something racially discriminatory," wrote Ann[sic] Ursu, an author living in Hopkins.

Yet somehow, this doesn't feel fair to LaVelle.

*Note, first that Parry seems to have mis-spelled "Anne," so it is possible that there is another author in the Twin Cities, "Ann Ursu," but I find that unlikely. Also, I have attributed this political opinion to Bat-Girl's daytime guise rather than her true personality, BatGirl, whose only political opinions can be boiled down to: "Build it."

Scooter Indicted!

2005-10-28T12:38:00.000-05:00

I hope the talking baseball rots in jail for a long, long time. Although, I hope the prosecutor will be willing to cut him a deal if he's willing to finger Joe Buck or whatever crazy producers MLB on FOX has.

Did you see that?

2005-10-18T12:08:00.000-05:00

Did you catch a glimpse of that last night in Houston? It was beautiful, mesmerizing, awesome. It left me searching for historical comparisons and finding nothing.

That's right, Reggie Sanders' beard . You thought I was talking about something else?

He has the best beard I have ever seen in my life, not just among baseball players or athletes, but among all men, ever.

I've looked for a photo that does it justice but nothing does. It is neat, full, manly, and impressive. I praised Buehrle's beard last week, but his beard is unusual, unique. He shows a lot of self-confidence to wear that thing around. Reggie's beard must give the wearer self confidence.

Reggie has the platonic ideal of a beard. This beard is so fantastic I'd think the Yankees would have to let him keep it. Check it out:

This photo does not do justice to the amazing Sanders beard. I only wish I had been watching more of this NLCS so I could have seen more of it in action. I surely will not miss another appearance.

Houston

2005-10-14T11:21:00.000-05:00

With postseason baseball coming to Houston -- currently the hottest Hip-Hop scene in the country -- can we get some local flavor? How about these?:

1. National Anthem each night by a different Child of Destiny? (Though not hip-hop, and maybe too obvious.)

2. "Take Me out to the Ball Game" by Paul Wall (pictured) and Mike Jones?

3. Slim Thug saying "Play Ball, Ni**az" (that would take about 30 sec) or singing that Greenwood song. (Every ballpark is required to play that, right?)

4. Swisha House bumper music for the Fox Broadcast?

5. Chopped and Screwed version of "Centerfield" for the Wily Taveras feature?

6. Maceo's "Nextel Chirp" for a, uhm, Nextel commercial.

I guess I can dream, eh?

AJ's K

2005-10-13T00:08:00.000-05:00

1. As I watched the play in the ninth, I said... why the hell isn't the catcher tagging him? And he gets to first. Looked like a trapped to me. Ever think of tagging him just to be sure? Either way, Paul made a boneheaded play, and AJ capitalized on it. It's like the catcher's equivalent of a batter popping out with a runner at first, and not running it out, allowing the fielder to drop it and turn two. No way Mauer doesn't tag the guy. Mauer seems to tag everyone, but maybe he just drops a lot of strikeout balls.

1a. As much as I want to dislike him, Scioscia showed a lot of class afterwards, saying that his team has to play better than to let a "blown call" lose the game.

1b. I was almost homing AJ/Ozuna wouldn't score just to see Buerhle pitch the 10th.

1c. I told E to check out Buerhle's beard, she said it was gross, but then she said, "It's just like yours."

1d. Postgame grilling of the Umps! In Russia, the umps grill you after the game. America! What a Country! Yakov aside, that was odd. I felt a fatherly desire to protect the home plate ump from the nasty journalists.

2. White Sox Postseason record splits:
2-1 without sleeves. Man are those sleeveless unis abominations.
2-0 with sleeves.

3. Can I be the only person who thinks the cream-colored sleeves on the LCS managers' lettermen's jackets is butt-ugly? More props to Scioscia for wearing the hooded sweatshirt instead.

4. I didn't watch the NL game. I wonder what ML player/manager they have in the booth. Lou Pinella's some weird mix of Bowa (who I kindof like) and Kruk (who I don't). The combination of playing for this guy and in Tropicana must truly be unbearable. McCarver looks much better with Pinella in the booth: more stupid, but less anoying voice. But my real hatred is still for Buck. McCarver is the Madden, he's not supposed to be the straight guy.

4a. I still think the best idea would be to let a guy from the home team's base team in the booth. I know that would mean Hawk, but hey, variety would be better than Buck/McCarver forever, and if I hate the local guy, it'll change in the next city.

5. Yeah, I haven't written much lately. More work on the basement and, hey, it's not like the Twins are playing.

Rattling your Closer.

2005-10-04T23:28:00.000-05:00

1. Okay, so when you've got your no-offense, pitching-only team into the playoffs the first things you go and do is play a practical joke on your closer and get him "Rattled." Charlie Garner - the manager (!) did this to Brad Lidge over an accidental obscenity in a post-game interview.

1a. Likewise, don't break your ace pitcher's ribs during the division-clinching celebration.

2. So, watching the gamecast at work today, not sure who I feel towards as neither my Twins or my late-season rooting interest Hafners are in it. So who do I find myself rooting for the most? Those damned White Sox. (I am such a traitor.) I know, the ChiSox are our enemy, but they're our enemy. One thing I like about the unbalanced schedule, is you play some teams so damned many times that you get to know them very well. I could probably name more players the Royals called up this year than some big-shot baseball writer on the East Coast. You get to know them and grudgingly respect them. Plus, Pierzynski is on that team, and he's always reminded me of my uncle. Yes, the same team I wanted to choke over the last two weeks is now the team I feel myself wanting to win.

2a. However, watching the recaps on ESPN, maybe i'll change my mind if I have to hear about small-, smart-, or Ozzie-ball for the rest of October. Look, they're a well-rounded team, with excellent pitching, a wide variety of quality hitters, and good fielding.

