I found my password/username!!

I had forgotten it. So...I'm bbbaaaacccckkkkk!

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).