Take this sinking boat and point it home / We've still got time

Raise your hopeful voice you had a choice / You've made it now - Falling Slowly, The Frames (Glen Hansard) from the motion picture "Once"

Well, color me surprised. Silva pitched well. He pitched into the 8th without giving up a run. Sure, Detroit had 7 hits but our great defense shut them down after they got on base. On a slightly snarky Silva note (say that three times fast) I like how the review of the game had a flavor of Silva and LeCroy making a great duo and that they will most likely be paired up for Silva’s final start. Are you f-ing telling me that all it takes is having LeCroy behind the plate? Are you telling me that Baby Jesus, Red or that other kid weren’t the right match up? Now, I know, I know…that’s not what they meant but it sure looked like someone (cough) is grasping at straws to find a reason why Silva had a crappy year (much like last years.) Yeah, again…I know, I know his numbers aren’t bad but this year we needed better than “not bad.” I am not saying that Silva is to blame for our crap-tacular (yes, this word was necessary) year but he was part of it. And that is the end of my slightly snarky Silva rant.

And on to another…
Right now we are sitting at a record of 77-79. I know I am not the only one who feels that this wouldn’t be a good year to have a losing season (the first since 2000.) We need something to hold us through April (or February if you are obsessive compulsive) so we really need them to win four out of the next six games.

Baseball and Vodka, bringing people together
Well, I can safely say that my quirky knowledge of baseball paid off last night. Whilst at happy hour(s) I entered into a heated baseball debate with a stranger two stools down. As the 6th and 7th innings passed we found a mutual respect between our teams…Twins and Rockies. Jim/Bob/Bill was so impressed with my skillz (yeah, with a z) that he bought Tiff and I another round (at full price) to convince us to stay and watch the end of the game. Not only did I get my free drink but I got to watch my team beat Los Tigres whilst sharing the secrets of our beloved Twins. Thank you Bill/Bob/Jim/whatever your name and thank you Baseball.

My motto’s always been; when it’s right, it’s right / Why wait until the middle of a cold dark night

Sky rockets in flight / Afternoon delight / Oh, afternoon delight.

How can you not love the Starland Vocal Band? These lyrics are in honor of Gregg who is a closet fan of the Starland Vocal Band (along with the Doodletown Fifers.)

Friday 9/14 vs Los Tigres – L 2-4
Saturday 9/15 vs Los Tigres – L 3-4
Sunday 9/16 vs Los Tigres – L 4-6

Sad.

Dear Baseball,
I am not neglecting you. I am passively watching you whilst weaning you out of my day to day lifestyle. It is going to be hard but I’ll make it. Afterall, March isn’t that far away…is it?

That being said, I did catch some of the game on Saturday whilst nerding out at Amy’s house. Occasionally we like to gather in one spot and be geeks together. We watched the BBC America version of the new Robin Hood and then some of the Sci-Fi show Torchwood but took time out to watch Santana rock the mound. Well, rock probably isn’t the word I am looking for but it is Santana and he is a rock star. That first inning was disheartening.
Sunday was the same feeling. I was flipping between baseball and football (Wait! I was watching football because The Uncle was over and that’s his thing. If The Uncle wants to watch football we better damn well be watching football.)

There are six home games left. Who wants to hit one of them up? I need to go to at least one more game and say goodbye to the 2007 Season in person.
Any takers?

"Its against the rules to give up the attempt and walk away" - Abandoning the Bases, page 111,Baseball Field Guide

Tigers 1, Twins 0
Sweet Baby Jesus, it is hot outside. Wait, it isn’t just hot – it is sticky, humid, gross and stifling. Besides that, we are in the middle of a big (and tough) home-stand. I was excited to hunker down in front of my television (in the air conditioning) to watch a little Battle of the American League Champs however, I forgot about dinner/drinks with friends. Of course these are non-baseball loving friends so I reluctantly went to Rossi’s basement bar to have wine and food. I was happy to see that there were a few televisions located around the square bar but the crazy Phoebe-like (from Friends) lady was singing jazz on the stage. She was very distracting while I was trying to drink, semi-listen to my friends and watch the game. It was a tough job and I finally had to give up. Once the wine started flowing I lost the ability to multi-task. Damn alcohol!

Giddy with school girl glee
Tonight I am “introducing the Twins” to a few new people. First, I have my co-workers from Salt Lake City in town. They don’t have a professional baseball team near them (I think California, Colorado or Arizona are the closest baseball states.) Not only do they get to see a great team (I may be a little biased) but they get to see a great match-up of Santana on the mound for the Twins against the reigning AL Champs, Detroit Tigers. Also, a handful of my local co-workers, who aren’t avid baseball fans, will also be joining us. I have the tough job of trying not to ignore my non-baseball co-workers and yet enjoy the game and talk “shop” with my baseball-knowledgeable co-workers. I may have to keep the beer consumption to a minimum in order to handle the job. If you happen to be at the game tonight stop on by and see me. I will be surrounded by confused looking people in the cheap seats nearest to Left Field. I will also be the one with crazy new highlights that I am trying to get over (I mean, these are serious gold highlights in my red hair…eek.)

Risa, I know you are going to be at the game tonight but you’ll probably be sitting in your Family Section seats. If you decide to go to the cheap seats stop by and save me!!!

