Per yesterday's discussion, this probably isn't the most logical date on which to celebrate our independence, but that still doesn't change the fact that there will be a lot of driving drunks out there. Stay alert, as always.
90 thoughts on “July 4, 2012: Independence”
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Many fans feel Mauer should have won the 2006 MVP when he had a 144 OPS+. He currently has a 145 OPS+.
the difference is that the 2006 team was competitive and then won a bunch of games after the acquisition of Shannon Stewart, while this year's team is pretty terrible (although playing better baseball since late May)
You're thinking 2003. 2006 was Liriano's rookie year. Morneau won the MVP.
you are right. Im getting all my 'Twins go to the playoffs' years all mixed up!
Mauer wasn't even the best player on the team in 2006.
We are having our third annual July 4th party in the backyard. Our deck furniture has cushions that absorb a lot of moisture. It is raining. Luckily, I was awake and heard the thunder, so all of the cushions are stacked up in our kitchen right now. And damn, is it sultry out there.
Here's a post on my Facebook wall from 12:30am last night:
Normally, I would have guessed alcohol had been involved, but the poster was my 14 year-old cousin. I hope that's not the case.
One too many Mtn Dews? I've been there at that age: glad there was no fb to document my life at that age for all to see.
glad there was no fb to document my life at that age for all to see.
oh, god, yes.
(technicality: i was actually a BBS nerd at that age, but hopefully those hard drives in their parents' basements are long gone)
Wow, I've never met anyone who had heard of Boom Boom Satellites before me, but you were an actual "BBS nerd"!
I am definitely thrilled that there was no Facebook when I was young. I would have wiped four or five accounts, I'm sure.
Funny. My 14 year-old cousin had a post that said "Way to go CERN!"
He's a Godparticle-squadder?
So, cool. If you are too pissed to drive in Michigan, the urinal well tell you so.
I'll bet they are.
Happy Independence Day, you guys.
Seen on the Book of Face. I'm thinking that this is the sort of material that might be ripe for, umm, modification for use around here.
With the Wolves off-season whiteout, the equality part might not work so well. (at least until the s&t for Batum)
Here's another one:
That is awesome, socal.
that is awesome!
Here's the link.
h/t to the frightwig for the link: Hombrewers Association list of best beers in America
the list shows a pretty severe West Coast bias. That's not to say that such a bias is undeserved, because we have awesome beer out here. But five Sierra Nevada brews in the top 20?
I do appreciate the love shown for Bell's Two-Hearted Ale, however.
Mmmmmmmm, bells.
I was down near Chicago for a class with a co-worker a couple weeks ago. Went to a place with a pretty good tap list because he was inexperienced with beer. The Two Hearted an 90 Minute were revelations.
But yeah, the lack of Dancing Man Wheat from New Glarus invalidates this list.
Probably tough for brewers like Surly and New Glarus with one-state distribution to score highly.
Bah, that's just splitting hairs. Plus, it wouldn't truly be a best of list without someone complaining their favorite thing wasn't on it.
sports has East Coast Bias, beer has West Coast Bias?
Peak Organic, Southern Tier, and Cap'n Lawrence also missing. Left coast bias! Widmer Bros (Portland OR). should also be on the list IMHO.
I wonder if it is a west-coast bias or a hop bias. A lot of the top 20 look pretty hoppy, and I would guess that west coast beers (due to their proximity to good WA hops) tend to be hoppier than non-west-coast beers.
Probably that. Schell's does a great job with maltier and more historical styles, but any of there beers would seem out of place on that list.
If I were to complain about omissions, I'd say Schell's Maifest, Burton Ale, and Snowstorm 2011 Wee Heavy belong. (And also that Hopslam could be higher, but I've never had a Pliny.)
Schell's is now out with a draft-only (so far) Grapefruit Radler, called "Schell's Schocked".* I'm conflicted: 1) I love Schell's, 2) I abhor fruit beers, 3) I have no clue what a Radler is.
*Might just be "Shocked"
Yeah this list should probably be done regionally or even locally. There's enough good craft beer in Chicago that it could easily get its own list.
I've had probably half of these beers. It's not in the order I would have them in, but there are some pretty damn good beers on this list.
I could only count 35 of the 50 in my favor.
I'm not sure what would keep Ommegang off the list of best breweries. I like Surly, but Ommegang >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Surly. Just sayin'.
I absolutely love Surly, but I've only ever had one single Ommegang (a Hennepin) in my life, and it was one of the best beers I've ever had.
Just got to work...last night apparently brought us the good old rainstorm/dust storm combo. Happy 4th, Phoenix area! Everyone gets to spend their day off washing their muddy cars.
mmm, crawfish. Hopefully, California won't be too far behind in approving harvest in Lake Tahoe. At first glance, this seems like a no-brainer. Tasty, tasty crawfish AND environmental benefits.
Cool story - thanks for the link. When I was much younger, we'd wander down to the Crow River during dam repairs (resulting in low water upstream) and catch bucketfulls of those suckers. Wasn't until I lived in Jacksonville that I realized how good 'mudpuppies' were to eat.
