k-bro’s blog

  Twins 1 - Texas 10

Yup. This is what happens when we tempt the baseball gods, for they do love a laugh, especially at the expense of over-confident fans.
Among my “daily reading”, I check out Howard Sinker’s blog. Read that last line there.

Then read the first commenter’s response.

Mmmm hmmm. My. Reaction. Exactly. But I don’t want to put the blame solely on Howard. Just about every blog, article, and report I read about Sidney Ponson and tonight’s game predicted Sir Sid would flounder. I even saw a scroll on ESPN that proclaimed that our old buddy had a 9.00 ERA in his last two starts (or something like that). So pretty much everyone expected the Twins to breeze through this one.

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Oh well, let’s all shake it off. Hmm, shake… I know… Since the defense pretty much played like Little Leaguers (again - except for a couple of nice plays), the guys should go out to Dairy Queen in full uniform just like Little Leaguers and have some shakes and cones. That’ll cheer them up in time for tomorrow’s game.

Just make sure you don’t get a brain freeze like that kid that Dick-n-Bert picked as the fan of the game. The game was painful enough.

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And finally, the “He May Not Be Ready For Prime Time, But He’s Makin’ ‘Em Laugh on Late Night” moment of the day: Heh. Heh. I’m watching David Letterman as I write this. He used Michael Cuddyer’s hat-bill juggle-catch in one of his bits. It’s a running gag about an anchorwoman who accidently dropped an f-bomb.

 

Twins 11 - Texas 4

Aaaaaaah. Wasn’t that nice? Finally, a game that I could just have on TV and not worry about it. Every time I looked up, I saw another Twin getting another hit. Very nice. Perhaps yesterday’s exciting escapade woke them up a little.

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A big “atta boy” to Glen Perkins for his first major league win. Nice work. And a big shout out goes to Brian Bass for finishing the game and letting all the other pitchers rest.

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I’m super bummed to read that Matt “Tigger” Tolbert needs surgery on his thumb. I was really rooting for him to do well here. It sounds like the ligament separated from the bone. OUCH! ICK! Here’s hoping he recovers quickly.

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I was happy to see that the official picture of Sidney Ponson, who’s starting for the Rangers tomorrow, has been updated to this year’s version.

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Time for bed; last night’s game really took it out of me.

 

Twins 7 - Tigers 6

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh! Yes! Yes! Oh! Yes! (Sorry if I’m being a little too much “I’ll have what she’s having” here, but that was exciting.)

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I’m so giddy right now that I don’t know where to start. First, a thousand apologies to Boof for all the awful, rotten things that I screamed at the TV during the first. But I have a big shout out to his intestinal fortitude for settling down, not giving up, and pitching very well the next five innings. And a hat-tip to the batters for also not giving up and scraping together hits and runs (and taking advantage of a little luck) to make this a big, big win. And to think, I almost turn the TV off; I’m really glad I didn’t.

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SWEEEEEP! Time for a broom. And a good broom too (no measly large paintbrush here). In fact, a special platinum-handled, blinged-out broom because they swept a good hitting team, in a regular three-game series, and had to work really hard to earn it.

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The Twins are first in the division. The Twins are first in the division. Not the Tigers. Not the Indians. The Twins are first in the division. Yipee!

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k-bro’s kwazy logic: As I’m writing this, I’m watching the Mets / D-backs game. Johan is pitching, and he’s doing all right, but not spectacular. At the moment, he has four wild pitches. Four! He’s never done that before. He does have a bunch of strikeouts, but the pitches that aren’t in the dirt are up in the zone. Now here’s the kwazy logic part - could it be his catcher? I really think that Joey or Mike would have saved at least three of those wild pitches. And after the first couple wilds, maybe Johan didn’t trust the catcher to handle the changeup anymore. Who knows, but maybe great pitchers can attribute some of their success to their catchers, and maybe the Twins are really fortunate to have two of the best.

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And finally, the “Gee, I Hope They Make It To The Game On Time” moment of the day: I was running errands this morning, and on my way home I happened upon a school bus that was stranded at an intersection and a bunch of kids milling about on the sidewalk. As I got closer, I notice the kids all had Twins shirts on and were carrying signs. Aw man! They’re on their way to the Twins game. I hope they got another bus and were able to go. More importantly, I hope they stayed for the whole thing.

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Blog Note: No blogging the rest of this week. I’ll be at a conference in Vancouver. If I happen to run into Mr. and Mrs. Morneau, I’ll be sure to say “hi”.

