107 thoughts on “August 1, 2012: Fitting End”

  1. So, a different former Twin burns the hometown nine. Ugh.

    I don't recall Gardy ever playing for the Twins...

  2. AJ Pierzynski wears dentures in his buttocks so you can see him grin when he farts in your general direction.

    1. I'm happy to know that TR was willing to listen to trade offers for those three (Span, Mountie, Hammer). I'm even happier to think that the Twins didn't move yesterday because he didn't undervalue them or overreact to the current season. Now I'm just hoping that he has a clear vision for how to ensure that the quality players on the roster, currently in their prime of their careers, are playing on a competative team in 2013 and beyond.

    1. he writes the same post on his anniversary every year. I'm getting tired of hearing about the Minnesota Daily. I think an about 20 years, they'll have rejected his application 74 times while pouring sugar in his gas tank.

      1. I never once wrote for a school newspaper and got a math education degree in college. However, after college I got a job at a small newspaper taking calls from coaches with results form sporting events. That led to occasionally covering high school sports as a freelance writer for the paper, which led to a sports editor job at a tiny newspaper (I was the only full-timer in the Sports department with one part-time writer and a couple freelancers). That led to a sports writer position at a bigger (but still small) newspaper, which led to a sports copy editor position at a large newspaper, which led to a short-lived baseball column and getting laid off nine years later. I do still freelance and I would recommend going that way if you want to be a sports writer. Contact a newspaper near you before prep football starts if you know enough about the sport to take decent offensive stats and write coherently about it. That's the best way to break in.

      2. I love Gleeman. Listen to his podcasts, agree with most of what he has to say. But his blog is not what it once was.

        1. I usually agree with him, too, and he's got a pretty good radio personality (a 100X better than the Geek, who would fit right in on the KFAN morning show). But yeah his blog just isn't that fun to go to anymore. In general, it's either complaints about the Twins front office or links to celebrities he jerks off to.

          1. I will also agree with this 100x. For a while, he would cross-post his AG stuff on HBT but now it seems it's all HBT, no doubt because his posts cover a wider variety of teams now. His blog jumped the shark when he started at HBT.

            1. Twitter also made a large portion of his blogging irrelevant, and made him (and a large number of other bloggers of the like) lazy when it comes to actually pounding out an article.

              I still like his posts (though I disagree with him on the trade deadline), and he's a great example of sticking with the new media and making it work out.

              1. I would be happy with him not discussing current news on his blog at all anymore, because HBT is kept pretty well updated with that stuff.

                Finishing his Twins Top 40 is something I'd look forward to.

          2. links to celebrities he jerks off to

            This is actually the main reason I stopped reading him. I was able to ignore it at first, but he just seems so insistent on demonstrating that he has a libido that it just became too creepy. And honestly, as your visibility within the press increases, wouldn't it be a good idea for you to stop alienating potential female readers with constant objectification of women? "Official Fantasy Girl?" Give me a break.

              1. I'm sorry Padre, but I'm not sure I understand this. Of course it's his blog and he's doing it for free and he can do whatever he wants with it, but I don't think that makes him immune to criticism. All I was saying was that I stopped reading it because I found it sleazy.

                  1. Yeah, I was just trying to make a funny. I haven't read Gleeman's blog in some time, either. Don't mind me. Nothing to see here.

            2. not to mention potential female suitors. Now that he's lost 200 pounds and looks good (and being put on a dating game), you'd think he'd reel it back.

              It reminds me when KFAN does this babe tournament where they spend hours discussing where different celebrities rank as far as hotness. Some of these guys have wives. Never blame a man for his fantasies, but to loudly objectify women on the radio is pretty disgusting (and sometimes they'll do it face to face with female guests).

              1. Heh, that's a good point as well. He's an eligible bachelor now, he should be playing up the charm not the chauvinism!

                But seriously, he's now the go-to baseball blogger in the Twins market, and is courting a national audience with his role at THT. And with his rags-to-riches success story he's someone that kids all over can look to as an inspiration if they are hoping to get into sports journalism. If a young girl is interested in writing about baseball and finds his site as an example of how to go about things, what will she think when she finds him constantly writing about hot celebrities?

                One of his most recent links: "Eight years, one marriage, and two children later former Official Fantasy Girl of AG.com Jessica Alba is still getting the job done."

                Getting the job done? The job of looking good in a bikini? That's not just crass pandering, that's using misogynistic language to boot. This sort of old-boy's-club sexism has always been prevalent in sports journalism, but it's especially discouraging to see it coming from one of the rising stars of the new media.

