Game Thread: Twins @ White Sox, 5/10 - 7:10pm CT

[bighat]

Miguel Sano is back and the Twins are coming off yet another road victory as we enter Wednesday night's game against the White Stockings.  We've got Phil Hughes (4-1, 4.32) against Derek Holland (3-2, 2.02).  

 

The Twins are 8-4 on the road this year, how about that?   I missed last night's game due to being on the road myself, stuck in Miami International airport for 10 hours.  Lucky for me, I found the Miami Airport Hotel, a hotel IN THE AIRPORT that rents rooms for half-days.  Best $50 bucks I ever spent, every airport should have one of these things!   Speaking of airports, here are some quick random thoughts on some airports I've experienced: 

 

1. Singapore's Changi Airport:  This is widely regarded as the best airport in the world.  Free lounge chairs with noise-canceling headphones, sleeping areas, and tons of ponds/rivers with running water make long layovers so relaxing.  There are also huge, scoreboard-sized televisions playing sports if you're awake and need your fix. 

 

2. Chicago's O'Hare:  One of the best kept secrets here is the "Urban Garden" lounge, located in Terminal 3 on the upper level.  At first glance, it appears to require special permission to enter, but that's not so!  If you're killing time on O'Hare, you gotta check out this hidden gem! 

 

3. Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson: Biggest airport in the world, according to the people who measure these things.  You'll board the "Plane Train" at least once every time you go there.  If you don't have "Welcome to the Plane Train" stuck in your head by the time you leave, consider yourself lucky. 

 

4. Las Vegas' McCarran: There's nothing like gambling your last $20 bucks away at the Vegas airport slot machines to make you feel like a true degenerate.  Desperately searching for a hangover cure, I went to an "oxygen bar" there a few years back.  I'm not sure if it helped or hurt, but I did get a free back massage after they jammed those tubes up my nose, so I guess that's something. 

 

5. Key Caulker Airstrip, Belize: This is probably the smallest "airport" I've been to, and I've been to a ton of tiny ones!  The last time I was there, a local drunk man was inside the "terminal", taking up both chairs.  He kept telling the attendants that he was there waiting for a flight, but he was really just trying to sit somewhere with air conditioning.  The staff was not having it, but he didn't give up easy.  I removed myself from the situation and sat on the little porch outside.  My boarding pass resembled a wooden license plate. 

 

http://i64.tinypic.com/zodm6x.jpg

 

 

Lineups: 

 

Twins: TBA

 

White Sox: TBA

[Mike Sixel]

When we flew out of the rain forest in Peru, it had been unseasonably cold and cloudy for three days. The airstrip was a grass field, and there was certainly no radar. All flying was by sight.  There were more people waiting for the plane than there were seats on the plane, since no plane had been able to land there for three days.....at one point I asked our guide if this was like "survivor" and would we have to run to the plane to get on it when it showed. He wasn't sure.

 

In the end, three guides stayed in the forest, and one was allowed to sit on the floor of the small plane. A very rich (I believe royalty) entourage from GB boarded first (naturally) and spread out to take all the window seats they could. $#@^#@ers.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

I had fun actually parking at logan for a change 6 or 7 years back, going into the terminal with the roller coaster perpetual motion style ball sculpture. It had shrunk significantly since the last time i'd seen it when i was 11 or so.

[Squirrel]

 

 

 

2. Chicago's O'Hare:  One of the best kept secrets here is the "Urban Garden" lounge, located in Terminal 3 on the upper level.  At first glance, it appears to require special permission to enter, but that's not so!  If you're killing time on O'Hare, you gotta check out this hidden gem! 

Never knew this about O'Hare ... and I fly through there all the time, and from Terminal 3, too, since I mostly fly on American.

[gocgo]

Laguardia...feel like your either going to fly or go for a swim every time you take off...and the odds seem to be even.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Laguardia...feel like your either going to fly or go for a swim every time you take off...and the odds seem to be even.

 

Not one of my favorites.....

[Vanimal46]

 

Never knew this about O'Hare ... and I fly through there all the time, and from Terminal 3, too, since I mostly fly on American.

 

As do I.... Now the secret is out! 

[gocgo]

Machine Gun Tommy Milone on the mound for the Mets today.

[Vanimal46]

I enjoy flying, but can't stand airports.... Nobody likes being there, every food and drink item is marked up 300%, and everyone thinks they're a special little snowflake where we should all get out of their way. 

