Happy Birthday–October 1

Ray Kolp (1894)
Carmen Hill (1895)
Jimmie Reese (1901)
Jim Russell (1918)
Hal Naragon (1928)
Chuck Hiller (1934)
Rod Carew (1945)
Bill Bonham (1948)
Pete Falcone (1953)
Jeff Reardon (1955)
Vance Law (1956)
Mark McGwire (1963)
Roberto Kelly (1964)
Chuck McElroy (1967)
John Thomson (1973)
Brandon Knight (1975)

We would also like to wish Beau a very happy birthday.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–October 1

Game 162 Recaps: Yeah, we already talked about it. Twins Win!

Twins 1, Royals 0
WP: Hot Carl (9-13)
LP: Wood (5-3)
I can has save? No, you may not.

Okay kids, here it is, the crowing of a new King Of The Savers: Jose Valverde ran away with this one by converting 100% of his 49 save opportunities into saved games for the Tigers. Sure, you could say that the guy is a douche, but I think he's got flair. No one celebrates like him, and this year he gets to wear the crown. I've heard that it's good to be king, but this much I know for sure ---> heavy is the head that wears the crown. Watch your back, Jose, and protect your neck.

 
99 bottles of loss on the wall
99 bottles of loss
take one down pass it around
98 bottles of loss on the wall

Baseball is a funny thing. For me, it's about more than winning and losing, it's about the lapse of time. Baseball is like a time machine that effortlessly takes it's audience simultaneously forward and back. When spring training stats gearing up I can almost smell the fall leaves, and likewise, when the season ends I can almost feel the warmth of the sun on my face. The long dark off season will give us fans time to reflect on the past season, rounding the corners off terrible performances, inflating good performances, and finding hope that next year will be the year. Talking about baseball leads one down the path of well worn cliche, but really, I don't know how else to describe this game. Yeah, our local nine lost 99, and that blows (fersure), but there is more to this game than the final record, and on Wednesday night the nation witnessed some intense drama. Fall will come, winter will follow, and then soon enough we'll be right back here.

This Week in Ex-Twins

Not much happening this time of year:

Arizona organization activates Michael Restovich from the disabled list.
Arizona organization activates David Winfree from the disabled list.
Mets organization activates Boof Bonser from the disabled list.
Philadelphia organization activates Juan Morillo from the disabled list.
Sioux City (independent) re-signs Stan Cliburn as manager.

Ex-Twins in the Playoffs

If you're looking for a reason to root for someone, here's a list of ex-Twins in the playoffs.  This is based on the active rosters in the last week of the season, as the playoff rosters had not been set when this was written.  Also included are coaches and front office personnel:

DETROIT:  Delmon Young, scout Glenn Williams, scout Eddie Bane.

NEW YORK:  Luis Ayala.

TAMPA BAY:  Special assignment scout Mike Cubbage.

TEXAS:  Mark Hamburger, manager Ron Washington, rehabilitation coach Keith Comstock.

ARIZONA:  Henry Blanco, batting coach Don Baylor, hitting coordinator Alan Cockrell.

MILWAUKEE:  LaTroy Hawkins, Carlos Gomez, roving pitching coordinator Lee Tunnell, manager of youth outreach Larry Hisle.

PHILADELPHIA:  Manager Charlie Manuel, first base coach Sam Perlozzo, bench coach Pete Mackanin.

ST. LOUIS:  Kyle Lohse, Nick Punto, first base coach Dave McKay.

Friday Music Day: Sept Final, 2011

It took me like two months, but I'm not really loving Colin Stetson's New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges. Probably time to buy it. It's been a hell of a week for me at work (I think my brain needs a dual-core processor), and this is hitting the spot. Especially the very song that was a featured WGOM video, "Red Horse". Thanks, Hitman!

With work, I haven't been listening to the videos as they come, but I keep them in my RSS feed and listen on the weekends.

Let the list sharing... Commence!

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.