Well, that was a tough series to watch. A team that we’ve learned to take for granted when it comes to executing the fundamentals of the game and not giving away ballgames has officially become a colossal disappointment. It would be hard, really, to even know where to start. I’ll say this, though: Nick Punto’s … Read more
May you be forgiven. May you be given a second chance: May you come back as a dog. May you be lost. May you be found. May you be loved. May the whole world smell wonderful. And may you know the touch of gentle hands and the soft voice of someone who sees and knows … Read more
You were born thirteen years and seven months ago, in the middle of a January night so cold the defroster in my old pickup truck wouldn’t work on the drive to the emergency clinic. You were the last pup born, the runt of the litter, and I watched in exhausted wonder as you … Read more
That logo’s just fine if you’re talking about Johan Santana. You’ll need to insert your own mental s, however, if you’re referring to the Twins’ offense. Down at the Dome this weekend they celebrated the 20th anniversary of the 1987 World Series championship season. Somehow, despite scoring three runs over three games, the Twins managed … Read more
It’s been a mighty strange season, and I’m frankly exhausted. It obviously doesn’t take a whole lot of psychic energy to follow a genuinely good team. That’s probably not true, though, at least strictly speaking; to really follow any baseball team, day in and day out, takes a tremendous amount of psychic energy. It’s a … Read more
Yes, boy, I could sure go for some beef stew and a chicken bone. That’s it. –Last words of Christopher Newton, whose execution by lethal injection in Lucasville, Ohio took nearly two hours (May 24, 2007) I summon you now Not to think of The ceaseless battle With pain and ill health, The frailty and … Read more
…if people who expect nothing come away empty-handed, then there really is no hope. —William Maxwell, Time Will Darken It The dead flicker like candles around you. They are burning their memories for warmth. —Kelly Link, “Flying Lessons” This world is full of war criminals, many of whom have never fired a weapon in their … Read more
The Twins have scored ten runs in their last six games, and 34 in their last fourteen, dating back to July 23 in Toronto –I’ll do the math for you: that’s an average of 2.4 runs a game. This nonsense, this incomprehensible futility, after scoring 34 runs in two games versus Chicago on July 6. … Read more
This’ll be everywhere in the morning, but in the meantime I can only say that after returning from the Dome tonight I had the odd sensation that I had had an experience similar to this pathetic fellow’s. Or at the very least that I’m going to need some similar procedure very soon. Read the story, … Read more