IndianaTwin

I really hate speed bumps, but I’m slowly getting over them.

Division tonight.

Braves clinch.

For those making Ric Flair comments last night, you’ll be interested in knowing that a chaplain from an Albert Lea retirement home just stopped by the radio booth with a Ric Flair t-shirt.

I haven’t yet, but I’d like to try it that way. Probably not tomorrow, however, since I cut them thing down to a couple smaller pieces in the interest of getting done a little quicker. I’ve only done a half dozen or so, so I feel like I’m still experimenting. So far the experiments have all been reasonably successful. Here’s hoping for tomorrow. I’ll post a picture.

I didn’t do it this year. But they will be there following a combination of six Twins wins or Cleveland losses. And perhaps after every postseason win. So when I downloaded some photos of them to share on TD, I saved the images in My Photos. When my computer goes to sleep, it cycles through all the photos in that folder. Work colleagues keep asking, “What’s with all the pictures of donuts?”

Mesquite. I also look for every opportunity to brag up my son. He actually made the smoker by taking a kettle grill and extending it with a tamale steamer. Drilled the bottom of the steamer full of holes to let the smoke up, a few bolts in the side to hold the racks in place, and he had my Christmas present for something like $25. At some point, I might want to upgrade to a pellet or other smoker, but I can’t bring myself to dis him by doing that.

Change of plans. I’m going to northern Virginia to look for church food festivals.

Smoking brisket.

The junior high boy in me wanted to click “like.” So I did. And when I shared the article with my son, he told me that after he got C.Diff. last spring after an international study class and antibiotics were not doing the job, the doctor was very close to recommending that either my wife, other son, or me provide a sample for such a transplant. Apparently the procedure is not uncommon at all. Wow, the things one learns when reading TD.

Don’t you just hate it when the computer crashes AND the electricity goes out right before you save something?

I agree with you on the first sentence and a half, but unfortunately I'm not so sure about your last 11 words. I've been struck that over the last few weeks there have been a lot more comments on TD that have come across to me as mean-spirited. Perhaps it's because the stakes have increased with their place in the standings and the potential for a playoff spot, but it feels like there are fewer "Gibson (or Perez, or Baldelli, or Schoop, or whoever) is struggling tonight" comments and more "Gibson (or Perez, or Baldelli...) sucks/is scum/should never be heard from again" comments. That's why the tone of some of the comments leaves me unconvinced that all of us actually do hope for the best for him. I'm not calling out anyone in particular on this thread, because that spirit has felt pervasive on a lot of threads. But I'm with you tarheeltwinsfan. I too wish him the very best. The fact is that when we make these pronouncements, none of us have access to any of the medical reports or to the conversations he's had or hasn't had with management, including in the future. I liken it to last year's TD comments about Joe Mauer, which also often took a mean-spirited turn. As the season was coming to an end and there was speculation on what would happen, the main feeling that kept coming back to me was empathy for what he was going through, and even sympathy for him for having to go through it on such a public front. The vast majority of us have never had to deal with that kind of public challenge. We couldn't have any idea how the concussions were affecting him, but I always hoped that Mauer would be able to make the decision for what was right on his own terms. And if he chose to play, that he and the Twins would have been able to have an open and honest discussion on the role he might play on the team going forward. And selfishly, if he still had the health and drive to play, that he'd be able to do that as a Twin. But if not, I'll get over it. Gibson has had nowhere the same effect on the franchise as Mauer did, but he still has carried himself with class and dignity. My first hope for him is also that he'll be able to make decisions on his own terms, both now and in the future. If that includes him shutting himself down, so be it. If not, I hope that the Twins are able to have open and honest conversations with him about his role going forward the rest of the season. I hope they are doing everything they can to get him back to health. And if the answer is, "Kyle, your health situation is different from someone having a broken leg, but we've come to the decision that your injury needs to keep you off the active roster for the playoffs," then so be it. And similarly in the off season. On the surface, it seems hard to imagine that they'll be able to get him back to good enough health to offer him a qualifying offer. That seems a foregone conclusion given the timing. However, as I've said in an earlier thread, I would love it if the message to him is, "Kyle, when you're on, you can legitimately help us as a No. 3/4/5 starter. We can't give you a QO given your health status, but we want to give you the opportunity to make QO money. Demonstrate to us and our doctors that you are ready to start the season, and we'll guarantee the $8.125 MM we gave you in 2019. And here's the incentive plan (based on innings) that can get you to the $18MM you would have gotten with a QO. If you can give us 175 innings at the level you pitched from mid-2017 to mid-2019, combined with the leadership you provide to our young pitchers, you'll be worth it. And we believe in you." Descending from soap box...

Ours were hooked to the tractor with a log chain, so the tension of the chain to the drawbar was enough to lift the front end of the skid.

Thing is, I greatly value the skills and work ethic I learned growing up there, but apparently I didn’t value it enough to give my own kids those opportunities.

Drags or skids.

Yeah, it’s kind of interesting reading the first few pages of the GT when the score is 8-5. It’s almost like, wait, you mean they’re playing a full nine tonight?

I regularly tell people that I went to college wanting to major in math, but really I was majoring in “anything but dairy farming.”

Yikes. I looked up at MLB Network in time to see strike three on the third out. Dotted it. Has that been what the first inning looked like?

Which is preceded by preantepenultimate. (White Sox series) Which is preceded by propreantepenultimate. (Cleveland series)

I suspect that the "Gibson" tonight and the "TBD" for tomorrow night are very related. Given his health, I'd feel great about a 4-inning, 65-70 pitch night.

Their CF made a great play, both in tracking down the bounce and with the throw. But I also concur — if he’s running from the box, it’s a standup triple. The Sox announcers have generally gushed about the Twins the last two nights, but Rosario has been the exception. Steve Stone has called him out a couple times and let him have it pretty good on this particular play.

Rotator cuff surgery, so McEwing makes the pitching changes.

Maybe this year's mantra should be "Jose and Jake, and wish we had Strake." [Actually, I'm just playing with the phrase because it sounded good. I'm actually fine with Perez and Gibson (if healthy), assuming that in playoffs, the leash is going to be pretty short. Looking at last night's game, for example, if it was Game 3 with a rested bullpen, I suspect Perez would have been pulled after the two singles leading off the 5th.]

And don't forget The Doof -- now at 22 appearances without a run.

Jason Benetti on the Sano homer: Guys get hauled in front of judges for doing that kind of damage.