The Minnesota Soccer Club lost a heartbreaker to the Kansas City Royal Club of the B-League 1-nil when the Royal Club scored a late goal. Starting goal keeper Kyle Lohse was frustrated by the loss, having stopped the Royal offence cold. Soccer club coach Ron Gardenhire decided to go with geriatric goal keeper Terry Mulholland [...]
Unfortunately, it's just the Royals.
Minnesota -168, KC +153.
August is pretty much over and with that, so is the summer.
I've noticed - it's hard not to notice - that the days are shorter. The weather has cooled from the heat we had the summer. Mot yet jacket weather, but not air coonditioner 24/7, either. Good for that.
Several [...]
I stopped by Baseball Prospectus today and checked out the playoff odds report prior to Tuesday's action. Here's what I found.
Team
Chance to Win Division
Chance for Wild Card
Total Chance
Boston
64.0
12.9
76.8
New York
35.9
16.6
55.5
Chicago
84.5
10.7
95.3
Cleveland
15.2
43.5
58.7
Oakland
64.3
4.54
68.8
Los Angeles
35.7
6.88
42.5
There are four playoff spots, of course, in the AL. At almost the end of August, five teams are more likely than not to make the [...]
Yes. The Twins will win again tonight. They may even get some early runs. You heard it here first.
Minnesota -200, Kansas City +180.
Think of it. The Twins have scored a grand total of one run before the 7th inning of their last seven games combined and they are HUGE FAVORITES.
I was a little uncomfortable today, suffering through a strained back. I have had minor back issues for a long time. Like a lot of people, I have had some lower back pain. However, I also get upper back pain. This particular episode was upper back pain.
I can trace the origin of these two different [...]
I got every one of the Texas games wrong. Sigh. I'm going with the Baker man vs. the Royals.
I was doing things saround the home on Sunday when my back went out. I've had some back problems on and off for about 15 years. Nothing too serious. Sunday, though, was not fun.
Lucy and I went to the movies on Sunday afternoon, and by the time I got home, I was [...]
If that reliever can hold the Twins down for five innings, why expect them to win today? Rogers over Radke.
SBG and I went to the vet this morning to pick up our little girl, Eleanor Rigby, who got spayed yesterday. Even though I know it is for the best, it hurts me that she has to go through the pain. Her incision is a little irritated, apparently she was licking it last night.
When I [...]
At the light rail stations, there are signs like this one that tell you where you are and the time. In addition, if there are any announcements, messages are scrolled along the signs. Most stations, like Fort Snelling, have four signs, two for each of the Northbound and Southbound sides.
No big deal. [...]
Some thoughts today as the Twins drop two of three at home to the White Sox.
When Torii Hunter got hurt, I said that his injury wasn't going to make a difference for the Twins. Today, I'd say having Hunter out of the lineup hurt. Of course, the reason it hurt was that Jacque Jones and [...]
I'm taking the home towners. We've got Silva and not Mays pitching. That should do the trick.
Hello SBG fans and welcome to the let down edition of SBG The Mag.
Really, how could tonight's game top last night? Answer: it couldn't. Last night, the volume was turned up to 11. Tonight? Not so much.
First of all, the beautiful waves of internets were not flowing through my Comcast line. [...]
One hit. One lousy hit. You go to a game, spend good money (okay, I was in the cheap seats), and the home team gets one stinking hit. Other than that one hit, hardly any other balls were hard hit. You leave the ball park, ride home on a crowded train, [...]
That speck there in the middle is Johan. Three innings no runs, and just 35 pitches. He may be hard to see, but trust me he looks good.
This guy was behind me in line with his blue hat.
Large walkup tonight. Big crowd, ace on the mound. Twins are big favorite. I'm a little nervous, me being bad luck usually. Nevertheless, I'm going with Johan!!!!!!
Update: Tonight's line: Minnesota -168, Chicago +153.
