Well, it is a Friday and pay-day along with a great baseball match-up…in my corporate world we call that a Triple Threat.
I would have loved to been at yesterday’s matinee game. Alas, that pesky corporate thing got in the way. However, I did fight “The Man” and followed the game via Gameday. The topic yesterday was the definition of a Quality Start (three earned runs or less in six innings.) This is a new topic for me since I never paid much attention to it before.
There are a few of us (maybe a more than a few) that think the definition needs to be tweaked. In this day and age going six innings and giving up three earned runs is not a good outing. That however does cause a lot of debate amongst the cubicle dwellers around me…especially the members of the Carlos Silva Fan Club. When we pointed out that Silva lost the “Quality Start” in the first inning of yesterday’s game it did not ease the tension. In fact, it brought on new debates of how he was solid the other seven innings. If it wasn’t for the Twins finding their bats and giving a little offense I believe that Silva’s Quality Start would not have been a good thing.
Oh well, c’est la vie, ect, ect. We will mark down the stats and move on to tonight’s match up of Santana and Verlander. It should make for some good baseball. Amy and I believe that Bert Blyleven will say:
It is a pitcher’s duel
Pitchers are the best athletes on the field
Something about doing another bet with Santana in order for him to pitch well.
Ah, Bert, you rascally rabbit!
Random baseball notes:
This is going to be old news but they are bringing Garza up to give him another shot. I can’t wait to see what this year will bring him.
My boy, Barty, hit his second homerun and stole two more bases yesterday. Go Barty Go!
Sources say that the fan who caught The Big Hurt’s 500 ball was wearing a Bartlett jersey…what to give props!
Friday, June 29, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
In the Ghetto...
Here I am representing Morneausey alongside the statue of Elvis Presley as a boy. This was taken in Tupelo, Mississippi outside of the shack where Elvis was born. Yeah...I saw his tiny little itsy bitsy shack that he was born in. Poor Elvis...note my sarcasm. His "shack" was the same size as my first apartment.How can I follow up my last post where I had a brush with fame (on the Jumbo-screen) and rockstar seats? I don’t think I can so I will just stick with what I know…nothing exciting.
Rewind to Tuesday:
Okay, I said it a million times yesterday…If Baker pitched well I would eat my words.
Well, here I am sitting down to a plate of smack-talk with a side of proved-me-wrong. It doesn’t taste well but I would rather eat my words than lose a game.
Well, enough of turning me into the victim and on to the hero of the game, Baker. He pitched well, he didn’t look freaked out, he seemed stable and managed to keep it together. Great game!!! I wasn’t at the game but I sure watched the whole event (all 12-innings) on the television. When it became stressful I would log onto Pulling a Blyleven and follow their baseball banter.
Fast forward to present time:
It is 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday and I am watching a 5-4 game with the Blue Jays in the lead. I missed the fifth, sixth and seventh inning due to yet another accident on 36th & Park Ave (the suicide corner.) No one was hurt but there was a lot of mad people and a fire truck full of hunky firemen. I was very tempted to bust out my baseball binoculars to watch the action but decided that I would look suspiciously like a freak.
Risa is at the game tonight and I know she is doing me proud by cheering and yelling. I am going to head back to the television to watch the last two innings unfold.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
*Waving at the Jumbo-Screen* Hi!
Last night my schmoozing skills reaped the benefit of trying to be friend with everyone. I scored the Mighty Corporations season ticket seats for last night’s game. Actually, they came to me third-handed. Whilst seating in the second row above our dugout in the middle of the section Amy and I found ourselves on the Jumbo-Screen not once but twice (much to Amy’s thrill.) We also saw Punto’s great dugout catch right in front of us (I mean, right smack in front of us.)
Due to the fact that sitting that close to the action I had a hard time noting stats and other specifics. I spent most of the time watching for foul balls from lefties and other random happenings around third base.
