MLB: Minny Linney's Beleaguered (also known as the Twins)

Or Minny Linney's Bested. Or Minny Linny's Beaten. As in, "Beaten by the A's in horrible, ugly-offense, error-ridden shame."

*sigh*

I am a fan of leaving work early to go watch games with co-workers (either live and in person with dome dogs or at other comfortable locales, complete with hordes of boisterously cheering fans and Buffalo wings).

There's always next year, right? But then, I'm a fan of a club who basically grooms players to go on to play for successful teams (see David Ortiz, Doug Mientkiewicz - ok, Kansas City wasn't all that successful, minus their rout of Detroit last weekend, thank you Royals - AJ Pierzynski, et al; 1987 and 1991 aside).

I am an eternal fan of a ball club whose owner refuses to pay anything for decent players (see antonym, Yankees), or better still, keep them when we've got 'em (see many from 1987, 1991 and any time there's been hope of rebuilding in the last 5-10 years). I am not - I repeat, NOT - a fan of the Pohlads. They've set up multiple rackets here in Minnesota, with no end in sight. I didn't particularly mind losing the scumbag Pierzynski, and the memories of other players fade (except Kirby, who can forget him?), but I'd miss this 2006 version.

I am a fan of Gardy and Terry Ryan.

I am a fan of the M & M boys (Mauer: local boy made good, loved and adored by Minnesotans everywhere; and Morneau, Canadian guy, who makes you think of apple pie and boy next door playing with his bat and ball), both deserving of the MVP. A fan of Torii and his (sometimes-goofy) leadership. I love Cuddyer and his humor. Punto's unwillingness to settle. Leeeeeeeeeeeeeeew (as in, Ford). I am a fan of Redmond, proverbial old guy who's solid and dependable and (I'm positive) always-available sage advice. Even a fan of Tyner, who in his some 1450 at-bats has never hit a homerun, and would shock the world if he did. Radke's grittiness and tendons (holding his arm on - I was amazed I didn't see his detached arm go flying towards home plate as he pitched today). Ever a fan of Santana, Liriano and our bullpen. Boof? Who legally changes his first name to Boof? Only a pitcher would. And Nathan? The most un-sung hero of the AL closers, nay, pitchers, and the only pitcher in the bullpen who should keep his facial hair. (Sorry, Jesse Crain, it really has to go.) I am a fan of Dennys Reyes, who seriously has the roundest face I've ever seen, rivaled only by a cartoon (Stewie from Family Guy). I am a fan of Neshek's old school delivery and socks.

I am a fan.

Forever.

MLB: Minny Linney's Boys (also known as the Twins)

I still have hope. My Twins have been down more often than not this season, and I still have hope that they'll pull it off and win the next three straight, starting this afternoon at Oakland. I mean, how like this season's Twins would it be for them to do just that? I don't count them out, but why did they have to make it hard on themselves?

How is it possible that the first time I got to see Santana pitch live and in person, he lost his first game since August 2005? I went to the Metrodome on Tuesday afternoon, and was extremely disappointed. No, not disappointed with Santana, but with my other beloved (and offensively-challenged) players. Where has the offense gone? Where is the Minnesota Magic? Apparently Joe Mauer sent the wrong bat to the Hall of Fame ("Mauer sends one of his bats to Hall of Fame" Star Tribune, October 2, 2006). Nick Punto's two amazing catches practically in two fans' laps (nearly identical in games 1 and 2 both in location on the field and his position in catching them) and Morneau's jaw-dropping double play (in game 2) aside, there have been too many mistakes on defense to mention (although everyone's talking Torii, there was also the Bartlett bobble of game 1; the botch by Boof Bonser in game 2 where he tried to pick up a ball with his glove - but i suppose he'd just been drilled by the hit and still managed to get an out at first, so maybe I can forgive that one; and even Cuddyer, who apparently also had a case of greased-hand-itis out in right field during game 2).

All I want is another situation just like Twins v. A's in 2002. I want Cuddyer to say another really funny quote, just like the last time. Immediately after their 2002 Game 5 playoff win against the A's, Cuddy was the first to hug Guardado (former pitcher), and "all of a sudden I'm on the bottom of the pile," Cuddyer said, "face to face with Eddie, and we can't move, and I'm trying not to kiss him."

Wild Drive-Thru Rally

I've never even heard of a drive-thru rally, let alone participated in one. That is, until this morning. The MN Wild celebrated tonight's home opener with a rally this morning. Since I live and work in and around downtown St. Paul, I decided to drive through and see what was up with all the hoopla. Let me tell you, driving down Kellogg Blvd with other enthusiasts was a lot of fun: seeing all the Wild jerseys, hearing the horns blare, listening to a bunch of hockey fans cheer. But what was even better was driving through a line where you rolled down the windows and had people give you free stuff. I got a Wild flag for my car (actually two, when all was said and done), a Wild calendar, a schedule, free Caribou coffee, free snacks, free Coke, free OJ, free post-it notes. It seemed a little odd to have a rally that ended at 9am, but when I realized that you could cheer them on all from the comfort of you car on your way to work? Awesome.

HOTDM: Head of the Des Moines

Did you know Des Moines has a river called the Des Moines River? (Did you know Iowa even had a river?) I didn't either, until a few weeks ago. And then on Saturday, September 30th, 2006, I managed to tear myself away from other duties in life, and actually saw for myself that the rumors were true: Iowa does have enough water in the state to form a river. (I've heard rumors that there are other rivers, but we'll leave verification of those for another day, another race.)

That's me, in front, getting my shoes set in the right spot

I have officially raced as a rower now, and thus begins my one-year career as a novice (I can only race in the "novice" category for a year - I don't plan on quitting rowing after the next 12 months). I and three other girls, plus our coxswain (who steers and encourages us, all that) entered the Head of the Des Moines and rowed the Novice Women's 4+ (four rowers, the + means there is a cox in the boat, and we were all sweep rowing with one oar apiece). It was a blast.