A while back, I celebrated the one year anniversay of this website. Most of what I did the first month or so was unread. Just about the only person that knew about this site was my Dad.
A year ago, I put a counter on my page. You [...]
Hello, SBG, The Mag fans. The Twins continue to play well, taking three of four from the Mariners. Only King Felix was able to stop the Twins from an eight game winning streak. Naturally, that's the game that Lucy and I attended. I posted photos of our experience at the park on Saturday. Check it [...]
I updated the contest results a couple of days ago. I mentioned that BEM had a commanding lead, unless some people below her made a run. Well, friends, your best buddy SBG has made a run. I've gotten six games right in a row. As a result, I've vaulted into second place. AAC played one [...]
The kid isn't pitching today. I'll take the Twins.
I got a comment posted by bjhess to an earlier post in which I talked about the 'tool's decision to ask Ford to bunt with runners on first and second (with LeCroy on second) and no outs in the fifth inning of a scoreless game.
Here's what I said:
At the time, the Twins had runners on [...]
Mariners open it up in the tenth. Boy, Sexson crushed that pitch. SBG, let's leave. Mulholland is in there.
No out man on third in the tenth.
Back to back home runs in the seventh by Sexson & Beltre had Lucy very upset.
Top of four. Twins up 2-0. LeCroy was 2 RBI & Lewwwwww with a nice catch in the first.
What a night. The 65 Twins in all their glory. I stood and cheered my boyhood hero, Harmon "Killer" Killebrew.
I also got to meet Seth Stohs. He is a very nice guy and a great guy to talk baseball with.
The game is about to start. I'm afraid it will be a [...]
I have my new toy, the subscription to Baseball Prospectus. Let's use it, okay?
I mentioned the other day something that Sid Hartman had written about Torii Hunter. In the same column, we found this gem.
One reason for the Twins' 6-1 record in the past seven road games is that manager Ron Gardenhire decided to get [...]
Hello, Contest Fans!
Here is an update of the contest through the Friday night game.
BEM has a commanding lead. Well, sort of. A couple good bets by those below her and it's a new ball game. However, she's amassed 767 points on just 12 predictions (she's 10-2). Good going!
AAC and TEB are trying [...]
Very Interesting:
Seattle -112, Minnesota +102.
Oh, and look at this one
Oakland -360, Kansas City +280. An 80 point spread. Huge. Would you lay down a $100 on KC tonight? Thought not.
I finally did today what I had been threatening to do for a long time. I bought a subscription to Baseball Prospectus. I'm very pumped.
Can the Twins keep winning? Will the pitching continue to be awesome? Can the offense scratch out some runs?
Yes. It can continue. The Twins will git er dun again tonight. Minnesota is the pick.
Baseball Prospectus has compiled their daily post season odds report.
Today, BP is saying the Twins have about a ten percent shot.
Percent chance they'll win the AL Central: 1.45870
Percent chance they'll win the Wild Card: 8.32506
Percent chance they'll make the playoffs: 9.78376
This is based on a computer simulation that they run every day of the remainder [...]
Minnesota -160, Seattle +145.
From Sid Hartman's column:
Hunter believes some roster improvements have to made for next season.
"The team that we have there has a lot of potential -- Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, they have all the potential in the world -- but we do need a veteran power hitter and veteran guys to come off the bench [...]
No post last night. I was supposed to be out with friends. Long story.
Anyway, the Twins are 10-9 since the Hunter injury and appear to be creeping back into the race. LeCroy is starting to hit: .273/.355/.509/.864 in August. Not too bad. I figured that he'd be an upgrade over [...]
I don't know about this one. Do you take the Twins, fresh off their sweep of Chicago but with Joe "I now suck totally" Mays? Or do you take the M's fresh off their sweep of KC (talk about a no-so-impressive sweep) and their Vitamin S'er Ryan Franklin? He got bombed in [...]
Seattle +125, Minnesota -135
I've been gone for a while or at least neglecting The Mag. Never fear. Last night I posted two entries. Scroll down and take a read!
