Baseball Unplugged Version 1.0

So tonight was the first "episode" of Baseball Unplugged for the season. It was announced tonight that instead of the usual 4, they would be doing 6 this season. 4 would be hosted by Cuddy and the other 2 are TBD as of right now. The joke was they were going to ask Red Dog to come back and host them since he did such a good job filling in for Cuddy 2 years ago.

Tonights was at Bunny's in St. Louis Park. It was a good atmosphere and very open which was nice. The doucebags from last years game were at Unplugged tonight (oh joy) and of course sat right in front of us, but I was able to ignore them and had a wonderful time.

Cuddy was wonderful as always, Delmon looks damn good in person (the uniforms just don't work for him) and he is funny as hell, he was having a great time up there tonight joking with his teammates and the crowd, and Drew won the role of my favorite Twins catcher. He seems so down to earth and very humble. You could tell he was a little nervous at first but once the crowd started asking questions, he seemed a little more relaxed.

The questions tonight were a little out there, although the one that stood out was from a little kid asking what SPF they wear, lol. All 3 said they don't wear any, Cuddy said he wanted to look like Delmon so of course he doesn't wear any lol

The highlight of my night, strange as it is, was the autograph line. I had passed along a message to Cuddy from a good friend of mine and Cuddy looked at me dead serious and asked where his skittles were. I told him if he got out of the negative that he would get them at the end of the season, which means I'm actually going to have to pay up again, lol.

Now onto a few pictures. Everyone enjoy the off day! I'll be at the game on Tuesday so don't expect another post until either Wednesday or Thursday :)

Drew Butera

Cuddy

Delmon Young

Four is Sweet

For the first time in Twins history they have won the first four series! I am loving the way this team is playing so far this season. The bats are swinging, they are racking up the pitch counts against starting pitchers and they are all working together, which is something I love to see. If this team can keep playing like this all season, I strongly feel this is going to be a great year in Twins Territory.

And as much as it pains me to say this, Oscar has actually been going a pretty good job. This no way says that I am on the "Oscar-bandwagon" because he is and never will be my Nate, but as long as he doesn't fuck up I guess I'll live with it. Part of me wonders how many people will think he's so "great" the first time he blows a save? I remember how many people ragged and ragged and ragged on Nate last season when he blew a game here or there. Will it be the same for this one?

In another positive note, we don't have to deal with The Weeble for at least 15 days. I wish he would go in and get his eyes fixed while he's not pitching but that would make sense. I swear, one more blown game from him, and I'm writing the front office and bitching. If they know there is a problem with him, there is no way in hell he should be allowed to pitch until that problem is fixed. You know, kinda like the whole Perkins thing last season?

Today's game sounded like it was an interesting one, too bad I missed more then half of it, but that's okay the radio broadcast worked out well. It was nice to see the guys really rack it up against Zach last night. It was almost like the Cy Young award from last season went to his head and he forgot how to pitch, which was okay with me!

Tomorrow we have Carl Pavano (2-0) going against Luke Hochevar (1-0). Keep plugging away guys!!

What You See...

I am no doctor, but I have heard/read reports that when Jose Mijares went to the eye doctor towards the end of spring training, it was diagnosed that the problem he was having was due to cataracts. Now I know it is no simple process of getting rid of cataracts, but correct me if I am wrong. If you are in a profession that you have to be able to see, would you not want to keep your eyes healthy and in top shape? When it starts to cost your team wins and leads, it's time to step up and get the shit fixed. It's just frustrating when you hear that "so and so" is coming in to pitch and you cringe. That's what I do when I hear Jose is coming in.

I have to laugh, last night I ragged on 3 guys for their lack-luster performance during yesterdays game and I almost feel as though those guys were online doing some reading of blogs and realized how upset some of us fans were with them. Today you had Punto with 3 hits, Justin with 3 hits, Cuddy with 2 hits (one for a home run), Denard had 2 hits. All around the bats were swinging by all but one guy and that was Joe, but that's for a different post.