2b. Do you think that Konerko would mind DHing for the Twins?

3. My real rooting interest is probably the Braves. You grow fond of teams that give you about 60-70 of their games for free per year. I've watched more Braves games than games from any other team that isn't the Twins. (Maybe that's the real reason I want my exiled Twins to end up there, so I can keep tabs on them.)

4. The best thing I have come across so far: Deadspin's live blogging of daytime playoff games. Funny, funny, but you have to read up from the bottom. Here are links to the Cards-Padres game and the ChiSox-BoSox game.

Keeping the Dream Alive

2005-10-03T15:51:00.000-05:00

Tonight the rain is falling,
Full of memories of people and places.
And while the past is calling,
In my fantasy I remember their faces.

The hopes we had were much to high;
Way out of reach, but we have to try.
The game will never be over,
Because we're keeping the dream alive.

I hear myself recalling
Things you said to me the night it all started.
And still the rain is falling.
Makes me feel the way I felt when we parted.

The hopes we had were much to high;
Way out of reach, but we have to try.
No need to hide, no need to run,
'Cause all the answers come one by one.
The game will never be over,
Because we're keeping the dream alive.

The game will never be over,
Because we're keeping the dream alive.

"Transcendent Importance"

2005-09-29T11:18:00.000-05:00

1. This is what John McCain, a US Senator, a former Presidential candidate with future aspirations for that office, said in actual Senate hearings to Donald Fehr (MLBPA union head):
"Don't you get it that this is an issue of such transcendant importance that you should have acted months ago?" Now, Fehr had nothing to do with levees in Louisiana, emergency preparedness, farming subsidies, or bridges in Alaska, so it's pretty clear that the issue is: steroids.

Now, I am a sometimes Republican who strongly supported this man in his bid for the top office in 2000 (I ended up voting for Nader), and probably would have voted for him as a D or I in 2004. But that is just such a stupid thing to say. And I cannot now imagine myself voting for this man in 2008.

In addition to being about something of, at best, minor importance, the union has currently agreed to a new testing regime with announced penalites that has been working with some success (catching one big fish) and has just agreed to expanding testing and doubling the penalties. With the current regime, we have one player's career destroyed/ended and his HOF entry aborted during his victory lap, for one positive test. I think there is incentive to not use.

1a. The union was put in a jam here. If no one had been caught, Mac&Co would have complained: the current regime isn't catching anyone, it's not working! Instead, because a few were caught (including one who testified to congress), it's: people are getting caught, it's not working!

1b. And then there's the whole unfairness thing that so many things are not currently detectable and only the users without chemical advisors will get caught. (I would have thought Raffy was a big enough star to have had a chemical advisor if he actually used. Makes me think that something is still fishy about the test.)

1c. If I still were a Democrat, it would probably get me really worked up that Senators are threatening a union to make concessions to management to avoid government from invalidating part of that agreement. If I still were a tin-foil-hat conspiracy theorist, I'd wonder if MLB rigged Raffy's test to get government backing for beating the union up on this issue.

1d. Twins could use a big stick. Raffy should be available, probably for cheap (redemption time). He'd definitely hit better than Bret Boone. Raffy

1e. So who should I hope wins the R nomination in 2008? Rudy Giuliani? JEB Bush?

2. Kyle Lohse pitched his last game of the season last night, maybe his last for the team. I think he had a much better season than last, but maybe not as much as I thought.
2004: 5.34 (9-13), 194 IP, batters hitting .305/.368/.473, WHIP 1.63
2005: 4.18 (9-13), 179 IP, batters hitting .299/.345/.455, WHIP 1.43
His ground-out/fly out ratio went from 1.09 to 1.27 and BB/9 from 3.53 to 2.22.
Improvements everywhere, becoming a ground-ball pitcher, but not a huge drop in anything other than walks and ERs.

3. Magic Numbers:
ChiSox: 2 ALCD, 2 ALWC
Hafners: 8 ALCD, 5 ALWC
Damnit, Cleveland. Stop losing to last-place teams!

4. Over-.500 numbers (4 games remaining):
Twins: 2
Brewers: 3
Padres: 3

Santana for ALCY.

2005-09-28T11:37:00.000-05:00

1. Why the Hell not Cytana2? Here I am wishing a meltdown on Colon in his next outing, the same way I willed Loaiza out of ALCY03. (I still feel bad about that, sorry, Esteban!)

2. I saw on SBG that the Twins are favored today (Lima vs Lohse). There's no way they're favored on Thursday night (Wood vs Mays), right? Wood is the guy who started that 42-hit shutout last month.

2a. Pitcher ERAs in Sept:
Lima, 11.88 (4G, 16.2IP, 22ER)
Wood, 5.32 (4G, 22IP, 13ER)
Lohse, 4.50 (4G, 20IP, 10ER)
Mays, 11.17 (5G (1Start), 9.2IP, 12ER)

3. Magic Numbers:
ChiSox: 4 ALCD, 4 ALWC
Hafners: 8 ALCD, 6 ALWC

4. Over-.500 numbers (5 games remaining):
Twins: 3
Brewers: 3
Padres: 4
(One fewer win than listed gets you an 81-81 record.)

That Sucked (2)

2005-09-27T15:33:00.000-05:00

Video highlights of Monday's game at minnesota.twins.mlb.com:
"Two nice plays on Monday helped the Twins stop the bleeding."
Seriously.

That sucked.

2005-09-27T11:31:00.000-05:00

1. The whole 0-4 with 3 runs scored thing sucks. Damnit, KC, I've been rooting for you all year, but not a) when you're playing the Twins or b) when you're hurting my next-favored team's playoff chances. Stop that and lay down now! We'll do the same for you if you ever have a borderline playoff/.500 team.

