US vs. England - May 28th at Soldier Field

I spent my Labor Day Weekend in Chicago with my friend ASD. As an early birthday present, Mom and Dad got me tickets for the US-England soccer friendly at Soldier Field. For those of you who aren’t soccer savvy, a friendly is just an exhibition. It doesn’t count for anything. This is opposed to qualifiers that will get you into tournaments like the World Cup. I’ll try to translate soccer-to-American in parentheses when I use soccer terms that you may not know. Also, to help this link will guide you to a diagram of the pitch (field). While the game didn’t count for anything, you never would have known that by the atmosphere.

When we walked into Soldier Field, the England fans had hung flags everywhere. People had come from, what I could tell, across America, England, and even Holland, probably more. The US had a few flags about, but nowhere near enough to compete with the St. George’s Crosses all around. We found our seats and were relieved to find about 10 more US fans sitting in the adjacent rows. Dad asked where I wanted to sit, and I told him the cheapest seats would be fine. I was going for the experience more than for the game. The wildest fans are usually going nuts behind the goal, while the calmer people sit at midfield. It’s like sitting with the bleacher bums instead of behind the plate. So Dad got me tickets on the endline. These are the cheapest because you are so far away from the other end, and if you aren’t careful the net is in your way. Dad ended up with the best seats in the area. I was right behind the corner of the field near the tunnel the Bears come from, 13 rows up, able to see all but the feet of the man taking the corner kick. The best part is they were just as good as the tickets that cost $10 more just across the tunnel.

The English fans sang along boisterously with “God Save the Queen” so the US fans sang along with “The Star-Spangled Banner”. Most of the US fans just copied the England fans once they got done doing whatever it was they were doing. The one thing the US lacks is tradition. There were no songs, no chants, no gestures. The England fans had them all. My personal favorite was dubbed “The Tilty Plane” by ASD. In this move, the English fans put their arms out to the side and wobbled back and forth. It looked just like a plane hit with some anti-aircraft fire, thus “tilty plane”. They did it after they scored their goals. We had no idea what it meant, but that didn’t stop us from doing it right back at them when we scored our goal. They were not pleased. ASD just about got in a fight with the guy across the tunnel. Most of the time, the English were throwing taunts and barbs at us, but we kept laughing. We had no idea what they meant, so they didn’t bother us. They didn’t like that either.

As for the game itself, it didn’t start off well. In the 5th minute, England was awarded a free kick just outside the penalty area. That was a load of crap. The guy was offside before the foul, but the foul was called none-the-less. Just to suck a little more, the foul was on Eddie Pope, my favorite player and the man whose jersey I donned for the game. Kieran Richardson, in his first appearance for the English National Team, curled the ball around the wall and placed it just under the crossbar and just out of the reach of Kasey Keller. I must admit it was a beautiful goal. Too bad he should have never had the opportunity. The US had a chance minutes later, with Landon Donovan curling a shot in from the left side, only to have it hit the woodwork (post).

For England’s second goal, again Eddie Pope and Kieran Richardson teamed up. Pope misplayed a ball in front of the goal, about 22 yards out. This left the ball for Joe Cole. Cole held the ball long enough to freeze Keller, and then passed to Richardson who had an open look at the net. This was in the 44th minute, just before halftime. The US entered the half down 2-0. Both goals were at my end of the field.

The second half was just as intense. The US came out swinging, and had several good opportunities. Josh Wolff was getting past the defense on the left flank and was getting good balls forward from the midfield. However, he just couldn’t convert. On one, he walked the ball right into the keeper when the far post was open. On another, he inexplicably cut back to the middle of the field into 2 or 3 defenders who quickly dispossessed him.

The US had a couple of free kicks near the goal, but couldn’t convert. On one or two, Landon Donovan slammed the ball right into the wall. I can personally attest that being on the wall blows and it sucks something awful to get hit with that ball. Eventually, the ball got past the wall, and Carlos Bocanegra got a foot on it. The shot was nicely saved by the English keeper, but the rebound went to Clint Dempsey who headed the ball in for the US’s only goal.

