The Twins won 2 out of 3 from the Rangers and now it’s the last place Royals on the schedule. It’s not exactly a marquee matchup so it’s quite possible that ESPN will have nobody there… after this week… you have to wonder if ESPN will have anybody there because the sports giant has downsized. Names you know and some you don’t are out the door and lots of em. Baseball expert Jason Stark is looking for work now and if you want someone to blame… it's all your fault… you all have been cutting the cord. Five hundred channels isn't good enough for you… noooo... you want 20 channels... you want ala carte programming… it was you screaming that there is too much television on television. You may or may not know this but every cable TV subscriber paid 80 dollars a year to ESPN/Disney… regardless if they watched the channel or not. ESPN was able to use its giant-ness and strong-arm the cable companies with monthly carriage fees of $7.00 plus and of course… then the cable companies strong-armed us. When you objected to being strong armed and went a different direction… you cost Ed Werder his job. Now that you feel all guilty… don’t worry… ESPN isn’t going anywhere… you didn’t kill them… they are still making a profit and a rather healthy one… it’s just not as much of a profit as they made before so… Trent Dilfer had to go. Here are some things to think about: 1. Kansas City – This city has brought us more than barbecue. This city brought us H&R Block… Applebee’s… Sprint... and Hallmark Greeting Cards. OK… none of those are extraordinary. So… let me start this over. Kansas City has really only brought us barbecue. 2. Our Twins – Let’s hear it for Byron Buxton. He had a nice 3-game series in Texas. He reached base 8 times in 12 plate appearances (3 hits and 5 walks). That’s pretty good but even better when you consider there was only 1 strikeout and he was able to hit the ball the other way multiple times. I’m going to allow myself to be optimistic one more time. OK… maybe two or three more times. 3. The Royals – These guys have been playing really bad baseball. They have lost 6 games in a row and Kyle Gibson will try to rebound from what ails him to make it 7 in a row. It’s that Immovable Object-Irresistible Force thing -- Gibson with 3 losses in a row vs. the Royals with 6 losses in a row. ESPN wishes they had the staff to be here for this but they just can’t right now. 4. Today’s Joe M Conversation Maddon: Hey Joe, Look at that… the barometer is falling Montana: That means a storm is approaching. Mauer: Really? That’s what the barometer does? McCarthy: Yeah… barometric pressure has been used to forecast the weather for a couple of centuries. Low pressure brings clouds and precipitation. Montana: A falling barometer indicates lower pressure. Maddon: Guys…the barometer is falling. Fell right off the wall... go get the hammer, Joe. 5. Visitor Information – I have lived in Grand Forks for nearly 30 years. On Highway 2 we have a Visitor Information Center. I had never been in there but yesterday I stopped in to see what was going on. It is very well run… they do have information on all 82 people who have ever visited Grand Forks. __________________ Lineups: TWINS Brian Dozier 2B Max Kepler RF Miguel Sano 3B Joe Mauer 1B Robbie Grossman DH Jason Castro C Jorge Polanco SS Eddie Rosario LF Byron Buxton CF Kyle Gibson P ROYALS Whit Merrifield 2B Mike Moustakas 3B Lorenzo Cain CF Eric Hosmer 1B Salvador Perez C Alex Gordon LF Alcides Escobar SS Brandon Moss DH Jorge Bonifacio RF Ian Kennedy P Weather: 64 deg F, mostly cloudy, rain holding off until after the game Click here to view the article