Ah baseball. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

Great Games!
What a great weekend of baseball. Even the fact we lost on Sunday did not detract from the greatness of Baker. Friday we spanked Los Tigres and Baby Jesus got a Grand Slam. However, it did take a barter with the Baseball Gods that if Baby Jesus got some runs in I would cease to mock him being the Hometown Hero for the rest of the roadtrip. So, thanks a lot Baby Jesus.

Baseball Blogging Meet-n-Greet
Saturday a few of the local baseball bloggers met at the Park Tavern to watch the game. I decided to crash the party in order to watch the game with knowledgeable fans. Some of my favorite blogs that I read were represented at the event.

All-Star Rant
I know, I know. It has all been said already and my fellow cubicle-dwellers are sick of me bitching but… What the hell happened? Santana, Morneausey and Hunter are representing the Twins for the AL team but they were not picked by fans. Risa at Curlz and Curveballs (http://www.curlzandcurveballs.blogspot.com/) pretty much covered my rant but I am going to re-state it anyways. Ortiz as first baseman? Why is the DH put at first base? To Amy’s point, that is one of the toughest spots of the field. He has played that position like five times this season. Do the fans not realize that this is still a baseball game? That if they want the American League to win they should vote for a great player? Hey, I know. Why don’t we put the reigning AL MVP, who happens to be a first baseman at the spot? Uh, no thanks, lets put the guy who hits a lot of homeruns but isn’t a defense player. Thanks fans. Okay, before I get too ghetto and take out my hoop earrings I am going to move on.

Yankees or Bust
I have come to the conclusion that the reason the Yankees are a lot of peoples arch-nemesis is not because of the players but mostly because of the media and maybe Steinbrenner. They are America’s team. Even my friends in Tromso, Norway ask for Yankees t-shirts (they had also wanted the “My Governor can beat up your governor” t-shirts when Jesse Ventura was elected.) Anyways, we are starting a four-game stand at Yankee Stadium with Clemens the first pitcher we face. I feel a little tension going into this game and I believe it is affecting my work. All I want to do is read, compare, study, and analyze the stats. I guess we’ll see what happens in the real world of baseball tonight at 6:05 p.m. I may have to leave my happy hour early in order to catch the game. Man, my friends are totally going to mock me.

Randomly random
By the way, anyone else getting nervous about baseball ending too soon?
It is officially half way through the season now and I have been remembering what late October felt like. November, December, January, February and part of March were dull, boring and slightly depressing.

How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Sonnets from the Portuguese, XLIII

So many points and yet still two losses

Things could be worse. Suppose your errors were counted and published every day, like those of a baseball player. ~Author Unknown

Ah, here it is a lovely and warm Monday morning. Forget for a moment the start of another long week. Instead, let’s focus on this weekend’s baseball excitement. There was a lot that happened so I am going to be brief in my recap:

Amy and I went to the game on Friday, both sporting our Santana #57 t-shirts. Alas, the power of Cotton/Poly-cotton blend would be no match for Maroth and the Tigers.
· I had my beer, my brat and my helmet sundae in hopes that tradition would power our bats.
· I used my high-powered Binoculars (‘Nocs) to watch the game from the cheap seats. I also used them to find Bruce who had seats across from me in the dome (he was left field and I was center field.) In a girly way (the Lipgloss portion of this blog) we used them to get a better look at our favorite players.
· Very trashy people sitting in front of us, a mom and her two teenage daughters. I was distracted from the game during a classic Mother/Daughter fight over a cell phone. Normally I would end this bullet point with a comment about them being from Norwood-Young America or Anoka but I will refrain from making fun of those particular suburbs.
· Bruce (co-worker who attended only his second baseball game) doesn’t know shit about baseball. That’s okay, he asked questions and now hopefully learned from the experience that he is supposed to cheer for the Minnesota Twins even though he likes Detroit’s uniforms better (Orange is the new Black.)
· Losing sucks.

Saturday, due to conflicts, I only caught the last inning of the game but was saddened to see we were losing 8 to 2.

I waited all day Sunday for the very special Mother’s Day/Pink Bats/ESPN Broadcast game to start. I had my beer and was on the sofa trying to get Lucy to say Baseball and Morneausey. (Note: Every time I said “Morneausey” she would point at her nose and go “Nose”.) What a game! There was one point in the second inning that I almost felt bad for the rookie Detroit pitcher, not bad enough to wish our guys would stop swinging the bats. 16 to 4, a nice way to showcase ourselves on National television. For the record, I would rather we spread the points around and win more games by a small margin than less games by 12 points. Know what I mean?

Ponson is gone. The reassigned him away from the Dome, away from where he struggled, away from where he choked. Now the question is…who do we bring up? Garza or Baker?

I am going to the game and I am going to clap well!

With those who don't give a damn about baseball, I can only sympathize. I do not resent them. I am even willing to concede that many of them are physically clean, good to their mothers and in favor of world peace. But while the game is on, I can't think of anything to say to them. ~Art Hill

I am going to the game tonight. I am going to watch Santana find his groove and piss the batters off. I am going to make polite comments about the Tigers since I still respect them as a team. I will do that until September and the rankings start closing in, then it is every man for himself. I am going to drink beer and eat a helmet sundae. I am going to use my high-powered ‘nocs (binoculars) to watch people in the crowd. I am going to miss Baby Jesus in the line-up because I wanted to make an inappropriate comment about him being considered one of America’s Most Eligible Bachelors (click here for complete article.) I am going to keep score the correct way, unless something exciting happens and I miss an inning. Finally, I am going to enjoy the first Jen & Amy solo-game extravaganza of 2007!!!

Go Twins!!!