2. Mays is starting on Thursday anyways.

3. Steroids. Union wants 20/75/lifetime(maybe) ban, with arbirtrators allowed to fudge if, say, it's your third positive test for one minor-league use. Plus testing for amphetamines. Bud wants 50/100/lifetime(certain). I think the Union's already given away too much. I think the current penalty structure is just right: 10/30/season/lifetime(maybe). I think that if MLB wants to appear harder on drugs, more testing is the way to go, with the current penalties, of which the harshest is outing as a user (ask Raffy). The following comments from King Kaufman (at Salon, behind ad/pay wall) say much better what I feel:

I think the whole program is misguided, that a law-enforcement,
testing-and-punishment approach to a drug problem accomplishes little other than
spurring improvements in the field of positive-drug-test avoidance. More undetectable drugs, better methods of fooling the labs.

It also provides plenty of jobs for drug cops, and allows policy-makers to act like they're doing something about the problem whenever the testers nab some poor sap who's fallen behind the herd or some bigger fish who's gotten careless, if I may mix my animal kingdom metaphors.
...
But what I really want to know is: Why is it always three strikes and you're out? Why isn't it ever two or four? Does it really make sense to base a whole law-enforcement philosophy on the rules of an athletic contest?
...
In 1887 baseball experimented with requiring four strikes for a strikeout. What if that had stuck? ... [W]ould law-and-order types be a third more lenient toward repeat offenders? Would our national sense of the proper blend of punishment and second chances be governed by the saying "four strikes and you're out"?

4. Magic Numbers
ChiSox: 5 (ALCD), 5 (ALWC)
Hafners: 9 (ALCD), 7 (ALWC)

5. Wins to .500 (6 remaining)
Twins: 3 (4 to over .500)
Brewers: 3 (4 to over .500)
Padres: 4 (5 to over .500)

Thankful

2005-09-23T13:39:00.000-05:00

1. We live in Brooklyn Park and our nieghborhood got hit pretty bad by the storm. The power was still out at 7pm Thursday night, so E, C, and emptied our fridge and freezer into three coolers and left for E's parent's house two hours west of town (we were coming for the weekend anyways). Nothing like two huge natural disasters around your own little natural calamity to make it seem like nothing. For the record, we had:

a. Cool and dry weather afterwards to make cleanup easy.
b. Only about 2 miles to drive to get fast food.
c. A tree that fell on the neighbor's property only glanced their house and did no real damage, and could have easily fallen on our house as well.
d. A daughter that we could convince.
e. Family in and out of the cities offering us a place to stay til the power came back on.
f. No water flooding our house.
g. Some (not all) neighbors willing to help clean up the downed trees and branches.

Plus, the power outtage gave me the courage to finally trim some branches that were up by the power lines. The power outtage could have really upset us if only we hadn't seen the ravages of Katrina. I mean, the Twins game was an afternoon contest, so I didn't even have to miss a game (missed 7 innings of the Thurs game driving outstate).

2. So far this season, the Giants are a .750 team with Barry Bonds and a .450 team without him. Again, if I were a baseball writer, I'd think about giving him an MVP or comeback player award. I'll guess right now that he's comeback player of 2006.

3. Magic Numbers:
ChiSox: 9 (ALCD), 8 (ALWC).
Hafners: 12 (ALCD), 9 (ALWC).
Padres: 6 (NLWD).
Giants: 16 (NLWD).

4. Wins to break .500 (all with 10 games remaining):
Twins: 4
Brewers: 7
Padres: 6
Giants: 10 (Will not have a winning season)

5. Frightwig suggests I look at naming my PTBNL "Travis" or "Coco" after the sluggers on the Cleveland team. But then I'd have to get the little guy a Cleveland hat or jersey ("I" only, no Wahoo), and that's wrong. Plus, I still haven't found out what Hafner's speaking voice is like. Just one more reason I want to see them in the playoffs.

5a. Sabathia's name, "Carsten" isn't entirely out of the running. Coco's "Covelli" is.

6. Seth linked to this article in which Luis Tiant takes issue with Mudcat Grant's "12 Black Aces" Book because it doesn't include Black Hispanic pitchers (such as himself) with 20 wins, only "African-Americans." I think Mudcat's right on this. I haven't read the book, but one thing that just its presence has made me think about is the growing absense of American Black players in MLB as a whole, especially among starting pitchers. There are only two I can think of: CC and Dontrelle, although there might be a few more, but CC is the only one in the AL Central. Even the Twins, who for years have had an all-black outfield, have maybe one black prospect (Denard Span? going off Seth's Page), and he's a position player. Right now, I'd guess 2/3 of players with African ancestry are Hispanic, and I'm sure the number's even more extreme among players under 30.

I mean, if a Hockey fan wrote a book about the 8 greatest goalies who were from France, I wouldn't expect the 22 great French-Canadian goalies in the book. I'd say that ethnically, there are as many differences between Black Hispanics and African-Americans as there are between African Americans and Eurasian-Americans. Should a book about the few great American-Indian players also include all the Venezuelan players who probably have as much Indian ancestry? No. Place and Ancestry combine to form ethnicity, and while I'm sure that Black Hispanice players have thier own great stories and have overcome similar hardships, I'm sure they've also overcome some unique hardships. If Mr. Tiant would really like himself included, he should white the companion volume "14 Hispanic Aces."

6a. BTW, If you would have asked me to name the greatest player to ever play before I got back into baseball, I would have said Satchel Paige. Now I know more, so my opion is less clear.

7. Today's soundtrack: Roisin Murphy "Leaving the City"

No to 100.

