Riverbrian

BTW Awesome to read your words... once again.

That's right And I think they used about 96 pitchers that year.

Our team ERA was 5.12 I can't recall a team with an ERA over 5.00... I'm sure it has happened but not often. Anyway.. Our team ERA was 5.12 After tonight it will tick higher.

Clogzilla

"Oh No... There goes Tokyo".

So How are the local Cloggers doing tonight?

Whew... I'm Relieved it's not your problem. I'd sincerely apologize if my problems became your problems. I certainly wouldn't want your problems to become my problems. I get the impression that we agree on Vargas. He didn't deserve what happened to him. But... In my opinion... It's not Plouffe... It's Molitor. I can listen to opinions all day long on weather Vargas will be a superstar, average, a bust or anywhere in between. But In the end... I grow weary of projections and would simply like to see them actually get the job done on the field. On August 2nd 2016. Kennys Vargas had regular playing time and an OPS of 1.016. It could be argued that Vargas was carrying the team while the Twins actually won a couple games in July. Young players are asked to step up and prove themselves and earn a job. Vargas proved himself for a month and he was rewarded with a seat on the bench when Sano became healthy because Molitor couldn't figure it out and was demoted when the Twins needed an arm... and by that point... why not... he wasn't playing anyway because Molitor benched a guy with a 1.016 OPS with a roster full of players nowhere near that and losing. Vargas was benched with a 1.016 OPS... while Plouffe was on the DL.... So... Escobar can play SS with his .687 OPS... because Molitor was... I don't know... (I'd have to ask Molly) uncomfortable with Polanco at SS (But seemingly comfortable with him at SS now). Molitor assessed that there was no room for Vargas on this team just like he originally assessed that Polanco can't play SS and he assessed that Nunez was a backup and he assessed that Polanco and Kepler had to ride the pine game after game while the players he was playing instead were embarrassing themselves. This isn't roster clogging. This is missed assessment after missed assessment followed by more missed assessments and then repeating itself until we get the #1 draft pick. Meanwhile... The Rangers are trying real hard to actually clog their roster with actual clogs who perform and they won't take our so called Clogs who are not performing.

I'll say it again. Any thought that the Twins have a log jam or blockage or anything of the sort... at this moment in time... well... it makes absolutely no sense to me. There is no log jam no matter how many times you say... Parks, Vargas, Mauer, Sano, Plouffe... Whatever. The Twins simply don't have two Major League superstars at any position. Everyone run to your Fantasy League Waiver Wire. See how many Twins Superstars are available for you to grab. When the day comes that the Twins have an actual honest to goodness log jam or blockage or anything of the sort... When that Day Comes... It will be awesome. With that said... I realize that Paul Molitor is managing like he has an actual log jam. Bring Vargas back up and play him. Actually... Apologize to him and then play him. If this is a log jam... the beavers are laughing at it.

I didn't get to watch the game tonight but I assume that they snapped the streak because the pitching staff didn't give up 9 runs or more.

How Bout if you are Mentally incapable? Bob Newhart would certainly be able to diagnose that from one session with me.

I went to Disney World Don't remember going on any rides. But I remember waiting in line for rides.

(True Story) The Youth team I was coaching made it to regionals and while the team was warming up I drove back to the Hotel to grab some stuff that I had left behind. I on the way back to the field... it was a half hour before game time and a Black Cat ran across the road in front of me. I stopped the car... backed up... did a u turn and went around the block to avoid crossing the path. It was the regionals... we were about to play Kansas... no way I was crossing that path. We lost 4-1... and that's because I can't be sure that the Cat didn't cross the other road that I used since it seemed to be cutting a path across town. (true Story)

Sounds good I have the diet of the average Puma.

