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Tag Archives: Hector Santiago
2013 Game 122: White Sox at Twins
With under seven weeks left in the season, I find myself so apathetic about the Twins that I didn't even feel like referring to Chicago as the "Hosers" in my title. Still, there are interesting things going on. Pitcher Wins and Losses are dumb, but Max Scherzer goes today and he's 17-1. Team wins and losses are legitimately meaningful, and the Dodgers are one of just three teams in the past 71 years to win 42 games over a 50-game span. That team is eight and a half games up, and was at one point 30-42, well behind the Diamondbacks. Danny DeVito was spotted at a Dodgers game wearing a Nick Punto jersey, prompting the question of whether DeVito is an even bigger loser than the character he plays on TV. The Pirates seem to be heading to the playoffs for the first time in over twenty years, and early signs say there's going to be an interesting playoff chase in the AL.
Meanwhile, the local lottery team sends the enigmatic Sam Deduno to the hill to face Hector Santiago, whose numbers are better than Deduno's with much worse "results" (he's 3-7). The lefty can strike guys out and the Twins are ready and willing to strike out, so this could be painful at times.
The quest for 73-89 is also heating up, as the Twins need to go 19-22 from this point forward to reach my arbitrary magic number. If this doesn't motivate them, nothing will.
2013 Game 35: Pale Hosers at Twins
I used to love to hate the White Sox, but that fiery passion has cooled considerably in the past few years. Now I just like to dislike them. For this I blame Ozzie Guillen, who somehow against all odds and expectations brought a new level of civility and respect to the formerly fierce and nasty rivalry. I blame Ozzie because this is America, and we all know that in America the way a person feels about anything can never, ever, ever be blamed on the person doing the feeling; it must be either God's will or somebody else's fault. Ozzie's outspoken admiration for the Twins' brand of baseball during his Chicago tenure cowed the South Side trash talkers, and for that I don't think I can ever forgive him.
2012 Game 135: Land of Sky-Blue Water at City of Native Garlic
Television - FSN
First Pitch - 6:10pm CDT
Happy Labor Day, citizens. I hope you've been enjoying your day of leisure; it was hard earned by those who came before us. I hope you're having a cold beer with friends or spending some quality time with family or both. Maybe taking in a ball game. And somewhere along the way, if you haven't done so already, perhaps pausing for just a moment to think about the rivers of sweat and the the mountains of toil and the generational expanses of endeavor and industry as wide as the prairies that it took to build this nation. And maybe, if you are so inclined, hoping for better days to come for everyone looking to earn an honest day's pay for an honest day's work but finding the doors of opportunity thrown shut in their faces.
Today the Twins start a three-game set against the team we love to hate. Sam Deduno is on the mound for the good guys, Hector Santiago takes the hill for the White Sox. The Sox are battling the Detroit Tigers for the AL Central title. The Twins are struggling to climb out of the division cellar. What the heck, there's just a month left of Twins baseball this year. We might as well stock up on what's left. Winter comes early in these parts and hangs on like a fat and stubborn tick. Best to enjoy every day of baseball summer has left to offer, there will be precious little autumn ball for the Twins this year.
I find myself feeling a bit poetic for some reason, but in the spirit of the holiday I'm just going to take it easy and toast the work of others who have better saluted in verse the homes of today's natively eponymous contestants:
Continue reading 2012 Game 135: Land of Sky-Blue Water at City of Native Garlic