2005-09-21T16:06:00.000-05:00

If the Twins want to finish above .500 for the season, they'd better get the wins in against Chicago this weekend. We play Kansas City the next four days, and they are determined not to lose 100 this season. Unfortunately for us, they've lost 99. Today's win was another 9th inning comeback: down 3-2 in the bottom of the 9th, Denny Hocking (remember him?) hit a bases-loaded 2rbi single.

Detroit had to walk 2003 ROY Angel Berroa to load the bases and keep the double play in effect. After an awful 2004 and start to 2005, Angel is having a great fall. 18 rbi in April-June, 18 rbi in Sept, hitting .351/.364/.527.

If I'm a MVP voter, I'm finding a way to get Matt Stairs a vote, even for tenth place. But then, I like to be weird. He is hitting .395/.481/.581 for the month.

Mugshot

2005-09-21T14:53:00.000-05:00

Gotta love Heintz's mugshot:

Probably my favorite mugshot ever.

Pretty much

2005-09-21T11:38:00.000-05:00

1. From the Washington Post story on Bonds in DC:

Asked whether Congress was wasting time by looking into steroid use in sports,Bonds responded: "Pretty much, I think so. Yeah."

This guy is becoming my hero. The attitude: He's not angry or defensive or a victim, he's proud but not cocky. The prospect of returning in September to bring your .450 team into contention above a .500 undeserving division leader: Anyone doubt that if he were healthy, the team would not have won the division easily?

2. It's my fault the Twins lost these last 2 nights. I lost my wallet and my "lucky" Twins' schedule that was in it. Now, updating my schedule never guarantees a win, but not updating it before a weekday game guarantees a loss. Given how close the Monday ended up, my lack of updating my schedule definitely made the difference. Sorry everyone, I let you all down. Now, watch us lose the rest of the weekend games.

2a. Monday night was the first time all year I've gone to bed before the game ended. It was 1-6 in the 7th, so I think I can be excused.

3. Baseball Tonight was awesome on Monday. Blow-by-blow and analysis of ChiSox-Hafners as if they played in the Bronx and Boston. The first 15 minutes were about nothing other than these two teams. Gammons said smart things, Kruk said stupid things, and Reynolds said contradictory things, but all in deep* analysis of the top 2 teams in the AL Central. Pity one wasn't the Twins.
*Well, as deep as Kruk gets.

4. Magic Numbers:
ChiSox: 9 (ALCD), 9 (ALWC).
Hafners: 16 (ALCD), 12 (ALWC).
Padres: 8 (NLWD).
Giants: 18 (NLWD).

5. Elimination Numbers:
Twins: ALCD - Eliminated. ALWC - 1. We're officially out of October with the next Cleveland Win, Twins loss, or 2 Yankees wins.

6. Wins to break .500 (all with 12 games remaining):
Twins: 6
Brewers: 8
Fathers: 7
Gigantes: 12

7. Remaining Games:
CLE: 1@CWS, 4@KC, 3vTB, 3vCWS
CWS: 1vCLE, 4vMIN, 4@DET, 3@CLE
SD: 2@COL, 3@ARI, 4vSF, 3vLAD
SF: 2@WSH, 3@COL, 4@SD, 3vARI
MIL: 2vCHC, 3vSTL, 4vCIN, 3@PIT

Comments: I think CLE has an easier remaining schedule, but not by that much. It should really come down to games against each other. Hopefully, Santana can help out the Hafners. The Giants have some work to do, but with 3 games in Coors, Barry could match Ruth this season, if he gets any pitches. The Brewers games should give them a decent chance of that elusive winning season.

Best. Day. Ever. (Epilogue)

2005-09-18T23:52:00.000-05:00

You wanna know what's great? My little girl, just 2 years old, was walking by the TV today, on her way to her post-nap snack. She heard Dick Bremer call out someone on a Contreras stikeout. And C says "Daddy! He got a Strikeout! Good job Baseball Player!" She's been talking about Matt Guerrier and Jacque Jones and the Bear that was very nice to her. Now maybe my enthusiasm is just bubbling over to her, but I think she's actually starting to get it and she does like it. She can still remember Mark Teixiera and Bobby Abreu from the home-run derby. She's got a schedule with Joe Mauer and has carried it around all day calling it her ticket and at the end of the day, she put it in her "treasure box."

Best. Day. Ever. (Pt 3)

2005-09-18T23:39:00.000-05:00

I got it working...
I just love these shoes and wanted to share them.

Playing in her seat.

Hey, that's Tony Oliva over there!

Holding her foul ball with the nice women who sat behind us.

C and TC and Me.

Best. Day. Ever. (Pt 2)

2005-09-18T23:16:00.000-05:00

Hmm... Can't seem to upload any more pictures, maybe it's a blogger problem, maybe I've hit a threshold. I will try again tomorrow.

1. C and I went to Saturday's game. What a Blast! (and I'm not just talking about Cuddy).
1a. Got in early and took her down by the bullpen to see if she could meet anyone. Matt Guerrier was there and signed her ticket. Chris Heintz and Jesse Crain signed some later, but security started moving folk away and the players had stuff to do. I had never done that before.

1b. We had super tickets! Comped because group sales screwed up my order earlier in the year. We were in 127, behind home plate on the third base side. Someday, when I'm rich, I'll get tickets like these regularly.

1c. When Jacque was up in the third, he fouled a ball over the screen and a guy standing in the standing room caught it. He later reached down and gave it to C. She was so excited, she wanted the man to sign it. Thank you kind sir!

1d. In the 7th, C started talking about the home-run derby. Very next pitch, Cuddy does his part. Home Run Derby! Yay! I wish the foul ball was from him.

1e. We had to leave after the 7th, nap-time coming on strongly. C was great, generally excited at the right times, never whiny, and really gregarious with the wonderful women sitting behind us. All in all it was a great day. "Best day ever!" if I may quote Spongebob. I loved it, she loved it, and I really got to feel connected to her in a way I haven't since her mother went to England for a month.

