126 thoughts on “January 4, 2013: Airball”

  1. One thing I've learned about marriage is to just say your wrong right off the bat. It saves a lot of time.

        1. That's all right. I was faced with a dilemma there. I had to go for the joke, but correct the mistake or not? That was the question.

          1. Oh, no problem. I didn't think you were calling me out or anything. I'm just annoyed at myself to make a dumb mistake like that when I know better.

              1. Nice. Shot. Only two words about the game you will hear from me to my wife on a golf course.

      1. My wife attributes my ability to win arguments to my training as a lawyer. I maintain that I win because of the following: (a) if I think I might not be right, I don't fight and (b) see (a).

          1. I think my strategy is a good one. If you think you might be wrong, never start a fight or if the fight is brought to you, don't fight hard. This leads to fewer fights, because hopefully the spouse will see good faith on your part.

            Okay, I'm full of shit.

            1. The biggest reason I never win is because she's stubborn enough to outlast me regardless of what I say. The immovable object approach. Whether I'm right or wrong has little bearing on things, so I've taken a modified approach, and (a) I only fight if I have something important I want to say and (b) I limit myself to that single point, and will give on everything else.

              But basically, we almost never fight (anymore). The first couple years of marriage we definitely worked through some stuff. It occasionally comes up still, but very rarely. Now we only get into arguments when we're both exhausted or extremely stressed, and even then it's unusual.

              1. We argue very rarely as well. It happened more often when we were living paycheck to paycheck (and balls-deep in debt), but these days, after we end an argument, one of us inevitably mentions that our arguments would probably run more smoothly if only we had more of them.

              2. Reminds me of this piece of commentary from the Monty Python and the Holy Grail soundtrack:

                ...
                However, my wife does not understand this necessary limitation of the conversion of a proposition; consequently, she does not understand me. For how can a woman expect to appreciate a professor of logic, if the simplest cloth-eared syllogism causes her to flounder.

                For example, given the premise, "all fish live underwater" and "all mackerel are fish", my wife will conclude, not that "all mackerel live underwater", but that "if she buys kippers it will not rain", or that "trout live in trees", or even that "I do not love her any more." This she calls "using her intuition". I call it "crap", and it gets me very irritated because it is not logical.
                ...

        2. Wow, I've had to say that exact thing. I point out to her occasionally that I don't argue to win arguments, I argue because I'm right about something. She can't really relate. She'll argue whatever's in front of her as long as she can avoid admitting wrongdoing for a little while longer.

          I can always immediately admit when I've done something wrong, so this fault of hers causes a little tension. Granted, I do wrong more often than she does, so it's more essential for me to have that quality than it is for her to, I suppose.

          1. I can always immediately admit when I've done something wrong,

            This made me laugh.

            Dude: either (a) turn in your mancard or (b) turn in your Citizenship. Because you are full of it. 🙂

              2. I promise not to search the archives for arguments involving you. 🙂

                *kettle calls pot black*

                  1. And anyway, I'm talking about my relationship with my wife. Although the internet gives me a chance to censor myself, I rarely utilize it. Meanwhile, censoring myself is much more difficult in a heated conversation with my wife, but I've learned to do it anyway. Self-preservation, you know.

                    1. Meanwhile, censoring myself is much more difficult in a heated conversation with my wife, but I've learned to do it anyway. Self-preservation, you know.

                      I'm still only getting there [learning to censor myself]. Also, the truth of your last sentence is becoming more and more apparent the longer we're married.

              3. I hope one day I can use the term "used to" in terms of my terribleness at not being able to easily admit to being wrong. We would fight much less, I think, if we were both less stubborn, which is no huge revelation to anyone who has ever been in a relationship ever.

                1. Over the last few years, we've gotten a lot better at figuring out whether what we're about to fight about is actually worth it. We're still pretty stubborn, me especially, but 'agree to disagree' is a bigger part of the lexicon now, which is huge.

            2. (b) turn in your Citizenship. Because you are full of it.

              I tho't that was a condition of Citizenship. Or at least half full of it.

        3. One of the reasons Sheenie was always encouraging me to go to law school was because she has never defeated me in an argument. My dirty little secret is the Bossman's (a).