 

Twins 5 - Rangers 6 (10)

I know everyone else in Twins Territory asked it, probably out loud, but I’m going to ask it too: Why, oh why did Gardy put Rincon in for the 10^th when Joe Nathan was warm? Why?

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A lot of stupid things happened in the game, like giving back a 5-run lead and throwing to the wrong base, but the stupidest had to be in the bottom of the 8^th when the ball went right through Mike Lamb’s legs. Actually, the best part was his reaction - he must have felt like an 8 year old kid again. Fortunately, no harm was done because of it, so it’s pretty funny.

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Glad to see Cuddy back.

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Are the Rangers seriously considering starting Sidney Ponson? According to the Twins website, they are. In fact, the picture of Sir Sid shows him still wearing a Twins hat.

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And finally, the “Are the Guys in the Truck Watching the Same Game?” moment of the game: In the 1^st, when Joey was up to bat with Go-Go on second, all of a sudden the scroll thing under the score banner that announces homeruns said “2-run Homerun - Mauer (1)”. However, he was still at the plate at the time. In fact, he wound up walking.

Sorry about the crappy picture. I don’t have HD TV, and I’m just using a digital camera because I don’t have the equipment and/or knowhow to get pictures off my DVR. And yes, I’m dorky enough to record every game.

 

Twins 6 - (Don’t Call Them Devil) Rays 5

Whew. Like many gals, I twist my hair when I’m nervous. Being a Twins fan has caused a permanent twist in my hair. And not a fashionable French twist, but more of a McDonald’s Fry Kid look. This game was one of those games where I would twist it when the Rays scored, undo it when we went ahead, twist it when they tied it up, undo when we went ahead, then twist it until it almost came out of my head when Joe Nathan was on the mound. Who needs a perm when there’s Twins baseball?

 

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Joey Mauer was sure fun to watch. Going 3 for 4 and throwing out 2 would-be basestealers is hot.

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I was very conflicted when Barty committed that throwing error that allowed two Twins runs. I always liked him, and I want him to do well with his new team. But, Twins runs are more important to me, so I was happy.

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Speaking of Barty, there’s one thing I always wanted to know about him. What does the tattoo on his forearm say? I remember trying to figure it out last year, but I never got it. And I saw it again last night.

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Debate of the day: When Carl Crawford made that diving catch in foul territory to allow Delmon Young to score, was it really a mistake?  At the time, I agreed with Dick-n-Bert and thought that he should have allowed it to drop and given his pitcher another chance to get the batter out. However, hubby thought he made the right play because you should always try to get the out. Afterall, how would have been if the batter would have got a base hit on the next pitch? I guess he makes a good point.  All I know is that it worked out in favor of the Twins, and that’s all I really care about.

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And finally, the “I Think My Brains Hurt” moment of the game: At one point, a Twins batter (I forget who) fouled a ball that smacked Scott Ullger in the right butt cheek. Ouch. Too bad their new helmets don’t cover up that part.

It’s been a little over a year since my previous baseball boyfriend, Brad Radke, left me for retirement.  I was so devastated that I decided to take the year off from Baseball Boyfriends (BB).

But, since every good baseball fan needs a BB, I’m ready to start looking for a new one.  Because this is a serious commitment, I need to do this in steps — kind of like a compatibility profile.

First, I need to decide which qualities I’m looking for in a BB.  In the past, I had a thing for pitchers, but I don’t want to limit myself anymore.  There are plenty of quality non-pitcher candidates that I don’t want to exclude anyone.

I know what I like. Slick defense is very hot - I get totally turned on by a beautiful turn of a double play. I also love things such as speed, guts, personality, and toughness.  Looks count, too. So does good works both on and off the field.

It’s been said that chicks dig the long ball.  Well not this chick.  To me, homeruns are like going out to dinner at Perkins - they’re nice, they get the job done, but they’re not particularly special. I’m looking for more.

So in the next few weeks, I’ll evaluate my options.  I’ll pay attention to the stories from spring training and find out who are good teammates, who play well, who are likable, and who make me laugh.

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Wondering where they are update:  Shannon Stewart returns to the Blue Jays with a minor league contract and an invite to spring training.

I see that Jason Tyner signed a minor-league contract with the Indians.  I couldn’t find any other details, but I’m assuming he’ll have an invitation to spring training.

I sure hope he comes north with the team — I would love to see him the 8 zillion times we play Cleveland.