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Magicael Michael

Michael Cuddyer is known for his magic as seen in this Twins Territory commercial...

He is also known for his defense...

Throw it all in a bowl and what do you get?

Magicael Michael...

Unassisted Triple Play

Only 14 of these have ever happened. There has only been 3 by a second basemen. The last was last year by the now-injured Troy Tulowitzki. Here's the Asdrubal Cabrera UA Triple Play vid...

Nick Punto

Yes, I'm actually posting about Nick Punto and not about Carlos Gomez' cycle yesterday.

This is going to be a short post, just a few words and numbers as they speak for themselves.

Twins record with Nick Punto playing: 14-6
Twins record with Nick Punto substituting: 5-1
Twins record with Nick Punto starting: 9-5
Twins record without Nick Punto playing: 3-9

Gomez does it again...

Another amazing Carlos Gomez catch...happened about 10-15 minutes ago. People will say, "Torii Hunter could make the catch too." But they're wrong. Torii made some good diving catches but the few that Gomez has made this year, Torii wouldn't have even gotten to them to make the catch. Gomez' couple diving grabs have been much, much fancier than Torii's diving grabs.

Dream a little dream...

After watching the Wild once again outplay, outwit but not outlast the Avalanche, it was time for bed. For the past several weeks, I've had very vivid dreams. Last night was no different and it even woke me up thinking it was Monday and that I was late for school (though it was only 7:00).

A dream that I had last night was about Subway. I was getting a Sub, but it was a little different than normal. I punched in what I wanted on a little handheld device. I then paid and the lady gets the sub. Now, two things to note in that last sentence.

First is the lady who got my sub. She was a cook at a school that I have worked at. She didn't recognize me and didn't give me any great deals or anything. She just went about her business like I was just some other customer. Fine. She doesn't have to recognize me, but this next part upset me.

Instead of making the sub, she GOT the sub. That is the second thing of note in that previous sentence. I guess (in my dream) it is Subway's new philosophy to have subs premade and you have to heat it up. I complained but she wasn't having it. She just gave me the sub (with tuna on it...I didn't order tuna) and said have a nice day.

Of course I complained, but that is when I lost my dream and woke up in night sweats and scared to death...I think I'm getting Subway today just to make sure that they haven't changed their policy. Subway - Eat Fresh.

Casey Blake

Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, etc. etc., Casey Blake? Every year, with the last pick of my fantasy baseball drafts, I spend it on Casey Blake. Why, you ask? Well, it seems that he kills the Minnesota Twins year after year. He did it last night and he'll do it again the next few nights. You'll see what "he did" (about to use overused cliché) AFTER THE JUMP!

I took a look at Baseball-Reference to see some of Blake's stats against the Twins and found a few gems. We have what his stats is and then where it ranks compared to other teams he has faced. It isn't quite as good as I thought, but he's good for some pretty good games against the Twins. It seems he is probably at his best against the Tigers, however.

Casey Blake against the Twins:
88 games (T-2)
355 AB (1)
99 hits (1)
.279 (~2)
22 2b (2)
2 3B (T-1)
14 HR (2)
24 BB (3)

My History of Video Games

During my youth, I played quite a few video games. I remember the 8-bit Nintendo. I played Super Mario for hours on end. While I never beat the game until my freshman year in college, I loved playing it. The other game that I thoroughly enjoyed was Spy Hunter. It was intense and I played it so much that the pixels - or whatever it was - ended up getting screwed up. I'd play it for hours without being able to see what was really going on.

Next came the Super Nintendo. Again, hours playing Super Mario World. It was this game that I finally got far enough into the game to be excited with the opportunity to "beat it." Then along came my sister who erased the game. To this day, my neighbors claim they heard me screaming.

However, Super Nintendo was the system that introduced sports games to me. I would play Tecmo Super Bowl III: Final Edition for hours creating teams (usually the Vikings). I would play Extra Innings against a friend of mine for hours playing usually as The Surfers, or E1. Next would come the Donkey Kong trilogy which had everything a gamer could hope for. Never again did I have a game that I called "my own" like those four/five games.

Nintendo 64 was great and all, I had Mario Kart 64 that I could destroy anyone in. I had Goldeneye that I played quite a bit but never felt like a pro. The system was great (I still take it out and play occassionally) but didn't stand-out as great as the Super Nintendo.