By the way these guys were playing today you would think they all got their asses chewed last night after the stuff they pulled yesterday and I think Boston was thinking today's game was going to be a piece of cake. But we pulled the wool over their eyes that's for sure! Everyone loves a shut out! I also just like how the team has been playing as a whole. They have won 3 series in a row and seem to have a pretty positive attitude so far in the season and I for one, love it!

With that home run Cuddy's Skittle count is at -3 :-)

Tomorrow we have Timmy against the reigning American League Cy Young winner Zach Grienke, we've bet him once, we can do it again!

Tough To Swallow

The first loss in a new ballpark is always tough to swallow and today's was no exception. In reality any loss is tough to swallow. I was hoping for a better performance from the guys, but I guess I should take it easy on them, but I feel the need to be a little bitter and a little hard on a couple of the guys after their performances today.

First I have to start with Justin. I realize that players have bad games, but today really seemed to disappoint me. I know he can play better then what he did and since I didn't actually see the game and can only go by what I was told by someone that watched the game, he apparently was out every time he was up to bat. I'm sorry, but that is not acceptable. I know he can play better then what he did today, I've seen it and I would love to see it back.

Then we have Mr. Punto. Now I know we all had Nick Punto day where we discussed how much we love or hate Nicky. And please, do not get me wrong, I love Nicky in the field. He can make some amazing plays like I discussed in my Nick Punto day post, but his bat leaves something to the imagination. Perhaps a bat like this could help him:


And then we have the Train-wreck, I mean the Crainadian, I mean Jesse Crain. Had it not been for him giving up the 3 runs, Cuddy's home run would have made it a tie game and we could have at least stood a chance of winning today's game, but NO, we had to leave that mess in there. Idiot.


I could say something about Kevin because I know 5 innings isn't really considered a "quality" start but I have a hard time talking down on him. I always have. I just hope his next start is better than today's was. Partly because I will be at the game for his next start and it will be the first "official" game I have seen him pitch in person and I want a good "quality" start from him. I wanna see the Kevin we had last year that won 10 games.

P.S. Kevin, please wear the navy again next Tuesday. Thank you!

Now I realize one could talk a little trash about Cuddy today too, but I can't talk trash about him since he got a home run. I'm not sure if he and I are fighting as I was not listening to the broadcast when he hit his home run. I'm not sure if he his jealous that I am spending so much time starring at JJ or what, but Cuddy I am sorry, I promise to pay you more attention.

That brings the Skittle count to negative 5...he may see the light of day soon.

Tomorrow it's Frankie against Tim Wakefield. Go out there and play like you know how guys. Let's take this series! Oh and be sure to welcome back Ron Mahay to the family! I know I'm glad he's back.

Couldn't Ask For More

For yesterday being my first time at a Twins home opening day, it was way more then I ever could have imagined. I'm sure some of it had to do with the fact that it was Target Field, but it was an experience I will never forget that's for sure. It was another beautiful day at the ballpark, one that was supposed to be plagued by rain, but thankfully that held off till last night. Being 2 for 2 in the new ball park is definitely a plus, now too bad my next game isn't until the 20th lol

As Betsy said, we were unable to get seats together, but the idea of just being at the home opener in the new stadium was enough for me to "take on for the team" and sit by myself until Betsy moved over in the 3rd inning. I can't complain with my seat at all and I kinda hope I get to sit that far over again because the view as amazing (as you can see).

Everyone needs a little TC hug...Even Andy!

It was nice to see the entire 25-man roster out on the field, especially Nate. I can't believe I'm even going to say this, but yes even though Rauch has done a good job as the closer, no one will ever be able to replace Nate. That's his position and always will be.

No one will ever replace Nate, hear that Rauch!

Getting out of Target Field yesterday reminded me a lot of getting out of the Dome. Downtown was insane after that game was over, but you just have to move with the flow and when you see an opening go for it lol Just like our old Dome Sweet Dome.

I know this isn't the longest recap ever, but all-in-all it was a good day at the ballpark. If you have the chance to go to a game at Target Field this season, take it! It's a fantastic ball park and everyone in Twins Territory has been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Now onto a few more pictures!

The picture of Kevin was a must :)

The smile and the Nesheked socks! I was a goner for the whole day!

