k-bro’s blog

 

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.

 

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.

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. 

Livan had another good game.  And so did Tolbert, Span, Go-Go, and Justin. At least that’s according to the box scores.  The game wasn’t on tv.  But I didn’t mind, because the Wild were on.  Playoff hockey is pretty fun, especially when the Wild win.  It was a pretty cool game, but a little too roller-coaster for me. I’d like it better if the Wild got the lead early and kept it.  I like when the Twins do that too, which they did.

Since there wasn’t a game to watch, I don’t have a moment of the game.  However, I do have a substitue…

And finally, the “You’d Think the Twins Would Keep Closer Track of Their Players” moment of the day: Earlier today, I visited the Twins website, and off to the side, they had a video clip of Kubel’s grand slam on Wednesday.  Too bad he hit it against the Red Sox while the rest of the Twins were playing the White Sox.

 

Well, at least the Twins won the series this time, which is better than the Tigers can say (har har).  Boof did a nice job, but the bats were just a little too quiet - except for Justin’s - to give him a chance. Did it seem like the Twins struck out looking a lot today?  I thought so, but maybe I overreacted.

Clearly Justin finally got pissed off about everyone asking him about his slump, because he’s sure hitting the snot out of the ball lately. Just a reminder: hitting the snot out of the ball is a good thing, so keep it up.

Now that the first week has passed, I have a couple opinions: 

• Carlos Gomez is a lot more fun to watch than I thought he would be.  I sure hope it lasts.  I was bummed to hear that he doesn’t qualify as a rookie.
• I’m really bummed about Cuddy’s hand. The descriptions of the injury sound really icky.  I hope he heals quickly.
• I’m impressed with Delmon’s arm.  I *heart* outfield assists.  He needs a nickname. Hmmm - I’ll have to put some thought into it.
• For some reason, Matt Tolbert reminds me of David Eckstein, only bigger.

              

And of course, Happy Birthday to Bert!  I think he likes his birthday almost as much as I like mine. But I never get to go to a baseball game on my birthday.  *pout*

And finally, the “I’m the Umpire and I Don’t Like Dodge” moment of the game:  With one out in the bottom of the ninth, the third-base umpire requested that the advertising banner behind home plate be changed.  Reportedly, he didn’t like it because it was white (it was a Dodge ad). Umm, I don’t think there are that many different ads rolling through that banner, so it was probably there off-and-on for the whole game.  Whatever.