1f. Thank you to Luis Brazeale, the guy in group ticket sales that felt bad enough about the minor screw-up with the tickets that he promised me comps. Without that, I would have never had lower club tickets, and I doubt I would have made the game at all. Getting these comps was way better than a no-complications order. I packed PB&Js, pretzels, carrots, and water. All in all, I spent $5 for parking and a coupla miles worth of gas for the most fun I've ever had with my daughter.

2. About the game...
2a. I looked at the lineup and worried a bit, but then remembered early this season when the opening-day lineup had such problems against junkballers like Hernandez and Moyer, that maybe letting Tyner and Tiffee were the guys to go after el Duque again. Tyner sure was. I'll have to check the box score, but I think he was 8-8, and that's just against Hernandez.

2b. I knew Hernandez would have a short leash, so I was surprised that he lasted as long as he did into the 4th. The first 3 innings were examples in Twins typical batting futlility: 3 IP, 66 pitches, 0 R. We had Hernandez on the run, but I'm not sure what from. I was very surprised that he won the battle with Castro in the first, 14 pitches and only a 2-2 count.

2c. Striking out the side to start the game was a great start. I hope no one heard me when I shouted out "KKK" with the third K. I did not even think of bad implications until I heard my voice.

2d. Nathan striking out the side with the bases loaded for a 5-run save was a great ending. (Heard it on the radio after C was asleep.) Bookends.

2e. Really, that's the kind of game I was hoping we'd see all season. Stifling pitching. HRs from Cuddy and Morneau. More RBIs from the outfield. Bullpen closes it down when called upon. Was that so hard? ( I guess so, see the two 2-1 losses to bookend the 5-0 win.)

3. I love the tradition of one morning game a year. Can we keep that even if we ditch the dome? Last year, Jeff Brantly of ESPN mocked the Twins for having to suspend a game after the 10th for a football game. I loved it! Kyle got to "Start" in the 11th for a 1-inning win. Plus, it was the second-last game of the year and first-round playoff matchups depended on the outcome. Just some of the quirky fun that a 162-game schedule gives you. Would it have been a travesty to Brantly for the game to be postponed due to rain? Brantly came across as an immense ass, and now I hold it against the ESPN hockey guy that also has a mullet.

4a. Magic Numbers:
ChiSox. ALCD: 11, ALWC: 10
Hafners. ALCD: 13, ALWC: 18

4b. Elimination Numbers:
Twins. ALCD: 1, ALWC: 4

4c. Over .500 Numbers:
Twins. 6 (with 14 to go)
Brewers. 9 (with 13 to go)

Best. Day. Ever. (Pt 1)

2005-09-18T22:34:00.000-05:00

Took C. to the Morning Game on Saturday. Johan's 13K, 8.0+ IP win. I took pictures. Here they are.
Ready to go.

"Please sign my ticket baseball player!"

Matt Guerrier signs C's ticket.

"Thank you baseball player!"

Joe Nathan stratches behind C.

Post-season awards 1: Manager

2005-09-16T11:54:00.000-05:00

1. Ozzie is losing the AL Manager of the Year award (which is probably a good thing for him, look at who has won the last 5: Showalter, Pena, Scioscia, Piniella, Manuel. A total of 1 is currently managing a winning team, 2 are still managing the same team, and 3 are still managing any team). But who is moving to take the award from him? Wedge has the second-half surge, but it's not like his team was a surprise, I think it was actually the early sucking that was the surprise. Francona, Torre and Scioscia are coaching teams that were in the playoffs last year to about the same. Macha overcame early sucking in a rebuilding year to contend, so I'd say it's between him and Wedge.

2. In the NL, I don't know if I could argue with Bobby Cox winning it again, despite having a team that made the playoffs last year. This was at least the second season in a row that they weren't supposed to make the playoffs. If so, he would be the first guy to win the award for consecutive seasons. LaRussa keeps his team a well-oiled machine and Frank Robinson turned around the Expos/Nats, but I think they faded a bit too much down the stretch for him to win it. Hmmm, they're only 2.5 back. Forget it, I think Frank wins it, first guy to win AL and NL manager of the year, and he'll break Bobby Cox's record for time between awards. (Cox had 13, Frank would be 16.)

2a. Ned Yost finally getting the Brewers over .500 should see some attention, too.

3. Manager of the year award is for the team that best outperforms expectations/payroll, right? Which manager makes the fewest stupid, stupid decisions? I know from watching other games that Gardy isn't the only one, but I don't know if he's even particularly bad, or who doesn't drive his team's fans mad with decisions.

KC all up in ChiSox' grill

2005-09-15T16:21:00.000-05:00

1. KC 7, ChiSox 5. Mike Macdougal gets a four-out save, coming in after 3 runs had been scored with tying run at second. Emil, Berroa and Twins Killer (AL Central Killer?) John Buck each had 2 RBI. The Hafners have the night off before KC comes to town. Think they'll lose the series like the Sox have? Me neither.
Magic Numbers:
Hafners: 22 ALCD, 17 ALWC

Wild Card number could change because Yankees play tonight in Tampa.

Dyed Angel

2005-09-15T11:27:00.000-05:00

1. The Royals manage their first successful 9th-inning comeback of the year and win 10-9. Jermaine Dye booted Angel Berroa's double and the winning run came in from first. The Royals carried Berroa off the field. No cute story, but Cleveland beat the A's while New York stayed one back with their first series win over Tampa Bay. Cleveland might be able to win the Wild-Card with the second-best record in the AL, only 1.5 behind Boston. And this, after sucking out of the gate. Magic Numbers:
ChiSox: 13 ALCD, 13 ALWC
Hafners: 23 ALCD, 17 ALWC

2. Elimination Numbers:
Twins: 5 ALCD, 9 ALWC

3. A Bonds PH ended in a K, with LaTroy getting the L in the 10th after Benitez blew a 2R save in the 9th.

4. Placido Polanco is hitting .336, only 3 points behind MLB leader Derrek Lee and 2nd best overall, but isn't on the leader boards because he's split his season between leagues and doesn't have enough ABs in either to qualify. If he has the best BA, he should get some sort of MLB batting title, league-independent, like Carlos Beltran at last year's All-Star game (voted onto the AL team, traded to an NL team before the game).