Hey! The Twins have really been playing well lately!
This is the first time in quite some time that the Twins have been playing really well. Three in a row over the Sox. That is all right. I wrote earlier that being a Twins fan sure beats being a Royals fan. [...]
Some days, one must remember that there are worst things than being a Twins fan and watching them play a little below expectations.
I was driving home from work tonight and heard that the Royals had lost again today. Eighteen losses in a row. The Royals are now 38-81. That's right, if the Royals run their [...]
I'm going with the best left hander in the game. That's right, I've got Johan over Buehrle.
Minnesota -108 Chicago -102. Almost a pick 'em game.
I wrote a nice little positive story tonight and then I read this:
http://www.startribune.com/stories/503/5563947.html
I would encourage you to read this. Joe Christenson of the Strib explains the Pythagorean Winning Percentage. Of course, the 'Tool denigrates the whole idea. Says the 'Tool:
"All these numbers that people want to throw out there," he said, "and all this stuff [...]
I've been feeling down about the Twins lately. I've known for a while that they wouldn't make it to the playoffs, and they've not played particularly entertaining baseball, what with no offense. Despite the disappointment of this season, I remain a Twins fan. But, more than that, I remain a baseball fan. [...]
Tonight: Chicago -141, Minnesota +131. I'm pretty happy about my Twins pick last night. I'll total up the contest so far and post it tonight, I hope.
I've really been neglecting my site lately. Don't worry. I'll be back.
I watched the Twins game, most of it anyway, last night. [...]
I've got the Twins over the Sox. Hey! Lohse has pitched well. And the bats are well rested. Everything comes together tonight!
Minnesota +149, Chicago -164.
SBG is having a little bit of a writer's block. I'm not sure really what to write about these days. The series against the A's was nice -- 2 out of 3 against the hottest team in the league. On the other hand, they only scored 5 runs in [...]
Lucy and I went to Batman Begins on Saturday night. Wow. That was a great movie. I went to the original Batman the day it opened many years ago. I was quite disappointed with that movie. Michael Keaton's Batman was two-dimensional. Vicky Vale? She was not interesting. [...]
It's hard to believe that a starter as good as Silva is such a big underdog. Then again, these are the A's who have been almost unbeatable. I mean they almost beat Satana, and he was awesome. So I'll bite the bullet and take the A's.
I think it was the 13th of August.
Anyway, Oakland -160, Minnesota +145
Guess who?
Here are two pitchers. I am using the three true outcomes (K, BB, HR) plus hit by pitch to determine the pitchers' field independent pitching, a factor which attempts to take a team's fielding out of the evaluation of a pitcher's performance. [...]
Go Twins! I'm taking the hometown nine tonight.
Minnesota -125, Oakland 105.
This should be a pretty darned good game.
Hello Friends, it's your best buddy SBG. I've had a little vacation from the blog this week, but I thought I'd check in before the weekend. Tonight I thought I'd discuss a few topics that have been on my mind lately.
One Run Blues. If you've been watching Twins games lately, you've heard quite a bit [...]
It's going to be a Seattle Sweep. I'm going with Seattle.
Minnesota -127, Seattle +117
In the pregame show, Gardy told us that the big problem for the Twins offense is that they need a few more veteran hitters. Specifically, they need guys to move guys over. You know, make productive outs. If only we had guys who could move guys over, we'd score more runs and win more games. [...]
I'll go with F-Her, too. Seattle is the pick.
Seattle -115, Minnesota +105.
Sorry fans, no substantive blog entry today. I started an entry on the way home last night. But, when I got home, I had other tasks so I didn't finish. I guess I've taken an unannounced vacation.
I did watch some of the Twins game last night, but it got [...]
The pick is Carlos Silva and the Twins.
Minnesota -128, Seattle 118.
Frightwig, who you got?
It's been a little over a week since Torii Hunter went down with his broken ankle.