 

Recent airport story... I was flying out of Austin. In the TSA line, a couple of women were going from person to person telling a sob story about how their flight is taking off soon, and if they could cut in front of them. There were 10+ people in front of me by the time they got they got up to ask me. I said absolutely not, get here earlier if your flight is that close to taking off. They gave me the stink eye and called me a rated R name, but I didn't care. 

Turns out they were on the same flight as me... Walked up to them and said "I thought your flight was leaving 45 minutes ago??" They looked down in shame.... what a great feeling. 

[Bark's Lounge]

 

When we flew out of the rain forest in Peru, it had been unseasonably cold and cloudy for three days. The airstrip was a grass field, and there was certainly no radar. All flying was by sight.  There were more people waiting for the plane than there were seats on the plane, since no plane had been able to land there for three days.....at one point I asked our guide if this was like "survivor" and would we have to run to the plane to get on it when it showed. He wasn't sure.

 

In the end, three guides stayed in the forest, and one was allowed to sit on the floor of the small plane. A very rich (I believe royalty) entourage from GB boarded first (naturally) and spread out to take all the window seats they could. $#@^#@ers.

Were you in Iquitos on this trip at any point?

[Mike Sixel]

 

Were you in Iquitos on this trip at any point?

 

Unfortunately, we were not. The trip was great, I think 3 weeks are really needed, though. We also didn't make the Nazca lines. We spent zero time in Lima, other than flying in and out of the country. 

[Bark's Lounge]

 

Unfortunately, we were not. The trip was great, I think 3 weeks are really needed, though. We also didn't make the Nazca lines. We spent zero time in Lima, other than flying in and out of the country. 

I was just curious. That place sort of fascinates me. A fairly large city that can only be accessed by air travel or the Amazon River. That would be a hell of a long boat ride from Menaus, Brazil to Iquitos.

[wsnydes]

I absolutely hate flying.  I mostly keep to myself at airports so that I don't end up on YouTube making an a$$ of myself.  The one time I flew into Hatfield, we sat on the plane staring at our gate for 45 minutes while another play waited to push back.  By the time we got off of the plane, we had 10 minutes to make our connection to St. Lucia.  I've avoided that place like the plague since.

 

Another fun story is from Sea-Tac.  We were there waiting to board and the plane at the gate next to us had mechanical issues.  A couple of mechanics were working in the front wheel well.  One of the guys crawled up in there, ducked back down asking for a wrench, went back up and then came back down.  Looked back up, looked at the other guy, and the shrugged his shoulders and they left.  I couldn't unsee that.

[Loosey]

The terminal in Grand Cayman is a giant cluster.  Their gate area is a bunch of seats jammed together surrounded by a bunch duty free kiosks.  It's awful especially with kids.

 

We go there every year to visit my in-laws who have a time share and I usually begin dreading waiting in the terminal to go home at the about the time we land on the island.  

 

 

[bird]

 

I was just curious. That place sort of fascinates me. A fairly large city that can only be accessed by air travel or the Amazon River. That would be a hell of a long boat ride from Menaus, Brazil to Iquitos.

 

 

Great birding there, Bark, and you can pick your own hallucinogens along the river banks. Great cuisine as well. I highly recommend the blackened silver back monkey.

[Bark's Lounge]

 

Great birding there, Bark, and you can pick your own hallucinogens along the river banks. Great cuisine as well. I highly recommend the blackened silver back monkey.

It sounds like heaven on earth!

[diehardtwinsfan]

I avoid Atlanta and Chicago like the plague... absolutely hate connecting through those airports.  

[twinssporto]

Wow!  The Miami airport half day hotel rooms seem like a good deal.  A true hotel room rented by the hour...

[USAFChief]

 

I enjoy flying, but can't stand airports.... Nobody likes being there, every food and drink item is marked up 300%, and everyone thinks they're a special little snowflake where we should all get out of their way. 

 

Recent airport story... I was flying out of Austin. In the TSA line, a couple of women were going from person to person telling a sob story about how their flight is taking off soon, and if they could cut in front of them. There were 10+ people in front of me by the time they got they got up to ask me. I said absolutely not, get here earlier if your flight is that close to taking off. They gave me the stink eye and called me a rated R name, but I didn't care. 

Turns out they were on the same flight as me... Walked up to them and said "I thought your flight was leaving 45 minutes ago??" They looked down in shame.... what a great feeling. 

I didn't get through security quicker, but You fell for my disguise, though, dintcha?

[bighat]

 

The terminal in Grand Cayman is a giant cluster.  Their gate area is a bunch of seats jammed together surrounded by a bunch duty free kiosks.  It's awful especially with kids.

