All posts by freealonzo

Game 118 – Pirates at Twins

Pirates come to town for a rare visit against our battlin' Minnesota Twins. Season previews had the Pirates tanking this year so their record of 3 games over .500 and 5 games out of the second Wild Card slot had the Pittsburgh front office scrambling to add players. Which meant hello Chris Archer. Besides Archer, I didn't recognize a single player on the Pirates. I am sure the WGOM Allegheny version of this game log is probably saying the same thing about the Twins (Joe Mauer Exempted of course).

Jameson Taillon on the mound for the Pirates, who I think pitched decently against the Twins way back in April. He had a nice 2-run complete game last time out and has decent stats for the year. Jake Odorizzi for the Twins. He's been kinda o.k. but not good enough for me to look up his stats.

First pitch at 7:10p Entering the dog days of the season Citizens.

Game 112 Twins v. Clevelanders

10. Number of games the Twins find themselves behind Cleveland? The number of runs they were outscored by last night? Tom Kelly's number? All three of course.

So the Twins in the second of a 4 game tilt against Cleveland in a lost season. Adalberto Mejia (I call him Bert) pitched well last week against the Spiders, so let's see if he can do it again. Carlos Carrasco, who pitched 7.1 scoreless innings against the Twins last week, is the opponent.

6:10p start, although it sounds like some rain may delay the game. Go Twins.

Game 106 — Cleveland Spiders at Minnesota Twins

Ok. Now that the trading deadline has passed and we get to see what kind of team the Twins will field for the rest of the year (or at least until the August 31 Waiver Deadline). Lance Lynn? See ya! Zach Duke? Um, I kind of remember you. Ryan Pressly and E2? Sob. Doze? We had some good times, let’s focus on those hm’k? On the addition side hello again Miguel Sano, Addison Reed, and Trevor May… and hey new comer, Tyler Austin, welcome aboard. Now go out smash some taters, would you please.

Clevelanders still playing for 2018 and they got Trevor Bauer on the mound. He’s been a workhorse for the Spiders and coming off a nice outing against the Pirates. 192 strikeouts in 147 innings means that Sano will probably be muttering to himself as he walks back to the dugout a few times tonight. Gibby on the mound and boy am I happy I can still write that.

7:10p first pitch and a good night to head out to the ballpark. The Twins could probably use a little emotional support.

Game 99 — Twins at Blue Jays

All Star Game in the rear view mirror. Trade talks getting dicey. Milwaukee fans acting douchy. Game 99. Wow, where has the season gone?

Twins in their second game against Toronto as they put Jose Berrios on the mound. Berrios has been a bright spot for the 2018 Twins and has been everything I would want from a 24 year old pitcher. Let's hope he continues to improve. Toronto with a new guy Ryan Borucki, who has only pitched 23 innings this year but is getting about a strikeout an inning.

Fun fact: Today's starting pitchers are only 2 months apart in age. 6:10p start.

C'mon Twins, let's smoke those Jays! (that's legal now in Ontario, right?)

FMD — How do you listen?

Listening to music has changed a lot over my lifetime, especially over the last 5-10 years. When I was a teen, we'd go to friends' houses, just to listen to music. We'd have a bunch of albums out and play music while we pored over the album covers, lyrics, and liner notes. When I was home I had a nice set up with headphones and a bean bag chair.

Walkmans, CDs, Napster, Ipods, Zune, streaming, phones, and now smart speakers have changed all that. My kids never had friends over to listen to music.

I really dug the .mp3 player and remember when the little Samsung device I picked up (and still have) played 125 songs. It was glorious. I have gone through many Ipods and still listen to one today as I really haven't downloaded music on to a I-phone. It makes me sad that that the I-pod is being phased out and when my current one eventually dies, that will probably be it. I also haven't invested in cordless speakers either as I no longer listen to music while biking or walking the dog, etc. Besides the I-pod, I listen at home via my Mac and Itunes via a nice Sony blue tooth sound system.