No (well, little) Rain

2005-09-14T15:31:00.000-05:00

1. Rain didn't prevent Liriano's start from counting (my fear when he had 4K, in his first perfect 2.0 IP), but it did keep it short.

2. Do I need to start the Luis Rivas watch back up? He's hitting .375/.444/.875/1.319 in September. Okay, its 3-8 with a BB, 2B, and HR, but still... Good luck wherever you end up next year, Luis R (1.0). Don't be a Guzman.

3. Somehow, Rincon getting the loss feels better than Mays "saving the loss*" for Liriano. I still would have liked Rincon to get that damned 3rd out though.

* Saving the loss: When a relief pitcher turning a save situation for the opposition into a non-save situation by giving up runs (not just ERs) that gives the opposition no save situation when the next inning begins. Note: this does not apply to the "pitching the last 3 innings in any win" save.

4. Elimination numbers as of Wednesday afternoon: 5 ALCD, 10 ALCS.

5. Barry Bonds better be available as a PH. (He's not starting for los Gigantes on "a day game after night game.") Too bad they can't DH him like the Twins do Mauer.

Mays?

2005-09-14T14:13:00.000-05:00

Seriously, Mays? I thought he was for emergency use only.
Gardy just cemented Liriano's first start as a loss. C'mon, play for pride.
As I type this, there are runners at first and third, no outs.

Update: Wow, he got out of it with a shallow pop and GIDP. Never mind what I said, Gardy's a genius! (Some irony.)

Rain?

2005-09-14T09:08:00.000-05:00

1. Let's hope Fransisco's debut as starter isn't rained out.

2. Magic Numbers:
ChiSox: 13 ALCD, 13 ALWC
Hafners: 25 ALCD, 18 ALWC

3. Elimination Numbers:
Twins: 6 ALCD, 11 ALWC

4. There's an inspirational poster for every team over at www.red-hot-mama.com
I think the Twins' might be the most uninteresting. Contraction is so 2002.

Numbers Update

2005-09-13T11:14:00.000-05:00

1. Glad to see a good outing from Lohsey.

2. Magic Numbers:
ChiSox: 14 ALCD, 14 ALWC
Hafners: 26 ALCD, 19 ALWC

3. Elimination Numbers:
Twins: 7 ALCD, 12 ALWC

Magic Numbers

2005-09-12T11:50:00.000-05:00

1. The Twins' magic numbers are 7 and 12: 7 MIN losses + CWS wins and we cannot win the division, 12 MIN losses + CLE wins and we cannot win the wild card. With 20 games left, we're looking at a pretty good chance of missing the playoffs here folks. It's probably time we start to consider that possibility. Joking aside, the Twins are toast for this year. We were drying-out, warmed-up bread before losing 2 of 3 to TEX and all 3 to CLE, but the past week has cemented it.

2. And Beloit lost, and the Saints lost, so I'm pulling for the Hafners from here on out (I can officially start this now as we don't play them anymore.) Their WC magic number is 19, and their division magic number is 26 (at 5.5 out, they shouldn't concede the division yet). The WhiteSox playoffs magic number (guaranteed to win Wild Card) is 14 (over Yankees), and their division number is only 1 higher, 15 over Cleveland.

2a. Today's AL wild-card action: Hafners (Carsten Charles Sabathia) host Haren and the Athletes. (BTW, it would be fun to see CLE in the world Series, just to see Carsten hit. By which I mean, he's good at it.) Yankees, White Sox are Idle.

3. The advantage of losing 5 of 6 this week is the team can admit there's no chance and give a lot of the minor-leaguers looks or earned debuts (like Chris Heintz). And stop pressuring guys like Radke and Silva to pay through pain. With both Mauer and Redmond hurting a bit, I'd hope they'd call up Bowen.

4. Forget the losing though, C and I are going to Saturday's morning game. Anyone think they will have batting practice? I know C would love to see a "Home-Run Derby" live. The morning game works great with her nap schedule. I'd love to see someone's Major-leauge debut/first start that day.

5. My fantasy football team was stacked with Vikings (Culpepper, Burleson, Wiggins) just because I didn't know the players on many other teams. What a waste! As for the game, well, it was fun to watch, though I watched a lot of the Braves/Nats game, too. (Two blown saves! I'm a pitcher-partisan, but games with multiple blown saves are probably my next favorite to 1-0 or 2-1 extra-inning games).

Blown Saves

2005-09-08T11:30:00.000-05:00

How much has the blown save hurt the Twins over the last 2 days?
1. Twins lose Tuesday on Nathan's blown save.
2. Oakland wins on Wednesday with Eddie's blown save.
3. Yanquis win on Wednesday off Borowski's blown save (eighth inning blown save... "blown hold"?)

Had all three saves been converted, the AL Wildcard standings would be:
Hafners 78-61, 0 GB
Yanquis 77-61, 0.5 GB
Oakland 76-63, 2 GB
T-win-s 74-65, 4 GB
And I would be much happier.

I watched the 9th and 10th of the ESPN2 game last night (Mets at ATLs). Looper blew a 1-run save in the 9th, his team got the 1-run lead back in the 10th, and he proceeded to load the bases with no outs. On comes Shingo Takatsu*: Shallow Pop, Shallow Pop, Full Count . . . I actually thought he was gonna be able to do it . . . game winning single between third and short.

