Riverbrian

It actually is. I lived in Minneapolis for a month in September 1987. (Great Month to do that). I took a temp job with Dolphin Temp and my temp job was a Van Driver for the Temps. And they had the Metrodome Contract so I would drive them to the dome and go in the players entrance and sign something and leave. When I walked out the door... there was a group of autograph seekers standing outside and they were shouting at Steve Bouchele to get an autograph and I was looking at the autograph seekers and so was Buechele and we collided and he went down... I stayed on my feet.

It was I... who killed him. I wanted him on my team for the longest time and in 2011 I reached and drafted him with the 13th pick overall. Because I knew he wouldn't be there when I drafted again at 36 and It was the only chance to get him. Passed up Carlos and Adrian Gonzalez... King Felix just to get Joe. And Joe went to hell and hasn't really come back yet. It's on me.

Back in 1987... I was walking out of the players entrance at the Metrodome in the afternoon before a night game and I wasn't watching where I was going and I collided with Steve Buechele of the Rangers who was coming in and I knocked him flat to the ground. I didn't injure him but he went 0-4 that night. So Yeah... The Twins still owe me.

I haven't read all the posts but this one has to be a candidate for post of the night.

Sano looks like Rochester might do him good but I'm absolutely against it because... I own him in my keeper league and I don't want to burn that roster spot... because I'm keeping him. So I'd appreciate it if the Twins did something for me.

I'm satisfied with a Dozier who can go the other way. I'm gonna be nice to him for awhile.

A little inside baseball this weekend as the Twins visit the Rays and that covered construction that they play in. The Twins had a great series with the Indians as we watched our young players perform very well and when the young players perform well it fuels the dreams for the future. Yeah… it’s all about dreams for the players and for the fans… and it’s really all about dreams for me. I got home late last night after visiting my Dad and when I have to get up early for work… the only chance that I have to write this game thread opener is to write in my sleep. So… yeah… I wrote this as I was sleeping and this is how it turned out. Here are some things to think about: 1. Counting Sheep – I really don’t know why sheep were chosen as the animal to count when trying to get to sleep but I can tell you this… it works. It shouldn’t... but it does. My uncle had a farm and he had sheep for a while and the mere idea of sheep being able to effortlessly jump over fences kept him up at night. My uncle became so worried about his sheep jumping over the fence that he would go out nightly and take inventory by counting them all… which of course he couldn’t do because it put him right to sleep. 2. Nightmares – I actually woke up screaming around 2am because I was having a nightmare. I went back to sleep with ease because I realized that the nightmare was impossible and could never happen in a million years. It was so absurd because I was having this nightmare that Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton were our presidential choices in November. [Edit: Despite being Brian's nightmare, let's not turn the game thread into a political 'discussion.' We have the Sports Bar Forum for that. Thanks.] 3. Snoring – I’m honestly not aware of my snoring but my wife claims that I snore. According to her… that’s the reason that I’m getting blasted nightly by that taser she bought. 4. Stealing the Covers – OK… maybe I snore… however… early in our marriage my wife was an extreme cover stealer. Every night… I’d wake up cold and all of the covers where on her side of the bed. Eventually I got used to it and now I go to bed without them and my wife adapts well because now she has started covering me up in her sleep. 5. Waking up this morning – You know how... you sometimes… wake up numb because you slept in a weird position? This morning… I woke up with absolutely no feeling in my right arm. This was an extreme case. I picked up my arm and let it drop and it dropped straight down with a thud. I rubbed it and I felt no sensation at all in my arm. I pinched it... again… I felt absolutely nothing. I was kinda nervous at this point because normally you can at least feel a tingling but I was feeling absolutely nothing… so… I grabbed a pin from the night stand and I jabbed into my arm… my wife screamed. ____________________ Lineups: TWINS Brian Dozier [R) 2B Joe Mauer (L) 1B Max Kepler (L) RF Miguel Sano [R) DH Kurt Suzuki [R) C Robbie Grossman (S) LF Eduardo Escobar (S) SS Jorge Polanco (S) 3B Byron Buxton [R) Ervin Santana [R) P RAYS Logan Forsythe [R) 2B Kevin Kiermaier (L) CF Evan Longoria [R) 3B Brad Miller (L) DH Nick Franklin (S) 1B Corey Dickerson (L) LF Steven Souza [R) RF Tim Beckham [R) SS Luke Maile [R) C Blake Snell [R) P Game-time forecast: Who cares? It's indoors. Go Twins! Click here to view the article

That's it Dozier... Don't let the those OF's catch the ball... Take Charge!!!!

Yeah... I'm thinking Berrios or Polanco.

I gotta try and stay quiet on Kepler like I'm gonna stay quiet on Polanco. Both of those guys sat on the bench while the starters racked up loss after loss after loss. Now they are playing and... Well... I'm gonna try and stay quiet.

I'm kinda speechless now KEPLER

Just don't type "No-Hitter" that wouldn't be fair to Duffy.

I was so bugged by Polanco's lack of playing time during his first call up that I'm fighting all of my urges to be snarky about his two triples tonight. I'm just going to be classy and say... "Alright... Two Triples... Attaboy" And then leave it right there... Everyone ignore the part about me being bugged. Thanks.

Looks like Paul is gonna let Jorge play this go round. THANK GOD!!!

