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Andrew  March 16, 2009, at 10:00 am  - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Andrew, BKAC, Johan Santana, Major League Baseball, Razor Shines, spookymilk, The Wire
Name: Kelly
SBG Monkier: Spookymilk
Hometown: Blue Earth, Minnesota
Town I Currently Live In: Yakima, Washington. It’s on the less exciting side of the state.
Profession: Professional actor and screenwriter. I have an IMDb page as of a few months ago, but it’s pretty lean at the moment. There’s a lot coming down the pipe in 2009/2010.
Bats: Switch, extremely poorly.
Throws: Right
Positions: Third Base. I was quite good at it.
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: As a hitter, I hit my only home run against Mapleton, and the bases were loaded (we won by 12, but whatever). As a fielder, there are a lot, but I got to start a triple play once in fifth grade, which is hard as hell to do with such short baselines. Click here to continue reading Better Know A Citizen – Spookymilk...
Andrew  March 2, 2009, at 10:00 am  - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Battlestar Galactica, BKAC, Harmon Killebrew, Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, Kirby Puckett, Lord of the Rings, Minnesota Twins
Name: DK
Hometown: Owatonna, Minnesota
Town I Currently Live In: Minneapolis
Profession: Law student
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Positions: First Base/Right Field
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: I won the "gold glove" award on my junior high youth association baseball team, the last season I played organized baseball. I couldn't cut it any more after that as a hitter since I was OBPing around .380 at an age where the best guys were still putting up .700 or more. But, conversely, reliable defenders were hard to find at that level, so my ability to actually pick it and make consistent outs at 1B was appreciated. Click here to continue reading Better Know A Citizen – DK...
Andrew  November 24, 2008, at 10:00 am  - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Andrew, Bacon, BKAC, Gutzon, Iron Chef, Jason Kubel, Mount Rushmore, Rod Carew, Spain, The Big Lebowski
Name: Ben
SBG Moniker: Gutzon
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
Town I Currently Live In: Minneapolis, MN
Profession: Student teaching/semipro brass musician/barista
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Positions: In order of competence - 3B, 2B, C
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: Leading off and going 3 for 3 with two 2B, a walk, and four runs in my first Little League game. Career-wise, things went downhill from there.
Hobbies: Trombone, reading, baseball, tasty food and beverages
What are you known for around the WGOM? - I'm not sure what I have a reputation for...skulking around the game threads after games, maybe? Click here to continue reading Better Know A Citizen – Gutzon...
Andrew  August 12, 2008, at 7:33 am  - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Andrew, Andrew Jackson, BKAC, Brad Radke, Drake Bulldogs, Fargo, Kirby Puckett, LEN3, Pat Neshek, Rod Carew, Shane Mack, Teddy Roosevelt, Wiffleball, Yickit
SBG Moniker:Yickit
Name: Eric
Hometown: Fargo, North Dakota
Town I Currently Live In: Washington, DC
Profession: I hope to be a lawyer soon.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Positions: First, Third, Left
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: Intentionally pegging a batter in a Wiffle Ball game over the Fourth of July comes to mind, probably because of the fight/argument that came next. I guess that's why drinking and baseball don't mix.
Hobbies: Procrastinating, Reading, Running.
What are you known for around the WGOM? I hope I'm not known for anything.
If you could have a nice, polite dinner with any 3 people - dead or alive - who and why? John Marshall, Teddy Roosevelt, Andrew Jackson. I'd want leadership and professional advice, and to see if history's take on these individuals is close to the mark. And an exclusive book deal. Maybe a the rights to produce HBO mini series on each.
If you could pick any 3 people - again, dead or alive - to go out and party (or if you're not the party type, go for martini's or whatever it is you do) who and why? Colin Farrell, Russell Crowe, and Sidney Ponson. Apparently I find bar fights, telephone throwing, and drinking an entertaining way to spend an evening.
Sports Allegiances: Twins, Vikes, Drake Bulldogs, and I guess the Nationals too (Out of proximity).
Favorite Books: Coach, Armageddon in Retrospect, anything Hemingway, The Fountainhead, Anthem, 1984, Oedipus, Chaucer, Samuel Beckett, White Nights, Billy Bud, LOTR, Arabian Nights, Crime and Punishment, Rhetoric, Anied, The Odyssey, Crime and Punishment, Without Remorse, Debt of Honor, Into Thin Air, Rainbow Six, Happy Days, Slaughter House 5, Catch-22, Closing Time, The Stranger, A Man Without A Country
Favorite Music: NFG, Taking Back Sunday, Dredg, The Starting Line, The Academy Is, Finch, Smashing Pumpkins, Jimmy Eat World
Favorite Baseball Movie: Black Irish
Favorite Non-baseball Movie: Vertigo
Favorite Food & Drink: Reuben, Coke
Favorite TV Show(s): Scrubs, Robot Chicken, Nova, The Secret Life Of ___, Man v. Wild, Deadliest Catch
Favorite Twins Player, historically: Rod Carew, and more recently Puck, Shane Mack and Radke.
Favorite Twins Player, currently: Neshek, but basically the entire team (Even Mike Lamb: I admire his angst beard).
Best Twins Memory: Witnessing Delmon Young's first home run for the Twins in Chicago. One of the only high points of that series.
Favorite Sport to Play: Is javelin a sport? Probably football.
Favorite Sport to Watch: Baseball.
If I was commissioner for a day, I'd: Move the Pirates to Fargo. They'd be more popular there. Or for laughs I'd contract the Angels, Yankees, And Bo Sox.
If I had Bill Smith's job I'd: Fire Terry Ryan. And make sure the Twins new stadium gets named Land O' Lakes.
Favorite Ballpark: Camden Yard
Favorite blogs: I read around 100 a day in google reader, but my favorite Twins blogs are WGOM, Gleeman, LENIII, and The Curse of Big Papi.
Will Young went to GW in DC. Does that make you friend or foe? Well I generally like Twins fans, but I generally dislike GW students. Tough call. I don't know Will personally but I can predict whether or not we could be friends based on DC bars. If WYoung hung out at McFadden's we are clearly enemies; if his bar of choice was The Big Hunt we could be friends. Any other bars or no bars at all, then we're frenemies.
100 Blogs & quite the book list - how do you find that much time to read? Caffeine.
Were you ever at the Knapp Center way back with Quantel Murphy and Lonnie Randolph? I definitely was at the Knapp Center way back then. The Bulldogs did not win, but then I don't remember winning a basketball game at home until we beat Iowa. That win erased all the past frustration. I'm sure its a much different atmosphere at the home games now.
Did you ever think the Bulldogs would make it to the NCAA Tournament? Yes, although I was hoping it would have been while I was still attending Drake. Drake going to the dance the year after I graduated was unfortunate, although it was fun being the only Drake fan in Virginia, where everyone for an unknown reason was rooting for Western Kentucky. Until Drake lost. On a buzzer beater. That part sucked.
Map time! Hey, finally another North Dakotan!

Click on map to view a full sized image.
Andrew  August 7, 2008, at 6:52 am  - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Conan O'Brien, Hitchhiker's Guide, Kent Hrbek, Michael Cuddyer, Minneapolis Millers, Pride and Prejudice, Scott Baker, The Simpsons, Thisisbeth, Tom Brunansky
Name: Beth Miller
Hometown: Buffalo, Minnesota
Town I Currently Live In: St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Profession: Administrator
Bats: Neither
Throws: Like a girl
Positions: Scorekeeper. (In my brief career playing softball for my company team--about 25 games--they usually stuck me in right field. I had two games at catcher, and one game at 3B.)
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: I got a hit once!
Hobbies: Sewing (quilts, crafts, and clothes), reading, writing, watching sports
What are you known for around the WGOM? Random appearances?
If you could have a nice, polite dinner with any 3 people - dead or alive - who and why? Ack! I hate these questions! I'm going to limit my answer to people alive, because I pretty much want to talk to anyone with historical significance, whether it be personal, scientific, political, or cultural. And I want to meet with Terry Ryan, Tom Kelly, and Jim Rantz, just to get their perspective on how the Twins organization is going.