The Twins return home for a 4-game series against the White Sox which gets underway tonight. The Twins now have lost 13 games in a row, and the White Sox have not lost 13 games in a row. That’s the backdrop that sets the scene for the beginning of our September. The Twins have lost 13 in a row… Teddy Bridgewater lost a knee cap. Thirteen just doesn’t feel that lucky right now. Here are some things to think about: The Twins return home for a 4-game series against the White Sox which gets underway tonight. The Twins now have lost 13 games in a row, and the White Sox have not lost 13 games in a row. That’s the backdrop that sets the scene for the beginning of our September. The Twins have lost 13 in a row… Teddy Bridgewater lost a knee cap. Thirteen just doesn’t feel that lucky right now. Here are some things to think about: 1. Baker’s Dozen – Baking a 13th item was a form of insurance in case something went wrong with one of the other 12. This is important because you can’t show up at the office with 11 donuts… someone will get hurt. That last donut can turn the office into a real life Hunger Games. 2. Lucky 13 – The number 13 is the number between John Ryan Murphy and Kent Hrbek. The Number has long been considered to be unlucky. It even has its own phobia called triskaidekaphobia. Hotels avoid having a 13th floor but I know that it’s impossible to not have a 13th floor if you keep going after 12. Simply putting a big '14' on the floor doesn’t change anything because we all know that 13 follows 12. The so-called 14th floor is still cursed. I know this is true because I stayed on the 14th floor once and the air conditioner didn’t work. 3. Jason Voorhees – As the protagonist of the Friday the 13th series, Jason has become a well-known figure in our popular culture. Jason is easy to recognize as a Canadian because of his Hockey Mask. Most fear Jason but that’s just a matter of perspective. For example… if you watch the movies backwards… Jason instantly becomes a hero as you watch him revive dead people with his magic machete. 4. 13 Colonies – It was the original 13 colonies that banded together to declare and fight for our independence. I remember the teaching of our humble beginnings back in elementary school. I remember the teacher saying that the Declaration of Independence was written in Philadelphia and I remember correcting her by saying that it was written in ink. She replied by saying… no, Philadelphia was where it was signed and I corrected her again by letting her know that it was signed on the bottom. 5. Prime Numbers – Prime rib is delicious but it should be called 'composite rib' because it typically comes in 12 or 16-ounce portions. If you really want it to be prime rib… use prime numbers like 13 or 17. I thought this was a brilliant idea but it would render it impossible to cut into bite size pieces… now being indivisible and everything. ____________________ Lineups: WHITE SOX Adam Eaton [L] CF Tim Anderson [R] SS Melky Cabrera LF Jose Abreu [R] 1B Justin Morneau [L] DH Todd Frazier [R] 3B Avisail Garcia [R] RF Alex Avila [L] C Tyler Saladino [R] 2B Jose Quintana [L] P TWINS Brian Dozier [R] 2B Joe Mauer [L] 1B Trevor Plouffe [R] 3B Miguel Sano [R] DH Jorge Polanco SS Max Kepler [L] RF Kurt Suzuki [R] C Eddie Rosario [L] LF Byron Buxton [R] CF Ervin Santana [R] P Game-time forecast: partly cloudy but clearing and sunny, until 7:49, then moonshiny, 71 deg F, 1% chance of rain (so no rain), winds from the E at 7mph. All in all, not a bad evening, but bring a sweatshirt to the game. View full article

Well Done I can't argue with facts... I'll just say that he seems to have had more opposite field success using my eyeball. Even my eyeball agrees with the opposite way LD. I don't recall him lining anything that direction. It has been deep gappers that have made me stand up and applaud. Actually... I stay seated and applaud.