Here are a few things I did notice:
Slowey did not do horrible but he gave up four earned runs. Guerrier did not do well and gave up a BIG two-run homerun. Our offense was sporadic and our defense was mediocre. Castillo was hurt, Red (Redmond) got smacked around and the home-plate Ump got smacked by a pitch.
Random Recaps:
* Lots of people like to “borrow” the open seats until they get kicked out which is fine except we have to stand up every time they shuffle back and forth.
* Gate F has the best food and beer choices – Corona, Summit and Heineken plus carved meat.
* The dirt looks like velvet (random, I know.)
* I feel like I know Scotty Ullger now, since I spent the whole night two rows from him.
* I want a ball but I don’t want to have to catch it. Players and coaches would throw foul or last out balls into our section, however, I didn’t want to catch it. I wanted Amy to get one and give it to me but she kept saying she would give it to a little kid and that made me mad. I totally didn’t talk to her for half an inning.
* This last one is going to sound totally girly and baseball-wimpy but I “heart” Barty (Bartlett). This is 100% on a shallow – he is super cute and has a great smile – level. I know, I am shaking my head at myself.
Let’s move on to fellow game attendees from last night:
Dear fans of section 132, rows 4-6
To the lady behind me: Please stop talking…forever.
To the male half of the Yellow Couple: The nicknames you made up were cute but no one likes a random yelling fan. It is distracting and…well, random.
To the 17-year old girls who kept getting kicked out of seats but kept coming back: You are too young to be drinking beer and you are too old to be drinking the beer that was left behind.
To the ticket holders of the seats around us: When you have such great seats why would you come during the third inning and leave during the fifth. Call my cell if you ever want someone to keep the seats warm.
To Amy: I am still hurt that you wouldn’t give the hypothetical ball to me.
Due to the fact that sitting that close to the action I had a hard time noting stats and other specifics. I spent most of the time watching for foul balls from lefties and other random happenings around third base.
Here are a few things I did notice:
Slowey did not do horrible but he gave up four earned runs. Guerrier did not do well and gave up a BIG two-run homerun. Our offense was sporadic and our defense was mediocre. Castillo was hurt, Red (Redmond) got smacked around and the home-plate Ump got smacked by a pitch.
Random Recaps:
* Lots of people like to “borrow” the open seats until they get kicked out which is fine except we have to stand up every time they shuffle back and forth.
* Gate F has the best food and beer choices – Corona, Summit and Heineken plus carved meat.
* The dirt looks like velvet (random, I know.)
* I feel like I know Scotty Ullger now, since I spent the whole night two rows from him.
* I want a ball but I don’t want to have to catch it. Players and coaches would throw foul or last out balls into our section, however, I didn’t want to catch it. I wanted Amy to get one and give it to me but she kept saying she would give it to a little kid and that made me mad. I totally didn’t talk to her for half an inning.
* This last one is going to sound totally girly and baseball-wimpy but I “heart” Barty (Bartlett). This is 100% on a shallow – he is super cute and has a great smile – level. I know, I am shaking my head at myself.
Let’s move on to fellow game attendees from last night:
Dear fans of section 132, rows 4-6
To the lady behind me: Please stop talking…forever.
To the male half of the Yellow Couple: The nicknames you made up were cute but no one likes a random yelling fan. It is distracting and…well, random.
To the 17-year old girls who kept getting kicked out of seats but kept coming back: You are too young to be drinking beer and you are too old to be drinking the beer that was left behind.
To the ticket holders of the seats around us: When you have such great seats why would you come during the third inning and leave during the fifth. Call my cell if you ever want someone to keep the seats warm.
To Amy: I am still hurt that you wouldn’t give the hypothetical ball to me.
Warming up and random newsman
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Beer and baseball but not beer whilst watching baseball...
One of the most important things I learned from tonight’s game against the Mets: Coors beer now has bottles that turn blue when they reach “optimum coolant.” I don’t even like Coors but I sure want to try it now that they made it Hyper-color.
