50 thoughts on “August 25, 2013: Small Night”

    1. Last night was my brother-in-law's bachelor party. They decided that camping at Spider Lake (an ATV park somewhere right around Nimrod) would be ideal.

      It got hot quick this morning - brutal.

    3. I was at the State Fair this morning (Sheenie wanted to check out her cookies before we return with her sister next weekend). We got out of there at about 11:30 and it was just getting brutal.

  3. Ron Gardenhire, still funny after all these years

    Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino
    Gardy is not averse to a six-man rotation in September, but not there yet. "I'm trying to find five good ones," he said.

    1. He's never lost his sense of humor.
      Scioscia never had one.

      Someone should have asked him about the team's execution.

      1. its going to be awesome when Gardy decides to leave and Scioscia gets fired then Gardy goes to SoCal and Terry Ryan hires ol Mikey.

      2. Someone should have asked him about the team’s execution.

        I bet he's in favor of it. /McKay-ing

  5. So, I wanted to share my story from Thursday, which includes a close encounter with former Twin, Denard Span.

    I went to the Nationals-Cubs game on Thursday with a couple of friends from work. The plan was to leave early and get front row bleacher seats. The day was overcast and there was the threat of rain. When we arrived at the stadium, it was right when the gates opened. There was very little line, most likely because of the forecast. This was about 11:15. We were able to get front row bleachers (yeah!) at about left-center field, right in the power alley. We thought we'd be in prime location to catch a homerun.

    About 45 minutes after we arrived, the rain started coming. Since the bleachers are general admission, and not reserved seating, we had to stay with our seats in order to keep the front row. We saw a few people leave and they lost their spot. Not willing to give up prime real estate, we stayed, in the rain, the whole time. We were soaked. Sure, we could've bought ponchos for 10 bucks, but we weren't willing to spring (my one friend said you couldn't pay him to wear Cubs stuff - he's a Cards fan).

    So finally, after a 2 hour rain delay, the game's about to start. Being neither a Nationals nor a Cub fan, I was in a quandary of what to wear. However, since I am a Twins fan, and last year I bought a Denard Span Twins shirt, I decided that would be my best wardrobe choice for the game. However, much to my dismay, the Cubs started a lefty, and Span wasn't in the starting lineup.

    Oh well, we watch a good game, Nationals jump in front with a first inning homer and generally hold the lead for the entire game. Finally, they drive out the Cubs starter in the seventh, and much to my delight, Span enters the game. I of course, being in the front row turn around and show him my shirt. It's pretty easy to spot a Twins shirt in the middle of Wrigley during a Nationals/Cubs game. Span noticed and made a little nod to acknowledge me. I thought maybe he might toss me a warmup ball.

    The next inning, sure enough, he was about to throw a warmup ball to the crowd. However, he threw it to right center, not to me. I shrug my shoulders as if to say "what the heck". Denard does a little shrug in return. The next inning, I guess he felt bad and he brought another ball out. This time... he threw it RIGHT TO ME!!!!

    I didn't catch the ball though.

    Next to me was a bigger man, with a longer reach, who upon seeing the ball come our way, nearly tackled me out of the way to get the ball. Neither of us got it, and instead it fell to the ground, where Bryce Harper came and tossed it back to folks higher up on the bleachers. So close.

    The Cubs tied the game that inning, scoring one on an errant throw to first, and then Murphy tying it up with a homer to left (nowhere near me). Span didn't throw any more balls my way, the game had gotten too serious, and he had to get his game face on. In the 13th, he led off with a double down the line, and later scored on a swinging bunt by Chad Tracy. The Nationals held off the Cubs in the bottom of the inning and ended up winning the game.

    So 8 hours after we arrived, we withstood about 3 hours of rain, an extra hour of ball game, and an exciting 5-4 game in which the man I wore a shirt for scored the winning run. It was a lot of fun, and one of the more memorable experiences I've had at a ball game. I wish Denard could've stayed a Twin, but I certainly appreciated his acknowledgement of me, a fan, in the audience. I certainly wished him well since he left the Twins, but having this experience now, I'm a bigger fan of his, and will continue to follow him in his future endeavors.

    Thanks for reading!

    1. My wife works with this guy, who was a pretty decent prospect before an injury in 2000 essentially ended his career. He knows Span and has offered to get me an interview with him for the site (I think he thinks the site is a bigger deal than it is) and he too says that Span is a great guy and everyone who knows him is glad they know him. For a long time I thought of him as nothing but the overrated eventual replacement for Eye-eye, but sure enough, I miss him as much as you do.

    3. Sounds like a great time. I remember catching Denard when he was playing for New Britain. Sheenie and I were sitting in the front row down the third base line and he did all his pregame stretching, running, and throwing while munching on a sandwich. He carried on a conversation with us the whole time and was incredibly gregarious.

  6. I heard somewhere there was a big upset in the EPL today. Was that a thing? Did it help my awful picks? Where can I find out about this stuff?

    1. yeah, I guess it was an upset. it was Cardiff's first home first division game since the early 60s and Man City is an upper class team.
      maybe the more seasoned soccer fan can translate, but probably an equivalent is a MAC school beating a Michigan type in college football.

      1. Oh sure. I picked Man City (sounds sweaty!) to finish tops, and they fall to some Welsh jerks.

      1. I meant finding out about my picks, not googling the results. I don't really care about that.

          1. Is there a handy link where I can be reminded what my picks were?

            I'm really needy tonight

                1. I should also probably admit that I then spent too long figuring out how WTF fit into that scheme.

    3. Yes big upset. Cardiff City, which just got promoted to the Premier League, upset Manchester City, which should be one of the top teams this year. I think that's cool that you even heard about the upset as I would guess even last year a result like that would go unnoticed by 94.2 percent of the general population. Since 1 game is only about 2.6 percent of the total season and was the second game of the season, it's a little too early to know if it helps your picks.

      1. it helps that NBC is showing an EPL game 4 days a week instead of ESPN tossing a game on the Deuce every two weeks.

  8. the ChiSox have been on a tear lately, going 8=2 in their last 10. Only 3 games back on Minny. eeeep

    1. With the white jerseys, I'd say yes.
      With the purple jerseys, the different hues of purple clash hard.

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