Riverbrian

1. The Brewers -- This weekend the Twins travel across Wisconsin to take on the Brewers. It's been a tough year for the Brewers thus far. I'm not sure exactly why but I think it has something to do with pitching and hitting. The Brewers haven't pitched that well and they haven't hit that well... This is my theory on why and I'm sticking to it. It's been bad for the Brew Crew... If the season ended today... they would be drafting 2nd next year. Only the Phillies have a worse record. It's been so bad that they have already set their manager adrift. Ron Roenicke is floating across Lake Michigan as we speak and Craig Counsell is the new manager. I certainly hope that Craig Counsell isn't giving any hitting instruction unless they want Brewers hitters to look like a real tall spaghetti noodle. 2. Milwaukee -- It's good to stop playing Illinois teams. Just baby steps tho... Milwaukee is within shouting distance from Chicago. Mike Ditka used to yell for Beer and have it delivered all the time. I have a hard time hating the Brewers. Brewers Fans for the most part are ok... The main problem with Brewers fans is that the majority of them are Packers Fans. It's ok tho... because they are simply too drunk to know any better. All in all... I like Wisconsin... the cheese they produce tastes good on my pizza. Every part of the state of Wisconsin is different and beautiful in it's own way. You have the Lake Michigan coastline on the eastern side of the state, Rolling Hills in the Southwest, Interesting rock formations in the center of the state and thick woods to the North. Laverne and Shirley are from Milwaukee... although I'm curious to know how Laverne picked up that New York accent; the Fonz, Richie, Joanie and Chachi are all Milwaukeeans. I almost forgot... a quick shout out to Mr and Mrs. C, the Japenese Arnold and the larger guy who looks like an actual Arnold along with Potsie and Ralph Malph. 3. Garza vs. Gibson -- Yeah, I know... tonight it's May vs Lohse... but I'm driving to County Stadium... umm.... errr... Miller Park on Saturday to watch the game in person. That match up is supposed to be Garza vs. Gibson so I'm thinking about that one. It's G vs G... a couple of Gangsta's going at it on the mound. I'm really hoping that Matt Garza doesn't spit on me. 4. Ex-Twins vs the Twins -- The Brewers have three ex-twins on the current roster. I've already mentioned Lohse and Garza. There is also the very talented Carlos Gomez. I'm normally not one to criticize trades that are made because I'm the type to trust those with jobs to do. However... there were two trades that still hurt and are still stick in my craw and they got stuck in a bad place the very second that the trade was announced. Ramos for Capps is one. I hated that deal instantly and never warmed and Gomez for Hardy... I hated that deal instantly and never warmed to it. Yeah, there are other deals to criticize like Hardy for Hoey but to be honest... Ramos and Gomez were such bummers that Hardy for Hoey pales. I didn't know a lot about Ramos but I really didn't like Capps and I thought we traded out of desperation; I heard Tom Kelly say glowing things about Ramos so I was sold and waiting for him. With Carlos Gomez... all you had to do was watch him struggle as a 17 year old who was called up too soon. All you had to do was watch him struggle and it was obvious... this player was going to be a superstar. I thought it immediately... a 5 tool player with every skill you could possibly want in a player. Gomez would have been looking good as a Twin right now... if only we would have kept in the minors a couple more years for seasoning. Could you imagine... Gomez and Buxton in the same outfield in 2016? 5. Sunblock -- My wife was upset the other night because my youngest son went outside and had fun and didn't use sunblock and now he resembles a lobster. Of course... as you can imagine... sunblock then became a topic of discussion and she had me run to the store to get some powerful stuff. She gave me instructions and what kind to get and I stopped at the store and picked it up. I was heading outside so I thought I'd put some on. It was strong stuff... I squeezed the tube and a sweater came out. ------------------------ Game-time forecast: 67 deg F, overcast, 20% chance of rain (it's higher earlier, calling for rain around 5pm, but will likely pass by game time), winds at 11mph from the NNE. Lineups: TWINS Dozier 2B Hunter RF Mauer 1B Plouffe 3B Rosario LF Suzuki C Nunez SS Robinson CF May P BREWERS Parra LF Lucroy C Braun RF Lind 1B Gomez CF Ramirez 3B Segura SS Gennett 2B Lohse P Play ball!

1. Illinois -- After this series with the White Sox... we have the entire state of Illinois covered. Down in the Southern part of the state... they are Cardinal Fans. The rest of the state are either Cubs or White Sox fans and all 3 teams have been to Target Field in a week's time. Illinois is a fine state... It's so great that you have to pay tolls just to drive around in it. You realize that Illinois is a great state after you cross over into Indiana. Once you see all the dead deer from last fall and garbage along the Indiana highway... you think to yourself that Illinois is pretty good. It's not Minnesota but then again... what is? 2. The Bullpen -- Let's be honest... Since the team broke camp... most of us haven't been fans of the bullpen that was assembled. However, it's been OK. Perkins hasn't blown a save yet; Boyer has been decent; Fein has come back strong. But we still have question marks. High praise to Paul Molitor for his use of the bullpen because despite inflated numbers from everyone that isn't Perkins, Fein or Boyer... the team has managed to win more than they have lost. After watching the Cubs jump on our bullpen yesterday... here comes that nagging feeling again. If the Twins are in contention, and it looks like they could be, firming up the pen will be important. 3. Other needs -- I also believe the Twins need a big bopper... You know... a guy who is what Vargas is supposed to be or Sano is supposed to become. We could use a guy who can yard at any time... umm... 30 to 40 times a year. That guy who hits the ball so far that women faint at the sight of it. (I'm not sure why I used women in that example... it isn't fair to women that I portray them as more faintable). The obvious position for this big bopper is... DH... because I kinda like what Rosario is doing right now. He seems to be making a home for himself; unless you consider 1st Base and that's kinda hard to do with Joe Mauer sitting in that spot. 4. Joe Mauer -- So Yeah... Joe Mauer... sitting in that spot. We all knew that Mauer at 1B wasn't going to be comparable to other 1B around the league. 1B is a power position and Joe isn't that guy. All in all it's OK because Brian Dozier makes up for it with his ability to hit dingers out of a non-traditional power spot. However... I'm going to say it... this team needs a power hitter; and if Vargas isn't going to do it then you have to look at Joe and I'm going to say this... If Joe isn't going to produce power at 1B... then he better start hitting plus .300. Neither thing is happening and this is costing the Twins runs in the end and if the bullpen can't keep the game close after the starters keep the game close... I'm going to blame Joe. We need more out of him. 5. Rabbits for Sale -- I was walking through the Mall this weekend and I stopped by the Pet Store just to look... I have no plans on getting a pet but I stopped by just to look. A little girl nearby... maybe 5 or 7 years old asked if they had any rabbits and the salesman bent down and in a soft voice said "Sure we do... What Color would you like? We got them in all kinds of colors" The Little Girl answered back... "I don't think my snake cares". --------------------- Game-time forecast: 78 deg F, clear (after a day of rain and clouds), 0% chance of precipitation (it will all be gone by then), winds from the NW at 17mph. Lineups: PALE HOSE Eaton CF Garcia RF Abreu 1B Cabrera LF LaRoche DH Ramirez SS Beckham 3B Soto C Sanchez 2B Danks P TWINS Buxton CF Dozier 2B Mauer 1B Hunter RF Plouffe 3B Rosario LF Suzuki C Vargas DH Nunez SS Milone P