 

 

Sounds like Belize City.  Just a total mess with zero room to sit, stand, or move.  Plus you're kinda stuck there until you can get on the plane.  Claustrophobic nightmare.  

 

Never been to Grand Cayman but I'm guessing all the non-airport related activities are fun.  Must be nice to have in-laws with a time share in the Caribbean! 

 

[Squirrel]

It's raining here in ChiTown. Looks like there might be a break in the rain late afternoon, but by game time, more rain through the night. My guess? Double-header tomorrow ... stay tuned ...

[bighat]

PS:  How about Buxton with 3 hits yesterday?  Batting .353 in May (6-for-17).  

[Squirrel]

The White Sox seem more optimistic than me, as this was posted:

 

Melky Cabrera LF
Tyler Saladino 2B
Jose Abreu 1B
Avisail Garcia RF
Todd Frazier DH
Matt Davidson 3B
Tim Anderson SS
Omar Narvaez C
Leury Garcia CF

[bighat]

Twins (still no Dozier):

 

1. Robbie Grossman (S) RF
2. Joe Mauer (L) DH
3. Miguel Sano ® 3B
4. Kennys Vargas (S) 1B
5. Jorge Polanco (S) SS
6. Eduardo Escobar (S) 2B
7. Chris Gimenez ® C
8. Eddie Rosario (L) LF
9. Byron Buxton ® CF

 

Hughes ® P

 

White Sox: 

 

1. Melky Cabrera (S) LF
2. Tyler Saladino ® 2B
3. Jose Abreu ® 1B
4. Avisail Garcia ® RF
5. Todd Frazier ® DH
6. Matt Davidson ® 3B
7. Tim Anderson ® SS
8. Omar Narvaez (L) C
9. Willy Garcia ® CF

 

Holland (L) P

[Mike Sixel]

so, is Grossman platooning with Kepler now, and Rosario will start vs lefties?

[Blake]

Airports:

 

San Francisco: Landing at night is interesting, as it's impossible to tell where the water ends and the landing strip starts.

 

Reno: Nothing like taking off in a crosswind. That crosswind is more or less constant, due to the fact the runways are parallel to the Sierra's. Then there is the hard bank after take-off, which I suppose due to the mountain that sort of stick up into the flight path. Landing at Reno? Not for the weak of stomach or faint of heart. Had an interesting experience during one of my trips to Reno. One of the pilots was a guy I met when he was going to flight school. After school, he tended to have a few. You can guess where I first met him.

 

Atlanta: Flew through there a couple of times on my way to Pensacola. Meh.

 

Pensacola? Unremarkable airport.  By the way, the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola is very cool.

 

I hate flying with a passion these days. At 6'3" there's a better than even chance the person in front of me will slam their seat back into my knees. And I'm not wealthy enough to fly first class all the time. Speaking of which, I got bumped to First Class about 30 years ago. White linen service, it was outstanding. Last year I flew back First Class from Minneapolis. No more leather seats. Might as well have been coach from  35 years ago.

[Bark's Lounge]

I have to be honest. I am almost 42 and I have never been on an airplane, let alone be a passenger on one. I am deathly afraid of flying.

[Pardon My Dinger]

 

Reno: Nothing like taking off in a crosswind. That crosswind is more or less constant, due to the fact the runways are parallel to the Sierra's. Then there is the hard bank after take-off, which I suppose due to the mountain that sort of stick up into the flight path. Landing at Reno? Not for the weak of stomach or faint of heart. Had an interesting experience during one of my trips to Reno. One of the pilots was a guy I met when he was going to flight school. After school, he tended to have a few. You can guess where I first met him.

Multiple experiences flying out of Reno are the reason I hate flying. Couple times that I thought that  sucker was going down for sure. 

[Mike Sixel]

 

I have to be honest. I am almost 42 and I have never been on an airplane, let alone be a passenger on one. I am deathly afraid of flying.

 

Are you serious, it is often hard to tell with you?

 

If so, sorry. You are missing out on some cool stuff that is pretty hard to get to w/o air travel.

[Bark's Lounge]

 

Are you serious, it is often hard to tell with you?

 

If so, sorry. You are missing out on some cool stuff that is pretty hard to get to w/o air travel.

Yeah, it's a weird thing. I have been to a lot of places in the U.S. via automobile. I am a big fan of geography, history and how other cultures operate, so I do a lot of research and studying as a hobby.

 

In the mid-80's there seemed to be a lot of disastrous passenger jet crashes. I was between the age of 8-12 and it had some kind of psychological effect on me.

 

I am hoping in the near future that I can face my fears and break the curse. I would really like to go to Spain and Argentina.