I think Vargas but I don't have the time to wait for the results.

Our Twins travel to Cleveland for a 4-games series with the division leading Indians. I’ve been hearing for about a week that this is gonna be one of the most exciting trade deadlines in quite some time. We will have to see how it is at the finish line to gauge if that is true or not. For Twins fans it might be a little different than it is for Indians Fans. The Twins have moved Nunez and we are waiting for some more minor deals. For the Indians… they woke up pretty excited yesterday morning. They acquired Andrew Miller and Jonathan Lucroy only to have Lucroy pull out that no trade clause; “It says here that I don’t have to go to Cleveland if I don’t want to.” Lucroy used the clause as leverage and tried to issue some demands. Such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest must be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Indians said "No" and will induct 2Pac instead. Trades just don’t always go as planned. Here are some things to think about: 1. Trade Shows – These are exhibitions organized so companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and customers, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities. In some cases… the only cost of booth space at a trade show is the soul of those who will have to work the booth. 2. Manhattan – Some history books claim that the island of Manhattan was traded for $24 worth of beads. The truth is a little bit different… In 1626 Dutch settlers actually traded iron kettles, knives and cloth to the Canarsie tribe for the land now known as Manhattan and we look at it today as one of the most lopsided deals ever. However… it really wasn’t a bad deal for the Canarsie because their home turf was the area now called Brooklyn. The Island actually belonged to the Wappinger Tribe. This precedent made it OK for me in 1984 to sell my sister’s stuff for beer money. 3. Stocks –There used to be a time when you had to call your broker to trade your stocks. Now it’s done on your smart phone with little need to call broker Bob. It used to be a pretty sweet gig for broker Bob. He got paid regardless if your stock went up or down. I’m not sure what Bob is gonna do now with all these deals happening without him. His job options are limited. He only got into being a stock broker because he didn’t have the charisma to make it as an undertaker. 4. Spices – We are so spoiled these days… we got all the spices we need in our spice racks. It wasn’t always like this… spices used to be very, very valuable. Roman soldiers were paid with a handful of salt. The handling, storage and preservation of all that salt to compensate the soldiers became cumbersome and inefficient so they started compensating with money to buy their own salt. This is where “salary” (salt money) comes from. Cinnamon… pepper… ginger… you could only get that in Asia and there was only one route to get you there. There were massive battles for control of that one road because that control meant unimaginable wealth. Finding a new route to get to the cinnamon and pepper led to the discovery of the New World. Yes… America was only discovered because mashed potatoes were bland. 5. Baseball Cards – As a youth… I had shoe-boxes full of baseball cards. I hadn’t reached my teen years and yet I was able to come up with complex cataloging systems to find any player I had easily and quickly. I traded with my friends and we bought multiple packs at the store and we chewed every piece of gum. I jumped for joy when I needed and finally got Larry Hisle and I was frustrated when I got my 20th Jamie Quirk. I had quite the collection until my sister sold them all for Beer Money. ____________________ Lineups: TWINS Brian Dozier [R) 2B Joe Mauer (L) 1B Max Kepler (L) RF Kennys Vargas (S) DH Kurt Suzuki [R) C Eduardo Escobar (S) SS Eddie Rosario (L) CF Jorge Polanco (S) 3B Danny Santana (S) LF Jose Berrios [R) P INDIANS Carlos Santana (S) DH Jason Kipnis( L) 2B Francisco Lindor (S) SS Mike Napoli [R) 1B Jose Ramirez (S) 3B Lonnie Chisenhall (L) RF Rajai Davis [R) LF Tyler Naquin (L) CF Roberto Perez [R) C Danny Salazar [R) P Game-time forecast: 83 deg F, mostly clear, no chance of rain, winds from the N at 8mph. Play ball! Go Twins! Click here to view the article

This team? 20 games out of 1st place in the A.L. Central 17.5 games out of a wild card spot. Escobar OPS .656 Sano dropping routine pop ups at 3B Dozier who took almost an entire year off before finding himself again. Mauer declining by the second. Rosario swinging at everything Buxton 77 strikeouts in 187 AB's Plouffe a serious non-tender candidate. And somehow Jorge Polanco is a logistics problem? They just can't find a place to play him? If Molitor can't figure this one out... If Molitor continues to put Polanco to sleep because he can't figure out how to get him into THIS LINEUP. It would be a clear indication that Molitor isn't the guy to take this team forward. Any thought that the Twins have a logjam anywhere is simply a myth. The Astros can figure out how to get Bregman playing time with Altuve and Correa on the roster and sign a 33 year old Cuban third baseman to complicate things even more while in an actual playoff race and Polonco is a logistics issue for the Twins? The Cubs can figure out how to play Baez with Russell, Bryant and Zobrist and with no DH position and in an actual playoff race and the Twins are stymied with how to play Poloanco? This is like a bird wondering how it will escape the backyard fence.

My whole life... Women are always thinking about me.

Yeah... that's why we came in 2nd behind the #1 city: Emergency C Section California.

Me? I Fully Grasp that Count Chocula for example

No need to worry about me... It's Grand Forks It was named #2 on the USA TODAY Safest Cities to be Outside Naked.

Where else would I be?

Normally I'd be in bed by now... But... It's Friday Night and I like to Party!!!!