The WGOM » Big Mak

Mak and Moss cover Twins-Royals in Beautiful Surround Sound

Big Mak — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:59:37 +0000

Moving is a frustrating endeavor. First off, it’s hard work, and secondly, we didn’t have any TV or internet so I wasn’t able to properly follow the Twins for quite a bit while we were moving in.

Fortunately there was a solution to both of those dilemmas. Wednesday afternoon found me and Mrs. Mak [...]

Series Preview in Blog: St. Louis Cardinals

Big Mak — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:00:16 +0000

St. Louis is currently in first place in the NL Central, one game up on the Brewers. They are returning from a 4-3 road trip, where they swept the Royals before losing 3 of 4 to the Mets. The Cards have a pretty good home record (21-16) while the Twins road record is [...]

Last Trip to Beloit

Big Mak — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:00:53 +0000

Due to our impending move to Kansas, catching Snappers games is about to become a lot more difficult just due to sheer distance. Thus, we took advantage last weekend and took in the last game of the first half of the season for Beloit against the Quad Cities River Bandits (Cardinals A affiliate).

This [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Milwaukee Brewers (6/23-6/25)

Big Mak — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:00:47 +0000

The Brewers did the Twins no favors, getting swept by the Tigers this weekend. How are the Twins supposed to catch the Tigers if they keep staying above .500?

You say they could win enough games that they too will be above .500? You mean more than one game above .500? That sounds [...]

WGOM Week in Review

Big Mak — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:13:00 +0000

40 posts and 1,943 LTEs, did you read everything?

ARTICLES HEADLINES ubelmann

Getting Harder To Win on the Road? The Rangers My Least Favorite Baseball Angle David McCarty Out of Curiosity SBG

SBG Convention How We Got Them You Choose - Vol. 3 Rhu_Ru Great Moments in Gameday History Andrew Big League Stew on _elm_n GAME LOGS & SERIES PREVIEWS Series Preview [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Houston Astros (6/19-6/21)

Big Mak — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:41:41 +0000

The Astros come to town finishing a nine-game road trip. Houston lost 2 of 3 to Texas this week, which marked their first series loss in June (10-6 in the month). That mild hot streak has not moved them up in the standings, as they remain in last place in the NL Central, [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Pittsburgh Pirates (6/16-6/18)

Big Mak — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:00:49 +0000

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have our first mediocre Pirates team since 1997."

- Burgher Jon @ The Pittsburgh Men's Blogging Society

The Pirates come to Minnesota winners of four of their last five, and unbridled optimism is the mood of Pirates fans. They are a mere four games out of first place [...]

Earl Battey, Where Have You Gone?

Big Mak — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:41:18 +0000

Fantastic game this afternoon, tons of fun to take in a Twins victory at Wrigley.

We were amazed at the number of Twins fans. I saw in the game log that the TV announcers mentioned the great turnout of Minnesota fans, but it was really something to behold. Mrs. Mak and I kept track [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Chicago Cubs (6/12-6/14)

Big Mak — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:12:58 +0000

The Twins travel to Wrigley to finish off their road trip (3-4 so far). Meanwhile the Cubs come back home to where they haven't lost a series since April. Both teams are hovering right around .500 (Cubs are currently on the good side, 29-28) so I'm fully expecting the teams to somehow find [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Seattle Mariners (6/5-6/7)

Big Mak — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:00:22 +0000

It seems like the Twins and Mariners have played each other a ton already this season. But we'll give it another go this weekend, this time in Seattle. Let's see what USS Mariner and Lookout Landing have to say one more time.

Yesterday was an off day for Seattle, and [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Cleveland Indians (6/2-6/4)

Big Mak — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:00:48 +0000

My word is this team bad on the road. Just think if the Twins had an experience like the Yankees in Cleveland and got kicked out of their hotel. Half the team probably wouldn't even make it to the ballpark. Gardy would have to send Justin, Jason, and the three Joes [...]