From L to R: Kerry (you can only see her head; she taught me to row), Danielle, Georgie, Anna and me

Fall races are longer races than summer ones, and they're always called "Head of the _____" - I don't know why. So, the Head of the Des Moines was a 5000 meter race (about 3 miles for those of us who are Americans and can't remember a thing about the metric system). The best feeling was passing two other teams within 500 meters of the start, and holding off another team at the finish. Oh, and did I mention that we are part of a fantastic club? When we rounded the last bend (who knew there was anything in Iowa that wasn't straight or flat?), our team was there cheering us on - also another great feeling. We only came in 5th (but still earned points for our club which helped us tie for first place in points at the regatta), but I'm excited to get better. I want to win! I want a medal!

Last Few Hundred Meters: This is what nausea looks like (the precursor to dying right after the finish line)

My hands are like mincemeat these days: oozing sores, blisters underneath callouses, the whole nine yards (of medical tape and bandaids). But it's worth it. (It also helped that last night at practice, I finally realized that I've been very tense in my grip lately, so maybe I'll be getting fewer wounds in the future as I remember to relax.)

Saturday was a gorgeous day to race, and I'm excited for many future races. This is way too much fun to give up over a few bruises and blisters, sore muscles and frequent practices.

To my Big Brother, on the Occasion of his 30th Birthday

And now...a Moment of Silence

Left Nike Tennis Shoe (1998-2006)

Tennis Shoe, Nike, age 8, beloved by Owner, Linnea. Used extensively on her left foot, exclusively for rowing during its waning existence. Left Tennis Shoe enjoyed doing many activities with Owner Linnea, including running, basketball and the like. Lost to the Mississippi River Saturday, September 16th, 2006. Last seen by Owner Linnea on dock on Raspberry Island, disappearance shrouded in mystery: may have have involved wind or dog while Owner Linnea was out on River. Survived by fraternal twin, Right (Nike) Tennis Shoe.


...


Right Nike Tennis Shoe (1998-2006)

Tennis Shoe, Nike, age 8, no longer beloved by Owner, Linnea. Formerly used extensively on her right foot for many activities, including running, basketball and rowing. Preceded in death by Left (Nike) Tennis Shoe. Survived by Right (Newer) Nike Tennis Shoe and Left (Now Old) Nike Tennis Shoe. Euthanized Tuesday, September 19th, 2006 due to old age and uselessness.

Devil's in the (Dry) Details

Any book that has the following quote on the front flap is a book that I must purchase - and soon:

Happiness is "an agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of another."
--Ambrose Bierce, The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary

I've always found myself getting lost when I look words up in dictionaries - the real kind of dictionary, not the fake online version I find myself frequenting so oft as of late where you cannot page through beautiful words to your heart's content - and now that I will be able to find humor there, too, will I ever read anything else?

I do wonder, though: will these words count in Scrabble?

Craig, the Columnist

I usually enjoy Craig Westover's column, but I especially enjoyed his column on Pluto and local Politicos from a lil' while ago. My favorite quote happens to be "from" the DFL Party Chairman, Brian Melendez.

DFL Chair Brian Melendez demanded (to no one in particular) that the designation "dwarf planet" be changed to "orbitally challenged." He blasted the Bush administration for not doing enough to correct Pluto's orbit while it promoted the interests of "Big Planets" on the backs of planets without color.

I have to admit that the entire column is rather satirically accurate on all parties and their persuasions.

Happy Primary Voting today, everyone.

7/16"

I won a wrench on Saturday. It's a jolly good little wrench, too.

I rowed the 2006 Pike Island Challenge on Saturday morning. Foul weather: upper 40s when i awoke, winds whipping up the Mississippi. But it was fun.

Why I love the Minnesota State Fair

For those of you who know what a freak I am when it comes to eating at the State Fair, and yet have no idea why, here's a small taste from one of our local paper's writers...

Sign you are bored at work: You play Boggle online

Signs you play too much Boggle at work:

1. You log in and out just so you can creatively change your Boggle name.
2. You log onto the Boggle board on Saturday mornings at home, just to see if the same people who play the rest of the week boggle on weekends.
3. You try to use the words (that you could have sworn were made up) in a sentence - without looking up the definitions.
4. You recruit selected co-workers who have large vocabularies.
5. You figure out how to play with your co-workers as a team, each at your own computer.
6. You say, "We need to find fresh blood," to which your co-worker in all seriousness responds, "Fresh blood? I didn't find 'freshblood' on the board."

Furniture-less?

Over the weekend, my roommate decided we needed to furnish our apt, at least to the point that it looks like someone resides there. So, to IKEA she went. I am still holding out on IKEA, and hope not to go anytime soon. But I am great helping put the quasi-furniture together. I have helped a couple times with IKEA build-your-own furniture - just as long as I don't have to actually step foot in IKEA for the first or last time, I'm okay with that. When working with IKEA furniture, I always feel like I'm five years old again, playing carpenter. All that's missing is the toolbelt with the plastic hammer. At any rate, we had fun putting the place together, and now our apartment looks completely different than it did a week ago. I mean, completely different. We hung curtains and pictures, assembled and arranged said furniture, placed lamps, the whole bit.

Last night began my membership with the Minnesota Boat Club. It was wonderful. I learned to scull in a quad, and have to admit, it was a lot of fun. I heard one of the team say we'd gone over 7 miles. Not bad, when you've never handled two oars at a time, if I do say so myself. The only problem is now my hands are blistered and swollen, and I'm supposed to play an orchestra concert in Minnetonka tonight. We'll see how that goes...