When he got hurt, I thought a couple things (and wrote them here). First, I already felt that the Twins were out of it. Second, I didn't think losing Torii Hunter would hurt all that much.
Let's see how [...]
I have posted my spreadsheet for keeping track of the contest. BEM has a pretty good lead. She has amassed a record of 8-1, and a total of 695 points. Very impressive! AAC is second with 185 points. There are a lot of games left, so everyone should be thinking [...]
Boston -142, Minnesota +132
When I got out of college, I started saving change. When I got home, I threw the change in my pocket into my collection. I lived in an apartment for awhile and so quarters got spent on laundry. In 1994, I bought a house and started saving the change in earnest.
At some point, I decided [...]
Saturday's Line:
Minnesota -136, Boston +126.
I got part of it right. Radke was brilliant again last night. Seven innings of shutout baseball. However, I didn't anticipate that the Twins would put a dozen runs on the board. My bad!
Oh and one more thing.
LEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!
Good evening, organic food fans!
You are probably wondering why I'm eating organic fruit. Or maybe you couldn't care less. Regardless of your level of interest, I'm here to tell you that Lucy buys organic fruit. Organic fruit is expensive. So, I'm not about to let it go to waste.
Speaking of waste, [...]
Yesterday, I had a couple of tickets on my desk for the Twins game, but I couldn't see my way clear to getting to the game, which as it turned out, was okay. Sigh. In fact, I worked through lunch, being sustained only by the organic banana that I ate in the morning.
After [...]
I'm taking Barry Zito and Oakland over our boys.
Whew! I was a little crabby at 3 this morning! If you don't agree with me, say so, don't leave and never come back. So, forget that part. But, I think that Cuddy has gotten a raw deal this year, considering that he's actually hit the ball and considering the chances [...]
Good morning, SBG fans, and welcome to the first ever insomniac edition of SBG, The Mag.
I went to bed tonight, fully anticipating a good night's sleep. I'm not normally an insomniac, but this morning I was awoken about 1 AM by a little thunderstorm that rolled through beautiful Eagan, MN. I've been lying in bed [...]
The Twins have lost six in a row...
Make it seven. I'm going with Oakland again tonight, for the same old reason, you gotta score runs to win.
A reminder, tomorrow's game is a noon start. I'll post odds in the morning, but if you want to play, get your picks in by noon.
Oakland -150, Minnesota +140.
The Twins are big dogs at home, with Carlos Silva pitching.
Closed circuit to BEM: you got your pick in on time.
Apparently, Romero's no good to start an inning, either. The fact is, Romero just doesn't throw enough strikes. A lot of people have bemoaned the fact that the Twins didn't make a [...]
I'm watching the Twins lose their sixth straight game to fall six games back in the Wild Card race tonight and the Twins actually urged fans to lay down a $100 deposit on 2005 playoff tickets. I wonder how long they'd hold that money before sending it back to you. The other question [...]
When was the last time you knew the Twins were going to win? It's been awhile. I'm going with Oakland tonight.
Oakland -125, Minnesota +115.
Boy, it sure hurt to pick Johan last night. The good news is he pitched pretty well. The bad news? He didn't throw a shut out.
I talked to my buddy Moss today and I told him I was going to talk about the labor agreement between the NFL and its players. I happen to think that the NFL labor agreement sucks. My position has always been that the NBA has the best labor agreement. Moss and I have disagreed about [...]
It's surprising that the line opened up this wide. Considering the way that the Twins have played and the way that the A's have played, I would have expected a tighter line, even though Santana is pitching. I was right. The line moved $15 today, indicating heavy betting on Oakland.
Boy, have the [...]
A: When it means you didn't tear a tendon.
From the Strib:
Twins center fielder Torii Hunter has a broken left ankle and no apparent tendon damage, but he could still miss the rest of the season, test results showed today.
...
The good news, according to the team's announcement, was that the results didn't show any evidence of [...]