Dad and Baseball...

Happy fathers day to all those dads out there.
My Father was a fan of baseball. I love baseball because of him. I wanted to be a catcher because of him. The sound of baseball on the radio brings back memories of the dark backseat of a woody station wagon. The muffled crackle of baseball and the rhythmic lupdup of the wheels lulling me to sleep. Summer nights at the Sioux falls canary games, my Dads voice booming out to razz the ump.



Going to watch baseball today think of my day and yell at the umps!
love you Dad miss you very much!
GoTWINS!

Speedboys...

There is a town in upper Michigan "the U P" called Bessemer, the local high school teams are called the Speedboys. I have decided that this should be the new nickname for Alexi Casilla and Ben Revere! I believe you could add Tsyoshi Nishioka to this mix as well but I don't want to put any pressure on him. Maybe after he plays a couple weeks he can join the Speedboys.
It was so fun to watch the Twins steal 5 bases against AJ in one game. Even Michael Cuddyer looked like a Speedboy! I love that we played such fun small ball against the White Sox, you can just see it eating Ozzie up!!
The starting pitching is really setting the tone for games. Hard to lose when your starters go 7 plus innings! Such a turn around for this team it is refreshing to watch such good baseball.

Those little Speedboys at the front on the order are setting the table and pushing each other. Joe Mauer must have been delighted to come to bat and see those two on base! I hope Casilla can keep up this awesomeness at the plate and in the field. He is so fun to watch when he plays with confidence.
I know Gardenhire has to make big decisions as players come back from the DL but I hope he keeps Revere! That big smile and speediness is a great boost for this team. Don't tell my niece but I hope Delmon Young gets really hot in the next month so he becomes trade bait for a good pitcher opening up left for little Bennie!
Lets all keep cheering on the fellas and hope they continue the difficult climb to the top of the standings!
GO TWINS!

Baseball and family...

My brother Greg gave me tickets to the game Friday night against the Rangers. Not just any tickets but 3rd base line 8 rows up tickets. This section not only is super close to the field but also has its own bar and food service! You can't help but feel like a big shot sitting in these seats. So needless to say I was super excited to go to the game. The weather was chilly and rain seemed likely but I was not worried, I would sit in a downpour and watch my Twins.
As I was getting my outfit together, Yes I was coordinating my gear, I got a call from my sister. My nephew Calvin was being taken to children's hospital to have a CT scan. He has a shunt and has not been feeling well so it was precautionary. Having been through this before I know it is a scary proposition and my sister needed her husband with her. I volunteered to go take over watching her other kids so her hubby could join her.
I love my sisters kids and feel really lucky that I get to spend so much time with them. At the time I was suppose to be heading downtown I was sitting in my sisters front yard with my niece Frankie and Nephew Jack as well as 4 of the neighborhood kids climbing on me. The buzz of activity and laughter helped me from fretting about what was happening with Calvin. As I made dinner we turned on the game and I showed Jack where my seats were "Those are nice seats!" he declared. It had begun to rain at the game and he wondered if I would still be there in that downpour, Of course I would but I am glad I'm here with you. "yeah family is more important then baseball." I agreed.
Calvin was diagnosed with Diabetes and it was fortunate he was at the hospital at the time. This diagnosis is frightening for us having watched our Mother suffer from the affects of the same disease. But we have learned so much this weekend and once again I am lifted up by the unity of my family, the strength of my sisterand her husband Patrick and the courage of Calvin. I explained to Jack what was happening and loved that he volunteered to make Cal salads to help with his diet.
The Twins got trounced and I didn't care I was happy to know Calvin was under good care and be tucked on the couch between Jack and Frankie. The weekend was long and filled with lots of information and slow progression of Calvin recovering. This morning my sister called and put Cal on the phone, my worries flew out the window as I listened to him chatter on sounding like his old self. While the next few weeks will be full of challenges we all go forward with positive mindsets happy to know Cal is OK. The Twins won sat and Sunday and they will be alright too. My family grew a little more this weekend and will be fine too!
LOVE YOU CALVIN!

and yea GO TWINS!

keep em coming....

I know it has been a while since I wrote but please know it wasn't because I gave up on my Twins. It has been agonizing the way this season has started! So hard to watch Gardy deal with a minor league line up and mistake after mistake followed by sheer bad luck. I didn't write because I wanted to rant about a few of the young guys. Funny enough my fellow fans (my brother) actually were defending a few of them. I usually try to be positive and give the benefit of doubt especially when they are young guys coming up in this situation but when you keep doing the same thing over and over costing us games as Cee Lo sings "forget you!" I avoided my blog not sure what to say or how to defend my team. I guess I was following the old "if you can't say anything nice" thing.
Despite losing another starter in Denard Span the Twins are rolling. The last week the young guys have been carrying the team. My favorite Bennie Revere is so fun to watch and How about my little Alexi Casilla! Love the speed and effort! Seems like the team has a good groove going not only on the field but mostly in the clubhouse. Th bullpen seems to be having fun, they have begun a new ritual as they go to the bull pen and it seems to be working. (they have video on FSN north of their routines)
Maybe next week we will get back Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Joe Mauer but seems like no one is counting on it. I don't even know what to say about Mauer. Wish we had more information but I have to believe the guy is hurting he just doesn't strike me as one who would not want to play. My brother Greg is convinced he is depressed and I won't even go into why because it is purely speculation. Aside to Joe: It gets better! I think Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer are playing with lots of pain but are gutting it out.
The baseball has at least been exciting especially when we win. I am going to one of the games with the Rangers. Again stellar seats, thank you GREG!!! I am excited and nervous. Deep in my heart I still believe this team can pull off the biggest come back in baseball history. The next 41 games will include 31 at home and if we can win all of those it will be very helpful! I know winning all of them is unlikely but its baseball, anything can happen.

Lets all stay positive and keep cheering the guys on. Lets welcome Joe back with open arms not boos. Lets keep hoping the young guys reveal their star talent and the old guys heal up!
GO TWINS!