"It may be cloudy in my right eye, but the sun is shining very brightly in my left eye. And just think how the sun has shined. Right up to the door of this great Hall, the shrine for the greatest game in the world, and the greatest players in the world, baseball." - Kirby Puckett
On June 3rd, 2010, I wrote about a kid that caught a Ken Griffey Jr. homerun ball in the Metrodome and threw it back. My Mom informed me that it was actually a grown man who did this, and provided me with her personal photographic evidence.
(P.S.— My Mom also has a blog--scratchemall.com. She hasn’t updated for awhile, but it is still quite entertaining if you’re in on that sort of thing.)
Also: When going over the story I posted on May 28th, 2010—the one about Twins fans buying beers for a lone Cardinals fan during Game 7 of the 1987 World Series—my father told me that he was the one who started the beer buying. My Mom is unable to confirm. I’m skeptical of this, but if he really did start the beer buying, I will forgive him for fumbling the game winning ball Wilson Ramos threw right at him back on May 3rd.
The match up for the Twins-Brewers game Sunday: Carl Pavano vs. Milwaukee Brewers’ Bullpen (Manny Parra--the Brewers’ previously scheduled starter for Sunday--was used up in extra innings the day before). I was so sure the Twins had that one in the bag, I guaranteed my boyfriend that the Twins would win and we decided to celebrate early. Yeah, so I ended up quite disappointed and slightly intoxicated that afternoon, but at least I wasn’t plunked in the shoulder with a baseball.
See, Denard hit this long ball in the bottom of the 9th inning on Saturday, and he was so sure it was a homerun, grand-slam, walk-off that he raised his arms in triumph. Then Corey Hart caught the ball in right field for the third out, and Denard felt really stupid.
The next day Brewers’ pitcher Marco Estrada retaliated by plunking Denard on the shoulder. Denard stayed in the game, but was eventually replaced by Alexi Casilla in center field (!). When asked if he thought the hit was retaliation, Denard said "I don't know. I'd like not to think that." (Translation: "It was retaliation, but I’m not going to say anything or I’ll get hit again.") I don’t know why baseball players do these things--you’d think Denard’s embarrassment would be punishment enough. Heck, someone even put up a picture in the Twins clubhouse with Denard's face pasted on a football player flashing the No. 1 sign. But Denard is not Carlos Gomez, so he is now nursing a sore ego anda sore shoulder.
"He ought to learn by now, watching all these other guys that hit bombs that don't go out," Gardenhire said of Denard's celebration after the game. "A learning experience, we'll call it."
Of course, at the time the game was actually still tied 7-7 in the 11th inning.
At least the Twins did go on to win the game--and I caught the hit and following celebration on my camera!
(Excuse my shrill screams--I get a little excited about the Twins)
100% Pure Carlos Gomez (Not From Concentrate)
Pure Carlos Gomez: hits a homerun, flips his bat back and hits Joe Mauer, celebrates like a champion--even though his team is still losing by 13 runs in the 8th inning.
When GoGo was informed by his teammates that he hit Mauer, and that he was going to get plunked the next day, Gomez became extremely apologetic. "I feel, right now, real bad for this," Gomez said. "It was not the right moment to do it. I wasn't thinking, 'If I hit a home run, I'm going to do this.' It happened in the moment, and it happened. We have to be more professional." (And by "we," Gomez just meant Carlos Gomez.)
He also said: "If they're going to do something tomorrow, I'll take it like a man because I know I did bad." Of course, there was no retaliation. Gardy himself explained that no apology was needed—because it’s Carlos Gomez.
Carlos Gomez. You know, the one who would fake an injury running into first, then try to steal second on the next pitch--every game. The one who, while trying to steal second base, was hit in the head by a throw from I-Rod, and then didn't move for several minutes--later explaining that he didn't actually lose consciousness, Detriot shortstop Edgar Renteria had just instructed him to stay put ("So I stay put"). The one who hit a home run and then sprinted all the way around the bases and into the dugout (a “Home Blur”). The one who had to get stitches in his forehead because he ran into a revolving door trying to enter the Metrodome (and then tried to keep his teammates and coaches from finding out). And yes, the same one who ran pant-less into the lobby of the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee because he thought ghosts were messing with his ipod.
I came across this interview Gomez did with the Star Tribune in 2008, in which Gomez discusses trying to learn English, his bat smelling like fire after he gets a hit, feeling "sexy" when he wears brightly colored shirts, and many other things. There are way too many highlights to post them all here. I suggest you read the interview in its entirety.
"We" is still working on his professionalism--T.V. cameras picked him up spewing several, very loud explicatives after striking out Sunday.
Pure, fresh, unpasteurized Gomez.