                I'm sorry to go off on a tangent and to potentially broach the forbidden zone, but this kind of thing really bothers me.

                2. I will add that I have a lot of respect for Gleeman, he is a talented writer and he is clearly a great baseball mind. And he was a really nice guy the one time I met him. But if he wants to write about girls in the way that he clearly enjoys doing, he should start a separate site for that instead of sexing up his Twins blog in degrading ways.

                  1. I've had a couple of online interactions with Gleeman - and have good friends with similar experiences - that were less than pleasant. But when I met him in person he was very nice, and quite enjoyable. It might have been DPWY who said in response to this experience that "everyone's an asshole on the internet." So I'm willing to give Gleeman a break on that stuff.

                    But the mixing of baseball and objectification of women is certainly something I see as a problem he could easily correct.

          3. I do think his future is in radio. How much fun would it be for him to get on KSTP and have a certain balding, late 40s hack on as a guest?

      3. Here's what he wrote in 2011, 2010, didn't see anything for 2009, and 2008. The Daily isn't mentioned specifically, but "college newspaper" appears twice as a simple comment that he wasn't hired.

        2. I actually like hearing the Minnesot Daily story repeated. I think part of him is still amazed that he has gotten such a big audience when you consider the considerable odds against him.

          I also think it is a good illustration that there are plenty of inefficiencies in both college and the job market. Luckily for Aaron, technology allowed him to follow his dreams and show people what he is capable of doing. While most of the mainstream is stuck reading Souhan.

          1. I think the part of him that is amazed he has gotten a big audience is pretty much all of him. At SABR he seemed really uncomfortable when I mentioned reading him, but when we were just a bunch of baseball nerds talking the game he seemed very at home.

            1. He made the rare comment when we were in SBG's basement and wrote a paragraph when it closed. I don't think he realized that we moved.

                    2. i've been trying to recruit a couple people (you know who you are if you're lurking!)...

  6. Stopped by the local card shop at lunch today to pay for some trade bait and ask how the owner's trip to Target Field went. He had glowing praise for his visit, and gave it a #1 rating (of the stadii he's been to) for the historic trappings around the outside of the park: the statues, pennants, baseball card wall, team shop, etc. He enjoyed the inside of the park as well.

    He stopped at Sneaky Pete's for a post-game drink, and I had to explain to him who Wally the Beer Man is. Of course, having gone to Sunday and Monday's games, he's now seen two more wins there than I have 🙁

  7. What is the takeaway from the mother-in-law scheduling a family dinner at a restaurant owned by your wife's ex-boyfriend? My take is that she is trying to show my wife that there are other avilable men out there if she wants to move back to StL. My wife claims it is to show him what he missed out on.

    I am looking forward to it!

    1. That is a shady move by the MIL. The degree of shadiness I suppose depends on how long ago said proprietor became an ex. If it was HS, eh no biggie, people grow up. If he was the last BF before you, not cool.

      1. And it's not like StL doesn't have many (other) excellent places to eat at.

        Looks like I missed you this time around, Alg...unless you're still around this weekend? I'll be in Rowsdower Territory the next two days

        1. We are heading down this weekend. I will be there through next Wednesday. I might be available Monday or Tuesday evening.

            1. I am pretty sure that I am buying this time! I will let you know which night works better as soon as I know.

    2. If it was my mother-in-law, the take away would be that she had no idea who the owner was. Also, that somehow my wife's ex-boyfriend drastically changed the path of his life.

    4. I would look forward to it being over.

      This is comparable to a time when a woman I was seeing long ago suggested that we go out to eat at a restaurant where another guy she was seeing was working. He ended up waiting on us! Oh yeah, that was fun and also the end of my time with her.

      1. a girl i was seeing came into the restaurant i was working at with her ex-boyfriend that she was still technically living with (which had obviously been a point of contention; we were kind of on a break, but yes, it was a very complex situation). one of many pieces of advice that i learned from that whole affair was never drink whiskey while angry (especially if you don't generally drink whiskey). you’ll just end up with someone else later that night and still date for a couple of tumultuous months.

  8. In the last twenty minutes or so, I saw two fire trucks race past my window heading east, and then two fire trucks race past my window heading west. I don't know if there are two fires or if they just went in the wrong direction the first time.

    1. And now two more fire trucks head west. I didn't even know Gettysburg had that many fire trucks.

    2. From what my sister and BIL tell me (she's a volunteer EMT and they're both volunteer firefighters), going to the wrong spot at first happens more than you think. My sister usually blames it on bad direction from dispatch.

      1. Done. Luckily Louisiana uses a GovernmentJobs.com platform, so everything was already entered from a previous application elsewhere. Applying for loads of jobs sucks, but at least this one only took me 15 minutes.