          1. I never win arguments with my wife. Scratch that, I never feel like I've won an argument. Even if I'm right, she just stops responding and I come away frustrated. Another facet is that I'm a talker and "feelings sharer"...she is most definitely not. Our arguments usually end up with me monopolizing the discussion and her eventually clamming up.

            One other thing is, I actually think I start most fights. She'll say something and I feel like she's trying to pick a fight. Most of the time, she isn't...I'm responding to a perceived dig, sarcastic or passive aggressive comment (which is usually an incorrect perception) - Years of training in my mother's house.

            1. I'm responding to a perceived dig, sarcastic or passive aggressive comment (which is usually an incorrect perception)

              Whooo boy, I've been there. I keep telling my wife to pay attention to how she says things, which doesn't help any.

              1. Only makes it worse in my experience. My mother taught us the "It's not what you said, it's how you said it." line and that just sets my wife off. According to her,* "She didn't mean what I thought she meant - no innuendo, no hidden meaning, nada...she said what she meant to say and I'm being overly sensitive!"

                *I will say, I do need to learn how to respond to what she said and not what I think she meant by what she said. On the other hand, perhaps after 8 years of marriage, she could learn how to better deal with my insulted response (which starts the fight).

                1. oh, yea, my world totally. That card gets pulled on me all the time. Of course, when I pull that card, I get it thrown back in my face.

                  There is no "winning" in spousal arguments.

                    1. Fortunately, I've never had a fight ruin the next day save for one time, and even then that fact has certainly helped us avoid a repeat of it.

                      I'm of the persuasion where I will just keep beating the issue into the ground until I've worked through it.

                    2. It's usually a little awkward the next morning, but we've never gone to bed without resolving a fight. That seems to reduce the next day tensions.

                    3. My frequent strategy is to bite my tongue at perceived or actual slights, and find an excuse to go to the grocery store, so that I can yell "F*** Y***" repeatedly in the car, with the windows closed, where nobody can hear me. I'm usually calmed down by the time I get to the store.

                      Mature, I know.

                    5. Even if it isn't resolved (and no matter how angry I still may be) I always tell her, "Goodnight and I love you" before turning in. You're not guaranteed anything in this life, not even another day, and I don't want the last words we have with each other to be hurtful. Doing so is not always easy, but it makes me stop and evaluate the disagreement with a little more perspective.

                    6. @brianS Instead of going to the store, might I suggest working out at the gym, starting with that intensity. By the end, you'll have washed away that frustration and gotten that workout in!

                      (Not that this has ever happened to me...)

                  2. There is no "winning" in spousal arguments.

                    One of the best parts of this place is that we started the day understanding that this comment is a truism for all a large percentage of the citizenry, but we get to talk about it anyway.

            2. This is pretty much exactly how most of our fights have started. By the time I've realized that I've misjudged something, the blaze is self-fueling.

            3. Dingdingding. This is a fairly accurate summation of how our things go too. Well, I suppose I also say things poorly at times and she infers malicious intent, but usually I've objectively said something poorly when that happens.

      1. We're under wind advisory for gusts up to 50 mph until 6PM tonight. I may make this a yoga day and stay inside.

        Though every time I say "Today is a yoga day" it becomes "Sit on my ass and do nothing".

  3. After reading canishoopus today after last night's win in which Love left the game, I would like to retract any statements I made about Love yesterday and sincerely apologize. I do not want to sound like half the posters over there.

    1. so you are saying you dont want to trade Kevin Love for 2nd round picks and Theo Ratliff's expiring contract?

      1. I am, in fact, saying that.

        Mostly though, after saying it was getting harder to resist complaining about the guy, after reading ch (and seeing those tweets someone posted from zgoda), it became much easier to feel more patient.

        1. I think Love has a certain dickishness to him that say, Joe Mauer doesn't have. That's kind of the complaint about Mauer, right? He's not intense enough? Well, that intensity is a double-edged sword. Right now, he's kind of all off on the wrong direction. I think once he gets cooled down and refocuses his dickishness on trampling the opposition, the Wolves will be fine.