From the Coors Company press release:
According to Coors Light research, consumers want to know when their beer is cold enough to drink. To meet that need, Coors Light introduced the Cold Activated Bottle, which features mountains on the label in Thermochromatic ink that turn blue when Coors Light has been chilled to the perfect temperature for ice cold refreshment.
Let’s Play Ball!
Baker, ah Baker. Did he pitch badly? No. Did he pitch great? No. What does that leave me to judge him on?
I think to fairly describe what Baker’s pitching means to me I need to do a little real world comparison. Let’s see…what to compare him with…I know! Let’s compare him to my daily commute on the Ghetto #5 bus route (seen on the local news channels with shootings, gangs and cops.)
The Ghetto #5 runs every 10 – 15 minutes all day long. There are approximately 106 buses scheduled to run between 8th & Nicollet (downtown Minneapolis) and 35th & Chicago Ave (South Minneapolis) starting at 6:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m. Out of those possible 106 buses I could catch each day I normally get on one of five in the mornings and one out of 10 in the afternoon/evenings. If we take those 15 possible buses I could ride each day I would guess that four of them would be the busiest (prime rush hour.) Out of those four only one would be clean, with seats open and non-smelly. The end result: One out of every four buses I ride would be classified as a normal commute, a good commute. That means, each day I have a 25% chance to get on a bus that will be comfortable, non-threatening and on schedule. The percentages lowers dramatically if there is a change in my routine (later route due to happy hours, events and weather) throughout the week. I don’t really like those odds.
Now, if you are still with me here is the tie in with Baker. Baker is like my commute. He is reliable one out of every four starts. That means, over the span of a month we would get one or two good games out of him. I don’t really like those odds either. Gardy and The Powers That Be have to decide whether to give him another shot or bring up one of the young ’uns from Rochester. You may have noticed that FSN is showing the Rochester rotation and pitching stats throughout the week. Is that a sign?
Commuting sidenote: Yesterday afternoon I was on my bus with standing room only when this clean-cut, “normal” looking guy got on. After about five minutes of curious observation his true colors started showing. He was so strung out on whatever drug he was on. He was twitchy, chatty, antsy, mumbley and all around crazy. I had to send a text to my girl Foley letting her know I found a new man for her!
Started with Coors and now ending with Coors:
According to their website Coors finds Hispanic Beer Drinkers value “cold” more than any other consumer group.
From the Coors Company press release:
According to Coors Light research, consumers want to know when their beer is cold enough to drink. To meet that need, Coors Light introduced the Cold Activated Bottle, which features mountains on the label in Thermochromatic ink that turn blue when Coors Light has been chilled to the perfect temperature for ice cold refreshment.
Let’s Play Ball!
Baker, ah Baker. Did he pitch badly? No. Did he pitch great? No. What does that leave me to judge him on?
I think to fairly describe what Baker’s pitching means to me I need to do a little real world comparison. Let’s see…what to compare him with…I know! Let’s compare him to my daily commute on the Ghetto #5 bus route (seen on the local news channels with shootings, gangs and cops.)
The Ghetto #5 runs every 10 – 15 minutes all day long. There are approximately 106 buses scheduled to run between 8th & Nicollet (downtown Minneapolis) and 35th & Chicago Ave (South Minneapolis) starting at 6:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m. Out of those possible 106 buses I could catch each day I normally get on one of five in the mornings and one out of 10 in the afternoon/evenings. If we take those 15 possible buses I could ride each day I would guess that four of them would be the busiest (prime rush hour.) Out of those four only one would be clean, with seats open and non-smelly. The end result: One out of every four buses I ride would be classified as a normal commute, a good commute. That means, each day I have a 25% chance to get on a bus that will be comfortable, non-threatening and on schedule. The percentages lowers dramatically if there is a change in my routine (later route due to happy hours, events and weather) throughout the week. I don’t really like those odds.
Now, if you are still with me here is the tie in with Baker. Baker is like my commute. He is reliable one out of every four starts. That means, over the span of a month we would get one or two good games out of him. I don’t really like those odds either. Gardy and The Powers That Be have to decide whether to give him another shot or bring up one of the young ’uns from Rochester. You may have noticed that FSN is showing the Rochester rotation and pitching stats throughout the week. Is that a sign?