I've been thinking of signing up for Apple Music and just accessing music from my phone/watch lately which has gotten me nostalgic. So HOW do you consume music. Is it just through your phone and bluetooth speakers? Any other Ipod users still out there? Anyone gone completely old school and vinyl only?

Game 89 — Royals at Twins

Nothing fixes a reeling baseball team like a homestand against the 2018 Orioles and Royals as Twins look to add to their 5 game win streak. Aaron Slegers on the mound for the Twins after a nice outing last week. He also pitched decently six weeks ago against the Royals. Ian Kennedy pitching for KC and his 1-8 record reflects pitching for a team already 40 games (!) under .500 on July 10th.

First pitch at 7:10 at Target Field, weather should be nice and clear by that time too.

Game 82 — Twins v. Brew Crew

First half of the season done and the Twins are um... on a 70-92 pace. Ugh. This first half has stunk, the Twins stink, injuries, suspensions, poor base running, bullpen disasters, walk off losses, disappointing performances by key players.... You name it, The Twins built this.

Jake Odorizzi against Junior Guerra today. Odorizzi righted his ship last start as he went 6 strong innings after a bunch of disastrous starts. Guerra is one of those decent guys that the Brewers typically toss out there.

3:10p game and its only broadcast on something called Facebook Live. Seems like a good place to have the game as only the olds are on Facebook these days. Also, Willians Astudillo playing second base today, so that's something. Wasn't he a catcher? At this rate he may take a 9th inning pitching spot before he sees time behind the plate.

Go Twins.

Game 75 — Twins at White Sox

Twins embark on the great Upper Midwest Baseball Tour(TM) with a three game stint against the Southside Pale Hosers. At 25 games under .500, the Sox are as bad as advertised so it would be nice to take all three games this week before heading into the friendly confines of Wrigley over the weekend.

Lance Lynn on the mound for the Twins. He's as excruciating slow as ever, but at least he's been productive with a 4-1 record and 1.73 ERA in his last 5 starts. Reynaldo Lopez on the mound for the White Sox, coming off a pretty bad outing against Cleveland (or was it Toronto?). Game may take 3.5 hours but I like the Twins chances.

First pitch at The Rate. Potential for rain is receding in Chicago, so hopefully the tour can start off with a win.

FMD — Travel Music

Today I'll be off on my annual 175-mile weekend bike trip on the Paul Bunyan trail. It's a lot of fun and even though I will burn probably over 10,000 calories riding my bike, I will also consume close to that same amount of beer (and food).

I'm long past the day when I would listen to music while I rode, way too dangerous for this guy with all the distracted drivers out there but I know people who still do. But it got me thinking about travel music. Is there a certain band or kind of music you like to listen to while traveling? For me driving doesn't matter, I can take any kind of music. However, for some reason I have always thought R.E.M. goes well with train travel. Back when I lived out east and also was in Europe, I would always listen to R.E.M., it just kind of brought me back in time and was complimentary to the motion of the train.

Any specific travel music you enjoy? Or not. Don't forget to drop your lists.

Nice Game 69 — Red Sox and Twins

The Boston Red Sox come into Target Field for their annual sojourn to Minneapolis. After a blistering hot start, Boston find themselves in a virtual tie for first in the AL East with the Yankees. Given that they are 25 games over .500, I think it’s pretty safe to assume that either the Red Sox or Yankees will be one of the two AL Wild Card teams this fall.

Jose Berrios on the mound for the Twins and he’s been lights out again recently. Chris Sale for the Sox and has put up some good numbers. But it’s the Boston bats that the Twins need to worry about as the Red Sox lead the league in Slugging and among the league leaders in OPS, OPS+ and runs scored (5.08 runs per game). Oh and former Twin, and decent dude, Eddy Nunez playing second in place of the injured Dustin Pedroia.

Rain should let up by the 7:10p first pitch and given that Sales and Berrios work fast, it could be quick game.