The game ended 2-1. While I was a little disappointed with the outcome, I couldn’t have had a much better time. I find it hard to believe that anyone could have gone to the game and not had a good time without trying not to. Soccer is not for everyone, and I’ll admit it can be a little slow at times, but I think everyone should at least give a game like this a chance. Find a team and go to a game. MLS is pretty good, and there’s usually a chance you’ve heard of someone, even by accident. Might I suggest avoiding Chivas USA unless they’re playing someone good, because they’re awful. MLS isn’t exactly the caliber of play you’d find in Europe, but it’s a start. Soccer snobs out there will scoff at the idea of American soccer being good, but I say we make do with what we’ve got. If you’re ever in Europe, see a game there or sit in a bar and watch with the locals. I did that in Scotland with a Manchester United game and it was fantastic. The excitement is the best part, not necessarily the game itself. While you may not appreciate the skills or strategy of the game, I’ll wager that when you see someone streaking at you with the ball and only one man to beat, you’ll be out of your seat just like everyone else.

Just One More Thing

I just wanted to let everyone know this before I left for the weekend. Mike Lowell is Puerto Rican. Who knew?

Split Series from Cleveland

I don't really feel like writing a lot, so just some quick thoughts.

• Holy crap! JC came into a tie game with a man on 3rd and nobody out - and he got the next three guys without the runner scoring. I tried to bet my brother $1 that the guy would score, and my brother wouldn't take the bet.
• The Twins grounded into 2 more double plays. They are leading the AL in GIDP.
• Along those line, Cuddyer struckout with the bases loaded, furthering the Twins bases loaded batting woes.
• The bullpen was spectacular. They kept the Indians at 4 runs for 5 innings. Joe Nathan got right back on his horse and got the save tonight after screwing up last night. Nicely done, Joe.
  

I'll be in Chicago for the weekend, so I won't be updating. I'm going to go see the US National Soccer team play England. Going with me will be Adam Steven David, whom you may remember from my spring training trip. For your Twins fix, make sure to check out SethSpeaks and Stick and Ball Guy. While they aren't the only Twins bloggers out there, they are my two favorite. They are two solid guys who write good material. See you Tuesday.

I Shall Die An Early Death

If anyone knows the origin of the nicknames used tonight, write in and you win.

JC "all he does is let inherited runners score" Romero will make me burst a blood vessel in my head. I swear, if I'm found dead clutching the remote and the TV is on channel 33, check to see if JC pitched. You think I'm joking, but I'm not.

I didn't really get to see last night's game because the totally bitchin' finale of 24 was on. First I saw a 1-0 score. I thought "Ok, Kyle kept them to 1. Enter offense." I saw Torii get thrown out a second on an attempted steal. Ron "that there critter must be a" Belliard got kinda lucky when the short throw from Martinez skipped right into his glove. Lew was at bat, but I had to switch back to 24. When I returned it was 1-1. I said to Mom "musta been something Lew did."

At this point, Lohse was leaving the game with 2 runners on in the 8th. First I was pissed they left Lohse in that long. I'm not certain how he was pitching in the earlier innings, and evidently he was doing fairly well. I think with Kyle you should be ready to pull him at the first baserunner in the 8th. If you can get 7 good innings out of him, you shouldn't be pushing your luck.

What happened next really got me going, I came back after the commercial for the pitching change and they had the wide angle of the field showing. After a quick calculation (looking at my hands to find the "L" for left), I realized the man warming up had to be JC Romero. I was in such a good mood, too. 24 was being awesome, as usual, and after the extra innings win over the Brewers, there was no reason to think this one couldn't be pulled out too. I didn't acutally see JC lose the game, and it's probably for the better. Jack Bauer was on Marwan's trail and I couldn't miss that. (PS - I knew Jack wasn't really dead)

Combine last night with the fact Luis Rodriguez saved JC's hide versus the Brewers and his act is really starting to wear thin. The problem is the only other lefty out of the pen for the Twins is Terry "Good news, everyone." Mulholland. I'm not really sure how to remedy this problem. I don't think Terry Ryan will trade for a middle reliever. That's not how he rolls. If this continues, some could be called up and JC given another trip to Rochester.

Best Baseball Names Submissions

So far I only have 2 submissions from an outside source (i.e. not me). Both come from my friend Dan Foley. You can see Dan's blog, Just Ego Tripping, by clicking on the title a few words back or the link on the link bar to your left.

