But now there’s only love in the dark/Nothing I can say/a total eclipse of the heart

Jeez, could it take any longer for March?
It appears Denard Span wants to play right now. In admitting my own lack of knowledge for the minors I hadn’t a flipping clue to who Denard Span was. Thanks to TBL (who allowed me to be herded through line) I went through the Free Line (also known as Down on the Farm/Minors) at Twins Fest. She patiently explained that Span is the newest up-and-comer in the minors.
Side note: Those Girls hadn’t had pleasant experiences with Span but I found him social, nice and personable. Hey, I may not have known who the hell he was but I do know how to judge people on first appearances.

And in bad taste…
A-Rod kidding about times he was tested in ‘07

Hey Steinbrenner, zip it
No matter what team you root for (except the Yankees) you are probably sick and tired of obscure, off-the-wall and asinine quotes from the Steinbrennerses. I know I am.
We’d rather be Darth Vader. Let them be the underdog
Everybody that knows sports knows football is tailor-made for performance-enhancing drugs
We feel this is a terrific way to honor our father’s longstanding philanthropic commitment to Tampa

Non-baseball, and not really that important
Eclipsing in the ‘hood
Last night I begrudgingly went outside at 8:48 p.m. to view the eclipse. (Mind you, the temperature was flirting around the zero degree range.) Stacy and I bundled up and stood on our back deck peering at the moon. Here are a few observations from the eclipse:
· My neighborhood is kind of eerie when it is dark and quiet.
· My neighborhood was actually quiet last night.
· Damn cold for an eclipsing.
· I am pretty sure my neighbors don’t appreciate my poor rendition of Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
· What we were seeing last night was the shadow of our plant’s ass reflecting across the moon…according to Stacy.
· Astronomy is hard.
· The eclipse was kind of boring.

Stacy and I watching the Lunar eclipse

Bailey's wanted to watch it too! (note the lazer eyes!)

Early one morning the sun was shining/I was lying in bed/Wondering if she’d changed at all/if her hair was still red

Ah, Sunday mornings. I am sitting at my laptop, drinking coffee, eating a scone (which tastes like cardboard), listening to Bob Dylan warble through Tangled Up and Blue (one of my favorite songs of his) and reading headlines. The house is quiet, the weather is mild (a balmy 31) and the ground is dry. Oh and baseball season HAS OFFICIALLY STARTED!!!

Man oh man, October was bitter-ish, November was numb, December was a blur with rumors, January was officially sucky and February…well, February has been dragging its heels.

Let’s play the game of Good News, Bad News

Good news:
· Today officially starts Spring training! Fantastic!!!
· Great blog entries from Oh it’s Those Girls and One Man Grand Slam.
· Thanks to Becca over at Twins Sisters I have plenty of warning for the next FSN Classics games they are airing. 2/22 @ 7:00 p.m. CT, the game with Scott Baker from 8/31/07 and 2/26 @ 7:00 p.m. CT, F-Bomb takes on Tampa Bay from 7/18/06.

Alas, Bad News
· Pictures of Santana in Mets uniforms (sorry Metsgrrl but it still stings a little bit)
· This article from Jon Heyman from Sports Illustrated. Seriously, I don’t know why I keep reading his articles, 75% of the time he pisses me off. It is his annual Making the Grade write-up. Boy oh boy are the Twins getting hit below the belt before the season even starts, everyone thinks we are just going to barely make it through the season. Well, the Twins ranked #25 and got a grade of “D”

25. Twins. Don't blame the front office. This is all on tightwad multibillionaire owner Carl Pohlad, who squeezed $400 million out of the taxpayers of Hennepin County, then somehow couldn't find anything close to market value for either Santana or Hunter. New GM Bill Smith did his best to replace Hunter by landing Delmon Young for the offense and speedy, strong-armed Carlos Gomez for center. It's hard to blame him for expecting Hank Steinbrenner to give up the store for Santana, but in retrospect, maybe Smith should have jumped on that Phil Hughes/Melky Cabrera/Jeff Marquez offer. D

Grumble, grumble.

Non-Baseball, but no less important
One of the things that make me happy is when my favorite songs are covered in a very different style.
I blogged about Radiohead and my mini walk down memory lane with their song “Creep” which got my Google-fingers going.
Here is a You Tube link to a cover of the song. Don’t mind the actual videos, just check out the song!
Creep covered by Richard Cheese

My fingertips are holding onto the/cracks in our foundations/and I know I should let go/but I can’t

The Twins are all over the news
System Upgrade? Prospects in Santana deal have lots of question marks

Twins happy with Santana trade haul

Press Release: FSN North and Twins announce 2008 telecast schedule

This is Twins Territory
Also, during the Super Bowl the Minnesota Twins showed their new 2008 commercial. I can’t wait to see the rest!

Drinking Buddies
Oh, Those Girls are freaking hilarious! I enjoyed our drinking, gossiping and watching the final news coming in regarding Santana on Friday night. I hope you girls survived the basketball game!

Randomly Random
Tom Petty or Bust
I got tickets to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. About six months from now I will be rocking at the Target Center with Stacy and Amy. Ah, the white man overbite and beer fist Arsenio Hall http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenio_Hall moves will be in full effect!

Music of the Day
Kate Nash

This video is awesome as are the lyrics!
Kate Nash – Foundations


Kate Nash Myspace

It’s a wonderful night/You gotta take it from me/It’s a wonderful night/Come on and break it down

Here is my Top 10 Things That Happened Regarding Baseball (Top 10 TTHRB)

10. I got autographs from six rookies/minor league players that I will probably lose in the next day or so. (Sorry Curveball, that must make you shudder.) Maybe I’ll be a responsible autograph collector and put it somewhere safe.
9. Met up with Jolene (which doesn’t seem baseball-like) who was working at the booth next to where Mike Redmond was sitting. Jolene, thanks for prodding me to take his pic and not just stand there.
8. Told Those Girls where to drink in Minneapolis (hope they found a few good places)
7. TBL took me through the Rookie/Minor League/Down on the Farm (free) line twice and patiently explained the routine so I wouldn’t look too stupid. (Shout out to Denard Span for being super charming to everyone.)
6. Came to the realization that Kevin Slowey is cute! Amy has been telling me this since the beginning but I had just brushed her off.
5. Was shocked by the lack of pink Mrs. Joe Mauer t-shirts in the crowd (and a little saddened not to have them to mock.)
4. Ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the new stadium display (see you in 2010)
3. Listened to my co-worker (who doesn’t know shit about baseball, mind you) audition for the National Anthem contest thingy.
2. Bought Minnesota Twins (baseball) home opener tickets (see you at the dome on March 31, behind home plate, upper level, 30 breath-taking – literally – rows up.)
1. Had my first Dome Dog and Beer at the Metrodome for the 2008 season!

MOD
I made a mix to use for when I have to run tons of errands (and usually dread it.) Now before you start doubting my sanity, I know that a lot of these are the top songs I have been talking about the last week or so but…they are just that damn good!
Run the Damn Errands Mix
Carry On Up the Morning – Babyshambles
Delivery – Babyshambles
You Talk – Babyshambles
Intervention – Arcade Fire
Rootless Tree – Damien Rice (you all know I only like this song because of its use of the word “fuck”
Wonderful Night – Fatboy Slim
Walk Away – Franz Ferdinand
Baby Fratelli (acoustic from Budhill Singles) – Fratellis
Cigarello (acoustic from Budhill Singles) – Fratellis
You Held the World in Your Arms – Idlewild
She’s Crazy – The Kelly Family
My Doorbell – White Stripes
Dry Your Eyes – The Streets

Whoops, looks like I need a swear count: 4