Plus, Dougie Baseball had a great dig at first in the 9th.

*late of the WhiteSox, he would have had my vote for AL ROY last year, but then I have a bias towards pitchers and towards the AL central and against West Coast teams that play so late they don't make Baseball tonight. My vote this year would probably be King Felix, but I don't really know . . . I mean all of the A's except Kielty and Zito are rookies and they're playing pretty well, too.

Kenny and the Laundry Door

2005-09-07T12:47:00.000-05:00

1. While putting in a door to the new laundry room, in my basement, I caught these snippets of the game:

1a. Turned on the TV at about 8:15. Mulholland pitching in the 5th? Crap! Score: 6-4. Must be a typo, Mulholland wouldn't be in a game that close that early? Maybe it's 8-4. What happened to Kyle? Shelled that bad or hurt? I think I was hoping he was hurt. Either way, I'm excited that we're able to put up 4 against Kenny.

1b. Castro ties it up with a HR. Again, I wish he was a rookie so we could look for him to get better in the places where he isn't better. Now it's 6 runs against Kenny!

1c. In the 9th, now it's 7-6 and Nathan's pitching. Allright! But Nathan lets it be tied. Why? What did I do? Why does Joe Nathan hate me? Blown save, but I need to get moving on this door...

1d. Postgame show: Twins lose 10-7. Seriously? F#$@!!! 7 runs and you guys can't win the damn thing? 7 runs against Kenny Rogers and a loss?

1e. This morning: Hey, the Saints won their first playoff game!

2. Gardy on pulling Lohse: "We did everything we could, You're in a pennant race... We're trying to win. Five runs in two innings, you can;t go with that." IF trying to win, why DHing Tyner? Why starting Punto? Yesterday, I said that I thought Lohse would be back next year. Now, I'm pretty sure he won't be. Damn.

2a. As I write this, Radke just gave up 5 in the 2nd inning. Will Liriano finish the game?

3. Saw Jason Tyner for the first time. Is it just me or does he look like he could be Augie Ojeda's brother and Pat Borders's son?

4. Man, I really want Bonds to come back and drive the Giants to the playoffs with a sub-.500 record. The Padres haven't earned a playoff spot, and I want to see more LaTroy (not used as a closer). Plus, it would sure as hell be a lot of fun and keep people at work talking about baseball rather than football.

4a. I'm probably one of the least concerned people about steroids in baseball. I think this years' system should be good for 3-5 years, and then tighten it up, if problems persist, but not much. What happened to Raffy should be sufficient warning to others. I think a lot of complaining about steroids is from people who have a distaste for the muscular sluggers like Bonds, Giambi, Canseco, Sosa, and MacGuire. I don't care that much because how many chamionships do those guys have? One? (Canseco and MacGuire in Oakland).

Mulligan

2005-09-06T11:36:00.000-05:00

1. Labor Day games are just exhibitions, right?

2. I paid admission to Friday's game just to get the hat, and then left after watching batting practice. The hat is nice, (especially for $6), but the "TC" embroidered is backwards compared to the red hat. Blue T, White C. Still, way better looking than the $16 "M" official stocking hat.

3. With a minor-league catcher called up (neither Corky nor Bowen though), is it time we use Redmond as DH when Mauer's catching? Or platoon him at DH with LeCroy? Wouldn't that be cool? Our catchers are also our DHs! I've never heard of a team where the usual catcher DHs on his days off and the usual DH catches on the catcher's day off?

3a. How is it that Redmond's been a backup catcher most of his career? Is he a Gus Frerotte (probably good enough to be starting somewhere else)? Think what we could have done with him catching last year instead of Blanco and Borders!

4. I wish Juan Castro was a young player so I could get over some of his batting and fielding gaffes and say "look at the potential! Some good ABs, a little power, draws some walks and can make a great fielding play when he's not bobbling the ball. Hitting should improve and some of the fielding will come iwth time." Unfortunately, I can't.

5. I think we should move Juan Rincon to the rotation and/or have Kyle and Baker seek Venezuelan citizenship, so in 2 years when Radke retires, we have an all-Venezuelan rotation. I'm sure Lohse would take to his new nationality and pitch like it, consistently. Actually, it could be possible he's already Venezuelan, with his pitching in the second half this year?

5a. Yes, I think Kyle will/should be back next year. If not, I hope he goes to the Braves. Just not one of those crappy NL teams that we never play and are never televised (Pirates, Rockies, Reds, Diamondbacks, Dodgers).

6. I saw that Paul Konerko is a free agent next year. He's the scary (for pitchers) kind of batter that I hope the Twins get. I sure as hell wouldn't mind him on the team.

7. Didn't catch much of this weekend's games, we're in the middle of a major home reconstruction project. The only place to put the PTBNL is the toy/computer room in our small 1950's rambler. So, we're fixing up the basement to put a huge family room/computer room there. Three-day weekend equals 3 days of working 6-10 hours at putting up and tearing down walls while wrangling C to stay out of the areas with power tools and puller nails. We're now about 5% done with the project, and the kid is due in early December. Yipes!

Aw, Crap...

2005-09-01T23:27:00.000-05:00

1. Now I'm not a huge Vikings fan, they're probably my second-favorite local team, but at about a third of my interest as the Twins (they're just above the UMN's women's basketball team). But, Souhan has this to say tomorrow about Culpepper: "NFL MVP." That does not bode well. When he started his column, he warned us that he jinxes teams, and just months later picked the Twins to make it to the World Series. Forget me being the Goat for this season, or even Scotty Ullger, it is Souhan.

2. Cristian Guzman was used as a pinch hitter tonight in a double-switch. He popped out foul, but it was a full-gallop catch that looked damned impressive on TV.