Pitcher’s Duel in Beloit

Big Mak — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:00:26 +0000

A week ago, the Snappers beat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 4-0 in a game that didn't see any scoring until the eighth inning. Joe Testa started for the Snappers and pitched the first three innings before giving way to Bradley Tippett (I assume this was by design, because Testa certainly wasn't struggling - [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Tampa Bay Rays (5/29-5/31)

Big Mak — Fri, 29 May 2009 13:00:47 +0000

The Twins start a road trip with a weekend series against Tampa Bay. Minnesota's road woes are well documented (5-14) so hopefully this series against a team struggling with higher expectations this year will get them on track. Tampa Bay currently sits at 23-27, fourth in the AL East, only percentage points above [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Boston Red Sox (5/25-5/28)

Big Mak — Mon, 25 May 2009 13:00:47 +0000

The Red Sox come to town to start off a ten-game road trip with a 4-game series with the Twins. Boston lost 2 of 3 against the Mets this weekend, and lost 3 of their 4 series on the road this month. Overall, the Sox are 9-12 on the road, but remain in [...]

What I Watched Instead of Walk-Off Weekend

Big Mak — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:00:09 +0000

The weather here was beautiful this weekend, so my wife and I made the trip up to Beloit to take in a game on Sunday. Keeping an eye on the Snappers this season (via Seth and JeffA), it seemed like they were having a tough go of it so [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Chicago White Sox (5/19-5/21)

Big Mak — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:00:16 +0000

First off, we have to pay our respects to Palehose 9. I first discovered Carl Skanberg's comics doing this feature two years ago. It was hilarious from the get-go, and I immediately bookmarked it and checked it obsessively. Partly, it was that I live in Chicago, and so I was [...]

Series Preview in Blog: New York Yankees (5/15-5/18)

Big Mak — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:00:08 +0000

I lost this post once, so all I've got is a list of links.

It turns out the Yankees spend way more money than anyone else. Does that mean Yankees fans should feel guilty about it? I know one thing, all that money can't buy Brett Gardner a sense of humor. [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Detroit Tigers (5/12-5/14)

Big Mak — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:00:18 +0000

The Twins came this close to sweeping the Mariners this weekend and getting back to even. .500 will have to wait at least two more games, and next up are the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers swept the Indians this weekend, with some fantastic pitching (see below) and some fantastic defense. I'm sure [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Seattle Mariners (5/8-5/10)

Big Mak — Fri, 08 May 2009 16:30:51 +0000

The Twins (13-16) take on the Mariners (15-14) at home this weekend. Seattle has lost their last four games and fallen out of first place in the AL West. They currently sit one half game behind Texas. The Mariners are 8-7 on the road thus far this season, while the Twins are [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Detroit Tigers (5/4-5/5)

Big Mak — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:00:13 +0000

A quick two-game series in Detroit kicks off a short 4-game road trip for the Twins. Minnesota is 3-5 on the road (but 2-1 against teams that don't have Sox as their team name [a-Soxual?]). After this series the Twins will have played one series against each team in the AL Central (they're [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Kansas City Royals (5/1-5/3)

Big Mak — Fri, 01 May 2009 13:00:48 +0000

The Twins host the KC Royals for three games this weekend. The Royals are currently in first place in the Central, one game ahead of the fourth-place Twins (in other words, nobody really distinguished themselves in the first month in this division). The Royals are starting off this road trip in Minnesota after [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Boston Red Sox (4/21-4/22)

Big Mak — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:00:06 +0000

The Twins travel to Boston for a quick two game series having just swept the Angels to get their record back to even at 7-7. The Red Sox welcome the Twins for a quick two game series having just swept the Orioles to get their record back to even at 7-6. The Twins [...]

