I’ve been through a desert on a horse with no name / It felt good to be out of the rain

Well, it is very quiet in regard to real baseball news. All the rest is off season injuries and possible trades (some of them very far fetching and disheartening…A-Rod to Mets for example) and free-agents (Silva, Lohse and Hernandez declared by starters on the market.)

Real baseball news:
* Francisco “F-Bomb” Liriano is done with rehab and getting ready for Spring Training. Twins fans breathe sigh of relief.

* Torii Hunter won his seventh consecutive Gold Glove award and Santana rightfully got his first.

Non-baseball:
Next week I will be venturing to Vegas with my Aunt K, Stacy and Lucy (who has to be the smartest damn kid in the world) for a week of Sin City. Now, before you start thinking “How fun can it be in Vegas with a toddler” let me just explain we’ll be road tripping outside of the strip and into the desert. You heard it here first folks…this city girl will be at the mercy of the desert. Anyone else have America’s “Horse with No Name” song stuck in their head? Anyways, if you don’t hear from me in two weeks I am probably stranded in the desert trying to ration the hidden bottles of water and power bars I snuck in the trunk. Think Lord of the Flies but with less wild pig hunting.
Ralph: Someone has to stay behind. Piggy…
Jack: [interrupts] Sure, protect Piggy like you always do.
Ralph: Don’t be stupid. What can he do with just one eye?

Creepy…

This indecisions bugging me/Esta undecision me molesta/If you don't want me, set me free/Si no me quieres, librame

Keepers, throw-aways and sinkers
The local news channels were all a-buzz with the “Torii Hunter Files for Free Agency” topic this morning. Fifteen days.
To quote one of my favorite bands (with a little tweaking) “Should he stay or should he go now?/Should he stay or should he go now?/If he goes there will be trouble?/And if he stays it may be double/So come on and let me know/Should he stay or should he go?”

It looks like Silva may be on the market also. It should be interesting to see what happens with that development.

Joe “Twitch ‘n Pitch” Nathan has been signed for six million dollars for 2008. Good news there.

The Anti-Christ in my office is all over the “Let Torii Go” and “Fight to Keep Silva” bandwagon this morning. This is an age old argument amongst the Land O’Cubicles and always ends with me calling him an “Ass Clown.” Well, yes, he is an Ass Clown but this is for a specific reason. He thinks the only reason I want Hunter to stay is because he’s cute and the only reason I want Silva to leave is because he’s not cute. Puh-lease (rolling my eyes like a teenager.) If I wanted to spend game time swooning over hotties I would turn on the fucking WB channel, not go to a baseball game. See, it is a fine line between being a baseball fan and being accused of only watching the sport for the hunks. Ass clown.

Here are some other free agents on the shelf:
Eckstein, Bonds, Colon, Andruw Jones, Rowand, Posada, Rivera, Green, Lo Duca. Oh, and God forbid we forget A-Rod.

Non-baseball
Did you know…?

Anoka, Minnesota is the Halloween capital of the world?
Yeah, I happen to call it the Crystal Meth capital of Minnesota but eh…poe-tay-toes, poh-tah-toes. (No offense meant to those who live in the Halloween Capital of the World unless you happen to "cooks the Meth.")

I leave for Vegas in two weeks!
Holy crap! Where did time go? On November 12 I will be hurtling through the sky in a tin machine with Stacy, Lucy and Aunt K. Destination – Vegas Baby! Whilst most people go to Vegas for gambling and ramble-rousing I will be napping, sunning and shopping. Oh, and we will rent a car to hit the desert for some exploring. No snakes, no aliens and no homicidal maniacs need apply.

I won’t be handing out candy in the ‘hood this year!I was invited to attend this play “Cherry Docs” instead. I will gladly pass up on handing out candy to the thugs who don’t even bother to put costumes on. I will gladly skip the worry that each person at my door is going to shove their way in and steal my valuables (iPod, Sidekick, ect.) I will gladly forgo the fear that someone is casing the joint. Now, I wonder if Kris will laugh when I run to and from the car so I don’t get scared by the shadows. Damn Halloween, it isn’t as fun when you are an OCD Freak.

Swear count: 5

What if no one's watching/What if when we're dead, we're just dead

What if it's just us down here/What if God ain't looking down/What if he's looking up instead - What If No One's Watching, Ani DiFranco

I know there is no crying in baseball but watching Torii leaving the field in the 9th to a standing ovation…I cried. Stacy Cried. Curlz (Risa) sent me a text that she was crying. Man, baseball is tough.

I missed a lot of the games due to circumstances outside of my control (social life) but I did catch what I could.
Friday, 9/21: L 4-6 (missed to due Ani DiFranco)
Saturday, 9/22: L 3-8 (missed due to the live action production of My Little Pony’s World’s Largest Freak show/Tea Party)
Sunday, 9/23: W 7-1 (watched whilst dozing on sofa)

Tonight Hi Ho Silva takes the mound. It isn’t a secret that I have been anti-Silva most of this season but I always reserve judgment one more game…so we’ll see how he does tonight.

Seven games left.

When you’re applauding your fine mind / Darker corners come to shine

The quality control I run / The filters that I sue / What I’ve forgotten…is now forgotten
It’s Our Job – Sondre Lerche

So, Amy and I have this baseball relationship. Now, before you go “oh, girl talk” and skip on to another blog (maybe one filled with more stats) let me explain. We have this type of relationship where we know we are always aware of the game if it is on. Whether we are at dinner, the bar (mostly in my case), driving in the car or sitting at home in front of the television we are always available to chat on the phone about the game. Last night was a great example. At Torii’s Grand Slam I dialed her number. She didn’t even say hello she just went right into baseball talk. It is like we were at the game drinking beer and shelling peanuts. We don’t need greetings, niceties or cordial exchanges. We need baseball talk.

Moving on to less sappy but no less important topics
* Torii hit a Grand Slam. It was bound to happen. The Mariners tempted fate when they walked Baby Jesus to load the bases and get to Hunter not once but twice. Come on, we all know that pumps Torii up. (Let alone if you add in the drama with the home plate ump and an eeeejected Gardy.)
* Rondell White hit his first homerun of the season and Tommy Watkins got his first hit in the Majors.
* Come on Blue! What’s your deal? So what if Morneausey is channeling Bad Ass these days, all talking back to Umps and stuff. So what if Cuddy nailed the coffin door closed (even though no one knows what was really said) and exchanged some words with you after his swinging strike out. Those were totally old school playground antics happening at home plate. I kind of liked it.
* If I have to read one more article, blurb or quote about how Torii is using reverse psychology by saying “We stink” I am going to scream. I can just envision new t-shirts with that saying on them. Please note: I would probably buy one though, because I love that kind of stuff.

News You Probably Can’t Use
Twins sent Raymoan Ortiz to Colorado. So long, you seemed like such a nice guy…unlike that greasy Sidney Ponson. That is totally something my Grams would say.