It's tough being a fan, especially one with vertigo. All the ups and downs make me nauseous. But, for better or worse, the Twins are still on top in the AL Central. Okay, so that doesn't say a whole, heckuvalot when their winning percentage puts them 2nd, 3rd or 4th in every other division in baseball. The good news? It's May 15 and we're running a marathon. Standings really mean very little to me at this point in the season, so yeah, doesn't really say a whole heckuvalot when the finish line is still distant. Perspective is everything.
So, let's focus on today. As of this writing, still waiting for lineups (they will be posted when available) and still waiting to see what transactions are being made today, if any. When your team has 11! players on the IL, wow, players are in flux and each day brings a new announcement. (For a little perspective, we knew that Dobnak and Maeda would be out for most if not all of this season, so, really, it's only 9. Eh, that's still a lot. And then 4 of those 9 are on the 60-day. So, really, we are waiting on and hoping for the remaining 5 to get healthy and rejoin the active roster.)
So, what do we know today, right now, for certain? Yesterday's loss was yesterday, it's over and done, can't take it back, let's move on to today. It's a fresh day where anything can happen. Joe Ryan is pitching. His last outing wasn't so stellar but I'm hoping that he's learned some things and has made some adjustments. Even though Joe has certainly been fun to watch and has been a great story early in the season, he's still just a rookie. He's going to take his lumps from time to time in this process of becoming 'seasoned' so some expectation managing is probably called for. But I'm hoping he's made the adjustments from his last outing and we have the good Joe for today.
And, back to no lineups yet, no transactions yet, what's left? Food and drink. You're heading to a game, you're there, vendors and concessions are everywhere, it's a beautiful day - what to you get? Do you go standard, or do you go 'exotic'? In 'researching' this topic, I found a couple of lists of 'the best' in each stadium, and then a list of 'most popular standards.' I didn't know what to do with all that information, so ... created a poll. (If while at a game, you eat or drink nothing, then you can skip the polls and go right to commenting.) The poll is 'standard fare' so if you have some kind of 'exotica' you like, have tried, do tell! EDIT: I edited the poll so you can actually choose more than one thing, as I said you could.
Next thread I do, maybe I'll make lists of 'the best' in all the stadiums with all the non-standard choices ... from lobstah rolls in Fenway to the Dilly Dog in Texas (think turducken ... a hollowed out large dill pickle with a hot dog in it, then battered and fried like a corn dog) to Oakland, who has limited concessions so food trucks are the answer, but they do manage to have alcohol popsicles that looked interesting.
And I started this thread claiming nausea and then went on to talk about food? Ups and downs.
Okay ... with dog and beer in hand (it's brunch, not breakfast, anything goes!) ... batter up!
LINEUPS:
Guardians
1. Myles Straw (R) CF
2. Steven Kwan (L) RF
3. Jose Ramirez (S) 3B
4. Owen Miller (R) 1B
5. Amed Rosario (R) SS
6. Franmil Reyes (R) DH
7. Andres Gimenez (L) 2B
8. Richie Palacios (L) LF
9. Luke Maile (R) C
Triston McKenzie (R) P
Twins
1. Byron Buxton (R) CF
2. Luis Arraez (L) 1B
3. Jorge Polanco (S) 2B
4. Max Kepler (L) RF
5. Gary Sanchez (R) DH
6. Gio Urshela (R) 3B
7. Nick Gordon (L) LF
8. Ryan Jeffers (R) C
9. Royce Lewis (R) SS
Joe Ryan (R) P