Play Me

Time for some random music:

01. Whipping Post - Allman Brothers Band
02. Little Bit of Soul - Music Explosion
03. Bad Girlfriend - Theory of a Deadman
04. Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley
05. Heart of Gold - Neil Young
06. If I Had a Million Dollars - Bare Naked Ladies
07. It's All Right - Travelling Wilburys
08. Black Country Woman - Led Zeppelin
09. Ride Captain Ride - Blues Image
10. Kind of a Drag - The Buckinghams
11. Cinderella - Firefall

Requiem for a Father

Aug. 17, 1935 - April 26, 2008

Second String

My father was a football hero
in the days of leather helmets.
Years later he handed off to me,

calling plays from the sideline.
He wanted me to learn the thrill
of cleats digging chunks of turf,
of Hemingway grace on the line.

On Fridays I ate bloody meat
and potatoes, kept my vigil
in a locker room that smelled
of musty dreams and stale sweat.

Before the kickoff
I scanned the crowd,
would see him through eyes

that could only look back.
As the ball spiraled away
I led the charge downfield,

threw myself into blockers
as I once did into his arms.

Play Me

01. Instant Karma - John Lennon
02. What's Goin' On - Marvin Gaye
03. Everyday People - Sly and the Family Stone
04. Free Four - Pink Floyd
05. Mama Told Me Not To Come - Three Dog Night
06. Hillbillies from Outer Space - The Vaughan Brothers
07. Too Late to Turn Back Now - Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
08. Green Eyed Lady - Sugarloaf
09. On the Turning Away - Pink Floyd
10. Cavatina - John Williams
11. Bron-Yr-Aur - Led Zeppelin

The Sky is Crying

Game 16: Red Stockings 7, Twins 3
Game 15: Red Stockings 10, Twins 1

Some days you win, some days you lose, and some days it rains. Some days it rains and you lose, and then it rains some more and you lose again. Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed if you're the visiting team at Fenway in the springtime. I hope the Twins can write off this series as an anomaly and move on to the next one. But it does seem against common sense for anybody to be grateful about going to Cleveland.

Mind over Matter

I think Mark Twain said it best: "Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

Or maybe it was Chili Davis who said it best: "Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional."

Either way, I'm a year older today than I was yesterday, I don't mind, and I'm still not ready to grow up. The Twins kick off a short 2-game series with the Bloody Sox today, then finish their road trip with 3 at Cleveland over the weekend. I won't be able to watch much of the game tonight (Baker vs. Wakefield) because I'll be doing the obligatory birthday party with the family at a local pizza joint. I just hope we don't set off any fire alarms with the cake.

A Clean Sweep

Game 14: Angels 1, Twins 3

What a difference a few days make. When Toronto left town, dragging our dignity behind them like the Griswold family dog, things looked bleak for the hometown nine. But three games versus the Angels fixed that right up.

I took the family to the game today, where the highlights were Perkins' 8-inning, 1-run pitching performance, enough offense from the bottom of the lineup to rack up 3 runs of our own, and the nachos with jalapenos at the 7th inning stretch.

Game pictures are courtesy of Daughter the Elder.

That's More Like It

Game 13: Angels 2, Twins 9

No lengthy post tonight, I got a better offer. It involves a bottle of wine, a baguette, and cheese. Just a few random thoughts about tonight's game:

• Torii absolutely crushed that 2-run homer, but I don't much care for either of his faces these days.
  
• I'm no conspiracy nut, but I'm starting to think there's a reason you never see Kevin Slowey and Brad Radke together. Tonight Slowey turned in a classic Radke performance, including the first inning home run. Slowey tossed a total of 7 innings, giving up just 2 runs on 6 hits and notching 5 strikeouts and his second win. He bascially made just one mistake all night. I'll take that every time from K-Slow.
  
• The defense has been pretty good the last couple of games. I can tell because I haven't really noticed the defense the last couple of games.
  
• Jason Kubel needs an asbestos suit. The Dude is so hot right now he could spontaneously combust. He followed up Friday's heroics by going 4-5 tonight, driving in 2 and scoring 3 times to raise his batting average to .344 and his OPS to 1.029. I love an OPS over 1.00.
• Easy to overlook given Kubel's showing, our favorite Canadian is swinging a pretty solid stick himself. Justin went 2-5 against the Angels tonight, driving in one and scoring twice.
  
• Brendan Harris, who has been giving a struggling Alexi Casilla a rest at 2nd base, is also raking. He was 3-5 tonight with 2 runs. Small sample size still applies, but his batting average sits at .435, and he's got an OPS of 1.069. Did I mention that I love an OPS over 1.00?
• I'm going to temporarly give Delm_n his O back. He earned it tonight, going 2-3 with an uncharacteristic walk and 3 runs batted in. Way tO gO, DelmOn.
• We're off to the Dome tomorrow, hoping to see another win and a series sweep over the Angels. This has been a long stretch of games to start the season, 14 in a row, and I'm sure the boys could use a breather. I just hope they wait until after Sunday's game to take it.