Article: Game Thread: Twins @ Rangers, 7/7 @ 7:05pm CT

[Riverbrian]

One more series and Eduardo Nunez is off to the All-Star Game and everybody else on the team is not. Congrats to Nunez… his 1st half was certainly All-Star worthy. Yeah… someone from the Twins has to be on the All-Star team according to federal law; and yeah… maybe Carlos Correa is not going to the All-Star game because Nunez was the chosen token Twins All-Star. But when you look at the production… you gotta say that Nunez has All-Star type numbers and deserves the recognition for that. This ain’t a Ron Coomer circa 1999 Selection.

 

Let’s do some thinking about stars… All Stars… Yes… all of them

 

Here are some things to think about:

 

1. Norm Green – Norm Green and some other guys bought the Atlanta Flames and then moved them to Calgary. The NHL later requested that he sell his shares in the Flames and rescue the North Stars and he rescued them by moving them to Dallas 3 years later. This propensity to pack up and leave has given him incredible leverage with United Van Lines. Minnesota nice is a real thing and it’s because we naturally don’t hate… it’s a rather small list of things that Minnesotans truly hate. Mosquitos, No Liquor on Sundays, Scraping Ice off your Car Windows and Norm Green is the entire list.

 

 

2. Stars in the Sky – According to estimates, there are about 1 billion trillion stars in the observable universe. That’s from an assumed average of 100 billion stars per galaxy and an assumed count of 10 billion galaxies. Making estimates like these is a very painstaking chore… you have to count them one by one and not lose your place. It is incredibly annoying to get to 994,785,641,286 and then have your wife call to ask what time you are coming home for dinner and then lose your place so you have to start over.

 

 

3. The Sun – When it comes to life on Earth there is nothing more important than the sun. Without the sun… we couldn’t enjoy hamburgers, for example, because the grass won’t grow so the cows can’t eat. Without cows and plants and all that stuff… we’d go hungry and we couldn’t survive. Not only would we be dead… we’d also be sleepy and sad all the time because sunlight has the power to stimulate a gland in our brain that regulates our sleep cycle and sunlight is powerful enough to regulate our moods. Sleepy, sad and dead is no way to go through life. Without the sun… we’d have to grow fur because it would be really cold… like International Falls... all the time. Sleepy, sad, furry and dead is an even worse way to go through life.

 

 

4. Sally Struthers – I haven’t thought about any stars from Hollywood yet in the star context and it was time. Once you make that decision… you have to decide who the biggest star is and I decided to go into that process open-minded. I cleared my head of the previous 3 thoughts to clean the slate and asked myself… who is the biggest star in Hollywood? OK, go… Sally Struthers for some unexplainable reason popped into my head first. I know she isn’t Bradley Cooper or Selena Gomez or anyone like that but she was the first person to pop into my head and that’s how this works and I’m not changing it.

 

 

5. Kepler Space Observatory – Back in 2009 NASA sent this thing into space deep into the Milky Way for the purpose of discovering earth like planets that are orbiting stars. From its position in right field… the powerful Kepler telescope has confirmed that Sano and Vargas do indeed revolve around Mauer.

____________________

 

Lineups:

 

TWINS

Eduardo Nunez® SS

Joe Mauer(L) 1B

Miguel Sano® 3B

Brian Dozier® 2B

Max Kepler(L) RF

Robbie Grossman(S) DH

Eddie Rosario(L) LF

Kurt Suzuki® C

Byron Buxton® CF

 

Tyler Duffey [R) P

 

RANGERS

Shin-Soo Choo(L) RF

Ian Desmond® CF

Adrian Beltre® 3B

Prince Fielder(L) DH

Jurickson Profar(S) 1B

Rougned Odor(L) 2B

Elvis Andrus® SS

Nomar Mazara(L) LF

Robinson Chirinos® C

 

Chi Chi Gonzalez [R) P

 

Game-time forecast: 95 deg F (but feels like 101), clear and sunny, no chance of rain, winds at 18mph from the S. Yuck. I like warm weather, but playing baseball in it? Yuck. No.

 

Go Twins!

 

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[HitInAPinch]

Good News:  according to the schedule on their website, FSN is back in the business of broadcasting Twins games. 

[Craig Arko]

Texas; this will help get you in the mood:

 

http://www.avclub.com/article/patrick-stewart-goes-country-charity-239150

[Squirrel]

 

Texas; this will help get you in the mood:

 

http://www.avclub.com/article/patrick-stewart-goes-country-charity-239150

You know, Craig, I'm disappointed in you. After reading Brian's intro I thought to myself, "Craig will have something interesting to say about stars" and then you posted that. I was expecting some real astrological find there! Patrick Stewart is awesome ... I've actually met him ... but this is not what I expected from you!

[Vanimal46]

95 deg F (but feels like 101), clear and sunny, no chance of rain

Welcome to Texas summers! They do get better the longer you stay down here. 

Is there a Hollywood star that's bigger than the rest? It's tough to gauge these days as so many have their 15 minutes of fame and are gone in an instant... 

[James]

 

You know, Craig, I'm disappointed in you. After reading Brian's intro I thought to myself, "Craig will have something interesting to say about stars" and then you posted that. I was expecting some real astrological find there! Patrick Stewart is awesome ... I've actually met him ... but this is not what I expected from you!

Here's one that's more relevant to the conversation:

http://www.theonion.com/video/nasa-continues-search-for-planet-capable-of-suppor-30989

[Craig Arko]

You know, Craig, I'm disappointed in you. After reading Brian's intro I thought to myself, "Craig will have something interesting to say about stars" and then you posted that. I was expecting some real astrological find there! Patrick Stewart is awesome ... I've actually met him ... but this is not what I expected from you!

