Twins Sweep Brewers! . . . Oh, no wait. n/m

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 and a 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."

Even Kelly Thesier was getting into the early celebratory spirit. On Saturday, MLB.com featured an article written by Thesier reporting that the Twins had beaten the Brewers 6-3.


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.

Some other readings:
A Fan's View: Your favorite player -- aside from big names (RIP Jose Lima)
Star Tribune (August 1, 2009): It's Always Lima Time Somewhere

R.I.P.