Series Preview In Blog: Los Angeles Angels (4/17-4/19)

Big Mak — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:00:05 +0000

Is it over? Can I come out now? That Blue Jays series scared me a little bit, I have to be honest. The Twins dropped 3 of 4 to Toronto to fall to 4-7 on the season (and 3-5 at home). They continue the homestand with the LA Angels, who come [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Toronto Blue Jays (4/13-4/16)

Big Mak — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:00:23 +0000

The Twins return to the Dome (the last time they do that for the first time in the season ... wait, what?) after dropping the final two games of their series in Chicago. I was at the game on Sunday and I've got pictures. If you behave yourselves, maybe I'll share them soon. [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Chicago White Sox (4/10-4/12)

Big Mak — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:00:06 +0000

The White Sox hosted the Royals in some pretty cold conditions this week. The opener was pushed back a day due to snow (headline writers had a field day). Other than a three-run homer by Jim Thome, the White Sox bats were just as cold. They lost 2 of 3 in [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Cleveland Indians (07/25-07/27)

Big Mak — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:00:16 +0000

The Twins try to wash the taste of that Yankees series out of their mouth with a three game set in Cleveland this weekend. The Twins enter on a four game losing streak, 2.5 games back of the White Sox in the AL Central.

Sometimes I think the Twins feel a bit overmatched in [...]

Back to Beloit

Big Mak — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:00:23 +0000

For my wife's birthday, she decided she wanted to go to a ballgame with a couple of friends (How did I get so lucky?). So once again we drove up to Wisconsin to see the Snappers take on the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Seattle Mariners A affiliate).

The Snappers roster this time around looks quite a [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Texas Rangers (7/18-7/20)

Big Mak — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:01:20 +0000

Big Mak reprises his Series Preview in Blog feature and looks at the three game series against the Texas Rangers that kicks off the second half of the 2008 [...]

Game 95: Twins v. Tigers

Big Mak — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:07:54 +0000

Verlander and Blackburn on the mound.

Beloit Doubleheader

Big Mak — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:00:35 +0000

Last Saturday, my parents were coming into town, and, since Beloit is pretty close to on the way from Marshall to Chicago, we figured why not take in a game to kick off the Memorial Day weekend? After checking the schedule and noticing the unusual start time of 5 PM, I took off from [...]

Beloit Repoit

Big Mak — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:00:25 +0000

I went up last weekend on Sunday to see the Snappers take on the Peoria Chiefs (the Chicago Cubs A-level team). The Snappers won to complete the 3-game sweep and move to two games over .500, which was their high-water mark for this season to that point.

Final Score: Beloit 5, Peoria 4 (

Series Preview in Blog: Chicago White Sox (4/29-4/30)

Big Mak — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:00:52 +0000

Short post for a short series, the Twins play two against the White Sox to begin the week. The White Sox come into this game on a ... well ... it's hard to explain, but they're not on a winning streak, or a losing streak. We won't be able to figure that one [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Cleveland Indians (4/18-4/20)

Big Mak — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:00:57 +0000

I love the dingy lucky hat. (from Left of Center Photo)

The Indians come to town for a weekend series after trading blowouts with the Tigers over the last two days (an 11-1 win yesterday, and a 13-2 loss on Wednesday). The Tribe currently sit at 6-10, with a [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Detroit Tigers (4/14-4/15)

Big Mak — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:00:25 +0000

A short series with the Tigers starts off the week, two games in Detroit. After facing division leaders in their first four series of the season, the Twins now get the team with the worst record in baseball at 2-10. The Tigers are coming home after a road trip in which they dropped [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Kansas City Royals (4/11-4/13)

Big Mak — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:00:06 +0000

Since the Twins and Royals met last weekend, the Royals won their first home series of the season against the Yankees and remain in first place in the AL Central, a half game up on the White Sox. This is pretty unfamiliar territory for followers of the Royals, and they are starting [...]

Big Mak in Beloit

Big Mak — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:00:54 +0000

In addition to it being opening week for the Twins and Major League Baseball, the minor league season also got underway last weekend. Given the beautiful weather here in Illinois (and southern Wisconsin), Mrs. Mak and I decided to cash in the first couple of tickets of our season ticket package with the Beloit [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Chicago White Sox (4/07-4/10)

Big Mak — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:00:26 +0000

They'll be playing this series in my backyard, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it to any of the games. Definitely not on Monday, but Wednesday or Thursday is a possibility. If I do go, of course I'll file a full report.

The White Sox come into this series hot [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Kansas City Royals (4/04-4/06)

Big Mak — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:00:23 +0000

I asked the question in the gamelog on Tuesday about the Twins particularly struggling against groundball pitchers, which was very ably answered by ubelmann, saying that it seemed there were enough batters in the lineup who had better numbers against groundball pitchers that there shouldn't be too much of an effect. That was [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Los Angeles Angels (3/31-4/03)

Big Mak — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:00:30 +0000

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 [...]