I have never had crawfish before. Its one of my great regrets.
I've had crawfish before, it's one of my great regrets
Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats a crawfish boil in Louisiana during the Spring.
Pinch tail, suck head!!!
Plus andouille.
Mmmmmm, spicy smoked sausage...that's patriotic in my book.
I have never had crawfish before. Its one of my great regrets.
You're always welcome in the crescent city.
If I make my way down there someday, you better believe I'll take you up on that.
The inventory team is blasting the local pop-country station. Patriotic country sure is...straightforward and ham-fisted, ain't it?
country is almost always straightforward. Subtlety is one of the reasons I love Garth. That, and he doesn't spew hate in his music.
Hey! Garth, get it together, man. 'Cause if you hurl, and I catch a whiff of it, man.. I'm gonna spew. And if I blow chunks, chances are someone else is gonna honk, alright? And that's gonna set off a parastolic reaction, alright?
If you can get past "Okie from Muskogee", Merle's got some decent patriotic-ish songs with subtlety and nuance.
Cash, too. Plus probably Kristofferson, Waylon, and Willie, too.
(There should have been a Super-Highwaymen with Merle in the band.)
I see the Wild signed two hockey players today.
If these "Sources" are to be believed, then I couldn't be happier for the franchise and fanbase. An unfortunate truth: Minnesota professional sports team targeting (and landing) high-end free agents really is newsworthy.
awesome!
when do Wild fans start booing Parise because he makes too much money?
Sorry, but I have to.
Fuck. Yeah.
No apology necessary, that was exactly my reaction.
13 year contracts?????
My word.
Yeah, due to how the salary cap works, long contracts are the way to get around it. Provided the Wild don't make it too obvious that is (*cough* Devils and Kovalchuk).
Prime numbers for contracts is a basic protection mechanism, similar to that used by Cicada Magicicada.
The solar cycle holds the patent. Still.
Wow. I might actually want to pay attention to hockey now. It's about time the Wild spent some of that revenue from the X. When's the TV special?
The Twins currently have seven regulars in their lineup (the players B-Ref lists as starting the most games at each position) with a 100 OPS+ or better. The Twins haven't done that since 2002 when they also had seven, although none of them were close to hitting as well as Willingham, Mauer and Plouffe have hit.
does that include the OOPS's for the starting pitching?
does that include the OFFS's for the starting pitching?
fixed
OFFS's? "Oh For [redacted]s Sakes"??
yep. especially for those Blackburn 'starts'.
Oh, he started all right. His trouble was finishing.
Oh, he's finished.
Heh, between the Wild (Parise, Suter), the Twins (Willingham, Plouffe, Diamond), the Timberwolves (Rubio & Love) and even the budding dynasty for the Lynx, suddenly the Vikings seem rather irrelevant. Only the Lynx have actually won anything, but there's a lot to be excited about the future of the Minnesota pro sports scene.
Don't forget that that irrelevant team just got a huge public handout.
Not that any of the other teams can complain.
rejoice!
Blackburn had options left?
also, who the hell is Casey Fien?
Also, who the hell is Casey Fien?
someone who is Nick Blac_burn!
Fien pitched a handful of game for Detroit the last couple of years
Not Blackburn.
Right-handed relief pitcher. Never started as a pro.
Drafted by the Tigers, was with the Astros AA and AAA clubs last year.
Strikes out about a batter per inning, WHIP of about 1.1
Wow, I'm surprised a bit by this. Although it makes sense since not even Gardy could claim he was throwin the ever living fire out of anything.
Nishi no longer Twins' highest paid minor leaguer.
Quite a lot of gold bricks being stacked in Rochester.
It's about time they made the hard (but correct) decisions...feels like they've been willing to let the contract play rather than the performance for quite a while.
that certainly explains Joe Mauer's presence on the roster....
troll. I mean, Maurer makes TO MUCH dough 4 how little catching he duz.*
*You guys are impressive...that's harder than I thought it would be.
I believe he makes WHEY TO MUCH dough.
It rained harder here for a three-hour span this morning and afternoon than I've seen in years. Suddenly, all the cars in the valley are clean.
It was fun, and bizarre. The best part was when all the natives complained of the mugginess, which I of course didn't notice.
I love to entertain the natives here with horror stories about Minnesota weather. They just can't comprehend going months without seeing the ground. Or being so humid your sweat literally will not evaporate.
Yep. -46F with -105F windchill is an attention-getter.
Thankfully at least with our heat wave this summer we haven't had the typical humidity we normally have. Yet.
Today will forever be known as the day that Michael Beasley agreed to terms of a deal with the Phoenix Suns-- Or as I like to call it, Independence Day.
Car update. So I spent $600 yesterday on a new cat, plugs, O2 sensor, and oil change. This afternoon, I rolled out of my driveway to discover that my clutch did not work.
I did some swearing, then to teh Interwebz. Apparently this car has crappy plastic bushings on the rods (shift cables) that connect to the stick. One broke. I pulled the center console and confirmed. Then fastened the cable (ball into a ball joint) to the connector with zip ties. w00t. I can drive.