IndianaTwin

I made a similar mistake in the midst of conquering the Iowa Pork Tenderloin Trail.

Photo above was from the one in Dallas.

Which ones remain?

Plus 14 that are now closed. I managed to get a decent number on work trips, then did a seven-parks-in-eight-days trip with my 11 year old son, which got me within range to plan a couple special check-it-off trips.

It was preemptive. They didn’t have chicken on the menu, so I had to go with some turkey at the first stop on the Take a Tums Tour.

We’d been married just over a year. Mrs. IT knew I was a Twins fan, so she said, “Keep the noise down out here. I’m going to bed.” She wasn’t in bed five minutes before the play happened, and I let out a roar that woke the neighborhood. I went back to apologize, and she just smiled and rolled back over, having no idea what she was in for over the next 35 years (so far). I referenced in the opening that as of next week, I’ll have again been at all 30 stadia. Ever the trooper, she’s actually been at 23, many of them with our sons as well. “I don’t like baseball,” she says. “But I like some people who like baseball.”

At about 1:05 here:

He did a Darrell Evans imitation.

Just realized what my favorite Dan Gladden catchphrase is. Well, it’s not really a “catchphrase,” he just uses the phrase daily. It’s the one where he says, “We go to the seventh, and here’s Corey Provus.”

The Gordon and Larnach shots were the first back-to-backs for the Twins this season, according to the radio guys.

I’m cool with holes in the wall. Like them, in fact. Any fit that category?

For our 25th anniversary, we got the USA Rail Pass, where you get eight segments anywhere for $400 (at least then). We went from home to Chicago to San Francisco to Portland and back home, with extra days in Salt Lake City, SF, Portland and Glacier Park. Loved it.

I'm not a big fan of Wrigley either. My son's a Cubs fan, so we've gone a couple times when the Twins were in town, but that's about it. The last couple times I've gone, we've parked on the southwest side (a reasonably accessible lot when driving from Indiana) and taken the El.

Today's game time weather forecast at Target Field: 79 degrees with clouds, headed to 85. Today's game time weather forecast in Dallas: 87 degrees and sun, headed to 93.

