How messed up is it that a guy –Pat Neshek in this instance– can come in with runners at second and third and nobody out, give up a sacrifice fly, yet nonetheless retire every batter he faces, and get a blown save out of the deal? That whole game was sort of messed up, really. … Read more
That one felt…I don’t know, it felt bad, I guess, like a game in late September with hope sliding away with every pitch and a cold autumn rain beating the leaves from the trees along the boulevards (cue Barber’s “Adagio for Strings”). Maybe that’s just because it was a Friday night, and Friday nights don’t … Read more
The first two games of the Mets series were a perfect snapshot of the Twins’ see-saw season to date: An 8-1 loss and a 9-0 victory in the span of 24 hours. Five hits one night, thirteen the next. Go figure. Actually, if the season ended today, you could put the last eleven games in … Read more
I don’t have the energy to write an entire entry in Irish or Cockney slang, but that’s what I feel like doing every time this team slips into its offensive (and I do mean offensive) imitation of a World Cup soccer team, which lately seems to be several times a week. I just took a … Read more
You can’t explain or make sense of so much of the shit that happens during the course of a baseball season, the streaks and slumps and befuddling momentum shifts, the steady supply of wholly unexpected developments of both the pleasant and the not-so-pleasant variety. All those things –the day-to-day intangibles– are what make the sport … Read more
I say it all the time, but baseball’s a beautiful game when it’s played well, and when everything clicks it looks so easy. Time and again this season, however, the Twins have demonstrated just how hard the game really is, and how ugly it can be. The thing is, though, is that after Tuesday’s win … Read more
This here is the latest phenom to make the Twins look sick, a guy who hadn’t even made it into the fifth inning –the fifth stinking inning— in any of his previous starts. What the hell? Seriously, what the hell? Where do you want to lay the blame? At this point I can say only … Read more
That was Jason Simontacchi, folks, right-handed, thirty-three year old definition of a journeyman. This is a guy who bounced in and out of the minor league systems of the Pirates, Royals, and Twins before finally getting a shot with the Cardinals from 2002-2004; a guy who blew out his shoulder and disappeared entirely from the … Read more
I’ve always loved west coast road trips and those late-night games that give a guy the chance to get home from work, maybe go to the gym for a couple hours, grab a bite to eat, and then sit down in front of the television to watch baseball as the clock drifts toward midnight. They … Read more
Riddle me this: Did that team that lost on Saturday and Sunday in Oakland look like a club that is 7-3 over its last ten games (counting the two weekend losses)? Hardly. It’s weird how quickly momentum can dissipate over the course of a major league season. Just as the piranhas are heating up (at … Read more