I dabbled with the Gamecube and Xbox. But never got into that generation of systems. But then along came the Wii and motion sensor controls. Like most, my first impression came on the fabled Wii Sports. It seemed like I had found my system and game. I played it religiously for several weeks. Then grew tired of it and had to find the next "obsession." I found it in Guitar Hero.

For years, I refused to play my sister's version on Playstation. She bought the PS2 after the PS3 was released. She bought it solely for Guitar Hero 2. I thought it was a waste of her money and didn't approve of it (I still haven't played GH on a Playstation). But then I played it on Wii and fell in love. What a great game.

That game was good for several months and once again, I needed a fix. Other than Wii Sports, I hadn't played a sports game yet for the Wii. I tried MLB Power Pros and loved it, but it didn't work for me. I needed something more. Then I found the GLORIOUS MLB 2k8.

The pitching is easy with a flick of the wrist and the hitting is challenging with the swing of the remote. But it's coming along nicely. The graphics aren't spectacular, but the gameplay is enthrawling. I haven't yet stopped playing it.

Then came news of Mario Kart and Wii Fit. With a $50 rebate (THANKS AMAZON!!), I decided to pre-order both Mario Kart and Wii Fit. Kart comes first followed by the Japanese sensation (and soon to be American sensation). I'm more looking forward to Kart as I haven't played any version since the N64 and am ready to once again...destroy my opponents.

Too late?

Is it too late to renew my game two prediction:

Koivu and Fedoruk as important pieces in the Wild's first round playoff win?

Twins Game Reactions:

Inning One: WOO for having Blackburn in a fantasy league!
Inning Two: Harris gets things done! Yeah for Blackburn and fantasy baseball (except WHIP)!
Inning Three: Loving the 0 ERs for Blackburn!
Inning Four: Oh, c'mon...hit the ball...
Inning Five: Man can Gomez run...but it means nothing...again. Blackburns on a rooooll!!
Inning Six: Some hittttting for the Twins...YEAH!! Wait...Blackburn + 6th inning = yucky
Inning Seven: Twins finally string hits together (5) but Span nearly pulls a Canseco.
Inning Eight: No runs? Ok, well...time for some CBS Monday night comedies...

35 minutes later...

Wait, the Twins lost? After being up 9-5, the Twins bullpen (Guerrier - which I guess isn't pronounced like you pronounce it & Neshek) blow it. I figured the game was long over and I wouldn't have a problem watching the three best comedies on television (How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory).

Previously on Lost...

I love the show more than the average watcher, but...what?

Trevor Immelman: Master of the House

Other than a Twins loss today, it couldn't have been a better day! It was very exciting watching Trevor Immelman start the day in the lead and finish the tournament in first place. He played strong despite losing three strokes. But when only three finish the day under par, +3 in the final round of the tournament is probably going to be just fine.

Lucky for Immelman, Tiger Woods didn't make his typical Sunday charge. Finishing at even par, Woods looked extremely frustrated the entire day. But then again, he typically isn't making three boogies in a round of golf - let alone the Masters. Had he been able to make par on those three holes, this post would have been quite different. Even without Tiger's non-existent charge, Immelman nearly gave Tiger the green jacket with a double boogie on 16 however he was able to stay strong and parred with 17 and 18.

It is great to see another young (non-Tiger Woods) golfer win the Masters after Zach Johnson won it in 2007. Is Tiger losing his stride? Definitely not. He'll win two of the three remaining Majors this year. My prediction is that he wins the British Open (aka The Open Championship) along with the PGA Championship.

Here is ESPN's video about the Masters.

Kobe Bryant

Last post for the night, but saw some people going ape over this little dunk of Kobes. Not only do I think that the dunk really isn't all that special, but it only reinforces my thought that Kobe is way cocky and annoying.

Carlos Gomez

I realize that these are pretty poor quality, but I felt my blog needed a little extra pazazz

Go-Go Gadget Catch


Go-Go Gadget Double

Go-Go Gadget Double/Go-Go Gadget Bunt/Go-Go Gadget Stolen Base/Go-Go Gadget Run

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Blast from the Past

Love seeing the old turf in the video and knowing that it is in some dump or someone's basement somewhere. I also had forgotten how awesome those white Twins jersey's were and hope that we get a few retro-games again this year.

Cristian Guzman seems to have lost a step since the Minnesota Twins made this little commercial. However, after getting the first hit at the new Washington Nationals park, Guzman seems to be poised for a little come back. He is on pace to get 30 doubles, 30 triples and 30 homeruns (insert laugh here). I've always been a fan of Guzman and think that he can be a huge asset to the Nationals. However, he is also a liability in the field and will make more than his fair share of errors.