Nook Logan - Detroit Tigers
Wes Swackhammer - Quad Cities Swing

My submissions are the following:

Kiko Calero - Oakland A's
Junior Spivey - Milwaukee Brewers
Quentin McCracken - Arizona Diamondback.

Send in your submissions so that they can be voted on near the All-Star Break.

What A Game

Today was a great game to watch. I joined the action in the 6th inning, when Johan Santana was working a no-hitter. Minutes later, Brady Clark hit a home run over the left field wall to tie the game at one. For the next few innings, the Twins offense was impotent, and Johan left the game as the losing pitcher 2-1. The Brewers would at 2 more in the 8th to make it 4-1, and I was not feeling good about the prospect of winning.

In the 7th, Julio Santana came in throwing the ball all over the place. First pitch was over everybody. Second pitch almost hit Torii. I half expected Chad Moeller to go out there and say "Throw the next one at the bull." He walked Torii on 4 pitches. In true Twins fashion, Torii didn't score. I was very worried about losing now.

The Twins were able to scrape up only one run with the bases loaded to bring the score to 4-2, furthering the Twins' offensive struggles with the bases loaded. One more for the Brewers in the 9th made the score 5-2, and I was ready to go take a shower. However, the shower was not to be.

First, Lew Ford doubled in Jacque Jones with 2 outs to make it a 5-3 deficeit. Shannon Stewart hit a home run over the baggie to tie the game at 5. The next hitter was recent call up Luis Rodriguez, who promptly hit a single for his first major league hit. The inning would end in a tie, and the game moved to extra innings.

In the top of the 10th, things got tense. JC (blech) was in to pitch, and there were 2 men on. However, Luis Rodriguez made an excellent diving stop in the area behind second base. From his stomach, the flipped the ball to Cuddyer, who had moved over from thrid, who then proceded to finish el double matanza. It was a fine play by the new Twin. A sure-fire "Dad! You need to come here and see this!" play.

In the 11th, Lew Ford again provided the ignition with a lead-off triple. After walking Cuddyer intentionally to set up the double play, Cuddyer thwarted their plans by stealing second. Tiffee grounded out in such a manner Lew could not score. The Brewers intentionally walked Stewart to load the bases and get to Rodriguez, who at this point is having a helluva couple of innings. Rodriguez shattered hit bat on a ball hit to second baseman, and candidate for the Best Baseball Names 2005 Class, Junior Spivey. Spivey mis-played the ball, everyone was safe, and the Twins won.

Matt Wise ended up the loser in this situation, but its not all his fault. The IBB signs were coming from the dugout. I'm not sure why they decided to put on the double play. With no outs, Lew would score easily on any attempted 4-6-3 DP. If they looked Lew back to 3rd, there would be enough time for at least one of the other two runners to be safe. Only then could a double play end the inning. He did give up a triple to Lew Ford that precipitated the attempt to get a double play, though. Also, Spivey misplayed a ball. Spivey could have at best hoped to get Rodriguez at first with the speed the ball was traveling, and wouldn't have ended the inning, so it's sort of a non-factor. Kind feel sorry for the guy, but hey the Twins won.

Other Quick Notes:

Rodriguez was given a fielder's choice on the game ending hit. He is now 1-3 in his 2 day career. Because Spivey was also charged an error, Rodriguez recieved no RBI.

On consecutive Sundays, Shannon Stewart has hit home runs - one to give the Twins the win over Texas and one to send the game to extra innings with Milwaukee.

Jacque Jones' 9th inning single was on the 13th pitch of the at-bat.

A Final Goodbye

The Pacers lost to the Pistons Thursday night, ending Reggie Miller's 18 year career. It was a very sad moment for me. Reggie was drafted in 1987, before I was even a year old. I've never known the Pacers to be without him. To me Reggie was the Pacers, and now things will never be the same.

Reggie, as was his nature, didn't go out without a fight. Reggie led the team with 27 points in just 33 minutes of play, including 4 threes. With the game out of reach and time winding down, Rick Carlisle brought Reggie out of the game so that he could get his much due farewell. Everyone was standing and clapping, even me in my living room.

