I noticed something when reading through some of the 2,500+ comments on tonight's Mariners-Rangers game thread over at Lookout Landing. Some Mariners fans there expected Pat Neshek to intentionally walk Vlad in the 8th inning. That thought never actually crossed my mind because I have that much confidence in Neshek (and generally dislike [...]
Bender was Minnesota's first baseball HOFer. (h/t davidwatts)
Despite following the team on a daily basis, I must admit that opening day kind of snuck up on me. The explanation is both easy and obvious--life got in the way of baseball, but in a good way. Opening day's not really my thing anyway. It's fun because it means baseball is [...]
We're almost there. (Image from Michael Cook)
It's finally here. Opening Day! We've survived another winter without baseball. All winter long, we look forward to pitchers and catchers reporting, not because we really want to see starting pitchers throw two innings and call it a day, but rather because it means that opening day [...]
Driver who killed Sealy in crash is held again on DWI.
Isiah Thomas says Indiana hasn't contacted him about coaching job.
SBG talks about his encounter with the former owner the LAAA, Gene Autry.
Opening day. It's all good.
"It was a warm day in August when history was made,
And the fans in the boxes were looking for shade.
The bases were loaded, it was the last inning.
From the sound of the crowd, you knew we weren't winning.
When out of the dugout came No. 3,
The last hope for the Twins it [...]
A fantastic song that should be played every Opening Day. And it's particularly relevant to the 2008 Twins.
It's Opening Day and we're ready.
As the offseason mercifully draws to a close, I want to take a second to reflect on the offseason.
What I will remember about this offseason, more than anything else, is just how broken major league baseball's revenue distribution is. Once in a blue moon, you'll see a straight up baseball trade where teams [...]
PLAY BALL!
Apparently, the 2B designee has been putting in some extra time working on his fielding.
"People who say that don't understand that, in pretty much every case, you have a higher chance of getting the ball by running through it than by diving or sliding," he said. "There are a few cases, if you get the timing exactly right, where sliding you have a better chance, but it's very select.
"People [...]
There must be something in the water here.
Link
The death march continues with a home date against the Jazz. The NBA season is extremely long and few have been as long for Wolves fans as this one. This post, though is going to be short.
Please, oh please, let this season end.
Utah is a six point favorite, after opening at an eight [...]
People get ready! One more day.
Ode to Li'l Nicky In Spring
Out of the mud two strangers came
And caught me splitting wood in the yard,
And one of them put me off my aim
By hailing cheerily "Hit them hard!"
I knew pretty well why he had dropped behind
And let the other go on a way.
I knew pretty [...]
The influential British guitarist from a 1959 BBC documentary (directed by Ken Russell.)
Anybody hear echoes of a familiar "album rock" chestnut in this?
Good grief, next weekend we'll be gathering around here for game logs!
If I had just one column on this site, I'd be a lot better off.
I wish I knew how to make the site behave, I really do. Actually, the site behaves great, for the most part in FireFox. But, most people use IE. And IE6 is so damned buggy that everyone in [...]
Two American treasures. Carnegie Hall Centennial Gay-la, 1991.
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Friends, this should be an ass kicking. The Spurs are locked in a heated battle for playoff position in the Western Conference and I can't imagine that they'll be looking past our T-Wolves. The Wolves, to their credit -- and detriment -- have been playing much better of late, as we have pointed [...]
NDSU skit featured black-faced Obama actor getting lap dance. The skit was at a "Saddle and Sirloin" club event. That should tell you all you need to know.
Update: This was actually performed at the Mr. NDSU contest. From the Fargo Forum:
A pageant contestant from Saddle and Sirloin dressed as the woman [...]
That would be Cody, not Curt. The young Mr. Schilling has become the state's all-time leading scorer in boy's high school basketball. He's also the all-time assist leader. Wow.
Let's hope his wife doesn't read this:"When asked if he got married just to win the bet, Matsui laughed and said 'Maybe.'"
MinnPost signs some Mom's basement dweller to write about the Twins for them. He doesn't even have access to the team! Seriously, though, congratulations to SBG Citizen (his highest honor, FOR SURE!) Aaron Gleeman, who has had another door opened to him.
Blazers admonish Oden after hearing he played in pick-up games. Back in the day, Michael Jordan supposedly had a clause allowing him to play basketball in the off season without violating his contract because of his "love of the game". Oden shouldn't be doing this, of course, but I can't help but think [...]
The November 1968 issue of Mechanix Illustrated magazine asks, "What Will Life Be Like in the Year 2008?"
I'm bringing up the rear in our NCAA tournament pool.
[contributed by: Rhubarb_Runner]
1991 Homer Hanky
Once, Vin Scully was young and SI mattered
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Eleven year old Wisconsin girl dies of treatable diabetes after parents call on God, but refuse to call doctor. I'm sorry, but I have to believe He wants us to use our God-given intelligence.
Giants remove images of Bonds from their park. Owner proclaims that it is a new era. Right. A new era of suckitude.
ESPN - Report: Dolan still prefers to keep Isiah as coach of Knicks. How perfect. Bring in Donnie Walsh but keep Isiah on the sidelines. Somewhere, Larry Bird is laughing.
Dykstra, Like His Father, Is Reckless in Good Way.
Something I've noticed over spring training: when Carlos Gomez gets a hit, it tends to go for extra bases. Let's take a look at extra base hits per hit for Twins hitters with at least 10 hits in spring training:
Everyone repeat after me: "small sample size, regress to the mean, small sample size, regress [...]
Four days. I'm getting excited!
