Brad Zellar I spent part of the weekend kicking around thoughts on the coming season with Britt Robson and David Brauer over at On the Ball, Britt’s new home on the world wide web (or whatever the hell you want to call this impossibly dense and increasingly confusing constellation of monkey business). Go check it out. I’ll … Read more
I just got word that Herb Carneal has died. I’m sure the basic information is up at the Star Tribune by now. I honestly don’t know what to say. Going back to my childhood the man’s voice has been a permanent fixture in my life, and he was always a model of modesty, decency, and … Read more
Show me a man who can’t trust, he used to say, and I’ll show you an untrustworthy man. It was lies that broke his spirit and drove him out of the arms of…what? America? The human community? The lies of culture and commerce, public and private lies, political lies –virulent dishonesty propagated by sociopaths, a … Read more
To me, one of the great mysteries of 2006 was how Joe Mauer, a guy who had an on base percentage of .429, somehow managed to avoid scoring or driving in 100 runs. Three guys who hit behind him combined for 337 RBI (Morneau: 130; Cuddyer: 109; and Hunter: 98). Mauer had 86 runs scored … Read more
I know it’s all about money, but today’s decision to send Matt Garza to Rochester nonetheless stinks to high hell from a fan’s perspective. Someone tell me: how exactly is J.D. Durbin worth protecting? The guy is 25 years old and out of options. I say send him packing and if somebody else wants to … Read more
Time is a sputtering lantern, a bruised child, a gray, flat-faced man with fists of concrete and legs like pistons. He has it in for dogs, which is one of his many cruel and inexplicable character traits. Misunderstood and misrepresented throughout history, gussied up and dumbed down, the snaggle-toothed bastard is frequently outfitted with wings … Read more
Damn, I love Sidney Ponson. I’ve always been a fan of the big man, and nobody was happier than I was to see the Twins swoop in and snag one of the huge Hot Stove League bargains, but after today’s stellar start (and –yeah, yeah– the Real Deal had to come in and blow up … Read more
I can tell you from unfortunate personal experience the sort of thing you can expect if you allow yourself to fall under the spell of a poison toad. It’s not good, that’s for damn sure. You’d think, I suppose, that any reasonably intelligent person would know enough to steer clear of a poison toad that … Read more
At the annual Upper Midwest Foodservice and Lodging Show, which convened at the Minneapolis Convention Center a few weeks back, a fellow who was willing to do the legwork could have really gorged himself on meat. It seemed like somebody was handing out samples (“The Black Angus of Pork,” boasted the sign in one booth) … Read more
Beyond a long window that offered a panoramic view of the Minneapolis skyline, the end-of-the-workday exodus was already under way. Traffic was snarled on the streets stretching all the way downtown. Dave St. Peter had his back to the window, and he was looking and sounding like a man whose day was just getting started. … Read more