Game 116: Cleveland at Minnesota

Alternatively titled: In Which The Twins Get Off Their Butts And Start Winning Games Again, Thus Marking The Part Of The Season Where They Take Care Of Business Like The Professional Hitters They Are, And Also Who Does This Shane Bieber Think He Is, Anyway?

Let's see what this Smeltzer kid has when he's used as more of a conventional attack than a surprise one, eh?

Featured image courtesy of our division lead.

FMD: BNL

So on my summer mix for 2018, I ended with Barenaked Ladies' "If I Had A Million Dollars". My kids had been listening to the mix again, and my daughter and I were driving last night and that song came on. She asked about the artist, and I mentioned that she knew a couple of their songs ("Old Apartment" - also on a summer mix, "When You Dream" - often sung to them at bedtime). So I pulled out my old Stunt CD and started listening to that.

Man, there were a lot of songs on there that I had no desire to listen to.

But! There were other songs that I absolutely adored and wanted her to hear.

At the time it seemed a somewhat strange dichotomy. And really, though I acknowledge it isn't all that uncommon, isn't it a little weird? Are there authors who you say "I love these 3 books, but can't stand these other 3?" Probably not too many. Or painters where you look at half of their paintings and love them, but you'd be glad to toss the other half? It seems unlikely.

So what is it about music that can make it so hit or miss? And are there other artists out there for you where this is the case? Who typifies hit and miss music to you?

And drop lists if you got 'em!

August 9, 2019: Definitely An Exercise In Personal Expression And Not Just An Attempt To Create Opportunities To Sell More Official Merchandise

Players Weekend is upon us in a couple weeks. The Twins have selected their names as noted below:

Ehire Adrianza: "GUARENERO"
Luis Arraez: "LA REGADERA"
Willians Astudillo: "ASTUDILLO"
Jose Berrios: "LA MAKINA"
Byron Buxton: "BUCK"
Jason Castro: "STRO"
Jake Cave: "CAVEMAN"
C.J. Cron: "CRONY"
Nelson Cruz: "BOOMSTICK"
Tyler Duffey: "THE DOOF"
Sam Dyson: "RED FINGER"
Mitch Garver: "GARV SAUCE"
Kyle Gibson: "GIBBY"
Marwin Gonzalez: "GONZO"
Ryne Harper: "HARP"
Max Kepler: "RÓŻYCKI"
Zack Littell: "LIT"
Trevor May: "IAMTREVORMAY"
Jake Odorizzi: "ODO"
Martin Perez: "EL DE LAS MATAS"
Michael Pineda: "BIG MIKE"
Jorge Polanco: "CHULO"
Taylor Rogers: "LEFTY PIECE"
Sergio Romo: "EL MECHÓN"
Eddie Rosario: "EDISITO"
Miguel Sano: "BOQUETÓN"
Jonathan Schoop: "MAMBA"
Devin Smeltzer: "#CATCHCANCERLOOKING"

A-stud seems to be trolling everyone by not putting "La Tortuga" on his uniform.

Also, check out the said, uh, uniforms:

Spoiler SelectShow

Happy Birthday–August 9

Due to personal time constraints, this is a reprint from last year which has not been updated.

John Grim (1867)
John Galbreath (1897)
Jack Tighe (1913)
Ralph Houk (1919)
Julian Javier (1936)
Claude Osteen (1939)
Paul Lindblad (1941)
Tommie Agee (1942)
Chris Wheeler (1945)
Bill Campbell (1948)
Ted Simmons (1949)
John Moses (1957)
Matt Young (1958)
Deion Sanders (1967)
Troy Percival (1969)
Pat Mahomes (1970)
Ryan Radmanovich (1971)
Matt Morris (1974)
Mike Lamb (1975)
Brian Fuentes (1975)
Jason Frasor (1977)
Drew Butera (1983)
Jason Heyward (1989)

John Galbreath was the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1946-1985.

Jack Tighe was a long-time minor league player, manager, and scout.  He also managed the Detroit Tigers from 1956-1957.

Ralph Houk is best known as a manager of the New York Yankees, but he was also a special assistant to the general manager for the Twins from 1987-1989.

Chris Wheeler was a broadcaster for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1977-2013.

Better known for his Hall of Fame NFL career, Deion Sanders was a major league outfielder for nine seasons, leading the league in triples in 1992.  He hit .263/.319/.392 in 2,123 at-bats.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–August 9

2019-20 EPL Prediction Contests

Ok, I'll set this up again. Congrats to hungry joe for winning last season! Your choices:

AFC Bournemouth
Arsenal
Aston Villa
Brighton & Hove Albion
Burnley
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Leicester City
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Norwich City
Sheffield United
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
Watford
West Ham United
Wolves

Comment with SPOILERS below and I'll get it all compiled. (Or maybe I'll outsource it.) You got till next August 18 to get it in.

Game 115: Cleveland @ Minnesota

This is the Battle for the AL Central (lead)
Perhaps the biggest series of the season (so far)
....so...
Make or Break?
Do or Die?
Win or Go Home?
All or Nothing?
Sink or Swim?
Now or Never?
Put Up or Shut Up?
...or...
is it just, "one game at a time"?

we shall see!

Kyle Gibson
-v-
Mike Clevinger