Spring Training in Blog, Part III

Big Mak — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 15:00:24 +0000

Even though I'm still reeling from having my mind blown upon reading the solution to one of the great mysteries of our time, I will still soldier on to provide you with some interesting/amusing/inane links.

So, if you don't have plans to go try out for the team and experience spring training [...]

Spring Training in Blog, Part II: The Envelope, Please

Big Mak — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 15:15:03 +0000

The Academy Awards are tonight, so here's an Oscar themed Preview in Blog.

Best Editing - Sometimes, as an editor, less is more. And sometimes, less is all you have. In a long off-season, there are times when you're bound to have nothing to say.

Best Sound Mixing - Best means loudest, right? [...]

Spring Training in Blog

Big Mak — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 15:00:52 +0000

At this point, we've all been without baseball for so long, that even the not-always-highest-quality baseball with the not-always-highest-quality players of spring training seems like the greatest thing that we've seen since we got hooked on some kind of anime series.

I know practice makes perfect, but I can't believe coach [...]

The Levale Speigner Report

Big Mak — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 07:30:13 +0000

Here's something that I compiled over the season, that I haven't even looked at until now. I thought it was somewhat interesting (obviously, since I spent the time to compile the numbers), but we'll see whether it was worth it.

Levale Speigner made 6 starts this season for the Washington Nationals. In the five [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Kansas City Royals (9/10-9/12)

Big Mak — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:00:20 +0000

Minnesota Twins (70-73) @ Kansas City Royals (62-80)

The Twins enter the final six series of the season looking to finish with a record better than .500 for the seventh straight campaign. They havenâ€™t helped themselves out too much recently, they snapped a six-game losing streak on Sunday, winning the final game of their weekend [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Cleveland Indians (8/27-8/29)

Big Mak — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 15:00:34 +0000

Minnesota Twins (67-63) @ Cleveland Indians (72-57)

The Twins come off their four-game sweep of Baltimore heading into Cleveland to face the first-place Indians. The Indians just finished a 6-3 road trip, winning two of three from Tampa, Detroit, and Kansas City. Recently the Indians have struggled a bit at home, going 7-14 since [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Seattle Mariners (8/13-8/15)

Big Mak — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:00:18 +0000

Minnesota Twins (58-59) @ Seattle Mariners (65-50)

The Twins continue their death march road trip with a three game series in Seattle. Thus far they are 1-5 on this trip, and have dipped below the .500 mark for the first time in quite a while. The Mariners on the other hand return home after [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Los Angeles Angels (8/10-8/12)

Big Mak — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 04:09:28 +0000

All right, here we go, a series preview from the end of dinner (burgers, corn on the cob, and pineapple straight off the grill) before the end of the game tonight. That way it's still kosher as a preview, right? Thank goodness they're on the west coast so I get the cushion of [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Kansas City Royals (8/07-8/09)

Big Mak — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 13:00:35 +0000

Minnesota Twins (57-54) @ Kansas City Royals (48-62)

The Twins finished their 7 game homestand at 4-3 with a series split against the Indians, they begin a road trip that starts in KC, and goes through LA and Seattle, totaling nine games. Since their demolition of the White Sox in a doubleheader in Chicago, the [...]

Justin Morneau’s RBI

Big Mak — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 14:08:03 +0000

My master plan was to have a nice new post leading off my blog, Daneeka's Ghost, when my Better Know a Citizen article went up with the idea that SBG Nation would wander by and be drawn in. Unfortunately, I didn't get the post finished in time, so if you stopped by [...]

Series Preview in Blog: Kansas City Royals (7/30-8/01)

Big Mak — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 15:00:52 +0000

I'm not sure I should even be doing this preview. I've seen what happens to people who try to cover the Royals. If Emil Brown asks about me, I was never here.

Minnesota Twins (53-51) vs. Kansas City Royals (47-57)

The Twins have been alternating series wins and losses since the break. [...]