          1. That just makes the current anti-Love landscape even more annoying. I won't go look, but I imagine the same stribbies calling Mauer a pussy for not being "intense" (or whatever) are calling Love a dick for being "intense" (or whatever). Yuck.

    2. There's a difference between being frustrated with him and calling for his head. I think you made it pretty clear where you stood.

      1. SCOTT ULLGER (coach, Minnesota Twins): first time he slid headfirst into the bag, I thought about saying something. But, really, is it a coach's place to say something about that? I don't know.

        2. I sincerely hope he means he isn't sure if he should say something if the manager doesn't, otherwise, what Spooky said.

          1. Oh, man. I should really read links first before I comment about pullout quotes. I got suckered into that one.

    2. "...his shirt all torn up, bare-chested, and starts sliding headfirst into everything. Other players, horses, cases of champagne, Ken Rosenthal." - Nice -

    1. It’s not a difficult job.

      This is usually what I say before embarking on a 30-minute job that takes all day.

      1. Remember when I told AMR that the SBG facebook account was going away? I haven't deleted it yet, but I've morphed. Like!

    1. Caro's works are unbelievably great. I've read all four LBJ books and The Power Broker. They're each monstrous, but incredible. The last LBJ book (The Passage of Power) spanned an extremely well-covered part of US history (the Kennedy Presidency and assassination) but still was remarkably fresh and enlightening.

      1. I'm going to put The Power Broker at the top of the "To Read" list, as soon as I'm done with "Our Band Could be your life" and "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" (I'm just now getting into 1936, but I've made a lot of progress over the last week+ during my snack bar shifts.)

      2. I couldn't agree with Pirate any more. The Power Broker is great. It's around 1000 pages but is a great read. Apparently there was a chapter on the Dodgers leaving Brooklyn cut from the book that I wish Caro would publish in book form or in a magazine.

      3. I seem to remember Caro initially intended to write a three book biography. Four books in and LBJ's not even president yet...

        People like Caro fascinate me. As a historian who works in the same period, I'm pretty sure I'll be citing him in some form or another until my own career is over.

        1. Not true, LBJ was President for the final third of The Passage of Power. He focuses on LBJ's efforts to immediately get JFK's tax bill passed.*

          *Between this book and Lincoln, it was a banner year for covering how laws get made. Of course, our current clowns seem to not have been paying attention.

          1. I was just down in Austin, Tejas for the end of the year. I went over and visited the LBJ Presidential Library. Was surprised at how many things he accomplished in his career, and also how quickly he died after leaving office.

    1. Two arguments in favor of Gladden (for full disclosure, I voted for Knobby) is he is the only starting player for both WS teams that isn't in the Twins HOF, and he's also been a longtime radio personality, although most people I know make that a negative for him.

  9. Hey sean. For some reason my gravatar isn't showing up, despite it being selected on my gravatar page. any idea why?

    2. It doesn't seem like your email has changed, but the image gravatar is returning has. I would double-check your gravatar page. If that's right, then it must be something on gravatar's end that is missing.

  10. I don't want this to sound like a dig at Bonnes, who was nothing but nice to me back in the day, but the last two episodes of Gleeman and the Geek (Gleeman joined by guest hosts Darren Wolfson and Nick Nelson) have actually been listenable.

    1. Nick's always been a favorite Twins blogger of mine, anyway. A Nick Nelson/Aaron Gleeman episode is probably one I should listen to.

    2. I listened to about 10-15 minutes, then got bored and shut it off. Maybe it was the lack of news over the past week, but they just seemed to be rehashing the same thing over and over and over

      1. Gleeman is pretty frustrated by the Correia signing (which I completely understand), and can't seem to move on from that. Lots of talk about free-agent pitcher signings and how the Twins screwed it up, so pretty much the same as the last three weeks' of GatG podcasts.
        A long ways in (over an hour), they start talking about Florimon and Hicks, so it does get a little better.

          1. When they had their Sunday show on KFAN I listened a couple times. People asked questions, Aaron answered. I think that's better. I like listening to him on PA's show on occassion despite my deep dislike of Mr. Allen.