If you could pick any 3 people - again, dead or alive - to go out and party (or if you're not the party type, go for martini's or whatever it is you do) who and why? There are so many people, I'm going to pick one group: I'd like to meet with some of the "stars" of baseball from the late 1800's. I'd like to show them what the game is like today, and have them explain differences from how the game was then. As the rules were evolving, I'd like to know how they decided to make the changes.
Sports Allegiances: Twins, Wild, Swarm
Favorite Books: Pride and Prejudice, Hitchhikers' Guide
Favorite Music: Generally pop, but my iPod holds a wide variety
Favorite Baseball Movie: 61* or For the Love of the Game
Favorite Non-baseball Movie: I don't watch a lot of movies, so of the limited ones I've seen, it depends on my mood.
Favorite Food & Drink: For simple pleasures, I really like a good hamburger. I don't drink alcohol. (Which means I watch all these games sober!)
Favorite TV Show(s): I never really watched TV, but I do enjoy The Simpsons.
Favorite Twins Player, historically: Tom Brunansky was my favorite player as a kid, but Kent Hrbek is the all-time favorite.
Favorite Twins Player, currently: Michael Cuddyer and Scott Baker
Best Twins Memory: Someone gave me good tickets to a Twins game for my 12th birthday, and Tom Brunansky hit a walk-off home run! That or Baker's near-perfect game.
Favorite Sport to Play: Tennis
Favorite Sport to Watch: Baseball
If I could live anywhere in the world, I'd live in: Somewhere near enough to attend lots of Twins games.
If I was commissioner for a day, I'd: I'd make Manny Ramirez cut his hair. It annoys me.
If I had Bill Smith's job I'd: I'd completely abuse my position to watch a lot of baseball from some really good seats. I'd like to go to Twins minor league games, but they're so far away (exception: Beloit). As for the work part of the job, I'd make sure all my assistants were giving me full reports from a scouting and statistical view.
Favorite Ballpark: Wrigley Field for the history, Kauffman Stadium for the ballpark
Favorite blogs: WGOM, Aaron Gleeman, Seth Speaks, the Strib/SPPP blogs
What is your take on Conan's discussion with old time baseball players? Absolutely hilarious. That's pretty much what someone with a time machine would look like if they went back in time (except the natives would probably not be so tolerant). I've seen the old-time baseball exhibition they do at the Dome every year, and while it's interesting, I'm really interested in knowing the thought process that went behind the changing of the rules. When did they decide that gloves were a good idea and allowed them (which would change the "catch on one bounce" rule), why did they decide on four balls for a walk, etc.
Why is your Buffalo better than FTLF's Buffalo, NY? I list it as my hometown! My parents property is oddly located with ties to four cities; the address is Buffalo and that's where I went to high school, so I usually go with that.
What kind of writing do you enjoy the most? Honestly, most of my writing these days are just e-mail messages to friends, blog entries, and stuff like that. I don't have the attention span to write anything longer.
Who do you credit with creating your interest in baseball? My parents. My mom loves the Twins because her father loved baseball, and listened to all the Twins games on the radio (he died in 1990), and before that followed the Minneapolis Millers. My dad loves all sports (his mother was a huge football fan; his dad didn't care about sports).
Map time!

Andrew  August 5, 2008, at 7:06 am  - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Andrew, beer, BKAC, bowling, cheaptoy, Fire Joe Morgan, Kent Hrbek, Pat Neshek, Wisconsin
Name: Cheaptoy
Hometown: Stillwater, MN
Town I Currently Live In: Edgerton, WI
Profession: Product Engineer – Homogenizers at APV in Lake Mills, WI (right near the Tyranena brewing company, for those lucky enough to have tasted their stuff.)
Bats: R
Throws: R
Positions: 2B, RF
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: Getting out of the way of the SS as he completed a 6-3 double play in Madison rec softball. I also hit a triple in 9th grade, that was awesome. I’ve never hit a home run, though, not even in rec league.
Hobbies: Brewing up tasty beverages (I’m award winning, even), bowling (2007-08 league champions), disc golfing. Madison’s been a great place for all three hobbies.
What are you known for around the WGOM? Not sure, probably for helping to increase the length of game logs through brewing discussions with Meat. Also, health problems.
If you could have a nice, polite dinner with any 3 people - dead or alive - who and why? I’m terrible with these types of questions, so I just gave up.
Sports Allegiances: Twins and Vikings.
Favorite Books: Fantasy/Sci-fi stuff, tops being Lord of the Rings, A Song of Ice and Fire, Foundation series, anything in the Discworld series, Dune, etc.
Favorite Music: Heavy Metal. I’m pretty narrow-minded here, I have to admit.
Favorite Baseball Movie: Major League – though to be honest, I couldn’t really think of any other baseball movies that really stand out.
Favorite Non-baseball Movie: Lord of the Rings (I consider all three to be one)
Favorite Food & Drink: Beer, especially if I made it. (I admit to a bit of an ego on this one.) As for food, egg and ham breakfast sandwiches with Tabasco. I’d eat those at every meal if I didn’t think the cholesterol would kill me.
Favorite TV Show(s): Futurama, Deadliest Catch, Psych, Dirty Jobs, House, and Firefly even if it isn’t on anymore.
Favorite Twins Player: Hrbek, mainly because I fixed his laptop once and signed his baseball wallpaper. Also, he was playing Medal of Honor at the time, which was funny to see for some odd reason. (One of those, you had to be there moments.) Oh yeah, and I used a pair of his (unused) batting gloves when I played in 8th and 9th grade. (I use a pair that Gardy gave me now.)
Favorite Twins Player, currently: Neshek, for the perceived social awkwardness. (and the fact that he’s awesome.)
Best Twins Memory: The first time I convinced my fiancee to go to a baseball game. We went to Miller Park, tailgated, and the Twins kicked the crap out of the Brewers. It was made all the more awesome because some chick was leaving in the 8th inning, obviously drunk, yelling at us about how the Twins suck while they were up 8-1. That was awesome because my fiancée decided she enjoyed baseball games, and would go again. Otherwise, I was at the Dome for Silva’s 74 pitch CG against the Brewers. That was awesome, too.
Favorite Sport to Play: Bowling…. easily. It’s the one sport where I am better than all of my friends.
Favorite Sport to Watch: Football, with baseball being a close second. I also bore the crap out of my fiancée by watching bowling on Sundays.
If I could live anywhere in the world, I'd live in: Wisconsin, I love it here, man. Other than that, I’d probably find myself completely content living somewhere in England.
If I was commissioner for a day, I'd: Contract the White Sox. Man I hate the White Sox (and all Chicago sports teams, really.)
If I had Bill Smith's job I'd: Demote the entire big league team to Beloit so I could watch them in person more often.
Favorite Ballpark: I’ve only been to two, so I suppose it has to be Miller Park, although it really sucks without the chalet and beer mug. (which is at least still in Milwaukee at the Lakefront Brewery.) The ability to get beer from Lakefront or New Glarus makes up for that.
Favorite blogs: The WGOM, Gleeman, Fire Joe Morgan, Seth Speaks. I also check out the Strib blogs daily, and sometimes read the comments….. and I always forget why I decided to do that.
Can you give a quick rundown of some of your favorite home brews? Probably the best all around beer I made was a Belgian Triple using coriander seeds and cloves. I also made a California Common (Anchor Steam) that was amazing, a delicious Bavarian style lager, a very nice refreshing hefeweizen, and I won third place in a stout contest with a coffee stout.
Where were you when you saw Hrbek playing MoH? It was in his basement.
When and where are you and your fiancee getting married? We are having everything in the Wisconsin Dells at the Wilderness resort September 26th, 2009.
What's the best part about experiencing a game in Beloit? I haven't had a chance to get out to Beloit to take in a game. This is my first summer in the area, and with a new house and job, it's been busy. I'm hoping to get down there next weekend though, for a game against the Timber Rattlers
OK, this requires the unprecedented Phase III in BKAC questioning - Why were you in Hrbek's basement? I was at his house to fix his laptop My mom's significant other is fishing buddies with Hrbek. (he was on the show once or twice.)
Map time!

Click on map for larger image.
Andrew  July 31, 2008, at 8:49 am  - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) BKAC, Calvin & Hobbes, Foo Fighters, Nibbish, Oasis, Steve McQueen
Name: Pete
SBG Moniker: Nibbish
Hometown: Miltona, MN
Town I Currently Live In: Carlos, MN (moved a grand total of 20 minutes down the road)
Profession: IT guy at the local hospital
Bats: L
Throws: L
Positions: P/1B/OF
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: Executed a straight steal of home plate in an 9th grade game. Struck out the side in 9 pitches later that year
Hobbies: Golf, Listening to Music, Playing various Video Games
What are you known for around the WGOM? If anything, it's being proven wrong almost instantaneously upon typing something in the game logs.
If you could have a nice, polite dinner with any 3 people - dead or alive - who and why? Bill James, Bill Watterson, Kanye West (the first two, because they have interesting takes on fairly traditionalist topics, and Kanye because he talks, blogs, and acts like a 15 year old girl. If I could intermingle 30 minutes of interesting discussion with 5 minutes of insane jabber, my night would be complete)
If you could pick any 3 people - again, dead or alive - to go out and party (or if you're not the party type, go for martini's or whatever it is you do) who and why? Babe Ruth, Steve McQueen, Joel McHale (hopefully there would be other relatively famous people in this bar, hopefully they would be doing dumb things, Joel would provide witty comments - the other two would just hang around and be awesome)
Sports Allegiances: Primarily the Twins and Vikings. I don't really live and die by any others.
Favorite Books: Sherlock Holmes (complete works), Moneyball, Our Dumb World - I'm afraid I'm not a heavy reader, but I'm always open to suggestions.
Favorite Music: Oasis, The Arcade Fire, And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Foo Fighters, Radiohead, MF Doom... basically anything from Hard Rock to Guilty Pleasure Pop to offbeat Rap to Electronic
Favorite Baseball Movie: A close match with Major League barely beating out The Sandlot
Favorite Non-baseball Movie: Serenity or The Departed
Favorite Food & Drink: Lasagna / Dr. Pepper
Favorite TV Show(s): The Office (US Version)
Favorite Twins Player, historically: Wish I could still use him for the next question, but I loved watching Johan Santana pitch
Favorite Twins Player, currently: Mauer, though Casilla is gaining ground
Best Twins Memory: My dad let me stay up late watch games 6 and 7 of the 1991 series. I was 8 at the time, so it was a BIG deal to me. He taught me how to score the game for game 7.
Favorite Sport to Play: Golf
Favorite Sport to Watch: Baseball
If I could live anywhere in the world, I'd live in: Probably Colorado, though I'm a fan of the lakeshore around some of Alexandria's lakes, too.
If I was commissioner for a day, I'd: Contract the Brewers. Then reinstate them. Then contract them again, just to see the look on Selig's face face (then explain that it was all a joke as they dragged me out of the building.)
If I had Bill Smith's job I'd: Make Bert Blyleven the Twins pitching coach. Then give him free reigns and watch the magic happen. 170 pitch complete games for everyone! Not only that, but think of how many new faces we'd see, with the rotating door to the DL!
Favorite Ballpark: I've sadly only been to the Metrodome. I'm well aware of its mediocrity, but it's all I've got.
Favorite blogs: WGOM, Seth Speaks, Aaron Gleeman, Nick & Nick's, Pulling a Blyleven (when it's updating, anyway)
Which of Calvin's alter ego's do you like best? Why? Spaceman Spiff ruled. Combining genuinely funny lampoonings of classic sci-fi with the overall awesome imagination the strip had. It was just great stuff. Also, whenever snowmen or cardboard boxes were involved, you knew magic was going to happen.
Oasis and Foo Fighters are 2 of my favorite bands too. Which song of each might you get caught singing along to in the car/shower? In the shower, I usually do the unoriginal but classic "Wonderwall", in the car though, you can bet I'll be driving with the windows down rocking out to "Headshrinker"'.
Which Sherlock Holmes story is your favorite? You can really pick any of the pre-Reichenbach Falls stories, but I actually still like A Study in Scarlet the best.
Steve McQueen - really cool guy or coolest guy ever? You've seen the mugshot (Google "Steve McQeen mugshot" if you haven't)... Coolest guy ever.

[Click on the map for a better look.]
Andrew  July 14, 2008, at 10:00 am  - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Andrew, Buffalo NY, Delmon Young, Fire Joe Morgan, FirstTimeLongTime, Ken Tremendous
Name: First Time Long Time, on the internet or Tedd Getman in person.
Hometown: Buffalo, NY
Town I Currently Live In: Buffalo, NY
Profession: Business guy.
Bats: Righty. After an ill-fated attempt to become a switch hitter.
Throws: Right
Positions: Catcher.
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: No one memory stands out. I made a lot of all-star teams because I had "heart". I guess I was sort of like the David Eckstein of the little league circuit.
Hobbies: Watching/Reading/Writing about baseball. Also, any, and everything Buffalo related. Oh, and booze.
What are you known for around the WGOM? Taking up game thread space arguing who has the best wings in Buffalo.
If you could have a nice, polite dinner with any 3 people - dead or alive - who and why? Michael Schur of FireJoeMorgan/Office fame. I think that he may be the funniest person writing now-a-days. I would love to invite Delmon Young to dinner and ask him why he swings at every first pitch. I cannot do this while drinking because I might become a little too aggressive, and I think that he could, and would, beat me up. Lastly, I would invite Keith Law. Mr. Law combined with Mr. Schur would convince Delmon Young that he should take a few more pitches and maybe to quit swinging down on the ball. Law through Sabermatics and Schur through humor. Also, Keith Law seems to be quite the accomplished cook.
If you could pick any 3 people - again, dead or alive - to go out and party (or if you're not the party type, go for martini's or whatever it is you do) who and why? My first choice is someone that I am sure only "Meat" will know. His name is Rick Jeanneret and he is the Buffalo Sabres play by play announcer. If you don't know who he is please, youtube him right now. He makes every game more enjoyable. Also, I am pretty sure that he is drunk ALL OF THE TIME. Secondly, I would have to choose Mary Louise Parker of Weeds/West Wing fame. I am just sort of in love with her and I think that if I got her drunk enough that she might talk to me. Lastly, I think that I would choose Craig Finn from the Hold Steady. He writes about getting drunk and loves the Twins. This way I would have someone to drink whiskey with and talk about baseball. Also, if it was just Craig Finn, Rick Jeanerett, Mary Louise Parker, and I hanging out, well, I would have to think that I was the best looking guy around and Ms. Parker might be a little tipsy....
Favorite Books: A Fan's Notes by Fredrick Exley.
Favorite Music: Broken Social Scene, Beulah, and The Hold Steady
Favorite Baseball Movie: Field of Dreams.
Favorite Non-baseball Movie: Manhattan/Shawshank
Favorite Food & Drink: Beef on Weck/ Jameson and water
Favorite TV Show(s): The Wire.
Favorite Twins Player: Kirby
Favorite Twins Player, currently: Joe Mauer
Best Twins Memory: Johan's 17K game last season. I went there alone on my last day of my yearly vacation to the Metrodome. I got there at 11:15 to ensure that I would get my Gary Gaetti bobble head doll. I had a grandmother and her 7 year old grandson sitting next to me and during the game I kept turning to the kid and telling him how special this game was. I even have my scorecard framed in my office. I still wish Gardy would have given him the chance for 20.
Favorite Sport to Play: Bocce Ball, is that a sport?
Favorite Sport to Watch: Baseball
If I could live anywhere in the world, I'd live in: Buffalo, NY, or Minneapolis.
If I was commissioner for a day, I'd: Allow teams to trade draft picks. It is an antiquated idea to think that this would hurt small market teams.
If I had Bill Smith's job I'd: Trade anyone over 30 that any team would take.
Favorite Ballpark: PNC
Favorite blogs: Joe Posnanski, FireJoeMorgan, WGOM.
How does a native Buffalonian come to like the Twins? With there being no major league baseball in Buffalo I was pretty much a bandwagon fan for the first couple years of my life. My first team was the Pirates. At the time Buffalo was Pittsburgh's farm team so it made sense. Then I drifted towards the A's of the Bash Brothers. Strangely enough though, my favorite played was Terry Steinbach. Then the '91 World Series happened. That sort of changed everything. Call me bandwagon if you will, but I have stayed the course. And for someone living in Buffalo who has no real connection to the team, well, lets just say it wasn't always easy.
What kind of hockey career did you have growing up? Nothing formal. I was always a baseball kid first. We certainly played street hockey every chance we had, but never anything organized
I too am Jameson man. Have you ever made a trip to the distillery? I have not. Any vacation money is for baseball trips. I am not going to make it to Minneapolis this year but I have tickets for a Twins/Jays in Toronto and I am going to make it down to Yankee stadium for a game later this month.
As a catcher from the NE - Thurman Munson or Carlton Fisk? I will answer this question from a solely historical perspective as I sort of can't stand the Yankees or the Sox. To make my decision I will look at the "Similar Batters" feature on baseball reference. Fisk= Johnny Bench. Munson= Carlos Baerga. Yeah, I think I will go with Fisk.
Map Time!

Click on the map for a better look.
Andrew  July 9, 2008, at 9:40 am  - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Albuquerque, meat, St. Peter
We're back with a new installment of Better Know A Citizen. Today's profilee is one of our new Citizens - meat. For those other new guys out there (or you old timers who haven't done this yet) email sbg-bkac[at]hotmail[dot]com or andrew[at]stickandballguy[dot]com to get signed up.
SBG Moniker: meat
Hometown: Saint Peter, MN
Town I Currently Live In: Albuquerque, NM
Profession: Lead Preparator, Albuquerque Museum of Art and History (AKA art janitor)/ Artist with the rest of my 'free' time
Bats: R
Throws: R
Positions: Missionary, I'm here all week. No really, beer league pitcher, 1B, LF
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: Hit a walk off HR in the 1st game of the Intramural Championship double header at SUNY-UB, went 6-7 in the second game with 7 RBI, and only allowed 4 runs- that 2nd game was killer I took a come-backer off my shin, left a bruise that I still have a scar from, the next batter doubled up on a come backer that I caught and the quick relay to first.
Hobbies: Woodworking and Furniture building, quilt making for the nieces and nephew, rug braiding, generally I'm into craft based hobbies. Click here to continue reading Better Know A Citizen – meat...
Name: frightwig
Hometown: Bremerton, WA
Town I Currently Live In: relocating to an undisclosed location in Oregon
Profession: dedicated parental unit
Bats: R
Throws: R
Positions: corner IF/OF
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: I was good enough to be a regular starter for my county youth league teams, but I was never an All-Star. I don't recall being the hero of any dramatic victories. Mostly, I remember a lot of inconsequential moments. I can say that my career ended at 15 when I tore up my ankle while beating out an infield single to 3B. And I remember that in my first organized game, at age 7, I scored the only run for my team in a 26-1 loss. I drew a walk, stole 2nd, stole 3rd, and scored on a wild pitch. When I got home, a neighbor asked how I did. The witnesses to the game all had a good laugh when I proudly blurted out, "I scored a home run!"
Hobbies: obsession over baseball and music. I dabble in artistic snapshots and creative cooking. I really should get out more often.
What are you known for around the WGOM? bringin' the sexy back, occasionally posting videos, loyal dissension on the subject of KG.
If you could have a nice, polite dinner with any 3 people - dead or alive - who and why? Ron Gardenhire, George W. Bush, Big Bird.
If you could pick any 3 people - again, dead or alive - to go out and party (or if you're not the party type, go for martini's or whatever it is you do) who and why? Dean Martin, Dizzy Gillespie, and The Faces.
Sports Allegiances: Twins and Mariners, Sonics, Arsenal
Favorite Books: The Great Shark Hunt, Fever Pitch, Once More Around the Park, Veeck--As In Wreck, Psychotic Reactions & Carburetor Dung, Spilling Clarence, Beneath the Underdog, Crime and Punishment, detective stories.
Favorite Music: I like all kinds of music, but I listen to jazz most often.
Favorite Baseball Movie: Eight Men Out or The Natural
Favorite Non-baseball Movie: Chinatown, Manhattan, Dazed and Confused, This Is Spinal Tap, Clue, The Thin Man series, High Fidelity, The Royal Tenenbaums, A Hard Day's Night... Lost in Translation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind are a couple more recent favorites.
Favorite Food & Drink: BBQ chicken, baked beans, and Mom's potato salad is still hard to beat
Favorite TV Show(s): The Office, Lost, Psych, Monk, Medium, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Extras, Pushing Daisies. My all-time favorite Shows are The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Avengers, and Late Night with David Letterman.
Favorite Twins Player, historically: Eddie Guardado. Rod Carew was one of my favorite players when I was a kid, but I only knew him as the 1B of the Angels.
Favorite Twins Player, currently: Johan Santana
Best Twins Memory: Opening Day, 2002.
Favorite Sport to Play: As a kid, it was basketball, soccer, or skiing. But, sadly, I really don't play sports anymore.
Favorite Sport to Watch: baseball
If I could live anywhere in the world, I'd live in: Monterey Bay area of California
If I was commissioner for a day, I'd: Restore the balanced schedule, or something closer to it. Cut back on interleague play. I had some smart remarks to add here, but now they've slipped my mind.
If I had Terry Ryan's job for a day, I'd: Take a "scouting trip" to the Caribbean on Pohlad's dime.
If I had Bill Smith's job I'd: wave goodbye to Hunter and Silva. Trade Joe Nathan for bats. Wash my hands of Punto. Offer Santana the richest deal I could afford in 2009-13; if he declined, I'd shop him. Oh, and fire Scott Ullger and Ron Gardenhire. Then take a "scouting trip" to the Caribbean on Pohlad's dime. (Ed's Note: When I sent this to frightwig, Ryan was still the GM. It's been in the making for awhile. Really, it's been aged for enhanced flavor and depth.)
Favorite Ballpark: Fenway Park. The sense of history and the charged atmosphere is unlike the experience at any other ballpark I've visited. I've also been to, in rough order of ranking: Wrigley Field, Camden Yards, Safeco Field, County Stadium, Kauffman Stadium, PacBell Park, Old Busch Stadium, US Cellular Field, Great American Ballpark, The Big A (pre-renovation), The Vet, The Kingdome, The Metrodome, and Miller Park. Since 1999, I've made a trip to at least one different ballpark each season. I'd love to see PNC Park or make a circuit of all the SoCal parks someday.
Favorite blogs: Digby, Glenn Greenwald, Talking Points Memo. I don't read Twins blogs. I'm here just for the cat and baby photos.
How did a West Coaster endup rooting for the Twins? In 2000, I moved from Maryland to Minnesota. Of course the Twins were in the middle of another awful season. I remember the local media treating the team like an afterthought or a running joke, and hearing more than a few people say they preferred going to a Saints game, but I'd occasionally tune in because, hey, it was baseball. Then one day I was watching some meaningless September game, and there was a play at the plate where A.J. Pierzynski stood in there, absorbed the collision and got knocked backwards, but came up with the ball--and a bloody gash across his face for the trouble. I just felt excited and impressed by his dedication and passion, so I started watching more often and noticed that the team had some other intriguing players who played hard, despite the team's lowly spot in the standings, too. I've been a Twins fan ever since. I really don't think much of the management, but I've always liked a lot of their players.
What is the best part about being a dedicated parental unit? I'm a witness to almost all of the developments in a new life.
Who are some of your favorite jazz artists and why? Miles Davis, Bobby Hutcherson, Dizzy Gillespie, Eric Dolphy, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Andrew Hill, Gerry Mulligan, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Ornette Coleman, Greg Osby, Jason Moran, Dave Douglas, Brad Mehldau, etc. The best musicians tend to have an original, personal vision of the future which ends up shaping the way we all hear and play music at some points along the line. In jazz, I'm also continuously surprised. Even in pieces I've put on hundreds of times, I may hear new aspects in the best jazz music the next time I listen. It depends on what you bring to the music at a given point, your experiences, your frames of reference, your state of mind, so listening to great jazz can reveal something to you about yourself, too.
Did you imagine Arsenal would be this good with Henry leaving for Barca? No. The team had become increasingly reliant on Henry as it lost Bergkamp, Pires, Vieira, Campbell, Cole, etc.; and last season they had a lackluster look even when Henry was healthy to play. But Fabregas has really stepped up, while Adebayor has started to show something, too. It's been a pleasant surprise.
Map time: Bonus! frightwig's relocation site revealed! Sort of.
Click here to continue reading Better Know A Citizen – frightwig...
Name: SoCalTwinsfan
Hometown: Born - Salt Lake City; Raised - All over. If I must pick, I'll go with Nampa, Idaho
Town I Currently Live In: San Bernardino, Cali
Profession: Sports Page Designer. Mainly, I design the national sports pages (Baseball and NBA/NHL) and the agate page (Scoreboard) for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group, which has about a dozen newspapers in it, including the L.A. Daily News. I'm the sports agate guru of Southern California.
Bats: R
Throws: R
Positions: Wherever you want me, Coach. I've literally played every position in slow-pitch softball.
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: Hitting for the cycle in a church league softball game. Well, the outfielder screwed up the play on the triple in my last at-bat, but I still count it.
Hobbies: Playing with my kids, fantasy baseball and football, MLB 07 The Show, Madden.
What are you known for around the WGOM? Gardy defender.
If you could have a nice, polite dinner with any 3 people - dead or alive - who and why? C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Frank Peretti. Oh, the stories they could tell ...
Sports Allegiances: Twins, Oakland Raiders, Gophers (Football, Basketball, Hockey), Vikings, Philadelphia 76ers, Timberwolves, Wild.
Favorite Books: Chronicles of Narnia, Dragon King trilogy, The Song of Albion trilogy, April Morning
Favorite Music: Petra, DC Talk, Audio Adrenaline, Skillet, Newsboys, Whiteheart, White Cross, Count Basie, Mozart, Maynard Ferguson.
Favorite Baseball Movie: Major League, The Natural and A League of Their Own
Favorite Non-baseball Movie: Lord of the Rings trilogy; Star Wars movies; Amistad, Apollo 13, Princess Bride, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.
Favorite Food & Drink: Coke and pizza
Favorite TV Shows: Lost and Heroes
Favorite Twins Player, historically: Kirby
Favorite Twins Player, currently: Depending on which day it is will change the order - Johan, Mauer, Morneau, Torii
Best Twins Memories: The 1987 season, the 1991 WS, winning the division in 2002, the big comebacks in 2003 and 2006. As far as games I attended, I saw Huey Lewis throw out the first pitch after Joe Niekro got suspended in 1987. Lewis brought out a giant piece of sandpaper and sanded down the ball before throwing it. I was also at a game against the A's in 1991 when the Twins rallied with two runs in the ninth against Dennis Eckersley and won the game in extra innings.
Favorite Sport to Play: Pingpong; softball
Favorite Sport to Watch: Baseball
If I could live anywhere in the world, I’d live in: The Twin Cities during baseball season and San Diego in the offseason.
If I was commissioner for a day, I’d: Allow teams to trade draft picks and have all international players included in the draft. I'd also tell the owners and players that they had to have the same rules and that they had to work it out whether to have DH or not.
If I had Terry Ryan’s job for a day, I’d: Re-sign Torii and Silva and trade Johan to fill holes at 3B, 2B and/or DH.
Favorite Ballpark: Tie Safeco Field and Petco Park
Favorite blogs: TwinsGeek, Gleeman, Seth Stohs. Is SBG a blog? It's one of my favorite sites, whatever you want to call it.
How did you come to root for the Twins? My family moved from Nampa to Maple Grove, MN, when I was starting eighth grade in 1984. At that time, the only team I followed with any real passion was the Raiders. Going from pretty much a rural community to the Twin Cities, I discovered there was a lot of sports out there to watch. I began following the Gophers in basketball and hockey and even discovered I liked watching the North Stars and even the Strikers in MISL. As a kid, I think I thought baseball was kind of boring, but there wasn't much else in the summer. My older brother would take me to an occasional game and that helped stir some interest. But it wasn't until 1986 when Kirby had his breakout year that I began following the Twins on a daily basis. Then, 1987 pretty much sealed the deal. I was hooked.
If visited by Rufus and his phone booth, which personages of historical significance would you collect so you don't fail History and go to military school? Winston Churchill, because I enjoy reading books and watching movies from WWII. Sam Adams, so I can say "He's not a brewer, Dude." Abraham Lincoln, because he is one of my favorite historical figures and he really likes to party.
In the course of your work, do you ever get to go out to the events? No longer. I started out as a sports writer, mainly covering high school sports. I have also covered a boxing match (a real one), rodeos, minor league baseball games, motor racing (which included a crash-up derby at the end), a senior golf tournament (which included a chance to interview Chi Chi Rodriguez) and the greatest basketball game ever played. Ever! I couldn't do justice to it here, but maybe SBG will let me tell you about it sometime.
What are some of your kids' favorite games to play? My oldest always wants to play video games. His favorite right now is Shrek2. My youngest is 2. His favorite game is "Wake up, -----" which he learned from "The Wiggles" who sing a song "Wake Up, Jeff." Basically, one person pretends to be asleep, and the others say "Wake Up, ----!!" Usually at the top of their lungs and right in the ear. You take turns doing this.
Nampa, ID? Oh my goodness! The map has expanded!
Click here to continue reading Better Know A Citizen – SoCalTwinsFan...
Name: Erik Dikken
SBG Moniker: kg2005
Hometown: Renville, MN
Town I Currently Live In: Brookings, SD
Profession: Computer Science student, Software Quality Assurance student at Daktronics, Inc
Bats: With a 9-iron
Throws: Picture Johnny Damon
Positions: 2B, CF
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: Last year in softball I had a .700 OBP. Nevermind my OPS was .800. Yeah, I was one of THOSE guys. Wait, does beating up on my friends at Wii baseball count?
Hobbies: Reading, golfing, Halo-ing, playing poker
What are you known for around the WGOM? Sporadic commenting, winning The Big Deal
If you could have a nice, polite dinner with any 3 people - dead or alive - who and why? SBG, ubelmann, and Ron Gardenhire. The "nice, polite" part might not last very long. I believe the conversation would be fantastic though, and everybody might learn something. Another variation of that would be Ken Tremendous, Billy Beane, and Joe Morgan.
If you could pick any 3 people - again, dead or alive - to go out and party (or if you're not the party type, go for martini's or whatever it is you do) who and why? I don't party, and I'm not exactly sure whatever it is I do. However, I pick Kevin Garnett, Johan Santana, and Aaron Gleeman. Cuz really, who wouldn't have a good time with those three?
Sports Allegiances: Twins, Kevin Garnett, Timberwolves, and much to my dismay, the Vikings.
Favorite Books: Harry Potter, The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Lord of the Rings... cuz anything that's worth reading is worth reading for a long time.
Favorite Music: Yellowcard, Fall Out Boy, The All-American Rejects, and stuff like that. Yes, I have too many friends who are college-aged girls.
Favorite Baseball Movie: Field of Dreams
Favorite Non-baseball Movie: Transformers, but that changes every time I see a new awesome movie in theaters
Favorite Food & Drink: Pizza and Mt. Dew
Favorite TV Show(s): Family Guy, The Simpsons, The Colbert Report, anything sports related
Favorite Twins Player, historically: Francisco Liriano ("Have you ever watched him throw a slider? It was like the first time I heard the Beatles!")
Favorite Twins Player, currently: Michael Cuddyer
Best Twins Memory: September 2006
Favorite Sport to Play: Anything that anybody will play with me.
Favorite Sport to Watch: Baseball
If I could live anywhere in the world, I’d live in: Ack, is it wrong to say Minnesota?
If I was commissioner for a day, I’d: Take a day of vacation. Maybe watch some baseball.
If I had Terry Ryan’s job for a day, I’d:
- Not quit.
- Sign Johan to a 6 year extension, sign Morneau to an extension, sign Hunter a "thank you, but we can't afford you" card.
Favorite Ballpark: The Metrodome. I don't want to get rained on while watching baseball, sue me.
Favorite blogs: The WGOM, Gleeman, FJM, SethSpeaks
What's your favorite type of Mt. Dew- original, Code Red, Gamer formula, AMP, other? Code Red is disgusting, I've never heard of the Gamer formula, I like Amp, but I'm not much into energy drinks. I'll take the original.
What is your most effective weapon in Halo? Most effective? It's hard (but not impossible) to be ineffective with a rocket launcher. My favorite weapon is probably the shotgun, especially when people don't notice you until it's too late.
How did your Big Deal prize turn out? Truthfully, I've only gotten the chance to watch one game. Of course once the 2007 season ends and I don't have baseball to watch every day they'll probably be more appealing. Maybe I'll put the DVDs in while the World Series is going on, just pretend the Twins are playing. Gee, Morneau and Hunter are there, but I don't recognize the rest of the Twins at all...
Who would you rather have for a family - The Griffins or The Simpsons? While I find the Griffins to be more entertaining, I believe the Simpsons would scare me less. I do enjoy donuts.
It's maptastic after the jump...
Click here to continue reading Better Know A Citizen – kg2005...
Name: Will Young (pronounced "Will Young")
Hometown: Richfield, MN
Town I Currently Live In: Saint Paul, MN
Profession: Making Events Occur Smoothly
Bats: Both (more power as a righty, better bat control as a lefty)
Throws: Left
Positions: Pitcher and First Base through Little League, Left-Center in Softball
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: I threw 3 perfect innings in the Little League championship game before being pulled for the old maximum number of innings in a week rule. My replacement coughed up a grand slam in the fourth and we lost 4-2.
Hobbies: reading, playing/simming Diamond Mind seasons and games (and getting destroyed by Gleeman annually in 2 different leagues), spending way too much time surfing the internet, offering about 1% of the planning behind the upcoming wedding
What are you known for around the WGOM? Whining, WPA charts, a horrible server, and incorporating Sheenie into about half of my posts
If you could have a nice, polite dinner with any 3 people - dead or alive - who and why? Abraham Lincoln, Harry Truman, and Theodore Roosevelt. I would love to just hear them talk about remaining modest and grounded while shaping the world as well as hear their perspectives on the current world climate. Genghis Khan would probably have been invited, but I would need a translator.
If you could pick any 3 people - again, dead or alive - to go out and party with, who and why? Will Arnett, Adam Carolla, and Bill Murray. I'm not sure my lungs and ribcage could take all the laughing, but I might as well try it.
Sports Allegiances: Twins, GW basketball, Nebraska football (although Callahan sucks), Gopher hockey, people named Kevin Garnett
Favorite Books: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, The Princess Bride
Favorite Baseball Movie: The Sandlot barely edges Field of Dreams
Favorite Non-baseball Movie: The Princess Bride, The Big Lebowski, The Shawshank Redemption and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Favorite Music: Arcade Fire, The Hold Steady, Bruce Springsteen, Counting Crows, The New Pornographers, Guster, and Radiohead to name a few
Favorite Food & Drink: chili-cheese half smoke, chili-cheese fries and a banana milkshake from Ben's Chili Bowl; in general, I drink a whole lot of Mountain Dew and root beer and very little alcohol
Favorite TV Shows: Arrested Development, Seinfeld, 24 except for last season, Match Game re-runs are also fun
Favorite Twins Player, historically: Matt LeCroy edges out Tim Teufel
Favorite Twins Player, currently: it really changes daily but most often the answer is Johan or Pat Neshek but Mauer, Cuddyer, and Bartlett are all frequently in the mix
Best Twins Memories: I have thousands of Twins memories and it is hard to pick the one that is the "best" or "most vivid". Watching Ruben Sierra's "homerun" call be reversed and turned into a foul ball during Game 1 in 2004 was pretty fun as I was getting heckled non-stop in the Yankee Stadium bleachers. Other good memories were seeing Paul Molitor lay down a squeeze bunt in Wrigley in 1997, attending Scott Erickson's no-hitter, Randy Bush's game-winning HR in August 1991, meeting Frank Viola in Spring Training in 1988 with him demonstrating the circle-changeup grip on a lemon, and winning the Northwest Round-Tripper contest after a Cristian Guzman homerun in 2002. Frankly, I've been insanely blessed and have too many to count.
Favorite Sport to Play: Soccer, softball, tennis and basketball are all good, but I need to get into a league or get forced to keep playing to stay in shape.
Favorite Sport to Watch: Baseball, followed by college football and college basketball.
If I could live anywhere in the world, I’d live in: As far away from Red Sox Nation as possible.
If I was commissioner for a day, I’d:
- Force the Marlins to fork over some money and get their stadium built.
- Tar and feather my predecessor before having him dropped from a tall building in a roll of carpet.
- Make the Red Sox and Yankees only play afternoon ALDS games in their next 5 appearances.
- Purchase television-time and produce a one hour special to air on ESPN and FOX featuring noted historians and researchers such as Bill James place the steroid era into context along with the deadball era and the 1930 season (for example) to show people that we do not need to take any rash actions because the numbers will speak for themselves throughout history.
- Go through Carl Pohlad's cushions for loose change.
If I had Terry Ryan’s job for a day, I’d:
- Go through Carl Pohlad's cushions for loose change.
- Package Joe Nathan and Boof to a team in need of pitching for some upper level young hitting (for example, Nathan + Boof to the DRays for Evan Longoria and Reid Brignac).
- Dear Ron Gardenhire, You are expendable. Stop being a dumbass. You're on thin ice. Yours, Will
- Aggressively shop Waldrop, Rainville, Swarzak, Mijares, Sawatski, Fox, and Slowey (basically young pitchers not named Garza, Liriano, Baker, Pino, and Manship) for young bats.
Favorite Ballpark: PNC edges Camden and Wrigley
Favorite blogs: Gleeman, SBG, Batgirl, TwinsGeek, GW Hoops, my own when it's working properly
Where did you fly on your Guzman provided tickets? I had several ideas kicking around in my head - visiting my cousin in Seattle for the first time, experiencing Las Vegas for the first time - but I finally just ended up using it as another step in my courtship to go down to New Orleans.
What drew you all they way out to GW from Minnesota? A few factors. First, I really wanted to study International Affairs in college and the DC region is obviously one of the top places to do that. After visiting all the colleges out there, GW was easily the one at which I felt the most comfortable (for example, I'm not extremely interested in burning coaches so Maryland was out). It is a great urban setting just blocks from the White House and Lincoln Memorial, as opposed to Georgetown and American which are a little further away from the "center" of DC. The other main factor was the need to get as far away from home as possible without crossing an ocean. I just really needed to go out and live on my own and I was definitely able to be independent in DC.
What your favorite national monument/museum/etc. in DC that most people don't know about? The Albert Einstein Sculpture is just across Constitution Avenue from the Vietnam Wall and is a great, secluded place to relax and read. The National Building Museum has several rotating exhibits about architecture (the last time I went, there was a wing devoted to "Disney architecture") and is practically deserted all the time. A final DC treasure is the existence of Eastern Motors commercials. Search "Eastern Motors" on YouTube and you will not be disappointed.
Do you ever see politicians just on the street, at Starbucks, at the movies? One time I was walking back to my freshman residence hall (it was the lookout during the Watergate break-in before being bought by the University in 1998) and seeing a scruffy looking guy jogging down the street. Several of my friends were laughing at him because he looked like a homeless yuppie. I turned to them and said, "You do realize, that's my Senator, right?" Yup, it was Paul Wellstone.
Other random people I came across outside of work include Tucker Carlson, Wolf Blitzer, Cobi Jones, Harry Belafonte, Nicole Kidman (she is radiant, I saw her walking through Georgetown shopping while I was riding a bus in to work one day - she just has an aura), and Chuck Hagel.
That doesn't even include people I met through work (I worked in events at GW) such as Ann Coulter, Meg Ryan, Alec Baldwin, John Stossel, Jack Kemp, Newt Gingrich, and Ted Kennedy. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed inside the bubble when we hosted a speech by President Bush, but I did get to spend several hours planning logistics with Secret Security.
Your thoughts on Pops Mensah-Bonsu:Pops is a really, really personable guy who lights up a room when he walks in. I remember his first points as a Colonial - they came in an exhibition game. He got fouled and missed the front end of a 1-and-1. However, out of no where, he leapt from the line and dunked his own miss! There was no applause, everyone in the Smith Center was too stunned to even react at first.
Anyway, I never thought he would develop into an NBA quality player because he left his feet too easily defensively, didn't really anticipate rebounding lanes that well, and his offensive game is severely limited. However, he has opened a few eyes with his heart and determination and might be able to carve out a niche for himself going forward. He has just started this season playing in Italy, but I would bet he returns to the NBA to provide decent energy off some teams' bench. He can be Mark Madsen for a lot less money.
We're mapping on the other side...
Click here to continue reading Better Know A Citizen – Will Young...
Name: Sheenie
Hometown: New Orleans "The Big Easy", LA
Town I Currently Live In: Just up river... St. Paul, MN ... I actually only moved 1 block closer to The River
Profession: I work at a law firm
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Positions: 2nd base and outfield and catching, basically whatever position is needed on a rec. softball team
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: in 6th grade I made an amazing play at 2nd base but I don't remember much besides it won the game for us.
Hobbies: Baking and Cooking
What are you known for around the WGOM? observing and never commenting and only appearing on Will's Title is Too Long.
If you could have a nice, polite dinner with any 3 people - dead or alive - who and why? Neil Armstrong, Albert Einstein and Thomas Jefferson. I'm a scientist at heart and always wanted to know what it is like on the moon.
If you could pick any 3 people - again, dead or alive - to go out and party with, who and why? my sister (she's in Med School in New Orleans and we never get a chance to see each other anymore), Will Smith, Christian Bale (well you have to have hot men to buy you drinks!)
Sports Allegiances: Twins, GW basketball, quasi-New Orleans Saints fan (I hate watching football, but I like knowing they are winning)
Favorite Books: Pride and Prejudice (and most Jane Austen books), The Chosen by Chaim Potok, the entire Harry Potter Series
Favorite Baseball Movie: A League of Their Own
Favorite Non-baseball Movie: My Cousin Vinny, Apollo 13, Princess Diaries, The Sound of Music
Favorite Music: The Hold Steady, Barenaked Ladies, almost anything Country
Favorite Food & Drink: Ice Cream, steaks from Argentina, Whiskey Sours
Favorite TV Shows: Law and Order, The Cosby Show, MythBusters
Favorite Twins Player, historically: I just started liking the Twins in 2002 ... so I would have to chose Corey Koskie ... he officially introduced me to Justin Morneau!
Favorite Twins Player, currently: Overall Player: Justin Morneau, Pitcher: Pat Neshek (Pat - if you read this website I have a jersey I need you to autograph!)
Best Twins Memory: Getting Justin Morneau to notice me (that's a long story that is on Will's website)
Favorite Sport to Play: swimming and tennis and skiing
Favorite Sport to Watch: baseball
If I could live anywhere in the world, I’d live in: anywhere that it snows enough to ski
If I was commissioner for a day, I’d: make ESPN show all baseball teams equally.
If I had Terry Ryan’s job for a day, I’d: pull a Rivas on Punto and send him down to the minors. How can Terry live each day knowing that a player like Punto is out there?!
Favorite Ballpark: Zephyr's Field in New Orleans ... just try the food!
Favorite blogs: Will's Title is Too Long, SBG, Pink is the New Blog, Aaron's Baseball Blog, And what used to be BatGirl
What would you want to be the first person to do on the moon? Well, seeing how someone has already landed on the moon, walked and jumped on the moon, driven on the moon, played golf and took pictures there... I think I would like to be part of the first community to live on the moon. Being the first person to live there by myself would be kind of lonely...
What do you like to bake? Cookies are my favorite, but I love to bake anything. Now that I don't have school to worry about I'm going to start trying more difficult things.
Do you think you could take out a Rodent of Unusual Size? Only if I had the Dread Pirate Robert with me. Otherwise, nope.
What's your favorite kind of jambalaya? Shrimp, sausage (andouille is the best!) and chicken. But up here I tend to make chicken and sausage most of the time. Shrimp, and seafood in general is too fricken expensive. It kills me in the summer, knowing that if I were in New Orleans I could buy a pound of shrimp, right off the boat, for about $5. I can't even buy frozen shrimp for that up here. I think the seafood part is my only dislike about living up here.
The map has expanded again.
Click here to continue reading Better Know A Citizen – Sheenie...
Name: Seth Stohs
Hometown: Perham, MN
Town I Currently Live In: Warroad until Sept. 18th, then Bloomington
Profession: Product Planner
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Positions: when I was young, I played Shortstop. In high school, played 3B, SS and pitched some. In college, I was a really good scorebook keeper and occasional pinch hitter!
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: Sadly it may have come in my first varsity game in high school. It was a few games into my freshman season, and I was the only freshman on a team starting with eight seniors. After a strikeout and a double play, I hit home runs in my next two at bats.
What is it like to have played college ball? I was a 3B going to Concordia College when Chris Coste was there (he played 3B in college), so actually playing time was pretty non-existent. But taking infield with him most days was great, and being a part of that team was a lot of fun. Getting to talk baseball with a great group of teammates was a lot of fun. I only played two years there, but it was a good experience. The highlight may have been getting an at bat against the Gophers and striking out looking (on a ball about 8 inches outside!) against Kerry Ligtenberg.
Hobbies: following the Twins, www.SethSpeaks.net, occasional baseball card collecting
What are you known for around the WGOM? Probably just for not being smart enough to keep up with the intelligent discussion, but linking to the articles so that smart people who read my site can read intelligent postings.
If you could have a nice, polite dinner with any 3 people - dead or alive - who and why? Jennifer Love Hewitt, Bob Uecker, Laura Ingalls-Wilder.
If you could pick any 3 people - again, dead or alive - to go out and party (or if you're not the party type, go for martini's or whatever it is you do) who and why? Babe Ruth, cuz I think we would eat and drink well. Dennis Rodman, as long as I could just be there in the background. It would be interesting, if nothing else... and who knows, maybe Carmen Electra would show up. And, Kendra Wilkerson. No reason necessary.
Sports Allegiances: Twins
Favorite Books: Moneyball, Bo Knows Bo, Kirby Puckett: I Love This Game, Fair Ball, Bad as I Wanna Be, Jim Kaat's Still Pitching.
Favorite Music: Rap and Oldies. I know, I'm weird. I'm contemplating putting together an album which would combine the two genres. I'm thinking a Henry The VII meets the Beastie Boys. Or going the other way, The Monkees perform "In da Club"
Favorite Baseball Movie: How do you pick between Field of Dreams and Bull Durham? So, I'll go with Soul of the Game.
Favorite Non-baseball Movie: So many... Drama - Good Will Hunting, Comedy - anything with Adam Sandler (Mr. Deeds) or Chris Farley (Tommy Boy). Classic Comedy - The Jerk.
Favorite Food & Drink: Chicken, McNuggets, wings, Steak, pork chops, Potatoes, and Diet Pepsi or Diet Dr. Pepper.
Favorite TV Shows: American Idol, Big Love, Grey's Anatomy, I think I may like Tell Me You Love Me.
Favorite Twins Player, historically: like 95% of Minnesotans whose prominent years were in the 80s, it was Kirby Puckett.
Favorite Twins Player, currently: I don't even really know. Neshek, Slowey, Casilla... but probably Michael Cuddyer. (or Morneau, or Mauer, or Bartlett, or Kubel, or Francisco, or Johan, or Garza, or...)
Best Twins Memory: When I was probably 8 or 9, I was at a Twins game and Red Sox pitcher John Henry Johnson flipped a BP ball to me. I got Kirby Puckett to autograph it and another player. I went by the dugout and dropped the ball to Dave Engle. He looked at the ball and said, "Thank you, we need more practice balls." And then he dropped the ball into a ball bag. I was about to turn around and walk away, but he kinda chuckled and said, "Wait, Wait, I'm just kidding." He signed it and tossed it back up. It is funny now... What isn't funny though... I don't know what ever happened to that ball.
Favorite Sport to Play: current - Table Tennis
Favorite Sport to Watch: Baseball
If I could live anywhere in the world, I’d live in: central Minnesota on a lake, but I've always said that I wish that I would have spent a year in New York, and a year in LA, and months in Paris and London and other places.
If I was commissioner for a day, I’d: Work with every chemist in the country to provide assistance to finding a test for HGH. Then I'd go after Gene Orza and the Players Association to make testing for HGH become a reality. And, I would send a proper congratulations to Barry Bonds.
If I had Terry Ryan’s job for a day, I’d: Offer Nick Punto to every team and if anyone offers anything, say yes. If not, release him. Offer Torii a 4 year, $54 million deal. Offer Morneau a five year, $72 million deal. Offer Joe Nathan a three year, $24 million deal. Offer Santana 5 years, $100 million. Offer Michael Cuddyer a four year, $33 million deal. Offer Jason Kubel a five year, $14.5 million deal. Offer Pat Neshek a 3 year, $3.3 million deal. Offer Matt Guerrier a two year, $2.8 million deal with a third year team option. Hire Ubelman to be special statistical analyst for the GM. Sign myself to a four year deal, salary negotiable. I would worry about the DH and 3B positions on Day 2, if I was offered a 2nd day on the job.
Favorite Ballpark: Coors Field... I like Miller Park too.
Favorite blogs: SBG is the WGOM!!! On the Road with Pat Neshek, Josh's Thoughts, Nick & Nick, The Baseball Savant, Taylor's Twins Thoughts, Twins Geek, Twins Insider, Around the Majors, Section 220, Reds Reporter, Al's Ramblings, MLB Trade Rumors. And probably more.
Re: Your favorite music - Have you heard Danger Mouse's "The Gray Album"? I haven't heard that. I used to listen to a lot of current music, but once XM Radio came out with the all-baseball, all the time Home Plate Network, it's about the only thing I listen to anymore!
Coors Field and Miller Park. No love for Busch Stadium? What about PBR Arena? I've only been to Coors and Miller. I'd love to be able to afford to travel to all of the parks.
Did Kerry Lightenberg have his crazy facial hair when you faced him? No. But I have tried to work the "jutted-outs" myself awhile back. It didn't work as well.
How cool is it to have your old teammate Chris Coste in the major league? Seriously, it's incredible. I've never been around someone who just 'gets it' when it comes to baseball the way he does. And, his love of the game is so obvious and apparent. Add to that, the small school background, 5 years of independent league baseball, four years of AAA... and finally getting the call. it had to have been an incredible feeling for him. To have overcome as much as he has overcome in terms of baseball and people telling him that he couldn't, and he has, and he's been better than good. It's a tremendous story. I can't wait to read the book (which is supposed to be coming out next spring). And the best part is that he is still a tremendous person who doesn't take any of it for granted.
What is your favorite interview you've ever done?It's hard to say because I definitley appreciate all of the players that have taken the time to respond. But, I think it is fair to say that the likes of Kevin Slowey, Pat Neshek, David Winfree, Jeff Manship and now Mike Radcliff have been favorite interviews. I have a couple set up for the next couple of weeks that include some great responses. SBG note: Seth has an interview with Garrett Guzman today.
On the other side of the jump, there lies a map. And on that map, you will see SethSpeaks...
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Cup of Coffee  90 LTEs
I'm starting to see a little grass along the north side of the house. In the front, the snowpack is still pretty solid, but the good news is that the ice damn is gone. A visual inspection of the shingles reveals no obvious damage, which is not to say that there isn't any damage, of course.
Retired WGOM Jokes
- "The Twins should have drafted Mark Prior."
Race to the Bottom: Highest Loss Totals in T-Wolves History 67: 1991-92
63: 1992-93
62: 1993-94
61: 1994-95
60: 1989-90, 2007-08
58: 2008-09
56: 1995-96
53: 1990-91
51: 2009-10
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Recent Letters to the Editor
In Response to Cup of Coffee: March 11, 2010,
Rhubarb_Runner wrote: We were on our way back to our hotel thinking that we sure did well going to the Tuesday game instead of tonight's. Now, wonder if our flight gets home tomorrow night out of…
meat wrote: Is anyone paying attention to Gordo and DazzL? Gordo "I don't know.....well, I don't know if fireworks will work in rain like this" DazzL "Sure they will" Gordo "uh.....well. Uh." Me "you guys must be loaded"
UncleWalt wrote: Win/win!
Rhubarb_Runner wrote: btw, it's "icky" weather here tonight. Even worse tomorrow.
cheaptoy wrote: I am eagerly anticipating the Dugout's 2010 Twin's Spring Training chat.
cheaptoy wrote: So.... you're suggestion is to cut _elm_n and give that money to Joe? I'm on board!
meat wrote: Where do I line up to take issue?
Moss wrote: Is there a state-tax component to the deferred money strategy? Maybe after the player retires and settles in Fla., then he's not paying state tax in every state where he plays games (and effectively, pays…
DK wrote: Yeah, I prefer it this way. Standard form is to do AVG and HR instead, but I prefer 1) OBP over AVG and 2) SLG over HR since both are more comprehensive measures.
twayn wrote: Thome Tweets on Twitchy.
In Response to Pat Neshek is the Greatest Thing since Sliced Bread!,
Rhubarb_Runner wrote: btw, I meant to mention that I've seen high schoolers that looked older than Danny Rams. Light Rail almost looks older.
In Response to Cup of Coffee: March 10, 2010,
brianS wrote: What, exactly, is the problem with MLB signing Latin kids to contracts? Isn't that the way markets are supposed to work? To the degree that factors of production are mobile, we should expect those factors…
brianS wrote: fw: I have no doubt that racism persists in some quarters of baseball's … hierarchy. I guess you've picked the softest underbelly here. If management is going to act on racist bases, the first place you…
frightwig wrote: OK, so a few of the top Latin American prospects, besides Cubans, now are getting something like 1st round bonus money. This is a new development, right? And are kids like Sano the exception or…
frightwig wrote: Washington didn't get his foothold in the majors until he was 29-30, and also didn't have much of a career after the Twins released him. Two 6th place teams gave him some playing time in…
SBG wrote: Perhaps you missed this. Things are changing down there. Top Latin prospects are getting paid now. MLB doesn't just try to screw blacks and Hispanics. The Dodgers nabbed a 19 year…
frightwig wrote: Dunston was an All-Star twice in his mid-20s, which probably bought him some good will in Chicago when he had a few years of injury problems. Then, he became a .300 hitter in his 30s,…
brianS wrote: another ex-Twin in the same vein: Ron Washington.
SBG wrote: Now there's a guy who stuck around a long tine despite having little to no value. And on the Twins, a team that Reggie Jackson accused of being racist.
brianS wrote: Another name that should spring to mind: Our man Al.
frightwig wrote: Ozzie is talking about a couple Cuban players, which isn't the same thing. They don't come out of the teenage academy system controlled by MLB clubs like the Dominicans and Venezuelans do. Many times, the…
In Response to Post-Oscar Review,
Moss wrote: Much obliged, CH!
CarterHayes wrote: Moss, if you're looking for a good general history of the Russian front, I'd suggest starting with Richard Overy's Russia's War: A History of the Soviet Effort: 1941-1945. Though I haven't read this particular…
CarterHayes wrote: I'd wager that a significant portion of the American public thinks (anymore) that we fought the Russians in WWII too. We didn't fight them in WWII, but we did invade Russian and fight the Soviets during…
In Response to Your Second Chance to Predict the Number of Twins Wins in 2010,
SBG wrote: Toyota would have to be the party and it might be tough to prove damages, I don't know.