3. What time do the gates open for games? I really want a stocking cap but won't be able to stay for much of the game. I figure a $6 cheap seat ticket and leaving maybe even before the game starts is a better deal than buying a cap at a store. I'll probably catch some bp/warmups for fun. Plus, it gets added to the paid attendance numbers.

4. A friend asked me to sign up for his Fantasy Football league this year, something I have never done. I'll be making awful picks. Here's to shooting the moon!

5a. Kanye West's new single "Gold Digger" is just fantastic, the way Jamie Foxx's looped vocal meshes with that little flutey sound in the beat, makes it sound like he's vocoded just a tinge at the end. Forgettable subject, but Kanye's rapping is good enough to probably make this my favorite radio song of the year.

5b. On Kanye's Album (which I've only sampled) the remix of "Diamonds" has this great little triplet from Jay-Z: "I'm not a businessman/ I'm a business, man/ Let me handle my business, damn!" Kanye's new verse is all about the blood diamond trade in Sierra Leone.

5c. To contrast a good case of rhyming the same words against probably the worst, check this out from the Game on Kanye-produced "Dreams": "I woke up out that coma in 2001/ 'bout the same time Dre dropped '2001'." Yecch.

All Hit, No Run

2005-08-31T15:54:00.000-05:00

1. List of Twins that didn't get a hit today:

(Blank)

List of Twins who scored today:

(Blank)

There's a Yakov Smirnof joke in there somewhere.

1a. Also, The innings in which the Twins did not have a hit:

(Blank)

2. To keep the lists short, here are the players and coaches who do not get a share of the goat of the day:
2a. Jason Bartlett: not once did he produce an out when there was a runner on base (including himself). His fielding of late even sounds slick.
2b. Kyle Lohse: Mike Wood is no King Felix, but your luck is the hardest.
2c. Juan Rincon: Didn't leave any batters on base or run the Twins out of a decent scoring opportunity or put in Mulholland, which is more than I can say about anyone else.

3. Putting Mulholland in was a white flag from Gardy, right? "We've won the series and playing for Pride." I can't imagine how that run does not score. I seriously cannot. JC had a way better chance, even off of throwing 6 pitches last night.

4. Denny Hocking did not have a good mugshot. I think he lost at least 30 pounds since spring.

5. King Felix vs Unit tonight. Go Felix!

Bruised Bananas

2005-08-31T00:17:00.000-05:00

1. I don't know, I feel like I've been away for a long time even if my last post was Friday. I've just been confused about everything. I see the Yankees on TV and I have fits. Hats? Black. Undershirts? Blue. NY? Black. Lettering? Blue. Maybe. I'm very confused. And Fans are no help with BP hats and equal amounts of Blue and Black stuff. And then, MTV decided to play videos for a week. And I was subjected to, for the first time, Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl." I do fine with barely english dancehall lyrics and postmodern lyrics from bands like Underworld, but somehow, a song about spelling "bananas" gets lodged in my head and I just shut down.

2. 1 ER over 7 innings and a ND? Welcome to the rotation, Mr. Baker.

3. I think the baseball player whose autobiography, once written, I would most like to read someday is Jose Lima. I don't kow much about his history, but I'm sure there's some big things in his. And he just intrigues me. He has such an air of "crazy" around him.

3a. Can Lima find work next year? AAA with the Pirates affiliate? Tampa Bay? Twins bullpen when Mulholland retires? Do bench coaches coach or are they basically cheerleaders, b/c Lima would be a great dugout cheerleader.

4. Can Joe Mays find work next year?

5. As I see it, the Royals have two "definite starters" in their "young guys" list (a/k/a "everyone but Lima"): Greinke and Runny Hernandez. I think Burgos will always be a reliver, but how Wood and Carrasco are starters while Sisco and Gobble are relievers is just maybe because that's what was needed when they were called up?

5a. Gobble is a Lefty, but not a Loogy, just like our JC.
5b. Is the Loogy dying? I flipped to the Dodgers-Cubs game* during commercial breaks and saw that there was one lefty in the sum of both bullpens.
* Cubs won on a Henry Blanco 2 rbi 2-out single.

6. I love Burgos's blue glove, especially with the handsome KC home alt unis.
6a. E is still dead-set against Ambiorix for the name of PTBNL, now due in a scary-close 3 months, and we're no closer to a name than we were when we started.

7. I could see Silva giving up those runs in the 7th (i mean, he just doesn't throw that many pitches), but I just kept hoping for the inning-ending double play.

8. I think I'm going to Friday's game just for the stocking cap. I spent last winter looking for a good one and couldn't find one. What time do the gates open for 7:00 games?

9. Assuming the Twins don't make the playoffs, I'm hoping for an Indians-Braves WS. I wish MLB would do like the NCAA and ban offensive cartoons from postseason play, meaning the Indians will just have to wear the "I" hats and jerseys. I personally have no problem with the team names, (I think the Indians even took the name from an Indian player when the franchise was new), but Wahoo is a crude stereotype that really should be retired.

Wren

2005-08-26T16:19:00.000-05:00

1. Pitching note: We don't go up against the Gambler tonight, but Kameron Loe. Thank you baseball Gods for another great matchup! K.Loe vs K.Lohse. After Chacon vs Chacin yesterday. Maybe we can still see De Los Santos vs De La Rosa this year...Nope De Los Santos is back in AAA. Dang.

1b. Hopefully, Lameron Koe shows up tonight. (Batgirl type joke... heh heh.)

1. I just saw this guy's gamecast from this afternoon against the Cubs. Cruising for 5: 3 hits, 0 runs. Fell apart in the 6th: 6 hits 5 runs 2 outs. I think he might be the sister from Disney's "Even Stevens" based on looks.