k-bro’s blog

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top 4: (Twins turn a nice double play) Sweet!

Bottom 4: (Livan pitches around a lead-off double) Nice job Livan.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Twins 6 - Yankees 5
Series split 2 games each

 

Twins 5 - Royals 1
Twins sweep series in 3

Well, that was much better. No crazy come-from-behind drama. No extra innings. No errors or even bone-headed defensive plays. And thank goodness too, because I watched the entire game whilst in the throes of a nasty migraine. Ugh. I don’t think I could’ve handled yelling or cheering at the TV for any reason; I’m glad I didn’t have to.

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Kevin Slowey. Wow. That was fantastic. That was fun to watch. Throwing first-pitch strikes and having a ton of confidence on the mound is very sexy.

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Did anyone else notice that Joey and Cuddy are growing beards? Is Justin too? It’s hard to tell (especially since I couldn’t see very well, what with the headache and all). And it looks like they’re real beards (as opposed to just “going scruffy”) because they’re neatly trimmed along the jaw line. It’s kind of funny to see baby-face Joey growing a beard. Edit: I guess it’s true; they are growing beards (not Justin). According to JoeC’s blog, they’re growing “homer-less beards”. Cute. Just don’t get too used to them, guys - everyone would rather see the homers.

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Everyone, including me, seems to relish saying “the Last Place Yankees”. I’d just like to add a caution statement.
CAUTION:  Take the Yankees seriously. They are evil. They crush opponents’ souls when given an opportunity. They are looking for a chance to turn their season around. Make sure to play excellent baseball. Avoid giving them opportunities to win.

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Another Edit (well more like adding something I meant to write but forgot because I was writing something else when I first thought of it and didn’t think of it again until well after I published this): Now that the Twins have left KC, I’m rooting for the Royals to start winning. First of all, they’re facing the Whine Sox next, and anyone who beats them is OK with me. But more importantly, I like their fans (they were so friendly and polite when I visited) and they deserve better then what their team is giving them right now. My family is making plans to go there in August when the Twins are there again, and I think it would be fun if the games were somehow “meaningful”.

Twins 7 - Texas 6 (12)

Well, wasn’t that the most hair-twisting, nail-biting, ulcer-inducing game so far this year? Blowing leads, leaving men on base, losing our DH and making the pitchers hit. A little something for everyone. And a little something for everyone to scream at the TV for.
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Who needs everyday players? Let’s just have the back-ups, fill-ins, and recent call-ups go ahead and win this one.
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Big love to Alexi Casilla for his first major league homer, to Howie Clark for the game winning RBI, and to Joey for keeping us in the game with some timely hitting. But mostly to Bobby Korecky for having the intestinal fortitude to wiggle out of the 11th with the bases loaded and only one out, for getting his first major league hit, and for pitching the 12th like he’s been here before. Bobby honey, you get the gold star.

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And mad props to Jon Lester of the Red Sox for tossing a no-hitter, because that’s just a really, really cool thing to do.

 

Friday: Twins 4 - Rockies 2
Saturday: Twins 2 - Rockies 3
Sunday: Twins 2 - Rockies 6

Well, at least this time we don’t have to get the dustbunnies out. But seriously, I think we could have done better. Maybe the boys were tired. Maybe it was the thin air. Maybe it was the humidor balls. Who knows, but it just seemed like they were kind of flat.

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Friday’s game was kind of fun, and it was nice to break up that little losing streak. But Nathonator once again made it waaaay too interesting. Luckily, Go-Go made that nice catch to end the game. Too bad it cost him starting the next two games. And doesn’t it seem that if Go-Go isn’t in the game, the Twins just aren’t the same team? Has anyone figured out what our record is with him in versus without him in? (I know I could probably figure it out myself, but I don’t wanna. Besides, chances are that someone else already has, and why double the effort?)

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Saturday’s game was pretty good until I started paying attention. Sorry. I guess Livan had a perfect game going through the fifth. Of course, right when I got home and turned on the TV, I saw Justin Morneau try to catch Matt Holliday’s foul ball that could have been called fan interference but wasn’t. Then he doubled, and that was pretty much the end of the perfect game, eventually the shutout, and then the lead.

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And another thing, while being taking a perfect game through five innings is terrific, especially for a contact-type pitcher like Livan, I think that the KARE11 sports team needs to settle down. They teased the coverage by saying something like “Hernandez flirts with perfection.” Um, five innings isn’t “flirting” with perfection. Eight, or maybe even seven, innings is flirting. Five innings is looking up from the end of the bar and noticing that perfection keeps looking over at you. You’re not even thinking about buying it a drink yet after five.

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I missed today’s game because I was at a youth baseball tournament. (Yes, I was freezing. Thanks for asking.) I listened to the post-game coverage on the radio after we were done, and from the sound of Gardy’s reaction to the game, I think the 11 and 12-year-olds I watched play had a more polished game than our Twins.

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Excuse me, yes, I’d like to order a round of bubble wrap for the remaining healthy players please.

Let’s assess the most recent damage:

• Matt “Tigger” Tolbert is on the DL for shredding his thumb sliding head-first into first. Poor guy; he was beginning to make a good impression, and now this. And the extent of the injury (ligament damage) sounds like it’s going to take quite a bit more than a 15-day recovery.
• Then there’s Go-Go’s catch into the wall that tweaked his wrist. According to the Twins website, there’s a real possibility that he’ll land on the DL as well.
• Plus, Joey’s got a crick in his neck.

 

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?

 

Twins 4 - Pasty Hose 3

Yay! Twins sweep a series. Time for the broom. But it was a small series, so it really only deserves a small broom. How about a large paintbrush?

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A day game today and no game tomorrow? Sounds like I have to get a life for the next couple evenings. Hmmm…. Nah.

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Bummer that Joey’s hitting streak is over. Start a new one on Friday, ‘k?

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Thanks to FSN for airing the Squeeze Play show. I really like catching the important parts of the game, even though I already know what happened.

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 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.