Commuting sidenote: Yesterday afternoon I was on my bus with standing room only when this clean-cut, “normal” looking guy got on. After about five minutes of curious observation his true colors started showing. He was so strung out on whatever drug he was on. He was twitchy, chatty, antsy, mumbley and all around crazy. I had to send a text to my girl Foley letting her know I found a new man for her!
Started with Coors and now ending with Coors:
According to their website Coors finds Hispanic Beer Drinkers value “cold” more than any other consumer group.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
70 games into the season…
How many baseball fans can say that during their team’s broadcast the term “Flowbee” was used? I am raising my hand. (This was due to the bet Bert Blyleven had with Santana. If Santana pitched a shutout Bert would shave his head.)
Santana and his Merry Men lead the game right out of the gate. I, unfortunately, only saw the last five innings due to my good hearted volunteering job (which I whine and complain about.) I was listening to the fantastic second inning in my car, driving home. I squealed into my parking spot and ran into the house to turn on the game in time for the two scores in the fifth inning.
Side note: I know it was all in good fun but seriously, can we focus more on the fact the Twins did great (whilst looking like they were having fun) and Santana pitched his shutout?
Tonight Baker is on the mound and I have a feeling his future with the Big Boys depends on this game. Cue sinister music!
Ah, All-Star, what a fickle mistress
The current All-Star Ballot standings are making me sad/mad/frustrated. Yesterdays stats are below but I have a few observations to make first:
· Why Ortiz over Morneausey (MVP, more homeruns this year, ect)?
· I can’t keep up with A-Rod’s standing in the Love Him or Hate Him game.
· Catcher? Really? Baby Jesus won the batting title, he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and he eats at Jimmy Johns. Why is he fourth?
· I really agree with the Outfielders standings except why isn’t Cuddy in the mix? All the Minnesota fans know what a great player he is. I guess he’s MLB’s best kept secret.
1st Base
1. Ortiz – Red Sox – 1,423,064 votes
2. Morneausey – Twins – 736,786 votes
3. Casey – Tigers – 469,491 votes
4. Giambi (what?) – Yankees – 468,327 votes
2nd Base
1. Polanco – Tigers – 856,075 votes
2. Cano – Yankees – 717,817 votes
5. Castillo – Twins 367,871 votes
Shortstop
1. Jeter (color me surprised!) – Yankees – 1,591,453 votes
2. Guillen – Tigers – 597,633 votes (almost a million votes below Jeter)
3. Tejada – Orioles – 505,306 votes
3rd Base
1. Rodriguez – Yankees – 1,914,162 votes
2. Lowell – Red Sox – 715,382 votes (over a million votes below A-Rod)
3. Inge – Tigers – 375,968 votes
Catcher
1. Rodriguez – Tigers – 962,104 votes
2. Posada – Yankees – 806,452 votes
3. Varitek – Red Sox – 756,957 votes
4. Baby Jesus (Mauer) – Twins – 731,805 votes
Outfield
1. Guerrero – Angels – 1,541,241 votes
2. Ramirez – Red Sox – 1,098,497 votes
3. Suzuki – Mariners – 1,048,781 votes
4. Ordonez – Tigers – 970,300 votes
5. Hunter – Twins – 800,858 votes
Santana and his Merry Men lead the game right out of the gate. I, unfortunately, only saw the last five innings due to my good hearted volunteering job (which I whine and complain about.) I was listening to the fantastic second inning in my car, driving home. I squealed into my parking spot and ran into the house to turn on the game in time for the two scores in the fifth inning.
Side note: I know it was all in good fun but seriously, can we focus more on the fact the Twins did great (whilst looking like they were having fun) and Santana pitched his shutout?
Tonight Baker is on the mound and I have a feeling his future with the Big Boys depends on this game. Cue sinister music!