JJ batting and Cuddy on 3rd (2 of my faves)

JJ...uh...trying to fix something ;-)

So Much For That

Before I get into the Chicago series and in case you haven't seen it, the list has been put up for the 2010 walk up music for the guys. You can find the list here. There is quite the diverse list of choices this season for a few of the guys.

Okay, onto the game. First things first, not the smartest call by Scotty to send JJ home. We could have potentially tied that game with a single by Punto after, but no, we had to try and show "oh yeah, we can score." As a rule Scotty doesn't do too bad at third, but this time I think he wasn't thinking and I won't lie, it cost us that game. But what done is done and now it is time to focus on the home opener against the Red Sox.

I was impressed with how well our pitching stiff did this series. Timmy redeemed himself from opening day. Obviously he isn't going to be perfect every outting, none of the starters are going to be perfect, they aren't Mark Buehrle and even he isn't perfect every game. Nick also did decent today too, he went seven and two-thirds innings which is a good start for a starting pitcher.


And then we have Frankie. He was the one starting pitcher that I was the most concerned with and even though he may have only gone 6 innings, I thought he did really well. I'm glad he made the starting rotation and I'm glad he went out there and proved that he still has what it takes to be a starter in the majors. I just hope I won't be eating my words as the season goes on.

Oh and let me just say this, I know I said it last year when Joe Crede went back to the South Side, but I'm going to say it again this season. It was nice to see a good reaction from the Chicago fans when Jim Thome came in Friday night.

Tomorrow is the day that everyone in Twins Territory has been waiting for, the official home opener! I will be there along with Betsy from For The Love Of The Game. If you are going and would like to meet up just leave me a comment and we'll figure something out :-)

Tomorrow we have Carl Pavano against Jon Lester. Won't lie, I am excited that I get to see Lester pitch in person, I have always liked him.

Go out there and get it guys. We'll see you there!!

Welcome Back!

If there is one thing I have missed this off season more then anything it's watching Kevin pitch. If you want to get technical, I've missed that since he went on the DL last summer. So last night I forced myself to stay awake to watch him pitch until he was done and I managed to actually do that (I actually made it to when they brought in The Weeble).

While it may not have been Kevin's best game and he may not have gone as long as Carl and Nick, I'll take what he did last night and smile about it. After not pitching since, what, June of last season, I thought he did a good job last night. I'm happy that he's back on that mound again.

Not everyone wanted to play last night apparently and yes I am talking about Cuddy. In all honesty I have lost count of how far in the hole he is with the skittle count, but if he keeps playing like he has so far, he'd owe me by the seasons end. I know these guys all have off days or whatever, but a whole series? Come on Cuddy...get with it!

And then we have the trio of home run hitters. Last night we saw a new group in Jim Thome, Brendan and Delmon (again!) All I have to say is, welcome to the Minnesota Twins Mr. Thome! You have earned your spot in the lineup, that's for sure. Sure he may not be the speediest runner, but he's giving Jason Kubel a run for his money.

And then we have Delmon! Who is he and what did he do with last seasons Delmon Young?! Whoever he is, I like this version much better then last years. He seems to be more comfortable out in the field and at the plate. Of course last year he did have a lot going on with the death of his mother, which I know was tough on him I'm sure. But I am loving this version of Delmon, let's keep it that way ;-)

Now it's off to the south side to visit our "friends" in Chicago. It will be interesting to see if Thome gets the same kind of reaction from the crowd that Joe Crede got last season when he went "home" for the first game.

Oh and by the way, AJ, you still suck :-)

Short Update

Since I didn't make it through really more then half of the game last night (tonight I will force myself to stay awake) there really isn't much to comment on, but I do have to comment on this...

Denard, thank you for channeling your inner Torii last night and scaling the wall (even if you didn't catch it). I do miss Torii, especially when he is hitting home runs against us, but you are an amazing center fielder and good at the plate to bat. I love seeing fantastic plays and you seem to be the guy to make them.

Tale of the Blackbeard

I could start this post with "Once upon a time..." but that's a little too cliche for me. The excitement of getting a ticket to the home opener was enough to keep me awake for the entire game last night (not sure that will happen again tonight, but we shall see). It would have been nice if they would have maybe broken it up a bit with today being a day game, but I am not in charge of scheduling so we just have to make the best of it.

