Riverbrian

Tonight it's the Pirates live from Pittsburgh. Francisco Liriano will take the mound and he's been the real deal for the Pirates since landing in that uniform. Kennys Vargas has been sent down so he won't get to enjoy the Primanti Sandwich but we really don't need a DH for this series since using a DH is against the rules in the National League. I don't know who makes up these National League rules but it must be someone different than who makes up the rules in American League. Here are some Things to Think About: 1. MLB Standings -- If this was 2012 or 2013 or 2014 or umm... 1981 or 1644 for that matter, it would be silly to be thinking about the MLB Standings. However, it's 2015 so let's think about it. The Twins are just 3 games out of the AL Central lead and if the season ended today… the Twins would be one of the Wild Card Teams. As long as this is a case... I think I should think about that each time. To make up for not being able to think about in 2013 and the year 1644. The current Twins magic number is 4327 or thereabouts. 2. Kennys Vargas -- Not only did they send him down... they sent down both of him. In case you missed my dry sense of humor... both of him is a reference to the plural-ness of the name Kennys. Now I've gone and ruined it by explaining it. Anyway... Because there are two of him... this move will open up two roster spots for the Twins to fill some holes. We've always wondered how Kennys got so large physically... it's because there are two of him and his hitting as been very Jekyll and Hyde so down they go. Eduardo Nunez has returned from the D.L. to take one spot. I guess we will have to wait and see who the Twins call up to replace the other Kenny. You know... the Kenny that Kenny Swallowed. 3. Francisco Liriano -- We get to face our old friend Francisco Liriano tonight. Honestly... I'm not the type to give up on players. I firmly believe that talented players can find the light switch. Although in Liriano's case... I had given up. He was so lost on the mound that I had no choice but to give up. When he was traded to the White Sox... it was like a weight off my shoulders. Fast forward to his time in Pittsburgh... He's been absolutely good... He's been the pitcher that we always hoped he could be. Did he just find the light switch when he landed in Pittsburgh or did someone grab him by the head and say..."Look... A Light Switch... Go Ahead and Flip it". I stay out of conversations about our coaching staff because I have no idea how they conduct their day to day business but perhaps the most damning evidence on Rick Anderson is Francisco Liriano and Vance Worley and how they are performing in Pittsburgh. That may not be fair because I'm not thinking about any success stories of Rick Anderson but I can't help but be not fair in these two cases. Hindsight doesn't require bi-focals. 4. Pittsburgh -- I've only driven through the area but I plan on stopping and staying in the Steel City on the 26th and 27th to get a full feel for the goings on. I look forward to going to PNC Park to watch the Pirates play the Marlins. The park sure looks beautiful on my 42 inch screen TV. The people of Pittsburgh have the ability to eat tupperware and this makes them a little bit different than the people from other cities. The Primanti Sandwich originates in Pittsburgh and the sandwich is built by taking the entire plate of food in a typical meal and pouring it between two slices of bread... meat, French Fries, Cole Slaw, Pudding, a glass of milk, a napkin and the actual dinner plate. Yeah... the Plate is the real crunchy part. The City of Pittsburgh passed a law that all sports teams must wear Black and Yellow. Wiz Khalifa (you know what it is) was part of the city council at the time. Pittsburgh has three rivers to choose from. There is the Ohio, the Allegheny and the Monongahela. If you have to choose a river... choose the Ohio because it's easier to spell. 5. Commitments -- My wife surprised me last night. In an out of the blue candid moment she told me that I was "All right." I was trying to watch Impractical Jokers on TV at the time so I really wasn't paying attention but my wife felt it was important to confirm her feelings for me. This feeling will last for at least a month so our long term future is in good shape. To be perfectly clear... there aren't any problems... my wife just felt like talking and I felt like pretending to listen to her. As the conversation continued. She said… "Our kids are doing well and we've done a nice job building our life and future and besides at our age we still need each other. There won't be as many people interested in us anymore." I told her that isn't necessarily true... "Surely there is an archaeologist looking for that special someone". Lineups and Weather will be posted here... Actually... below Here. If they were posted exactly here... the words would get mixed up with what I'm typing in this spot and that would make it difficult for anyone to read. So to clarify... the Lineups and the Weather conditions will be posted below here. There might even be a blank line of space that separates this section from the beginning of the lineups and the weather. I won't be posting the lineups so I don't know that for sure. That will be an option that ChiTown has to consider before she places that information in. ------------------- Not only a space, but dashes, too. Today there are 20 dashes. Other days there are more or less than that. Onward ... Game-time forecast: 68 deg, partly cloudy (sunset at 8:33pm), winds at 13mph from the NW. Temps will drop approx. 10 degrees during the course of the game. Not sure if that's usual or not. It dropped about 30 degrees here overnight. Lineups: TWINS Santana SS Dozier 2B Mauer 1B Plouffe 3B Hunter RF Suzuki C Hicks CF Robinson LF Nolasco P PIRATES Polanco RF Walker 2B McCutchen CF Marte LF Kang SS Alvarez 1B Harrison 3B Cervelli C Liriano P And let the games begin! Click here to view the article

LOL... and get this... the suburb I'm living in Grandville I kid you not

It's gonna happen for sure. I can do a 3 hour drive like making a sandwich easy.

I don't know what everyone is doing... But it's interesting from an I don't understand context

Alright... late to the party... I'll have to read the thread later. We got a lead... lets keep it

North Dakota is Pretty Cool... It hasn't let me down in 24 years.