She wrote this at 15. Today, she's better remembered for "At Seventeen" but this was a groundbreaking song.
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Game Log for the March 26, 2008 NBA game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Houston Rockets.
Peter King said last year that Randy Moss was a borderline HOFer. ESPN says he's second only to Rice among WRs. I'm in the second camp.
Still-cold Punto will be a reserve. Punto responded by saying, "I've played for [Gardenhire] for four years now, and I know he's going to play the hot hand."
The National Mathematics Advisory Panel recommends better preparation for algebra courses as the key to mathematical education. Most importantly, fractions and probability need to be emphasized. (paging GreekHouse...)
Further proof that the WGOM is ahead of the curve.
Jose Canseco asserts that he introduced A-Rod to a steroids supplier and that A-Rod lusted after his wife. (This link has pages from Canseco's book and includes a plethora of f-bombs.)
Irrespective of what Ms. Olson did to end up in prison in the first place, this will be interesting. After being released on parole, it was determined that the penal system made a mistake about when she should be released. They arrested and incarcerated her without a hearing. My guess is that [...]
Well, look at it this way: less mowing.
C.C. raced to 100 wins by the age of 27. Joe Posnanski (yes we covet him in the Twin Cities), shows that history doesn't necessarily support long term success for the big lefty. He presents a detailed account of young pitchers with similar success and how they finished their careers. Best of [...]
with Duke and the band, of course. 1965. John Lamb on bass. Sam Woodyard, drums.
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Gardenhire says Harris is the regular second baseman, still doesn't start him with Everett, claims he wants to get Punto as many at-bats as possible, and that Punto/Tolbert will still get chances at second base.
The takeaway is clear. You are better off killing a child with your dangerous products than just seriously injuring her.
David Lynch philosophizes about the iphone and cinema. Link
*Warning- some strong language
I think Joe Nathan owes me some money. Wonder if he can pay up.
I really wish I had planned ahead for this better, but it's tough to watch a game live at 3am local time. Anyway, it's somewhat less unreasonably early for most of SBG Nation, so I figured I'd throw a little something something together for the occasion.
Daisuke Matsuzka vs. Joe Blanton
There was a lot of [...]
with some Italian dude. Happy birthday, Sir Reginald.
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Jackson 5 is a bank-account balance. Who knew Michael was so Machiavellian?
Roughly speaking, here's how things seem to stand after the most recent cuts.
Infield:
Catcher:
Mauer
Redmond
1B:
Morneau
Lamb Cuddyer
2B:
Harris/Punto
Punto/Harris
Tolbert
SS:
Everett
Punto
Tolbert
Harris
3B:
Lamb
Tolbert
Punto
Harris
Notes:
Looking at Tolbert's minor league splits, he seems to have platoon splits like you would expect a naturally left-handed batter to have, despite being a switch-hitter. So he doesn't make a great platoon partner for Lamb, though he would make a [...]
As heard on "Wait, Wait" yesterday
Register for second chance tourney, where you pick the final four rounds. My picks sucked the first time, so let's try this again. Group 6224, password sbg. We should get a few more entries this time. And, if you are not a regular commenter, now's your chance to assimilate into the [...]
What kind of world do we live in, anyway?
Joe Nathan, Minnesota Twins agree to contract extension - TwinCities.com
Wise or unwise?
Link. Club option for 2012. The link provides no further details, but I've heard rumors about $11 million or so a year.
Ubes, feel free to add to this post or write your own.
<ubelmann>I'm a stats guy, so I'm supposed to hate this move. Closers can be created, don't overpay for the mystique, [...]
She's gay, she ROCKS, it's a cover!
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On the way back from SBGVille on Sunday, Lucy, BabySBG and I stopped in Alexandria, where we met Citizen zooomx. We all enjoyed our visit with our esteemed citizen and thank him for his hospitality. A tip of the cap to you, sir!
Glen Perkins was optioned to AAA today, which is mildly surprising, but brings us closer to figuring out what the pitching staff is going to look like.
Rotation:
1. Livan Hernandez
2. Boof Bonser
3. Scott Baker?
4. Francisco Liriano?
5. Kevin Slowey
6. Phillip Humber
7. Nick Blackburn
Baker gets the question mark because of his lat/flu issues, but he ought to be [...]
Irish Week really was inspiring. So inspiring that we in the WGOM studios felt the need to go BEYOND just Green. We wanted ROY and BIV too. Here's former Frankie Goes to Hollywood frontman Holly Johnson to kick off Rainbow Week! 
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Miguel Cabrera inks huge deal with Detroit.
Lucy, BabySBG and I made it to SBGVille on Friday night. The roads weren't half bad, considering all the snow that fell.
Diesel is selling at $4.05 a gallon in SBGville. Gulp.
BabySBG is taking up to ten steps now. It won't be long and she'll be running.
I'll be gone for the [...]
Greetings from dial-up land!
Funk rockin' on the Late, Late Show, 2006. File under "Garage R&B".
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What's love got to do, got to do with it? Spanish parents respond to incentives too!
Brian McNamee blacks out, hits bus.
Podiatrists, MDs battle over body parts in Texas. And you thought MLB's anti-trust exemption was sweet. Baseball has nothing on MDs when it comes to protecting market turf.
Simplifying the whole voter-education process, Idaho candidate changes name to Pro-Life.
Reportedly, Obama, Clinton, and McCain's passport files all breached.
Abigail Taylor, injured in pool accident, dies.
The NYPost posits how the Knicks could make a run at LBJ. All they have to do is find someone dumber than Isiah Thomas. Someone make sure that Kevin McHale isn't answering his phone.
LBJ as beast?