It was nice to see our good friend Nick Blackburn back on the mound for his first game of the season and he seemed to be in fine form. I like to think the beard is still working for him and as long as he keeps it trimmed, we'll be okay. If not he'll end up on the "list" like Matty G did last night. Overall I was impressed with our pitching last night. Still trying to get used to Rauch as the closer and yes I did watch him pitch even though it pained me that it was him and not Nate.

All of my co-workers yesterday were pegging the Twins to lose again last night with Nicks' record against LA, but I was trying to keep a glimmer of hope that he would pull out a win and he did. It was nice coming in this morning and telling everyone "I told you so". I've learned my lesson to never count this time out, especially this early in the season. It's game two people, cut them some slack.

It was a night for the J's last night, with Joe, Justin, and JJ going long for the team. I wasn't home for Joe's and I missed JJ's (and the DVR wouldn't let me rewind to see it) but I was able to see Justin's and it's nice seeing this kind of ball again. I've read a few articles where people have said the Twins can't play the long ball, oh yes we can, they can play both long and small ball. We did it last season and we'll do it again this season.

Oh and before I forget, what is with the BS calls already this season? Cuddy was safe by a mile at second last night when the ump called him out. I know it's only game two, but I thought all the umps took refresher classes or something during the off season after all the screwed up calls last season. It's a little too early for this nonsense if you ask me.

I thought the rally monkey's were silly last season, but last night took the cake with the snuggies. Don't get me wrong, kuddos to them for setting the record and the fans had fun with it, but maybe it's just me. I don't get the whole thing with the snuggie, lol.

Perhaps they need snuggies for the rally monkeys? But then again, please no, that might be a bit too much.

Notes From Game One

Seeing how I didn't really even stay awake for the whole game (I HATE west coast games), I think it was about the 6th inning when I started to doze off and said "I give up." I can only really comment on what I saw and a little bit on what I heard and maybe everyone can fill me in on what I may have missed?

~Timmy had me a little concerned when the game started off giving up 2 walks right away. That was not what I expected to come from him, maybe Liriano, but not Timmy. When he finally settled down I was feeling a little bit better. I know it was the first game and I'm sure he was nervous, but all I can hope for is his next outing is better.


~Delmon Young, where the heck have you been hiding?! Not only did you lose the weight during the off season you apparently picked up a decent swing and the ability to run like hell! If this is the Delmon we get all season I think I will be a happy camper.


~The more and more I see J.J. Hardy, the hotter he gets. I think it's going to be a LONG season of distractions for me ;-) I think it must the Twins uniform because I didn't find him this attractive before, lol.

I know Timmy doesn't have the best record against the Angels and I know it's the first game and I've heard a lot of people saying it's going to be a long season if this is how we play the first game. But the Angels are a tough team and just because we lose the first game doesn't mean it's going to be a long season.

The road to the World Series has just begun, no need to jump off the bus already.

And So It Begins

First and foremost I want to wish everyone that reads this a very Happy Easter (if you celebrate it that is).

Secondly, baseball season has begun. The Spank-mes and Boston play tonight (not that we really care about either of those teams in Twins Territory) but tomorrow night our boys take the field in LA for the first official game of the season. Won't lie, it sucks that we have to play at 9 at night for the first 4 games, but I will suck it up and "take one for the team".

But before the season actually starts Betsy (For The Love Of The Game) and I were lucky enough to get tickets for yesterdays exhibition game from a co-worker of my dads. We had beautiful seats and it was a gorgeous day for outside baseball. It was a little chilly sitting down the first base side (where we were) and we sat with sweatshirts on for a good part of the day while a few people we knew that were on the third base side were talking about getting sunburned.

The layout of the field reminds me a lot of Kauffman after last season going to two games down there. It's nice to see how open it is and to me it looks like there really isn't a bad seat in the house, but time will tell since I have seats to different games in different areas of the stadium. The layout is so pretty as you will see from a few of my pictures.