As the game ended, Reggie was visibly touched by everyone's appreciation for everything he'd done for the franchise and the game. Even the Pistons were standing and clapping for Reggie, even though the teams are strong rivals.

With the game over, Reggie went into the tunnel where he continued to give high fives to everyone along the way. Then as he reached the hallway where the cameraman wasn't allowed, there was just a shot of Reggie all alone walking into the locker room. I found that shot to be the best of the night, a man walking away from the game he played so well. If anyone has that shot, I'd love a copy.

Now we move forward, from what will come to be known as the Reggie Era of Pacers basketball. Hopefully the years to come will be as great as the years that were. But one this is for sure, they'll never be the same.

Rambles

This is just a couple of things I've been thinking about lately.

• At first, being home from school is awesome. No more having to walk all the way down the hall to take a crap or a shower. And there is always someone you pass in the hall soaking wet with a towel on that wants to talk and you are just like "I'm freezing. Well, at least lemme go put some pants on first." Now its my sister who wishes I'd put some pants on. Calm down, I had my boxers on. She says I'm too skinny to be seen in anything less bulky than a parka.
• Now, being home sucks. I have to be to work at 8 AM everyday, showered and in a shirt with buttons. Work at school was at 9 PM, shorts were manditory and showering was optional. If you were lucky, there'd be a forfeit and then you'd get sweaty anyway playing with the team that did show up.
  
• Plus, there's nothing to do here. All my friends have their own places in Des Moines now. I'm stuck with my family in Algona. It's there, I swear. Go straight East from Spencer and straight North from Fort Dodge. Those roads cross at Algona. Zoom in, it helps.
  
• Lew Ford needs to shave. The goatee is not working for him.
• It's weird when your friends get married. Gene and Nicole have been going out since Nicole and I were freshmen in high school. In that span, the longest relationship I've had is the one I've been in since February. And I'm not even sure I'm still in that one.
• Right now, Silva is done with 7IP on only 54 pitches.
• I ushered the wedding last Saturday. It was really something watching some of your best friends get married. I was really glad that they would ask me to help out.
• The Twins sent Bartlett down. It makes sense to let him get his hit on down in AAA, where the pitchers aren't as good.
• Also, I bought the Scrubs DVD Wednesday, so I've been using the lines lately. (Like "get his hit on". The Todd would be proud)
• I'm going to be doing a triathlon in July. I start training tomorrow by getting my bike fixed.
• I head to Chicago a week from today to see a US vs. England soccer friendly. I'll be wearing my Eddie Pope #23 and going crazy.
• Who's your favorite Scrubs character? I like Janitor.
• I think it's the little characters, like Ted, Janitor, Nurse Roberts, The Todd, and Doug (Nervous Guy), that make Scrubs as funny as it is.
• Now that I think of it, Scruffy the Janitor is also my favorite character on Futurama. I must have a thing for janitors.

I think that's enough for now. Hope you enjoyed.

PANIC!!

It's offically time to panic. Johan has lost "it" and the Twins are doomed to languish in last place. Even the Royals are laughing. The Twins are just 6-8 in May and are 5.5 back of Chicago in the Central. I think I'm going to be falling into a self-destructive depression cycle.

Ok, that was all a load of bull. Everyone needs to take a deep breath. Everything will be fine. As a Twins fan, I am legally obligated to state now that the White Sox cannot keep this up and they will fade. I mostly believe it too. If Santana and Radke can get on track, the Twins can win, even without the offense.

I think Johan's last season was a fluke. No one should be able to pitch like that for that long. Now, it's wearing off. Does this mean Johan is not a premier pitcher? No, it means he's human. I think Johan is perfectly capable of winning a second Cy Young this year. All he needs to do is lose the fear. Last year, once he was no longer afraid of reinjuring his elbow, he went nuts and unloaded ungodly (or perhaps godly) pitching on the American League. Now he's afraid of not being as good as last year.

