I loved you from the start/’cause Christmas ain’t the time/for breaking each other’s heart

I believe it is time to discuss salary caps
“A-rod set another record for baseball’s highest contract, finalizing his $275 million, 10-year agreement with the Yankees.” Are you kidding me? 275 million real-world-dollars? When I read that I think I threw up in my mouth a little. Ah, my friends, this baseball loving, trash talking gal is a little bitter/peeved about this kind of stuff.

The Mitchell Reports
Wow, the names are really stacking up. Tejada, Clemens, Knoblauch, Pettitte, David Justice are just a few early leaks. I guess we’ll see the entire list at 1:00 p.m. CT.

Ouch.
Last night I stayed out way too late drinking and socializing with my fellow cubicle dwellers. My head hurts. My eyes burn. My throat is sore. Hell, even my hair hurts. In my Land O’Cubicles we have a rule that if you can go out on a work night and whoop-it-up than you better damn well pay the piper the next day and drag your sorry ass to the office. Well, this morning we all made it in but no one is looking very well-off. In fact, one of us (not naming names) is a little green and sensitive to loud noises. Hmm…I wonder if it is cruel that I keep calling his desk phone and giggling when it rings shrilly. Eh, such is life.

Video Advent Calendar – 12 Days Until Christmas
Who doesn’t love the Ramones!!! When I found my favorite cake Punk band had a Christmas video, well, I had to put it on my countdown.

The Ramones – Merry Christmas Baby

"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!!!

Home Opener: Minnesota Twins, 7 vs. Baltimore Orioles, 4

TWINS WIN 7-4!!!
There were threats of cold weather and rain but I knew the baseball Gods wouldn’t let it rain on Home Opener!!! Although our game is hosted under the World’s Ugliest Dome (Metrodome) and the dome is covered, who wants it to rain on baseball’s greatest day? Peeks of sun and mild temperatures confirmed that the baseball Gods had my back!

Here is my recap:
· My Home Opener posse: Gregg “Al Franken”, Geoff, Patrick, Amy and Foley.
· Pre-game happy hour was at Matty B’s bar (owned by MN Viking, Matt Birk). We got to see Matt Birk live and in person. He is actually kind of hunky! I was going to wave him over for a photo with the guys but they totally freaked out on me. I wish I captured the look of utter embarrassment on their faces. You would think they were teenage girls and I was the mom waving over a Backstreet Boy and embarrassing them. Sheesh!
· I consumed two beers, one Mike’s Hard Lemonade, one Brat, and one Giant Pretzel.
· Our seats were kind of crappy due to the fact people were walking up and down during the entire game, instead of observing standard baseball etiquette. See below for rant.
· Back to back homeruns by Morneausey and Torii Hunter. Lots of screaming and High-Fiving!
· Gregg hates: signs, the wave, fans that throw back the opposing team’s homerun ball (which I kind of agree with but I wouldn’t want to get beat up so I would follow the tradition) and fans running on the field.
· I like: to make fun of Gregg, doing the wave to piss Gregg off and when the stupid fan streaks the field and gets tackled by security. Yeah!!!

Noteworthy:
· I am going to miss most of the game tonight due to my volunteer job! Damn me for being a “giver”! I will try to catch the end of the game on the car radio.
· Wednesday night you will find me at the Park Tavern watching the game, eating chicken wings, drinking beer and cheering the Twins with Amy. Stop on by!
· I wore my Santana t-shirt with a black cardigan, jeans and black shoes. I neglected to bring my Giant Foam Finger but I will remember it next time! Hey, my blog is called Lipgloss & Baseball!
· I will post photos once I load them on my computer.

Pitching Preview:
· Monday, April 2 (HOME OPENER) vs. Baltimore Orioles – Johan “2x Cy Young" Santana
· Tuesday, April 3 vs. Baltimore Orioles – Boof Bonser
· Wednesday, April 4 vs. Baltimore Orioles – Ramon Ortiz
· Friday, April 3 at Chicago Whitesox – Carlos Silva pitching – eek!
· Saturday, April 7 at Chicago Whitesox – Sidney Ponson

What happened around the leagues on Opening Day?
AL
MIN, 7 vs. BAL, 4
NYY, 9 vs. TB, 5
TOR, 5 vs. DET, 3
CLE, 12 vs. CWS, 5
KC, 7, vs. BOS, 1
SEA, 4 vs. OAK, 0
LAA, 4 vs. TEX, 1

NL
ATL, 5 vs. PHI, 3
FLA, 9 vs. WSH, 2
MIL, 7 vs. LAD, 1
CIN, 5 vs. CHC, 1
ARI, 8 vs. COL, 6
PIT, 4 vs. HOU, 2