Ah, All-Star, what a fickle mistress
The current All-Star Ballot standings are making me sad/mad/frustrated. Yesterdays stats are below but I have a few observations to make first:
· Why Ortiz over Morneausey (MVP, more homeruns this year, ect)?
· I can’t keep up with A-Rod’s standing in the Love Him or Hate Him game.
· Catcher? Really? Baby Jesus won the batting title, he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and he eats at Jimmy Johns. Why is he fourth?
· I really agree with the Outfielders standings except why isn’t Cuddy in the mix? All the Minnesota fans know what a great player he is. I guess he’s MLB’s best kept secret.
1st Base
1. Ortiz – Red Sox – 1,423,064 votes
2. Morneausey – Twins – 736,786 votes
3. Casey – Tigers – 469,491 votes
4. Giambi (what?) – Yankees – 468,327 votes
2nd Base
1. Polanco – Tigers – 856,075 votes
2. Cano – Yankees – 717,817 votes
5. Castillo – Twins 367,871 votes
Shortstop
1. Jeter (color me surprised!) – Yankees – 1,591,453 votes
2. Guillen – Tigers – 597,633 votes (almost a million votes below Jeter)
3. Tejada – Orioles – 505,306 votes
3rd Base
1. Rodriguez – Yankees – 1,914,162 votes
2. Lowell – Red Sox – 715,382 votes (over a million votes below A-Rod)
3. Inge – Tigers – 375,968 votes
Catcher
1. Rodriguez – Tigers – 962,104 votes
2. Posada – Yankees – 806,452 votes
3. Varitek – Red Sox – 756,957 votes
4. Baby Jesus (Mauer) – Twins – 731,805 votes
Outfield
1. Guerrero – Angels – 1,541,241 votes
2. Ramirez – Red Sox – 1,098,497 votes
3. Suzuki – Mariners – 1,048,781 votes
4. Ordonez – Tigers – 970,300 votes
5. Hunter – Twins – 800,858 votes
Monday, June 18, 2007
A Win is a win is a win…
But it wasn’t pretty. I guess I got cocky after sweeping the Braves. I strutted (yes, strutted) around my office proud of my Twins. I enjoyed rubbing the sweep in the faces of the pseudo-fans (they are the fans that like whatever team is most popular…*cough*Yankees*cough.) And then the Brewers showed up and brought their bats. We, however, did not bring our bats or a pitcher. Friday night I let the embarrassing 3-11 loss go by, Saturday I thought we were going to pull it off but was disappointed and Sunday…well, it is still a fresh wound/win.
It was ugly. I was at home watching the game and feeling comfortable of our 9-2 lead, I even dozed off, then it was time to leave and head to a friend's house. By the time I found the game on the radio it was 9-8. What? What happened? For a moment there I thought it was my fault. If only I would have stayed at home and kept watching maybe this wouldn’t have happened. Maybe Rincon wouldn’t have given up the hits, maybe Twitch n’Pitch (Nathan) would have felt more confidence. I arrived at my destination, ran in the house, turned on my friend’s television and saw Morneausey hit his walk-off to save the day…again. He isn’t the MVP just because he’s pretty. It looks like Morneasey is going to give A-Rod a run for the homerun count.
That leaves us with an open question…What are we going to do about pitching?
Baseball Side note:
I have lost my bartering abilities with the Baseball Gods. In the past few years I have always tried to bribe the Baseball Gods when Baby Jesus (Mauer) was up to bat. If it was a tight game I would ask the Baseball Gods to give Baby Jesus a home run, single, sac-fly, whatever and then in return I wouldn’t mock Baby Jesus by calling him the Hometown Hero…so on and so on. Anyways, Saturday night it didn’t work! It did not work! I must have angered the Baseball Gods. No amount of pleading, begging or swearing would work to get us ahead. Damn it.
*disclaimer: I really like Mauer, he is a great player but it is fun to play off the “hometown hero” bit.