I am Grand Rapids... I'm excited and sad at the same time. But Yeah... It's a reason to get a really big TV. And... And...I'm gonna need the full surround sound to drown any Tiger noise.

Well... Let's not sugar coat it. Yesterday's game against the Tigers Stunk!!! In the past 4 games... Our Twins are 1-3 and the rose certainly smelled sweeter when we were 9-1 in the 10 games before that. The talented Tigers certainly had a lot to do with it and I'm glad that we are done playing them but now comes the Tampa Rays and they are playing quite well thus far. Here's hoping the Twins had a chance to clean up... take a shower and get into some brand new duds for this series at home. Here are some things to think about: 1. Hot Streaks going Cold -- It happens all the time in baseball. You are on top of the world and just like that you are on the bottom of the world. From Yellowknife to Patagonia in a heartbeat. It's the fastest mode of transportation known to man. It happens so fast that it isn't visible to the naked eye. You need a high speed camera to fully get your arms around it and when you look at it frame by frame here is what you see. Everything is going along as normal when a bunch of Tigers appear into focus and force a severe re-route. Hopefully we can get back on the path to Yellowknife tonight. Yeah... Yellowknife... That's where we want to be... because deep down we all want to be Canadian. 2. The Rays -- Nobody expected anything from the Rays this year. Nobody expected much from the Twins either and here they are... both battling for playoff position in Mid-May. The change in the Rays organization in the off season was stunning and from the top down. Andrew Friedman left for a job as President of the Dodgers... This triggered an escape clause for Manager Joe Maddon and off he went to the Chicago Cubs and this led to a re-working of the roster and away went Wil Myers and Ben Zobrist and Matt Joyce and a bunch of others. It was like they were saying... Let's rebuild this thing right now when the cupboard wasn't totally bare. Replacing all of these guys... Matt Silverman segued from President to President of Baseball Operations which would be like Dave St. Peter replacing Terry Ryan. Silverman then hired Kevin Cash to replace Joe Maddon. Silverman probably figured that hiring Cash was the only way to infuse actual Cash into the payroll and they replaced Myers and Zobrist with... well... Some guy named Souza and... and... Well... This is where the mystery begins. Regardless of all the changes... It seems to be working rather nicely thus far. 3. Aaron Hicks -- It's actually kind of nice to see Aaron Hicks in Center Field. That's because it feels a little different this time around. The First time we saw Hicks it was a disaster. He wasn't ready and did it ever show. Hicks 2.0 wasn't much better and it kind of led us all to feel that Hicks just wasn't going to be the player we wanted him to be. Hicks 3.0 just feels a little different to me... Here's why... I was watching his stats in Rochester and judging by the stats alone... He seemed like he was figuring some things out. No Eyeball on it... Just looking at the stats alone... That's why this version of Aaron Hicks feels a little more comfortable. I have no idea what happens when Shane Robinson comes back. I wish Shane the best for his family's sake but while he's away... Aaron Hicks is auditioning... quite possibly for his job. Someday... Arcia will come back from the D.L. and the Twins will have some OF decisions to make. Hicks has to prove he belongs and I certainly like that scenario much better. Hicks proving he belongs instead of... Here's the Job... I sure hope you belong. 4. Jake Odorizzi -- Giving it some thought... To be Odor Easy... That would be a great. You wouldn't have to worry about purchasing any of those colognes or deodorant because you are... Odor Easy. It's not about smelling great... You'd walk into any room and just not smell at all... We'd all take that. Of Course... I'm married so I stopped worrying about what I smell like and my wife has given up worrying about it. So I guess... in my own unique way... I am odor easy... Because I just don't care anymore. If you were hoping for a breakdown on who is pitching for the Rays tonight... you came to the wrong place. He has a 2.09 ERA in 2015. That's pretty good. His numbers certainly don't stink. 5. Big Screen Televisions -- I'm shopping for a new television and I'd like to get a monster TV for my in-home entertainment. It turns out that my wife is not shopping for a new television she is talking about moving my chair closer. Game-time forecast: 68 deg F, overcast (sunset at 8:35pm), 0% chance of rain, winds from the east at 5mph LINEUPS: RAYS Kevin Kiermaier CF Steven Souza RF Evan Longoria 3B James Loney 1B Logan Forsythe 2B David DeJesus DH Asdrubal Cabrera SS Joey Butler LF Rene Rivera C Odorizzi P TWINS Dozier 2B Hunter RF Mauer 1B Plouffe 3B Suzuki C Escobar LF Vargas DH Hicks CF Santana SS Hughes P Click here to view the article

German Potato Salad? German? Now I gotta look that up. All kinds of fancy dishes to Google tonight.

Nope... Still confused on Ick/Ish

Both Feet down... what happens when the third situation arises?

(Pause and Ponder) BAWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I just wikipedia'd it... So I'm good to go.

Bark... It's just a foot down... It helps stabilize her balance... It has nothing to do with the photo.

Horrible Jump and that was really not a pitch to swing at 3-2. This has been a Circus Boy Update

Sounds like an ingredient in that fancy salad that Gibby had to make for his wife. (Pause-- Ponder it's place in this world) BAWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHa

That didn't work

Umm... That was Sconnie... I think

That's the Hicks we know.

But who's gonna pitch the 10th?

So we can get to extras... DUH

It Probably depends on the Men... Of course... What do I know on this subject?

I gotta look into something for Twins Watching soon. Turns out... I can't get Direct or Dish because of my location. MLB Extra Innings is way too pricey and I'm too cheap for that. Any other options?