k-bro’s blog

 

Friday: Twins 5 - Evil Empire 6
Saturday: Twins 6 - E. E. 7 (12)
Sunday: Twins 5 - E. E. 1

First of all, I’m very glad to see that Nick Blackburn is going to be ok. That was scary for a minute there. Fortunately, he’ll only have a fat lip, and probably a headache, for a couple days. Which is good, because he’s a pretty good-looking guy, and I’d hate to see his face messed up. I guess health-wise, he’s very lucky. But, when it comes to actually getting a win in a game, he just can’t catch a break. Because of a really stupid rule, he didn’t get the win, even though, in my opinion, he totally deserved it. Apparently, a starter has to complete five innings to qualify for a win. If he can’t, but his team is leading when he comes out, it’s up to the official scorer to determine who gets it. In this case, Bass gets it, even though he didn’t even pitch two full innings.

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Back to Friday’s and Saturday’s games, which pretty much seemed like the same game, only Saturday’s lasted longer, I’ll try to focus on the positives. So I won’t mention how our guys left like a million men on base in scoring position, or how leaving a certain reliever in for a second inning in a tie game isn’t my idea of a good plan. I’m not upset at Nicky’s error, but I do think Boof could’ve done a much better job getting that third out in Saturday’s third inning. However, I was very happy to see Cuddy hit a homer, and I was really impressed with Breslow’s, the new guy, pitching. All in all, only mildly disappointing, but still entertaining. Here’s hoping for a game more like Sunday’s for Monday.

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As I write this, I’m watching the Mets - Dodgers game, and every time they talk about the Dodgers’ right fielder, Delwyn Young, I keep thinking they say “Delmon Young”. And it doesn’t even seem odd to me. I wonder what that means.

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Blog note: There seems to be a problem with the formatting. I apologize,
but it seems to be an issue with blog.com. If the right side is cut off, try
clicking Permanent Link below. It’s still cut off a little, but it’s readable.

 

Twins 4 - Royals 3 (12) [We won, so why does it hurt so much?]

Thank you Cuddy for salvaging the game and leading us away from despair.

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Poor Nick Blackburn. I’ve accused him of being a gloomy guy because he never really smiles. But with the kind of luck he has, it’s easy to understand why. After all, what does he have to do? He pitches a gem - almost a complete game shutout - and he watches it being ripped away on Nathan’s very first pitch. I wanted to cry when they showed Nick in the dugout after the Royals tied it up. He just looked so sad.

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I rarely question Gardy’s decisions. I’d be a horrible manager and I know it, so I don’t bother. But this time, I’m convinced that if he had let Nick stay in for one more batter, things would have been much, much better. He was getting ground balls all night, and I’m sure he would have induced the double play ball he needed. In fact, I was screaming that to the TV as Gardy walked out to the mound. I’m willing to bet that I wasn’t the only one.

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Dear Bert, Please, please, please don’t ever talk about your personal hygiene again. I mean, seriously, chewing your toenails? Eeeewwww. I could’ve gone all day without thinking about that.

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And finally, the “This is What Happens When You Get Dressed in the Dark” moment of the game: Did anyone else notice that Jimmy “Gobble” Gobble had his undershirt on backwards? I didn’t see it until the camera showed him from behind, but the “Royals” embroidery on the neck was in the back and the MLB logo that belongs on the back was in the front. Maybe it’s a good luck thing. Or maybe he needed to get dressed in a hurry.

 

Twins 9 - Sox of the Red 8

Miss me? I guess I have some catching up to do. I’m also watching the game as I write this, so I’ll be flip-flopping between my thoughts of the past week with my thoughts of the game. Forgive me if I’m confusing.

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First of all, Happy Mother’s Day! If you’re a mom, I hope you enjoyed your day. If you’re not a mom, I hoped you hugged a mom.
To my mom: Love you. Sorry I didn’t actually hug you today. I told the cat to hug you for me; I hope she did.

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Top first: Hey Eeyore, nice job striking out Youkilis and Lowell. *grin*

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Speaking of Mother’s Day, mine was very nice. My kids gave me a really cool Twins shirt. I think they’ve got me pretty well figured out.

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Tuesday’s game: Gavin Floyd nearly no-hit the Twins. That must’ve been ugly. Thank goodness for Joey to break that up for us.

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Bottom second: Nice jack, Craig. *woot* Hey, has anyone come up with a good nickname for him yet?
Seriously? Adam “Adam” Everett hit a homer? Cool.

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Wednesday’s game: Go-Go hits for the cycle. I loved that. And I also loved reading his quotes. Fun stuff. I was also very impressed with Livan for taking a shutout to the ninth and completing the game.