          2. That would help short-circuit some of the, ehm, "recurring themes" upon which Aaron is prone to rhapsodize. I should add that Wolfson and Nelson seem to have gotten him to temporarily elevate his game, at least as far as that stuff is concerned.

        2. To your point bhiggs - a note from Gleeman that Lohse hasn't rec'd a single offer. Now, no mention is made of the Twins, but FA pitching is definitely in his wheelhouse right now.

          What pick would the Twins relinquish to sign Lohse?

          Also, ever time I hear/read Correia, I think of this guy.

          1. What pick would the Twins relinquish to sign Lohse?
            Their second round pick I think. Which is worth way more than what Lohse can offer. The MLBPA threw the draftees under the bus and didn't comprehend the consequence.

            1. The point was to reward the team who's losing a Type A free agent or prevent them from bolting in the first place, right?

                1. Me too. By throwing the draftees under the bus, did you mean that the draftees get blamed for Type A not having a bunch of suitors?

  11. So I realized the other day that I had never made meatballs. That seemed wrong. I made some last night. They were pretty good. I did a milk/bread mash, added it to ground pork/beef mixture w/ egg and seasoning, rolled in flour. About half of the meatballs fell apart. I'm curious how I could make them better though... Anyone have any tips for future attempts?

    1. I like bread for the texture, but as a binder it sucks. Unseasoned bread crumbs are better for that, and provide a fine texture. I usually combine the meat, bread, eggs, seasoning, and milk, then use the bread crumbs as needed to get the mixture to the right consistency.

      Thing is, though, meatballs could fall apart for three different reasons: too much bread, too much moisture, or too little egg.

      1. Thing is, though, meatballs could fall apart for three different reasons: too much bread, too much moisture, or too little egg.

        My brain is interpreting this sentence as "put some beer in it".

  12. Um, yeah.

    A vacationing Rex Ryan was spotted and photographed Thursday sporting a tattoo of a woman who appears to be his wife, wearing only a green jersey with Mark Sanchez's No. 6 on it and posing in a way many would say resembles a crouching Tim Tebow.

    1. This guy is a clown. I can't wait until he fades into obscurity as the defensive coordinator on some mediocre team.

    2. The video clip attached to that link is the perfect example of why I'm glad that I don't have cable.

    1. I wish I was surprised, but I'm not all that surprised.

      Spoiler SelectShow

  14. Ive been watching Freaks and Geeks the last couple of days (they had the entire series at the local library!)
    great show, but man Martin Starr just kills it in every scene he is in.

    1. Have you read Alan Sepinwall's reviews of the show? They're awesome.

      And, yes, Martin Starr is awesome. I just love how his character is the geekiest by far but seems to be the most comfortable in his own skin. I wish I would have had the confidence to speak to the cheerleader like he did in the spin the bottle episode.

      1. I have not, but I'll get around to doing that.

        I didnt he Starr was in this show (I know about James Franco and Jason Segal and the dude from Bones). Its funny because I spent Christmas weekend watching both seasons of Party Down and he is fantastic in that (well, everyone on the show is freaking awesome)

    2. That is weird- I just started watching Freaks and Geeks on Netflix.

      I was wondering what else Starr was in. I haven't watched Party Down, and I didn't recognize him from anything else.

      Plus, Biff from Back to the Future!

    3. Such a fantastic show. Especially Starr and that gang. Really, everyone except the main character. I just never was able to buy her motivation - or lack thereof. Everyone else seems pretty much like a real, believable person though.

      1. the more I watch, the more I think they could have made two half hour shows. A comedy with the kids, and a drama (although I cant think of a half hour drama) with older kids

        1. I can see that. And yet, I felt like maybe the most redeeming parts with the older kids came when they interacted with the younger ones. Thinking about the season as a whole, I think the older kids would seem (excessively) shallow without the younger ones.

      1. I see it, but I guess I never didn't see it. I didn't get to see the robot-thing that Can of Corn mentioned earlier.

  17. Broke into a case of Snowstorm tonight. Pretty good stuff this year. Wish I had previous years to compare it to.

    1. Oh yeah! My dad doesn't like it because it's too sweet.
      I thought it went great with all the food we had at Christmas.

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