        2. You probably need to grease a palm or have a brother-in-law or cousin to get you in the door, Magoo. Chicago's got nothing on Loozyanna.

            1. I was also employed by the city of Albuquerque which everyone told me would never happen because I didn't know anyone inside.

      1. I figured NBC would show a day or two and then onto another event. I was wrong. I mean, I get the artistry and the hard work and all that jazz. But, there is no action to it. snooooze.

        1. I mentioned it the other day, and every day to my wife, but I get nothing from synchro diving that I don't get from regular diving.

  11. something I have noticed while watching swimming, some of the swimmers seem to drink some of the pool water before they take their marks. Am I wrong?

      1. Kids asked me about that. Swimming was the only sport I did til I failed at golf as a H.S. Sr. It was only a club sport, but I was good as an 8yo, but just never really improved while the rest of my peers did. Backstroke sprints were my best, although I hated the stroke. I still did backstroke for my club's medley relay team as a 13-14 yo. I set us back by a decent amount, but then my teammates (who were good) would catch up. Our Butterflyer was like the only kid we'd seen who really understood that stroke, so by our freestyle anchor, we were basically caught up.

        My thought is "whatever the heck one's ritual is to get ready to swim."

  12. Today I received an e-mail from a printshop in la. This same printshop made an overture to hire me this summer, but I didn't hear anything from them. The master printer mentioned that things are swamped, and that he's leaving soon for Europe...

    I've just finished my second day of work, and I can say with certainty that the commute is brutal. Dr. Chop told me that I should actively consider the la printing gig. I'm extremely thankful for my partner in crime.

      1. Santa Monica blvd kind of la. The amount of time I'm currently seeing dr.chop with the commute factored in probably won't change much if we're flying out each weekend. Plus I get to print some pretty awesome art....

        1. I mapped that commute of yours after reading about it...brutal. Good luck with the printshop overtures.

  13. Been a full day, went to Fort Snelling this morning for my Dad's interment with full military honors, then stopped at the Spam(!) Museum on the way back this afternoon. Spending the night in Albert Lea watching the Olympics at the hotel. Back to the big O in the morning to pick up the dogs and try and catch up from the last three days.

    1. I don't envy your drive. There is no good way to get to Omaha from this neck of the woods. You doing 90-29, 30-80, or some combination of lesser highways?

      1. We go I-35 take a right in Des Moines than I-80 to home. Incredible boring drive, especially when you've done it as much as we have.

        2. Yup, I did that 35/80 drive (well I was a passenger) about 5 times a year growing up. About a decade ago, I discovered that the 169/60/29 drive was way better (except for the stench of Windom).

            1. Eh, I've never once been stopped on that stretch and I usually go 74 the whole way. I made it from my driveway to my grandparents' driveway in 5:36 a few years ago even with a stop for gas/lunch.

                2. I couldn't chime in until well after the convo ended last week, but, yeah, St. Peter cops.
                  My mom worked for Alumacraft there for a while, commuting from NU. She quit after a speeding ticket that was not her first since she started the job. My mom does not drive fast.

                  My only ticket was in St. Peter. They really enforce exactly where the limit on SB 169 drops to 35. I was still at 48 when he clocked me, but probably 35 when I noticed him and I had basically pulled myself over before he turned his lights on, once I saw him whip a U-turn. Also, gave me like three fixit tickets.

                  I was a passenger in another vehicle pulled over in town.

                  1. I grew up there and was stopped no less than 20 times between the ages 16 and 18, but not once was I cited. Those dudes are really, really bored.

          2. My parents live on 169, so getting to 35 is 45 minutes in the wrong direction. I've taken a few different combinations, but 169-20-173-30-29-680 works pretty well. for the most part.

            2. 169 north of the Cities to Grand Rapids...I've been on that road about a billion times.

    2. Albert Who??

      Dude, you should have continued down Spamtown Main Street and stopped at George's Pizza for dinner. Tell Kevin (the owner) that a friend of Dean sent you and recommended the Gondola "Noblest Sandwich of Them All" while you are waiting for your pizzas. I also highly recommend the sausage pizza and the kosher salami.

      2. This reminds me... wasn't there supposed to be some sort of Matt Novak Rat Piss brewed at some point (or something along those lines...).

      3. Yeah, that'd be cool. I got a couple brews I can send if you can be a little patient on one. (just bottled last night)

  15. Remember when the Russians beat GB and our boyos went nuts? Well, yeah, consider the competition, said everyone.

    Today: Spain 79, GB 78.

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