With Matt Tolbert poised to take over the starting shortstop position, he stands to be the first to make an impact from the shortstop position since Guzman's stint. After short roles from Juan Castro, Adam Everett, Luis Rodriguez and Jason Bartlett, if Tolbert can pull this off we may be able to stop this revolving door of shortstops.

Minnesota Wild

For the first time in the Minnesota Wild's short history, they have reached the top of their division. On the last day of the season, the Wild held their future in their hands. A win and Calgary flies into MSP, a loss (or a tie) and Colorado makes the journey northwesterly. In the end, Colorado gets the chance to fight against the #3 team in the West.

Game one ended sadly for Wild fans but the Wild come out looking to reverse their two game losing streak against Colorado. The Wild, in essence, lost their home-ice advantage with the game one loss. After dropping the first game of the series, the Wild need to be in must-win mode tonight.

To win, the Wild have three (but I'm only going to list one) things that need to happen. After being shut down for only one shot in the opening game of the series, Marian Gaborik needs support from his "enforcers." Gaborik himself also needs to step up the physicality of his game. After getting a fighting major (the first of his career) in the last game of the season, Gabby, as Brian Rolston said, needs to step "outside [his] comfort level."

"We all have to go outside of our comfort level," Rolston said. "That's what it's going to take to win. When things aren't going good, you work a little harder and sacrifice a little bit more and good things will happen." - http://www.startribune.com/17464119.html

Prior to the start of the series, I said Wild in 5. After watching them in the first game of the series, I still think that they will be winning this series but "five" games may be slightly optimistic. Gaborik comes out strong tonight but it will be Mikko Koivu and Todd Fedoruk that are the highlights tonight. Wild win in regulation.

(Update: How awesome would it have been had I been correct with Koivu's goal and a win in regulation. Awesome game last night, however.)

Twins Centerfielders: A History

Let me start my Blog with a post on Twins centerfielders.

Back, many years ago, the Minnesota Twins had a player starting in centerfield by the name of Kirby Puckett. You may remember his smile, his hustle, his determination, his non-athletic look or maybe you remember his heroics in the 1991 World Series. Whatever you remember about Kirby Puckett, he was the Minnesota Twins. Towards the end of what would be his career, he named his successor - Torii Hunter.

Torii Hunter soon took over after some centerfield mishaps (remember Rich Becker?, Otis Nixon?) He would soon become the smiling, hustling, determined centerfield that we remember in Kirby Puckett. He was generous off the field and made plays on the field. No matter what your feelings are about Torii Hunter - he took over for a player that was much loved not just in Minnesota - but all across the country.

Hunter soon grabbed national attention with his acrobatic catches. His highway robbery of Barry Bonds in the All-Star game is still shown year after year. He had his years in which he would play extremely well and then he would have years in which he would be injured or struggle. Finally, after the 2007 season, Hunter would find himself in a new position - Free Agency.

Out in public, the Twins were making their move to retain Hunter. In public, Hunter was putting himself in position to stay with the Twins. But, it didn't happen that way. During the offseason, Hunter signed a (we'll just say) large contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Maybe he wasn't the team player that we thought he was, or maybe the Twins just have changed and didn't offer him Kirby Puckett-like Free Agency money.

During the same offseason, the Twins lost another stable on their team: Johan Santana. With free agency looming for Santana, the Twins needed to make a move. It was to sign him to a contract, lose him to free agency or to trade him. For the Twins, only the latter made sense. It was to spend a record amount on a pitcher or to find young guys to "fill holes." They traded him. In this trade, they received several young pitchers and a guy named Carlos Gomez, which is where we are today.

I'm going to preempt these next two paragraphs with a little caveat...it is too early to make a final decision on the Hunter/Santana/Gomez decisions. However...

Gomez has looked very good this year. Sure, he is very liberal in his swings. Sure, he has been picked off a few times. Sure, he hasn't made the acrobatic catches (editor's note: he just made a nice diving grab in centerfield to rob the Chicago White Sox of a hit). But he is young and will make poor decisions here and there.

He has hit well and has made things happen on the bases. He may never fill the shoes of Torii Hunter, but Torii never filled Kirby Puckett's shoes. Nobody will ever give Twins fans the excitement that Puckett gave them in the 1991 World Series. Nobody will ever give Twins fans the jaw-dropping catches of Torii Hunter. But Carlos Gomez will give Twins fans enjoyment and excitement for years and years.