Sneak Peak

As for the game, it was a good game yesterday. There is nothing better then seeing the guys win the first game I was at in a new stadium. Being able to see Kevin finally pitch was the second highlight of my day :) Seeing Joe and Cuddy get a home run was the third highlight of my day. Yes I suppose it is fair to say that Cuddy's skittle count has begun for the season. I would have liked to have seen Pat Neshek pitch, but knowing he pitching Friday night I knew the chances of seeing him would be slim.

Now onto the pictures:

This is the spot where Betsy and I played "tourist" a few months back

The bull pen backpack this season is Chewy from Stars Wars

I was excited that my first game in Target Field was Kevin pitching

Everyone was having a good time with Dinkelman lol

One of my favorite views from the walk around

Yes we had to "stalk" the bullpen

Harmon Killebrew statue

Be sure to check out Betsy's blog at For The Love Of The Game for more pictures and recap of the game.

Good News/Bad News Kind of Day

The day started out with some bad (but expected) news about Nate. He has decided to go ahead with the Tommy John surgery, which means the hunt is on for a closer that can handle the pressure. I still believe Matty G to be a wonderful candidate for that role, but after listening to yesterday game and hearing Anthony Slama in the 9th, I think he could also be a great candidate for that role. It will be interesting to see in the next two weeks who Gardy and the rest of the coaching staff keep an eye on.

But despite the sad news about our Nate, everyone in Twins Territory finally got the news we've been waiting all off season for. Joe Mauer will be a Twin for another 8 years! Not excited at all if you can't tell. ;-) It will be nice to have one of the hometown boys around for another 8 years. The longer the talks went, the more concerned I became with the whole situation. There was a part of me that was starting to think he may go someplace else if they didn't get something done soon.

But thankfully, all I have to say is, take that Yankees. We got what you wanted and you can't have him :-)

No Joey Brokenness

So the news came this morning that I think shocked a lot of fans in Twins Territory, there is a chance we could spend the season minus our closer. A whole season without Joe Nathan?! Please say it ain't so!


Many will say yes please, after his performance towards the end of last season. But those of us that are faithful to the players on our team were saddened this morning of the news on Joe. I personally was not expecting it to be this bad or that the dreaded Tommy Johns surgery would be mentioned.

But now that there is a chance that the Twins will be forced to spend the season without their closer. So the Twins are forced with the question: Who will fill Joe Nathan's shoes?

I put my money on Matt Guerrier but a lot of people are saying Pat Neshak and I've even heard a few votes for Jon Rauch (please no!). I think another strong candidate could be Frankie. He's strong for one or two innings which is all we would need out of him as the closer.

The Twins have a tough decision to make before the season starts in a few short weeks. Let's just hope whoever they pick can handle the pressure and not crack.

Happy Nick Punto Day!

So the big talk in the Twins blog world has been Nick Punto Day, well today is the day. So whether you love him or hate him, today is the day to let those feelings be heard, either in your own blog or you can comment to my post here.

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While I may rag on Nick from time to time with missed plays or poor plate appearances, what he does the rest of the time makes up for it. How many times have we seen him literally launch himself from second base to make a diving catch? Or how many times have we seen him be apart of a wonderful double play? (Most the second half of the season after the Twins obtained OC, but still).

Nick has had some amazing plays in the field this past season and yes, his bat may not be swinging as much as the next guy, does that really mean we should get rid of him? No I don’t think so. He an cover different positions and he does well in both of them .We’ve seen him as a short stop and we’ve seen him as a second baseman and he can cover both of them well.

I strongly believe that Nick is a great utility player and a great member to the Twins lineup. He’s always there in the dug out to congratulate a team member after a home run or after scoring a run. His bat matters when it counts. Everyone goes through their slumps with missed chances or poor plate appearances he still had a .444 batting average during the post season and a .583 OBP during the post season, both of which were the highest of anyone on the team.

When it comes right down to it, Nick is a good player and at times he just takes a bad wrap. I almost feel as though he could be considered a “band-wagon” player. He seems to have more fans when he’s doing well and when he hits his slump everyone starts to think we should get rid of him.

Let's also not forget...he is the last of the original piranhas!