It was ugly. I was at home watching the game and feeling comfortable of our 9-2 lead, I even dozed off, then it was time to leave and head to a friend's house. By the time I found the game on the radio it was 9-8. What? What happened? For a moment there I thought it was my fault. If only I would have stayed at home and kept watching maybe this wouldn’t have happened. Maybe Rincon wouldn’t have given up the hits, maybe Twitch n’Pitch (Nathan) would have felt more confidence. I arrived at my destination, ran in the house, turned on my friend’s television and saw Morneausey hit his walk-off to save the day…again. He isn’t the MVP just because he’s pretty. It looks like Morneasey is going to give A-Rod a run for the homerun count.
That leaves us with an open question…What are we going to do about pitching?
Baseball Side note:
I have lost my bartering abilities with the Baseball Gods. In the past few years I have always tried to bribe the Baseball Gods when Baby Jesus (Mauer) was up to bat. If it was a tight game I would ask the Baseball Gods to give Baby Jesus a home run, single, sac-fly, whatever and then in return I wouldn’t mock Baby Jesus by calling him the Hometown Hero…so on and so on. Anyways, Saturday night it didn’t work! It did not work! I must have angered the Baseball Gods. No amount of pleading, begging or swearing would work to get us ahead. Damn it.
*disclaimer: I really like Mauer, he is a great player but it is fun to play off the “hometown hero” bit.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Out with the Braves and in with the Brewers
What a great game! I even cheated and only watched from the bottom of the 8th and on. You see…someone who isn’t a baseball person scheduled my book club meeting at 7:00 p.m. The trendy little café we were meeting at did not hesitate to shut down my request to change the channel to FSN North. Nope, CNN World News was staying on for everyone else’s enjoyment.
That brings us to the 8th Inning…
So, there I was, standing in my living room, car keys still in hand and eyes glued to the television. During the ramblings of Dick and Bert I took my shoes off and set my purse down. During the “patch up Joe’s arm” recap I quickly grabbed the container of Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream. I figured I would need it for commiserating over the game. Oh, that ice cream was so not needed! What a great game. What a great build up. What a great sweep.
By the way I got to break the news of last night’s come-back win to one of my baseballies (and co-worker) this morning at 7:15 a.m. This particular person went to be in the 8th thinking it was over. Oh no my baseballie friend. Side note: The baseballies in my world are friends and co-workers who attend, discuss and re-cap the games. They are also the ones (insert: men) that challenge Amy and my views, knowledge and general coolness about baseball and the Minnesota Twins.
And because I promised Amy…
What the heck is up with the All-Star ballot putting the DH nominees in the 1st Base spot? Oh, I know the basic reasons (it is on NL turf and they don’t use a DH and they have to go somewhere.) But why put him in the 1st Base spot? Why not as an outfielder where they have three choices? Anyways, we would both be sad/mad if Big Papi beat out Morneausey.
That brings us to the 8th Inning…
So, there I was, standing in my living room, car keys still in hand and eyes glued to the television. During the ramblings of Dick and Bert I took my shoes off and set my purse down. During the “patch up Joe’s arm” recap I quickly grabbed the container of Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream. I figured I would need it for commiserating over the game. Oh, that ice cream was so not needed! What a great game. What a great build up. What a great sweep.
By the way I got to break the news of last night’s come-back win to one of my baseballies (and co-worker) this morning at 7:15 a.m. This particular person went to be in the 8th thinking it was over. Oh no my baseballie friend. Side note: The baseballies in my world are friends and co-workers who attend, discuss and re-cap the games. They are also the ones (insert: men) that challenge Amy and my views, knowledge and general coolness about baseball and the Minnesota Twins.
And because I promised Amy…
What the heck is up with the All-Star ballot putting the DH nominees in the 1st Base spot? Oh, I know the basic reasons (it is on NL turf and they don’t use a DH and they have to go somewhere.) But why put him in the 1st Base spot? Why not as an outfielder where they have three choices? Anyways, we would both be sad/mad if Big Papi beat out Morneausey.
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