“Riding on the City of New Orleans…” Well, actually, I’m on Amtrak’s Texas Eagle, which goes through Joliet and St. Louis on the way to Dallas and beyond, rather than through Kankakee and Memphis on the way to the Big Easy. But we still rolled along past houses, farms and fields. I love traveling by train, so I took the two-hour ride to Chicago’s Union Station yesterday morning and then got on board for the 24-hour therapeutic jaunt. Mrs. IT flies in tonight, and we embark on the “Take a Tums Tour,” searching for barbecue and chili (no beans). Next Sunday, we’ll take in a game in Arlington, allowing me to recheck the Rangers’ stadium off the list and return to being able to say I’ve seen a game in all 29 Major League Stadiums, plus the Monument to Cement in Chicago where The Team That Shall Not Be Named plays. Aside: Vanimal gave me a few good recommendations early this week, but I’m also up for more. Where’s the best places you know for barbecue or chili in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and places in between? Oh, and milkshakes? Mrs. IT and I have a hankerin’ for those as well. So why lead with a reference to the City of New Orleans, the classic song by Steve Goodman (foreshadow alert)? Perhaps it’s because of the Big Train. When we talk about the best player in franchise history, we’re usually arguing about Harmon, Rodney, Joe, Kirby, Tony O, etc. Here’s a tidbit for you. Remember that the franchise started as the Senators, and I came across this amazing fact the other day. At least I think it’s amazing, and this is my GT intro. The Big Train, Walter Johnson, racked up more bWar (164.9) for the franchise than Carew (63.8) and Killebrew (60.4) combined. Add in the third Twin HOF hitter, Oliva (43.0) and the Twins’ Big 3 only tops the Big Train by 2.3 WAR. In the discussions of what constitutes an Ace, I think we can generally agree that the pride of Humboldt, Kans., was a capital A-C-E ACE. But Johnson isn’t it. Rather, let’s talk about Goodman. As Annie Kinsella almost said, “Fine. But what does Steve Goodman have to do with baseball?” Turns out the great folksinger from Chicago not only wrote the classic railroad ballad, recorded by Arlo Guthrie, John Denver, the Highwaymen and Judy Collins, before Willie Nelson won a Grammy with it in 1985, he also had a couple songs about our Pastime. Just before the 1981 season, Goodman wrote “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request,” the story of a Cubs fan looking back at years of frustration following his hometown team. For those not familiar, in the song, the dying old man tells his friends to carry his coffin around Wrigley Field before having his ashes thrown into a bonfire on the field. Two players are mentioned – “Hey, Ernie, let’s play two” and “Have Keith Moreland drop a routine fly.” As it turns out, cynicism in the form of asking, “Do they still play the blues in Chicago when baseball rolls around?” and “When the snow melts away, do the Cubbies still play in their ivy-covered burial ground?” will get you on the outs with the team. That’s especially the case when you answer by saying, “When I was a boy, they were my pride and joy, but now they only bring fatigue to the home of the brave, the land of the free and the doormat of the National League.” He goes on, noting that the last time the Cubs had won the National League pennant was “the year we dropped the bomb on Japan.” The Cubs made him a criminal, leading him to flagrant truancy as he sat in the bleachers, followed by taking part in alcohol, gambling, dope, football, hockey, lacrosse... Our fair fan has season tickets to watch the Angels now. “But you, the living, you’re stuck here with the Cubs.” Yeah, that honked off management, and they banned him from playing it at Wrigley Field. But he redeemed himself in the eyes of management, coming up with “Go, Cubs, Go,” which went on to become the official Cubs victory song. WGN, the team’s radio broadcast partner, requested the song, which he wrote in 1984. Several 1984 Cubs appeared on the recording, but regretfully, Goodman lost his 16-year battle with leukemia and died on Sept. 20, just days before the Cubs clinched their first postseason appearance in nearly 40 years. And now, in the words of another Chicago legend, you know “the rest of the story.” But that’s Chicago and Dallas – today’s Twins tilt is against another barbecue-based team, the Royals of Arthur Bryant’s and Gates & Sons. The Walleyes need a win to salvage a series split. They’ll go after it with Sonny Gray on the hill, opposed by Zack Greinke, in a challenge between grizzled veterans. Let’s hope Gray is a little more grizzled. For the Ribs 1. Whit Merrifield, CF (R) 2. Andrew Benintendi, LF (L) 3. Bobby Witt Jr., SS (R) 4. Salvador Perez, C (R) 5. M.J. Melendez, RF (L) 6. Hunter Dozier, 1B, (R) 7. Carlos Santana, DH (L or R, depending on opposing pitcher's handedness) 8. Emmanuel Rivera, 3B (R) 9. Nicky Lopez, 2B (L) For the Walleyes 1. Byron Buxton, DH (R) 2. Carlos Correa, SS (R) 3. Luis Arraez, 1B (L) 4. Jorge Polanco, 2B (L or R, depending on opposing pitcher's handedness) 5. Gio Urshela, 3B (R) 6. Kyle Garlick, RF (R) 7. Royce Lewis, CF (R) 8. Trevor Larnach, LF (L) 9. Ryan Jeffers, C (R)

Did Gladden just call a pitch a “doo-doo slider”? Edit to add: And that one a “toad ball”? Where does he come up with this stuff?

Player is put on restricted and doesn’t get paid. He can be replaced on the roster.

I’m not so good at decelerating. I don’t have much margin to go slower than I already am.

Jose Berrios isn't even here any more, and we're still discussing what an ace is...

And it was a good day to have had a long Zoom seminar, I might add...

I don't see them using Duran in what would be back-to-back, three out of the last four, and four out of the last six.

I've also been enjoying the random crowd shots between innings, as well as being able to hear the home plate ump.

I don't think so, though maybe if you combined a few more inches with a little more experience at the position. But he had to come off the base quite a bit.

Braun and Pena are regulars on MLB Network.

Have we reached the "Bundy is horrible, we never should have signed him" part of the game?