Kirby the Kestrel Keeps a Low Profile
Kirby the Kestrel showed up to watch part of the Twins-Brewers game on Saturday, and he had a friend (my Mom: “IT'S TONYA!”). The two circled around the stadium for awhile until the other one left, and Kirby sat down to watch the game. Kirby opted for a seat on the lights on top of the jumbotron instead of his regular seat on the right field foul pole. He must not have wanted to distract fans from the important game.
Hopefully he left before the Twins won and fireworks went shooting off from the scoreboard. I don’t know if he was still there--I was watching the game and forgot to look (Kirby’s plan worked perfectly.)
Up There, It's Lima Time
I was shocked to hear of the passing of 13-year-veteran and former All-Star Jose Lima early Sunday morning. He was only 37, and was still waiting for that call back to the show. You may remember a short (yet sweet) article about Lima’s attempted return--“Somewhere, it’s Lima Time”--from the last page of last year’s Sports Illustrated featuring Joe Mauer on the cover. If you don’t want to remove that issue from its climate controlled chamber and risk sullying it with anymore fingerprints, have no fear--the article is available online.
When I told my Mom about Lima’s passing, she was likewise shocked. Then she said, "Well, maybe all those Jose Lima signed balls I have will be worth something now." Yes, because my Mom at some point bought a package of 6 baseballs signed by Jose Lima.
And that, ladies and gentleman, is classic my Mom.
Mother’s Day Morning: As always, I wake up and run to the computer to check on my Fantasy Baseball team, Kirby’s Left Eye. Good news—I’m back in first. Looks like I have three pitchers starting today: Tim Lincecum, Liván Hernández, and Dallas Braden. Lincecum is a no-brainer; might as well use Liván until he falls apart sometime in late June; and—oh—Braden has a 4.14 ERA and is starting against Tampa Bay today. I’ll sit Braden.
How the heck was I supposed to know?
Later that day, as I am sure all baseball fans are now aware, Dallas Braden pitched the 19th perfect game in baseball history. There were 12,228 fans in attendance (the Coliseum—America’s new worst baseball park. You’re Welcome!) Unfortunately, Dallas’ mother wasn’t one of the 12,228—she died of skin cancer while Dal was in high school.
That afternoon I watched this video, my new favorite of the moment:
As for my mother's day, it went pretty much perfect as well. My mom wanted to go out to brunch, so out to brunch we went:
(Hey--I am my mother's daughter)
The Metropolitan Club at Target Field features some nice views from right field and an all you can eat buffet. I recommend you go sometime if you (a) are a season ticket holder (or buy tickets from a season ticket holder); (b) have reservations; (c) get there 45 minutes before your seating time and wait in line for some sweet outside seats (yes, even if you have reservations) [unless you're Twins President Dave St. Peter, who got the best seats without waiting].
My only real complaint was that the food was so good and I got so full (I mean, really, really full) that I couldn't concentrate on the game.
Here’s a Rundown:
(Click to Enlarge)
Denard Span (3 for 4, 3 RBI, 2 R, 1 SB)—Awesome smoked sausage. Was replaced with spicy sausage when I went back for seconds, which was even more awesome. Everyone's favorite of the day.
Nick Blackburn (7 IP, 4 H, 0 SO, 0 R)—Not stale, fluffy, sweet, awesome.
Nick Punto (2 for 3, 2 RBI)—Asparagus. It’s good for you.
Joe Mauer (1 for 3, 1 BB)—Bloody Mary. Can't go wrong.
Wilson Ramos (0 for 4)—All over the place.
Justin Morneau (0 for 4, 4 SO)—Some cheesy eggs with chorizo sausage. Sounded good, but was a huge let down.
Michael Cuddyer (1-4)—Standard potatoes.
Alexi Casilla (2 for 4, 1 RBI, 2 R)—Random crap mixed together on my plate.
Delmon Young (0 for 4, 1 SO)—Eggs Benedict that didn’t quite live up to what I expected. Needed more Hollandaise sauce.
Brendan Harris (3 for 4, 2 R, 1 SO)—My boyfriend thought these eggs tasted fishy. I thought they were fine.
Matt Guerrier (1 IP, 1 SO, 0 H, 0 BB)—Strawberries. Tasted like strawberries.
Jon Rauch (1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER)—Dollop of sour cream in the eggs. Made things interesting.
Orlando Hudson—Missing from the lineup with a sore shoulder.
Kirby the Kestrel: "the most popular thing since Wilson Ramos"
The Star Tribune is reporting that Kirby the Kestrel won FSN’s “Name the Kestrel.” I don’t think the official winner has been announced yet, but according to his Twitter account, his name is Kirby the Kestrel.
I spotted Kirby very briefly on Mother’s day. He flew around in the sky behind the Budweiser Beer Deck in the 6th inning, but disappeared before I could get my camera out.
He later tweeted:
Remember to thank your mother today. After all, she chewed up moths and vomited them into your mouth when you were just a hatchling.
To My Mom: You're the Best Mom in the World! I love you!
