22 thoughts on “March 13, 2021: Throw My Hat Into The Rink”

    1. I was able to watch the 3rd period last night. He is definitely special. Both my kids played hockey through high school. One thing I learned from listening to the better coaches over the years, is that one of the traits that separate the great from the good is movement away from the puck. Watching him last night, he is always moving when he doesn't have the puck. He is always probing the defense when in the offensive zone, and on defense, his continual movement often forces the puck carrier to adjust. It's always good to have pressure on the puck, but he creates pressure off the puck as well. I was a big North Star fan and am even a bigger Wild fan. The first 40 years of my fandom, the only Minnesota player that was really exciting to watch was Gaborik, and that came with some frustrations (defense). Modano was a very good player, but not really exciting to the level of Kaprizov. The last 5 years, as we waited for him to come over to the NHL, I hoped he would develop into a potential all star type player. I think he has to potential to be even more. Most importantly for me, I just love the brand of hockey be brings to the team.

      1. When I was a kid in Panama, we would find these little sand pits made by the ant lions. You'd lean over and go 'Doodle, doodle, doodle'. The vibrations from your voice would make the ant lion hiding in the vortex below to start shifting the sand (to catch the prey). We called them Doodle Bugs.

  3. The Athletic decided to do an article on Zack Greinke stories from his catchers. Sal Butera shows up twice with his son, here's the first.

    Drew Butera, Dodgers: I would catch his bullpens occasionally at the same facility that we both went to. … My dad would throw us BP, and he would hit with me.

    Sal Butera, Drew’s dad: We were talking, and we were throwing out certain hitters. He was saying, “I’d pitch this guy a certain way here. I would do this. I would do that.” And then I said, “How would you throw to Drew?”

    Drew Butera: He thought about it for about 10 seconds and …

    Sal Butera: He said, “Oh, I’d probably just throw it right down the middle.”

    Drew Butera: I was like, “Dang, just throw fastball right down the middle?”

    Immediately following that, Nick Punto gets a mention.

    Federowicz: I was struggling hitting at the time. I was like, “Man, I really don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m such an easy out.” And his response was like, “Yeah, you are. If I was facing you, I would just throw you all sliders and you’d have no chance.”

    Ellis: He did that to Nick Punto on the plane once, which was one of the greatest of all time. They matched up for years with the Twins and the Royals. Zack told Nick, “I just can’t afford to walk you. That’s the only way you’re going to hurt me is if I walk you, so I just throw it right down the middle and let you get yourself out.”

    1. This was my favorite.

      Buck: I had been catching him for a while. This was right at the end. And it happened to be the year he was having his Cy Young year (2009). In the middle of that, he said, “John, I know I’m throwing good, but I’m starting to second-guess myself. I don’t want you to catch me anymore.” I was just kind of like, “What?” I was young, too. My ego was hurt. And then he goes, “I just think you’re too smart. You just make me out-think what I’m calling. You have too many good reasons, and sometimes I just want to throw it. And with Miguel Olivo, I just don’t get that.” We’re both sitting there, and Olivo is like, “OK, so I’m dumb?” And Zack goes, “Yeah, but I like throwing to you.” Olivo and I were like, “How do we both want to punch him, but we both get it and appreciate his honesty?”

      1. I think that supports the quote. Punto's only chance is if he can draw a walk. Throwing it down the middle avoids the walk and don't have to worry about an extra-base hit.

  4. Long story, but I got this cute little guy for $1.

    I think I'm going to make it my smoker. What was that link on snaking someone sent out long ago?

        1. I resemble that remark

          Charcoal snake: 2 wide, 2 high, hardwood chips on top. Light about a dozen to pile at one end to get the snake going.

          A smokey Joe is pretty small for a smoker.

  5. We finally pulled the trigger yesterday on a vehicle to replace the 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe. We went with a 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe (Limited) that I found in Stillwater with the same color scheme - silver paint and black interior. We got $7,300 from the insurance company for the old vehicle. The newer one was priced at $9,000, which seemed a bit high but it does have new Goodyear tires and several upgrades like Bluetooth, remote start, AC inverter, cargo net, fire extinguisher, first aid kit, locking lug nuts, etc. I negotiated the vehicle price down to $8,200 so they ended up paying the taxes and fees for us and we got out the door for nine grand even. It's a one owner vehicle with 5,000 fewer miles than our old one, the interior is incredibly clean and the exterior has only minor scratches and a few gravel chips on the hood that can be fixed pretty easily with a touch-up paint pen. Spring and summer road trips are being planned.

      1. Indeed, it's one of the destinations under discussion because we have some new family members to meet.

      2. Last time I was in StL I was staying downtown at a hotel 4 blocks from work and everyone warned me to be really careful on my walk to/from work.

      3. We just drove through St. Louis a few hours ago, on our way to visit my wife’s family in Virginia. We didn’t have time to stop to do anything, but the kids loved the views of the arch and Stan Musial Bridge.

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