I see some similarities between the beginning of this year and last. The fastball just out of position and not cracking at the end, the slider not quite slippery enough, the changeup almost fooling people. Last year, he didn't follow through completely because he didn't want to overextend his elbow. Now, I have a feeling he's thinking too much about what he's doing, trying to be the Johan from last year. He needs to realize that he can't do again what he did last year, and even being 1/2 as good as last year is still better than 90% of the league. Johan just needs to clear his head. Maybe he needs to just go out on the town and go nuts. Just a night of no-pressure fun. I would suggest Cosmic Bowling, but that acutally might hurt his elbow. Maybe, like the rest of us, Johan just needs a deep breath.

A Busy Week

It's been awhile, I know. I've had a very busy week or so. Let me run it down.

Friday - Write first 3 pages of a 10 page Civil War paper due Monday. It's about September 1862. Do a 28 second keg stand at the Intramural Official's Party for the best time of the night. Pics to follow.

Saturday - Fight massive hangover to do 3 more pages of that Civil War paper, that's about all.

Sunday - Finish up Civil War paper. New Family Guy on at 8.

Monday - 7:45 AM: Wake up 15 minutes late for Linear Algebra final.
9:30 - Take Sociology final I hadn't studied for because I thought it was at 2.
2 - Take Civil War final I thought was actually at 9:30 and turn in that paper.
8 PM - Watch 24

Tuesday - Mom came down with the van and I move almost all of my stuff out. Buy a PS2 to officially have no reason to leave the house this summer instead of being too big a loser to do so. Do jackshit otherwise.

Wednesday - Start my Astrophysics paper on the Magellanic Clouds at around 9 PM. It's due tomorrow at 5 PM

Thursday - Pack the rest of my stuff. Spend 2 hours in the Physics Lab finishing my Astrophysics Paper and doing the take home test. Drive 2 1/2 hours home in really bad rain. Missed Survivor.

Friday - Sleep in till Noon. Play PS2. Pick up tuxedo for Gene and Nicole's wedding.
6:30 PM: Wedding rehearsal with dinner afterwards
Party at Gene's till 2

Saturday - Sleep till Noon. Play PS2. At Church by 2, in my tux and ready for pictures by 2:15. 5:00 PM - Wedding. I show people to their seats. It was hard work, lemme tell ya.
6:30 -11 PM: Reception. I try to dance, but nothing good comes out of it. I had a good time anyway. After party fizzles out, so Erica and I watch Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure with my parents and then "Next" on MTV with my mom. Pics to follow.

Sunday - Sleep till Noon. Play PS2. Finally get to see a Twins game after being home for 4 days. They win.

That has been my last few days. I start work in the morning. I hope to be able to get back to more Twins related postings now that I actually get to see the games on TV.

Lineup Changes

Something needs to be done with the Twins' lineup. They are currently on a three game losing streak that has put them 4.5 back of the White Sox. I feel the problem lies in the middle infielders. During the 3 game losing streak:

Bartlett: 0/0 (Defensive Replacement) , 0/3, 0/0 (PR)
Punto: 0/1 (PH), 0/4, 1/5
Rivas: 0/0 (PR), 0/2
Castro: 0/3, 0/3

Cuddyer and Morneau are hitting fairly well. Over those 3 games:

Cuddyer: 6/11, 2 Runs Scored, 1 RBI
Morneau: 3/13, 2 Solo HR -> 2 RBI and Runs Scored

There is still room for improvement here, but it's better than a collective 1/21. Terry Tiffee was just called up from Rochester. In his stint in the majors earlier with Morneau on the DL, Tiffee was 7/25 (.280) with 6 RBI and 3 Runs Scored.

My proposal is to start Tiffee at 3B, slide Cuddyer to 2B, and then roll dice or something for SS. Peronsally, I'd go with Punto because I like him and he was on a mini-tear in the 6 games leading up to this losing streak. The Twins were 5-1 during those games.

Update: I didn't realize as I was writing this the Twins have a day game today. The lineup looks like this:

Stewart, LF
Bartlett, SS
Ford, RF
LeCroy, DH
Hunter, CF
Tiffee, 1B
Cuddyer, 3B
Redmond, C
Rivas, 2B
Radke, SP

At this point in the year, Radke is 2-3. He's doing his part, throwing a 1 hitter right now, and the Twins have only managed to get 1 run up one a Bartlett homerun. This isn't the lineup I'd put out behind a guy who's really in need of getting his groove back. If Mauer, needs the day off, then let LeCroy catch and then have Morneau DH. LeCroy's bat has been useful this year, and Morneau has 2 HR in 2 games. This way, Tiffee still gets in the lineup.