I'm trying to keep my International Man of Mystery membership up to date, dontcha know.

[Craig Arko]

However, for those looking for a little ray of sunshine...

 

http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/nasa-sun-time-lapse/

[Squirrel]

Well, since they're in Texas, and stars is the theme, and Texas is the Lone-Star State ... during the 7th inning stretch ... or at some point, I can't remember ... the crowd sings 'Deep in the Heart of Texas.' It's their thing, like singing 'Lights' out in SF at ATT Park there. Anyway ... the first line of 'Deep in the Heart of Texas' is ... 'The stars at night, are big and bright ...' It'll be a starry, starry night tonight.

[Craig Arko]

Starry, starry night...

 

[Craig Arko]

Or for those who likey.

 

[Winston Smith]

Brian have you ever been called meathead?

[Mike Sixel]

 

Or for those who likey.

image.jpeg

 

I love that show....really need to watch the last season, but it costs a whopping $2 an episode still

[wsnydes]

"Game-time forecast: 95 deg F (but feels like 101)"

 

But it's a wet heat...

 

Ick.  Give me -20 any day.  At least I can put more clothes on.  I can only take so much off without getting arrested.  I don't really want to be arrested.

[Vanimal46]

 

"Game-time forecast: 95 deg F (but feels like 101)"

 

But it's a wet heat...

 

Ick.  Give me -20 any day.  At least I can put more clothes on.  I can only take so much off without getting arrested.  I don't really want to be arrested.

It's more of a dry heat in Arlington. Same in Austin, though we do have our fair share of humid days. Once you get to Houston, that place is a swamp. We're talking 100% humidity daily. 

[Squirrel]

 

"Game-time forecast: 95 deg F (but feels like 101)"

 

But it's a wet heat...

 

Ick.  Give me -20 any day.  At least I can put more clothes on.  I can only take so much off without getting arrested.  I don't really want to be arrested.

The arrest would be for the pain and suffering you caused the rest of us.

[Squirrel]

 

It's more of a dry heat in Arlington. Same in Austin, though we do have our fair share of humid days. Once you get to Houston, that place is a swamp. We're talking 100% humidity daily. 

Once a swamp, always a swamp.

[Vanimal46]

 

Once a swamp, always a swamp.

 

True. The lesson learned here is never move to Houston. Unless you like living in a concrete jungle with 100% humidity. 

[wsnydes]

 

It's more of a dry heat in Arlington. Same in Austin, though we do have our fair share of humid days. Once you get to Houston, that place is a swamp. We're talking 100% humidity daily. 

That's informative.  Having only flown into DFW once in the early morning and upon walking outside immediately walked into a wall of humidity, I had simply assumed that my previous understanding of most of Texas was correct.  I learned something today.

 

I'll still take the -20.  I'm not a fan of heat.  At least it's better than a humid heat though.

[wsnydes]

 

The arrest would be for the pain and suffering you caused the rest of us.

If it got to that point, there likely would be plenty of pain and suffering on my part as well.

[wsnydes]

 

True. The lesson learned here is never move to Houston. Unless you like living in a concrete jungle with 100% humidity. 

That sounds pleasant...

[Mike Sixel]

I used to say the same thing about -20......but I don't feel that way anymore. You CAN be outside doing stuff when it is 100 and not humid...and it cools down at night. I don't like it, but it is still better than -20 for me. I have zero interest in being where it is COLD, unless I am skiing or hiking on purpose in the cold....

[Vanimal46]

 

I used to say the same thing about -20......but I don't feel that way anymore. You CAN be outside doing stuff when it is 100 and not humid...and it cools down at night. I don't like it, but it is still better than -20 for me. I have zero interest in being where it is COLD, unless I am skiing or hiking on purpose in the cold....

Yep. There's a reason I'm no longer in MN.. That brutal winter of 2014 with 30 straight days of below zero weather was reasons #1-1,000 why I was looking to get out of there. 

[wsnydes]

I've had heat stroke, so heat is not my friend.  Though, I wasn't a fan of heat before that either.  Humidity is even harder on me.  I've worked and camped in everything from -20 plus wind to 100 plus humidity.  Even if I can't move dressed for -20, I can still function.  It's hard to dress for 100+ and more difficult for me to function.  I'm overly cautious in those conditions.  To each their own obviously, but I'll take the cold.

[Mike Sixel]

I too have had issues with heat....which is why I used to feel the same as you. But, I just couldn't take the cold anymore (and, I have also winter camped.....).

[CampQ]

Yep. There's a reason I'm no longer in MN.. That brutal winter of 2014 with 30 straight days of below zero weather was reasons #1-1,000 why I was looking to get out of there.

I was once told regarding Houston that there is a huge network of tunnels connecting office buildings downtown, much like our skyways, but without being the subject of a Replacements ballad

[Vanimal46]

 

I was once told regarding Houston that there is a huge network of tunnels connecting office buildings downtown, much like our skyways, but without being the subject of a Replacements ballad

It's possible that they do, couldn't tell you for sure. I've only spent part of a weekend in Houston to watch an Astros game. Personally there wasn't much that I saw that would make me want to do that road trip again. 

[Craig Arko]

I have never been to Texas. Chuck Norris scared me off.

[gocgo]

Sally Struthers...hmmm...wasn't she on Hollywood Squares a lot?  Maybe that is what popped into your head.  Perhaps George Gobel...never figured out what he actually did other than Hollywood Squares.

Edited July 7, 2016 by gocgo

[Vanimal46]

Speaking of Hollywood Squares, that reminds me of game shows. Has anyone seen the newly revived Match Game and $100,000 Pyramid yet?