The Twins have lost 10 games in a row and that is really hard to do unless you are trying to lose 10 games in a row. So I guess that leaves the question… are the Twins trying to lose 10 games in a row? If they are… well done!… the accomplishment is impressive. Our team left Toronto and flew to Cleveland for the start of 3 games series against the Indians. It’s easy to assume that the Twins had to fly across a couple of big lakes (Ontario and Erie) to get there, but I can’t be sure that the Twins plane took the direct route. Based on how the season has gone it’s probably safer to assume that the Twins flew north to get to Cleveland and ended up flying over Lake Gloom, Despair and Agony instead. The Twins have simply gotten lost on the path they chose. They got lost and they lost a lot. Here are some things to think about: The Twins have lost 10 games in a row and that is really hard to do unless you are trying to lose 10 games in a row. So I guess that leaves the question… are the Twins trying to lose 10 games in a row? If they are… well done!… the accomplishment is impressive. Our team left Toronto and flew to Cleveland for the start of 3 games series against the Indians. It’s easy to assume that the Twins had to fly across a couple of big lakes (Ontario and Erie) to get there, but I can’t be sure that the Twins plane took the direct route. Based on how the season has gone it’s probably safer to assume that the Twins flew north to get to Cleveland and ended up flying over Lake Gloom, Despair and Agony instead. The Twins have simply gotten lost on the path they chose. They got lost and they lost a lot. Here are some things to think about: 1. Socks – I don’t mind doing Laundry but after folding and putting everything away, I don’t know how I end up with one sock without a match. It doesn’t happen all the time but it happens enough that I assume that someone is breaking into the house, going down to the laundry room very quietly and taking one sock and leaving with it. Whoever is doing this is very good at it and I am being robbed very slowly… one sock at a time. 2. Memory – I have a theory and I think I’m right. I believe that we only have so much RAM and once you reach a certain age there is simply no more space. When you learn something new… something must leave to make room for it. I was in Texas this weekend and I learned that Armadillos eat beetles and worms. After I learned that… I couldn’t remember what room number I was staying in and I apologize to the couple from Louisiana that I walked in on. 3. The Remote – I was watching TV and I could not find the remote. The TV was on… which means that I turned it on with the remote... so at some point while watching TV… I lost the remote. Back in the old days… we had to get up and change the channel ourselves. Now… I couldn’t even tell you where those buttons are on the new TVs. I couldn’t tell you where the on/off button is. I removed all the cushions from the couch… even in places where I wasn’t sitting and I couldn’t find the remote. I had no choice but to leave the TV on all night. The next morning… I got up… the TV still on (it seems louder in the morning) and I opened up the fridge and there was the remote on the top shelf next to the milk. The remote was perhaps the worst breakfast I’ve ever had… it tasted terrible. 4. Garmin – I tagged Waldo with a GPS device… problem solved. 5. Small Children – (True Story) When my oldest son was around 4 years old… I lost him at a hockey game. Game was over… we were standing in the aisle waiting for the line to move when he ran through the row of seats and up the next aisle over and into the concourse. I know I should have ran after him but I had only been a parent for 4 years and they don’t come with instructions. I got to the top and it was people everywhere and I couldn’t see him. I didn’t panic because it was a hockey rink… it was circular. The crowd wasn’t hanging around so eventually it would thin to nothing. All I had to do was walk around the circular concourse and find him. So I did that and soon I was walking around an empty arena and my son was nowhere to be found. That’s when I started to panic. I knew my wife wouldn’t be happy with me if I returned home without him. I thought to myself… he must be at the car. So… I ran full speed for 4 blocks to my car (dead of winter below zero type night)… nope… and I ran full speed 4 blocks back to the rink. I’m in a complete panic now. I go back into the arena and I’m still running and I round the corner and that’s when I see my son walking with a couple of security guards. I told him… let’s not tell Mom about this and we went home. It’s 18 years later now and I still haven’t told her about it and if I told her about it tomorrow, I’d still be in trouble. (True Story) ____________________ Lineups: TWINS Brian Dozier [R] 2B Joe Mauer [L] 1B Trevor Plouffe [R] DH Miguel Sano [R] 3B Max Kepler [L] RF Jorge Polanco SS Eddie Rosario [L] LF Juan Centeno [L] C Logan Schafer [L] CF Hector Santiago [L] P INDIANS Rajai Davis [R] CF Jason Kipnis [L] 2B Francisco Lindor SS Mike Napoli [R] 1B Carlos Santana DH Jose Ramirez 3B Brandon Guyer [R] LF Abraham Almonte RF Roberto Perez [R] C Trevor Bauer [R] P Game-time forecast: Clear, sunny (until 8:03pm), 76 deg F, no chance of rain, winds from the NNE at 8mph. Hmm ... sounds like a nice night for a game. View full article

It might be a character flaw of mine (among many) but I really don't look for regression. I'm hopelessly attached to the thought of fix problem X and it can get better. At least until Problem Y comes along.

I personally don't know what the coaching staff is telling Brian Dozier... I don't know if they are trying to force him and I also don't know how Brian is reacting to the whatever instruction is given. I've seen the games and I'm pretty convinced that Brian has had more success going the opposite way during the past few hot months and he had no success going the opposite way during the extremely cold months. He is still a pull hitter without question but he has added to his game and my assumption is that he has put some serious work in to make these necessary adjustments.

Good Move Should have been done right away though. I still believe that a Prez of Baseball OP should have been hired immediately and before Terry Ryan was fired. Oh Well... It appears that someone is coming in with new ideas and in position to make organization wide assessments and that is good news. I hope we don't wait too long since it should have been done yesterday.

GCTF bent to touch I got to hang out for a bit with the band backstage in Minneapolis when they opened for Page/Plant. Gord refused to speak to anyone... Like he was pissed to be there. He just sat on a table in the corner. The rest of the guys were real cool. Dan Aykroyd was also backstage. It was Dan, my wife, some other person I don't know, A record rep and the entire band. I think Gord was pissed because he just played for about 100 people and everybody started showing up at the end for Page/Plant. Americans just didn't get a chance to discover the Hip.

Little Bones Three Pistols Courage Grace Too Inevitability of Death Another Midnight Locked in the Trunk of a Car Trickle Down At the Hundredth Meridian Those are my Favorites.

I've spent all day at a convention in Dallas. My brain is like cream of mushroom soup. Open my skull and throw in some tator tots and you'll have a ready made bowl for serving at Minnesota Church Gatherings.

Everything else will hurt enough that you will forget about the pain in your neck.