Two of the Twins most consistent producers have been Jones and Mauer over the last few games. Having them both out of the lineup on the same day is not a good move either. As much as it pains me to say it, Lew has been out preformed lately by all three regular OF. Lew is only 1/13 in his last 3 games.

New Name, Logo

Do you like the new changes?
	Yes
	No
	It's alright, I guess
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Santana's Loss

Well, no one is perfect. Everyone knew Johan would have to lose eventually. That'll happen when you get zero runs of support in a start against the Angels. Johan did very well just to keep Anaheim* to 2 runs. The only run the Twins scored was a home run by Shannon Stewart after Johan had been lifted for Rincon. The 8th inning was the only time the Twins had a runner in scoring position. They loaded the bases for Matty LeCroy to ground into an inning ending double play.

It's no surprise that the Twins didn't help Johan out at all - Gardy trotted out the B team to face Bartolo Colon. In the lineup were Juan Castro, Mike Redmond, and Luis Rivas. Castro and Redmond are not in the lineup everyday, and they bat like it too. Rivas was Rivas. When I was looking over the box score, I was amazed at the caliber of the players Gardy fielded. Gardenhire will do what he can to get Johan the win, including letting him pitch 8 innings in KC when it's 51 degrees out. But he wouldn't put good batters in the lineup. I don't think that Johan is entirely to blame for this loss.

*They're still the Anaheim Angels, damnit, none of this Los Angeles crap.

This Sort of Thing Happens to Other People

Isn't that what they tell you about stuff like home invasion or car theft. That it happens to other people, but not you. That's kind of how I felt about the new banned substance policy that MLB has instituted. The Twins are the kind of team that value hard work and discipline and would never tolerate something so devious as substances being used by players. I never expected this to come from the Twins. I'm sure in the back of my mind I knew, but I wouldn't let myself believe it.

Juan Rincon has been suspended for 10 games by Major League Baseball for violating this new policy. I've avoided using the word "steroid" because it may not have been a steroid. Players can be suspended for anything from ephedra to marijuana to anyone one of number of other substances. A full list of banned substances can be read here on pages 3-4. Watch out, its a PDF file. I feel that Major League Baseball would do well to disclose the substance which was tested positive for. I understand that there are a host of privacy issues to be dealt with in this case, but it would be a good thing. Right now, Rincon is being lumped with Jose Canseco and other 'roided out losers. For all we know, Juan is just a fan of the reefer. If Rincon was indeed suspended for something other than steroids this is not fair to him.

predictably, Rincon and the Union have filed their seemingly obligatory appeal. Unlike suspensions over fights or corked bats, Rincon must sit out the games immediately. He cannot play while his suspension is being appealed. I assume all that could come out of the appeal is that Rincon could recoup his lost wages. Rincon stands to lose $24,044 in pay, along with making it more difficult to unlock bonuses tied to appearing in a set number of games. I think Rincon should just lay low and take it like a man. Just accepting his punishment will help this blow over more quickly than making a fuss. You got caught, Juan, suck it up and sit it out.

This suspension throws a huge kink in the Twins' bullpen, not to mention my fantasy team. Rincon is currently 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. In 12 IP, Rincon has 15 K and just 5 walks. While it is not an official stat, Rincon also has 6 holds, good for 2nd in the league. To make up for this lack of personnel, the Twins purchased Scott Baker from Rochester. Baker is currently 1-0 with a 1.33 ERA in 5 starts. Terry Ryan said "he [Baker] can pitch out of the rotation or out of the bullpen and gives Gardy flexibility. He's pitched as well as anyone we have at Rochester." That's promising.

There is also speculation that with Kyle Lohse's shoulder problem, he could move to the bullpen and that Baker would take his spot in the rotation. The last time Lohse came out of the pen was in Game 5 of the 2004 ALDS against the Yankees. He pitched a perfect 10th before giving up a run in the 11th to get the loss. I think that a move to the bullpen could be just the thing for Kyle Lohse to get his mojo working. An inning or two every day or every few days would be much better for him than being in the rotation, in my opinion.