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Bottom third: Who put the fear of God into Mike Lamb lately?

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The best way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until the ball stops rolling and then pick it up. ~Bob Uecker
Ok, so how many times did Morgan-n-Miller say the word “knuckleball” tonight?

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Thursday’s game: I actually caught part of that game on a lunch break. But it was a big yawner.

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Bottom fourth: *snicker* Big Papi was goofing around when they were interviewing Francona. In fact, he was way more interesting than Francona.

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Notes to the Injured:
Dear Pat-Pat, I wish I could take it away from you so you can get better. Rehab well and come back next year better than ever.
Dear Nicky, Get better quick.

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Friday’s game: Wow. A come-from-behind win and Lammers is the hero. Way to go!

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Bottom seventh: Hello again Mr. Monroe!
What’s up with Mike Timlin’s camouflage glove?

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Top ninth: Dear Nathanator, That was waaaaaay too interesting for my liking. But you managed to do the job, so thanks.

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And finally, one thing I learned about Vancouver that surprised me: I expected hockey to be very popular. They’re still following the Stanley Cup playoffs closely even though their team is out of it. Between hockey games, they do follow baseball. I figured that since Vancouver is so close to Seattle, they’d follow the Mariners. Nope. They follow the Blue Jays, even though they’re three time zones away. I guess all of Canada follows Canada’s only team, eh?

So our guys have the evening off, and I suppose they’re pretty blue. They didn’t have a very good weekend, so they need something to cheer them up. And what’s better to lift the spirits of a bunch of boys than toys? So I checked out amazon.com and found some fun things for them to play with.

For Nick Blackburn: You always seem so grumpy and I’ve never seen you smile. And that’s ok, because you gotta be who you gotta be. I can’t think of anything that celebrates gloominess better than this Eeyore plush.

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For Matt Tolbert : Gardy says you never stop moving around and that you’re just a bundle of energy. So, to capture your personality, and to go along with the “Winnie the Pooh” theme, I chose this Tigger plush.

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For Go-Go: Everyone knows that no one is faster than you. So the only thing I can think of that can keep up with you is this Lightning McQueen toy.

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For Joey: Girls have been chasing you since you broke into the majors. I figure that if you’re going to be treated like an American Idol, you may as well pretend you’re an American Idol. So I chose this American Idol Recording Studio.

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For Cuddy: I’m glad you’re back off the DL, but I’m still worried about your hand. I think you should protect it as much as possible while you play, so I chose these Sock’em Boppers for you.

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For Boof: Nice job on losing weight. You look great, and you should be proud. Since you have many fewer fat cells in your body, you might want to play with this Giant Microbes Fat Cell plush toy.*

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For Everyone Else (because I want to be done now): After such a downer of a game on Sunday, you all must be tense and serious. Nothing lightens things up better than lots and lots of bubbles. I chose this Gazillion Bubbles Machine.

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*I know, a plush fat cell is creepy, but this company has a whole line of creepy microbe plush toys such as syphilis, e.coli, HIV, the clap. Maybe we can send a bunch to the visitor’s clubhouse. 

 

Twins 9 - Detroit 11 ugly, ugly, ugly, UGLY

What the hell does Nick Blackburn have to do to get a win? He pitched out his mind for the first 5 innings, struggled a bit in the 6^th, but still left with the lead. Is the bullpen mad at him? Perhaps the Twins shouldn’t have Guerrier and Neshek relieve him anymore. It’s becoming an unfavorable trend.

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Speaking of Neshek, mini-bro noticed that his delivery is different than it used to be. He’s right. Before, when Pat released the ball, his arm would fly up over his head. I remember this because BatGirl once described it as “he ends in the ‘Neshek Salute!’ raising his hand to the ball to thank it for all it has done for him and wish it well on its travels”. Now, his arm flies more to the side, as if he’s slapping it in the face.

Dear Pat,
Perhaps the ball doesn’t like you slapping it around so much. Please fix that. I fear that if you keep it up, they’ll put you on an episode of “Cops”. Or, more likely, they’ll put me on an episode of “Cops”.
Law-abidingly (for now),
k-bro.

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Denard Span sure wanted to make a good impression. He showed good patience at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a walk, and making two (almost three) great plays in the field. And the missed catch that went for a homerun was forgivable - it was a great effort, and would have been an unbelievable play if he had made it. I liked how his teammates, especially Matt Guerrier, encouraged him between innings. Too bad the Twins wound up needing that run.

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Does anyone else think that Jeremy Bonderman looks like an earthworm?

 

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And finally, the “Make Sure You Run That Way” moment of the game: