|
|
 Big Mak  July 8, 2009, at 12:59 pm  - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired)  Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins 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 at Kauffman Stadium for the Twins/Royals series finale. Unbeknownst to us, the family Moss was also in attendance, although in their case it was part of a vacation trip to KC. Since we were both at the game, snapping away with the cameras we figured we could combine our photographic efforts and give the citizens of SBG Nation the full experience of the game.
Moss Jr. checks out the statue of Casey of the Mudville Nine at the Sheraton before heading to Kaufmann Stadium.
Moss Jr. ends the day by checking out the Royals' Statue of Liberty from last year's All-Star Game.
Moss Jr.'s shirt says it all - "If you want me to pay attention, TALK BASEBALL!" So in an effort to keep your attention, here's some baseball photos, after the jump.
Click here to continue reading Mak and Moss cover Twins-Royals in Beautiful Surround Sound...
Big Mak June 26, 2009, at 8:00 am - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Minnesota Twins, Series Preview in Blog, St. Louis Cardinals
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 still looking to climb back to respectability
Cards manager Tony LaRussa has long been famous for his myriad pitching changes, constantly bringing in new relievers to exploit matchups. Apparently this year, he has found a new toy, the late game defensive replacement. The switches have become so regular and prevalent that a new statistic, the fielding save, has been invented to keep track of it. Fortunately for those of us who tend to leave games early if they take too long, LaRussa hasn't had to worry about the ninth inning at all this year. His closer, Ryan Franklin has been a most pleasant surprise for the Cardinals (although it's the kind of surprise that shouldn't be discussed lest it fall victim to Heisenberg's Principle of Uncertainty and be altered merely by a fan's observance of it).
Click here to continue reading Series Preview in Blog: St. Louis Cardinals...
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 was doubly exciting because earlier in the week Aaron Hicks had been called up to take a spot on the roster. I was hoping to get a chance to see him play this year before I left, and he made it just in time.
Click here to continue reading Last Trip to Beloit...
Big Mak June 23, 2009, at 6:00 am - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Series Preview in Blog
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 too scary, I'm cool with the Twins strategy this season - we'll be at .500 and wait for the rest of the division to come to us.
--PROBABLE PITCHERS--
The Brewers starters have been really poor recently, almost across the board. Luckily for the Twins, they will be missing Yovani Gallardo (I think), the one hurler who's actually been pitching well for the Crew. Couple that with the fact that the Brewers are right near the top of the NL Central as trade speculation season begins and that the guys being called on to step into the lineup, like Casey McGehee and Mat Gamel, are doing remarkably well, and you've got a ton of posts about the potential starting pitchers Milwaukee could be interested in. Not only that, apparently Erik Bedard and Doug Davis have stated their case as to why the Milwaukee front office should target them, the card that Bedard made is awfully persuasive.
Liriano v. J. Suppan
Suppan has been about what you would expect from him at this point - nothing spectacularly good or bad, but serviceable.
Blackburn v. B. Looper
Looper had a very good start to the year, but he has quickly regressed and become part of the rotation-wide struggles for the Brewers.
??? v. ???
It should be Slowey here for Minnesota but MLB.com has Baker. For the Brewers, it's Dave Bush's turn in the rotation, but he's been so bad lately that the word is he's suffering from arm fatigue. So, manager Ken Macha (who may be the best personality on the Brewers. Really? The manager?) deciding whether or not to skip him this time around, a decision made harder by the struggles of the other starters to pitch effectively.
Big Mak June 19, 2009, at 8:41 am - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins, Series Preview in Blog
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, six games back.
The Astros have one of the lowest run-scoring offenses in the NL (only ahead of Chicago, SF, and SD in runs scored) and a big part of that is that they're just not hitting home runs. That has resulted in a run-differential of -37 which makes it hard to believe this team is making a run for the top half of the division. Normally, you would think that no power = scrappy hustling hitters (at least according to the classic baseball announcer logic). At least in some cases that's not true as Carlos Lee is catching some flak for not running out grounders. Still, I'm not going to rag on the guy because he just extended my season long hit streak in Beat the Streak to 14 games last night (I might actually have to start thinking about my picks at this point).
Click here to continue reading Series Preview in Blog: Houston Astros (6/19-6/21)...
Big Mak June 16, 2009, at 8:00 am - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Series Preview in Blog
"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 (although also tied for last in the NL Central), are nearly at .500 (30-33), and BP has their playoff odds at 10%. Maybe 'cautious' is the better modifier for optimism. If ever there was a year for optimism in Pittsburgh sports, this is it, with the Penguins' Stanley Cup run fresh in mind, maybe the Pirates are destined for greatness. Sidney Crosby and the Pens were at the game Sunday (which was also turn back the clock day - love the old-time unis and scoreboard) showing off their new hardware.
The Pirates biggest move this year was the trade of Nate McLouth to the Atlanta Braves in early June. Immediate reaction from what I can tell on the blogs, was a bit of "here we go again" and some "I see what they're doing, I'm just not quite convinced". I'm sure the GM was excited when one of the returns of that trade, Charlie Morton, pitched all of one inning in his Pirates debut before injuring himself (it's minor - he won't miss his next start). With all the trades of talent (Bay, Nady, McLouth) for prospects, the Pirates are collecting quite a few prospects. Along those lines, in the recent draft the Pirates had the fourth overall pick, but in a move widely viewed as budget-motivated, they reached and selected catcher Tony Sanchez. Even though I don't really follow the draft, I feel comfortable saying that this was a reach due to posts "defending" the pick.
Click here to continue reading Series Preview in Blog: Pittsburgh Pirates (6/16-6/18)...
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 of the Twins jerseys that we saw, and we were able to collect most of the regulars.
We ended up with 15 of the 25 on the current active roster - Span, Cuddyer, Mauer, Punto, Delmon, Gomez, Crede, Crain, Baker, Buscher, Morneau (#27 and #33), Nathan, Liriano, Guerrier, and Slowey (we also saw a blank #20 - not sure if it was a Tolbert fan or not).
I was surprised not to see any Kubel jerseys but the others missing are more understandable (Ayala, Blackburn, Dickey, Henn, Mijares, Swarzak, Redmond, Harris)
We also saw a whole bunch of former Twins names on jerseys, enough to almost fill out an entire lineup.
Click here to continue reading Earl Battey, Where Have You Gone?...
Big Mak June 12, 2009, at 8:12 am - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Chicago Cubs, Minnesota Twins, Series Preview in Blog
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 a way to split this three game series. I'll be at the first game, so expect pictures sometime soon.
--PROBABLE PITCHERS--
The Cubs thus far this season are pretty simple. The starting pitching has been very good. The offense and bullpen have struggled to keep up.
Slowey v. R. Wells
The first six starts of Randy Wells career couldn't have gone much better while he was in the game. He has allowed eight runs in his six starts, which the Cubs offense and bullpen has turned into an 0-2 record thus far in 2009. There's not much one can say about that other than "Welcome to the Cubs, rookie".
Swarzak v. R. Harden
This is the first start of Harden's since coming off the DL, and he'll be on a pitch count for Saturday's start. Harden has looked pretty good in his rehab starts, but the Twins lineup is a bit different from a AAA lineup (for example, we have Tolbert, Gomez, Casilla, Buscher, Punto, ... you know what, never mind).
Baker v. T. Lily
Ted Lily has been very good this year so far. He's only given up two runs in his last three starts and he's starting to draw comparisons to great men, like Chuck Norris. If you're looking to jump on the Ted Lily bandwagon, here's your instruction manual, and here's an introduction to the necessary vocabulary.
Big Mak June 5, 2009, at 8:00 am - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners, Series Preview in Blog
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 as it came almost exactly one third of the way through the season, it seemed like an ideal time to take stock of the team and the season. The Mariners are 26-28, in third place in the AL West (5.5 GB). Like any team, there are overachievers and underachievers. Minnesota will face two of the starting pitchers on the "likely to get worse" side of things, so hopefully regression is swift and severe for them. The next step after taking stock of the team is to survey the options for improving it. One of the biggest weaknesses has been the middle infield positions, and unfortunately for the Mariners, that deficiency runs pretty deep in their organization.
Click here to continue reading Series Preview in Blog: Seattle Mariners (6/5-6/7)...
Big Mak June 2, 2009, at 8:00 am - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Series Preview in Blog
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 to rescue all the lost utility infielders. At least we don't have to worry about that for this series as the Indians come to Minnesota for three games. The Indians are at 22-31, 8 games behind Detroit, in last place in the AL Central. They are 10-17 on the road, only winning one road series all season (v. the Royals two weeks ago). The Twins are a different team at home, going 10-3 in their last four home series.
First off, blog entries concerning the Indians were few and far between recently. Apparently the city's focus was on some basketball tournament. I'm not sure if the Cavaliers exit from the NBA playoffs is responsible for the general malaise evident on some sites, or I guess it could just be the default setting for Cleveland sports fans, watching teams go down in flames, just to see them burn, but it doesn't seem like anyone is too excited by the team on the field (but Rick Vaughn bobblehead night will always bring a crowd). That's partly due to the fact that the guys who are supposed to be carrying this team aren't on the field (the Indians disabled list is starting to read like Robot Santa's naughty list).
Click here to continue reading Series Preview in Blog: Cleveland Indians (6/2-6/4)...
Big Mak June 1, 2009, at 7:00 am - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Beloit Snappers, On the Farm
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 - his line: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 SO, 0 BB).
Click here to continue reading Pitcher’s Duel in Beloit...
Big Mak May 29, 2009, at 8:00 am - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Minnesota Twins, Series Preview in Blog, Tampa Bay Rays
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 Baltimore in the cellar. They are coming home (11-10 record at Tropicana Field) from a entirely disheartening sweep by the Cleveland Indians that involved a seven-run ninth inning and rain delays in every game. The rain delay is an apt metaphor for the Rays season so far, everyone is just waiting for the 2008 Rays to show up and start winning. On the other hand, I'm having trouble generating any sympathy for a fan base that includes a Jose Canseco jersey-wearing contingent (after jinxing the Cleveland series I hope that guy shows up this weekend).
Click here to continue reading Series Preview in Blog: Tampa Bay Rays (5/29-5/31)...
Big Mak May 25, 2009, at 8:00 am - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, Series Preview in Blog
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 first place in the AL East, one half game ahead of the Blue Jays. The Twins are 17-9 at home, having won 8 of their last 9 in the Dome.
Judging by the blogs, everyone in Red Sox nation is talking about David Ortiz. He's been keeping pace with Matt Tolbert in the HR race, but apparently that's not acceptable for Big Papi. He's gone back to struggling mightily, and the rumor is that he's going to be moved down in the lineup for this series. Still, it could all just be an elaborate trap (A-Rod and Teixeira were supposedly struggling too).
Click here to continue reading Series Preview in Blog: Boston Red Sox (5/25-5/28)...
Big Mak May 20, 2009, at 10:00 am - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) Beloit Snappers, On the Farm
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 far, perhaps our presence could inspire a victory?
Beloit Snappers 9 - Peoria Chiefs 6
box score | play-by-play
Click here to continue reading What I Watched Instead of Walk-Off Weekend...
|
Cup of Coffee  85 LTEs Wolves lose again by 22, Kevin Love down to 17 minutes. This is the worst possible situation for the Wolves. They are driving what is left of their fan base with a tremendous stretch of terrible basketball. Their best, or second-best, player has checked out and is getting buried on the bench. I doubt that Love is in their long term plans. How's that O.J. Mayo deal looking now?
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
55: 2009-10
|
Recent Letters to the Editor
In Response to Cup of Coffee: March 18, 2010,
spookymilk wrote: Boy oh boy, would most of those references be lost on my...let's call them …
twayn wrote: Danke! Bummer that there's no radio for Friday's game with the Mets. Slowey vs. Johan.
Klawitter wrote: Working in Century City. Living for the moment in Westwood, at least until I sell my place in DC this spring and move everything.
New Britain Bo wrote: How's this for script idea: At a planning session for an … a committee of twelve Indians (4 dot, 4 feather, 4 West) hires a crack director to run their event. He shows up at…
DK wrote: I missed this earlier today since I was apparently too busy … in the Nightmare thread, but I'd be down with this too. In fact, I'd probably be willing to contribute to coverage.
Milt on Tilt wrote: I'm picking up my puppy tomorrow. I couldn't be more excited.
spookymilk wrote: Oh, and Rhu: one of my challenges in this week's Survivor game was to do a six-word evaluation of Lew Zealand. These were the … flinger never flounders for puns. Better than Belladonna with fish…
spookymilk wrote: Ah. Well, I'd be in favor of both, if the technology isn't a killer to the site somehow.
Rhubarb_Runner wrote: That map was hometowns, not current places of residence. Although that map might be nice, too. St. Louis checking in. Hey Kla, what part of LA?
spookymilk wrote: This thread reminds me, Stick: isn't there a WGOM map somewhere? It seems like it existed when I was lurking, but in the couple-month period before I started posting, it disappeared. Was that…
In Response to Nightmares at WGOMville,
hungry joe wrote: i wasn't planning on going out, but two heavies from my company were in town, and they took me out for a crazy night (got home at 2, and i've been hating life most of…
spookymilk wrote: I instantly love the person who took that photo, hungry man. I'm sitting here drinking Bass; yesterday I went the nostalgia route with my St. Pat's choice, opting for a drink that reminded me of college…
hungry joe wrote:
Milt on Tilt wrote: hehe. Beer.
spookymilk wrote: To be fair, drama is kind of the world I live in. I'm prone to exaggeration. Plus, I'm drunk because this script is making me tense and I needed to take the edge…
Milt on Tilt wrote: Yeah, man. I wouldn't "disregard" it either, because it was truly a horrifying move. Oh come now. That's just being completely over dramatic.
Milt on Tilt wrote: O-Cab lead the majors in Outs as a batter in 2009. Call me … Jimmy Rollins actually did. But Cabrera was second, and first in the AL. Even so. I could use that same…
nibbish wrote: I don't know what to make of it. On one hand, Cabrera was made of suck. On the other, any shortstop we put in there was going to. I'd have to side with DK and…
spookymilk wrote: Yeah, man. I wouldn't "disregard" it either, because it was truly a horrifying move. 0-Cab cleared the bases for the team's best hitter over and over. I know it's nice to remember…
DK wrote: O-Cab was a baseball band-aid over a severed limb. Acting like doing that was a "victory" is what seems foolish to me.
In Response to Luna - 23 Minutes In Brussels (Tell Me Do You Miss Me),
E-6 wrote: Love me some Luna.
In Response to Cup of Coffee: March 17, 2010,
brianS wrote: I dunno. But we're not really talking about a legal argument so much as an ethical one, I think.
Moss wrote: The old "you can't have your coke and snort it too" … can't get a conviction on a … test...and is possession of any amount of coke a felony??
hungry joe wrote: tell me about it...
brianS wrote: It is hard to consume if you do not possess.